Olivia

My father entered our dingy Floridian kitchen with a big brown envelope in his thick hand. I had made a brave decision by requesting to go to boarding school. During our stay at the motel, I decided t o research schools in Florida, and found out about a great one called William Sterling Academy.

When I had brought it up, there was a lot of yelling and swearing, leaving me shaky, but I figured a little distance might be good for both of us. It was quite clear that my father hated the sight of me and it was safer than staying home. The funds were an issue as though my father worked, his short temper got him fired often and his alcoholic needs drained a hefty portion of the money. I didn't think it would happen, but I applied anyways.

"I'm going to boarding school?" I asked in surprise. He carelessly tossed the envelope at me and it landed loudly on the table. I picked it up and opened it, my eyes scanning the letter. Though I was careful not to look too joyful, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. They accepted me and were giving me a full scholarship because of the excellent grades I had. It appeared spending as much time at the school library as an escape really came in handy.

"Yes. However, you'll come home on the days I tell you to and don't give me a reason to come get you or you'll regret leaving this house. Do I make myself clear?" His eyes were dark and his face was serious.

"Yes, Father," I said as I nodded quickly.

***

I dragged my luggage outside and threw them in the boot of the car. My father decided on driving me to the nearest bus terminal as we only had one car, and he didn't care to drive me all the way to school. My destination was a little past Palm Coast, which was about an hour away from Jacksonville. My father didn't get out of the car to help with my luggage, or even to say goodbye. The moment I grabbed the last bag, he drove off.

After loading my bags into the bus, I found a window seat. I took out my old iPhone that I had bought with money from working little jobs like babysitting, and newspaper routes. After putting in my headphones, I leaned back in my seat. I was excited to see the sunshine and the palm trees that London lacked. When the bus moved off, I couldn't help but think about how much I wished my mum were still around.

When I was five, I woke up one day to see that most of her stuff was gone. Barefooted, I toddled across the wooden floor to the kitchen where my father sat at the table. I asked where my mother had gone and he told me she had left us. I honestly couldn't blame her and I guess she was unable to take me with her, but I really wished she had.

When I finally got to the William Sterling Academy, I stepped off the bus and pulled my suitcases out. I dragged them to the main office, despite the trek. The heat seemed to press on me, leaving me exhausted by the time I stepped into the office. A dark-haired secretary looked up when I walked in.

"Hello, dear," she said with a polite smile. "How may I help you?"

"I'm Olivia Sombers," I started. "I'm supposed to be starting tomorrow?"

"Oh yes! Let me get your file." She typed in a few things onto the computer in front of her. She started to print things from the computer before getting up to retrieve papers from the machine. "Here is your schedule, a map and room number and key. Your dorm is here." She pointed to a building on the map, then handed me the papers and a key. I thanked her and set off to find my room.

I got to a building on the east side of campus with three stories, and smiled at the bricks that looked a little rustic. There was ivy growing up the side of it, and it slightly reminded me of London buildings. The major differences being that there were palm trees near the building as well.

I stepped inside the building, dragging my suitcases behind me. The bottom floor was fairly modern compared to the exterior of the place, and I assumed it had been remodelled. I headed over to the lift, which would take me up to the second floor. As I waited, I smoothed down white shirt and then my jeans. I hoped that any bruises I had weren't peaking out from beneath any of the fabric.

Once the lift doors opened, I stepped down the carpeted corridor and passed a janitor's closet, before making it to my new room. I pulled my belongings into the room and put my stuff down by the door and looked around.

The room was quite luxurious compared to anything I've seen. It had a single bed by the window, and a bunk bed against the wall near it. There was a fairly large closet, as well as two dressers to hold more clothes. There was even a bathroom inside the room, which was quite lucky, as I assumed some girls had to go use communal ones in the hallways.

"Hello!" a feminine voice said from behind me. I jumped in surprise, and spun around with a hand to my heart, as if that would slow the racing. She grinned and pulled me into a quick hug.

"Um . . . hi," I said awkwardly. She let me go and smiled again, her teeth glinting in the light. She was wearing a red top showing some cleavage, white skinny jeans, soft brunette hair in curls and wearing red glossy flip flops. She was like a gorgeous, life-sized Barbie.

"You must be Olivia. I'm your roommate," she said smoothly as she tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Call me Liv." I said, taking my two of my smaller bags over to the dresser. "And you are?" 

"Oh, I'm Hayley!" She replied with a laugh. Hayley picked up my luggage and pulled it over to the closet. "Let's leave this here... I want to show you around, and you can unpack later. Come on!" Hayley said excitedly.

"Okay," I smiled. "Lead the way!"

I followed Hayley out of the dormitory and we began to wander around the campus. It looked like something out of a movie, unlike anything I had seen before – especially not like anything in England.  

"So, the boys' dorms are on the West side, the girls the East. Beware of the teachers – their houses are on the Northern points of both dorms. Most of the classrooms are south, past the Rec centre and caf, which is where we're headed now.  The middle is where we socialize; most of the cafes and restaurants are there. Sunday to Thursday by 10:00 p.m. we have to be in our dorms and nowhere near the boys, though they're lenient until 11 anyway."

