01.

When 16 year old Teagan Conway is sent away to Slandoff Academy, she finds herself intertwined in a web of secrets, lies, and warnings etched into her dorm door that she must uncover.

01

The smell of rose and lilac is strong in the morning air. It always is in the spring time. My mother was sure of that. Our garden would be so full, that the roasting, morning coffee would be put to shame.  The ever fuming aroma of flowers and earthly soils would hit you instantly, as soon as you stepped foot out the front door. But on this morning, it is not a heavenly smell; it is intoxicating and overpowering. It is a strong reminder of just what I leave behind.

 You see, just a few months ago my mother passed away. She was on her way home from work, her job as a human resource assistant �" a job father never deemed worthy of praise, when she was struck by a drunk driver. Her car was sent crashing into the guard rail on a winding road, but it wasn’t strong enough to keep her car from tumbling down an embankment and into a tree.

I lost my best friend that day and gained my worst enemy: Alcohol; which likewise has become my father’s newest companion. My father, Clifford Conway, is always away on business. He’s a vice president of one of the branches for an audio/visual production company. I don’t pay much attention to his work, but the feelings are mutual.

The times he has been home lately have been spent with Sadie Assad �" a 29 year old, Asian woman that he has been dating. I have no proof, but the odds do not hold doubt that their relationship hadn’t begun before my mother’s death. My only company at home has been our housekeeper, Greta. However, Greta doesn't speak much English, and of course she isn’t the least bit polite.  

 It was when I caught wind of my father taking a new job offer in Italy that I knew my life was going to change. As if now, a moment of his time was spent focusing on me, his sixteen year old daughter, I could only imagine how things would be with a move to Italy. But something didn’t seem right from the beginning.

I was raised to never object a decision made by my parents. But, I found that difficult when the brochures began to pile up on our coffee table. I knew it was a pointless argument, but a stereotypical exit, like boarding school, just screamed of melodramatics and Hollywood dramatics, like the clients my father works with every day.

However, he had made his decision. That was obvious and I packed my bags, preparing to say goodbye to my life in Colorado. Which brings me here: to my front porch, staring at the cab that will lead me to the airport. I’m heading to North Dakota. A place I have never been, nor know anything about.

I look around, at the bright green grass, and the garden with lilacs and roses. The distinct touch of my mother’s hands. I brush my long, auburn waves behind my ear and rub the chills off my forearm. I scowl at the fresh for-sale-sign my father has placed in the yard, near the road.

I feel a set of arms around my shoulders and look to my right. My white skinned, white haired, grandmother stands smiling at me. She, just like my mother, never lets a situation leave a frown on her face. I resent the fact I cannot be more like them. She places an old, brown cardigan sweater around my arms and hugs me tightly. “It may be a little cooler in North Dakota.” She says, pressing her lips against my cheek. I sigh, looking back to the cab.

The sound of loud, hard, footsteps behind me signal my father’s arrival on the porch. “Teagan, why aren’t your bags in the cab yet?” He snaps, grabbing one of them without stopping to look at me. He carries my suitcase down to the cab, wearing one of his many nice business suits. He must have a meeting to get to after he sends me off.

I lean over and kiss my grandmother on the cheek before grabbing my other bags and walking to the cab. My father’s flustered expressions bring amusement in these final moments. The resentment of it all creates bitterness as I slide into the backseat of the cab. My father slides in on the other side, without saying a word. And soon, we’re on our way, leaving my home behind.

 

 

When my plane began boarding, I tried to find ways to distract myself. My father stood firm beside me until he had to say goodbye. He has never been a man of words, and let’s face it; I wasn’t in the mood for a heart to heart. We said goodbye �" a hand shake, father and daughter �" and I walked down the terminal.

It would be only a few short hours before I arrived at my new destination. I wasn’t able to imagine the next time I would be able to call a place home. My real home would soon be sold; no longer mine.

As I sat down in the uncomfortable, coach seat and awaited the air, all I could think of was my mother and how much I missed her. And her ever scent of flowers. Her ever smiling glow, and friendly face. Her shoulder to cry on and open ears.

The ride was silent, but in my mind there was a hurricane.

 

 

I found a man standing near the windows when I walked out of the terminal. He had a sign with my name on it; a driver, hired by my father. He didn't speak his name, for he didn't care to get acquainted with a sixteen year old girl. He took my luggage in silence, and led me to his car.

 I spent the time looking through my new school’s brochures. Slandoff. What a name. Nothing in the brochure seemed inviting, and as we walked out into the bitter coldness of North Dakota, the fog gave the town a haunted appeal. I slid into the backseat of the car and watched the trees pass as he drove quickly down winding roads.

