Early the next morning, the kids had woken up and gotten ready for school. After breakfast, they were on their way there dressed in their uniforms.

Edwin went through his backpack, checking off for the third time everything he had, making sure he didn't miss anything. ". . . Markers? Check. Paper clips? Check. Water? Check… Check, check, and double-check." He continued for a total of fifteen minutes.

Tyler, visibly annoyed, leaned over his shoulder from the back seat. "Ugh, you don't check again! You have everything on your list. You have checked it three times already. It's SO annoying." He frowned dramatically, flopping back in his chair.

Edwin looked at Tyler and frowned while narrowing his eyes with a subtle glare. “Fine," He mumbled, folding up his list and putting it inside the pocket in his uniform jacket. "I won't check again, and if I do forget anything, it's your fault, Tyler." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, puffing out his cheeks.

Rose sighed, leaning over and whispering in her youngest brother's ear. “Tyler, cut it out now.” She sternly spoke, her tone leaving no room for argument as she turned back to Edwin. “Ignore him, just check as many times as you like.”

Edwin looked over his shoulder, a touched expression on his face. “Thanks, but I've gone over it enough. I don't really need to check it over again.” He said, knowing fully well that if he did it any more, he'd fall into an endless cycle and get stressed over it.

Rose simply nodded, giving Tyler a side-eyed glare, still unhappy with his bratty attitude he was displaying. “Be on your best behavior today,” she whispered, her voice terse as she narrowed her eyes.

Tyler wanted to protest, but he also didn't want to make a scene and catch the eyes of his dad, who was focused on the road. “Fine, I'll be on my best behavior.” He reluctantly agreed with a heavy sigh, slumping in his seat.

Edwin's gaze softened as he shifted his gaze towards Victoria, who was sleeping beside him. He watched even breathing as her head rested against the window, her backpack in her arms like a teddy bear.

He knew she had worked past the time she was supposed to, in her bedroom, stressing herself by getting hyper-focused on something. “Hey, Vicky,” He whispered, reaching over and placing his hand on her shoulder.

Victoria stirred slowly in her sleep before blinking her eyes after opening them with a soft yawn. "Mm... yeah?" She lifted her head off her backpack and rubbed her tired eyes, looking over at Edwin.

Edwin smiled faintly, his expression softening once more. "We are almost to school," He explained, still speaking quietly. "I wanted to give you a bit of time to wake up before Liam drops us off."

Victoria stretched her arms and legs out in front of her while groaning. "Too bad this is reality and not a dream." She commented, leaning her head against the window, dreading the idea of making new friends and struggling to figure out her new school.

Edwin rolled his eyes, but before he could speak, Tyler had to pipe up and interject his own two-sense into the conversation, much to Dustin's dismay after telling him not to.

"Come on, don't be so dramatic. It's not going to be THAT bad. It might be better than your American schools, who knows, maybe you'll get smarter." He commented loud enough for Victoria to hear but not his dad, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Tyler,” Rose snapped quietly, sharing a glare with Dustin towards the younger boy. “I don't know what has gotten into you, but stop it right now.” She couldn't understand why he was being such a brat. He normally hadn't been like that.

Victoria shot a quick glare in Tyler's direction as her jaw clenched. "Shut up, Tyler," She retorted as soon as Rose finished speaking, her voice tight as she shifted her gaze back out the window as everyone fell silent, an uncomfortable silence settled between everyone.

A few minutes later, Liam dropped off Edwin and Dustin at secondary school, then he drove to drop Tyler off at the primary school, and lastly, Victoria and Rose at sixth form.

Victoria froze the moment she stepped foot into the building. All the fatigue that plagued her disappeared almost immediately. She felt like the ugly duckling, the odd one out, as everyone seemed to be clustered together, speaking to each other. Rose had already departed without a second thought about Victoria being new to this whole British school thing.

‘I wish Rose would have given me some pointers on what to do. She's in her last year of second form before going to college - er, university…’ She thought to herself, feeling bile rise from her stomach into her throat. 'She could have at least stayed with me until I found friends… but again, we aren't that close…'

She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, the pain grounding her. "You can do this, Victoria. Everything will be fine. Just be yourself and do your own thing." She whispered to herself, sucking in a deep breath and taking the first step down the hall. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said.”

She stopped about a foot in before pivoting on her heels, lacing one of her hands into her hair. "I can't do this!" She exclaimed softly, feeling heat rush to her cheeks and her heart pounding against her chest as she clutched her backpack.