We walked by the massive recreational centre that Hayley told me had multiple gymnasiums and an enormous pool. We then headed towards the cafeteria, which was indoors, but the walls facing outside and the ceiling were all made out of glass. There were blue chairs around big white tables both inside and outside on a patio.

"Even though there's many cafes on campus, this one has my favourite smoothie flavours!" Hayley explained. "Come on, you have to try one!"

Following her, I bumped into someone. I stopped to apologize, losing Hayley in the process. The person I bumped into was a cute guy with black hair and brown eyes. He was taller than I was, with a slight build. 

"I'm so sorry!" I said, embarrassed.

"I'm not," he mumbled, giving me the once over. My face reddened and I shifted my weight to my other foot. "I'm Jay," he added giving me a wink.

"I'm Liv. I'm new here," I said, sticking my hand out for him to shake. He took it but kissed it instead. My cheeks heated and I glanced down at the ground. At that moment, Hayley was suddenly beside me.

"There you are! I turned around and you were gone! Excuse me, Jay, we have to go." She pulled me away hastily, her arm wrapped around mine.

"What's going on? What did you do that for?" I asked a safe distance away from him. We stopped in the line up for our smoothies.

"That's May's boyfriend!" Hayley whispered.

"I was just being polite! Who's May anyways?"

"She's head cheerleader and the most popular girl here... not to mention the most devious if you get on her bad side. If she finds out you were flirting with Jay, she'll make your life miserable here."

"Hopefully she won't!" I said, nervously running a hand through my blonde hair.

Big mistake, I thought to myself. So, not the way to make friends!

"Hopefully not..." Hayley agreed with a nod. 

We were next in line, so we both ordered our drinks before we continued our walk around campus. It was nice to have the cold smoothie contrast the humid Floridian air.

"There are different cliques at this school, but the lines are a bit blurred," Hayley explained. "The most important thing is to stay away from the cheerleaders unless you want to be one, or be made fun of by one. Got it?"

I nodded and smiled. American schools seemed more similar to television shows than I imagined they'd be. There was a possibility this one could be even more dramatic than I thought.

We wandered around for a little while longer, before we got pizza at one of the restaurants on campus. We sat outside and had that for dinner then made our way back to our room.  When we got inside, I unpacked some of my things and then decided to take it easy for the rest of the night. I changed into my pyjamas then went to bed early.

It was the first night in an a long time that I felt calm and safe in my bed. I wasn't listening out for my father's footsteps, voice or beer bottles breaking. Instead, I was relaxed enough to sleep soundly and that felt good.

***

The next morning, I walked to my maths class wearing dark jeans, black sandals and a blue three-quarter sleeved shirt. I was nervous, but I tried not to let it show as I entered the room.

"Class, we have a new student today. Her name is Olivia. Please make her feel welcome," the teacher announced to the class. "You can go sit over there," she said, pointing to a seat beside Jay.

Of course . . . I thought sarcastically.

Sure, Jay was attractive, but after yesterday's experience, it was easy to see it was in my best interest stay away. He was dating May and flirting with me; the classic player. I fought back a sigh before reluctantly going to sit down. I pulled out my maths text and notebook, keeping my eyes trained on the teacher.

A few minutes into the lesson, I could feel Jay lean over to me, breaking my focus.

"So . . . that shirt really matches your pretty blue eyes," he whispered in my ear. I stiffened slightly, but didn't turn to look at him.

"Um, thanks," I replied flatly, diverting my attention from him to the teacher again.

"Are you getting the math? 'Cause if not, I could teach it to you." Jay shifted closer to me once again. I glared at him this time.

"I think I'd get it more if you kept quiet," I snapped. 

Jay smirked and leaned back in his seat. He was starting to annoy me and he should know better than to flirt with me. Besides, though I didn't know who May was, I didn't want to find out if it meant she was going to fight me.

Even though it felt like forever, class finally ended. I got up quickly and headed for the door. Jay was right behind me. I stopped in the hallway and turned to face him. I could feel my heart beating in my chest at the thought of confrontation, but I decided to swallow the fear.

"Look, I know you have a girlfriend, Jay. I think that it's best we don't be friends," I said, twirling my long hair nervously.

"Okay, whatever you say," he said with a smirk.

I turned around and walked away. I wasn't even sure if the message got through to him, but I was done with this conversation, and I had to get to my next class; science.

After science class, I remembered I had promised I'd meet Hayley for lunch. So, I headed over to the cafeteria and found with Hayley and her friends sitting at one of the large white tables. She smiled and waved me over when she saw me approaching. Though I was anxious they wouldn't like me at first, it turned out that we had some things in common to chat about between bites of food.

I got up to throw my trash out and put my tray way, manoeuvring through the crowded room. On my way back to the table, a black-haired, blue-eyed girl blocked my path and I stopped in my tracks to avoid walking into her. I took one look at the expression on her face and took a deep breath, preparing myself for trouble.

Author's Note: Hi!! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter so far! What do you think of Liv, her father, Hayley and Jay? What do you think will happen next? Stay tuned for more!