In two corners of the foyer sat two chairs with high backs that were made from a beautiful orange fabric and dark wood. Molly’s shoes clicked across the breathtaking tiles as she and Bea made their way to the sitting room.
It had taken a moment, but Molly was suddenly overpowered by a strong scent. The fragrance was a mixture of so many good things—pine, cinnamon, citrus fruits, lavender, and cookies baking. Normally such a mixture would have turned her stomach sour, but in this instance, the smells were enticing. Somehow the sweet fragrances calmed her and took away any nervousness she had been feeling.
The sitting room was even more spectacular than the foyer. The first thing Molly noticed was the fireplace. It was huge, its width taking up most of the wall space. What had really drawn Molly’s eye was the fact that the fireplace was shaped to be a dragon’s head with its mouth wide open. The roaring fire inside made it seem as though the dragon was going to spit fire at them at any moment. The fireplace was both terrifying and magnificent.
Molly squeezed the handle of her purse. “That fireplace is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Bea grinned, looking at the fireplace adoringly. “Oh, that is much more than a simple fireplace, but you’ll learn more about that in due time, dear.”
Molly wasn’t sure what to think about that as her gaze traveled over the French vintage furniture in the room. Long couches framed in gold that looked as if they had been transported from another time and place were definitely too beautiful to be sat upon. The tables were made of gold and encrusted with colorful jewels. Molly wondered if they were real. There was a good chance they were, but she knew it would be tacky to ask.
Ms. Bea turned to her. “Your room is on the second floor. I will take you there and give you a proper tour of the entire estate in the morning, inside and out.”
Being careful not to pout, Molly asked, “Can’t we take the tour now? I’m really excited to see everything.” She could only imagine what the rest of the house looked like, and she wanted to see it right then.
Bea blew out a candle sitting on an inn table. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but it really can’t be done now.”
Molly was disappointed. She wanted to see everything right then. Why did it have to wait until the morning? Maybe the old woman was tired and needed to take a rest. Molly accepted this, figuring she had all the time in the world to check out the academy.
Glancing at her watch, she realized it was a little after nine, yet aside from Randolph carrying her things inside, the house was deathly quiet. Surely teenage girls didn’t turn in that early, or maybe they had a strict curfew. “Where are the girls?”
Bea clasped her hands together. “In their rooms. It would be best for you to meet them in the morning. At nighttime around here, things are a little . . . different from what you would expect.”
Molly frowned. “What does that mean?”
Bea clapped. “Up to the second floor we go. We have an elevator if you would like to use that.”
“The staircase will be fine,” Molly replied, fully expecting the staircase to be as grand as it was. The stairs’ plush carpeting felt springy under her shoes as if it had just been installed. Her mother would have required guests to remove their shoes before walking on them. The railing was made of smooth, mahogany wood and the spaces in between filled with leaves and beautiful swirls.
At the top they met a long, dark hallway. “These are the bedrooms,” Bea said. “Each girl has her own, and your room is at the very end of the hallway. It will be your duty to make sure each girl is in her room by curfew each night. There are a couple of exceptions to that rule, but we’ll discuss that later.”
“Okay.” Molly took small cautious steps into the darkness. She expected Bea to turn on a light so that they might see where they were going, but she didn’t. Molly could barely make out each door as they strolled past them. She did note that not a sound came from any of them. No music, no televisions—were the girls all asleep?
At the very last bedroom, Bea removed a key from the deep pockets of her dress. She unlocked the door and handed the key to Molly. “This is yours to keep. I suggest you keep your door locked when you turn in for the night.”
A knot formed in Molly’s stomach. “Why? Why would I need to do that?”
Bea seemed to shrug her question off. “Merely a suggestion, dear. Anyway, this is your living space.”
Molly gasped as she took it all in. She couldn’t help it. Her bedroom was larger than her entire apartment had been. Two of the walls were painted a deep green while the other two were covered in wallpaper with beautiful designs that resembled golden peacock feathers. In the center of the room was a huge canopy bed which could fit eight people easily. Thankfully there was a tiny stepladder beside it because the bed was much too tall for her to climb without it. The bed was covered with a ruffled white bedspread, and either end of the bed was stacked with fluffy pillows.
A tall wooden armoire stood against one wall. Randolph had packed Molly’s boxes and suitcases neatly beside it. There were several other dressers for her things, a floor-length mirror in a golden frame, a sofa which sat in between two matching armchairs, and a furry white rug that covered much of the floor. There was a huge walk-in closet. Molly couldn’t help but to chuckle at it because her clothes would only take up a quarter of the closet, if that.
There was another sitting area with a desk that would be perfect for grading papers and reading. A small fridge, nestled in a corner, was stocked with water and soft drinks. On the other side of that was the bathroom. The bathroom was probably the best part of the room. There were double sinks, a large mirror, a separate toilet area, and a bathtub Molly could probably spend days in.
Everything was so beautiful Molly couldn’t believe it was hers, at least for the time being. She couldn’t wait to snap pictures and send them to her mother. That would shut her up.
“If the room isn’t to your liking, feel free to let us know and we’ll change it to fit your specifications.”
