§  

Present Day

The car ride was about two hours. Oliver and his family weren't exactly thrilled with the fact that the school was so far away from their house, but they all agreed that it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Oliver stared out the window, mindlessly watching trees as they passed them. When he found out he got into Pinefield Prep, he was with Ilani. He was extremely excited, but she wasn't. She said she was happy for him, but was disappointed that they were going to be apart for so long. Oliver reassured her that he would text and video chat as much as possible, which calmed her nerves a little bit. They said goodbye right before he left, like he did with his family.

Finally, Oliver was yanked from his thoughts when his driver told him that they were there. Excited, he looked out of the window, waiting to see the amazing sight that was the new school he was going to be attending. He peered out the front window, and he saw it.

His first thought when he saw it was that it was much bigger than it looked in the picture. Sure, he was expecting it to be big, but not that big! And it was tall as well! The school-which looked more like a castle than a school-had three large towers, the points of them so sharp it could stab anybody who stepped on them. Ivy and moss grew on the sides that made it look hundreds of years old, even though he knew it was just built and the ivy and moss were added there for decoration.

The school was made of stone and bricks, and as he got closer he could see how it all fit together. There were hundreds of oval windows, each of the panes embroidered with designs. His driver pulled in closer to the front and came to a stop, making Oliver giddy with excitement. He felt like a child did whenever they were given a new stuffed animal.

The driver came to a halt, and Oliver got out, bringing his luggage with him. He started to walk away from his driver yelled, "Aye! Fifty bucks!"

Oliver rolled his eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill and handed it to his greedy driver. The man smiled a filthy smile. With that, he drove away, leaving Oliver in the road alone. 

Rolling his suitcase behind him, Oliver walked up to the front of the school, his excitement impossible to hold back. When he got to the door, he knocked, stepping back a little.

The door took a second to open, and when it did, a man stood there, hand on the knob. He was Hispanic and didn't look any older than forty. He wore a formal suit, his expression was boring and neutral. He seemed like one of those boring butlers that are always the murderers in cliche murder mysteries. At least, without the murderer part. Hopefully. 

"You're early," The man said.

Oliver nodded awkwardly. The man then continued. "My name is Professor Suarez, I am the head teacher here at Pinefield Prep. Please, come in." His expression didn't change. He opened the door, revealing the inside of the already magnificent school.

He could not have asked for a more beautiful sight. 

The floors were lined with flawlessly-straight wooden boards, rugs perfectly lined in the center. Everything was so open, hundreds of doorways leading to different things. The walls were covered in red curtains and decor, everything looking old-fashioned and pristine. On the walls were tapestries showing black and red swirls fighting with each other. It looked like a real castle.

"I'll take your bag," He said. Oliver turned around and handed his suitcase to Professor Suarez. "You can wait in the room second on the left." He pointed to the room and Oliver thanked him, heading towards it.

There was no door-just a walk way-so he could walk right in. It was exactly what he expected; the same styled antique look with two couches and three standalone chairs beside it cramped in a small room with a table in the middle of the two couches and a fireplace near the back wall. He thought of where he was going to sit, and how long it would be before anyone else came because he was so early.

However, someone was already there. A girl with short pink hair sat down in the middle of one of the couches, grinning so much he could see all of her teeth when she saw him.

"Finally! Another student!" She said happily. She motioned Oliver over to her seat, moving a little so that he would have more room. He smiled back, taking a seat next to her.

"I have been waiting forever!" She complained, exaggerating the 'ever' part of 'forever'. Oliver furrowed his brow.

"How long? You weren't supposed to be here until nine," He asked.

"Oh, I arrived at about seven-thirty," She answered, nodding along with her words.

Oliver's eyes widened. "Seven thirty? That was an hour ago!" And he thought he was early.

She grinned even more. "I was too excited to wait any longer. I mean, just look at this place!" She motioned around the room. "It's beautiful!"

He had to admit; she had a point. That school was something new. Everything was so old-fashioned and polished it was hard to believe that it had just been built.

"I'm Mira, by the way," The girl said. "Well, my full name is Mirabelle Celia Adamyan, but that's too long."

"Oliver Kendall," He said, smiling. And that was genuine. Sure, the girl with really peppy and outgoing, but she seemed nice. He was sure they were going to get along.

Professor Suarez into the waiting room, his neutral face not having changed from a few minutes earlier. "My cook is preparing some snacks for you. Do either of you have any allergies?"