"I just can't." She echoed again, her body beginning to tremble as she could feel the eyes burn into her flesh and hear the whispers about her. Whether they were good or not, she couldn't tell. They just made her uncomfortable. “I just can't.”

"Hiya!" A feminine saccharine British voice chirped from behind her, a smile evident on her face by the tone in her voice. "Are you alright? You look out of place." She added, her voice sounding concerned.

Victoria took a deep breath and turned around, giving a sheepish smile while her heart flip-flopped around in her chest like a fish out of water. "Um, hi . . ." She meekly greeted the black haired, blue-eyed girl who was smiling brightly in front of her. "I… yes…" well no… I don't know." She stammered, unable to form a sentence as her heart raced.

Jade Turner smiled, tilted her head to the side, taking mental note of Victoria's demeanor. "You're the new American girl that everyone is talking about!" She said right off the bat without any hesitation. "Is that why you're uncomfortable? Out of your element, yeah?"

Victoria pursued her lips rocking on her heels after crossing her arms. "Yeah…" She confirmed in a soft voice, shifting her eyes away from the girl's and onto the floor. "Is it that noticeable?" She hesitantly, softly gnawing on the inside of her bottom lip.

Jade giggled, shaking her head and placing her hand over her mouth. "Well, of course. Your accent is not from around here. It's clearly American, and we've never seen you before, and you look like a helpless bunny cowering in a fox den." She bluntly pointed out, her tone curious.

Victoria gave a sheepish smile, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Well, um… yeah, I guess that would be a dead giveaway… haha." She dryly albeit nervously laughed and took a few unnoticeable deep breaths to try and calm herself down, or at least the nerves.

Jade's eyes sparkled as she moved closer to Victoria, never letting anything dampen her chirpy demeanor. "Don't worry! I have never met an American. You're definitely nothing of what the rumors said you'd be!" She beamed brightly, clapping her hands together.

Victoria swallowed harshly, an uncomfortable feeling crawling through her skin. 'Rumors? Oh goodness, there were rumors about me? Heaven knows what they're saying. I know all the go-to jokes that are used for Americans.' She thought to herself, somehow feeling more sick than she already felt.

Jade laughed softly, nudging Victoria's arm with a little fist punch after noticing where her mind was going. It was written all over her face. "Oh no, don't worry, they're not all bad. Well, most are stereotypical," She quickly clarified, putting her hand on Victoria's shoulder. "Others are actually good. I'd said you'd be super awkward, and you are."

Victoria did not feel the least bit better, but at least Jade was making an effort to try and help her. "That kinda happens a lot . . . being socially awkward and all." She mused, trailing off and chewing on her lip.

Jade smacked her hand against her forehead, making a sound loud enough for some glances her way. "Blimey, I forgot to introduce myself," She scolded herself, smiling softly, extending her hand out for a shake. "I'm Jade, Jade Turner."

Victoria now knew the name of the friendly girl before her. "That is a really beautiful name." She complimented, feeling herself grow less sick with anxiety as she reached out and shook Jade's hand. "I'm Victoria Montgomery."

Jade's cheeks grew red at the compliment, not used to people complimenting her name. "Thank you, Victoria Montgomery." She nodded her head, withdrawing her hand from Victoria's shoulder. "Oh, were you named after Queen Victoria?" She asked, trying to get the conversation away from her compliment and onto something else, like her name. "Or after the Roman Goddess Victoria?"

Victoria shook her head, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. "No. My mom and my dad named me Victoria because they thought it was a pretty name. There was no meaning behind it." She trailed off, realizing how unimpressive the history of her name was.

That, to Jade, seemed a better explanation rather than being named after someone, which was typical for some names. "I love to hear the history behind the reasons for the name. It's so fascinating, even if it's unimpressive as yours is." she pushed her hair behind her ears as she spoke those words.

Victoria blew it off as nothing since she felt it was more or so of an insult. Whether Jade meant it that way or not, she figured it was the latter. "That is pretty cool. Do you collect names or make them up?" She asked curiously, loosening the grip on her backpack.

"Yeah, I do have a whole notebook full of names I liked and made up. I'm not sure what to do with them, though." Jade replied with a nod and smile, swaying on her feet. "Do you have any siblings?" She quickly added, leaving no room or Victoria to comment.

