Life Within The Halls

Chapter 1: "First Day of the New Semester"

LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Gideon

Monday, February 9th, 7:00 a.m.

In my dreams, I heard a cry for help: "Gideon, please!" The desperate plea of the scholarship girl from my class dragged me back to the Ship House, where the school night party went wrong two years ago. Night after night, I relived the event, feeling guilty every morning.

Then, one Monday, things were different. When dawn broke, I jolted awake without the usual tremors. The nightmares, once so vivid and consuming, now felt distant, fading into the recesses of my mind.

I forced myself out of bed with a groggy head, squinting against the light seeping through the curtains. With a quick check of the bedside clock, the reality of the looming school day hit me like a ton of bricks—I had just an hour to get prepared. I shuffled hastily to the bathroom, feeling like a sleep-deprived zombie in need of a caffeine infusion. Even though I had a foggy mind, I was ready to take on whatever the first day of the new semester had in store for me.

After a rushed shower and skipping breakfast, as usual, I grabbed my backpack and dashed out of the house. I headed to the driveway to wait for our family driver to bring the car out of the garage and take me to school.

"How was your night?" the driver asked as he pulled the car in front of me, reaching over to open the backseat door from his seat.

"Quite good," I gave him the normal response to such a question, easing into the backseat.

The journey from my house to school typically took thirty minutes, but today being Monday, traffic added an extra ten minutes to our commute.

As we approached the school, I glanced out the window, taking in the sounds and atmosphere of the campus. Despite being away for six weeks, everything seemed unchanged. Except for the freshly painted white walls gleaming under the morning sun.

Stepping out of the car in my uniform, I was welcomed by the sight of three flags fluttering in the breeze. At first, there were only two—the school's and the United States'—but now there was a new one for the school's 30th anniversary.

I looked up at the rooftop, and it still seemed to touch the sky, just as it always did. That was a place loners spent most of their time. Though I wasn't totally a loner, when I wasn't hanging out with my best friend, I would often find myself there, catching crisp air. It was a cool refuge from the noisy world below.

Returning after the winter break felt refreshing as I walked through the main entrance. Finally, some time away from home. But there was a downside—I would be stuck in the same class with two people on my blacklist: the class president and the most hyped-up guy on Instagram.

The hallways pulsed with the energy of students as I strolled towards my locker. Amidst the high-fives and animated chatter, their happiness at being back from the break was unmistakable. And who could blame them? Most of them were rich kids with seemingly no cares in the world—perhaps just some trivial relationship issues, but nothing truly serious.

I retrieved my locker card from my bag and held it up to the card reader, watching as it clicked open. After placing a couple of books, I gave it a solid bang to shut it close.

It didn't take a prophet to know the staircase would be filled with gossip murmurs—it was a regular thing. I wasn't particularly fond of elevators, but faced with the prospect of enduring a melodramatic roller-coaster, I chose the smooth ascent to the third floor. The mere thought of being bombarded with stories of heartbreaks and fleeting romances from the break made my stomach churn.