Noel (completed!)

Chapter 1. Noel

This is it. I'm finally here, a place where I'm hoping to be able to call home. Stepping off the train the first thing I notice is the air is so much calmer but feels more alive than my previous home. From the time I was 4 years old I lived in the same group home, just praying for a way out. I'm now 16 and heading to a new school for my junior year of high school.

My name is Noel. The state gave me the last name Smith, only because they had no other name to give me. I never use it, if I can help it, because Noel Smith the orphan is not who I am. At least that's what I tell myself. 'Noel' came from the locket I basically permanently wear around my neck. A beautiful, heavy silver locket with only one word inscribed on the front of it "Noel." I only ever took it off for swimming or showering. Even sleeping in it.

I worked hard to gain a scholarship to the prestigious Lincoln Heights private school, once I was accepted I worked my butt off to keep my grades high. Now, there was no looking back, not that there was much to look back to. My life up to this point had been pretty bland. I had a few friends and did well in school. Never really got into trouble and did as I was told.

I push my thoughts aside and step out of the train station. This was going to be good for me, I was determined. I didn't want to always be the 'orphan girl', I want to make something of my life. This was just the first step. I already had a bus ticket purchased to take me to the school dorm before even getting on the train, now all I had to do was wait for it to arrive.

I glanced at the clock which read 7:46, I had another 14 minutes until my bus should arrive. The bus stop was crowded with people coming and going, I found an empty bench and sat down to rest. I closed my eyes and thought of Thomas.

Thomas is the one person, aside from the other orphans, that I'm really going to miss. It was difficult to leave without him. He was so fun and witty. I always had a good time with him. He watched over me, keeping me safe, even though he got himself into fights and other trouble constantly. I'm not sure how old Thomas is. We met when I was 12 and he had looked to be around 20, here I am 16 and he still looks about the same. Maybe he had just seemed older to the younger me, I'm not really sure. I had secretly always hoped he would ask me out despite the age gap but it never happened. Chalk it up to a teenagers fantasy I suppose. In reality though, he was more like a big brother to me.

I pictured his smile whenever he'd laugh, stunning all the way down to his perfect white teeth. The way his dark green eyes would sparkle. He had a sharp jawline and always dressed very tidy. Dark brown, almost black hair, that was always combed. Never any facial hair. With a light olive skin tone. He stood about 6 foot compared to my 5' 6". He was beautiful. I told him that once which only made him laugh.

Thomas was the only person to see me off. He had hugged me tight and planted a kiss on the top of my head. When he looked at me his eyes held sorrow, even though he had a smile plastered on his face. He handed me a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

"You be safe, sweet Noel, if you ever need anything call me. I'm serious." Thomas had simply said with sincerity dripping off his tone. I had waved goodbye to him before getting on the train.

The clock tolling 8:00 forced me to open my eyes to look for the bus. It wasn't here yet but I could see it coming down the curvy road. Once the bus reached the stop I got on and handed my ticket to the driver. The old man nodded me past him for me to take my seat. After everyone was on the bus started moving again.

We made several stops but I didn't pay much attention, just focused on the beautiful scenery passing by my window. Where I'd come from everything was so flat, you could see for miles on a good day when the corn wasn't up. Here you couldn't see far but what you could see was beautiful.

It was nearing the end of September so the leaves were changing colors. I was used to seeing the beautiful colors back home, but it was nothing compared to here. The mountains rolling with the beautiful oranges, Browns, and reds was truly amazing. I could smell autumn in the air. Helped raise my spirits to the point where I felt hopeful for my future for once in my life.

"Lincoln heights stop." The bored sounding man grumbled out.

A few students who looked similar to my age stood up as I did. We all grabbed our bags and got off the bus. The other kids must not be new because they took off walking after exciting the bus. I, however, was rooted to my spot. I gazed at the school awestruck.

Lincoln heights school and dorms buildings had to easily be the neatest architecture I had ever seen. It look like a castle. The school building and dorms were all made out of large gray stone. The doors were huge and made out of solid wood. Felt like I was stepping back in time or into a fairy tale. I half expected a moat and draw bridge.

Once I finished staring at the building, soaking it all in, I pulled out my campus map. Excited, yet nervous, I followed the map to the dorms. Took a few wrong turns but eventually ended up in the right place.

On the outside the dorms looked the same as the other buildings. Inside was all lit up by simple yet elegant chandeliers. The floor was all polished hard wood. The walls were all painted warm inviting colors. The first room I walked into was similar to a living room. There were several comfortable looking brown leather couches surrounding a fireplace.

There were a few students sitting on the couches but they didn't even glance my way. Didn't bother me because I knew I needed to find my room and unpack my bags. However, I was surprised to see both girls and boys. I wasn't sure if that meant that we all stayed in here together or not. Either way it didn't matter much to me.

I switch the maps in my hand to the one of the dorm to find my room. I was in room 323 on the third floor. Followed the map up the staircases and around the halls til I found the room. I was out of breath so I set my stuff down and searched for my room key.

The key itself was pretty neat, looked like a skeleton key that should belong to an ancient house. I unlocked my door and dragged all of my bags inside. The room was dark so I fumbled around for a key switch. Turning the light on I was surprised by how updated the room was.

The room I walked into was a small living room type area with a couch, tv, and small table with chairs. I could see glass sliding door on the far side of the room which led to a balcony with iron bars. To the right was a small open kitchen. To the left there were two doors. I knocked on both before going into the room closest to me. It was empty.

The room was painted gray with dark gray carpet. A comfortable looking bed was in the center of the room with a wooden dresser, bookshelf, and vanity along the wall. There was two doors along the left of the room. One was a humongous walk in closet, the other a very nice bathroom.

Both of the rooms were empty so I brought my stuff into the room closest to the door. I quickly unpacked the little I had and flopped down on the bed. Seemed like a dream to be in a room this nice! Although, apparently I was suppose to have a roommate and whoever that was, wasn't here yet. I just hoped we would get along.

I slipped into pajamas and got into the bed. So much excitement over my new possibilities danced in my head. I was looking forward to the next day already. I would have a chance to explore since my first day of classes wasn't until the day after tomorrow. I started to doze off with hopeful dreams of my future.