Exchange

Chapter 13

"And this is the dining room." Molly finished, striding through the large oak doors, with me tailing closely behind. I didn't say anything, but inside, I was rejoicing.

The last thing I had eaten was dinner on the aeroplane, and that had consisted of chewy chicken and over-cooked vegetables. I cringed thinking about it. But now, my stomach was growling, and I couldn't wait to eat some real, solid food.

However, at least I was now clean and somewhat presentable. After Molly had shown me to the bathroom, I had taken once glance in the mirror and flinched. With dirty hair, dark-ringed eyes, and pale skin, I was surprised Molly had been as welcoming as she was.

So stripping off all of my clothes, as well as Mason's sweatshirt, I'd quickly hopped into one of the many stalls and had had, most probably, one of the best showers of my life. The hot water had soothed away all of the tense muscles in my body, as well as washed away the grimy, aeroplane feeling that had been stuck to my skin.

Clad in all of my new winter clothing, I had been walking back to the dorm, when I bumped into a number of different girls, some dressed in clothes, some still in their pyjamas, while others were just in underwear.

Being new and American, the girls all instantly noticed me, and I was suddenly swarmed with a number of greetings and smiles and girls asking me my name.

"I'm Rose." I replied, trying to remain confident, yet feeling intimidated with everyone's eyes on me.

"Hi Rose." One of the girls greeted, wild and bushy hair falling down her face in auburn locks.

"I'm Liz." She gave me a broad smile, before glancing around at the rest of the girls. "And this is everybody else."

And then I was hit with a tidal wave of questions. They came from every direction; absurd, generalised, and excited questions, overwhelming me in just a few seconds.

"Have you met a celebrity?"

"Are you a cheerleader?"

"Do people really sit in groups in the dining room-"

"They call it a cafeteria, Holly."

"Whatever, like in the movies, do the sporty people sit together, and the nerds, and the-"

"Have you been to Hollywood? Or California? Apparently all the celebrities live in California."

"Who's your exchange partner? It's a guy right? Is he good looking-"

"Trump or Hilary?"

"Tiff, she's not even old enough to vote-"

"Whoa!" A loud voice shouted, breaking off the babbling voices and allowing me to take in a breath.

Molly pushed through the crowd, ponytail swinging behind her, and flashed me a quick grin. I instantly felt more at ease beside her presence.

"Guys, she's been awake for twenty minutes. Give USA some space." I rolled my eyes at her newly-found nickname for me.

The crowd dissipated with grumbles, and I threw Molly a baffled look.

"They're acting like I'm a Kardashian."

She looked at me dryly. "We're in a boarding school, an hour out of London, where the biggest scandal is who hooked up with who behind the chapel bell. So yeah, you're big news right now."

"Great." I hated being the centre of attention.

"Don't worry about it. It'll die out soon enough." She then threw me a smirk. "And if your exchange partner is hot, trust me when I say all attention towards you will be lost. The girls here are desperate for some fresh meat."