Parker and I sat on the floor just off the road near an old oak tree while we were waiting to be collected, despite my phones thermometer stating that it was a very crisp 4 degrees outside, I felt surprisingly warm, warm enough to remove my jacket and still be more than comfortable. We chatted for a few minutes, reminiscing about our Christmas break, although she had a lot more to tell about hers, all the beautiful places she had seen, the good looking boys down by the pools, the crystal clear beaches, the fancy hotels with warming toilet seats, and staff to hand you towels once you washed your hands. She even met Selena Gomez on the flight to Bali, who apparently was kind enough to take a selfie with her and autograph a page in her diary. I sometimes felt a little jealous of all the amazing things her family would do, not that I didn't love the outings we had, I just wondered if there was more out there, somewhere I could find myself, find my purpose in life, but the thoughts would generally disappear almost as suddenly as they would appear.
There was a loud rumble and the earth began to shake, despite a few gasps it wasn't really enough of a movement to think that we were about to be swallowed whole by a gaping hole in the ground… or so I thought, suddenly out of nowhere the earth began to split, students scattered everywhere, trying to outrun it, but one by one they began to fall, I grabbed hold of Parkers hand and as we began to scream we too were swallowed by the hole. I never dreamed that my untimely demise would be caused by falling into the burning pits of the centre of the earth, I always thought it would be something a little more cliché, like happily in my bed at age 97. However, as these thoughts were crossing my mind, it slowly dawned on me that there were no more screams, no more loud rumbles, and quite frankly it didn't feel as though I was falling at all, I opened my eyes and realized that it was because I wasn't falling… I was floating, slowly but surely descending into the bright light below us.
With a soft thump and a look of complete and utter horror and confusion on my face, as well as on all those around me, I found myself in a white room, with no doors or windows that I could see, there was low a hum of conversation amongst the students and my hand was still grasped firmly by Parker who still hadn't said a word, when suddenly a loud and cheerful voice sounded over an invisible intercom.
"Greetings boys and girls, the newest additions to Whimsy High, we welcome you with open arms! We wish for you a pleasant and amazing adventure for the duration of your stay, please be at ease and know that you are in good hands, shortly you will each be collected by a senior student who will accompany you to your accommodations so that you may get settled in, thereafter we will have a tour of the school grounds before your welcoming dinner."
It was at this point when Parker finally looked at me and all she could muster was "I'm still so confused"
There was a soft beep and suddenly one of the walls surrounding us evaporated, literally, disappeared into thin air and there where the wall had been, now stood two dozen older students grinning widely, one by one they came into the room, selected a student and guided them out. I was selected by a very pretty girl who said her name was Alicia, she had the most beautiful long black hair, sun kissed skin, and eyes as green as fresh spring grass, she was much taller than me, probably somewhere in the vicinity of six foot. She told me not to be afraid and that pretty soon, everything will make perfect sense; all I have to do is keep an open mind. She led me out of the room and into the yard beyond. Once my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I stopped dead in my tracks. I was pretty sure that I had just fallen, or rather floated, about two kilometres underground, but right now, right in front of me, lay the most beautiful landscape I had ever seen, bright green and lush, there were huge blossoming flowers, their colours ranged in more tones than I had ever seen in my life. The sky above it was slashed by hues of blues and oranges and reds and yellows, the sun shining so brightly I could feel the warmth radiating around me. Never in my life had I seen such beauty. "It's out of this world isn't it?" I heard Alicia say to me, but I remained silent, speechless, she turned and let out a little giggle as she said "come on; let's get to the boarding house."
As we walked over a nearby hill, my eyes still darting around in amazement at every tree, flower, shrub and stone, the boarding house came into sight, a gigantic structure that almost looked as though it was an old country side cottage that had been multiplied ten times and had been painted into the scenery. It was covered with blossoming vines, its magnificent walls reflecting the colours of the flowers surrounding it, the smoking chimneys peeking up over the dark thatched roof tops. "Where in the world are we?" I asked as Alicia let out a chuckle and turned to me, "the question isn't where in the world are we, the question is, whose world are we in?" I tried to let that simmer for a while as we continued to walk towards the boarding house, I mean, I was confused enough as it was and that statement did not help the situation at all! The closer we got to the building, the larger it became until eventually by the time we got to the front door, I could no longer see the roof top at all. As we walked in, I noticed the beautiful hard wood floors that were entirely unscathed, as though they had never been walked upon, the walls were tall and white with dark wood skirting, the windows perfectly clear to the enchanting skies beyond them, the furniture was obviously antique but looked as though they had never been sat on, everything looked so old, yet entirely brand new. We walked up a single flight of stairs, the first platform was a long, wide corridor with doors on either side, "these are the first terms accommodations. There are six floors in the building, the first has the entrance hall, the dining hall, and the Assembly hall, the second are your first term accommodations and classroom, the third holds the second term accommodations and classroom, the fourth holds the third terms and so on. The last floor holds the seniors or final terms accommodations and classroom, each floor is suited only for the term it belongs to, therefore, you as a first year cannot not proceed to the third floor until you are a second term student, once you have moved up a term you will have access to all the floors below yours". I looked at Alicia with what must have been an entirely blank stare because she just giggled and said don't worry; you will get the hang of it in no time. "There were only twenty or so of us who arrived as first terms today" I said to her, "so why are there so many rooms for us on this floor?" Surely there would just be a girl's dorm and a boy's dorm, I thought to myself. Alicia looked at me coolly and then abruptly turned and continued to walk down the hall, at number 6 she stopped, turned to me and gave me a key, "this will be your accommodation for the next year, I hope you enjoy it here, and if there is anything you ever need, you will always know where to find me. See you around kiddo." And then she was gone.
I slid the key into the lock and the door opened immediately without me having to turn the key or the door knob, I probably should have been more surprised or confused by that fact, however after everything I had witnessed today, I think I'm pretty fresh out of things that could surprise me… or so I thought until I stepped into what was apparently my accommodation. It was the size of my entire house back home, there was a bathroom, with both a bath and a shower, a lounge equipped with a TV and satellite, a room that I could only assume was a study room? Equipped with a working desk and chair, a PC, and a book shelf full of books, as well as a lazy boy couch, and then my bedroom, ahhhh my bedroom… a queen sized bed with the softest mattress and duvet set I have ever felt, it was like lying on a cloud! When did I die and go to heaven is the only question I needed answered.