Dark Haven Academy

CHAPTER THREE

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character" - Corinthians 15:33

I stood gaping like a common fool, staring wide eyed at the array of buildings that seemed to stretch on into infinity. I wasn't sure whether to stand there with my bag by side or to go into the building to check myself in.

Dignity won eventually and I was soon walking up stairs made from stone collage. I strolled through automatic doors and stepped into a world very much different from mine. The reception had a lady sat at the far end of the room behind a counter.

"How can I help you?" she said smiling sweetly showing off her perfectly white teeth. She gave me a look over and jumped as if realising something.

"Wait! Laurel silver right?" she said attacking her keyboard with her rapid typing. I wasn't sure how she was able to recognise me but then I stole a glance at her screen and before her was a database full of information about me including my picture.

These people were thorough.

I pulled out my admission slip and handed it over to her. She reaffirmed my information on the computer and gave me a slip accompanied by a card she referred to as my key to life here. Before I could ask where and how I could reach my accommodation, an incoming figure caught my attention and I turned to see a girl bouncing along with all the liveliness the world had to offer. Her ginger hair created a beautiful contrast against her freckled skin and electric blue eyes.

She was very pretty.

Along the collar hem of her sweater sprawled various collections of badges that seemed to hold authority. She wasn't just pretty, she also held a higher rank.

"Hello, I'm Eleanor and I'll be your guide around the academy." she said outstretching her hand and smiling at me. I was overwhelmed by her good manners, half expecting her to push me down the stairs and tell me freaks like me weren't welcome at their school. I fumbled a little before taking her hand and shaking it firmly reciprocating a weak smile.

"Laurel Silver." I said before letting my eyes wander around the spacious room taking in the organic plants and pristine environment. Everything and everyone seemed to conduct themselves properly with good manners and etiquettes things that I'd be doing too in a couple of months.

"I feel like it's my duty to tell you that I don't bite" she said suddenly

"Huh?" I blurted out confused.

"Honey I'm just saying but you look terrified" she said and I laughed. It was true, I was so tense, I had been stood in the same awkward position for ten minutes. She gave me a tour of the building we were in which were mainly administrative offices and the professional body of the school. No students could be found lurking in the building.

"So how does the school work?" I asked her, genuinely curious.

"Well firstly, I think it's safe to say that every student is chosen because of a certain characteristic the school sees in them. You'll understand this as we meet various girls," she winked at me after she said this and I felt as though I should've been taking notes as she talked.

"Secondly, this is a strictly no boys allowed premises. Visiting days are exceptions of course. If you have a boyfriend or a sweetheart or whatever people say nowadays-" she rolled her eyes as though the word was ridiculous to her.

"Then I suggest you end it now so no one gets hurt" she finished icily. I had never had a boyfriend. I never had time for one to be honest and doubt I even wanted one.

"Lastly, please be nice to everyone. Trust me when I say that you don't know who will end up in a higher rank than you. I honestly wouldn't risk it." she moved on not breaking her stride for anything. She talked about various things that annoyed her and various times in which to go for a troll in the gardens and I knew that I liked her.

"Who's Georgia?" I asked quietly. We had wandered into a hallway that displayed a picture of the "star of the month". Dust had settled in the shape of a square left barren in the absence of a frame that was supposed to be there. Underneath it was a tag that held the name of the supposedly absent portrait.

"Pureblood princess wannabe." Eleanor said, waving her hand dismissively. I actually thought Georgia's name quite pretty.

Eleanor decided to take me to the student lounge area seeing as I didn't look so terrified anymore and I soon began to see more and more girls each one more beautiful than the last. Any male dropped here would've believed that he had died and gone to heaven whether he had sinned in his lifetime or not.

"Here comes Roxana." Eleanor announced suddenly waving towards a petite girl walking slowly towards us. They both greeted each other and chatted about something I had no clue about.

I studied Roxy closely without coming on as creepy. Her eyes were currently lit with excitement, the way her hair bounced and moved in sync with every swift turn of her head. My eyes finally set on her full lips and how they curved into a heart-warming smile with two perfect dimples.

"Roxy, this is Laurel, she's the little newbie there's been talk about." Eleanor introduced a little graciously. Shyly, she leaned in to hug me. I couldn't help hugging her back even though I avoided body contact with people like the plague.

Then, without warning, a taller girl jumped into our midst sparing no time for introductions before leaping into her story.

"You guys will not believe what just happened to Julia Skylar-"she announced. Her face was memorable and it could've been due to her bronze cheekbones that easily gave a European model a run for his money or maybe it was her confidence.