Oliver and Mira shook their heads.

"Good. It will be ready by the time the other students arrive." And with that, he turned around and left to the front of the school again, door wide open.

"He's friendly," Oliver whispered sarcastically to Mira. She giggled.

"I heard that," His voice sounded from another room. Oliver bit his lip to hold back his laughter, but Mira couldn't contain it. Oliver could tell Professor Suarez was rolling his eyes wherever he was.

After about ten minutes of the two talking about themselves, an elderly woman entered the room holding a tray of about a dozen clear glasses, all of them having different liquids in them. While she was old, she was in quite good shape, able to hold a heavy tray and get around quickly with no problem. She didn't even spill any of the drinks.

"Hello, children!" She said gleefully, smiling a wide smile. "My name is Chef Tunstoll, but you can just call me Margaret. I hate fancy titles." 

She set the tray down on the table. "What are you two in the mood for? I have water, lemonade, tea, iced tea, milk, sparkling apple cider, cream soda, orange soda, lemon-lime soda, Coke, root beer, and orange juice."

Mira took the lemonade, thanking Margaret, but when the chef asked Oliver what he wanted, he hesitated. "I hate to bother you, but do you have coffee? I haven't had a cup today and I can barely function with it."

He saw a gleam in Margaret's eye. "Ah, mature young man. Would you like milk or cream with that?"

"No thank you, I just like it plain."

Margaret nodded. "You've got it. I will be right back." She turned around and exited the room, leaving the tray of drinks with them.

Mira took a sip of her lemonade. "I don't know how you can stand that disgusting black mess. I've had it once and it was vile."

Oliver shrugged. "I don't know how you can stand that. It's so tart and acidic."

Mira and Oliver both grinned, and when Margaret came back with his coffee, they took a sip of their drinks in tandem. 

Finally, after another ten minutes, another student arrived. He was short, very short, compared to Oliver. He had pale skin and messy brown hair that looked especially tampered with on the top. His clothes looked casual, yet had a hint of fancy in it, for his nice blue shirt and jeans looked new and freshly ironed.

"Hey," He said, sitting on a chair beside the other couch so he could look at both of them. "Is anyone else here?"

Oliver and Mira shook their heads. "No, just us," said Mira.

The boy's eyes darted to the drinks. "Am I allowed to take one?" Oliver nodded instantly, lifting his glass of root beer to his lips. His coffee had run out, and root beer was his second favorite. Margaret had offered to get him another coffee, but he didn't want to get too hyped up on caffeine.

The boy took the iced tea, taking a tiny sip before talking again. "I'm Emery. Emery Holland."

Mira introduced herself exactly the same as she did for Oliver, saying her nickname then full name, and Oliver just said his first name. 

"I hope more people come soon," Oliver said. "We've been waiting for so long."

"How long?" Emery asked.

"Oliver has been here for twenty minutes; I've been here much longer, though," Mira answered.

"Weren't we supposed to be here by nine?" Emery asked, seemingly a little worried.

Oliver shook his head. "No, no, you're fine, Emery. We just got here really early."

Emery released a breath. "Okay, good. I would hate to be late on the first day of a new school."

Soon, more students started to enter into the room. The next was a boy who was more on the quiet side, not looking any of the students in the eye and not saying anything. Not even introducing himself. He didn't take a beverage, and he sat on an independent seat. The quiet boy wore a lot of layers; a jacket, shirt, and undershirt, which was strange because it was summer. He looked younger than everyone else-maybe even a little younger than Emery, who already looked little.

After him came a girl with light brown skin and dark hair tucked back into a ponytail. She was about as tall as the quiet boy, and she smiled at everyone else. Her ponytail bounced as she walked. She introduced herself as Devin, sitting down next to Oliver so that the couch was almost full. She looked pretty confident.

The next person to enter was a small boy with the hair of a Weasley and huge, bulky white headphones on his head. While he was small, however, he didn't look young. He wore a baggy maroon hoodie and the wire to his headphones went into his pocket, where you could see a bit of the cassette player it was attached to. Weird. No one used cassette players anymore.

The small boy sat on the edge of the other couch where no one was sitting, not saying anything as he stayed upright and kept his headphones on. He didn't respond when anyone asked about his name, and they all assumed it was because his music was too loud.

Three people entered at the same time, next. None of them stood close together, two of them especially far about. One of them wore her hair in a blonde ponytail like Devin did, her outfit comfy yet clearly organized and clean. The other two-a girl and boy-had matching dark hair, eye shape, noses and even ears. They could easily pass off as siblings.

