by Slick, Tabi
“Can I help ya’ll?” He asked.
“Hey, hey Mr. Jackson!” Lee called, "How’s it going?”
“Oh, didn’t recognize ya, kid,” the guard smiled, “It’s going good. How was your summer?”
“It was pretty good," he replied.
“Looks like ya brought some friends,” the guard commented.
“Yeah,” said Lee, turning towards us, “these are my friends Kain and Izzy. They’re from New York.”
“So, ya’ll decided to come to school way out here?” The guard laughed.
“Unfortunately,” I barely heard Kain mutter.
“Yes, sir!” I replied, cheerfully, hoping that the guard hadn’t heard Kain’s comment.
“They’re transferring in,” Lee informed.
“Well, ya’ll better get going,” Jackson replied, "orientation’s gonna start here in about an hour or two and you two still haven’t registered.”
The guard walked back to his station and soon the gate creaked open.
“Thanks, Mr. Jackson!” Lee called, waving from his truck, as we drove off.
Once we passed the guard’s station the road turned even more curvy and it took about five minutes before we saw any buildings. It was incredible! Every building was made out of brick or stone and looked like it should have been a University campus for college students, not for high schoolers.
“That building right there,” Lee pointed, “is the main high school.”
We both looked in the direction that he was pointing towards and saw a huge three story brick building with tinted windows.
“The Library is over there,” he continued, “and the gym is right next door. The cafeteria is just over there and that right there...”
We looked at a smaller building that wasn’t too far away.
“that’s where all the offices are,” Lee informed us as he parked the truck, “we’ll get you guys registered there before we head to the auditorium, which is behind the high school.”
“Where does that lead?” I asked, as we got out of the truck, pointing to a small path leading across a bridge into the woods.
“That path leads to the dorms,” Lee replied, “it’ll split off into two, one leading to the girl's dorm and the other to the guy’s dorm. That path over there on the other side leads to the recreational center and pool.”
“Wow,” I said.
“Come on, let’s go get you guys settled,” Lee said, motioning us to follow.
We entered the spacious lobby of the office building and a small bell rang as the door closed. The floor was made out of gray tile and the walls were a maroon color paneled in dark wood. Various paintings of Siberian tigers decorated the walls providing just enough contrast against the dark walls. Even though the room was decorated in grim colors, it was still bright and inviting. In the center of the lobby there was a receptionist desk filled with stacked papers and office clips.
“I’ll be right with you!” The receptionist called from another room.
“Hey, Miss Logan,” Lee called, “is Ms. Chomsky in her office?”
A tall women entered the lobby, a pile of papers in her hands. She wore her dark brown hair up into a messy bun and accented her dark facial features with only a hint of pink blush. If I had to, I would probably guess that she was Native American. She had beautifully strong facial features and dark skin.
“Lee!” The women said, resting her free hand on her hip, “What are you doing here?”
“Just helping my friends out,” Lee replied, “they’re from New York and decided to come to school out here!”
“Wonderful!” The lady exclaimed, “I’m Miss Logan.”
“I’m Izzy,” I replied, as we shook hands.
“Nice to meet you!" She smiled.
“And I’m Kain,” my brother replied.
“Are you two related?” She asked.
“Yeah, we’re twins,” I answered.
“Wow, well welcome,” the receptionist said, “now, you asked about Ms. Chomsky.”
“Yeah, these two need to get registered,” Lee said.
“Okay, well you know where her office is,” Miss Logan replied, “she’ll see you now.”
“Thanks,” Lee smiled, “let’s go.”
Kain and I followed him down a small hall with many doors and stopped in front of the last one. Lee knocked twice and waited for an answer.
“You may enter!” A woman’s voice called.
We entered a roomy office that looked similar to the entrance due to the fact that the whole room was decorated in the same Siberian tigers. Every picture on the wall was either the school’s mascot or plaques.
A woman sat behind a large desk filled with papers and a computer. On the front part of the desk a small sign read “Principal E. Chomsky”. The woman had pure white hair, a thin, stern face, and small glasses that sat at the tip of her pointed nose. She looked extremely pale in her black, pin striped suit. I got the vibe that I wouldn’t want to ever mess with this lady.
“Please, have a seat,” the lady motioned to the seats in front of her desk without looking up from her work, “what can I do for you all?”
“These two are here to register for classes,” Lee replied in a tone of formality.
“Good,” she answered, looking up for the first time, “I am Principal Chomsky and welcome to Tompkin’s Academy.”
“Thank you, Ms. Chomsky,” I answered, smiling.
“So,” she said, raising an eyebrow, "you are?”
“Oh,” I said, nervously, “I’m Izzy.”
She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips, assessing my naturally open and friendly posture. I stood really still, beginning to get a little creeped out.
“I’m Kain Torvik,” Kain offered, his tone more quiet and formal, “and this is my sister Izara.”
“Ahh, yes,” Ms. Chomsky nodded, "the transfer twins from New York. Alright, well let me get your papers.”