"Alexis, meet Laurel." Roxy said before Alexis could dive into the gossip she so badly wanted to share. She seemed really nice and was definitely more hyper than Eleanor and Roxy combined together. She had an aura that made you want to listen to her. Not just because she looked like she could force you using painful methods, but also because she could easily interest you with a flick of her hair.

"She was drenched in spaghetti sauce. Chef Margaret's special recipe? You know that one? Well she was absolutely covered in it and yes Georgia Tyler was behind it." Alexis finished clearly satisfied with the attention her story had secured her. As if on cue, poor Julia Skylar walked passed us fuming. Her eyes were blazing red like a beast in need of taming. We all moved out of the way, not ready to get into a bloody fight with a spaghetti covered vampire.

I was about to ask if this Georgia Tyler was the same "star of the month" student that we had previously seen before a girl shoved past me with more force than necessary resulting in me landing across the floor. I was about to yell some choice words that my mother wouldn't be proud of when I decided to simply pick myself off of the floor with as much dignity as I could gather. I looked in the direction of the ever so polite lady who had purposely shoved past me in anger.

"Georgia Tyler." Eleanor helpfully whispered into my ear.

"What happens to make her so special?" I muttered under my breath annoyed that I had such great hopes for a school filled with girls and girls only.

"Wow me." I stared blankly.

"She will" Alexis said laughing loudly whilst the others offered apologetic looks. I'm guessing this was customary. Casually shove the new girl on the floor.

"You haven't seen anything spectacular about her." Eleanor cut in laying emphasis on the seen as she snickered in on some joke I had no clue about. I didn't understand the innuendos but I needn't have worried. Georgia turned in our direction as if listening in on our conversation and right before sashaying past me with a smirk on her face she winks knowingly at me.

It was brief. For a short moment only as everyone she gazed at stared paralyzed at the twinkling stars that were her eyes.

She had eyes that shone a dangerous cobalt blue, as though one was gazing into the cerulean of the oceans deep waves. That confident gaze of hers held power and could cause one weakness at the knees. We could all have appeared cool and calm on the exterior but inside, there was a fathomable and undeniable envy of her.

There wouldn't have been need to hear her speak, her eyes easily conveyed all that was needed to know, it was the window to her burning little soul.

This girl had taken time to craft her appearance into an epitome of structural beauty. And here I stood, a blank canvas, waiting to be painted on.

A vast window stood, oozing breeze at a far wall inside the room. a bed was planted in the middle of the room-it's sheets arranged meticulously. Looking around, the room was clearly furnished with desks and chairs and a bright chandelier that hung from the ceiling. I had currently just hanged the last piece of clothing in the wardrobe when Eleanor came looking for me.

She had retired to her room to take care of some personal business but promised to fetch me upon her return. I may or may not have been glad that someone wanted to accompany me to fetch my schedule.

"How may i help you?" a woman with glasses pressed too far down her nose asked.

"Laurel Silver needs her schedule," Eleanor called much more familiar with these situations.

"Laurel silver..." she searched as she scrolled through various profiles on her screen.

"Speaks three different languages, plays over four instruments and no record of any relationship whatsoever," she carried on as if i wasn't there. Did they have those database things for everyone? That would take a lot of work.

"That's the one," I replied.

"Not bad," she said casually. She literally just announced my life achievements like it was chicken feed. Before I could protest in any way or form, she smiled a little and beckoned to Eleanor.

"Eleanor standing next to you speaks six different languages and plays over 7 instruments and just you wait till you see her in a chemistry lab." I turned to gawk at wonder woman, and here i had been some sort of local champion at my old public school. These were the sort of people I was supposed to compete with or risk being booted back home.

The printer droned out an unpleasant sound as my schedule for tomorrow made an appearance.

"Enough with the sad prep talk. You'll have her running for the hills in no time." Eleanor cut in like she was used to this sort of thing from the secretary. My schedule was pushed into my hands and upon closer analysation, I realised that the first few lessons were blank.

"Before attending any lessons tomorrow, you are required to visit the admission instructor. She'll suite you up with your uniform before your assessment," Eleanor said waving me off before i could ask what 'uniform' included and if i needed to study for the 'assessment'. Eleanor disappeared after that.

A floor length mirror was posted on one side of the wall, adjacent from my bed. The rooms wall were white making each reflection stand out in high definition. I was sat in front of it fully analysing each minor detail of my face, black hair, green eyes that sometimes turned cloudy grey on their own accord. My skin was deathly pale partially because i had done most of my growing in the most sun deprived part of England.

The time droned ten o'clock which would've been curfew for every normal student but for someone like me, it would mean raiding the kitchens and hiding in forts. The lights from the buildings across from me went off. I guess there would be no fun for me tonight.