Chapter 2: Beauty of Darkness

*Esmerelda*

I shook my head in disbelief, unable to believe the strange hours of this school. Maybe that was why the school was called Sunset High School. Did the entire campus operate on the strange hours?

I winced, thinking about how my Mom had a hard time transitioning to working the night shift. She was often tired and almost zombie-like. There was no way I was going to be able to do this. There had to be some kind of mistake.

The receptionist returned with her purse and bookbag over her shoulder. She smiled when she saw me. “Ready to go?”

I blinked up at her. She was a kind lady, a nice, older blonde who looked like she could work in a librarian and make a mean chocolate chip cookie. Just seeing her standing there put me a little at ease. She gave me the courage to ask what in my mind, sounded like a stupid question. “Are the class hours posted in this handbook accurate?”

She blinked back at me but then laughed. “Believe me, you aren’t the first to ask that question.”

I studied her face carefully, my jaw dropping as I pieced together her tone and her words. “So, class really is from eight at night to two in the morning?” I could hear my volume rising in disbelief.

There was sympathy in her eyes now. “Is that going to be a problem?”

The words got caught in my throat. I didn’t really have a choice in the matter, did I? I had nowhere to go, unless I wanted to end up in a homeless shelter.

That would make me the biggest fool if I chose that over the comfort of a bed that resided inside of an expensive private high school.

“No,” I said after a long moment. “But may I ask why the schedule is that way?”

The receptionist looked apologetic as she answered. “I heard that there were studies done that showed that many teenagers nowadays are staying up late and sleeping during the day. Perhaps that is why the hours are the way that they are.”

I thought about that for a brief moment, realizing that although it might have made sense in a twisted way, the logic was not all sound.

I thought about saying something along those lines but I needed a place to stay. Not only that but I was already seventeen years old. I needed to start thinking about what I was going to do once I graduated from high school. I originally thought I was going to be able to do college but who knew where I was going to wind up? A diploma from a school like this would probably look great on a recent grad’s resume.

“May I see your forms?” the receptionist asked kindly.

I handed them over immediately. She sifted through them, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose as she did so. Her eyes rounded. “How odd,” she murmured. She looked up at me from over her lenses. “It looks like, judging from your background, that you should have been placed in the day school. Their hours are more in line with the typical campus hours. They attend their classes from nine in the morning to five in the evening.”

“Does that mean I can get switched to the day school?” I asked hopefully, relieved that there seemed to be another option.

I was surprised when uncertainty crossed her features. “This kind of mistake has never happened,” she said. “This is too huge of a decision for it to be a mishap but given that you should really be in the day class, I will check with the headmaster. It really would be unreasonable for you to stay in night school since you aren’t accustomed to that kind of brutal schedule.”

“Thank you so much,” I said. Surely, we could get this all sorted out.

The receptionist nodded and gestured for me to wait in a chair nearby while she wandered back over to her desk and picked up the phone.

I was on the other side of the room from her but I could still hear the automated message from the headmaster. “I am closed to office hours and am focusing on my meditation exercises. Anyone who dares to interrupt me at this time will be thrown out mercilessly and dealt with accordingly.”

She hung up immediately and dropped the phone back in the receiver as if it had burned her. “It appears that you’ll have to attend night classes at least for now,” she said, looking regretful.

I remembered the way that Headmaster had been cursing Mrs. Dowelle and shook my head, not willing to risk going against him. “I’ll make due,” I said.

She let out a sigh of relief, as if she thought she could get in trouble if I didn’t agree. “Allow me to escort you to your dorm room.”

We walked quietly together through the buildings. It was starting to get dark, the sky a mix of orange, purple and pink. Under other circumstances, I might have marveled at the beauty of the sky at sunset but it seemed more like a symbol of my previous life actually coming to an end.

The school was large and the layout was quite confusing. I looked around, trying to memorize landmarks and buildings so that I could find my way around later. The gardens and paths looked like they belonged in a Greek gods home.

“That’s your dorm building up ahead,” the receptionist said, pointing at the large building in the distance.

It was like most of the other stark white buildings except it had rows of balconies, many of them with plants and furniture perched on them. I could barely make out silhouettes of people in the windows.

The inside of the building was cozy with dark furniture and dark gray counters that looked like they had glitter embedded in them. The woman behind the counter waved. “Need some help finding something, Glinda?”

“We’ll be alright, Charlotte,” The receptionist, Glinda, said politely. She gestured to me. “This is Esmerelda. She’s our newest student.”

