Winter's callused fingertips caressed my cheeks as the frosty, vile wind echoed through the air. Although the breeze was arctic and the weather placid, a smile cheekily escaped from the corner of my mouth as I stared, gaping at the astonishing ancient campus in front of me. The grand, battleship grey gates yawned, then opened its arm as if it yearned for a warm hug.
"Are you scared?" Mum winked from the driver's seat and flashed her newly bleached set of glimmering white teeth.
"Not really, I supposed that'll make me seem sort of pathetic don't you think?" I winced and tried not to notice mums expression fade a little bit.
"Don't stress too much darling, I'm sure you'll be fine"she responded, as if nothing has happened. As if nothing ever happened.
"Isn't that what everyone says?" I smiled at her hilarious excuse of an attempt to cheer me up and sighed, how lucky I am to have such a willing mother. I laughed hysterically to avoid my mums confused stare. Or maybe to avoid the awkward silence that loomed above us. Finally, with a stiff tremble, the gate screeched to a stop and the car wheels started to turn again.
The beautiful, breathtaking view sent a shiver down my spine as we approached the reception house. A row of vast trees welcomed us with gentle waves. The campus was huge and it took my mum and I about five minutes of frantically asking about and helplessly reading signs in multiple languages to finally locate our final destination. Some people recognised my mother and glanced over a few times, but most people seemed to ignore our presence which made me hopeful that I won't have to explain to anyone why I'm here and not back in Britain.
"Can I help?" The receptionist with a slightly odd haircut averted my attention.
"Yes please, I'm here with my daughter-" before my mother could continue, the lady politely pointed to the sign next to us which read: all visitors must take off their sunglasses, hats, or any other accessory that cover their face. With an embarrassed nod, my mum removed her sunglasses and tore off her priceless hat. A different sort of expression stained the receptionists face, an expression I've seem far to many times, an expression that I loathed but loved at the same time. The atmosphere suddenly became brighter around me and the air less tense, as if a string that was tightly bound was cut.
"So I was wondering-" my mum continued.
"Yes, yes of course, of course" she repeated with a cautious nod,"Clover Anderson, am I right?" I was soon branded with a fancy name sticker and my luggage removed, ready to be manoeuvred into my dorm.
"I guess it's time for goodbyes again" I smiled with a pained expression and looked up at my mum. Tears escaped from the corners of her eyes but I really couldn't tell if they were genuine or not, I guess it comes with having an actress as a mum.
"Goodbye darling, farewell, and be careful sweetheart" mum replied with her interesting french accent and gave me the world's most enormous hug before finally letting go and waving me off before she bursted into tears again.