I Can't Stand Alone Anymore.

‘Here we go.’ I stepped up the grey stone steps that led towards the school. The red brick walls stretched to the sky, and the windows glinted as they reflected the morning sun. I stopped in front of the double glass doors that would lead me into the school. I laid my hand on the handle, took a deep breath and walked into Crestion Boarding School.

The wide hallways were nearly empty. The few students that were there looked at me oddly before going back to their own lives. My mother had insisted that I be early the first day at my new school, so I walked along at eight o’clock in the morning, a whole hour before school was supposed to start.

I still couldn’t believe my parents. Not that I held a high regard for them in the first place. I was glad I was nowhere near them anymore. No matter how odd this school and its rooming arrangements were, it was infinitely better than living at home with them.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I was face to face with the office door. I slid in and walked straight to the young, pretty, blonde receptionist who was sitting behind a mahogany desk, typing away at a computer. I stood in front of her, waiting for her to finish her sentence or whatever it was that she was doing. However, she just continued on with her annoying tapping and her annoying hair-flips and her annoying smirk.

“Ahem. Excuse me.” She turned to face me slowly, irritation evident on her face.

“Can I help you?” She glared at me with open hostility.

“Actually, you can Ms,” I looked down at her name plaque that was sitting on the desk. Tiffany Leita. How cliché. “Ms. Leita. I’m new at this school and I was wondering if I could have my schedule and room assignment.” I finished with a fake grin directed towards her.

“Whatever. Name please.” Ms. Leita turned away from me again and started typing on the computer.

“Kaylee. Kaylee Hays.” She flipped back around and stared at me. Then she burst into a fit of giggles.

“Oh. That’s rich! You are Kaylee Hays? That’s a laugh.” She moved to turn away from me.

“Look up my file then. My picture should be in there. I’m not in the mood to play games with you.” She glared at me again and typed away at her computer. Her whole body froze as she looked at the picture on the screen. A picture of me smiled out at her and I had to force myself not to laugh in her face. “You see? I am Kaylee Hays. I have been for seventeen years now. So if you don’t mind, I would like to get my stuff please.”

“Yes, of course Miss Hays. Right away.” Ms. Leita quickly stood up and jogged to the filing cabinet at the back of the office. She shuffled through the second drawer quickly and pulled out several papers. When she had returned she handed the papers over to me. “Those are your room assignment, map of the school and schedule. Here’s your keycard. Your parents have already taken care of everything else.”

“Thanks.” I turned to leave but the receptionist stopped me.

“Wait! The principal would like a word with you.” I sighed in defeat. I honestly just wanted to go and sleep the rest of the day away. At least have a little nap before school started. “He’s just right through that door.” She pointed at a solid wooden door on the back wall to the right of the desk.

I walked past Ms. Leita and knocked on the heavy door. A very masculine voice boomed out a “come in” and I opened the door. I looked around the room. It was a regular sized office with grey walls, hardwood floors and two large windows on the left and back walls. Shelves with pictures and memorabilia were drilled to the walls to try and give it a welcoming feeling. But that feeling died when my eyes laid upon the man sitting behind an oak desk littered with papers. He was huge. He must have been 6’5” and I could tell he used to be an athlete. He was incredibly intimidating. His brown hair was close cut and storm grey eyes looked at me. Had he been angry, I could tell I would be shaking in my boots, but he smiled when he saw me and made me feel a little less nervous about being at the school.

“Hello Miss Hays. I’m Mr. Collins. Please, have a seat.” I sat in one of the two large armchairs in front of his desk. Once I was settled he began, “Now, I know this school might seem a bit odd to you and I’m sure you have lots of questions about how we operate here. Is there anything you’d like to ask me?”

“No. Not really. I mean, it’s all pretty much the same as my old school except for the… arrangement of the rooms.”

Mr. Collins chucked. “Yes. Some people find how we do things here at Crestion a bit unorthodox but we believe that it’s the best way for young minds to interact.”

“You room guys with girls, Mr. Collins.” I deadpanned. “Aren’t you afraid of escalating teenage pregnancies and STD’s?”

He nodded as if he had expected the question. “Yes Miss Hayes. That is one of the primary concerns of parents and school boards but I assure you it’s not like that at all. I strongly believe that the interaction of the opposite sex will help our students with social betterment and the like.” I simply nodded. I had heard the pitch from the promotional video. Crestion was the very first boarding school to put one female student and one male student together as roommates. It was very controversial and therefore wasn’t very popular, especially with the high tuition rates. Only the most rich, influential families put their kids in Crestion.

