Tompkin's School (For The Extraordinarily Talented Book 1) (3 page)

“It wasn’t my mom,” I snapped, followed by an awkward pause, “...our mom died.”

“Oh, wow...sorry,” Lee apologized, “I had no idea.”

“It’s fine,” I said, “you couldn’t have known.”

“That and leaving right before your Sophomore year,” Lee replied, “that’s gotta be tough.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “and I was going to be the president of the drama club back home.”

“So, that’s it!” He laughed, “You’re a drama geek.”

“Haha, I’m not a geek,” I laughed.

“Sure you aren’t,” Lee winked.

We both rode on in laughter and soon the trail ended so we headed back to the house. Kain and Lee decided to go shoot some hoops, but I needed some down time. I went to the guest room and sat on the bed, staring out the window.

I wondered what tomorrow would bring as we headed to our new home. I hoped that the Academy had a drama club, even though it wouldn’t be the same. I knew everything was going to change from this moment on. I wouldn’t be Izzy the popular soon-to-be president. I would be Izzy the new girl from New York. But I wouldn’t let this ruin my time. I was going to have a great school year and I was going to make a lot of friends. It was kind of thrilling to be starting from scratch! It gave me a chance to remake myself and I promised myself that I would enjoy every moment of this new life.

Knowing that we would be heading out for the Academy, I woke up early the next morning. I wanted to make a good first impression so I straightened my naturally black hair until it draped silkily over my shoulders. I did my makeup as usual and put on an emerald green halter, some cute dangly gold earrings, my favorite dark skinny jeans and matching sandals. When I was finished I checked my reflection in the mirror and then quickly left to find the others.

I entered the living room and I decided to join the guys on the couches, waiting for breakfast.

“So, my bags are all packed," I said, sitting on the couch next to Kain.

I saw Lee’s eyes shift ever so slightly in my direction. I could tell that he secretly hoped that I hadn’t caught him checking me out, which I totally did. I smiled inwardly.

“Mine, too," Lee smiled.

“Should be interesting,” Kain commented, “I’ve never been to a boarding school before.”

“I think it should be fun!” I replied, honestly.

“Time for breakfast, kids!” Sara called from the dining room.

We all got up and joined Mr. And Mrs. Walker at the table, which was set with freshly baked biscuits, eggs, cereal, and pancakes. It was amazing! At home we were usually stuck with weird globby oats since father became a vegan tyrant.

We all dug in and once we were finished we packed up Lee’s huge black truck with all of our stuff.

“Wish I could drive ya’ll to school,” Shane said, as we all stood beside the truck, “but I gotta get to work.”

“Be good, Lee,” his mom warned, “and take care of them two, okay?”

“Sure, mom,” he replied, giving his mom a hug.

“It was so nice to meet the both of you,” I said, giving Sara a hug and shaking hands with Shane, “and thank you so much for everything.”

“Don’t mention it," Shane replied.

“Come and visit anytime, okay?” Sara offered.

“Thank you, Mrs. Walker," I said, politely.

“Have a safe trip,” Shane told us, “and drive safe, son.”

“Don’t worry,” Lee winked, as we all got into the truck.

Kain sat in the front with Lee as he started the engine and drove out of the driveway. The two of them immediately dove into some conversation about all the different tweaks that he had made to the truck. I tuned them out, mostly wanting to just take in my surroundings.

The road split into a Y and in the center of it stood a sign reading
Dolese - Canyon 8 miles
. We stayed to the left, heading deeper into the “mountains”, which looked more like abnormally large anthills than anything else. But the trees were very tall and provided a dense forest, of a sort.

The school was only about a half an hour away from where Lee lived and about fifteen minutes away from the town called Davis, which was that tiny town we had passed through to get to the Walker’s house the other day.

As we drove through the hills I noticed that there weren't very many houses. But most of the houses that I did see were styled in the same brick as the Walker’s house. I assumed that this was due to the recurring tornado threats which completely terrified me. Back home we didn’t have to worry about those kinds of things.

“We’re almost there,” Lee announced, as he turned onto a small dirt road that led into the woods.

“Where are you taking us?” I laughed.

“I know,” he smiled, “it doesn’t look like much now, but just wait.”

“Why’s the school way out here?” Kain asked.

“I was about to ask the same question,” I said, staring out the window.

Large hills framed either side of the road, causing the trees to cascade over us, preventing much of the sunlight from penetrating through.

“It looks like nothing’s here,” my brother commented.

“You’re not leading us to our slaughter, now, are you?” I asked, giving Lee a teasing look when he glanced back in his rearview mirror, “I wore the wrong shoes.”

“Don’t worry,” Lee winked, “I got some tennis shoes in the back I think’ll fit.”

We soon pulled up to a black wrought-iron gate. To the left was a guard house and as we drove up, a guy in a security uniform came out to meet us.

“Can I help ya’ll?” He asked.

“Hey, hey Mr. Jackson!” Lee called, "How’s it going?”

“Oh, didn’t recognize ya, kid,” the guard smiled, “It’s going good. How was your summer?”

“It was pretty good," he replied.

“Looks like ya brought some friends,” the guard commented.

