Starr Academy: Year One

Part 4

Four

The plane flew through the sky and I got to see the green below us looking out the window. Marek again had let me sit next to the window. He wanted me to have a good trip and since he sat next to the window last year when he was one of the new kids. He didn't mind having an aisle seat.

i felt Marek lean over and smile. He pointed to something out the window. "If you look over there, you can just start to make out the school. The dark stone against the green of the trees."

I smiled as I saw what he was pointing at. I heard others talking excitedly as they too saw the glimpse of the school. We may have been far away from it, but we were getting closer to our new 'home' for this school year.

"We won't be landing directing onto the school, but the school's private runway is right next to the school grounds. It will take us a half an hour to get to the actual school." I smiled over at Marek for his information.

We landed not much longer after I saw the glimpse of the school. I was nervous and excited. My first school away from my family. My first school where I live on school grounds. The first time I won't have to worry about any of my family. Won't have to worry about chores or dinner. I can just concentrate on studying and possibly making friends. It will be nice having more than two friends. And having guy friends and maybe a boyfriend.

That would sure show my brothers if I came home with a boyfriend. I could picture their jaws dropped. They'd probably say the only way I got a guy was if I was a slut. That sounded like my brothers. But I wasn't going to do that to get a guy. I wasn't my mom.

I took a deep breathe when I got off the plane. The air was crisp and clean. The hardy smell of pine and dirt. Clean dirt. The true and glorious smell of the forest. I felt more at peace here than at home. So calm and it felt like this was my real home.

Marek smiled as he took my hand again and stirred me over to the SUVs that were waiting for us. I saw other upperclassmen doing the same thing for their charges. Stirring them to the SUVs as they were all taking a breathe. Franklin and Nathan followed us into the one SUV.

Just as he had said, it took us half an hour to get to the school. The whole ride, there were trees after trees after trees. But what I loved the most was the tunnel of trees that framed around the road. It was semi dark and full of green color. Truly beautiful and welcoming to me.

I gasped at the sight of the school. Marek and Nathan chuckled. "Breathe Hope. Just breathe." Breathe? That's all Marek could say when I gasp at seeing the huge school we were coming up to. The place was huge! And looked like a castle.

Marek pointed to a portion of the school on the right. "That's the dorms there. It's actually split into two. The guy dorms and the girl dorms."

He moved his hand to point to the center building. "That's the main building. The professor offices are on the top two doors with the headmistress' office is in the clock tower. The great hall where we eat and have school meetings is on the bottom and the first place I'll show you. In between them is the library and English department."

He pointed to the building on the left. "Most of the other departments are in that building."

He dropped his hand. "The rest are located behind the buildings where you can't see."

"Don't forget the 'field'." Nathan said with a smirk.

Marek was shaking his head. "I know you're ready to get out there for the first time and see what you're made of against the uppers." He gave a slight grin. "Freshmen aren't aloud to participate in the competition. You all get to watch us battle it out in a type of game every Friday. Instead of class there's the battle. We show you what you're looking forward too. Nat here was bouncing in his seat the whole year wanting to join."