Hold My Hand (GXG)

My arms hung limp at my side as my mother hugged me. “Be good, okay?”

“I’ll miss you, Hara.” She pulled back a little to look at my face. I just scowled at her tear stained face. Isn’t she the most caring mother around everyone else in the world. “I wish we didn’t have to do this.”

I stared at her blankly. She didn’t have to do this. She didn’t have to put me here and keep me away from the only person that ever understood me.

“Mrs.Thomas,” the Headmistress, a stout old woman with greying hair and tired eyes interrupted. “We will take good care of your daughter.”

My mother smiled. “I guess it’s time to go, huh?” She kissed the top of my head and walked to the car.

“Don’t leave me here.” I wanted to say.“Don’t abandon me.”

But I didn’t and she just walked away, looking back at me once more to wave goodbye. I wanted to at least smile at her, and I would’ve done at least that if it wasn’t for what happened this morning.

“I don’t want to go!” I shouted from the top of the staircase, kicking the suitcase back in the direction of my room.

“I can’t deal with this.” My mother said, beckoning my step-father.She had been decent for the past two weeks. “Get her suitcase please and take her book away. She’ll follow.”

Reyansh, my step-father, shot me a sympathetic smile and made his way up the stairs as my mother left the room.

“Six more months and you’ll be eighteen.” He whispered once my mother was out of ear-shot. “I’ll get you out then, even if she threatens me with divorce.”

I didn’t want to smile at him, but I did. He cared. She had cared at some point too, before my bastard of a father left. Reyansh came into our lives a year after that, 2 years ago, and became the only one I could depend on. I knew they were unhappy and I know he only stayed to take care of me.

“Thanks, Rey.”

“Is that what you call your step-dad?” He joked.

“You’re closer to me in age than my mother. It’d be a little weird to call you that if we ever went out.” He was 28, 11 years older than me and 20 years younger than me mother. She just wanted a pretty young toy and she found him.

“Now,” the Headmistress said, catching my attention. “Are you ready to meet your new family?”

She hadn’t done anything to me, I reminded myself, and I don’t have to fuck this up before it even begins.

“Yes.” I said, shooting her the best smile I could muster up in that moment.

We walked through the tall, dark oak doors, me dragging my suitcase behind me, into a simple room with couches and tables littered about. “This is the lobby. Whenever your mother comes to visit, you’ll meet her here. I wanted to let you explore a little, but it’s already quite late. How about I just take you to your room?”

I nodded. She led me through another and into a garden. I was awestruck and my anger dissipated for a quick second. There was a stone pathway leading to a pond with a marble statue of Cupid and shooting an arrow in the middle. The pond stood in the centre of five buildings, including the one I had just left. The garden was filled with bright blue hydrangea and white petunias that glowed under the moonlight.

“It really is beautiful isn’t it?” The Headmistress asked and I just nodded, a little embarrassed at having been caught admiring what I was suppose to hate. She chuckled and pointed to the building ahead to a small, light grey clock tower with a black roof and white clock with gold hands. “That is the clock tower, as you may have guessed. Absolutely off limits. The building to the right of itis the dormitory and the dining hall is next to it. On the left is the academic block.”

“Why is the clocktower off limits?” I asked still not having looked away from it.

“Well,” she started with a slightly uneasy tone. “That’s just the way it’s been. Let’s get you to your dorm quickly so you can unpack and join the rest of the girls for dinner.”

The other buildings weren’t all that every remarkable. All of them had the same brown walls and dark brown roof, only varying in size.

We headed down the path towards the dorms. We entered the building and I was surprised to find a warm living room set up. The walls were white, with a paintings and pictures with smiling faces hung up here and there. The was a big fire place on one side, with a bookshelf next to itand a flat screen TV on the other. A few been bags and couches were cluttered about. It really wasn’t the creepy, haunted dorm I was expecting. “This is the living room and the door next to the TV leads to the pantry. There’s a game room upstairs. You’re free to use all these facilities and the school library outside of school hours, but you will have to adhere to the bedtime.”

Of course there’s a catch, but I don’t think anyone would really realise if I snuck out past the ‘bedtime’. “That’s nice.”

She led me through another set of tall dark oak wood doors and into a long corridor. “We usually don’t accept students in the middle of the year, but we made an exception in your case.” Because of the large donation my mother to get rid of me. “And because of that, you won’t have a roommate, at least not until the new school years begins, but don’t worry. You’ll really only have to be in your room after the bedtime, and that’s only at 12.”

