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Loud sharp knocks jolted Jayden from an uncomfortable slumber. He opened his eyes groggily as the knocks stubbornly persisted. He rolled himself from the bed and stumbled to the door, swinging it open just as a fist poised in the air, ready for another bout of knocking.
He glared at the offender. ‘What?’
The prefect, an Asian teen, looked unimpressed. ‘You’re late.’
Jayden blinked. ‘What?’
The prefect turned away. ‘Get ready. You’ve already missed breakfast and will no doubt miss the opening assembly. If you hurry, you’ll make it in time for orientation.’
Jayden cursed under his breath. He hadn’t meant to sleep in this late. He glanced at the clock. It was 8:15 am.
The prefect walked out of the dorm, pausing by the doorway, he spoke over his shoulder. ‘Orientation is at 8:30. Don’t be late.’
Jayden glanced at the clock again before jumping quickly in the shower. He dressed hurriedly and stumbled out the door with five minutes left on the clock.
He arrived at the auditorium two minutes late and a little out of breath. The prefect who had woken him was standing by the stage with his arms crossed. He frowned at him and walked over.
‘You’re late.’
‘I know.’
He shook his head in annoyance. ‘Your mates are already on their way to their classrooms. What is your student ID?’
Jayden shrugged. ‘CO4 something, something.’
The prefect rolled his eyes. ‘Hopefully, that will be enough. Follow me.’
He led Jayden out of the auditorium and past the administration complex. They walked past a large fountain and across a quadrangle before stopping by a row of buildings.
‘Since you are missing the orientation, I guess I have to orientate you myself.’
Jayden said nothing.
The prefect sighed. ‘Very well. Lumière International High School sits on eighty thousand acres of land. It was originally some thirty thousand acres but over the years, more land was acquired by the various past heads.’
They continued walking, passing a large football field. The prefect turned to him.
‘The school partakes in several sports. There are three football fields, three soccer pitches, three all-purpose fields, and a horse racetrack. There are also six swimming pools, six tennis courts, and six basketball courts, each of them three indoors and three outdoors.
‘There are three because one is used for recreation, one for competitions and the other for physical education.’
He gestured to the football field by them. ‘This, for example, is used for competitions.’
He turned and continued to walk. Jayden hurried after him, slowing down when he reached his side.
‘We partake in competitions both within the school and outside. Within, we have several like interhouse, interclass, and interforms.
‘Of course, the only one that everyone is actually interested in is interhouse. The competition is cutthroat. Everyone gets into it; teachers, students, parents, other staff, even the headmistress, and the school’s Board of Governors all make an appearance.
‘Speaking of I’ve got to tell you about the houses. As you know, there are four houses, each named after a constellation and each possessing distinctive traits. They are Scorpius, Aquila, Draco and Lepus.
‘We are in Scorpius. Our colours are blue and black. We are usually extremely loyal to our own, ambitious, and clever. We are also aggressive, obstinate, manipulative, destructive and very secretive. We are infamous for our brutal vengeance and our mascot is, of course, the scorpion.’
They passed by a swimming pool where a teacher was teaching a class of third years. One student saw them and called out, waving.
‘Hey Ash, using prefect duties to skive off classes again, huh?’
The entire class burst into laughter and waved at them. The prefect, Ash, waved back with a smile.
‘That brings us to Lepus. Those in Lepus, like my friend over there, are the friendly ones. They are hardworking, patient, tolerant and humble. They are also naïve and over-dependent. Their house colours are red and yellow and their mascot is the hare.’
Jayden nodded thoughtfully. He wondered why Samuel wasn’t placed in Lepus. From what he had gathered so far, he would fit right in.
‘Now for Draco. Their mascot is obviously, the dragon and their house colours are gold and silver. They are famous for their bravery, courage, energetic nature and leadership. They are also the most stubborn and reckless of the lot. Their short-temper and pride are infamous.
‘Aquila has the calmest bunch. They are famous for their intelligence and their arrogance. They are also possessive and jealous. Their mascot is the eagle, and their colours are purple and violet.’
They walked towards a large building and made their way inside.
‘That’s all you need to know about the houses, I think. Anyway, this is the main cafeteria. This is where you’ll come to have your lunch. Breakfast would be eaten in the Breakfast Hall and dinner, in the Grand Dining Room.’
