Maraschino 🍒 (gxg)

4

There was a loud bang! on the door. Chelsea jolted upright, heart pounding in her chest; she looked over to Carlie's bed and saw that it was empty, pillows fluffed and covers pulled.

"Ten minutes until breakfast," a voice said from the hall; she could hear foot traffic and tired conversations outside the door.

She lied in bed for a moment, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and stretching. She had no idea when Carlie snuck out, and wondered vaguely why she didn't wake her up. If it was for a midnight walk through the school, she was certain Carlie would have made her join, but at the same time, she was glad she got to stay asleep.

With as much energy as she could muster, Chelsea hit the floor, scouring through all of her dresser drawers for her uniform. She threw her clothes on the bed, crinkling her nose at the wrinkly button-up shirt and itchy plaid skirt before reluctantly slipping them on. She grabbed her backpack hanging off the door handle and stepped outside.

There was a sea of students, all dressed in the same uniform, huddling towards the stairs leading down to the lobby. It being her first day, and the only person she knew being gone before she even woke up, Chelsea joined the mob and pushed her way to the front, hoping to be ignored by everyone and make it to first period unnoticed. A couple of glances were shared her way, but thankfully, nobody tried to spark a conversation, and Chelsea finally let go of the breath she was holding once she entered the mess hall.

She scanned the cafeteria, looking for Carlie or Stephanie or Manny; none of them were around. Chelsea rolled her eyes; what kind of roommate and welcoming committee were they?

There was a spot in the corner closest to the doors that Chelsea sat at, toying on her cell phone and poking holes in her bubbling oatmeal. Up until now, she hadn't seriously considered what classes would be like here -- she was more preoccupied with coming up with a plan to get out of there as soon as possible. Is it like a normal school, with English and math and Biology lessons? What if it was secretly a religious school where all they taught was bible passages and how to balance a checkbook? What could she expect?

The bell rang through the cafeteria. "Class will start in 10 minutes. Please proceed to your respective homerooms." Mr. Norris' voice reverberated through the room, under the rustle and noise of students grabbing their books and heading outside. Chelsea waited until most of the room was empty before sauntering out.

The sun was starting to rise behind her dorm building, and all she wanted to do was skip class. It wasn't fair that she couldn't have the freedom of playing hooky when she wanted; she suspected security would catch her before she could even grab her longboard.

Or would they?

She decided, screw it. She wouldn't find out how tight their security is unless she antagonized them a bit.

Chelsea broke free from the crowd rushing in the same direction, like salmon traveling upstream. She made her way back to the dorm practically unscathed and unnoticed, and reached for her longboard under her bed once she entered her room. Carlie was still nowhere to be found; nothing moved since Chelsea left this morning, indicating she never made it back. Again, she pushed the thought off to the side, determining that she's grown enough to know when she should and shouldn't be present in her own dorm room.

She also decided to change back into her regular clothes -- a Thrasher hoodie, ripped jeans, and Vans almost as old as herself. Although the uniform skirt would have been roomier, she didn't want today to be the first day she'd skateboard in anything other than jeans.

Instead of leaving the same way she came in, Chelsea waited a couple more minutes in her room, until she heard absolutely no movement, then quietly cracked the door open. Nobody was outside. She tiptoed her way to the back entrance of the dorms, where there was a small sidewalk wrapping from the porch to the front of the building. When she reached the front of the building, she threw her skateboard on the ground and jumped on.