“That’s alright. I don’t mind the privacy.” I really didn’t. After being under the watchful eyes of my mother for 3 months, without even a door, I really need it.

We went up three sets of stairs. “The youngest are downstairs. There are three dorm parents, one on each floor, except this one.”

On the right side of the staircase was the doors to the a fairly large balcony, from what I could see. The other side held a long corridor lined with doors, about 10 on each side and on in the very centre, and the end of hall. “This will be your room. Why don’t you just freshen and meet me downstairs? I’ll take you to the dinning hall for dinner. Here is your key.”

She left right after giving me the key, and throwing a somewhat disturbed smile at me. She walked with a relatively fast pace, like she couldn’t wait to get away from me. Had mother told her about why I’m here?

I turned the key in my hand. It was long and plain, with a ’31’ inscribed on the top. No point delaying this.

A chill ran through me as soon as I opened the door. It wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t even bad. Straight ahead, there was a window, hidden by a pale blue curtains with an alcove with two cushions on it. On either side of the window, there was a bed, a study desk next to it and a wardrobe opposite the bed. It wasn’t bad. The white walls and light brown furniture honestly did make it warm, but I still felt uncomfortable, like someone was there with me, watching me. I guess that was to be expected with a new place, especially a boarding school.

Therewas a door on the right side with a full length mirror, leading to the bathroom and I freshened up quickly and made my way downstairs.

I heard hushed whispers as I neared the living room.

“…with a ghost!” I heard an unfamiliar voice say.

I entered to find a woman that looked exactly like the headmistress, only younger.

“That was quick.” The Headmistress commented. “This is Mary, one of the dorm parents and my daughter.”

“Hello.” I said, a little awkwardly. “I’m Hara.”

“Hello, Hara.” She said, giving me a warm smile. “It’s nice to meet you. Come along now. I’m sure you’re hungry. It’s already quite late.”

I followed behind them as they walked into the dining hall. It was a regular school dining hall with circle tables scattered about. They led me to a table of girls that seemed to be around my age.

“Hello girls.” She said addressing them as inquisitive eyes landed upon me. They shot me quick smiles and a wave. “This is Hara. I’m going to leave her with you. Please help her get acquainted.”

“Hey! I’m Myra.” Said a girl with caramel hair and wide doe eyes.

“I’m Kajal and that’s Saachi, my sister.” Another said, introducing herself and her very identical twin, with the same, long black hair, black eyes and tan skin. There’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to tell them apart.

I must’ve stared for too long because Saachi pointed to her eyebrow and said “I have a cut on my right eyebrow. You can tell us apart that way.”

I shot her a sheepish smile.

“And I’m Kayla.” Said the only other girl at the table. She was…handsome, with a strong roman nose and an almost chiselled jaw. It was honestly attractive in a very confusing way. “I’m sure you’re hungry. I want more cake. I’ll come get food with you.”

“Hey, before they we go back and they freak you out, I just wanted to tell you not to believe anything they say.” I shot her a confused look. “They’re just very imaginative.”

“Okay.” I replied, still confused. We got out food quickly and went back to the table.

“So, have you heard the rumours?” Myra asked, her eyes shinning with excitement. I looked at Kayla and she just rolled her eyes.

“What rumours?” I asked.

Myra gave me a satisfied look. “Not to creep you out or anything, but you’re staying in a dead girl’s room.”

“Isn’t this place a hundred years old? Of course I’m staying in a dead girl’s room.” I tried joking, not really wanting to what she was going to say.

“She’s got a point.” Kajal said and Saachi snickered.

Myra stuck her tongue out at them. “You’re staying in Aari’s room. She was a student about 50 years ago. She jumped off the clocktower and they lost her body on the way to hospital. They say that she still roams the school looking for her missing body.”

I’ve never been a big believer in the paranormal, this thing isn’t still the kind of thing you want to hear on your first day.

“Well then. I hope I see you tomorrow.” I said, with an award chuckle.

The rest of dinner went fine and the girls introduced me to a few more people. They helped me unpack quickly before dragging me off to the game room to play pool. It was way past that alleged strict bedtime the Headmistress was talking about by the time I went to bed and I was genuinely too tried to be scared of Aari. I was dead the second my head hit the pillow.