The cafeteria was a large building with four floors. There was a large space in the centre of the upper floors, so if one were to look up, they would see the large skylight in the centre of the ceiling.
They made their way through the building, emerging from the other side into a beautiful garden with tables and chairs arranged tastefully around a large fountain.
‘The estate is quite massive so it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know the way. To make movement easier the classrooms, labs, library, and other academic buildings are placed closer together with easy access from the dormitories.’
They left the cafeteria garden and made their way past rows of gazebos, some of which contained students learning or having discussions.
‘The massive size makes it quite enjoyable for horseback riding or biking. There are also golf carts that aid in movement across parts of the estates. If you are a good sailor, you could even use the lake. If not, you can always learn.’
The prefect turned to him after they had walked into another quadrangle. ‘Wait here.’
He walked a couple of steps forward and stopped by a teacher who held a large clipboard in her well-manicured hands. The prefect conferred with her for a minute and consulted the clipboard. He turned and walked back.
‘Jayden Mills?’
Jayden nodded.
‘You’re in classroom A5.’
He turned and pointed to the building on the opposite side of the quadrangle. ‘First floor. Lockers are on the ground floor corridor; they’ll be assigned later.’
Jayden nodded before turning in the direction pointed.
‘Hold up,’ Ash called out, halting him in his tracks. ‘One final thing. Mondays and Wednesdays are long-sleeved days. Tuesdays and Thursdays, short-sleeved. In addition to Mondays and Thursdays, long-sleeves are worn for every special occasion. The school blazer should always be worn over the vest and shirt. After 12:00, they may be removed, and sleeves may be folded to the elbow. Good luck.’
Jayden nodded silently in thanks and made his way towards the direction Ash pointed. He walked slowly, taking his time to admire the hedges planted along the borders of the quadrangle. The scenery of the school was truly beautiful; he had to give it that.
He arrived on the first floor and, after a bit of searching, found class A5. It appeared his mates were still on the campus tour because his class was empty.
He took a seat at the back of the first row by the window overlooking the garden and fountain behind the building.
It didn’t take long for the murmur of voices, which signalled the approach of his colleagues, to be heard. The sound of many feet sounded along the corridor as they searched for their classrooms.
The door to his classroom swung open and the first few students trickled in. More soon followed and there was a rush to find good seats.
A loud voice rang out and Jayden groaned inwardly when he recognized it.
Not him again!
He couldn’t believe how rotten his luck was to have ended up in the same class as Samuel. He just hoped he wouldn’t decide to sit by him.
Apparently, he still had a bit of luck because luckily for him, his wishes were answered, and Samuel took a seat next to a pretty redhead girl, who batted her eyelashes shamelessly at him. He appeared not to have noticed him and he tore his gaze away, firmly intending to keep it that way.
The door opened once more, and Jayden looked up to see a sinfully cute boy walked in. He was clutching three textbooks to his chest and his glasses were almost sliding down his nose. He approached the first desk in the middle and dumped his books there.
‘Excuse me, is this seat taken?’ he asked politely in a soft voice.
The people sitting around looked up at him and sneered. One of them reached out and pushed his books onto the floor.
‘No, it isn’t and it won’t. Definitely not with the likes of you,’ he spat.
The boy blinked in surprise. He pushed his glasses up and bowed his head, bending down to pick his fallen books.
He stood up and walked away, looking for an empty seat but wherever he looked, people sneered at him. One girl jeered at him as he passed.
‘Penniless brat.’
He didn’t behave as if he heard but the tears slowly dripping down his cheeks said otherwise. He looked around hopelessly until his eyes found the empty desk by Jayden.
He approached slowly, unsure about it. He reached the desk and cleared his throat nervously.
‘Excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you?’
Jayden looked at him for a few seconds and glanced away. The boy placed his books slowly on the table and sat down unsurely but Jayden continued to ignore him.
He finally let out his breath and relaxed when it was certain he wasn’t going to be kicked off. He opened one of the textbooks and begun to read while Jayden continued to sit silently by him, and the class chittered around them.
The class stayed like this until an hour later when the door suddenly swung open to reveal a smiling middle-aged woman with a good-natured face. She was wearing a dress with strange designs and her blonde dyed pixie cut hair complemented her dark skin quite nicely.
She strode into the class with confident steps and stood in front of the class, facing the students.
‘Welcome,’ she said in a singsong voice, opening her arms wide. ‘Welcome, welcome, welcome.’
