Chapter 3 NEW ROOM

Collette stood over me as I changed into my uniforms. When I was done, my muftis were kept with Vee.

Eleanor's college uniform consisted of a milk white button–down shirt, a sleeveless yellow striped sweater, and a red tie. Then there was the black knee length skirt and black sockings that stopped above my calf.

The skirt intrigued me. I've never worn such before so this was new to me. I felt like I was in a Japanese high school. The skirt was short, nearly running up my mid thighs.

" From now henceforth, you must be on school uniforms at all times," Collette said as we walked away from Vee's lodge towards the hostel. " You have your day wear, your sports wear, your class wear and your shoes and socks ready?"

" Yes," I answered in a gruffy voice, pulling my suitcase along.

I don't trust this girl. After what she did some minutes ago, I was certain she was going to be trouble.

Collette said nothing more. It was nearly dark when we arrived at the hostel.

Our hostel was huge, like a royal castle. Inside was built in a way that reminded me of an exclusive hotel. The hostel had three hundred and nine rooms in all with good lighting system and beautiful flower gardens surrounding it.

This school was a bomb. I was loving it every second of the day.

There were two flight of stairs but we didn't take it.

" Room 205," Collette said as if to herself. She led me to the elevator and waited while it shot us up to our floor.

Collette took me to my room without talking to me. From time to time, I tried looking her way. She had her face in the air, her eyes hard and set, her full lips pouting and her movement, calm and graceful.

Room 205 stood before us. She brought out a key and unlocked the door.

I Marvelled at the room. It was small but it had everything. Two beds set apart from each other near the window, floor covered in red carpet, a reading table with two chairs, a large wardrobe, two drawers and a bathroom.

The bathroom caught my attention. It had a shower and a little bathtub.

Gosh, are we really in a hotel or what?!

" Everyone's gone for sports so it's just you and I in the hostel, alone," Collette said, stepping into the room. " You unpack the rest of your uniforms and hang them up neatly in the wardrobe. The school already provided you with a bed so it's expected of you to always keep it clean and tidy."

She paused, staring oddly at me then added. " Do you bed wet, Lucy?"

I frowned at her. " No I don't bed wet."

" Good," she continued. " You take your bath in the bathroom. Always ensure you flush the toilet after use. At some point, the shower may not run. There's always a running tap below the first floor. Once in a while, it's wise to get a gallon of water, just in case there's water shortage. Anyways, the reading desk is meant for only studying and ironing your uniforms. Keep the room cleaned, wash the curtains and fix your bed. We are very fussy about neatness so it's highly expected of you to abide by it. And also, another thing. No cooking in the hostel. It's highly prohibited."

I was getting fed up with this girl. " You don't have to bother yourself about that. I can't cook."

" I never said you will do it," she said, her eyes like ice chips. " But you might be tempted. You're free to take your provisions but cooking is out. We eat our meals at the cafeteria. That's the rule."

I rolled my eyes. " Yeah, I heard you before. You don't have to make a big fuss out of it."

The least I expected of her was to yell at me but she said nothing. She was Soo calm about everything.

My head was spinning. The beauty of the room was Killing me. Then I remembered the two beds in the room.

" Umm...do I get to share the room with someone?"

" The girls would be back soon," Collette said instead, without looking at me. " There's your bed by the right side of the room. When your hostel captain returns, tell her Mom sent you to her. She'd understand."

And she left me without asking me any questions to see if I was confused. I watched her go and I noticed she'd increased her pace.

What a snob. It's official–I hate her.

From afar, I heard the bell banging. Sports time was over. The girls are returning back to the hostel. I Wondered what sort of roommate I was going to get. The idea of sharing a room with a total stranger was exciting as it was scary.

I waited, imaging her in my mind.

Perhaps she'd be a nasty b*tch. That's alright, I can be nasty as well. Or maybe she's a kind Angel. She better be else I'd blow my tops. I don't flow with snobs like Collette. I prayed my roommate should be a great gossiper and a crazy fan of Justin beiber.

I smiled as I arranged my stuffs neatly in the wardrobe. Outside my room, I could hear chatters and laughs. The girls had returned from sports but I wasn't sure of going out there to get seen.

