Bedlam's Finishing School

Alex took in the setting of the dining hall. There were 4 long tables running horizontally and at each table there were the different uniforms. There weren’t many girls at each table, maybe 50 at best. The 4th table had the fewest and Alex felt hope stir in her stomach. Maybe her mother would see how pointless this is and she could be one of the people who drop out. But she knew there was no use, her father was set on her going here.

Abbie sat at a seat at the 1st year’s table and gave Alex a weird look. Alex was awkwardly standing behind Abbie because she couldn’t find a seat. It took her a few seconds to realize the seat next to Abbie wasn’t actually being occupied by a living person, it was in fact a ghost. Most people would be able to sit there without a problem but not Alex. Since she was aware of the dead person and could see them, she would end up sitting on their lap.

Doing the only thing she could think of she went over and basically shoved the man out of his seat and sat down pretending nothing had happened. To everyone else nothing did happen. Alex turned and looked over at Abbie and was trying to pay attention to her ramblings about band camp but she could feel the ghost she’d just push staring holes into the back of her head.

“Xandra you’re acting strange, I mean I get that I just met you, but you’re all stiff and rigid.” Abbie gave Alex a concerned look. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out what was going on.

“Hmmm?” Alex looked up at her ginger friend. “Oh just tired, it’s been a long day.” She tried to brush it off but Abbie wasn’t slow to drop it. She held her stare at Alex for a few more seconds before she found a new topic to ramble on about. This time instead of band camp, it was band class.

“Hey sweetie.” Alex heard a male voice and she was almost certain Abbie could not hear it if she tried. “Think you can give me my seat back?” Alex kept looking at Abbie trying to ignore the ghost behind her. She hadn’t even gotten a look at him. She only saw his short sandy hair from behind. His voice mad him sound like he was in his mid 20s, no older than 30. She could tell from his arms he wasn’t exactly built be his muscles were defined and she wouldn’t be surprised if he had a 6 pack. Suddenly Alex felt a hard tug on her pony tail and she was flat on her butt on the ground. She gripped her head before getting up to see the ghost had taken his seat back.

“Holy hell Xandra what just happened? One minute I’m trying to talk to you and next you’re on the floor.” Alex had an ache in her stomach wanting to tell her what had actually happened, but as if falling randomly on the floor wasn’t weird enough.

“Oh I uh, just don’t like that seat.” She said looking down. Alex massaged the back of her sore head before looking for a new seat. Across from Abbie Alex saw one of the former patients get up and motion for her to take the now open seat. The ghost was a petite girl in her late teens. Her black hair flowed down her back with perfect waves that almost every girl would envy. Without hesitating Alex hurried over to the now open seat and thanked the patient.

“He’s a dick, just ignore him.” The ghost walked away to find a new seat. Alex gave a little chuckle to herself. She didn’t understand why they weren’t questioning why she could see them. When she had first seen Jed he had shot her a million questions, most she didn’t know how to answer, and she still couldn’t answer. He had tried to tell her she was dead like the kid from “The Sixth Sense” but they both knew she was very much alive.

“You do realize this isn’t a mental institution anymore, right?” Abbie commented.

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit weird.” Alex shrugged pushing her My Chemical Romance bracelet up her arm. She looked down at the phrase written on the bracelet. The Aftermath is Secondary Alex always tried to follow this phrase but she had always been so focused on What could happen

“It’s okay we’re all deranged in the head. I’m sure they’ll end up changing this back into a mental institution.” Abbie was about to go on when a form came to the front of the dining hall. It was a lady who was probably in her late 50s. with obvious dyed brown hair that was pinned back into a tight bun. She was reminiscent of a Puritan Settler with her somewhat tight gray dress that seemed to cover every inch of her body. The way she stood gave off a very commanding air around her and Alex was having a very bad feeling about this lady.

“Hello ladies, welcome to Bedlam’s Finishing School, I am the headmistress and by the end of these four years you will be perfect ladies and will have learned all the skills you need to be a perfect housewife. Here at Bedlam’s your behavior will be at your best and you will follow all of the rules, or we will not hesitate to punish you in any way we feel fit. If you follow all the rules I’m sure you will all have a great time here. Now you may get your food.” The ladies voice was sweet and but her tone was filled with poison. While the headmistress spoke everyone was dead quiet. The 4rth year girls seemed to be on the best behavior. They’re posture was virtually perfect and they didn’t seem to move an inch.

Alex expected for nearly everyone to rush to the lunch table in a stampede, so she quickly got up and spun around. When she turned to the see the line to get food she noticed everyone was slowly making their way gracefully to the line. Abbie rushed to her new friend’s side and gave her a weird look. The two girls were clearly out of their comfort zone. All the girls here so far had reminded Alex of the fake plastic girls from her high school, and that was something she did not want to become. She predicted that a handful of the girls here would strive to become gold digger trophy wives and end up getting all kinds of work done to their face and body’s.

