A week passed quickly, and Rosalie was waiting at the front door of Winter's with a small suitcase, lightly packed with her few belongings.
When the taxi that was going to bring her to Wexcombe arrived, the caregivers and children of Winter's house took turns hugging Rosalie and saying how much they'd miss her.
Rosalie give them a comforting smile, she would miss this place too, she spent much of her life here, and it had become a cozy home she could return to.
"If things get too tough, or if you don't like it there, you are always welcome back at Winter's."
Marie took Rosalie's hands into her own warm ones and her face broke into a morose smile.
"Thank you for caring for me all these years, Winter's is a warm place and I can always come back to visit, so don't cry please."
A couple of tears slipped down Marie's sincere face.
Marie had been Rosalie's main caregiver since she arrived at Winter's, and she's never been anything but sweet and kind. She even managed to creep a little into Rosalie's heart. Marie wasn't someone Rosalie loved or even trusted completely, but she was one of the few people Rosalie allowed herself to get attached to.
The taxi driver came out to take my luggage into the trunk. He was a thin man with a rigid aura.
"May I?"
The taxi driver motioned towards the luggage.
She nodded in reply.
Rosalie got into the backseat of the taxi and waved goodbye to everyone as the car started to drive away.
The drive to Wexcombe was going to be 2 hours long. Rosalie leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes to take a quick nap. Hopefully, they'd have arrived once she woke up.
"Ms. Dixon? Are you awake?"
The thin driver had opened the car door to let Rosalie know that they've arrived.
"Hmm? Yeah. Thanks for driving me here."
"It was my pleasure."
He bowed and handed me my luggage.
"Would you like me to call a guide to lead you to the dormitories?"
"No thank you, I think I'll manage on my own."
Rosalie smiled politely and took off the headmaster's office quickly. She googled up the map of the school when the truth of the matter sunk in and was able to memorize it. It would be extremely bothersome to unpack her stuff into the boy's dormitories only to pack again to move to the girl's dormitories. Why did her parents have to enroll her as a boy?
She started to hear whispers from around the campus. The other students were staring at her.
"Is he a new student?? He's such a pretty boy."
"Woah, I've never seen him before, I don't think he attended any of the private prep schools."
"Do you think he's a scholarship student? "
At the time, Rosalie had her short hair up in a ponytail and was wearing the male uniform because not wearing a uniform completely would make her stick out like a sore thumb. Well, people did say I was beautiful back in middle school, she thought to herself. This wasn't much different.
Needless to say, she sighed and looked to the sky. It was a clear day with few clouds in the sky. Guess this is what her life has become.
Suddenly, Rosalie collided with a hard surface and fell back towards the ground.
"Hey! You idiot, watch where you're walking. "
Rosalie looked up to see that the hard object turned out to be somebody's chest. A boy's chest to be specific. He was tall, very tall, he loomed right over her. He had a sharp face and was well-built, no wonder his chest felt like a wall. His light brown hair and sea-green eyes stood out and Rosalie hated to admit this, but he was, in fact, very handsome. She stood up and brushed herself off.
"Well, shouldn't you have watched where you were standing? Who in the world would stand still and let someone run into them?"
Rosalie was at her wit's end. First, she has to go to this dumb school that she didn't even apply to nor want to attend. Secondly, she had to fix some dumb mistake that enrolled her as a male student. Now some rude boy is talking down to her.
"I have somewhere to be now, so I'll get going."
"Ha, who let this arrogant jerk get into Wexcombe, do you even know who I am?!"
The boy yelled after Rosalie as she continued heading to the headmaster's office. She didn't care one bit who that boy is. This just affirmed her previous bias that all rich kids were snotty pricks. She was starting to get a headache.
She climbed up the stairs to the main office building where she would be able to find the headmaster or administrators.
She knocked a couple of times until she heard a, "come in" from the other side.
Rosalie turned the golden doorknobs to the intricate mahogany doors adorning the entrance to the office.
At first glance, the office seemed quite ordinary. But at a closer inspection, you would be able to tell that the little knick-knacks and other pieces of furniture here would cost a small fortune each.
"Hello dear, how may I help you? Would you happen to be Rosalie?"
A stout man asked from a large desk in the middle of the room.
"Hello sir, yes I'm Rosalie."
Wait a minute. If the headmaster knew her name was Rosalie, why did the letter address her as "Ross"? And why did they send her the male uniform?
"Pftt-"
Rosalie squinted at the man in front of her. He had coffee brown hair that was slicked back and a bushy beard. His eyes gleamed mischievously as he tried to stifle his growing laughter.
"I was good friends with your parents, Laura and Hugh, I can see the resemblance instantly. You may have your mother's looks, but you have the exact same gaze as your father. Hah, he was always quite the serious fellow."
"You knew my parents?"
"Why yes, I also remember you. You've grown up into a fine woman. You were in diapers the last time I saw you, how time flies."
If this man knew she was a girl, why did he let her get enrolled as a boy? Her eyes pierced the headmaster warily.
"Oh ho, I know exactly what you're thinking, that was a little prank on my part. I was just having a little fun fooling around with you. I didn't expect you to actually wear the uniform though."
He gave her a humorous look.
"Don't worry about the dorms, I gave you a vacant room in the female dormitories, so you'll be fine. As for the uniform, I may have forgotten about preparing an extra female one. Oops"
He had a sheepish expression.
"That's okay, just let me know what number my room is, and I'll be on my way."
Rosalie was irritated at the headmaster's antics but knowing that he was an old friend of her parents and that she had a private room lessened her anger.
"You have room 16, it should be the last room on the first floor. Do you need a guide to get there?"
"Thank you for the offer, but I will be fine on my own."
Rosalie bowed and excused herself closing the doors behind her.
The headmaster stared at the doors and chuckled. She sure takes after her father in regard to the intellect, this is her first time here and she doesn't even need a guide, the school is situated on 450 acres of land and the dorms are located in a remote area. He looked forward to what she will bring to the academy. She might even help with "that" problem.