Three Blind Mice

Chapter One: Amani

The walls seemed to close in around me as I ducked through the crowded corridors.

"Terrorist," a boy muttered.

Others laughed at his tasteless joke. I ignored him and continued pushing my way through the throng of people. There weren't normally this many people in the halls before class. What was happening? Why was it so crowded? And why did I feel like a gazelle in a den of lions?

Suddenly, the crowd parted like the Red Sea had for Moses. I took a shuddering breath as the three people of my nightmares appeared in the opening: China, Hannah, and Renee. They sauntered towards me, their perfect features contorting in a way that felt evil. They giggled as they surrounded me, circling like vultures over roadkill.

"Look at the little terrorist," Renee, the smallest of the three, sang.

"The poor thing looks terrified," Hannah said in a mocking voice that most people would use to speak to infants as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, little mosquito," China said, a jagged smile on her face, "we'll take care of you."

They leaned in, their voices morphing into an annoying buzzing racket that sounded a lot like my alarm clock. Oh! My alarm clock! Crap, Amani, wake up!

I shot upright, clutching my sheets to my chest as I took ragged, heaving breaths. My bed was soaked in sweat. I glanced at the clock, a fresh wave of panic knocking me upside the head as I realized I was running late for class.

I jumped out of bed and ran to the adjoined bathroom. The door stood wide open and steam poured out of it. Apparently my roommate had decided to boil herself alive this morning. I was just pulling my long, black hair up when Colleen came prancing into the room. Her glasses were askew, her golden hair was braided into two french braids that came to her shoulders, and she clutched a cup of coffee in each hand. One of which she passed to me.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "Bless you, Colleen!"

She laughed and stood in the doorway, watching as I alternated between sipping coffee and pinning up my hair.

As usual, Colleen looked flawlessly nerdy. She wore an old, faded Dr. Who t-shirt and a pair of black leggings. A Harry Potter backpack was tossed over her shoulder, as usual and a bracelet noting her as a Pisces adorned her wrist. Her checkered Vans completed the ensemble, adding a bit of style to the blatant display of nerd. But, in all honesty, Colleen could have worn a trash bag and still looked dashing. She had the face and body of a model and the soul of a nerdy artist.

Colleen had been chosen - by the staff, of course - to room with me during our first year at Arford's Boarding School, a prestigious institution that was housed in an old Scottish castle. We had become close friends, bonding over a love of books and hatred of eating meat. Well, only pork in my case, but still.

"How'd you sleep?" Colleen asked, her English accent making the words sound even prettier than they had a right to.

"Not very well," I admitted, "but I'm sure it'll be better tonight."

"Are you not coming to the party?"

I laughed, "absolutely not."

"You really should get out more, Amani."

"I'm perfectly fine. I need to finish the last book of Harry Potter, anyhow," I told her, "I'll just curl up on my bed and read until you get back."

"Oh, but come on, Amani. I can understand you not wanting to come to a party hosted by our fellow students, but this was organized by the teachers!"

"I'm good, Colleen," I said in a decisive tone.

She sighed, "alright. But it won't be the same without you. There are never enough nerds there."

I laughed and hurried back into the main part of the dorm.

"You'll have Noah with you," I reminded her.

"That's true," she said, perking up immediately.

I grabbed my leather messenger bag off of my desk and threw it across my chest. I almost sank through the floor thanks to the unholy amount of books it was currently supporting.

"Got it?" Colleen asked as she followed me out the door.

"Totally," I grunted.

I heard her chuckle behind me.

Our dormitories were a new add on to the campus. The original dorms had actually been within the castle, but as the student body grew, they needed more room in the castle itself. So, a year before I began my schooling here, they made four new buildings that now serve as housing. Unfortunately, these new dorms are quite a walk from the actual palace.

The bell rang across campus and Colleen sped up, passing up as she did the soccer mom strut across the perfectly manicured lawn, abandoning the sidewalk. I, on the other hand, was stuck firmly in the waddle position thanks to the weight strapped across my midsection.

"Come on, Amani!" She called back to me.

"Coming! I'm trying!"

She looped back around and grabbed a stack of books out of my bag, taking some of the weight off of me.

"That better?" She asked.

"Much," I replied as I jogged to keep up with her.

Her legs were much, much, much longer than mine.

We tore across the campus, rushing to get to the castle doors before they were locked. There was a very good chance that if they locked the doors before we got there, we would miss all of our classes before lunch (when the doors would be unlocked again). Up ahead, I could see Mrs. Briggs and Mr. Campbell attempting to push the heavy doors shut. Fortunately for us, the old doors had never been replaced with more modern, lightweight ones.

"Wait!" Colleen shrieked, waving her arms in the air.

They glanced up, laughter sparkling in their eyes when they saw us. She slid through the small gap between the doors and I was right behind her. Although, granted, my chest did almost get stuck. We slid to a stop in the entrance hall, gasping for breath. I bent over with my hands on my knees.

"Why is it always you two?" Mrs. Briggs asked with a chuckle.

"Because," Colleen began, "Amani likes to sleep in. And I'm a good friend."

She gestured at me as she spoke.

"Don't... don't blame this on... me..." I panted, "you... should've woken me up."

I straightened up, my hands now on my hips and glared at her. She stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes. Colleen's trademark reaction to... well, literally anything.

"You two had better head to class," Mr. Campbell said.

I nodded and grabbed my books from Colleen.

"Indeed we should," Colleen murmured, leading the way up the winding staircase that led to the second floor.