A Home for the Holidays

Three: How rich are these people?

Throughout the entire car ride, April has tried to make friends with me. Lily cranked up the radio and both of them sang along, trying to get me to do the same. How they knew I love to sing, I'm not sure, but it was very difficult to resist their attempts. They even had snacks and drinks for me to have. At first, I didn't accept any of it, as I was still very wary of them, but by the end of the two hour trip I was filling my empty stomach with food.

I ate so many cupcakes that I almost threw up, but they were the best cupcakes I've ever tasted. Much better than the few I'd had at neighborhood birthday parties as a kid. I wondered if they were homemade, but didn't ask. I was determined to not tell Lily or April anything until I knew they were safe.

April laughs, watching me as I scarf down all of the sugary sweets. "Careful, Sang. You don't want to choke." I just look at her. "Here, try this." She hands me a cold bottle. I look down at it. It has a green logo that looks like some sort of mermaid and says coffee on it. I look back up at her, one eyebrow raised in question. "Don't worry, it's decaf. Once we introduce you, I'm sure you'll want to go straight to sleep." That's not what I'm worried about. I had just never had coffee before. Shrugging, I pop open the lid and take a sniff. It smells sweet and like something unidentifiable. I like the smell, so I try it. It's sweet, but also somehow bitter. It's really good, and I drink it greedily. April laughs again. "It's good, isn't it?"

I don't get the chance to answer her because just then, we come around a bend in the road and Lily announces "We're here." I turn to look at what she's talking about and gasp. Our car is cruising up the drive of what looks like a castle.

"That's Greyson Academy?" I ask incredulously. It looks more like Hogwarts!

"Yup," April replies, grinning. "Home sweet home!"

Lily laughs. "Do you like it, Sang?"

"Like it? I love it! It's beautiful!" And it is. The whole thing is made from gray stone and has lots of arches and large windows. It has four tall, circular turrets and my imagination goes crazy just thinking about what's in them. The front lawn is huge and sloping, with multiple flowerbeds bursting with colorful flowers, and the grounds continue far behind the castle, so far that I can't see where they end. In the distance, I can see some sort of flat, wood building, and I fleetingly wonder if it's horse stables. The rising sun in the background helps add to its eerie charm.

Overall, the whole thing looks less like something you'd find in the middle of South Carolina and more like something from a British TV show my mom likes to watch. Downtown Alley is what I think it's called?

"Wait until you see the inside!" April says, winking at me.

We pull up to a tall, wrought-iron gate and Lily presses a button on some sort of speaker. A moment later, a tinny voice says "toaster."

My eyebrows scrunch in confusion, but it only gets worse when Lily confidently replies "guacamole." To my surprise, the gate swiftly and silently swings open. I guess toaster and guacamole must be the key words, but why them? They're so random!

I'm still wondering why they used those words when we pull up in front of a large set of steps leading up to the huge oak front doors. Lily starts to open her door, but before she can get out, a man rushes up to her and helps her. "Thank you, William," she says, giving him a kiss on the cheek once she's standing. I watch in awe as they casually touch each other on the shoulder or the waist. It's obvious they're in love. I wish I could have a relationship like that.

After a few seconds of staring at each other, the man, William, turns to me. He's very tall, and kind of frightening. He has a large scar running from his chin to the bottom of his lip and his dark eyes and dark hair do nothing to detract from his tough guy persona. I find myself backing up a bit, but when he opens my door for me and smiles brightly, I relax.

He offers me his hand as I step out onto the cobblestones and I gladly take it. His hand is rough and calloused, presumably from hard work. "You must be Miss Sang Sorenson," he says sunnily. I nod.

"Yep, that's me," I confirm.

"Welcome to Greyson Academy, Miss Sang."

At that moment, April comes around the car with my dinky little suitcase. "Is this all you packed, Sang?" I shrug, embarrassed.

"Yeah. I don't have very many belongings." I can feel my cheeks heat up. Wasn't it normal for girls to pack a lot of stuff? I guess that just proves I'm not normal. I don't think I'll ever be normal.

William tries to take the suitcase from April, but she insists that she's got it, since it's so light. They start up the stairs, Lily holding William's hand, and I hesitantly follow. We reach the giant oak doors and I notice that they're intricately carved. The most noticeable carving is the letter A on both doors. It's in some sort of sloping cursive and is surrounded by what looks like a heart. Surrounding the A's are roses and other sorts of flowers. I even spot a few hearts hidden among them. Overall, it's beautiful.

Lily pushes open the doors and makes a grand sweeping gesture of the lobby. And grand it is. The floors are marble and so is the main staircase leading up to the upper floors. There are hallways leading to other rooms on each side of the staircase and a huge crystal chandelier hangs like a silent guard over it all. Despite the fact that it's probably four or five in the morning, people still mill around, all clearly having a job to do. I see people in all types of outfits. One girl is wearing a doctor's coat, another is in all camoflouge. There's even a guy running around in a ninja costume, mask and all. What kind of place is this?

"Alright, this is where we part ways," Lily exclaims, clapping her hands together. "Sang, April will escort you to your room. Hopefully we'll see each other soon." I nod. She walks away, William in tow, and I turn to April.

"Where to next?"

"Follow me," she says, nodding her head in the direction of the staircase. She leads me up to the third floor, telling me interesting facts about the academy on the way. Apparently the castle was built in 1800 by some rich European settlers and converted into a school in 1921 by a man named Richard Greyson. "Alright, so this hallway on the left is the girls dorms. There aren't very many of you, and most people already have room assignments, so I hope you don't mind that we put you by yourself." I shake my head.

"That's fine." Although I wouldn't mind making a friend, sleeping in the same room as a stranger would weird me out.

She stops at room 346, pulls a key out of her pocket, and opens the door. "Here's your room, Sang," she says, moving so I can see. It's amazing.

The only thought that runs through my head is 'how rich are these people?'

~*~*~*~*~
Alright, everyone, I did it! I UPDATED! Just like I promised! Although it's late in the day, my clock reads 11:41, so it's technically still July 1st!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the latest update! Let me know all your theories! I want to hear them!

Also, I will or publishing/updating other books in the next few days, so keep an eye out for them. (Better make it two, since two is always better than one)

Love you all,
Devin