Arriving (Open)

[Rayne Lenoir]

The taxi driver finally pulled off the highway and into a long driveway that had a great big old iron archway over the top reading Firefly Fields academy. It had been a long trip even after the way to long plane ride and the young girl sitting in the back seat was exhausted, she could think of nothing better then crawling up to her dorm and falling asleep. All she had with her was one suitcase, she did have more belonging but she had put them all in storage, they had been superficial reminders of a life she no longer had a claim on and that was an unwelcomed reminder, so all she had with her were clothes and riding gear. Her art supplies she could buy later, she had a few books with her, just a few classics she loved to immerse herself in when she was feeling down, which was a lot of the time now days. But she couldn’t let herself think of that, this was a fresh start, here no one knew her and they didn’t need to either she was here to study and become a better rider nothing else mattered.

The taxi driver steered the car easily down the drive following the twists and turns past trails, pastures and bushland. Finally some building loomed upon her and she got her first look at the academy, complete with stables. She was lucky she knew where to go and didn’t have to go searching for someone to show her the way, she had specifically requested a map of the campus prior to coming for that very reason. The taxi came to a stop and she handed over the cab fair before grabbing hold of her one piece of luggage and stepping out. It was a beautiful day and it was busy outside, the girl was of average height, her dark brown to black hair hung in waves around her pale face, her crystal blue eyes searching around as she got her bearings. She was dressed like a country girl, old torn at the knee jeans, and a basic black T.

The sun and fresh air felt good after the stuffiness of the aeroplane and the taxi but still she would rather be in her dorm away from the hustle and bustle of the main campus. She willed her feet to move forward and they obeyed as she made her way awkwardly through the throng of people, making her way toward the dorm rooms. She muttered apologies when she ran into people unintentionally and was glad when she finally reached the not so crowded corridor.

It only took a moment to find her dorm as it was number 001 and right at the front of the building, that would be a blessing and a curse, she thought to herself as she pushed the door open. A blessing as she wouldn’t have as far to walk to get to classes ect, but a curse as everyone would be walking past that door to get to their own dorms, peace and quiet might be hard to come bye.

It was obvious that someone was already settled in this dorm room, and she made her way to the side of the room where the bed was just the generic bed cover you might find in a plain hotel room, the walls undecorated and the desk clear. Pushing her one case under this bed, not bothered with unpacking her meagre belongings away she poked her head in the bathroom noticing that the door was ajar, nope no one in there. Obviously her roommate was out for the moment.

Not to sound nasty but she couldn’t help sighing slightly with relief a little at least she didn’t have to deal with the introductions right from the word go. Walking back over to the bed she collapsed onto it, head on the pillow staring at the ceiling. Her hand went unconsciously to the gold locket around her neck, the one token she had brought with her from her old life it had belonged to her mother. Her new horse wasn’t arriving until tomorrow, so she couldn’t even go for a ride to clear her mind.

Her thoughts drifted in and out of fucus as she dozed, she wasn’t sure how long she was out for or how often she woke up briefly, but she did know it wasn’t at all the restful nap she had been hoping for, and then she felt her pocket vibrating and pulled her phone out, Sasha flashed across the screen and she put the phone away she wasn’t in the mood for talking not ever to her best friend, not right know anyway, she would send her a message later and make up some excuse for not answering. Though she doubted whether Sasha would believe anything she came up with anyway, she was highly tuned to Rayne’s moods as Rayne was to hers, and she would know that Rayne wasn’t totally comfortable with all this.

But this had been the plan to come here, she had just done it sooner then planed in an attempt to escape small town gossip making everything worse, but she still wasn’t sure this was the right thing to do. Only time would tell right?

Word count ;; 882

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[Giselle Renard]

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giselle montgomery renard !
//oh let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of france//
//let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters & teach them how to dance//

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So I’d heard I was getting a new roommate. Wow, didn’t that sound like the worst pick-up line ever? Can you imagine a guy coming over to you at the bar, leaning over in what he assumed to be a sly manner, and saying with a cocked eyebrow, ‘So… I heard your getting a new roommate… lemme buy you a drink.’ No? Okay, maybe not. It was probably just me, which was usually the case 99% of the time. Oh well.
No matter the context, the fact still remained: my room would be occupied by a stranger. A stranger, that is, until I made a point to get off my lazy bum and go meet her. It’s not that I didn’t want to, you see, but the fact that she was just supposed to be arriving today made it particularly difficult to make proper introductions. Still, it was at the top of my priorities... just until I finished my geometry homework.

As per usual, one could find me at the stables. My homework book sat opened on my lap, pencil loosely grasped in my fingers. Romeo’s head poked out of his stall, his nostrils ever flared, searching desperately for treats. I’d only gotten five out of twenty problems done in the hour and a half I’d been stationed there, which meant it was probably time to turn it in. Closing my book, I said a laborious goodbye to Romeo, and fled the stables, leaving nothing but an over-indulged horse in my wake. As I walked onto the freshly mowed lawn, the nip of the air reminded me how much I’d been sitting in biology craving a coffee. The idea still sounded delicious actually, and I made a point to stop by Starbucks before calling it a day.

