A Chance for More

Allison The mist gathering on the glass pane obstructed my eyesight on more than one occasion. The mist would build after the limo had traveled for a time and I would only discover this when I could no longer see the lovely mountaintop. The vista, even though it was from a moving automobile, left me utterly breathless. The lovely green slopes and mountains, coated in areas of white snow appeared to continue on and on. There were some enormous mountains that I could make out in the distance, which looked to be entirely coated with the pristine white covering. As hard as I tried, I couldn't manage to drag myself away from the window. I hardly heard when I was being addressed by my driver. “We'll be there soon Miss Mitchell.” “Thank you, Roger.” I had given up on attempting to have him call me Allison, like everyone else. He was always very formal, even though he had me call him Roger. I got a glimpse of his beaming face in the rear-view mirror. I wasn't shocked, my obsession would delight anybody. But I felt terrific, I felt great. I was finally bringing my life under control and I liked the sensation. “You look excited,” Roger noticed. I nodded in agreement, then I went back to the window. “That's reasonable, new school and everything. You don't appear nervous, however. Not even a tiny bit.” I halted the grin that was growing on my face. I had spent the entire day learning a strategy to mask my uneasiness and it felt like my efforts were worth it. But I could never lie to Roger. He was like family to me. “Honestly Roger, I can't honestly say I'm nervous. I'm simply a little intrigued to meet these new folks. You know I'm not one to socialize much. I wonder what they would be like.” I didn't have to look at him again to know that he had one of his warm welcoming grins on his face. “You're right,” he responded calmly. “Lorient is no joke. But if you don't mind me suggesting, now could be the moment for you to reach out a little, maybe get to know some of these people?” He offered a pause while he waited for me to respond. “I understand,” I answered. “I'll try to.” “You're going to have a terrific three years there. You'll adore it, I'm positive of that.” “Thank you, Roger. You always have a knack for making me feel a whole lot better.” He was correct, Roger was always right, and I had gotten into Lorient College. Just saying that to me made it seem so unreal. Lorient College was everything. It was a wonderful mountaintop school and one of the most respected in France and all of Europe. It was situated in the French Pyrenees mountain range and traveling through these mountains, I experienced one of the nicest vistas I had ever seen in my whole life. It was impossible to fathom anything that could be even nearly as gorgeous as this was. “Lorient is just past here,” Roger remarked, as we drove towards a little village. It was a modest place, but in theme with everything surrounding it, it was equally as lovely. The place was unlike anything I had envisioned. For a hotel that was buried up in the mountains, it had the type of contemporary atmosphere I hadn't been anticipating. The first thing I saw was the restaurants. There were so many of them from what I could see. Classical French restaurants, steak establishments, and a few coffee shops. It felt like the type of town that would be near a school; relatively few residential dwellings, but a whole lot of business places. The thing I was most eager to see was the massive cell towers. I instantly got out my phone and glanced at the bars on the screen. I was pleased to finally see some service again. It wasn't like I was going to contact anybody, but it would be great to simply have the option at least. We passed through the town swiftly and continued our trek down the calm highland route. The stillness from the road didn't convey a sensation of dread or danger or even loneliness, instead, I was struck with a feeling of serenity. “I hear the school has a strong history,” Roger replied, after several seconds of stillness. A very tiny Irish accent lingered on in his speech. “That could be of some interest to you, Miss Mitchell.” I had a nice emotion when he stated this. It was wonderful that Roger had remembered that I was going to be studying ancient history, even though I had only mentioned it to him once previously. I liked history, I adored beginnings and processes and ends. I couldn't think of a better location to learn than one of the oldest schools in France. Lorient was meant to be my stepping stone to far better things. “You remembered?” I asked, laughing. “How is it even possible?” “Oh, it's probably the fact that when you received your letter to come here, you yelled so loudly that we feared the house would fall.” “Oh come on, I wasn't that loud.” “Oh really, then maybe it's the fact that you're constantly seeking a nice narrative from the past.” “And you have the greatest of those,” I said with a grin. I felt a knot grow in my throat as the anxiousness I had thought I had gotten over came back in waves. “What do you suppose the people will be like?” I asked Roger. There was no way he would know that, but I knew that whatever his response was, it would make me feel a whole lot better about things. “Does it matter?” he questioned back. “You're 19, Miss Mitchell. You have such life ahead of you, these folks are presumably like you, youthful and adventurous. I'm sure you'll have a terrific time.” “I'll make sure I do. Thank you, Roger. I'm a little scared about you though.” “Oh?” he asked. “Why are you worried?” “I wonder what you would ever do without me, now that I'll be gone. Who will you relate your tales too.” “Yes, I believe it will be a little lonely at the house,” he conceded. “See, you're missing me already,” I smiled. “Yes I am,” he laughed. “But I'll anxiously anticipate your return after the semester. I do think that we have arrived.” On hearing his remarks, I leaned forward and instantly noticed the large stone arc that greeted every individual who arrived at the school. I read it out loud “Lorient College.” There was something more on it that I couldn't quite make out before we passed the entryway. I went to Roger with a bright grin, he reflected my pleasure. “This is it!”