Shadow School Ch. 02

What delighted her parents, however, was that the road emptied out onto a huge square in front of a large cathedral. Melanie had seen a photo of the building in the brochure, but hadn't realized how massive it was. As her father passed it, she looked back over her shoulder, though the back window, and took in the view of the buildings beyond the church.

She was sold. She wanted to go here. No cities of concrete and flashy commercial banners telling her to buy stuff she didn't need. No cheaply made buildings with bland designs created to hold massive amounts of students in cell-sized rooms; she'd seen the rooms offered here and decided then that it was at least worth a tour. It was a step back into history. And she loved history.

Shacrow VanMeter College: surrounded by trees of every kind, panoramic views of the mountains, access to the Appalachian Trail just a few miles away for hiking enthusiasts... and no sports teams taking all the donation money. No competition to be the best of the best of the best. Simple, secluded, and a patron of the arts.

Then Melanie saw what made her falter. She even thought to duck down into her seat and beg her father to turn around and leave.

Cameron Ellis... standing next to Kristie MacFarland.

The girls hadn't seen her yet, but as her father parked the car, they turned to see who the new arrival was. Melanie's eyes filled with tears as her mind raced at how to handle this.

The girl whose boyfriend she slept with at prom -- effectively ruining both her reputation as well as a cherished memory -- and the girl who just yesterday had watched her get off in a high school bathroom stall were both applicants at the college she just seconds ago wanted to call home. What now?

Mortification didn't even begin to describe how she felt.

Oblivious, her parents exited the car on a happier note. She could hear her mother greeting the girls and their parents, and her father even opened her door for her. Sweet Mary, help me through this day, she prayed.

Drying the tears before they could fall, she checked her makeup quickly slid out of the back seat. The wind was cool against her heated cheeks, and she smiled brightly at her father, hoping to delay the moment she had to turn around. Sensing his daughter's emotion, he put an arm around her comfortingly and led her to the others grouped around a statue of a man in an Elizabethan-looking attire.

***

Cameron thoroughly enjoyed the drive to Shacrow. Her parents chattered away in the front seat while she just looked at the trees. What a view! Every now and then the trees would give way to a space where anyone could pull over and simply stare out at the tree-covered mountains. And the drive through the gates were even more becoming. Trees were in bloom everywhere.

It was a wonderland.

Cameron's father was always about punctuality and so she was once of the first girls to arrive. Slowly more came, but no one she recognized. She thought she would be the only one from her school coming -- it had been an exclusive invite after all -- but that thought was answered when she saw Kris MacFarland.

Kristie had been her friend in middle school, before her parents split and Kris took a turn for the wild side. Kris' dad had remarried someone a lot younger than he was, and her mom was always traveling with some business mogul, constantly trying to one-up her ex-husband and make him feel sorry for abandoning her. Eventually Kris said screw it and did whatever she wanted, going unchecked for far too long since neither parent kept a close eye on her. She'd cut her hair too. Short.

Cameron waved to Kris as her former friend walked up to the bronze statue of a man in old-fashioned clothes and a cloak. All four parents and step parents followed behind, trying to seem amiable and using Cameron's parents as an excuse to ignore each other. Kris offered an awkward smile.

"I thought I would be the only one coming up here," Kristie said. "Place looks a little dark for your taste, Cam."

"It's the nature." Cameron answered, trying not to take what Kristie said as an insult. "I love to be outdoors and this place is pretty far from the nearest mall." Take that, she thought. Kris loved going to the mall.

Kristie laughed. "Yeah."

They talked for a little about things, and thankfully Kris didn't bring up the scandal at prom. Then, shortly after, the scandal drove up.

Melanie Carver got out of her parents car, her father's arm wrapped tightly around her, and as usual, kept her eyes on the ground. She looked up, but never at Cameron, purposefully avoiding her eyes to look around the campus.

Well, Cameron thought, it was bound to happen eventually. She just wished the little tramp wouldn't ruin this experience for her as well. When she looked at Kris, she noticed the redheaded girl was also looking at Melanie strangely, a smirk on her face as if she was amused by the girl's arrival. Mel didn't look at Kristie either.

Melanie's parents joined in the greetings and Mel was left to approach the two girls. Cameron never looked away in case the buxom girl actually tried to make eye contact. Oh for crying out...

"Hey," was all Melanie said.

"Hey, yourself," Kris said back.

Cameron glanced at her then back to Melanie. "So you're thinking about going to SVMC?"

"Maybe. I got invited," Melanie said to the stone sidewalk beneath her feet.

Well. This conversation was going nowhere. Awkwardness for everyone!

Cameron started to say something but was interrupted by a man holding a clipboard. He wore glasses, which he promptly shoved up his nose before addressing the crowd.

"On behalf of Shacrow VanMeter College, I would like to welcome you all to our campus. I'm Louis Ovidan, and I'll be your escort during your for few hours." It sounded like the guy had a slight French accent.

Cameron heard Melanie gasp slightly, but the girl said nothing, just continued to stare at the young man with black hair and a sharp face. He looked familiar, but she couldn't tell how. She didn't dare ask Melanie what the gasp was for, especially when Louis' eyes flicked their way.

"I would like to congratulate each one of you on your invitation today, as each of you young ladies are in the running for our Shacrow Seven Scholarship, reserved especially for one girl per House each year. You may notice that there are more than seven of you here," Louis said, to titters in the crowd, "which means you'll be competing amongst these other twenty lovely ladies for the prestigious scholarship and the room reserved in each house for its winner."

Cameron suddenly really wanted to win. It looked like she could manage to go to school here without Melanie after all. She shared a grin with Kristie, hoping their former friendship could be renewed... it would be nice to have a familiar face on campus.

"Each one of you will attend the opening ceremony where we will introduce the heads of houses. From there, you will meet with the President of the college and one of the Heads of House while your parents check in to our visitor's rooms and meet with various members of the Board for a Q&A. We will then break for supper where you will be reunited with your parents, after which you will be excused to rest until nightfall. At nine o'clock we open the doors to the gala, where you will mingle with other distinguished guests, professors, and the Heads.

"The chosen seven will be announced at midnight. Please do not stay out too late after this, as you will be given a tour of the departments of your choice starting at 8am tomorrow morning while your parents check out and go to breakfast with the Heads of your new house. Those who are not chose are welcome to tour the campus as well, with the understanding that every young woman here has been accepted by the college, they will simply not be receiving the scholarship. Those of you who wish to leave in the morning instead of touring the grounds may do so. Any questions?" Louis looked at all of the parents, then the daughters, eyes lingering yet again on Melanie before continuing.

"Good. Follow me and we will meet up with your assigned guide. Again, welcome to SVMC." He turned and walked into down the sidewalk, toward another statue, this one of a woman in a dress and wig, the skirts so wide she thought it must be something from the Renaissance or whatever. Like Marie Antoinette or someone.

Further down was another statue of a man, dressed in what looked like Viking attire. Wow. There was so much to see, so much to think about, that she hadn't even realized she walked right beside Melanie, who was also entranced by the surroundings. Kristie was on the other side, her eyes on the competition rather than the buildings.

The three girls walked in silence as Shacrow VanMeter University swallowed their minds, bodies, and souls.

***

Thanks for reading the second story in my series. Feel free to leave any comment, good or bad.