Exchange

Chapter 14

Monday morning. Even in a new country with new people, I still felt grumpy when waking up before seven a.m.

The weekend had passed by eventfully. After breakfast on the first morning, Mason and I were given a full school tour by Molly and Nate. It had been nice and casual, and I had gotten to know Nate a little more.

He was a genuine and friendly guy, and from the way everybody else spoke about him, I took that he was well-liked. I also discovered that he was clever. Seriously clever. Valedictorian and everything. Molly had jokingly mentioned this while ruffling Nate's hair, and I had laughed along with her, thinking that she'd just been teasing him.

However, it turned out that this was true, as Nate literally was the smartest guy in their grade. I was beyond impressed, especially when I had tagged him as the laid-back, surfer boy type.

After nearly a full hour, Mason and I met up with Mrs Blanch again, who then took us to the uniform shop. It had been strange trying on a standard uniform worn by everyone, as throughout my entire schooling career, I had always just worn my own clothing.

As uniforms went however, it wasn't too bad.

The girls' clothing consisted of a black, pleated skirt which stopped just above the knee, black stockings, a long-sleeved, white blouse and a dark, navy blue sweater. For extra warmth, there were also scarfs, as well as long black coats which fell just below the knee. I hadn't gotten to see Mason's uniform, but I could imagine he wasn't too thrilled on having to follow a dress code.

After receiving all that we'd needed, Mason and I were then taken back to the dormitories where we were given time to unpack and get settled. Unpacking had been a tedious job and I could feel the tiredness from barely five hours of sleep starting to kick in.

However after finishing, I then forced myself to Skype my mom. I was only five hours ahead of Pennsylvania, so it was ten in the morning at home. And being a Saturday, I knew that my mom would be at home.

I spoke to her for thirty minutes, assuring my mother that I was safe and okay, before then calling Kate, who happened to be with both Beth and Adrianna, and caught up with them all.

Thus, around two hours later, my throat was dry from talking, and my limbs were heavy with exhaustation. Throughout that time, Molly had been continuously coming and going, before leaving again, mentioning something about finishing a drama assignment.

Despite only knowing her for half a day, I'd already picked up that she was big on drama. Her side of the wall was filled with vintage movie posters, program pamphlets from a various number of different plays, and actors ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Keira Knightly. I wondered if she wanted to be an actress herself.

With a sigh, I flopped down heavily onto my bed and kicked off my shoes. Almost instantly, my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

~~~

And that's how the remainder of my weekend went. Sleeping, waking up, attending meals, and then sleeping again. I had seen very little of Mason, who I was sure had also been catching up on his own rest, until that Sunday night.

After dinner, Molly had taken me to the main common room which sat in the middle of the large house, shared by both the boys and girls. It was big and spacious and comfortable, designed with modern couches and coffee tables. There was also a small kitchenette placed in the corner, as well as a large flat-screened television, a fireplace, and big, glass windows overlooking the quad outside.

At around eight o'clock, when Molly and I entered the common room, the others were already there, gathered on the floor and couches around the fireplace. It was the same group of people that had been at breakfast on the previous morning- Nate, Chris, Emily, JT and Mason.