Page 2 of Akarnae

“I have to go, Alex,” her mother said. “I know you’re going to have a fabulous time at the—hic!—academy. We’ll see you in June. Not long now!”

Clearly the meds were doing their job, especially if eight months equalled ‘not long now’. But Alex didn’t want to ruin her mother’s happy buzz, so she kept her mouth closed.

“I love you, baby. Be careful, but have fun!” And with those final words, a quietclickdisconnected the last phone call they’d share for a long, long time.

Feeling disheartened, Alex turned to look out the car window again, noticing that there were many more trees surrounding them now than before. It was clear evidence of just how easily a few hours of driving had transported her from her most recent home in Cannon Beach, Oregon, to somewhere on the outskirts of Mount Hood National Forest. The change in scenery from the rocky coastline to the thickening woodland was startling, and Alex couldn’t help but feel like she was already a long way from her comfort zone.

“Miss? We’re here,” her driver finally said.

They’d stopped in a private driveway barricaded by two massive, wrought-iron security gates. A sign woven into the steelwork spelled out the words: ‘International Exchange Academy’.

The driver spoke quietly through the intercom and a moment later the gates opened without so much as a creak. They moved slowly up the narrow, tree-lined path until they reached the academy itself.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Alex muttered at the view out the window.

The academy really wasn’t all that different from the stereotype she’d envisioned—big, ostentatious, gothic even. But the students? They looked miserable. All of them wore tight, uncomfortable-looking uniforms despite the fact that it was Sunday afternoon and there were no classes until the next morning. And they didn’t appear to bedoinganything; they were just loitering aimlessly. It was as if they had nothing better to do than wait for someone to come along and break into the monotony of their boring existence. Looking at them, Alex seriously doubted she’d be able to follow her mother’s advice to ‘have fun’.

When the car pulled to a stop, she noticed a group of students mingling near a gaudy, medieval-styled water fountain. They weren’t smiling. They weren’t laughing. They were barely even talking amongst themselves. All Alex could think was that she would be more likely to make friends with a rock than any of the students scowling in her direction.

Don’t judge by appearances, she told herself. First impressions weren’t always accurate, right? Alex might not like being abandoned at the academy, but she was determined to at least try and make the most of her stay. And that meant keeping an open mind, regardless of the unwelcoming vibes coming from her new classmates.

“I’ll take your bags,” her driver offered, interrupting her thoughts. “You should head into the administration building and speak with the headmaster.”

Alex grabbed the enrolment papers from her bag and handed the rest of her luggage over. She wasn’t an official student yet since her parents hadn’t had the time to properly enrol her before leaving.

“Which way do I go?” she asked the man as he started to walk away with her belongings.

He pointed to the closest building and left her standing on her own while the zombie-like students just stared at her.

Right, let’s get this over with, she thought, gathering her courage. She wasn’t an animal in a zoo, and she didn’t appreciate all the speculative glances directed her way. Nevertheless, she held her head high and headed towards the administration building.

As she walked around the fountain she flicked through her paperwork once more—partly to avoid looking at the creepy gargoyle statues around the water feature, partly to avoid making eye contact with the other students, and partly to make sure everything that needed to be signed was, in fact, signed.

Alex was so distracted by her papers that she barely heard the whispered, “Fish out of water, think we should help her?” and the corresponding, “Absolutely. We wouldn’t want her to choke.”

Before she could properly register the words, something slammed into her, causing her to stagger forward. She managed to regain her balance just in time to avoid a messy fall into the grungy-looking water.

“Oh, I’msosorry!” a girl around Alex’s age said. “I’m so clumsy sometimes.”

“It’s okay,” Alex assured her, straightening up. “No harm done.”

“Brianna! You’re always getting in the way! You almost sent the new girl into the fountain. What kind of a welcome would that have been?” said another girl who stepped up beside them.

“Really, it’s fine,” Alex said again. She didn’t want to cause any problems before school even started. It was bad enough that she was transferring mid semester.

“It’s fine?” the newest girl repeated with a toothy grin. “Hear that, Brianna? She said it’s fine.”

Alex wasn’t sure what to make of their exchange. Their identical beaming smiles put her on edge, so she quickly excused herself. “I have to go and see the headmaster, but I’m sure I’ll see you both around.”

“Oh, allow us to help,” the non-Brianna girl said. “It’s the least we can do. You wouldn’t want to go to the wrong place and cause a—”

Her timing was perfect, really. The moment Alex took her first step forward, Brianna ‘accidentally’ tripped over her own feet again. She bumped hard into Alex who had nothing to hold on to and no room left to find her balance. With her arms cartwheeling uselessly, Alex fell straight into the fountain.

The moment her head broke through the surface of the water, she heard non-Brianna gleefully finish the last word of her sentence.

“—splash.”

The previously quiet courtyard erupted into laughter.

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