User: infinitywordlover

The wind whistles through my hair whipping it around my face as the countryside of Florida streaks past us. I stare pointedly out the window avoiding the burning gazes my parents are sending me through the rearview mirror, instead focusing on the huge villas and oceanside mansions that I had never even seen anything like before.

"Ri, you ok?" my mom asks.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" In truth, my stomach flutters with what feels like a whole garden of butterflies, and my legs feel like strawberry jam.

"You've been quiet that's all."

"I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." At least that much was true. I had stayed up the whole of last night alternating between excitement and anxiety. I had planned to go Carter Academy since probably third grade.

I still remember the day three months ago, when the letter came in the mail.

"Dear Ms. Ariadne Rane," it had said. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the prestigious educational establishment of Carter Hollow Academy. You have been granted a full scholarship encompassing tuition and board." 

It had been easily the best day of my life. Going to Carter Hollow almost guaranteed admission into Ivy League schools...well, as long as you survived it at least. 30% of the students drop out in their first year and the percentage only increases from there.

The coursework is infamous for being brutal and unrelenting, but the teachers are amazing. I had been confident that this was the right thing for me, but as we approach the huge iron gates of the school, I'm not so sure. Everyone and everything here is rich and beautiful. Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, even a couple Lamborghinis line the parking lot. I don't belong here with my simple Honda Accord.

An authoritative figure stalks up to the car her eyes scanning it disdainfully.

"Welcome to Carter Hollow, you must be new. What dorm are you?"

I fumble with my paper nervously. "Um, Briginhoff."

"Third building on the right of the main building."

"Thanks." she nods and backs away letting us drive into the lot.

The buildings of the school look more like mansions or castles than school buildings including my dorm building. A couple girls are hovering in front each carrying a Coach purse, their hair perfectly done, and their makeup flawless. I swallow heavily, sweat coating my palms.

"Here we are, Ri," my father says thickly. I can hear my mom crying, and finally I meet their gazes, and suddenly my eyes too, are flowing over with tears. I hug them tightly, all too aware that this will be the last time I'll see them before the winter holidays.

"I'll miss you," I whisper.

"We're so proud of you!" my mom says quietly.

"You'll do great! Go show them what you can do," my dad adds. I nod tightly and we separate, me heading for the girls, and them heading back home.

I tug my single suitcase up the cobblestone path my backpack hooked on my back. The girls give me the once over, and snicker quietly to themselves.

"You must be the other scholarship student," the lead girl says spitting out the word 'scholarship' like it's a dirty word. I nod, staring straight into her eyes challenging her. She sneers,

"Arianna, right?"

"No, Ariadne," I correct her. "You know like the one who helped Theseus in Greek Mythology?" I add hopefully, but she just stares like I have three heads, which Cerberus the guard dog to the underworld actually did.

"Whatever," she says finally rolling her eyes. She digs around a bucket beside her pulling out a set of keys, and a brochure.

"Room 216, enjoy your stay."

"Thanks."

As I leave, I can feel the girl's eyes boring into my back and faint trails of giggles slip by my ears. They're talking about me, no doubt. I can feel my cheeks growing hot.

The first floor of the mansion is a common room sort of thing with comfortable plush rugs, and cushy armchairs and unlit stone fireplaces . The second floor contains the freshmen, and my room is almost all the way down the hall.

There's a bed on each side of the room, and a large desk by the window. An open suitcase lies open on one bed abandoned by its owner, my roommate, Beth Rose, according to the tag.

I consider unpacking but decide that it's too nice of a day to stay inside, and besides, I'm in FLORIDA!! Everyone back home in rainy, Washington State only ever spoke of Florida as a vacation spot, and now I'm living in it! An exhilarated smile creeps up on my face and involuntarily, I giggle a little bit.

The lawn of the school is crisp and green, and the air is filled with salt from the close by ocean. Palm trees sway in the wind, and magnolia trees litter the paths. If anything could be described as paradise, this is it. I decide to allow myself just this one last day without worry.

As the sun reaches its zenith in the dreamy blue sky, the other students begin heading into the theater, and I follow the rest of the freshmen into the dark, and thankfully cool building. A congregation of four people stand hesitantly on the stage.  The man is clearly the principal, Dr. Bennett, and next to him stands the Vice Principal, Mrs. Rundolf. I would hedge a guess that one of the remaining women is the secretary leaving the last one a mystery.

