Windstrom Boarding School

ROWAN
"Hey Lauren, it's nice to meet you." Rowan couldn't help but notice she looked a little uncomfortable. He hoped it wasn't him. Maybe she was just a little shy. He wanted to ask why she was there, but figured that was somewhat of a personal question. "It's a nice day for a school assembly." He said instead, and smiled again. "What say you to meeting a few new friends?" He nodded towards a small group standing close by.

NOAH
Noah considered a moment before answering. "Make it fun?" He looked around at the diverse groups of kids. So many of them were probably just like him, it might be a waste to never get to know anyone. He barely knew what his definition of fun was anymore. "Have anything specific in mind?" Might as well establish this kid as a rule breaker or follower. Noah was cool with either, he liked to go with the flow of things.

ELLA
Handy-dandy? She had the slight suspicion she was being made fun of, but chose to let it go. It was her fault for bringing it up in the first place. So she just forced out a little laugh and said, "Yeah." She noticed when Skylar had mentioned breaking the rules, Aubrey had nodded along in agreement. Just as she had expected, they were trouble makers. First day of school and she was already falling in with the wrong crowd.

AUBREY
"Who needs good grades anyways?" She said. "I've got a lot of plans for here," She said looking around, then added, "And studying isn't one of them."

LAUREN:
Lauren managed a small smile. “I suppose it‘s not too bad.” She glanced over at the group he nodded towards. “I uh, was actually thinking about joining that group. Sounds good.”

ZACHARY:
“I’m not really sure yet, but I have a feeling a great deal of fun could be made here, ya know, with a little bit of rule bending,” said Zach, looking toward the front where Mrs. Chambers still lingered, talking with other school officials. “Wonder if we could make that prissy little principal’s head explode.”

SKYLAR:
“I’m all for that,” Skylar said in reply to Aubrey’s comment. “As far as I’m concerned, this is a vacation. And it’d be a shame to spend it studying.”

PARKER:
Parker just shrugged. He wasn’t exactly the type who was always looking to break the rules, though he wasn’t always the type for following them, either. “I’m sure this will be a rather… Interesting experience, regardless.”

ROWAN
"Great. It shouldn't be so bad, now that their are two of us. I would just hate to be rude and just interrupt." He started walking towards the group, ready to introduce himself and hope they were as friendly as they looked. He figured if not, Lauren seemed nice enough. It was hard to tell so early on but Rowan usually reserved judgment. Maybe down the road he'd be able to consider her a friend.

NOAH
Noah chuckled. "That could be amusing." Messing with authority figures wasn't really his things, but he had already made up his mind to hate her and the school. Besides, when in Rome. If that was going to be the fun thing to do around here, he was on board. So what if he got in trouble? It wasn't as if he hadn't before.

AUBREY
"Definitely. I'm going to spend a little time in the sun, and see how much school I can get away with skipping." Aubrey had plenty of plans that didn't involve school. Her parents thought she'd be better off here, but now that she was far from their grasping reach of authority, she was going to do whatever she wanted.

ELLA
Ella was glad when Parker just shrugged. Maybe he wasn't into the breaking rules and getting into trouble thing. She hoped there was at least someone she could count on in this little group. She didn't want to be the uncool loser with no friends, but she actually cared about her straight A average.

LAUREN:
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Lauren replied. She followed him over to the group and folded her hands behind her back, sheepishly watching them to anticipate when would be the opportune time to say something.

ZACHARY:
“Could be? I will make sure it is. I think that’s what I looked forward to the most, making these people regret ever working for a school like this,” Zach replied. “So, what glorious after-school activity do you think you’ll be signing up for?”

SKYLAR:
“I’ll be spending some time in that sun, too, and spicing up this place a little bit. With the town close by, I bet we could get some alcohol and throw some killer parties,” Skylar added.

PARKER:
“Parties, those might be fun,” Parker replied, nodding. His eyes caught sight of Rowan and Lauren approaching the group and he waved. “Hey there, wanna join us?”

NOAH
Noah grinned, "Alright then." He then thought for a moment. He hadn't given any thought to what he was going to do. "I don't know. I don't care much about it I guess. What are you doing?"