She stood and walked over to an oversized filing cabinet and opened one of the drawers, immediately pulling out the correct files without even looking. I was amazed at how this woman seemed to know exactly where every single file was without even labeling anything!
“Now,” she began, turning from the cabinet, “I understand why these two are here, but why are you, Mr. Walker?”
“I was just leaving,” Lee replied, mouthing good luck to us as he backed out of the office.
“You are coming in as Sophomores,” she stated, “so you’ll need to take these courses.”
She handed us a sheet of the classes that were offered for Sophomores.
“If you have already taken some of these classes,” she added, “please let me know. I will first start with your classes, Mr. Kain.”
Kain instinctively moved forward in his seat and straightened his back. Obviously he felt the need to be more formal around this woman like I wished I had done earlier.
“We have four periods per day,” Ms. Chomsky began, “the first class at 7 o’clock in the morning and the last at 2:30. The classes will alternate every other day, Fridays are half days provided for mandatory laboratories for each core class.”
Kain and I both sat there, nodding when appropriate and replied “yes ma’am” when necessary as she continuously emphasized each sentence.
“…and it is required,” she continued, as she put papers inside packets for us, “for you to have an extracurricular activity that meets outside of class time, be it one of the school’s sports teams, cheerleading, or any other club. Just make sure you sign up for one of them or I will do it for you.”
After we got our classes all figured out she had us sign several documents, one was an agreement for classes and another a promise for conduct while living on campus along with a few others. She gave us the information for our dorm rooms and told us to go over to the dormitories so that they could give us the keys. She gave us both a booklet on the school’s policies and then we left to meet up with Lee again.
We headed to the trail
towards the dorms and crossed the small bridge that was built over a small river. The woods were all covered in moss and the trees’ leaves hardly let any sun through, making the forest much darker. We came to a Y, the left pathway holding a sign that read “Boy’s Dormitory” with an arrow pointing in that direction while the other sign indicated that the girl's dormitory to the right.
“Okay,” Lee said, turning towards me, "so we’ll walk you until the entrance and then I’ll take Kain over to the guy’s dorms. We’ll meet back up in like twenty so that we can get our stuff, alright?”
“Let’s go," I smiled.
We took the pathway that led towards the right, which curved around a small hill. The path was darkened by the forest that surrounded it, protecting the earth from the sun completely.
We soon saw the outline of a tall building made out of smooth gray stone accented by white pillars at the entrance. It stood in an opening surrounded by velvet green grass and a stone pathway leading to the maroon doorway. A couple of girls were already lounging on the only spot of grass that had any sunlight. They glanced at us with curious eyes, but then continued chatting amongst themselves. It really did feel like a college! I couldn’t wait to get started and meet everyone.
The boys left and I entered the girl's dorm and was surprised to find that the inside was even more beautiful than the outside. It felt like a castle. I saw a door that held a sign labeled “monitor” above the entrance and I made my way over to the door and knocked.
“Come in!” A cheerful voice called from inside.
I entered the monitor's office which had bright white walls and furniture. It had been decorated in dark maroon to contrast with the white and it also had paintings of Siberian tigers. Just like the main office had been. I was noticing a pattern. The room had a huge window at one end that looked out onto the perfectly manicured lawn.
The lady was sitting at her desk and immediately stood when I entered. She looked very young, twenty five at the most. She wore a cute white pencil skirt and a white cotton shirt that she topped off with a navy blue cardigan.
“Hi, I’m Sheila," she greeted, offering her hand, “you must be the transfer student? I believe I was told to expect an Izara Torvik?”
“That’s me, but it’s Izzy for short,” I answered.
“Nice to meet you!” She smiled.
“You, too,” I replied.
“Well, have a seat,” she said, as she motioned towards the seat in front of her desk, “actually there’s another girl who is transferring in and I think you two would be perfect roommates.”
She shuffled through a couple of papers and found the one that she was looking for.
“Okay,” she finally began, "so her name is… wow a very long name and she is transferring from Florida. I don’t believe she has arrived yet, but she should be here later on today. I think I’ll put you girls in room S12. Of course ya’ll will be in the Sophomore hall.”
“That sounds perfect,” I said, enthusiastically.
“Well,” she replied, standing up, “let’s take a tour of the place and get you settled in.”
She led the way out of her office and down another hall which led to a huge staircase that was carpeted all in maroon velvet with a mahogany hand railing.
“There are a lot of hallways and stairs,” she warned, "but you’ll get used to it. The Senior hall is on the first floor, but we just past that. The door right there leads to the Junior Hall, which is two floors.”
We kept going and it seemed like the hallways would never end. I had no idea how I was supposed to remember all of this. It was incredible that this Academy was able to keep itself hidden from the roads because it was so huge!
We finally reached the Sophomore Hall and stopped in front of room S12.
“So,” she announced, standing outside the door, “this is your place!”
She handed me a room key and stepped aside to let me unlock the door. I took the key and slowly opened the mahogany door. Sheila followed me through the door and we entered a rather large room with two twin beds, one on the right wall next to the window with a desk beside it and the other pushed up against the wall next to the door with an identical desk next to it. The closet was on the left which took up the entire wall and looked as if it had more than enough space for all the luggage of two girls.
