Saint Paul High Misfit

CHAPTER 1: A Place in the Woods Gale sat quietly inside their gray minivan, fidgeting, and sitting uncomfortably in the back seat. Inside with her are her parents, arguing about how they should fix their daughter. “You’ll love it there, my dear,” said Mrs. Peterson, pertaining to the new school they picked out for her. Her husband on the steering wheel cleared out his throat. Whether that means he agrees or not, nobody knows. Gale’s mother is all smiles, glancing frequently at the rearview mirror, as if she had not scolded her so badly a week ago that she almost wished to die. There was nothing wrong with Gale’s previous school. It was a prestigious school where the wealthy and smart gather. They say that studying at that school guarantees your future. Gale’s future should have been guaranteed if she had not bashed her schoolmate’s head against the lockers, leaving it bleeding with a deep concussion that will surely scar him for life. Gale claimed that it was not her fault, that she did not start the fight. But given her character and reputation, even her parents did not believe her, not even a bit. They are now on their way to her new school. It is very far. Gale is already bored, and her butt is already itching to stand up. They had been on the road for almost six hours. Heck, they even boarded a plane on the way to her new school. ‘My parents meticulously chose a nice school for me.’ She sneered secretly. Aware of her wrongdoings, Gale was already convinced that her parents would denounce her soon, which is nice for her as she had considered herself a black sheep in her family. So, when her parents said that they'd transfer her to another school, she was prepared to go to a reform school. But that expectation busted as soon as they arrived at her new school. They first needed to dismount their vehicle and hike for almost an hour, basing solely on a map. ‘Who even uses paper maps these days?’ Gale rolled her eyes and followed closely to her father’s trail. “Must be thrilling to get lost here,” she whispered. After only a few minutes of the hike, Gale already has her eyebrows furrowed and has made a thousand complaints about the hike. Mr. Peterson, noticing his daughter, told her to be patient. Gale’s mood did not get better. Instead, she got more irritated. “Be patient? Nobody told me we were planning on a wilderness trip today! I would’ve at least brought insect-repellent spray. By the time I got to my new school, I would have died of an unknown illness here.” Mr. Peterson sighed but remained silent. He gestured stop to his wife before she had the chance to scold their daughter. Due to this, Gale was fuming mad and loudly complained all through the journey. Finally, they arrived. Gale stood in front of a big rusty gate that is covered in vines and wild plants. It was only slightly past noon, but the shadow of the tall trees made the surroundings dark. Gale reached for her phone in the pocket of his jeans. She was startled and cussed out loud when the light from her phone hurt her eyes. When she adjusted, she noticed the writings on top of the gate. SAINT PAUL CHURCH The writings are disheveled, and one can tell that they are old. Gale took a picture of the gate when she noticed that the reception is poor. And her parents are gone. “Great. They just left me here. What great parents they are.” The gate suddenly opened and from there came a nun. She is wearing a long maroon nun dress that reached her toes with a white cloth like hijab on top and a big black cross necklace around her neck. She is plump and has a pale complexion. Furthermore, she wore her conservative clothes with a frown on her face. ‘Maybe it’s just her wrinkles due to her old age,’ Gale thought. “You must be Gale Peterson,” said the nun with a nonchalant tone, almost in a robotic manner. “Yes.” “Come with me.” The nun immediately turned her back against Gale and walked in. There is no security guard in this place, there is also no students walking in and out of the gate. When Gale followed inside, the nun closed the gate hurriedly and looked outside through the gaps, as if there should not be anyone lurking around. ‘Ok. That was weird,’ Gale thought as she followed her eyes on the strange nun before finally glancing at the huge rundown church in front of her. The church is obviously old and unrepaired. It is bigger than some churches outside the forest. The mystery behind why it was hidden is still undiscovered. The tall mountains and trees around the place created a weird silhouette that made the building look haunted. Moreover, there is not a single student or teacher around. The place seemed completely abandoned. Normally, curious students would have flocked around the gate when a transferee comes. In Gale's previous school, the whole campus was filled with students and teachers making all sorts of noises. But here, it is eerily quiet like nobody except her and the overly cautious nun is around. "Welcome to Saint Paul High School," said the nun, snapping Gale out of her thoughts. The nun walked slowly, accommodating to Gale's speed as she had not yet fully admitted to having to study in this cold, abandoned place. The bell tower beside the big church has a cordon around it, preventing anyone from getting close. It is very frail-looking, almost like even if an earthquake doesn't occur, it would collapse on its own. “This is my new school?” asked Gale under her breath, bewildered and aggrieved. She wants to shout, cry , and throw a tantrum but nobody there is going to do anything about it. What else can she do? Her parents had already left her in this god-forsaken place of misery. ...