She sat in the backseat of the limo, looking down at her phone. She hoped someone would text her, though there were barely any people on her contact list who were still alive. Her parents and older brother had just died in an accident. Her butler was all she had, but he was sending her to boarding school.
"Are we there yet?" she asked, not that she wanted to be there. She was just lonely.
"We are," he said, as he pulled into a long, long, long road. They went under a sign that read "Kingston Boarding School" in big, black letters and a creepy font. Ari wished it was spelled out in a brighter color and a happier font. Then she might be a bit more confident about this new school. A bit.50Please respect copyright.PENANAK3J2JgOlZo
The butler parked, and Ari stayed put. He opened the door and grabbed her by the hood. "Get a move on." She was supposed to be wearing a nice dress, but Ari never wore dresses. Not even at her family's funeral. No, she only wore hoodies and pullover sweatshirts. When the butler grabbed her by the hood, her beautiful, long red hair flew out like blood in a wound. "I thought I told you to wear your nice clothes."
"I know you did," Ari said, "but I didn't do it." The butler pulled her out of the car from her hoodie and she fell to the pavement.
"Get off the ground, Arianne," he commanded. "You'll be dirty for your assembly."
Ari grunted and roughly got up. As soon as she regained balance, the butler pushed her off her feet again. "That one was for fun."
Ari sniffed, but she wasn't going to cry. She was thirteen years old. She could do without some stupid butler pushing her around. She suddenly couldn't wait to get in there and say goodbye to this jerk.
They walked into the school, where a stern-looking woman was standing, waiting for their arrival.
"Name?" the woman asked.50Please respect copyright.PENANAeub8mPTc0O
"Arianne Wilson," the butler said.
"Hi, I'm Ari."
"I don't care," the woman said. "Your dorm is #33."
Ari stood there, waiting for any other clarification.
"Well, go!" the butler said. "Hurry up! Goodbye."50Please respect copyright.PENANA8YYobwRKFy
"Good riddance," Ari snapped at him. She ran up the stairs to dorm #33. Ari opened the door to see an incredibly beautiful girl.
"Hello," the girl said. "I think we're roommates." She had long, blonde hair with brown roots. She wore fancy school clothes and her face was caked in makeup. "I'm Devyn."
"Ari." She set her bags down on her bed and started to hang up her pictures and posters. "Your first year, too?"50Please respect copyright.PENANAcpuZ28qfXA
"Oh, heavens, no. I've been here since I was in Kindergarten."
"OK." Ari continued to put up her pictures and posters. She hung up a Billie Eilish poster and Devyn tilted her head in confusion.
"Who is that?" she asked. "She looks . . . interesting."50Please respect copyright.PENANA4JJQQhKopd
"That's Billie Eilish," Ari said. "She's my favorite pop singer."
"Pop? Pop isn't allowed here."
Ari couldn't believe her ears. It must've been a joke. "That's hilarious."
But Ari was wrong. Later, when she was exploring the campus, she was caught with her earbuds. They were taken away along with her phone.
This is not what Ari was expecting.
With no music to listen to, she headed to the music room. "There's gotta be something in here I can play something good with."
Ari's blue eyes spotted an acoustic guitar. Perfect! She grabbed it and held it in her arms. She strummed it, then started playing a song.
"I've been watching you for some time. Can't stop staring at those ocean eyes. Burning cities and napalm skies. Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes. Your ocean eyes."
Suddenly, a crashing noise filled the room. Ari spun around to see a brown-haired boy behind the mess. "Uhh . . . hi. Hi. I-I don't think we've met. I'm--"
"Were you stalking me?" Ari asked him.
He blushed. "Uh . . . no. No! I was just looking for . . . my . . . clarinet. . . . Found it!" He held up a clarinet that said "George B".
"So . . . you're George B?" Ari asked.
"Uh, no. I'm Asher."
"Then that is not your clarinet."
Asher looked at the clarinet and put it down. "Oops. Wrong clarinet. Better check my dorm. Nice meeting you . . ."
"Ari."
"Ari. Nice meeting you, Ari. I'll see you later." Asher left the room with a smile on his face and a song in his heart: "ocean eyes" by Billie Eilish.50Please respect copyright.PENANAx7VnuN8QMf