Victoria nodded her head, finding it endearing how flighty Jade was with how easily sidetracked she was. "Yeah, a younger brother named Edwin. He's fourteen." She replied, then continued. "I also have step-siblings, Tyler who is seven, Dustin who is thirteen, and Rose who is seventeen and should be around here somewhere. They belong to Liam, my stepfather, and his late first wife."

Jade furrowed her eyebrows at Victoria's words. The name sounded familiar to her, so maybe she was thinking of the same person as she racked her brain. “Hmm, so your mom married Liam… Liam… oh Liam Galvin, right?" She asked, snapping her fingers, hoping she was right.

Victoria nodded slowly, feeling a knot of uneasy anxiety form in her stomach at Jade's tone. "Yeah, he is. Why?" She replied hesitantly, eyeing Jade skeptically, her mind coming up with a million reasons she asked: none good.

Jade smirked and placed her hands on her hips, leaning forward and invading Victoria's  personal space. "He acquired Briarwood Manor, did he not?" She inquired, hopefulness on the tip of her voice.

Victoria nodded, leaning back before she had verbally answered. "Yeah, we're restoring it since it was left to Liam in a will by his grandmother. Why?" She asked hesitantly, feeling the knot form in her stomach again.

Jade's eyes went wide as her jaw went slightly slack at this revelation. "You're restoring it? It was left to you guys in a will?" She had to do a double-take, making sure she heard right and she wasn't hearing things. "You're moving into the manor?"

Victoria nodded, knitting her eyebrows at Jade's sudden outburst. "Why is that so shocking? It is just a dilapidated dump of a manor, not really worth fixing up, but you know, Liam and Mom have these starry eyes about it." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Jade was flabbergasted still at the words of the girl before her. "Blimey, just a manor? Just a manor? Briarwood Manor is not just a manor! It is more than a manor, so much more!" She exclaimed, earning strange looks from those around her.

“Briarwood Manor?” Lee Degamo walked up real smoothly to Victoria and Jade after hearing Jade's voice from down the hall. “Did someone say something about Briarwood Manor?" He pushed up his blue glasses as his brown eyes focused on the two girls, with black hair flopping on his forehead.

Jade nodded her head rapidly, turning towards the boy. "Yeah, Lee, she is living in Briarwood Manor! The Briarwood Manor," She emphasized, placing her hands on Victoria's shoulders and shaking her gently.

Victoria looked between Jade and Lee, stiffening at Jade's touch. "Am I missing something?" She admitted, confused about what they were talking about. "And who is he?" She asked, pointing to Lee, who had a rather lopsided smile on his lips.

Lee held out his hand for her to shake as he said. "Oh, I'm Lee, Lee Degamo!" He ended up withdrawing his hand to push up his glasses for the fifth time today. "I take it you know nothing about what we are talking about. Which means you have no idea about what we are thinking."

Victoria sheepishly smiled, giving a curt nod towards him. "What am I missing?" She asked, pulling her hand back to her side, messing with the hem of her uniform skirt. "Does it have to do with the rumors of it being haunted?"

Jade pulled out her books from her backpack and held them in her arms. "We will explain at lunch because there is a lot to unpack about Briarwood Manor. It will take more than a few minutes before class starts." She replied, her eyes still shining brightly.

Victoria's eyes grew wide in slight confusion at both Jade's words and her enthusiasm over the manor. "Really?" She inquired, quite annoyed at how vague Jade and Lee were being about the manor.

Jade rolled her eyes with a small huff at Victoria's shocked and confused look on her face. "Yes, really, and don't look like that. You look like a bug." She commented, putting her hands on her hips.

Victoria blinked a few times and sighed, still confused about everything. "A bug?" She questioned, standing there bewildered, letting her brain process it. She wasn't offended. She was more confused about why Jade thought she looked like a bug.

Lee waved his hand in front of Victoria slowly before poking her forehead. "Are you okay? You seem awkward. Was it something we said? Jade, did we offend her or something? Was it something I did? Was it something you did? Was it something we said? Was it about looking like a bug comment Jade made?" He rambled on as he put his hand in his uniform pants.

Jade rolled her eyes, flicking Lee in the forehead. "No, you bloke," She chided him, shaking her head in dismay. "She's uncomfortable… Wait, we may…" She trailed off and furrowed her brows. "I think we may be contributing to that, aren't we Victoria?"

Victoria hesitantly shook her head, not wanting to be rude or anything. There was no way she'd alienate the two people who were actually speaking with her. "Uh, I'm just out of my element." She replied, looking down at the floor.