The organized ponytail girl took a seat on the couch that the headphones kid was sitting on, but as far away from him as possible. The boy in the pair sat near him, glancing at him for a second before looking away. The organized ponytail girl introduced herself as Avalon, but the identical pair didn't say their names.

Lastly, two more people came in, one boy and one girl. The girl had ginger hair-not like the headphones kid. Her's was more natural and orange. She wore a tight blue hoodie, sitting down next to Devin on the couch. The last student was an obviously older boy. He had sharp blue eyes, his face relaxed. He had his arms crossed, and he rolled his eyes when he realized that he had to squeeze on the couch. He sat between Avalon and the boy in the pair.

The girl with the blue hoodie introduced herself as Parker and mentioned that she was actually non-binary and used they/them pronouns. Oliver nodded, feeling bad for thinking of them as a girl earlier. The boy merely said "Caleb" as a way of introducing himself, crossing his arms even tighter and staring at the fireplace. 

Margaret came back into the waiting room and told all of the newest arrivals her name and asked if they wanted anything. Some of them ordered some drinks, some stayed silent, including Caleb, the quiet boy and the headphones kid. She winked at Mira and Oliver as she left. 

When Margaret came back, she was holding more than just the drinks. The tray's contents also included chocolate pancakes with maple syrup on the side, an assortment of fruit, waffles with powdered sugar sprinkled on top of it, french toast, and of course, plates, utensils and napkins. "I'm sorry if it's bad, I wasn't sure what young people like nowadays," Margaret said, nerves in her voice.

"Are you serious?" Devin asked rhetorically. She was already stuffing her plate with pancakes and french toast. "This is amazing!"

"Yeah!" Emery agreed. "I barely even had breakfast this morning. This is exactly what I needed."

"Is breakfast going to be like this every day?" Mira asked excitedly.

Margaret shrugged. "Probably. If Professor Suarez lets me."

"Why wouldn't he let you?" Oliver asked.

Margaret shrugged again. "That man has a lot of silly rules. I trust him, of course, but he isn't big on fun."

Caleb rolled his eyes. "This is going to be a blast."

"It sure is," A voice from around the corner said. Margaret froze when Professor Suarez entered the room. 

"How do you do, sir?" Margaret asked, curtsying nervously. 

Professor Suarez sighed. "I heard you, Chef."

Her eyes went wide. "I am so sorry, sir," She pleaded.

Professor Suarez rolled his eyes. "Don't bother. I've had people tell me that straight to my face before. You may leave now."

Without another word, Margaret scurried off, leaving only Professor Suarez and the students in the room. The professor slowly turned toward them, holding up a piece of paper and pen. Everyone hurried to finish up their breakfast.

"Before we start, I want to make sure that everyone is here. I got a last minute drop out, but just to make sure, is anyone here Raven Michaels?"

Nobody answered.

"Alright, great," He said. He looked down the list and read off the first name. "Mirabelle Adamyan?"

Mira let out a 'here' and raised her hand giddily. Oliver smiled. "I go by Mira," She added. Professor Suarez looked at her, unimpressed. He checked off on her name and kept going.

"Eli Alaska?"

The small boy with the bulky headphones raised his hand, and Oliver noticed a small smile arising on his face for some reason.

"Devin Bowers?" Devin said 'here', grinning. She still had powdered sugar on her hands.

"Emery Holland?"

"Here," said Emery, biting his lip a little.

"Lukas and Nikita Irving?"

Oliver wanted to slap himself. They were siblings. That's why they looked so similar. How could he have been so dumb?

Professor Suarez called out Parker's name, and they raised their hand, a soft smile arising on their face. He then asked for 'Oliver Kendall' and Oliver pointed to himself. "That's me," He answered.

"Cameron Pearce?"

Nobody responded at first, but after a few seconds the quiet boy raised two fingers. "H-Here," He said quietly, keeping his eyes looking down at the ground.

Professor Suarez called for Caleb Ruiz and Avalon Sable, and he was done. "Alright. Thank you, everybody. Now we can get started."

  §  

Just gonna say it

In likability, Mr. Barla > Professor Suarez

In character depth, Mr. Barla < Professor Suarez

You just can't see it all yet

Just so you guys know, I have major plans for this book

Including the overly perky teacher that we all know (and hopefully at least like) from book one