AUBREY
"Oh yeah, you bet. And if none of the townies are willing to help us out, I know someone who could probably hook us up. Perhaps after we get our rooms, we ought to plan a little welcoming party," Aubrey said. "Nothing like a little celebration to start off the school year."

ELLA
Ella stared back and forth between the two girls. Alcohol? They were way underage and were already drinking? She shouldn't have been surprised. Of course they drank, that's what troubled teenagers did. Not for the first time did she wonder why she was here. How was hanging around bad influences going to help her out in any way? She tried not to look as disapproving as she felt, but was sure she didn't succeed.

ROWAN
Rowan moved closer as one of the guys noticed him and Lauren standing nearby. "Hey, yeah, that would be great. I'm Rowan."

ZACHARY:
“I’m not really sure myself,” Zach said. “Probably basketball or soccer or something.”

SKYLAR:
“That’s a great idea! Beginning of the year party, yes. Wonder if we could score a little bit of weed, too; it’s not a party if nobody’s high.” Skylar caught Ella’s disapproving glances at her and Aubrey. “What about you? Would you be up for a party?” She nodded at Lauren and Rowan in greeting and turned back to Ella to hear her response.

LAUREN:
“And I’m, um, Lauren,” Lauren added. She looked over the other members of the group and observed them. She had just been able to hear them talk about alcohol and parties. This doesn’t really seem like the best bunch to get involved with… Seeing as it was too late to back, she glanced back over at Rowan and Parker and smiled nervously.

PARKER:
“Nice to meet you two,” Parker replied. “I’m Parker, and this is Ella, Aubrey, and Skylar.” He motioned toward each person in turn.

MRS. CHAMBERS:
Mrs. Chambers stepped back up to the podium. “Alright, students, an hour is up. Please go retrieve your schedules and uniforms, and make sure to sign up for an after school activity. Then you may take your things to your dormitories and prepare for tomorrow.”

NOAH
Noah nodded. He wasn't the best at sports. Especially team sports. "I guess I'll figure it out when I know what's offered."

AUBREY
"I know, right? We'll make the beginning of this year a night to remember." She looked over at Ella to see what she'd have to say in reply to Skylar's question.

ELLA
"Oh, uh, yeah. Sure, I'm totally in." She couldn't help the words tumbling out of her mouth, even though her brain was screaming at her to just walk away. She forced a smile as if that action would simply erase all her doubts, and make that statement true.

ROWAN
Rowan wasn't surprised to hear them talking about partying. He suspected such things were going to go down around here. That wasn't his style, but he'd tag along for the ride and just go with the flow. He smiled back at Lauren who looked nervous. The girl introduced as Ella also looked rather uncomfortable as well, though she denied it. "Nice to meet you all," he said, before the principal began speaking.

ZACHARY:
“Yeah,” Zach said absentmindedly as he listened to the principal’s instructions. “Well, I guess we’ll have to make that decision now. Let’s go get our schedules and all that.” Without waiting for a response, he began to make his way to the main building.

SKYLAR:
Skylar grinned. “Is that so? Then I guess we’ll see you at the party.” She gave Aubrey a mischievous glance as the principal droned on over the microphone. “Well guys, guess it’s time to find out who we’ll be bunking with and such.”

PARKER:
“Hey, why don’t we all go down together? Might as well since we’re already in a group and all that,” Parker said.

LAUREN:
“Sounds good,” Lauren replied. She was relieved she had some people to go with; she was nervous enough being in a place like this and having to find her dorm on her own wasn’t something she had been looking forward to.

SKYLAR:
“Well I’m going now.” Skylar said, walking away from the group. “Catch ya’ll there.”

NOAH
Noah shrugged and followed. He wasn't the least bit interested in what he was going to be taking. He was however, slightly interested in who he might be rooming with.

AUBREY
Aubrey returned the smile. This was going to be an awesome night. "I hope I'm not rooming with anyone lame." She made it a point to look at Ella, though she knew there were probably worse people to room with, and walked towards the area where there were to retrieve their schedules.

ELLA
Ella nodded at Parker's suggestion. She felt anxious about who she'd be rooming with, and about her schedule as well. She hoped she got everything she signed up for. She had seen pictures of the uniforms, they weren't so bad.

ROWAN
Rowan nodded. "Sounds great." Rowan felt unconcerned. Whatever happened, he would make work. At least, it looked like he had already managed to make a few friends.

