Delia

There we were, standing in the bitter cold, rain trickling off our umbrellas as they gave their speeches in the midst of the burial. Not many people attended but the atmosphere wasn’t any less tense. Her parents scowled at our teachers, how they allowed this to happen was beyond me. “In loving memory of Lily, she was the best niece I ever had,” her aunt wiped away her tears. Gravestones ran on for miles but we were focused on this specific one, Lilian Jiang. But this isn’t the beginning of the story.

...

“Pack your bags, I want you out by tonight” my mother was losing her composure. She was fed up with my constant misconduct and finally decided to ship me off. She gave me a lengthy lecture as to why physical fighting could ruin the family name. “If you’re not gonna let me explain, can I go now, I’d like to get a head start on packing” I interrupted her with a bitter voice. She stared at me for a few seconds before dismissing me. I can’t say she’d always been like this but money sure taints the heart. Well I guess I was at fault too but every action requires a reaction right?

When I got to my room one of the maids was already packing my suitcase. “Um, I’ll take it from here, Adelaine” I pursed my lips. “But your father-” I shushed her immediately. “I’m not five okay? You can go take a break” I patted her back before she hurried away. Come to think of it my mother never told me the name of the school, all I knew was that it was in England. I stared at myself in the mirror, My sepia brown toned skin ridden with deep red marks. I washed my face and put ointment on the bruises. After packing my toothbrush and other necessities, I decided to go ask my mother about the school.

While heading down the hall I noticed hushed words coming from the maids’ headquarters. I pressed my ear against the door. “Did you hear about the little Miss having to go to that wretched school!” one complained. “Timothy Mikaelson right, such a frightening case, you remember what happened when you know who attended-” suddenly another staff member came clicking down the hall and I hurried out of there. Their conversation did pique my interest and at least I didn’t have to go ask my mother.

...

A few hours had passed and someone knocked at my door. “Brush your hair and get downstairs the cab is waiting” my mother spoke bluntly. “Ah yes because brushing my curls is just the best idea” I knew what she meant, but I wanted to irritate her. “Fine, comb it, and get your ass downstairs” she slammed the door. I knew I should’ve tied up my hair for the fight, due to its texture it was now filled with knots. I could already feel the pulling at my scalp while detangling before I had even started. I made sure to pack extra hair ties just in case.

My parents stood in front of the taxi and bid me farewell. It was hardly anything heartfelt, just simple goodbyes. Soon enough I was on a plane to England, my lifestyle uprooted within minutes. I decided to do some research on the school to get a gist of things. To my surprise, the website and many news articles were impressive. Perfect grades, too many scholarships to count and the principal was more than qualified. Considering it was located in a small town the ratings were off the charts. The complete opposite of the way the maids perceived it to be.

Somewhere along the way I fell asleep and a flight attendant had to wake me up. At the airport a girl dressed in the school uniform; burgundy pleated skirt, white button up and a black and red tie, picked me up. “Macy Grey, I’ll be your guide for today” the girl greeted me. She had a pin straight, brown bob and a polite stance. “Cordelia Cruz, you can call me Delia” I greeted and shook her hand. She led me to a car and they took me to a large, open landscape, only occupied by two buildings.

It had a Victorian-esque style, completely made out of stone. One building was significantly larger, which I assumed to be the dormitory, and many of the windows had burglar proofing installed. The school was quite a way out of town, greenery and fields surrounded it. The girl led me inside the main building to what seemed to be the common room. It was decorated in streamers of the school colors and tapestries along with seating areas and a fireplace.

“This is the common room, down the hall there are a bunch of spare storage rooms and up the right stairs are the girls’ dorms and left is boys, downstairs is restricted, I’ll lead you to your room in a sec” her voice seemed exaggeratingly perky. Just then a taller woman with sharp features came through the entrance and greeted us. “I’m Jane Mikaelson, your new headmistress. It is a pleasure to meet you and I hope you can gain a lot of experiences from here” she took my hand firmly. She had a thick British accent just like Macy’s, but hers was more strenuous.

After our greetings Macy led me upstairs to the girls’ dorms. The walls were covered in crimson velvet and portraits of scenery, along with the occasional picture frame of a past headmistress or master. I knocked on the door three times but there was no answer. “Well good luck Thalia’s a handful, she’s fun though” My guide chuckled before heading down the hall. I pressed my ear to the door and heard some familiar songs blasting throughout the room.

“Hello!” I shouted while knocking on the door. I heard some commotion and the music cut off quickly. She fiddled with the door for a while before it swung open. A girl dressed in nothing but a bathrobe and a hair turban answered. “Hi! My bad I couldn’t hear you” she interlocked her fingers and looked at the floor. The bright turquoise face mask was already distracting and I could smell heavy incense fumes coming from inside. I could already tell she was going to be an interesting roommate.

“Thalia Sanchez, nice to meet you!” Her accent was far from British, maybe latin. Even through the robe her curvy figure showed, her skin was tan and her face held softer features. “You can call me Delia” I smiled at her, she lived up to what Macy had said. She dashed to the bathroom to wash off her face mask and change.

I sat on the bed located to the right of the room and began observing. She had Rosalia and Victoria Monet posters at her bed head. The walls matched the burgundy color scheme and we each had shelves to set up our stuff. Thalia had succulents and picture frames of some of her friends. “Sorry for the wait, so how’s it going?” She asked as she tied up her lengthy hair into a ponytail and brushed down her thin bangs. “I haven’t really seen anything, where is everyone anyways?” I questioned as I recalled not seeing anyone in the common room.

“Girl it’s like eight am, everyone’s in class, I got the day off for roommate duties though” she grinned. I realized I still needed to get used to the different time zones. I hadn’t even noticed the time. “So you gonna show me the fun places or what?” I smirked and she grabbed my wrist heading out of the dorm. She led me outside and behind the school. “This is where people...meet their lovers” she rolled her eyes as she pointed at a secluded corner where the wall was covered in vines.

We walked further out near the forest to reveal a campsite area. Bean Bag chairs were set out and fairy lights were hung around. A fire pit circled with logs was in the middle of it. “Hang out area, every Saturday night, we get drunk and hook up,” she explained. “Hold on, isn’t this a top tier school?” I shook my head in disbelief. “Oh dude you really think a school full of ex-delinquents is ‘top tier’ , the star student bull is a cover, even though most of us get good grades, class is strict FYI, but weekends are the best as long as no one catches us” she winked with a smile. This girl’s smile was surprisingly devilish for such a baby face.

She led me to the school building, everyone looked so diligent through the windows. We visited the art room, dance room, the pool and even the boys’ dorm. All that walking around the compound tired me out. I sank into my bed once we returned. “Wow this school is massive, seems interesting though, might have to stick around” I laughed sarcastically. “Duh, just wait, things can get pretty interesting” she rolled over in her bed.

“Oh I wanted to ask you, you’re not from around here are you?” I hugged my pillow. “I don’t have one of those stuffy accents, I’m from Colombia, my family moved here about a year ago and sent me here” she explained. “Wow what are you in for?” I sat up and decided to get ready to shower. “I got into trouble with some teachers, smoked and drank, you know” she scoffed. She didn’t seem like too much of a display case so I didn’t press any further. “Well I’m here for fighting, typical” I shrugged in hopes of not creating tension. “No kidding, I saw those bruises on your face, did you win girl?” She questioned jokingly. “Obviously” I rolled my eyes playfully before entering the shower. Nothing impressed me yet but it seemed like this place had way more to offer than meets the eye.