I don't know when the car started to turn down the drive, all I know is that the smooth road turned to gravel beneath the wheels of the vehicle. The car had such a polished interior, I could never imagine anything more splendid. How could I? It was spacious and comfortable; I truly felt like I could melt into the seat cushions.
The driver piped up from the front. "We're almost there my lady. Are your bags in order? Will you be needing any help with your bags?"
"No, but thank you kindly for the offer." He just nodded and pulled the car around.
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.
The school was majestic, beautiful in a different way than the car was. The driveway wrapped around a gorgeous fountain and trees of all kinds lined the fields. There were statues and the gardens went on for as far as the eye could see. And then there was the school itself. It was large and pale white, mahogany windowsills overflowing with flowers of all shapes and sizes. In the middle of it all was a statue of Eve herself, gone was the apple. In its place was a gorgeous green emerald, the biggest I'd ever laid eyes on.
"Now who are you?" The teasing voice came from the gardens on the left, peeking out from the trees. "Hmmm..." the girl stepped out of the trees as she spoke. "Shoulder length hair, light brown, blue eyes, fair skin, tall stature, gorgeous proportions. What an Eve you are! I'm Marielle, it's a pleasure to meet you!" The girl-Marielle-spoke so fast that my head spun.
"Uh, hi. I'm Emilie. Are you-do you go to school here?" She turned round and grinned stretching her arms out toss her pale blonde hair behind her dress. "Course I do! I'm supposed to come get you settled and all! You ready to go?"
I nodded. Marielle seemed very intense. My mind started to race as I walked up the stairs with her. Would she keep asking me things? I didn't really want to answer questions.
"Don't you just love the atmosphere here? It's so pretty and green. Wait til you see the library."Â My ears perked up at that. "You have a library?"
Marielle looked a bit puzzled but continued. "Of course we do, it's an academic institution isn't it? It's gorgeous from what I hear, books from floor to ceiling and shelves that roll back to reveal more books than meets the eye. Of course I'm never in there so I wouldn't-"
I cut her off mid-sentence. "Can you show me? The library, I mean."
She grinned a bit before smacking her fist to her palm in an I've-got-it movement. "You're a book nerd aren't you? Plants if I had to guess? And most definitely classics. I'm thinking Jane Austen? Lewis, maybe? Come on, let's go to the library." She dragged me around a corner and past some classrooms to these gorgeous doors. "Go on, open them."
The doors led to this gorgeous white and pearl and gold room with tall windows and thin curtains and bookshelves filled with all the books you could imagine. Marielle tapped my shoulder. "I think you'd like the fantasy section." I turned to where she pointed, which was just a wall with little golden latches interspersed along it. "Fantasy section?" I asked.
"Turn the third handle to the right of the window." Once I did the wall opened up to show hundreds upon hundreds of books on Lewis and Orwell and...
"You guys have Tolkien?" Marielle nodded in response.
"Of course we do. So many of us write on fantasy and his characters and world building are a perfect example of that. We reference him a lot. You're a student here now so once you get an ID card and uniform you're welcome to check out any books you may like. I'm never in here so you're welcome to use my card to check out as well. Just take your book to the desk where Ms. Pickens is and sign the card in the back of the book in front of her. Then you're good to go for three weeks!"
"Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness, this library is full of fantasy and-oh my goodness!"
Marielle laughed. "Come on, you must see your dormitory!"
The steps up to the dormitories were long, tight, and spiraled. Marielle said I'd get used to it but it was so dizzying. "I feel like I should preface this, but I won't be your roommate. I'll be across the hall, I think. You'll be near the end window. Your uniform should be in there too. It's a green dress. I'll see you at dinner, okay? I'll come collect you. Don't worry about classes. You'll talk to the registrar tomorrow."
And with that, Marielle was gone, blonde hair swishing behind her.
I walked to the end room, taking my time. I listened to the girls laughing with each other. A few waved. Most just smiled. The sheer curtains on the window at the end of the hallway jerked back and forth gently in the wind.
The door to my room was supposed to be on the left. I turned the door knob only to find a girl, much taller than I, and with much darker hair, arranging little ceramic cats on her bedside table.
She turned to look at me. She had green eyes and wore a headband to keep her curls back. She smiled.
"Hello, I'm Rebecca."