CLAUSTROPHOBIA── neil perry

une

WELCOME TO HELL-TON

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Priscilla had never once in her life not attended the all girls school of Georgetown. But today was different. Her grandfather had informed her mother and father that she would now be attending the all boys school of Welton. When she found out she cried, she did not want to leave her friends, she did not want to be the only girl in a school for boys, boys! But her Grandfather insisted, saying he would keep his eye on her the whole time and that men get a better education then girls do. That was also not something the girl looked forward too but alas, there she stood at the front gates of the Welton Academy for boys, already on their first day of school. Priscilla hated walking into a new place late, all the eyes of her peers watching her.

She sighed heavily as her Grandfather opened the door. She trudged through the ebony gates, her luggage bags dragging in the dirt behind her.

"Chin up dear." Priscillas grandfather told her. One of his slim fingers lifting up her chin ever so slightly. Her eyes scanned the bland corridors of the school, arched windows lined the entry hallway and dark wooded furniture lined the tiled ground. Priscillas heels clicked on tiles, her steps increasing with pace every step. Her grandfather rolled his eyes watching as his granddaughters two brown suit cases trailed behind her on a small string, the gold accents lightly scratching the floor. The blonde however didn't seem to notice the small screech on the floor behind her. Her blue eyes were entranced with scene around her.

"Where is my room?" Priscilla asked her grandfather curiously. He chuckled a little before leading her up a flight for stairs or two and down to the end of the hall. A small wooden greeted her. Upon opening the door she was met with disappointment. Two desks lined the walls at the edge of the two beds that were pushed into the corners of the room. Two small closets sat next to the desks as well. It was so bland, she thought to herself. There was no color apart from the beige on the walls.

"Ill leave you to unpack, dinners at 7." Priscilla nodded slowly. Her eyes watching her grandfathers retreating back. She sighed of relief, plopping back into the hard mattress. A soft groan escaped the girls lips, before she sat up to unpack.

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"Neil, Neil! You won't believe it!" Charlie Dalton shouted at his friend, who sat outside on the bleachers working on trig homework. Neil looked up from his work to his friend jogging across the field.

"What?" He asked, a thick brow quirked in interest. Charlie breathed heavily, he had ran all the way from the lunch room to soccer field.

"There's a girl at Welton!" Charlie exclaimed excitedly. The rest of the boys now joined the two on the bleachers.

"Says who?" Neil asked, glancing up at all of his friends. Todd Anderson shrugged, taking a seat beside him. Neil smiled at his friend before facing Dalton again.

"I dunno, that's what Meeks told me." Neils eyes now traveled to Steven Meeks, waiting for an answer. The boy just stared, adjusting his glasses.

"I was walking back to my room when I heard Mr. Nolan and some of the professors talking about it." He shrugged. An excited chatter broke out amongst the group, all talking about what the mystery girl could look like, if her breasts were big or not or if she would be in any of their classes. Neil rolled his eyes, trying to disguise how enthralled he was by the news. Wether he liked the new girl or not Welton was changing and he couldn't wait.

"What do you think she's like?" Todd asked him quietly. The boy was interested in thought of a girl at the school. Neil shrugged.

"Rich probably, no other way she'd be going to an all boys school." Todd nodded, if she was rich she was probably really snobby and snooty, though he wasn't one to make such quick judgements on a person.

     Priscilla never showed up for dinner, instead she was passed out on her newly made bed. The chatter of the girl didn't stop throughout dinner, the anticipation of her arrival growing every second she didn't show up.

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    Priscilla was awoken the next morning by her grandfather knocking on the door to her room. She groggily got up and slipped on a pair of dress pants that the school had given her. Since she was the only girl the school was working on creating a skirt for her so for now she was stuck wearing pants, awfully scratchy black dress pants. She adjusted the red tie around neck before she stepped out into the world Welton. The smell of cologne and sweat mixed in her nostrils as her black heels clicked on the floor.

   The sound of her heels echoing made her feel self conscious. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area. Seeing that no one was around she slipped off her heels and held them tightly in her left hand. She quickly trotted down the hallway to the Chemistry lab. Priscilla sighed heavily, her nerves had skyrocketed through the roof and into the moon. She slipped on her shoes and softly knocked on the door.

The door opened and all chatter ceased. Priscilla took in a sharp intake of air as the eyes of 30 boys stared at her. Her heart pounded as she slowly took a seat in an empty chair at the back of the class. She tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear before pulling out her Chemistry book. Her eyes stayed focused on the small text, trying to block out the consistent stares of her classmates. The teacher nodded slightly before going back to his lesson.

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   The blonde let out a sigh of relief when the bell rang. Quickly gathering her things she rushed out of the room, leaving the boys behind her. The attention on Priscilla for just one class was already enough for her to crawl into a hole and never come out.

    The boys shared a confused look with each other as they watched the girl retreat, her blonde hair swaying as she walked. Neil sighed and looked at Todd who held the same look on his face, guilt.