The Vision - Chapter 4

I couldn’t get back to sleep but the morning soon came. I wondered what Luken was doing here so late…or early? Maybe he knew I was going to wake up, but how? Anyway it wasn’t long after sunrise that there was noises beyond the curtain. I might have found the courage to get up and open it except for the major factor being that I wasn’t wearing any clothes. But soon an unfamiliar middle aged lady poked her head through the curtain, saw me awake and smiled sheepishly.
"Why good morning, I didn’t think you would be awake." She closes the blue curtain behind her.
"Couldn’t sleep." I return the warm smile as best as I could but I was unaccustomed to being surrounded by strangers.
"My name is Lisa Montgomery. Do you know what this place is?" She asks hesitantly. I smile again.
"School. For the gifted." She looks relieved.
"Well that is one less thing I have to explain. Luken came to me very early this morning, he told me all about you."

"He doesn’t know much so that can’t have taken long." Lisa chuckles.
"True. But he informed me that you would like to start boarding here, and I come to say we would be honoured to have you!"
"Jeez…thanks!" I say, surprised and taken back but in a good way. So it was a boarding school, that was handy I guess.
"May I sit?" She asks, motioning the chair Luken had vacated a few hours previously.
"Of course."
"Well, I just dropped in to let you know a little more about the school, assuming you still want to attend?"
"Yeah, it’s really interesting I mean, I never even knew anyone who was gifted or anything before. It’s kind of a bit of a shock to the system." I say shyly, Lisa smiles warmly.
"Many people haven’t but we are common. Though most of us choose to disguise ourselves or live in remote areas. It’s the number one rule of our people, protect your identities at all costs." She emphasized the word ‘all’. I nod solemnly.
"Of course."
"Anyway, we all worship a goddess called Zin. She is our creator."
"I haven’t heard of her." I admit, wondering if Lisa would become angry at me. She looks serious but not upset.
"I’m sure you have heard of many, false, human gods. But we were made by a creator, we are not evolved. Zin is the one who chooses to gift us and watches over our lives." I nod but didn’t know what to think, I had never truly believed in a religion before.
"You will fit in nicely here, though you are starting older than most. You will begin in fifth form."
"Oh." I say nervously.
"But that’s ok, you will adapt quickly. You will be given a room that you may have to share with a room mate and will attend classes from 8AM to 3PM." I nod and she continues.
"We have a weekly ceremony that honors our goddess and students are expected to attend most weeks. There really isn't a lot that you need to know that you won‘t pick up. You are only aloud to leave campus with permission from a teacher or adult. You may begin classes when you think you are healed well enough but there is no rush. Is there anything I can get you for now?"
"Um, some clothes?"

1 DAY LATER

The door opened with a soft click and Lisa pressed two small keys into my hand.
"One’s a spare."
"Thanks." She motions me to go in and I step over the threshold and nervously look around.

The room was painted a simple white, the furniture was all the same, deep brown wood. The bed was a single bed but rather large, and had a bedside table with draws and a lam. There was a low dresser with draws and a mirror on top and a writing desk in one corner. As I stepped further into the room I also noticed that on my left was a bookcase and on my right was sliding doors which I presumed to lead to a wardrobe. And another door on the wall to my right which I presumed led to a bathroom. This was all confirmed as Lisa swept ahead of me in front of the room.
"There is a wardrobe there and a bathroom. There’s not a lot of furniture but-"
"I like it. It’s simple." It would look better with my stuff spread all over the counter top spaces and a new bedspread, maybe a rug, and some pictures or posters on the wall. It just needed a little colour, I thought.
"I’m glad you like it, I’m sorry there was no one to share a room with. We actually have an even amount of students at the moment, would you believe?" I laugh with her but felt a twinge of disappointment.

Ever since I was a girl and in an orphanage I dreamed of being sent to a boarding school and having an awesome room mate and I would be introduced to all her friends and we would wreak havoc during class. But this was a different school and someone would probably set me on fire or something if I misbehaved. And I didn’t have a roommate. I was slightly disappointed, it would have been nice to know someone in class tomorrow.

"There are uniforms in the closet, and clothes. All ranging styles. The bathroom is stocked with everything you need and the kitchen down in the common room is always full and available." Lisa interrupts my daydreaming.
"Yeah, thanks."
"But let me know if you need anything. Anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask." She stresses.
"Would I be able to go home, sometime in the next few days? I want to grab some stuff and you know, let people know I am ok."
"Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t even think of that. I will get someone to take you on the weekend."
"Thanks." She pauses.
"Take a seat, Bridget."
"Bree." I say, sitting on the bed.
"Bree, I have been meaning to tell you that things work a little differently here. It is a difficult time beginning here, you are just discovering your powers. You haven’t even scraped the beginning of your abilities yet. We like to help people through this time as it can be emotionally and physically stressful." Lisa says seriously, pacing in front of me. I nod seriously.
"So, to help with this. Each student is assigned a mentor. An adult that they can rely on for personal issues and can fully trust. Also someone that will help them with their abilities." I nod, this made good sense. It was a smart move. Would Lisa be my mentor? I hoped so.

