104 Away

Get Settled

The tour lasted for so long, but for Marcie, parts of it flew by. Most of the classrooms were alike, two windows positioned on the walls facing the outside of the school, wooden polished floors, dusty desks and a couple of bookshelves. The one thing that Marcie was really, really, intrigued in was the library. It was beautiful, really.  Huge stone walls with high ceilings, grand pillars, and best of all, the shelves. They were made out of a strong wood, and the books ranged from all sizes. The shelves themselves were so tall that there were rolling ladders attached to each of them.  Towering frosted windows were attached to the walls, the glass planes fogged. 

After the tour was done, they were guided back into their dorms, the curfews addressed, as well as alarm times. Mrs. Abboud shut the door, leaving the tired girls to themselves. Peyton yawned and plunked down onto her bed, shoving her back pack to the floor and sprawling out like a starfish. "Jesus, today was tiring,"

 Marcie laughed, flinging herself onto her own bed. She immediately let out a yelp of pain, straightening up and rubbing her back.

"What's wrong?" Aubrey asked. Marcie shook her head, finding her voice, and searching the covers. Underneath a fold of fabric, was A Secret Garden. 

Ann raised an eyebrow. "Hey, isn't that the book from before?" Marcie's face was ashen. 

"Oh c'mon, we have to go back to the boys?" Aubrey asked, wrinkling her nose. "I do not want to see those dorms."

Marcie sighed, finally finding her voice. "I'm sure we won't have to, and I mean, won't we have dinner soon?" But there was doubt laced in her voice, and when she glanced at the clock hanging in their room, it was proven that it was probably too late for dinner. Eight o'clock. 

"I'm hungry. When will we eat do you think?" Ann sighed, rolling over.  As if on command, the door to their dorm burst open, making Marcie jump. Standing there was a tall man with dark hair.

"Ladies. Your food is here," He said in a gruff voice. From behind him, several women dressed in aprons hustled inside holding trays, and set a plate down on each bedside table, as well as a glass of water, then rushing out as quickly as they had come. Every girl was frozen in place. "My name is Mr. Lorien. Enjoy your meal." And just like that, the door closed and he was gone.

After a second or two, Marcie's shoulders relaxed and  Peyton leapt to her feet, a smile on her face. "Well, what do we have here?" She padded over the carpet and towards the tray on her bedside table. Looking closely at the tray her smile faded slightly. "It's just a ham sandwich and soup." She grumbled, but grabbed the tray thrusted it onto her lap and began to hungrily  devour the sandwich. 

Ann grabbed her spoon and soup and slowly ate that while Marcie and  Aubrey ate their sandwich. "I was so hungry-" Peyton said through a mouthful.                    

Marcie laughed, generally enjoying herself for a little while."Yeah, I can see that." Aubrey took a swig of water, then started towards her dresser. Marcie was numbly aware that Peyton and Ann were talking, but she was interested in what Aubrey was doing. 

Aubrey grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head, facing the opposite wall from Marcie and the rest of the girls. Marcie flushed and turned around as quickly as she could, hoping that Aubrey hadn't seen her.  But, it seemed she had.  I'm such and idiot I'm such and idiot-  Marcie yelled in her head. Aubrey stared at her for a few seconds through the mirror on her wardrobe, then she just looked down and pulled on her light pajama top and shorts. Then she got up and plunked herself onto the floor with the rest of their group, smiling again.   

A few minutes passed with the whole group laughing, and Marcie soon forgot everything bad that had happened that day,   and she let herself just enjoy her time with her new friends. 

Friends. I hope, anyway. Marcie thought, and then a sudden cloud of dark thoughts and doubt washed over her.  But just then, a tidal wave of tiredness came over her, and she forced herself up and onto her covers, unaware of the whole group still talking and laughing. Soon Marcie was asleep. 

And then she woke up to the sound of screaming.