They had arrived. Ruby stared at the giant building. The architecture was quite classical, it was as if it was out of a book. She opened the car door, her shoe touching the gravel. The wind hit her and her hair flew around. Brushing herself off, book in hand, she helped her parents get the bags out of the trunk. She looked at her student ID card.
Ruby Nightingale, 7th grade, dorm room 22B, it read. The dorms were separated by the grades. Pushing open the door, the room was a decent size, with a small window on the side, three twin beds with iron posts, with old wooden stools next to each, and a maroon arm chair. They sat her bags down and started to unpack.
She put on some simple white sheets, with matching white blankets and pillows, as well as her Hedwig pillow. She put up her Gryffindor flag and put a string of fairy lights up as well. It wasn't her original bedroom, but it was decent enough. Unpacking and everything else, she and her parents got a quick tour around the school and she got her schedule. The school had so many classrooms and corridors, it was rather overwhelming for Ruby.
Once her parents said their final goodbyes she sat on her bed and inhaled a sharp breath. Of course she'd get to come home for holidays—but then again the next holiday wasn't going to happen for a while. She sniffled holding back tears, even her roommates weren't here yet, and what good would they be? They could be completely rude, messy—at least Ruby hoped not. She was a neat freak and liked to keep things in a certain order. Playing with the hem of her jumper, she heard a click and the door handle turning. Speak of the devil, she thought.
In walked a tall girl, with perfectly straight raven black hair, striking blue eyes, and very pale skin. She wore a navy blue and white striped jumper, with black jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. Seeing Ruby, she flashed a smile and said, "I'm Martha, your new roommate!" "O-oh! Nice to meet you, I'm Ruby!" She stammered. Martha picked the bed closest to the window, dropped her bag on the floor, and plopped right down on the bed. "Is this your first time at boarding school?" She asked. "Haha, y-yeah," Ruby stuttered. "I've gone here for forever it seems. There's no need to be nervous, it's just school, you're just spending the night," "Where are your parents?" Ruby replied. "My parents? Well, the went to go talk to some of my teachers. They're all good friends or whatever. I know my way around here anyway," Martha said cooly.
Awkward silence followed but then Martha piped up again saying, "Gryffindor, huh? You like Harry Potter?" "Yeah, actually. It's some of my most favorite books," "I'm more of a Star Wars gal myself, do you have any hobbies or do anything for fun?" "I mean—I like to read, but I like writing, and I play the piano," "Wicked. Art is more of my thing, reading never was my specialty." She said. She's actually nice and I'm having a decent conversation, Ruby thought with excitement. She got lost in her thoughts for a moment until Martha spoke again saying, "There's another bed. Do you know our other roommate?" "No, I don't think so," "Maybe she'll be here soon. I saw more people arriving now, welp, I'm going to start unpacking," "Would you like any help?" Ruby offered. "Nah, I got it."
Since she didn't need help, Ruby simply continued reading her book. She was absorbed in her book once again, and after a bit of time, Martha piped up saying, "You like it?" She looked up from her book to see what she had done, and it was pretty nice, she had a baby blue duvet, floral pillows, a poster with the famous painting, Starry Night, and on the windowsill she had put a tiny cactus. "Wow, I mean—yeah, it looks great!"
About fifteen minutes later, a short, blonde girl walked in. Her hair was in two French braids, she wore a hot pink sweater and a black skirt. She carried a lot of bags on her shoulders, so many that it looked as if she were going to topple over. Martha rushed to her side and took a few bags off her shoulders and set them down next to the remaining bed. "Heh, sorry 'bout that! I didn't want to take a second trip!" She nervously giggled. "It's so good to meet you! I'm Lola!" She had a very bubbly and friendly personality, she smiled at the other girls, and they all introduced themselves.
They all made polite conversation as Lola started to unpack. She put on pink sheets, a pink blanket, pink pillows, everything this girl owns is pink, Martha and Ruby thought. She hung up a picture of the Eiffel Tower, and some polaroid pictures of what Ruby assumed was of Lola herself and her father. Once she was finally done unpacking, she dramatically flopped on the bed and sighed. "Do you guys want to go walk the grounds a bit? They're also supposed to have club sign-ups if you're interested," Martha suggested. "Sure," Ruby and Lola said in unison.
Gardening club, soccer team try outs, tennis, math club, theatre, art club, chess club, book club, writers club, the list went on and on. Lola signed up for theatre, Ruby signed up for the book and writers club, and Martha signed up for the art club. They met back together after a bit and decided to walk around. The grounds truly were beautiful, with loads of azaleas, roses, and numerous other plants. The grass was well kept, and soon it was getting close to dinner. Martha glanced at her watch and said, "We better hurry and make our way to dinner,"
The cafeteria was loud and crowded, but the three girls managed to find a quiet spot towards the back, in the corner where nobody would disturb them. The food was decent enough, though Ruby preferred her mother's cooking over this food any day.
They headed back to their dorm room, and after getting showers and cleaned up, they each crawled into their bed making light conversation until they eventually fell asleep. Maybe this won't be that bad after all, Ruby sleepily thought before drifting off to sleep.