"Oh look, it's the American." Amber Turner's voice spoke as her blue eyes landed on Jade, Lee, and Victoria. "Must be quite different from what you use too," She brushed her short, brown wavy hair from her face. "I mean, without the shootings, huh?"

Victoria turned her body towards Amber. Her nervousness faded away as she narrowed her eyes. "No. I just have to worry about being stabbed without the ability to defend myself and incapacitate the assailant." She shot back, shocking Jade and Lee with this newfound confidence.

Amber forced a smile, her polished nails digging into the cover of her books. "Well played, American," She nodded, brushing past them. "Jade, Lee," She greeted the two passively before walking off.

Victoria turned her body as she watched her leave. "Who is that ray of sunshine that graced us with her wonderful presence?" She asked, her voice laced with annoyance and disdain.

Jade exchanged looks with Lee before looking back at Victoria. "That's Amber Turner. She's quite popular and wealthy. Her family can be traced back to the beginnings of Briarwood, and coincidentally, they were friends of those who originally owned Briarwood Manor…. At least, that's what the rumors say." She informed me, scratching her neck under her collar.

Victoria furrowed her brows, thinking about Jade's comment. ‘If that is true, maybe Amber might know about Briarwood Manor… but that I really care…’ her thoughts trailed off as she snapped back to reality after hearing Lee's voice.

"Where did that confidence come from? What-what happened to that anxiety-ridden girl that was just standing here on the verge of a panic attack!" Lee asked, stammering, unable to comprehend the chance in Victoria's demeanor.

Victoria's eyes went wide as Lee pointed out her change in demeanor. She suddenly felt self-conscious and sagged her shoulders. "I have low tolerance for ignorant people like her. I get that I'm American, and most English people don't like us, but I won't tolerate bullying.” She fidgeted with her fingers, feeling like all eyes were on her, and they were.

Jade's jaw went slack as Victoria explained her reasons. "Wow," She marveled, awestruck at the girl before her. "I think you might just fit right in with us! Henry is going to like you." She wrapped an arm around Victoria's shoulder and pulled her close.

Victoria once again stiffened at Jade's touch while she looked to Lee, who nodded in agreement with Jade. "Who's Henry? Another one of your friends?" She asked, her eyes scanning the proximity around her.

Jade nodded, confirming Victoria's question to be true. "Yes, he is. He's around here somewhere. You'll meet him at lunch." She replied as the bell rang out and began to drag Victoria down the hall. "Time for our class, Victoria. Follow us."

Victoria gasped softly with a delayed nod, following beside Jade and Lee. She hadn't anticipated making friends so soon, but here she was. They seemed quite nice, considering they were speaking to her, wanting to sit with her at lunch and showing her to her class.

Hopefully, she could adjust in second form and the curriculum and not be the odd one out like she had anticipated.

〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰

A/N:
Whoo, finally done, and once again, it has been over a month . . . I have been working overtime on trying to get a bunch of chapters up and stuff in hopes of having more people read it. But life comes in and makes it hard for you to want to continue. But I will try my best with the next chapter to get it done in a few weeks or weeks.

I will possibly add more later. Of course, it will be when I decide to edit it. And don't worry, I won't change much, just add a few extras in. So don't worry, the whole plot is not going to be changed. Just a few minor things will be added.

I know it's still not as fast, but in my defense, I have been sick and feeling like utter poo. I have been super tired and coughing my head off, which results in massive headaches. So, please forgive me, but I did my best to get it done as fast as I could.

And I promise to have this book completed by the fall of next year, hopefully. Because I want to start on book two, and that one will be rather interesting. Since most of the questions from this book, like some I haven't asked, but you think of, will be answered in that book.

Chapter Talk:
I had to have help with figuring out the schooling in the UK because I am American and only know how the American schools work. My BFF explained the whole school system and helped me out, so thank you, girl!

Now, Victoria is 100% on me when I have to talk to people. Everything she is going through, I had and still am going through, so for those of y'all who says it is "unrealistic," it isn't because that is me. I hate having to talk to people, I get such bad anxiety about it, I just make myself sick having to talk to people, and I always avoid eye contact as much as I can.

I think Jade and Victoria may become good friends, along with Lee, who you have to admit, I am crushing on lol. But there will be some more friendships, but that is a little later into the book, and it will be like over the tenth chapter before I introduce other kids from the school. Mainly because I need to focus on the manor, the mysteries, and the history behind it.

Thanks for reading!