She went to the board and picking a marker wrote in bold cursive letters the words, ‘Miss Alberta’.
‘My name is Miss Alberta,’ she said, turning around. ‘But you can call me Auntie Albie.’ She added with a wink.
The class chuckled good-naturedly and one girl raised her hands.
‘Not now dearie, questions later.’
The girl placed her hand down and chuckled when Miss Alberta sent her a mischievous wink.
‘Alright,’ she clapped her hands. ‘Where were we? Right, introductions. Well, as I said, I am Miss Alberta and I have been saddled with you lot till you leave the school. That’s right, I’m your class teacher and you’re stuck with me but hey, it’s going to be fun. Any questions?’
The girl who had raised her hands previously raised it again, waving it furiously.
Miss Alberta chuckled and nodded at her. ‘Must be important, go on then.’
The girl laughed. ‘Yes, it is. I, and I’m sure the whole class as well, was wondering why you’re dressed like Mrs. Frizzle.’
The class nodded, muttering their assent. They stared at Miss Alberta who burst into laughter.
‘Oh my,’ she said, drying her eyes. ‘Didn’t expect that so soon. Yes, I am dressed like The Frizz because she’s my role model. She was a great influence on me as a kid and the reason I became a teacher. I hope to be as great a teacher as her one day and leave a positive impact on my students as she had done to me.’
She smiled at the girl who asked the question. ‘Is your question answered?’
The girl nodded.
‘Any others?’
‘Yeah,’ a boy at the back called out. ‘What do you teach, teach?’
‘I teach English Literature, both core and elective. Judging by your play of words, I can already tell you’ll be great in my class.’
She winked at the boy and he grinned back.
‘I’m also the drama patron and theatre director. In addition to those, I am also the Housemistress of…. C’mon, who can guess?’
‘Lepus!’
She smiled, peering at the back. ‘That’s right! Who said that?’
A boy in the middle row raised his hand.
‘Smart kid. You get a Get Out of Detention free card from me. Where my fellow Lepus at!’
A few people, including the boy who had guessed correctly, raised their hands, cheering loudly.
‘That’s right. To the rest of you, we gonna whoop your asses at interhouse and clean your blood with your behind.’
There was another loud cheer from the Lepus while the rest of the houses answered with loud boos.
‘Alright, alright.’ Miss Alberta chuckled. ‘Any more questions?’
‘What are your hobbies?’
‘Well, reading of course. I also dabble in the mystic arts. Astrology, tarot reading, and such. And,’ her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Don’t tell anyone this, but at times, I also dabble in the dark arts.’
The class looked impressed. Samuel stuck his hand into the air. ‘What about romantic interests? Anyone you’re seeing or got an eye on?’ He wiggled his brows suggestively.
The class, including Miss Alberta, chuckled.
‘Well, I’m single and already mingling. About whom I got an eye on, hmmm, let’s see. Mr. Howard, one of the P.E teachers, got a nice body on him. When he comes out of the pool, with water dripping all over those gorgeous six-packs and his bum looking so snug in those shorts. Good God, is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?’
She giggled and fanned herself with her hands. The girls oohed and ahhed whiles the boys broke out into wolf whistles.
She grinned mischievously and sat on the edge of her desk with a wistful look in her eyes. ‘In fact, let me tell you a story about me, Mr. Howard, a moonlit pool, and a bottle of champagne. We were….’
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!🥳🥳🥳🍾🍾🍾🍻🍻🥂🥂☃️🎆🎆🎆🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊🎁🎁🎁🎄🎄🎄
Hope you all enjoy it. We have a lot to be thankful for. No matter how horrible this year was, we survived. That’s what matters. It may be painful but you survived to write a new, better and happier chapter for yourself. You may not think you can do it but you can!!! The fact that you survived shows that much.
My Christmas present to you is an early update WHOO HOO!!!🥳🥳🥳
You don’t need to give me any presents because all I want for Christmas is you.
Knowing that you’re happy, safe and alive is more than enough. But of course, if you insist on giving me something you can vote by clicking that little Christmas star below 😉.
P.S The picture at the beginning of the chapter is how their classrooms would look like. Of course, there would be windows showing the garden outside and a bigger screen but this is the closest I could find.
ENJOY and once again MERRY CHRISTMAS🎄🎆🎆🥳🥳🥳.
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