Oliver continued to laugh without sharing with me what was so funny. I continued to stare at him hoping he would tell me what was funny about what our parents were planning on doing to us. I looked back down at the paper to read the rest of the rules while trying my best to ignore my brother as much as I could.
'21. Report to the deputy headteacher when unwell. Failure to do so will warrant punishment.
22. Low grades in class can lead to suspension.
23. Fifteen offences in two weeks will lead to expulsion.
24. Trespassing on private property is not pardonable.
25. No wondering in the forest.
26. Allow your rooms to be searched every Thursday. Refusal means guilt.
27. No students are allowed to go to the sewing room without the punisher.
28. Romantic relationships on school premises is prohibited.
29. Prep time is only for studying and consultation from teachers.
30. Keeping of diaries is not allowed.'
What sort of rules are these? Are we students or prisoners? And who in the world is the punisher? Oliver wasn't laughing anymore so I crawled over to where he was and waited for him to finish reading the rules.
"My hopes of a nice teenage affair are gone." he said putting the paper down.
"No one would have dated you either way." I said to tease him.
He looked at me and his silly smile appeared on his face again. He raised his chin and puffed up his chest to show off his good looks that had captivated many girls in the past. He had never dated anyone because he didn't want me to be lonely and he had hoped that secondary school would be different because I was all grown up now.
"I see. I see... Don't show off too much. Why were you laughing earlier?"
"Same reason." he answered sighing,"I'll die single because of this."
"Don't worry Ollie. I know I'll have a sister-in-law."
He chuckled; something I was getting used to because his voice was deep now and he was starting to look like a presentable young man. My eyes went to his chin dimple again and I frowned. Why didn't I have something that cute on my face. It wasn't deep and very few people noticed it on him.
"You're looking at my dimple again, aren't you?" he caught me off guard.
"Pshh...as if..."
"Do you have dresses?"
"Yes. Why?"
"No tight clothing so no jeans or pencil skirts."
Sigh. I couldn't even wear things that made me feel secure.
"What's a punisher?" Oliver asked pointing to rule twenty-seven.
"No idea. What do you think this sewing room is about?" I asked him,"And why are the rules hand written?"
"Maybe they make dresses there for those without dresses. Maybe they like old stuff and all. You know what would be weird?"
"What?"
"A gothic architecture in school. Maybe even wearing those types of clothing."
I looked back down at the paper in my hand and thought it was possible if this school didn't use a printer. When I looked back up at Oliver he was rearranging the chess pieces so we could play our last game till Christmas. It wouldn't be too bad to have a whole year to myself; no parents at all. But the whole idea of studying twenty-four seven wasn't sitting right with me. It's not that I hate studying or anything.
"You're ignoring me." Oliver stated and I could sense the childishness in his voice.
"Seriously Ollie?"
"Yeah. I need some love. It's highly probable that boys and girls won't mix in school."
"Yeah. We should go and pack up though."
Oliver sighed and got up. He packed the chess board in a black plastic bag and then told me to follow him. He led me to his room and and then pulled out a suit case.
"What are you doing? Do you plan on taking that with you?"
"Not just this. I'll take our phones as well."
"What if we get caught?!"
Oliver just smiled at me and opened up the bottom part of the suite case and put his phone inside then he run to my room to get mine as well as my charger. He had always been a bad boy but since we were young he had never intentionally broken school rules if it wasn't April fool's day. He put in the solar power bank and covered everything with his underwear and closed the zipper.
"We won't be caught Vee. I promise. If we do then I'll take the blame for it." he said smiling.
He patted my head like I was a child and it didn't feel as annoying as it always had been in the past. It felt comforting. This would be a comfort for me once we left for school.
We left home early in the morning even before the sun rose and it was still dark out. I was dozing off from the lack of sleep when I heard the roaring of an engine that wasn't our own and by the looks on everyone else's faces they had heard it too. We turned our heads to the right side of the road where a big bus emerged wiggling on the rocky ground. The driver of the bus turned the bus to our side of the road and stopped, forcing dad to push down on the brakes to avoid colliding with it. At the side of the bus was written the name of the school in bold red. Oliver looked at me pouting his lips in a way that made his chin dimple prominent.
A nun or a lady dressed in nunnish clothes stepped down from the bus with her hands clasped in front of her. Dad rolled down the window so he could speak to her but the woman first examined everyone in the car before she spoke.
"Good morning Mr Rogers." she greeted my dad and we were all surprised by the fact that she knew his name,"I see you and Mrs Rogers came to drop off the children."
The tone of her voice was that of an exhausted old lady but it graced her in a strange way making her seem trustworthy and patient. To me she looked like she was ticking her late twenties or early thirties.
"Yes...ah...Ms..?" dad answered.
"Sr Drevin." I saw dad smile awkwardly and he looked like he wanted to apologize but she didn't let him," Unfortunately you cannot enter with them so I'll ask that they come with me."
"Oh...?" mom frowned,"Then let us say goodbye in brief....."
"No time for good-byes at this point Mrs Rogers." Sr Drevin retorted still in a polite tone.
She looked at Oliver and I and that was enough to make us grab our suitcases and get out of the car. I've never believed that a human can sense a person's wrong doings the way I did when Sr Drevin glared at Oliver's suitcase of illegal items. If that glare was directed to me I would have started confessing but Oliver handled himself fairly well. He smiled at her when she looked up at him with narrowed eyes and extended his hand to shake her hand. He was far taller than her and slightly taller than me. He looked like a twenty year old instead of a twelve year old as he stared down at her.
"Oliver Rogers." he introduced himself.
"I know." she responded leaving Oliver's hand hanging,"Off you go. Into the bus."
Oliver snorted but it seemed like she didn't hear him so I pushed him towards the bus' entrance so we wouldn't get into trouble. In the bus we were greeted by elderly people's faces and it felt like we were attending a reunion of wrinkles. The air reeked of sweat and deodorant; bad smelling deodorant at that. The only free seats were at the drivers cabinet so Oliver and I made our way there and sat. Sr Drevin was still talking to dad and mom and when she was done her eyes fell on Oliver who sat by the window. He again smiled at her as our car reversed. When mom and dad were gone Sr Drevin came to stand next to the window were Oliver was and a small smile appeared on her youthful countenance. I frowned at this and wondered why she was smiling suddenly.
"I'll be sure to wipe that smile of your face Mr Rogers." she said and Oliver's smile instantly fell and my frown deepened.
"I will bear in mind not to smile at you lest I seduce you." Oliver said grinning.
I felt my heart drop to my toes at his stupid remark. When did Oliver become so brazen? Sr Drevin looked taken aback by his words even more than me but she said nothing. The bus'engine roared back to life and drove away leaving the nun behind. Oliver and I stared at her through the side mirror until she was out of view. What an awkward first meeting.