the London Project

1.

Aurelia

I finally land in London.

And to my surprise, it's not raining. God probably listened to my prayers when I was begging him to please my hair, while holding my sister's fancy airwrap.

My best friend, Naiomi, facetimes me, and my favourite Taylor Swift song "London Boy" plays loudly in my pocket.

Everyone is staring at me. It's not the best timing to be in the limelight. Especially because I am in worn out black leggings and my older brother's hoodie that looks absolutely ginormous on me. And let's not start on my makeup, since I didn't have time to do it; I bet that my eye bags look absolutely ginormous.

"Hello there, you little Gnome." I answer the call, and her exhausted face greets me. She was probably sleeping- it's time for her afternoon nap after all.
"Fuck off Gataki, I'm 5'2. And stop flexing, you are like 5'6" She flips me off, showing me her new French mani. "Anyway, did you land?"
"Yes, I am literally looking for my four suitcases right now!" I growl. "Weren't you supposed to pick me up?"
"Yes, but I fell asleep. You forget about my afternoon naps. Jolie is on her way though- I made her write your name on a big paper sheet like they do in movies." She mumbles, her drowsy voice still present.
"You asked Jolie? I don't even know her! Why couldn't you ask Adrian? I've literally known the guy since the Summer camp of 2015!" I whisper-yell, readjusting my massive backpack.
"Because, he is on his run right now,  and quoting him "Whoever interrupts my hot boy run will be putted into the ground". Adrian is a type of person that will do anything that he promises, Aur. One time he asked me to do his homework in exchange for him to cook us every meal for a week, and he made us the best dishes for 14 days, not seven!"
"What about the other guy that we are in the dorm with, that I met on face time?" I ask her, opening a granola chocolate bar.

It tastes horribly- God forbid my older almond sister Morgan for taking over the snack shopping chore, because now I live off granola bars, vegan ice cream for people that are lactose intolerant (it tastes like plain ice with a hint of sugar) and rice chips. I think that I lost at least 150 ounces in the last three weeks.

"Kai? He is at his internship. You won't believe how much he got annoying about the whole "I want to become a businessman" thing. He literally started wearing suites when we are going out, but I still love him, as a friend of course."she says, even though Kayden is her ex that cheated on her, but marking her words "it's not my fault that I attract red flags."Apparently they are now on good terms, also known as 'giving every girl that breathes same air as him the death stare' "But it's so exciting that you will come to Willow Bay Academy!"

The Willow Bay Academy is the best ranked boarding school in London. I have been trying to get into it for the past two years, and finally before the start of my junior year of high school I got an acceptance email.

Naomi was enrolled in this school since her freshman year and I was really excited for her, but also a little bit of jealous since I am the one that showed her this school and their educational program.

I spot my suitcases.

What can I say? The Great War is over.

"Call you later I found my suitcases!" I hang up in the middle of her story about Jolie's attempt at making her favourite Korean dish.

~

A beautiful brunette is holding a banner with my name written on it, except with a mistake, since I am sure my name is not spelled "Arulelia".

"Hello there, I am Aurelia!" I come up to her getting a closer look at her deep blue eyes, her sleeked back ponytail which either meant that she is into the new "clean girl" aesthetic or that she didn't have time to wash her long dark hair, but judging by the tiny tattoos on her arms, I believe it's just a greasy hair day.
"Oh hi! My name is Jolie." She gives me a big hug and a smile. I catch a glimpse of her turquoise braces that fit right in perfectly with her perfect wide smile.
"Not to be rude or anything but my name isn't spelt like that, it's A-u-r-e-l-i-a." I correct her, then instantly feeling bad because of her devastated face.
"Oh, sorry. I've had dyslexia since I was four, so I can't really spell that well." she murmured, putting the banner away and throwing it into the nearest trash can.
"It's okay, my mother had it." I reassured her. My throat dries all of the sudden and I feel out of breath.