Molly’s jaw dropped. “Are you crazy? I mean, no, this is perfect. Better than perfect. Really, Ms. Bea, I love the room,” Molly said. “Thank you so much for this opportunity.”
Bea patted her shoulder. “I’m glad you like it. Make yourself at home. Since you are unfamiliar with the estate, I would prefer for you to remain in your room for the night. I will have one of the cooks bring you up something to eat in case you get hungry. Breakfast will be served promptly at eight o’clock. Then you will be properly introduced to the girls. After that you will be able to take them into the main study and really get to know them.” Bea looked as if she were about to say something else, but she was cut off by loud howling. To Molly it sounded like a wolf, and it sounded way too close for her comfort. Her chest tightened, and she suddenly felt unsafe.
Bea seemed to know what she was thinking. “We are surrounded by the woods, dear. Not to worry. Nothing ever comes close to the estate.”
Molly begged to differ. Whatever had been howling sounded close enough. She pulled her phone from her purse. The tiny letters at the top read NO RECEPTION.
“Oh no. I wanted to call my mother to let her know that I made it safely, but it says no reception here.”
Bea pressed her lips together. “Oh yes. We are so far out that the reception here is terrible. You won’t get cell phone service.”
That was one of the worst things Molly could hear. What would she do without her cell phone? Without it, she felt cut off from the world. “Not even outside.”
“No. Sorry.”
Molly groaned, dropping her phone back into her purse. “Okay, well, may I use your landline?”
“Oh, our phone service is out at the moment. It should be repaired soon.”
That didn’t sit right with Molly at all. “So, there’s no landline or cell phone reception? What if there’s an emergency?”
“There won’t be any emergencies.”
Molly didn’t know how Bea could be so su
re about that, but she didn’t want to argue. “What about Internet? Wi-fi?”
Bea ran her fingers over the gold buttons of her blouse. “We have no use for that here. Any information we need can be found in books.”
Molly’s head was swimming at the thought of no Internet. She couldn’t fathom it. “But . . . but . . . how do the girls look up information and—”
“As I’ve said before, we are not a traditional school, and the girls learn just fine without being dependent on the Internet like the rest of the world. I swear if the Internet ceased to exist, humans wouldn’t know what to do with themselves.”
Molly was going to interject, but Bea cut her off. “So, I’ll leave you to it. Get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll see you at breakfast.” She took Molly’s hands into her own and squeezed them. “I’m so grateful that you’re here, Ms. Dillinger. We really need you.” The look in Ms. Bea’s eyes was so warm and hopeful that all Molly’s worries melted away.
4
Molly had never slept so comfortably in her life. She thought her bed must have been made from the softest feathers that could be found in the world. It was definitely an improvement over the bed she had purchased on clearance from Sofa City.
She didn’t want to leave her bed until she remembered that it was the biggest day of her life. Her first day at her first real job. And it wasn’t just any job. She’d scored a highly coveted job at a prestigious school for girls and was living in the lap of luxury. Molly’s imagination couldn’t have cooked up a better situation. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was finally winning.
Molly stretched, reaching for her phone, which rested on the nightstand beside her bed. At that moment, the only purpose it would serve was as a clock and alarm. She gasped as the numbers 7:52 shone on the screen. Breakfast was going to be served in eight minutes. She had to shower, dress, and make herself look presentable. The last thing she wanted to do was be late for her first day of work.
Molly took a five-minute shower, applied some light makeup and slid herself into a black dress with a ruffled collar and some low-heeled pumps. She’d decided to save her planned outfit for the first official day of school. Thankfully her short hair took no time to dry with the blow-dryer, and she was ready for breakfast. By the time she left her bedroom, it was 8:23.
Her knees shook as she neared the dining room, and she suddenly wished she’d worn pants. Molly wasn’t quite sure where the dining room was since that hadn’t been part of her short tour the night before. The house was large enough to get lost in, but she followed the sounds of voices and dishes clattering.
Molly’s heart beat faster the closer she got to the voices of her future students. She hated the fact that she was late and starting her first day off on the wrong foot, but she had to do her best to make up for her tardiness.
Standing in the doorway of the grand dining room, Molly took a deep breath. No one noticed her at first, so she took a few moments to take in the scene. The room gave off the style of modern Baroque. The walls were a deep plum color and decorated with paintings of food, golden sconces, and candle sticks. The dining room table was rectangular and the longest one she had ever seen. It could easily fit twenty people.
Seated at the table was a beautiful group of young women. Ms. Bea sat at the head of the table. To her left was an older woman. She had black hair with gray streaks pulled back into a low ponytail. Molly couldn’t see her face, but the woman’s petite stature was the opposite of Ms. Bea’s stout figure. Ms. Bea brought her coffee cup to her lips and then froze once she’d spotted Molly. She stood, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. The room fell silent. “Good morning, Ms. Dillinger,” she said to Molly, then she turned to the young ladies. “Girls, I present to you your new teacher, Ms. Molly Dillinger.”
The girls stopped eating, startling Molly as they rose in unison from their seats at the table and turned to greet her. “Good morning, Ms. Dillinger,” they greeted simultaneously as they curtsied.