ZACHARY:
Zach entered the building and looked around. The office, where all the schedules, uniforms, and sign-up sheets were located, was infested with security guards. Each of them were equipped with a taser, stun gun, handheld metal detector, and pepper spray. There was a drop box with “Cell phones” written on the top of it. “Seriously?” Zach muttered, walking over to it after a security ran a metal detector over him. He turned his cell phone off and placed it into one of the small Ziploc bags that were sitting on the table, wrote his name on it, and dropped it into the box. Next, he retrieved his schedule. He was pleased to see he had gotten the two electives he signed up for - art and guitar. He then went to the sign-up area and signed himself up for basketball. He made his way over to the dorm listings to find a cluster of other students huddled around it. He sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for the area to clear out.

SKYLAR:
“I hope not, either.” Skylar walked into the building, and after disposing of her cell phone, went to get her schedule. For electives, she had selected photography and debate. None of the electives really interested her that much, but she figured photography was at least something creative, and debate could be fun since arguing was involved. She went to the sign-up sheet and looked over the list. She wasn’t much too interested in any of the sports; she felt that they required too much effort - something she wouldn’t be too interested in putting in. She recalled her conversation with Aubrey earlier that day, about doing something with animals, when “Equestrian Club” caught her eye. She jotted that down and made her way to the crowd of students standing in front of the dorm list.

PARKER:
“Alright,” Parker said, leading the rest of the group into the building. He went through the whole routine of disposing his cell phone, getting his schedule, and signing up for activities - swimming, soccer, and basketball. The crowd around the dorms list was getting smaller, but was still too thick to get through without shoving a few people around, so he behind Skylar and Zach. As he waited, he looked over his schedule to make sure everything was correct. He got the two electives he had wanted - French and Latin. He remembered how hard it was for him to choose which ones he wanted; there were so many possibilities. He knew, though, he couldn’t draw very well, so art wasn’t the best choice. And he did enjoy photography, but it was only a casual hobby and not one he’d probably want to spend hours learning specific details about. Shutter speed? He could care less. If the picture looked good, why did all the technical stuff matter? He found languages interesting, anyway. While he wasn’t exactly sure if they’d come in handy down the road, he thought it would be cool to know them in case he ever traveled or something. At the very least, he could say he was multi-lingual.

LAUREN:
Lauren followed the others into the building and went through the same monotonous process. She signed up for book club, seeing that it was probably the activity that fit her best. Sports weren’t really her thing, and while school newspaper seemed somewhat inviting, she knew that would involve quite a bit of socialization, something she didn’t really want to have to deal with at the moment. Book club, while it would still include some socialization, was mostly centered on reading, she figured, which she did pretty well. And it’s not like the conversations from that would be too personal or anything - just about books. She could handle that. Her electives, photography and creative writing, would serve as creative outlets. She was starting to think this wouldn’t be so bad, but the crowd of students - delinquents, no less - reminded her of the many days of struggling that were ahead.

NOAH
Noah looked around the building, unimpressed. This school was for troubled youths, not criminals, right? The way he saw it, it wasn't too different from a juvenile detention center. He would know. He didn't have a cell phone on him. He knew he wasn't going to need one. He had no real friends back home and the last people he wanted to talk to were his parents. He picked up his schedule and looked it over, uninterested. He got all the boring regular classes, plus art and photography as electives. It was rare for him to get any of his first choices at his old school, so that was a plus. At least he had two classes that would be tolerable. He wondered who would be in his classes with him. Not that it mattered, he only knew one person. And he used "knew" as a rather loose term. He stood and stared at the electives sign up sheet for a long time. There were too many options and he wasn't even sure he wanted to do any of them. But there was no choice, one was required. The line of people was starting to get long behind him, so he sighed, picked up the pen, and signed himself up for the first one he looked at. Book club. That couldn't be too terrible, at least he wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

AUBREY
Aubrey was reluctant to part with her cell phone. Not because she had a flood of people back home to text all night, but more because she felt like a means of communication was no longer within reach. If she had an emergency and had to call anyone, she would have to get permission? And of course, her version of "emergency" oftentimes differed from the normal adults version. What would happen if she just pushed it into her pocket? She found out a few minutes later when she went through the metal detector. The alarm sounded, and she was relieved of her phone, scowling at those responsible for her loss. Fuming she grabbed her schedule, barely glancing at it. Spanish? She hadn't signed up for that. Study hall, she could manage though. Pretending to do homework for an hour? No problem. Her eyes scanned the sign up sheet and she jotted her name down under Equestrian Club. She saw Skylar's name written down too. That was a plus, someone she liked would be there at least. She stood in the next line, chewing her fingernails, bored, while she waited to find out who was in her room with her.