The far wall had a huge window that covered the whole wall and was decorated with heavy black drapes, which was definitely good because I couldn’t sleep with any amount of light shining through.
“Curfew is at 10:30 on school nights,” Sheila said, coming to stand next to me, "midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. Oh, and bathrooms are down the hall. Think this’ll work for you?”
“Are you kidding? It’s perfect!” I replied.
“Great,” she smiled, "so if you need anything or have any questions, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you,” I called over my shoulder as she left.
I met up with the guys soon after and began unpacking the truck. I could see a lot more students were arriving and it made me super excited. I was surprised to find so many people that came here weren’t even from Oklahoma! I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe like log cabins and hillbillies. But that was so not the case and I was glad.
After several trips, I finally brought all of my things up to the Sophomore Hall. When I got to my room with the last of it, I found that my door was already open. I put my bags next to all of my other things and slowly walked into the room.
A tall, thin girl with Asian features and maroon highlighted hair was dancing around to a catchy song as she hung a shirt in the closet. She suddenly froze when she saw me.
“Oh!” She exclaimed, “Hey! You must be my roommate.”
She leaped forward, taking my hand.
“I’m Kia,” she said, “well, that’s my nickname. My real name is Kiatsu Keorattanavong, which is way too complicated to remember or even pronounce, but everyone calls me Kia! What’s yours?”
“I’m Izara, but Izzy for short,” I smiled, “nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you, too!” She smiled back, “So, I hope you don’t mind taking the bed by the window? I don’t know, I kinda prefer this bed.”
I noticed that she already had a laptop on her desk as well as a very sophisticated speaker system. Her bed was made with a pink floral comforter topped with other various throw pillows.
“No problem," I replied.
“Here,” she said, bouncing towards the door, “let me help you with your things.”
Together we brought in my four suitcases and put them next to my bed.
“Hey,” she said, suddenly, “do you mind if I ask you if that’s your natural hair color?”
“No, I don‘t mind,” I laughed, “and yes it is natural.”
“Wow!" She exclaimed, “because usually people with blue eyes have lighter hair, or brown hair. But not black! That’s awesome!”
“Thanks!” I laughed.
I suddenly noticed a picture of her on a stage dressed in an elaborate costume.
“Were you in a play?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she answered, “I was a member of my school’s drama club back at my old school.”
“No way!” I exclaimed, "So, was I!”
“Really?” She squealed, "That’s so cool. What a coincidence!”
“I know!” I replied.
“But I can’t believe I had to transfer,” she added.
“Tell me about it," I agreed, sitting on my bed, "I was going to be the president!”
“Wow,” she replied, “that sucks! Where did you transfer from?”
“New York," I told her, "I heard you transferred from Florida?”
“Yes I did,” she smiled, “Miami baby!”
“Nice,” I laughed, "and now we’re in Oklahoma.”
“Ugh," Kia sighed.
“I know the feeling, ” I agreed.
“So, are you going to try out for the drama club here?” She asked.<
br />
“They have a drama club here?” I replied.
“Yeah, totally,” she said.
“Then definitely!” I exclaimed, “There’s no way I’m going to miss that. When are they?”
“I think there’s going to be a signup sheet in the monitor’s office,” she said, "and I think the tryouts are a few days from now.”
It seemed this school wasn’t going to be so bad after all and my roommate and I actually did have a lot in common!
“By the way, who’s this playing?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s old school K-pop,” she laughed, “I got a thing for Korean music and this band’s called Shinhwa. Do you mind?”
“No way, it‘s actually kinda cool,” I replied.
“Really? Most people think it’s weird,” she said, surprised.
“It‘s okay, I like some weird stuff, too,” I laughed.
“Like what?” She asked.
“Well, it’s usually French music. The band BB Brunes is my most recent favorite,” I replied, “along with the normal stuff, of course.”
“Of course,” she agreed.
I finished unpacking my things, placing my laptop and school supplies on my desk and making my bed with my green Egyptian cotton sheets and black comforter. It seemed as if this was going to be a great year and I was going to enjoy every minute of it.
Suddenly, my cell phone began to ring. It was Kain.
⎼“Hey," I answered.
⎼“Get out here, sis,” Kain responded, “it’s almost time for orientation.
⎼“Coming!” I replied.
“Hey, Kia,” I said, turning to my roommate who was still dancing around, “do you wanna come to orientation with us?”
“Yeah, let’s go!” She smiled, “Let me get my shoes.”
After gathering a few things, we headed out of our room and bounded down the stairs. When we reached the front door of the girl's dorm I saw Lee and Kain waiting for me.
“Who’s that?” Kia whispered, nodding towards my brother.
“That’s my twin brother, Kain,” I replied, "and that’s Lee.”
“He’s cute!" She squealed, nodding towards Kain.
“Gross! Stop it, that’s my brother!” I laughed, as we left the dorm, “Hey guys!”