“I see. Well, thank you for your time but I should really get going. I still need to get ready for school and what-not.”

“Oh. Miss Hays, you do know that there is no school today, right? The first day is not until next Tuesday.” I was going to kill my parents. They sent me to school eight days in advance.

“Thank you, Mr. Collins.”

“Have a good week, Miss Hays. Please come and see me if you have any questions.”

I walked out of the office and through the receptionist area into the halls and was a flurry of anger as I stomped around the school.

‘I cannot believe them. They are so stupid. Eight days in advance- eight days! Idiots! Both of them. “We want you to get to know your school. Why don’t you go a little early?” A little early? A little early!? They sent me here a whole week early!’ I was consumed by my rage and wasn’t watching where I was going; which was why it was a complete surprise to me when I ended up flat on my butt after walking smack into something.

“Ow. Sorry about that.” I said. I quickly stood up and brushed myself off. I found myself looking directly at a very masculine chin so I looked up and locked my hazel eyes with the green ones of the guy I had just run into. He was extremely handsome and I could tell he was probably pretty popular at this school. I looked away at my papers that had fallen everywhere. Mystery guy bent over and helped me pick them up.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I smiled at him, but it faltered when I saw him glaring at me.

“Whatever. Just watch where you’re going next time.” And he stomped off.

‘Well, aren’t we a bunch of smiling, happy people here.’ I thought to myself sarcastically. With a new reason to rage at the world, I looked through my papers to find my room number. I just wanted to sleep. Finally I pulled it out and looked it over.

Crestion Boarding School

Unleashing talent and perspective.

Student: Kaylee Margaret Hays
Student Number: 889-371-472
Room Number: 214
Roommate: Alekzander Damien Knight
Network Username: KHays
Network Password: CBSStudent
*Please note: you will be required to change your password at your first login.

Welcome to Crestion Boarding School! We are pleased that you have considered us for your education. The information above is yours, what you choose to share is up to you, but we strongly advise you to keep your password to yourself. Each keycard is unique. Please avoid misplacing it. Enjoy your time here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Ted Collins
Principal

I put the paper back into the pile and looked at the map of the school. I let out a groan as soon as I saw where 214 was; the other side of the school. Of course I was going the wrong way. I spun on my heel and proceeded to walk to my room.

Not as angry as I was while storming about, I was able to get a good look at the school. My shoes tapped against the polished floor bathed in sunshine. The halls were wide and painted in white with large windows placed strategically to show the trim, perfect court yard. Dazed by the immensity of the school, I drifted into a daydream, not noticing how long I had been walking when I found myself face to face with my room. I pulled my keycard out of my back pocket and slid it into the slot. Damn, this place was high-tech. The red light over the key flashed to green and I opened the door.

It seemed as if I wasn’t the first to arrive to the room. The room was like a mirror image. Two beds sat along opposite walls, sided by a night table with a drawer at the foot of each of them. There were also two doors on either side. I wondered what was behind them briefly before taking in the details of the room. The left half the room was done up in sports posters, trophies, dirty laundry and a Sports Illustrated calendar. It was the typical guy decoration. Almost as if there was an invisible barrier, the personalization stopped exactly in the middle, leaving the right half dull, plain and completely empty. My suit cases were stacked in front of the dresser.

I collapsed on the bed, throwing my arm over my eyes, completely ready to take a nap. I settled in and sighed as I got comfortable. Suddenly, as I was drifting, the door flew open and in walked Alekzander Knight. He stopped short when he saw me, meeting my eyes with his green ones for the second time that day. That’s right. It was the same guy that I had run into not a half an hour earlier.

I stood up and walked over to him. “Hi! I’m Kaylee Hays. I guess I’m your new roommate.” I gave him a smile as I extended a hand towards him. However, instead of shaking it as I expected, he glared at me, turned on his heel and headed to the door on his side of the room. “Asshole.” I muttered under my breath. I mean, he could at least have some manners!

“Excuse me?” Alekzander was looking at me. Evidently, he had heard me and was glaring at me with even more ferocity than before. I looked at him with a cool expression.

“I called you an asshole.” He stormed towards me, eyes blazing. He stood right in front of me, causing me to look up slightly.

“I dare you to say that again.”

I scoffed. “Asshole.” I turned my back on him and lay back down on the bed with my back towards him. “Now, I’m taking a nap. Night!”

“I can’t believe this! Three years living in this room by myself, then she shows up!” He cursed under his breath.

“Sorry to ruin your life Your Majesty!” I mocked him, still with my back to him. “But I’m not any happier than you are about this.”

“Whatever.” Then I heard a door slam, a shower run and I drifted into sleep.