It was the first day of the new school term. Excitement filled the air as the high school students were scattering off to a new year of school. Up beyond the hills and behind a set of iron gates was St. Gemma’s College, a prestigious boarding school for girls and boys of high school age.

 

Sixteen year old Drake was transferring to St. Gemma’s that year. The school board had commended his exceptional grades in his old school and offered him a scholarship.

Naturally, he took every chance he got.

 

He was seated on a bus filled with St. Gemma students in their pressed, neat green uniforms. He held his case on his lap and was peering out of the windows in anticipation as they passed by streets upon streets.

It wouldn’t be long.

The girl seated beside him was fidgeting with her case, buckling and unbuckling it and squirming in her seat. She promptly tossed her case to the ground and unbuttoned the top collar of her shirt, tousling her brown bob.

“Aah- I can’t stand this uniform!” She exclaimed. She propped her legs up onto her case and put her hands behind her head, sighing. “Each year that goes by I wonder why I still bother!”

Drake couldn’t help but stare at her, his eyes widening.

“It’s the first day of term!”
“I know! I should be making my impression this year!” The girl said. She looked over at Drake, raising her eyebrows. She then gasped. “You must be new! I haven’t seen you before! Are you new?”

Drake nodded.

She immediately stuck out her hand.

“How rude of me! I’m Lucy, good to meet you.”

Drake shook her hand, offering a small smile.

“It’s Drake.”
“Drake? Cool name!” Lucy beamed at him. “Since you’re new here, I’d better show you the ropes. We can be friends starting from right now!”

“Huh- Oh, okay!”

 

That was easy! Drake was glad he could have someone to trust so quickly in this new environment.

 

A while later, the bus reached the school. Students came piling out, all abuzz and chattering away. They all rushed towards the school, passing by marble statues and fountains.

Woah, was this how people lived?

Was this how Drake was going to live?

They spilled into the large building, rushing into halls.

“Just stick by me!” Lucy said, grabbing his arm. “And you’ll be a-okay!”
She marched him towards a hall, but not before several shouts and screams filled the air.

 

“You’re back!”
“Welcome back, Freya!”
“We thought you were gone!”

 

Making her way through the crowds of people was a beautiful girl. Lucy stopped in their step and she stared at the girl, her eyes glittering.

“It’s the famous Freya!”

“Huh?”

The girl seemed to part crowds. Girls followed her, chattering away and squealing. A boy was following her, but he didn’t seem to be bothered much. She had lovely curly hair, and deep golden eyes. She was tall, lovely and lush…

Beautiful.

“We thought she would’ve graduated last year,” Lucy explained, still staring. “But she’s back!”

“Who’s the boy?” Drake asked.

“Her brother, Leon. He just tags along.”

 

The beautiful girl looked over directly at Lucy. She smiled at her, waving a little. Lucy’s hands flew up to fix her collar, still staring. And she moved on.

 

“Isn’t she amazing?” Lucy managed to get out.

“… What’s her name again?” Drake asked.

“Freya! Everyone will know Freya!” She grinned. “You’ll soon know her.”

“Ah. Okay.”

The school bell was about to ring, signalling assembly. It was time to go.

 

 

After the assembly, it was time to go to the dorm rooms. Lucy would not be joining Drake, as they were separated by gender to avoid “illicit relations.”

“That’s nonsense,” Lucy said to Drake just before they went their separate ways. “I don’t even like boys.”

42 was his room number. He would have a roommate! As he made his way there, he wondered what he may be like…

It wouldn’t be good to have a bad roommate. What were the protocols for this?

Other boys gave Drake curious looks. He gave everyone a small, “Hello” as he passed by.

There we are. Number 42! He turned the handle of the door and went inside.

 

Two small beds on each side of the room, two desks and two wardrobes…

Drake wasn’t sure what he expected, really.

He placed his suitcase onto the bed on the right side. Alright, he’d wait for someone else to arrive. He sat on his bed (it was sufficiently bouncy. Very good.) and he unlocked his suitcase. His books were all in order. Excellent. There was a letter written by his mother, but he’d leave it until that night.

The room’s silence was strange compared to the excitement and shouting from the hall.

Drake stood up and checked the wardrobe. The school uniform hung on hangers and a folded pair of pyjamas lay inside. Shoe polish and a sewing kit were tucked away in the corner.

Good to know they were prepared.

 

Drake heard the door open and he peered around from the wardrobe.

“Hello.”
“Oh! Hi.”

This boy smiled over at him. He hauled his suitcase inside and onto the other bed.

“We’re roommates, it seems,” he said. He turned around to face Drake. “Great!”

“I’m Drake.”
“I’m Erik, lovely to meet you!”

He had such a soft voice that Drake almost couldn’t hear him.

“I haven’t seen you around… Are you new?” Erik asked.

Drake nodded.
There was something about this guy…

“Oh! Are you the guy who won the scholarship?” Erik continued, looking at him with wide eyes.

His big blue eyes were sparkling, but warm with interest.

“I am!”

Erik’s eyes widened.

“Wow! You must be really smart then to get here. It must be strange here, then, to suddenly come to St. Gemma’s.”

He paused, going over to Drake and still smiling softly.

“You’ll fit right in here!”

He came up so close that Drake couldn’t help but practically stare into his eyes. They were so blue, like the sea.

… Oh no, he was cute.

“A- Ahh, I hope I will too!” Drake managed to get out.

“We have introductory classes today,” Erik said, going back to his side. “So nothing much. I expect that you will get lots of attention, Mr. Scholarship. The boys here are… Interesting. The girls are equally the same. If you want to survive in the boy’s dorm, you’d better stick by me!”

“I’ve already made a friend,” Drake replied. “Her name is Lucy.”

“Lucy? Lucy in the same year as us? I know her! We’re friends.”

Wow! What a coincidence!

“She’s cool,” Erik continued. He thought for a moment. “Though, I wonder who she’ll get as her roommate this year…”

“Huh?”

“Oh! Nothing. Lucy gets… Interesting roommates.”

He paused again, hurrying back over to Drake and lowering his voice.

“That Lucy… She’s a lady-killer for sure. She’s almost as bad as these boys!”

“So… Should we look out for people like her, then?” Drake asked.

Erik thought for a moment.

“Yes. But I’ll let you know when we see them. I’ll keep you out of drama.”

“Well…  Thank you!”

 

It was good to have someone else to trust in this place.

Drake couldn’t help but feel a rising sense of excitement. What sort of things would happen here?