When they got to the line Alex listened to the senseless chatter that was going on around her. She pushed her blonde fringe back and tried to tune out the speaking around her. She didn’t care about who the most recent celebrity couple was or who was wearing what. She’d rather be hearing about current events that had importance to the world. Alex looked over to Abbie and gave her an annoyed face. In return Abbie rolled her eyes and grabbed the food that was in front of her. Alex looked down on the food she had just grabbed after Abbie grabbed hers, Penne Al Vodka Sauce.

“Holy crap this food is heavenly.” Abbie said with her mouth full of the pasta when they sat down. Alex smiled, she had just met this girl and she had a feeling there would be no breaking her into a “proper’ lady.

“To be a proper you must eat with your mouth shut .” Alex pretended to scold the ginger who sat across from her. Abbie simple shoved another fork full of pasta into her mouth and began to chomp down obnoxiously, gaining attention from the girls around her. Alex let out a small laugh and tried to keep quiet. The dining hall was not exceptionally loud, there was just the mindless chattering about celebrities.

“You should warn your friend about her chewing.” Alex spun around when she heard the voice behind her. She was met with the face of the beautiful ghost who had given her a seat. “Headmistress Brown hates it and you don’t want to piss her off, at least not on the first day.” Alex gave her a little nod and turned back to face Abbie.

“I thought I heard my name.” Alex gave a little excuse to Abbie for turning around. She paused a second before relaying the warning she had just gotten. “You might want to be careful, save it for the months to come.”

“Trust me, I’ve got plenty of tricks in my bag.” Abbie gave her a devilish grin.

After the dinner the girls made their way back up to their dorms. Alex was quick to shed the not so pleasing uniform when she entered her and Abbie’s room. She substituted the uniform for [url= http://www.polyvore.com/alex_pjs1/set?id=37840109] Black [/url] white and red pajama pants and a blank tank top, leaving the uniform crumpled on the floor. From what she saw from the dining hall, the uniforms don’t really change just the colors on them. 2nd years were blue and black, 3rd years were yellow and white, and the 4rth years were green and black. Alex had giggled when she first saw that the colors held a close resemblance to the house colors in Hogwarts. They weren’t the same exact colors but they were close enough for Alex.

There were tiny little snores coming from the other side of the room on Abbie’s bed. Alex glanced at the iHome in the room. It was 9:36pm. Abbie was fast asleep and the girls hadn’t been in the room for 10 minutes. Alex laid on her back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was her first day and she had already had problems with a ghost. On the brighter side she had made a friend. An actual living human friend. A smile fell over her lips. Abbie was her first living friend she had in years and she was not going to mess that up.

Alex tried desperately to fall asleep as easily as Abbie did but it was no use. She had to many emotions bubbling deep inside of her. Alex quietly got out of her bed and grabbed her key that laid on her bedside table. She hastily undid the clasp of the chain that Frank’s pick was on and slid her key onto it so she wouldn’t lose it. When she got situated she tried to quietly open the door to the hallway. Alex cringed when she heard the door creek as she opened and closed it, but now she was free.

Something Alex had always been good at was climbing up and down things to get to places. She had always wanted to learn proper parkour from an actual teacher but her parents wouldn’t allow it. Instead she would sneak out night in the dark of night and teach herself little moves. She wasn’t exceptionally good but if she ever had to make a quick escape out of somewhere, she had the ability to. What Alex loved most about the little moves she knew was the feeling she would get when she was flying through the air. To get the feeling of being completely free from the grasp of anyone gave her a rush. It was one of the only places she was free from the almost dictoral grasp of her parents.

Alex found a window and stealthily opened it. She knew the windows had to have been updated, much like everything else had been here. There was no way there would be windows that could be easily unlocked much less open in a mental institution. Alex pushed back her fringe and made a mental note to ask her mom to send clips or a headband before she shimmied her way out of the window. She grasped the ledge, letting her legs dangle freely in the air. It wasn’t windy, but the air had a certain chill to it. Alex didn’t have to look down to know that if she fell she would most likely be dead. The idea that one wrong move could end her life fueled the adrenaline in her blood.

The dangling girl kicked her legs around carefully trying to find a place for her feet to hold onto. She had to be mindful not to kick to hard in case someone inside could hear her. Once her footing was secure she looked around for a place to put her hands. In no time Alex was making her way down gracefully as a pixy flirting through the air. There were a few times where she had to stop and think about where she should put her limbs but it had never taken her over a minute. When she made it to the ground she looked around to remember that this spot was the spot she would need to climb up.