“Welcome!” Charlotte said. “I’m Mrs. Clint. I’m your dorm mother, of sorts. If you need anything concerning your living arrangements, I’m the one you should find.”

My jaw dropped at the sprawling fountain in the center of the lobby area, with a glass elevator leading to the upper floors. “Your room is on the top floor,” Glinda told me, gesturing for me to follow her inside the large glass tube.

After exiting the elevator, we walked about halfway down the long hallway. “Here we are,” Glinda said.

I nodded in thanks before slipping the key into the lock.

I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the dorm. It was much larger than even the typica college dorms that one saw in television shows. It looked like a large upscale apartment with modern fixtures and sleek furniture. There was a girl sitting on the couch, books strewn out in front of her on the coffee table. She grinned widely, her bright blue eyes lighting up.

“Hi!” she chirped, bounding over, causing her dark blonde curls to bounce. “You’re my new roommate, right? I’m Rosalind.”

“Hi,” I said, trying not to reel at her high energy level. “I’m Esmerelda.”

“Nice to meet you,” Rosalind said, grabbing my hand and giving it an enthusiastic shake before I could even offer it to her.

“I’ll let you girls get to know each other,” Glinda said before smiling kindly at both of us.

“Thanks!” Rosalind and I both called after her as she shut the door.

Rosalind was still holding onto my hand. She tugged me further into the dorm. “I’m excited they finally chose someone to take the other room,” Rosalind said. “It was getting kind of lonely.”

“I’m glad to be here,” I replied, looking around at the spacious dorm, amazed at how much space there was considering there were only two of us in this room.

“This is my room,” Rosalind said, pointing to a closed white door with flowers etched into it. She started to gesture at other doors down the surprisingly long hallway. “This is my bathroom. That one’s yours. And this is your bedroom.”

“We each get our own bathroom and our own room?” I asked in astonishment.

Rosalind pushed the door open for me, revealing the most beautiful room I had ever seen. The walls were the light blue of robin eggs. There was a white bed with a canopy and a gorgeous writing desk pressed up against the opposite wall.

“There’s so much space,” I breathed, wandering around the room like a child.

“You’ll like it here,” Rosalind said with a grin. She hesitated in the doorway. “Mind if I come in?”

“You can come in,” I said, kind of touched that she thought to ask. “Do you like Sunset High?” I set my duffle on the desk and started to unpack the few items I had.

Rosalind grinned and crossed the room and pulled the desk chair out so she could sit in it. “Yeah, it’s a great school. My parents worked hard so that I could come here. My dad had to put in a lot of extra hours so I’m really grateful.”

“That was nice of him,” I said conversationally. I hung up some of my clothes in the wardrobe.

Rosalind seemed really kind and personable. And most importantly, I knew that she would never beat me like my stepdad did.

I didn’t know what it was but I already felt comfortable around this girl so I decided to ask her a question. “Hey, what do you know about the night school?”

Rosalind smirked almost teasingly. “Ahh, you’ve already heard the rumors then?”

I laughed too. “Not really. It’s just that I’m gonna be attending the night school and I’m just confused about the weird hours.”

“What?” Rosaslind shrieked. It was so high-pitched that I almost covered my ears out of reflex. “I’m so jealous! You’re attending the night school? There are so many hot guys there. You’re going to have to take advantage!”

“I didn’t realize the two schools were that different,” I said, my eyebrows rising.

Rosalind nodded seriously. “The night shcool and day school are seperated by a gate, which does not open without the permission of headmaster. A lot of girls in the day school want to sneak into the night school to meet those hot guys but they don’t dare to do so since… well, I imagine you met the headmaster.”

I nodded, digesting this information. Why were all the guys in the night school handsome? That seemed so odd.

“I once met several of them by accident. The boys in the night school were so gentle and handsome. You can’t imagine how gorgeous they are! They are just like the masterpiece of God.” Rosalind couldn’t stop her words as long as she talked about these boys, “It is really enjoyable to talk wit them.”

I felt a little curious about those boys she mentioned. Did Rosalind exaggerate it too much? Were there such gorgeous people in the world?

Rosalind suddenly ran from the room. She returned less than a minute later and thrust a box of chocolate in my hands. “Could you please give this to Richard when you see him? I”ll show you a picture so you know what he looks like.”

I winced but looked up into her hopeful face and knew I couldn’t say no.

“Really appreciate your help.” Rosalind said, “Just one tip. It’s OK to talk with anyone in the night school. Just stay away from one of them.”

“Who is it?”

“He is the president of student union. I think his name is E...Elijah?”