I wasn't used to this lifestyle and, already, I could tell this would be a hard transition. About an hour of silent driving continued. The car was cold, but I didn’t want to request heat. I kept to my brochures, reading about the school and class schedules and dorms.

When the driver stops the car, fiercely, I nearly fall to the floor of the back seat. "Welcome to Slandoff." He grumbles, watching me in his rearview mirror. I stare ahead into the gloomy mist that lay before us. I try to choke back the false tone in my voice as I mutter, "Charming."

 The driver nods, while coughing a laugh. He drives forward through a large, rusted archway. I catch a glimpse of the schools name written in metal across the top: Slandoff Academy. As we drive down the path, it leads into a small valley and the fog thickens, but only a little. I can barely make out the buildings shadows as we lurch down the road. I can only see the labels of each building as we pass them.

 "Which dorm are you assigned to, kid?" The driver’s voice startles me. I look down at the pile of papers in my lap and find the assignment in my student information packet. "E." I say, looking back up. He nods and turns down a smaller path, in front of a small building. I see a large letter E on the front doors.

 

 

And just like that, I am alone. I am standing amongst the fog, with no one in sight, my driver gone, having left me with my bags. Typical, of the ones my father chooses. The cold air is whipping against my face as I stare out into the darkness, trying to make out any form of life.

I hear a few footsteps behind me. "Teagan Conway?" I jump, recognizing the name as my own. I guess it's good to know they’re expecting me. I turn to see a boy, appearing to be my age. His hair, blacker than coal, curly and long, it stands out the most. His eyes are almost the same shade of black, but his smile is welcoming, but fake. I nod, not amused by his sudden appearance and his smile begins to fade.

"My name is Brent Winters. I'm your residence assistant and tour guide if you need it. I saw you standing out here and I began to wonder why you hadn't come inside." He says, reaching for one of my bags. I follow him with my eyes, not knowing what to say. He pauses for a second, and I know I must be giving him a daring, protective look. But truthfully, I don't know why I haven't walked inside. I guess I wasn't ready to accept this new life.

"You can speak, can't you?" He asks, his tone growing sarcastic. I nod, knowing I’m scowling now. I pick up the last of my bags, after he has gone ahead and grabbed two. "Right, well... You're supposed to come to me if you ever need any help, or have any questions..." He begins his welcome-committee-prepared speech as he opens the door for me. I walk into the dimly lit hallway; something unsurprising, coming from this town. "Try not to need me." Brent says, and it catches my attention; some residence assistant.

“Right.” I try to chuckle, following him down the hallway, to the elevator. As we walk, the hallway is getting darker. "Don't fear the hallway, you'll get used to the light." He says, looking at me, this time squinting his eyes. "You look so frightened..." He says, chuckling to himself. "And you haven't even seen your room yet."

“Funny.” I scowl again,  not finding amusement with what he considers to be jokes. However, I feel a shiver shoot down my spine. The elevator doors swing open and I follow him into the hall. It is just as dark as the last, if not darker. I start to question what the school budgets their high tuition costs on.

Brent stops in front of a room: 513. The door captures me, and I can't look away. It is covered with scribbling’s and small, undecipherable drawings. I follow each line until I find words, not drawn nor written, but carved into the door above the handle. Avoid The Fire.  

My body grows numb and my muscles tense, both at the same time. An overpriced boarding school shouldn’t feel like a horror movie your father helped produce. "Don't look so scared, it's just a door." Brent says, his tone sarcastic once more. I pull my eyes from the door, to him, and his eyes don’t tell of the sarcastic tone anymore. He gives a half smile. “It’s really just a door.” He assures me. “Of course.” I say, rolling my eyes, stepping aside.

He unlocks the door, letting it swing open. A cloud of dust escapes, smoking the hall. I take a step back, trying to find breathable air. Avoid The Fire. Why was I taking that so literal? It could mean nothing; it could be some song, a line from a book... anything.

Brent walks in, but I notice it's with careful steps; or is that all in my head?  I follow, first noticing the room is empty, with the exception of a few pieces of furniture. "Don't I have a roommate?"  "She speaks." He grins, putting my luggage down. "No one would dare spend one night living in this room." He begins to shake, his laughter so low I cannot hear it.

"Why?" I ask, looking for a light switch. "Don't bother, the lighting doesn't work yet." He says, and my body grows tense. Is there anything else this place can throw at me? "No light?" I ask, setting down the bags in my hands. "Not yet."