She had ended up in some sort of garden. The hedges and flowers that were lit up from the moonlight had an eerie glow to them, but they looked beautiful all the same. Alex wondered around lost in her thoughts. She had been so engulfed in her mind she had failed to notice she actually got herself lost in a hedge maze. Who the hell makes a hedge maze here?! Alex thought frustrated. Finding her way out would be near impossible. Panic began to set in and she was now running through the maze, ignoring the pain that would shoot up her unprotected feet. Alex had been so focused on getting out she didn’t notice the patient who was in front of her. She collided into the dead man and fell hard on her side.

“I guess you just can’t watch where you’re going aye?” The patient said. Alex looked up toward him and began to crawl backward on her hands. It was the ghost she had pushed out of his seat. It was the first time she was really seeing his face and his brown eyes were filled with craziness. There were dark bags under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days. He was clean shaven so his strong chin was very visible. He crept slowly toward Alex, flicking out the pocket knife that was in his right pocket. Alex’s body flooded with fear and hopelessness. She was lost in a maze at around 10pm, everyone was asleep, and no one could see the man that was about to attack her.

She was screwed.

Alex crawled back as far as she could until she backed up into the hedges behind her. She curled up into a ball and thrusted her arms forward to protect her face. It was only her first day of finishing school and she wouldn’t even make it to see the second day. Alex felt the smooth part of the blade go across her face. The patient was teasing her, trying to make her more frightened then she already was. She began to calculate the odds trying to figure out if she kicked him in the groin would she be able to run away fast enough. She knew the answer was no so she took a deep breath in waiting for the blade to make contact with her skin.

Instead of the blade meeting with her flesh, a dark figure came sprinting down one side of the maze, knocking her attacker to the ground. He had similar clothing on telling her that he too was also a former patient here. The new mans arms were built and covered with different tattoos. Alex stared at the man with wide eyes as he began to punch her attacker with what seemed to be everything in him. Another man rushed over to Alex as she tried to steady her breathing but it was no use. The whole scene that was taking place in front of her was too much. She felt arms wrap around her and they brought her closer to the newest man.

“O-oh shit I think s-she’s going into shock.” The voice had a bit of a stutter and a lisp. Any other time Alex would have found the lisp cute and funny but now she could hardly feel his arms around her. The world went numb to her and the man who was holding her gently rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her down into a placid state. They had stayed like that for quite some time, the rocking almost lulling the poor girl to sleep. Alex had been so focused on the man she hadn’t noticed the three others who were now also surrounding her.

“I think she’s falling asleep, Jim.” One of them said. Alex looked up toward the voice and wanted to shrink back when she noticed his brown eyes. But then Alex looked closer at his eyes, they weren’t filled with the craziness the other man had been. His eyes were filled with warmth and were very welcoming. She looked at the remaining two men and noticed their arms were also covered in tattoos. For the badass tattoos they had they were really acting like gentlemen.

“C-come on you, l-let’s go.” The man who was holding her said. She felt herself being lifting bridal style. Alex didn’t hesitate to throw her arms around his neck and curl her head up in between his shoulder and neck. Before she shut her eyes she noticed the handcuff tattoo that went around his neck. She was tempted to begin to trace it but she knew she was too tired.

“Don’t you think people would be suspicious if they just saw a girl floating through the air holding onto some imaginary person?” The shortest one said, his Mohawk deflating.

“Everyone should be sleeping so it shouldn’t be a problem.” The four men turned around to see the last one in their group running up from behind them. “Dean is all taken care of and he won’t stir trouble anymore.”

“You need to be careful Matt, one day he’s going to snap and carve you up into pieces.” The one with brown eyes said. He seemed concerned for his friend.

“Like he can even touch me.” The one named Matt laughed showing off his dimples.

“C-check H-her key to s-see her r-room.” Jim had said looking toward his brown eyed friend.

“Over 25 years of being here and you’d think your stutter would be gone Jimmy but no.” The shortest one said.

“Hey, shut up short shit.” The brown eyed one said. He walked over to the sleeping girl and looked at her key. “Room A428.” Jimmy’s steps slowed down a bit when he heard the number but began to pick up again to catch up with the group.

“Awh fuck I hate stairs.” A new voice said. This man had piercing green eyes and snake bites. Matt rolled his eyes and offered to carry the man he called Zacky like a baby. Zacky hastily declined and followed the four other men up the four flights of stairs.

When they made it back to Alex’s room Jimmy opened the door with the key that was on her necklace. The rest of the guys waited outside the room as Jimmy carried the past out girl to his bed. He looked over the room that he remembered used to be his. He smiled when he saw the posters that decorated the one wall and put her down gently onto her bed. Alex’s arms let go of his neck and he tucked her in before whispering goodnight to her.