Jedidiah Woods

I shook my head confused about what she meant. Had my father gone behind my back and told the whole school about the reason I was here. Was I special because I needed to be under surveillance for something I didn't remember doing? 

I dropped my backpack and suitcase so I could lean over the reception desk, "Did my father talk to you?" 

"Oh sorry, no sweety. You are the talented kid. That's what I meant." She said smiling as she printed out yet another paper. Was she compiling a book? 

"Everyone is expecting so much from you."

"They are?"

"Yes of course." 

I tried for a smile but something told me it didn't come across that way because the receptionist smiled back with sympathy in her eyes. 

A lot of things didn't make sense. This was a school for talented kids so what did she mean I was the talented kid they were waiting for. I bent down to pick up my discarded luggage. And with my emotions whirling around my chest I turned to the receptionist. 

"This is your student card," she said, smiling at me. Her eyes were warm as she continued to explain things to me, "Normal currency doesn't work here. As you already know Bradford is an international school and since we are located on an island we use our own school currency." 

"Ok. So how do I put money in my student card." 

"I am getting to that." The receptionist handed me one of the papers she had printed out, "How you live here is based on your performance as a student. The student card is loaded according to your grades and performance." 

I looked down at the paper she had handed me and on it was a list of ways to earn ‘Bradford Dimes’. One of them was joining a secret society I scoffed, shaking my head. Of course, things like this existed in a school like this one. 

"...The currency in your student card is known as Bradford Dimes and like the real world, it determines a lot. What you eat in the cafeteria, what you can buy, and even where you can go during the weekend. Of course, you cannot leave the island until school break but students do get the opportunity to venture outside the school gates..."

"I thought the island belonged to the school?" 

"...yes it does. But to get students ready for the real world Bradford has a pseudo-city outside the school gates. If you drove from the port I am sure you saw the people on the outskirts of the school." 

I nodded. 

"Yes. That city is for students to venture out into and learn how to integrate with society. Most of the city dwellers there are school employees that are paid to live as they would in other countries." 

I looked down at the list again. Number 2 was, be an honour student. Of course, this was probably how they kept their students motivated. Because if you were rich and were used to getting your way working hard wasn't part of the list. 

"This is your room key. There are five general dorms on this campus. All first-year students start in dorm E. Dorms are shuffled every semester according to your first performance. The top thirty students reside in Dorm A, otherwise known as the Castle. Usually, first-year students don't make it there." 

I nodded, accepting the second paper she handed me. 

"The rest of the dorms are respective to how you rank but as a first-year, you will spend the entire first semester in Dorm E regardless of your rank." 

"As for your Bradford Dimes, everyone starts the semester with a hundred Dimes. Whether they increase or decrease is up to you." She continued pointing at my student card, "And you can use them anywhere on this island." 

I flipped the black and gold card over in my hand. My name was embedded on the front in silver letters. And below it was my date of birth and student number.

"Now, I am sure you have seen these on the website but I am giving you a printed form so you can always refer back to it. This is a list of the general rules, rewards and punishments implemented within the school and island. It's a standard list but we like to remind all our students," The receptionist smiled, handing me the last paper from her little printing pile, "this is your activity schedule, think of them as classes and you never want to miss any. Curfew for all first-years is at 10 p.m." 

"Okay..." I said, flipping through the sheets of paper she had handed me.

The receptionist pointed to a set of large oak doors and smiled again, "Through those doors, you will find the lounge, past the lounge to your left there is another set of doors. Those doors will lead you to your Dorm. Your room number is on the key in your hand." 

"Uhuh," I said, moving my papers to my left so I could hold my suitcase with my right.  

I scrambled to lift my luggage and with all the information still buzzing through my head, I wheeled my suitcase through the aforementioned oak doors. 

Past the large doors was an even bigger room than the last. The massive room could have passed for a ballroom. Boys sat on various pieces of furniture talking to each other like rich aristocracy from a 1960s movie. Flashy colours swayed past me as some boys passed by me in bizarrely styled clothes. 