In fact, what a brilliant idea! I’d grab one for my new roomie too! I more or less duplicated my order – a grande non-fat latte, whipped cream sil-vous plait – since I wasn’t about to backtrack just to please her taste buds. Hey, this was already a favor, what else do you want? After I’d paid the ridiculous amount of money for the two coffees, I put on my stunna shades and headed back for the dorm room, pacing myself in such a way that I could keep the coffee from spilling and keep it warm. It was tough, but an individual such as myself managed to do it.

But I shouldn’t give myself too much credit, on account of I barely made it. I actually had to wait until a passerby would hold the door for me – all my attempts to be particularly desperate/flirtatious failed horribly. Where has chivalry gone? – before I could embark on the rest of my mission: drink and meet. Good thing the room was close, for I fear the coffee was ice cold by now. The hallway darkened by my glasses, I tried my best to find the knob with my free fingers, but alas, my view was blocked by the coffee holder, and I was afraid of spilling if I allowed any more appendages to open the door. In a moment of whimsical thinking, I decided that knocking with my head would be the best idea, and so after a second or two of preparation, I lurched forwards and banged my head against the door. Alas, my brilliant plan backfired, and nearly sent my sprawling. Knocking had not been accomplished either, since my head had never actually collided with the door. Wonderful.

Then, I had the most amazing revelation. The coffee wasn’t glued to my hands, you know. I could just – now this might sound a bit modern – I could just put it down, and then pick it back up again once I opened the door. Foolproof! Cursing myself for being so incomprehensibly stupid, I gently lowered the tray to the ground, regained full control of my two hands, and opened the door.
Peeking inside, I gave a delicate overview of the surroundings. For a minute my heart sank when I didn’t immediately catch a glimpse of my roommate (all that hard work for nothing!) but then I saw a figure situated on the bed, and I regained my spirits. I just hoped I hadn’t disturbed her sleeping. Oh well, it was coffee time now. Smiling, I bent back over and picked up the tray, striding into the room.
“Care for some coffee?” I tried to make my voice sound as warm as it could – hey, maybe it would warm the beverages!
“Sorry, I know we haven’t met before, I’m Giselle, we’re roommates. I stopped by for a coffee on my way home fro… anyways, just figured I’d say, welcome home.” I smiled, tipping my head back to try and dismount my sunglasses from my eyes. My first attempt was successful, and I applauded myself inwardly.
“I hope I haven’t disturbed your nap, if you want I’ll just leave this here and come back later…” I left the statement open, hoping that she would decline my offer and invite me to stay.
After all, I wanted to get to know this girl I had just spent three dollars on!

[Rayne Lenoir]

It was a beautiful summer day in Australia and the smell of her mothers perfume mixed with the heat in the un air-conditioned car made it seem that much more potent. Her head rested on the headrest her eyes closed in contentment of this everyday moment with her mother, driving to the shops with the promise of some new clothes. There didn’t seem to be anything significant about this moment in time, the radio belted out some old music her mum new the words to, proven by the fact she was belting them out as she navigated the car toward the shopping centre.

Something was nagging at the teenage girls mind though as the scene played out in front of her, searching for a spot in the overcrowded car park. Finally finding one right out the back of the lot as far from the shopping centre entrance as you could get. Her mother navigated the old station wagon into a spot, which seemed far too small for the big car, with ease. Again that nagging thought in the back of her mind, something wasn’t right, but what was it?

Then everything seemed to turn darker, the sky turned to rolling black clouds as they stepped out of the car. She saw the dark shadow of a man approach them throwing her to the ground and going after her mother.

Bang!

At the same moment she saw her mother thrown into the side of the car the girl jerked awake, the dorm room coming slowly back into focus. It took her a few seconds to register the reason the slam had seemed so close and real, there standing in the doorway was a girl carrying two cups of coffee.

While she shook off the remnants of the all to real nightmare, all to real because she had lived it for real before, only that time she hadn’t been able to wake up and make it stop, the girl seemed to be tripping over her words. She seemed worried that she had disturbed her in some way, if only she realised that she had in fact snapped her out of the recurring nightmare just in time, preventing Rayne from having to watch her mother murdered again.

“Hi I’m Rayne, nice to meet you Giselle, and as for disturbing my nap I’m glad you did…”

Rayne answered a smile on her face as internally she reminded herself to breath, not to panic it was a just a dream, this time anyway, she could break down later when there was no one there to witness it. Swinging her legs of the bed she stood up and crossed the short distance between them, she accepted the coffee she was offered, it smelt heavenly, just what the doctor ordered to chase away the last of her disturbing nightmare.

“You are officially my new favourite person Giselle, this is exactly what I need”

She said with a warm welcoming smile before taking a sip of the beverage, it was luke warm, not stone cold but not far off but it still seemed to spread warmth through her for which she was glad.

“No need to come back later, I can catch up on sleep anytime, so how long have you been here?”

She asked, Rayne did not want her to leave, she needed to feel like a normal person for a minute and what was more normal then getting to know your roommate, besides if the girl left she would probably fall asleep and would no doubt be forced to see her mothers death again.

Word Count ;; 598