ELLA
Ella looked around, feeling intimidated. Why did everyone over the age of eighteen look so mean? Then looking around at the majority of students, she realized they didn't look like a friendly bunch either. Even when she smiled genuinely at the person standing next to the cell phone box, she was met with a suspicious glance. She decided to keep her eyes downcast after that. She shuffled along and picked up her schedule. Music and French. She had taken both at her old school, so that was nothing new. And elective. She looked at the long list, debating over which seemed interesting. Sports? No, that wouldn't work. She did cheerleading back home, but wanted to try something new. And she was no good at physical sports. She signed up for newspaper, hoping to stay on top of what was going on in the school, and figured the more normal kids might gravitate towards it.

ROWAN
Rowan was almost impressed with the set up they had. It was organized well. Of course, it was hard to appreciate it from his view point of course. He dropped his cell phone into the bin carelessly. He wished he could hold onto it so he could converse with his sister, Sage, the only family member still talking to him. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak to his parents. But as part of this punishment, his parents nearly shunned him. Talking to Sage was refreshing, since she was almost in the same boat. Almost. His schedule looked similar to something he'd take back home. He had carpentry and debate. Both of which he thought would be interesting. It was hard to decide what to choose as an after school activity, so he signed up for swimming and soccer. He loved sports, and figured that maybe he'd even add another one if his school work didn't turn out to be too challenging. He got into the line for dorms looking around at the other students waiting. Nearly any of those guys could be his roommate, the anticipation was making him fidgety. He wasn't nervous, he knew he had a knack for getting along with people. But he was terribly curious.

SKYLAR:
The crowd was beginning to thin out, and an opening was soon formed. Skylar took the initiative and pushed past a few other students who were trying to make their way through. She soon go to the front and examined the list. “Kennedy, Skylar… 280,” she read. She repeated the number several more times before she pushed her way back through the crowd and joined back with the group. “I got room 280,” she told Aubrey. “Watch me have the same room as Miss Goody-Goody.” She noticed a line of students just a little bit further from the dorms list. Oh yeah, uniforms. She joined the line and once she got hers, she inspected it. White and light blue… Plaid skirt… I guess it could be worse. She joined the group, once again,

ZACHARY:
Zach, growing impatient, forced his way through the crowd. He managed to step on a few feet and shoved a few shoulders aside, earning some less than friendly responses, but he got to the front in no time. He ran his finger down the list until he got to his name. “Hamilton, Zachary… 221.” He was just able to memorize this number before he was suddenly pushed aside by another male eager to know which room he’d be staying in. Only slightly annoyed, he then went to retrieve his uniform - a navy jacket with a white dress shirt and red and beige striped tie and khaki pants. If there was one thing Zach hated, it was conformity. He admitted to himself that the uniform wasn’t all that bad, but all the guys would be wearing it. They’d be… Identical. He didn’t think it was right for a school to strip away their creativity, their sense of individuality. But, alas, his opinion didn’t matter. Not that it mattered much when he was home, but at least he could rebel. Here, they seemed quite prepared for rebellion, and any of those who tried such would be punished severely. Still, that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

PARKER:
Only a few students remained in the general area of the dorms list. Feeling it was now safe to approach, Parker stepped up and his eyes searched through the list. “Sweeney, Parker… 109.” He nodded absentmindedly, accepting this number. He, too, got his uniform and inspected it. He liked it, for the most part. He wasn’t a fan of wearing ties in general, but it was to be expected in such a formal setting. The shade of blue on the jacket was quite nice, he thought. He slung the uniform over his shoulder and walked back over to his group.