Molly was dumbfounded. She had no idea that students still did that anymore. Her cheeks warmed. The girls, even though not much younger than her, made her feel old and proper. She didn’t feel worthy of all the pomp and circumstance. She nodded. “Good morning, ladies. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The girls smiled, took their seats, and resumed their conversations, while casting curious glances in Molly’s direction. Ms. Bea directed Molly to the empty chair to her right. “Ms. Dillinger, this will be your place at the dining room table. We always take all our meals together.”
Molly liked that a lot. It made it seem like they were family, which was important since they lived together. Since Molly was a young girl, she’d always pictured herself having a large family and sharing meals around the dinner table. She hurried over to her seat. “I’m so sorry,” she said as soon as her bottom hit the chair. “I don’t know what happened. I set my alarm, and for some reason I didn’t hear it go off.”
Ms. Bea patted her hand. “Not to worry. We know you were exhausted. By the way, this is the assistant headmistress, Mildred Halifax.”
Molly took one look at the woman sitting across the table from her and promptly decided that she looked like a Mildred. She didn’t have a plump, friendly face like Ms. Bea. Her face was tight and pinched, and she looked as if she were sucking a sour candy.
“Nice to meet you,” Molly said, greeting the woman with a smile.
Ms. Halifax didn’t return the smile. She only stared back at Molly with cold ice-blue eyes. Ms. Bea cleared her throat. “Likewise,” Ms. Halifax said finally.
A silver dome was placed before Molly. “Enjoy.” The server was a dark-haired woman wearing a black-and-white maid’s uniform. She lifted the dome and left.
Before Molly sat a perfect-looking breakfast. It was all her favorites. Light, fluffy waffles with powdered sugar and strawberries, thick, crisp bacon, scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit. “Oh, this looks delicious.”
Ms. Bea smiled. “I told you. We have the best chefs in the world.” Molly touched her rumbling belly and imagined how much weight she was going to gain eating the wonderful food that the academy offered. She definitely needed to get into her running routine right away.
Molly dug in as she stole glances of the girls engaged in conversation. She didn’t want to stare, but it was hard not to. There was a redhead with dazzling green eyes and a blonde wearing an elaborate pink dress that had to be a costume because it was way too much dress for someone to wear just because. The floor-length gown had a strapless princess cut with a beaded bodice. It flared out around the waist and seemed like something a girl would wear if she wanted to dress as Cinderella. Her hair was done in beautiful braids and twists that flowed down her back. Molly couldn’t imagine how long the girl’s hair might be when it was loose. Beside her was a brown-skinned beauty with long ebony locks. Molly wondered why she was dressed in a teal bikini with a white cover-up. Beside the girl in the bikini was a round-faced girl with chocolate curls pulled up into a ponytail. The girl beside her looked like a living doll. Her hair was the color of straw and fell in perfect spiral curls past her shoulders. Sitting diagonal from Molly was a girl with deep-mahogany skin that shone off her bright brown eyes. Half of her dark curls were pulled back from her face. One seat over was a girl with tan skin and bone-straight black hair pulled back into a long braid. At the opposite end of the table sat a brunette with chocolate eyes and a head full of lustrous waves. She had large eyes and cheekbones to die for. Molly was mesmerized by their beauty. She also loved how different each girl was.
Molly couldn’t help but to notice that two seats had place settings, yet they were empty. One of the places had a chair and the other didn’t.
Just then a woman Molly assumed to be one of the housekeepers came rushing into the dining room. “Good morning, Ms. Bea. Ms. Isleen is on the roof again.”
“Thank you, Constance,” Ms. Bea replied before going back to her blueberry oatmeal. Molly looked around the table in
astonishment as everyone carried on as if nothing was wrong.
Molly set her fork down. “Excuse me, but who’s Isleen?”
“One of our students,” Ms. Halifax answered matter-of-factly. Molly’s gaze traveled from Ms. Bea to Ms. Halifax as the two women continued to eat.
“I’m sorry but . . . we’re not concerned about the girl on the roof?”
Ms. Halifax sighed impatiently, as if Molly had asked the stupidest question in the world. “Of course not. It’s Monday.”
Molly opened her mouth to ask further questions, but Ms. Bea cut her off. “Isleen is one of our more rebellious students. She is an attention seeker. For her, negative attention is better than no attention, so we ignore her when she acts out. She hates it here so every Monday morning she climbs to the roof and threatens to throw herself off. She won’t do it, of course. She just wants us to come after her.”
Molly had heard of students doing crazy things, but this was a lot. “But isn’t it dangerous for her to be up there? What if she falls?”
Ms. Halifax flicked her wrist. “We would never be so lucky.”
Molly gasped. “That’s a horrible thing to say, no matter how bad she is.”
Ms. Bea grinned. “Of course, Ms. Halifax doesn’t really mean that. The safety of our students is our greatest concern.”
As if on cue, a terribly angry girl came stomping into the dining room. She too had on a fancy dress that looked like a costume, only hers was a deep purple color and she wore a diamond tiara. White blond hair fell to her shoulders, and her green eyes were filled with anger. She plopped down in front of the plate of food.
Everly Academy Page 3