It's obvious they'd see me as the new girl. I'm incredibly shy. I'd rather wait indoors and see my roommates first. I'm certain, your roommate is your first friend.

And so I waited.

Suddenly, the door opened and a girl walked in. I was sitting on my bed, admiring how soft it feels when I looked up and saw her.

I wasn't disappointed. She was incredibly tall and skinny but her face radiated with life. She had on dark leggings and a white vest soaked with sweats. On her feet were white shoes stained by dust.

" Lucy?" She asked, stepping fully into the room. There was an unmistakable American accent in her voice.

I knew instantly she wasn't my roommate. She looked far too older to be my roommate and I was right.

She was my senior.

" That's my name," I said, then added. " Good evening."

She pulled out a white towel around her neck and dabbed her face. " So you're the new girl, huh? Where are you from?"

" New York City," I answered, realizing she was coming closer to me.

She rose her head out of her towel and grinned. " Well, what a great twist of fate. I'm from New York too."

This was reassuring enough. " Really? Which part?"

" Columbia."

I was wowed, I jumped to my feet. " Woah, that's where I live. What a small world."

She laughed and I noticed she was leaning towards my face. Our nose was barely touching each other.

" I'm Tamar," she extended her hand. " Hostel captain."

It all began to make sense. So she was the hostel captain. No wonder she looked older than me. I really wished she'd stay a few feet away from me, though. She was too close for comfort.

I shooked her hand. " Nice meeting ya."

She pulled back and whistled as she took in the room. Her lips tightened into a meaningless smile. " So you'll be pairing the room with Chi-Chi. How adorable."

I raised an eyebrow. " Who's Chi-Chi?"

" Your roommate," Tamar answered, rubbing her hair with her towel. " Wait a sec, she didn't tell you?"

" Who?"

" Collette."

I rolled my eyes and hissed. " Collette? Nope she told me nothing. She's a snob. I don't think I like her one bit."

" You don't wanna call her that," Tamar stepped away from me towards my bed and sat down. " She's not gonna like you calling her by her first name."

" I don't wanna talk about her, at least not now. So who's this Chi-Chi. What's she like?"

Tamar sighed. " Well, I guess you'll just have to figure it out for yourself tonight. In the meantime, get a shower and prepare for dinner. You don't wanna skip meals. It's against school rules to skip meals so I'd suggest you get yourself in order and meet up with the girls at the cafeteria. Roll call would be made. I don't think it'd be nice if you're found absent."

I liked her already. She was Soo nice and attentive. " I'll try."

Tamar stood up and moved up to me. Again, she was closed to my face. " Say, you don't happen to have a school godmother yet, do you?"

" What's a school godmother?"

" You're learning," Tamar laughed. " Well, to put it out to you, she's like a mother. When you get in trouble with some seniors, she's always there to save the day. Once you've got a school godmother, consider yourself protected. Not all the seniors here are nice. Some are terrible bullies. They'd hurt you on the slightest impulse. That's when a school godmother steps in. Lots of juniors got school godmothers. Trust me, it's definitely worth it."

" Alright then," I smirked at her. " Why don't you be my school godmother?"

She made a sad face. " I really wish I could but that's not how it works around here. I already got a school daughter. It's decided amongst we seniors not to have more than one school daughter."

Damnit! And I was hoping to make her my school mom.

Tamar smiled reassuringly at me. " Don't let it bother you that much, Lucy. There are tons of nice seniors around although not many of them are that nice. You can ask Collette. She'd make a great godmother for you. As far as I've known her, she doesn't own a school daughter yet."

I hated that name Soo much I wished I could erase it off my memory. " That's the last person I have in mind."

Tamar hummed. " Oh come on, she's not that bad."

" I appreciate your concern, but thanks."

She regarded me for sometime then shrugged. " It's your life. Welcome to Eleanor's college. I hope you make lots of friends. Wait, what class?"

" Tenth Grade," I said

She hung her towel around her neck and nodded. " Welcome once again."

" Thanks."

And with that, she left the room. Now I really wished I knew what my roommate looked like. I was excited to meet her.

By now, all my jitters were gone. I've even forgotten about mom. I just wanted to explore this new school and get along with the system.

Maybe mom was right. Maybe this was the school for me.

I decided not to take a shower. I was going to dinner tonight and make some new friends.