"Luken will be your mentor." She looks at me, carefully scrutinizing my reaction. I don’t think it was anything but surprised.
"Oh, ok. Yeah." She starts pacing again.
"And I just wanted to warn you that Luken has been here since last year but hasn’t taken a student before. He requested you, actually." I felt privileged but unsure about the mysterious man.
"So I was hoping that you would go easy on him. He is a good field agent. He teaches classes but you will be his first student." I didn’t ask what a ‘field agent’ here did because I didn’t want to know.
"Well I guess that’s good because he will be my first mentor." I smile a little and Lisa laughs, relaxing.
"Good. I guess that’s all over with I will let you settle in. Your books and everything are in your locker which will be shown to you first class tomorrow but you can go through your clothes now. There is a shop on the first floor, just to the left of the main entrance that will size you up and give you anything you want when you show them this." She hands me a shiny silver card.
"Thanks, for everything."
"We are honoured to have new students Bree, I hope you like your classes tomorrow. You’re timetable is on the desk over there, but everything else is in your locker."
I nod, remembering the tour of the mansion like school and where most of the classrooms were. I had committed our whole tour of the school to memory. I hated getting lost. She turns to leave.
"Lisa?"
"Yes?"
"If Luken is my mentor do I need to…see him at a certain time, like a class or something?" I ask, sounding confused even to my own ears. She smiles knowingly.
"He’ll come to you." And with that she left.

Ahhh, the wardrobe. I opened the doors and stood agape. I had never really had that many clothes, even after I got my own place I was used to living with so many outfits that too many more seemed wasteful. I think, they were uniforms, school uniforms. But they came in all colours. Each of them had a collar and was well tailored (mine were all obviously for female) and thick, black (or white on the black outfits) seams that broke up the colours a little bit. I found a piece of paper on the back of the door. It was simple and read:

Green uniforms- earth
Red uniforms- fire
Blue uniforms- water
Yellow uniforms- Air
White- Spirit
Black- ____
(This is not actually as uniform rule as such, more as recommendations)

Badges on collar
1 badge-level 1
2 badges-level 2
3 badges-level 3
Etc. Etc. Etc.

Well, looks like I was wearing black for now. There were white shirts, knitted jumpers, ties, jackets, skirts, pants, shoes, socks, etc. etc. I pull a few different sizes out and lay them on the bed to consider. I glance at the clock I just noticed on the wall. It was just on 4, I could hear students coming in downstairs now.

I strip down out of the simple jeans and blue t-shirt that Lisa had given me and pull on the medium shirt and skirt. The white shirt fitted perfectly and I was pleased to see that it was not see through like the cheap shirts I had seen at other schools. The skirt was a little big so I pull on a small and walk back into the wardrobe to consider myself in front of the mirror. I was sixteen, I knew that if I turned up in a skirt down to my knees and a goofy looking tie and jacket everyone would immediately turn away from me. If I got pulled up by a teacher, I can just use the good old excuse ‘it’s my first day’. So I hitched the skirt up to my waist line and tucked in the shirt.

I look good, I admit to myself. The tailoring of the uniforms was good. My long dark brown hair was falling around my shoulders, wavy as usual. I didn’t really like my hair. It wasn’t straight and it wasn’t curly it was just this frustratingly wavy kind of in between thing. But at least it never went frizzy. My hazel eyes looked ok, my face looked terrible. I didn’t know if it was from lack of sleep or stress or what but it was unusually pale with dark circles under my eyes.

I wander into the bathroom with high hopes. There was make up there. I couldn’t believe it. What kind of school was this? I didn’t put it on now, because it would just smudge everywhere now. I slip out of the uniform, laying it neatly onto the desk. I wonder over to the chest of draws and open it. Sure enough there was pyjamas, casual clothes and even underpants, bra’s and singlets in there. I seriously couldn’t believe it. I pull on a comfortable but non too flattering pair of flannelette pyjamas and set the alarm for a quarter to eight. I climb into bed and wait for sleep to take me.

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Sorry again guys, if this chapter was a little boring, but I fully promise that it will pick up over the next 2 or 3 chapters.

I deeply appreciate any comments, good or bad. They make my day :)