 He begins rummaging through a few drawers until he finds a good amount of candles. "Don't leave them burning when you leave the room." He says, as if he's talking to a child. He lights a few and sets them around the room. As he does this, I walk over to the window, pulling back the curtains.

The fog is almost too thick to see anything. All I can see is the tops of trees peeking through the cloudy-white, near my window. I see a gap between them, but cannot tell what is in the open space below. "What is that?" I ask, turning towards Brent.

He doesn't walk towards me, he just grins again. "You don't want to go out there Teagan, it isn't safe." I fold my arms over my chest, feeling cold once more. "What's out there?" My tone fights against hysteria. I’m not one to get spooked easily, but this place is crawling with reasons to flee.

"I'm not supposed to tell you the stories. No one is, but I'm sure one of your new classmates will have no problem explaining them to you tomorrow." His voice was serious, but absent as well. "What stories?" I wonder if he could he be vaguer? "Look." His eyes meet mine; they pierce into me like daggers.

"It's your first day here. I understand you need to get used to this place, but starting off with those stories is not a good idea." He says, setting the last candle down on my new dresser. "Meet new people, make friends... try to get used to the fog. I know it’s a downer.” He kids, “You're going to be here a while." I just roll my eyes once more, folding my arms over my chest.

Pushing a fallen curl from his face, Brent’s grin returns once more. "Welcome to Slandoff, Teagan. Where not everything is bright or colorful, nor inviting. You should be grateful we even have a welcoming committee." He says, turning swiftly away from me. "Get settled in. I'll bring your class schedule by in a few hours." And just like that he’s gone, vanished from the room, leaving me in near the darkness of candlelight.

I stand, staring at the door he has just closed behind him, wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into.

 

 

 

Author's Note

This is a rewrite of a story that has been a long work in progress. I posted three chapters of it previously under "In Ashes She Covers Grave Stones". However, this story will be dramatically editied from those chapters. The full first draft is finished - this is going to be the second draft. Critque and feedback is requested on this project most of all! I'm practically begging! Thank you so much for reading, it means the world to share my passion with you.

Reviews

[Aarontastic]

Wow, I feel sorry for poor Teagan :( Deceased mother, philandering father, sold home, and now she's dumped off in the middle of the most boring state in the entire union to attend a boarding school in what seems to be Silent Hill...and the school is named "Slandoff"? *shudders*

I really got into your story this chapter, even though I felt it had some rough edges. For one thing, I felt like I came across many sentences that sounded awkward, and sometimes you overused commas.

For example--"I look around, at the bright green grass, and the garden with lilacs and roses." you don't need a comma after 'around'; "As I sat down in the uncomfortable, coach seat and awaited the air..." you don't need one after uncomfortable, etc. Using commas where you don't have to sort of made me feel like I was stumbling through some sentences.

There were other cases where I would be reading a sentence and found it somewhat awkward just because of the structure you used, but I'm not really criticizing that because it isn't a mistake; it might just be the way you write. Here is an example anyway: "His eyes are almost the same shade of black, but his smile is welcoming, but fake." double using 'but' in the same sentence isn't a big deal, but it just reads weirdly to me.

I feel like there's just a little bit of information missing in this chapter; I really wanted to know why Teagan was consigned to attending a boarding school in North Dakota, of all places, when she lives in Colorado, and her dad's going to Italy. Why did her father select that school? It seems awful lol. So that was a burning question on my mind that doesn't look like it will be answered.

That's pretty much my only criticism. Your story was engaging, and I liked how you opened it up with the reminiscence about the flower garden, then the recounting of the unfortunate death of Teagan's mother, before focusing in on her current situation. It was hard not to sympathize with her.

I got to get a good feel for what kind of girl Teagan is since the story is in the first person, but you also characterized the RA boy and her dad pretty well, even though they didn't have huge scenes.

Room 513: from what I can tell, this room, the door, and the drawings on it are going to figure into the plot of your story heavily. You didn't do a bad job with introducing it, but since this is the first time that Teagan is seeing it, I'd consider expanding on that paragraph a little, and describing the markings on the door in greater detail, as well as Teagan's emotional reaction to it.

That's pretty much it. I'm looking forward to reading more as you post it. I'd highly recommend going into more detail about Teagan's past, her relationship with her parents (and their relationship with each other), and the Sadie character, even as you are narrating the events going on in the present--I feel like there's tons of dramatic potential there that shouldn't go unexplored.

Good luck moving forward with this :)

[Britt]

Wow, that's really good. I really can't wait to read more. :)