As the last few students settle in, Dr. Bennett begins,

"Welcome to the Carter Hollow Academy and a new year of learning! Welcome to the new and to the old students, welcome back! I am Adam Bennett and I am your principal for this year. Students, please help the new people around and new people, please work hard. if there are any concerns related to clubs, learning, sports or other things then please come by my office and tell me, I am here to help. So let the year begin and grow!" We applaud politely, and one of the seniors yells out, "Go Chimaeras!" to which we all laugh and cheer.

Dr. Bennett smiles and continues, "Also, I'd like to introduce Arabella Blackwell. She'll be evaluating our campus and student progress this year."

At last the mystery of the woman is solved, but my curiosity doesn't settle down when whispers spread around me.

"Blackwell...?" one senior behind me asks thoughtfully.

"Yeah wasn't she the one..." someone else adds, but I can't hear exactly which one she is as the woman has started talking. "Welcome students to Carter Hollow Academy, I'm happy to be with you and I look forward to watching you all grow over the course of this year, I hope that you can all leave this school with the same level of appreciation for it that I did. have a great year!"

She finishes and the whispers start up again. The pale, dark haired boy next to me nudges me and says,

"I heard she's the last remaining descendant of the founder, you know, Carter Hollow."

I glance back up to the stage comparing her to the giant portrait of Carter in the front lobby, and nod slightly. " Yeah, I can see that."

"How?"

"You know, same eyebrows."

He laughs. "So, I bet you're not one of the regulars."

"What do you mean?" I ask defensively.

"I mean you're not carrying a fancy purse, or wearing designer clothing, or anything."

I groan. "Is it really that obvious?"

"No...well, kinda. But if it makes you feel better, I'm not one of them either."

I grin. "It does actually."

"I'm Leo Ramirez, Sophomore, looking for an Ivy League school, and got a scholarship here for my magnificent brains," he pronounces grandly.

I giggle, my anxiety flowing away when I realize that there are kids here like me. "Hi, I'm Ariadne Rane, Freshman, and looking for same thing and got here the same way you did."

"You know," he says thoughtfully. "We should start a study club, you know so that we can get a scholarship into a good college."

"Haha, yeah we should." Assuming that we'll have enough free time outside of homework and stuff.

"Well, see you next Wednesday in the Sparrow Library, third floor, window section."

"You're actually serious?!"

"Sure why not?"

He files out with the rest of the row leaving me to contemplate this new development.

The afternoon slips past with relatively no change, and I somehow manage to get all my clothes and belongings sorted out. Beth turns out to also be a scholarship student and we click almost immediately, causing us to be fast friends.

 Afterwards, I wander the grounds exploring and familiarizing myself with the buildings so that I will be ready for class tomorrow. A slight breeze filters through the air carrying with the faint smell of grass, and salt, and ocean.

Closing my eyes I breathe deeply just enjoying the moment when a blood curdling scream shatters the peace. Everything freezes. And then chaos. All the students sprint towards the noise eager to be apart of the action. Maybe someone will be able to get some good viral footage. 

The scream is now accompanied by many others, and as I approach I can make out wails and sobs. Slowly, I realize that this isn't a joke. Something's seriously wrong. Hundreds of heads block my view of the scene, but whispers and rumors reach my ears, and they are enough.

"Nicholi...dead."

"...Fell from a tree." 

"Pity, he was a good lad."

The crowd moves momentarily aside to let Mrs. Blackwell through to the center, and for a brief moment, I get a glimpse of a limp body crumpled at the foot of the tree. Dead. Something seems to shatter inside me as I realize this. He is dead, as in never to smile, breathe, or laugh again. I am looking at a dead...shell.

"Oh my god," I whisper, my voice hoarse. Tears well up in my eyes for the second time today. I didn't know him, but the loss of any life deserves mourning. 

The Principal is already there, and he says something worriedly to Ms. Blackwell glancing towards a devastated looking girl standing in the crowd. A moment later she strides toward the girl talking to her, and leading her away. As they leave, Dr. Bennett seems to suddenly notice the crowd and his gaze darkens.

"Go away, all of you! If any of you get caught lingering around you'll get detention for a week!"

We scurry away, but my mind swirls with his words.

Something isn't matching up. I glance at the tree and frown. It can't be more than twenty-five feet tall, and the tallest branches are too thin to climb, so the boy couldn't have been more than fifteen feet up. It is highly unlikely that he would die from such a height, in fact my cousin once fell off of a tree thirty feet tall and HE only broke his leg.

I brush the thought that next occurs to me with repulsion.

No. It was a tragic accident that's all. I would not even CONSIDER murder. I have enough to worry about without the extra weight of being killed. Besides who has ever heard of a prep school with MURDER. Exactly. You haven't.