LAUREN:
Lauren slowly made her way over to the list. She felt nervous, though she wasn’t sure why. It was just a room number. She didn’t quite know what she was expecting or hoping for, but just like one would hope for a good grade on a test, she was hoping for a good room number. “Foster, Lauren… 175.” One seventy-five. It was an easy number to remember. She hoped her roommate would be sensible. Not someone who was loud and obnoxious. However, she wasn’t exactly expecting them to be friendly, or someone she’d want to be friends with. To her, that seemed quite impossible in a place like this. Someone who wouldn’t mind being quiet and just letting her have some peace, that was enough for her. She got her uniform and returned to the group. She didn’t examine it too closely; whether or not she liked it, she’d have to wear it, so she didn’t see the point in looking to see if it matched her standards. Besides, she wasn’t that picky, anyway. She then waited for everyone else to get their rooms, and see who she’d be spending the rest of the school year with.

AUBREY
Aubrey giggled but she was thinking the same thing. Though at least if she roomed with Ella, or someone like her, at least she was a pushover. There were worst people to be roomed with. A few more kids got their rooms before it was Aubrey's turn. "Avery, Aubrey," she said and then was handed her uniform and room number. She looked over the uniform but couldn't make a proper evaluation of it until she put it on. So she tucked it under her arm and looked at her room number. "208," she said out loud. She looked it for a minute, and then blinked when it hit her. "208," she repeated. Then she looked up, searching for Skylar. "Hey, Skylar, I'm rooming with you!" She couldn't believe her luck. Probably one of the few people she was going to get along with here, and they got to room together. Finally something was going her way.

NOAH
Noah stood in line, letting kids push past him, he was in no rush. He could see the uniforms from the other students getting theirs. He didn't care about uniforms. They weren't that horrible. Maybe for the girls it wasn't so great, but as far as he was concerned, it was just clothes. "Clarke, Noah," he mumbled and was handed his things. He was one of the last kids, and the person handing things out looked impatient and bored. His uniform was nearly tossed at him. He looked down at his room number. 221. It didn't mean anything to him. He didn't even know where it was. Where they going to be shown where to go? He looked around, but didn't know who to approach, so he stood there awkwardly and waited to see what other people were doing.

ELLA
"Thomas, Ella." She was handed her things and she looked over them with a critical eye. She had never worn a uniform before. She was curious about what it would be like. She imagined they'd look so official and nice. And as far as uniforms went, these didn't look too dreadful. She was sure with the right hairstyle and accessories, she'd look as great as always. "175," She repeated to herself. It wouldn't do to forget her room number on her first day. She clutched on to her piece of paper and looked around as if she would be able to tell who her roommate was just by looking. She couldn't, of course.

ROWAN
Rowan grinned cheerfully when he got up to the hand out area. "Williams, Rowan. He thanked the person handing out the uniforms and went to track down his room number. He wore a uniform at his old school, so this was nothing new. Actually, these ones were even nicer, so he didn't bother worrying about that. "Room 109." He was half tempted to just shout, "Hey who has 109?" But he figured no one would hear him over the noise anyways. He supposed he could wait to figure it out.

SKYLAR:
“Seriously? Awesome!” Skylar replied, for the first time somewhat excited about her stay at the school. “Now we can host that party. Come on, let’s go check out the place.” She dug into her pocket to retrieve her student booklet. It was all crumpled up. She unfolded it and tried to smooth out the wrinkles, though it was nowhere near its original perfect form. Skipping to page three, which contained a map of the campus, Skylar quickly located the dorm building. “Alright, it’s not too far from here.” She made her way out of the building, following behind the other students who were flocking to the building. Once inside, Skylar’s eyes took in the large, magnificent lobby. For a school, it seemed fairly high-class. The floor was astonishingly pristine, as if it had never known human footsteps. Various paintings and portraits hung on the walls, and a few couches and chairs were scattered about the room. On the other side of the room, directly across from the entrance, a few adults stood behind a counter. They seemed much friendlier than the security guards, their faces soft and their eyes bright and inviting. Skylar could see where they stored the students’ luggage behind the counter and walked over, stating her name, and receiving the bags she had brought with her. She sat down on a sofa with her stuff and waited for Aubrey to get her luggage.