Clothes that didn't look like they were made for any century. More colours flashed before me as all types of students moved across the room entering various doors and never returning. It all seemed a little too surreal for me. It felt like I was standing at the intersection of time, watching many timelines walk past me.  

"You are a long way from Kansas, Dorothy," I muttered to myself. 

My eyes took in everything and nothing as I tried to absorb the atmosphere and everything around me. The entrance room I had been in had been quiet and almost empty so finding myself in a large space with so many students threw me off-kilter. My town barely had this many people and everyone in my town did not wear their money on their skin like the boys in the room. I could tell from the way everyone held themselves here that money was definitely not an issue. Unless of course, this was earned through ‘Bradford Dimes’.

I looked down at my old boots and suddenly felt underdressed. My mother had warned me about changing my outer appearance. ‘Don't let them change you so you can fit into their world,’ She had said as she watched me pack. If only I had listened to my gut and upgraded just one thing. 

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a rich boisterous chuckle coming from the centre of the room. My attention was drawn to the gleaming, built, bronze-skinned boy entertaining his crowd. His rich sultry laugh was easily the best sound I had ever heard in my life. I wasn't the only one who seemed to be drawn to him. After all, he had a group of students huddled at his feet as if he was feeding them the gift of life. A cult, my mind provided. I watched him laugh softly and throw his head back as if he had no care in the world. The gentlemen at his feet followed suit pulled by the invisible strings he seemed to have. 

"That's Karim." A voice informed me, "I suggest you stay away from him if you value your innocence." 

I turned to my left and noticed the tall Asian boy who had just spoken. His skin was pale,  smooth, with a shiny glow. An almost enchanting shimmer seemed to emanate from the surface of his skin, contrasting the colour of his lips making him even more mesmerising. He licked the silver ring pierced into his bottom lip leaving a glossy shine on it. 

"My what?" 

The boy next to me laughed and finally turned to look at me. "Your innocence, Bambi," He repeated eyes lingering over my body and enunciating the word ‘Bambi’ like the foreign actors I saw on tv, "Tsubaki and you are?"

"Jedidiah. But you can call me Jedd." I said, smiling at him. 

He smiled down at me and at that moment  I knew my ‘innocence’ was not safe with him either. 

"So...who is that?" I asked, pointing towards the big guy shadowing Karim. 

"That's Tino, stay away from him too," Tsubaki said, looking down at me with eyes that flashed in the sunlight. There was something so ethereal and supernatural about the way he turned his head and flicked his eyes open, almost as if he was otherworldly and he knew it. 

"Oh, okay," I answered, swallowing down the sudden bubble of air that had risen to my throat. "And the girl? I thought this campus was for males only." 

Tsubaki's whole demeanour changed as if I had flipped a switch. His eyes narrowed and the right corner of his lip twitched downwards. The change for a lack of better words was beautiful. It felt like I was watching him change shape right before my eyes. He went from an unassuming friendly stranger to the narcissistic, toxic villain of a chilling horror story. 

"Once in a while, they let the females enrol here too. The dean of students from the female campus has a habit of over-enrolling students. The old bat should have retired a long time ago but she hasn't so here we are." Tsubaki said looking at the beautiful, dark skin girl as she walked by us. 

She didn't acknowledge me but she did glare at Tsubaki with the same poisonous look he was using to glare at her. 

"That is Summer, the devil's very own right hand. Don't let her beauty trap you. It's not worth it. She is as hot as a solar flare and mercilessly burns like acid." Tsubaki said, looking back at me. 

I used my hand to thumb the edge of the gold crucifix that hung on my neck as I silently retained the name in my memory. Summer. 

"Okay Jedd, when you are ready to have a good time, find me," Tsubaki said, winking at me before walking towards the door. Summer had come through. 

I mentally recited the names I had learnt: Tsubaki, Karim, Tino & Summer. Something told me this would not be the last time I would be hearing them. Especially with the way Karim smiled when his eyes caught mine. 

 Choosing to ignore the feeling Karim's eyes elicited from across the room, I turned, following the directions the receptionist had given me.