ZACHARY:
After Zach was done with his mental speech on the corruptness of conformity, he began to head for the exit of the building. As he stopped to check his student booklet for the dorm building’s location, he looked back toward the mass of students that still resided in the building. “Hey, who got room 221?” he shouted. “If you do, we’re roomies! See ya there!” He stood there for a few more moments, seeing if anyone would respond, then walked slowly out of the building and toward his next destination.

PARKER:
“Well guys, I guess I’ll catch you all later,” Parker said, giving everyone in his group a friendly smile. “Good luck!” He, too, began his journey to the dorm building. After he retrieved his luggage, he went to the left side of the building and to his room. He didn’t have to walk that far; it was one of the very first rooms. He entered the room and was greeted by forest green walls. He evaluated the room, taking in its basic appearance. It consisted of two beds, a dresser, and a closet. He made his way across the smooth, wooden floor and laid his bags on the bed to the right and sat down, waiting to see who his room mate would be.

LAUREN:
Seeing that everyone was going to their dorms, Lauren quickly left the main building and entered the dorm building. She retrieved her bags and headed to the right side of the building and toward the middle of the hallway to get to her room. She carefully opened the door and crept into the room. It seemed nice enough, with pleasant light yellow orange walls, and a pair of beds, a dresser, and a closet. She placed her bags against one of the walls and went over to the closet, looking through it until her room mate came in. She figured she’d wait to see which bed she’d want to have.

AUBREY
Aubrey was glad she had Skylar to follow. Perhaps throwing her booklet away wasn't her smartest move. She followed Skylar into the lounge. It was much nicer than she expected. She had to make an effort not to be impressed. Her eyes glanced around making sure she was aware of all the exits and entrances. That would come in handy when it was time to sneak in or out. A few students bumped into her and she realized was she took a moment to take in the room, she had stopped walking. Skylar had already retrieved her luggage. She walked over to the counter and picked up her things. She had surprisingly little. She just didn't own much, and in some ways it made things a little easier. She carried it over to the sofa Skylar was sitting at. "Not bad, huh?"

ROWAN
Rowan heard someone shout his room number out. He looked around but didn't know who said it. He figured he'd find out soon enough. The voice was familiar, perhaps it was one of the guys he had been hanging out with earlier. That would be cool. He left through the room, squeezing by groups of kids to get his luggage. With his booklet in hand, he walked through the halls, passed rooms and other students, as he looked for his room.

NOAH
Noah grabbed his luggage and walked through the halls, eager to get away from all the noise and crowds. He found his room number without trouble. He stood outside the door a moment as he debated on whether to knock or not. What if his roommate had already arrived? Eventually he just shrugged, it was his room too. He pushed the door open and walked in. There was a guy already in there, Noah didn't recognize him, not that he expected to. "Hey."

ELLA
Ella struggled down the hall with the weight of her luggage. With one suitcase on wheels and three more she had to carry by hand, she could barely stay standing. But she needed all those things. It was hard to narrow it down to just those bags. As it was, her parents still agreed to send her some of the necessities that wouldn't fit. She got lost twice before figuring out where she was supposed to go. Finally she found her room, struggled to get the door open, and plopped her bags on the floor. She looked around, it was at least cheery. There was a girl standing there. She recognized her as Lauren. Relieved she said, "Hi." She was so glad her roommate looked normal.

SKYLAR:
“Seems alright so far,” Skylar replied. “C’mon, let’s go check out our room.” She grabbed her luggage and hauled it down the hallway to the right, up the stairs, and down the hallway until she got to room 280. The room had a lovely teal color scheme, she noted, as she set her luggage beside one of the beds and sat down.

ZACHARY:
Zach gathered his bags from the dorm building’s lobby and made his way up to his room. The room was red with the same basic template as the rest of the rooms. Seeing as he was the first one in the room, he sat his things on the bed to the right of the room and took out his guitar, and began to play a soft melody as he waited for his room mate to arrive.

PARKER:
Parker’s eyes shifted from the ceiling to the doorway when he heard his room mate enter. “Hey,” he greeted in return. “Rowan, right? Welcome to the room.”

LAUREN:
“Hi,” Lauren replied. “Ella, is it? I, uh, figured I’d wait for you to get here before deciding which bed to take. Your choice.” Her eyes went to Ella’s bags that lay on the floor. “Do you need help with those?”