“Yeah,” said Lee, turning towards us, “these are my friends Kain and Izzy. They’re from New York.”

“So, ya’ll decided to come to school way out here?” The guard laughed.

“Unfortunately,” I barely heard Kain mutter.

“Yes, sir!” I replied, cheerfully, hoping that the guard hadn’t heard Kain’s comment.

“They’re transferring in,” Lee informed.

“Well, ya’ll better get going,” Jackson replied, "orientation’s gonna start here in about an hour or two and you two still haven’t registered.”

The guard walked back to his station and soon the gate creaked open.

“Thanks, Mr. Jackson!” Lee called, waving from his truck, as we drove off.

Once we passed the guard’s station the road turned even more curvy and it took about five minutes before we saw any buildings. It was incredible! Every building was made out of brick or stone and looked like it should have been a University campus for college students, not for high schoolers.

“That building right there,” Lee pointed, “is the main high school.”

We both looked in the direction that he was pointing towards and saw a huge three story brick building with tinted windows.

“The Library is over there,” he continued, “and the gym is right next door. The cafeteria is just over there and that right there...”

We looked at a smaller building that wasn’t too far away.

“that’s where all the offices are,” Lee informed us as he parked the truck, “we’ll get you guys registered there before we head to the auditorium, which is behind the high school.”

“Where does that lead?” I asked, as we got out of the truck, pointing to a small path leading across a bridge into the woods.

“That path leads to the dorms,” Lee replied, “it’ll split off into two, one leading to the girl's dorm and the other to the guy’s dorm. That path over there on the other side leads to the recreational center and pool.”

“Wow,” I said.

“Come on, let’s go get you guys settled,” Lee said, motioning us to follow.

We entered the spacious lobby of the office building and a small bell rang as the door closed. The floor was made out of gray tile and the walls were a maroon color paneled in dark wood. Various paintings of Siberian tigers decorated the walls providing just enough contrast against the dark walls. Even though the room was decorated in grim colors, it was still bright and inviting. In the center of the lobby there was a receptionist desk filled with stacked papers and office clips.

“I’ll be right with you!” The receptionist called from another room.

“Hey, Miss Logan,” Lee called, “is Ms. Chomsky in her office?”

A tall women entered the lobby, a pile of papers in her hands. She wore her dark brown hair up into a messy bun and accented her dark facial features with only a hint of pink blush. If I had to, I would probably guess that she was Native American. She had beautifully strong facial features and dark skin.

“Lee!” The women said, resting her free hand on her hip, “What are
you
doing here?”

“Just helping my friends out,” Lee replied, “they’re from New York and decided to come to school out here!”

“Wonderful!” The lady exclaimed, “I’m Miss Logan.”

“I’m Izzy,” I replied, as we shook hands.

“Nice to meet you!" She smiled.

“And I’m Kain,” my brother replied.

“Are you two related?” She asked.

“Yeah, we’re twins,” I answered.

“Wow, well welcome,” the receptionist said, “now, you asked about Ms. Chomsky.”

“Yeah, these two need to get registered,” Lee said.

“Okay, well you know where her office is,” Miss Logan replied, “she’ll see you now.”

“Thanks,” Lee smiled, “let’s go.”

Kain and I followed him down a small hall with many doors and stopped in front of the last one. Lee knocked twice and waited for an answer.

“You may enter!” A woman’s voice called.

We entered a roomy office that looked similar to the entrance due to the fact that the whole room was decorated in the same Siberian tigers. Every picture on the wall was either the school’s mascot or plaques.

A woman sat behind a large desk filled with papers and a computer. On the front part of the desk a small sign read “Principal E. Chomsky”. The woman had pure white hair, a thin, stern face, and small glasses that sat at the tip of her pointed nose. She looked extremely pale in her black, pin striped suit. I got the vibe that I wouldn’t want to ever mess with this lady.

“Please, have a seat,” the lady motioned to the seats in front of her desk without looking up from her work, “what can I do for you all?”

“These two are here to register for classes,” Lee replied in a tone of formality.

“Good,” she answered, looking up for the first time, “I am Principal Chomsky and welcome to Tompkin’s Academy.”

“Thank you, Ms. Chomsky,” I answered, smiling.

“So,” she said, raising an eyebrow, "
you are
?”

“Oh,” I said, nervously, “I’m Izzy.”

She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips, assessing my naturally open and friendly posture. I stood really still, beginning to get a little creeped out.

“I’m Kain Torvik,” Kain offered, his tone more quiet and formal, “and this is my sister Izara.”

“Ahh, yes,” Ms. Chomsky nodded, "the transfer twins from New York. Alright, well let me get your papers.”

She stood and walked over to an oversized filing cabinet and opened one of the drawers, immediately pulling out the correct files without even looking. I was amazed at how this woman seemed to know exactly where every single file was without even labeling anything!

“Now,” she began, turning from the cabinet, “I understand why these two are here, but why are
you
, Mr. Walker?”

“I was just leaving,” Lee replied, mouthing good luck to us as he backed out of the office.

“You are coming in as Sophomores,” she stated, “so you’ll need to take these courses.”

She handed us a sheet of the classes that were offered for Sophomores.

“If you have already taken some of these classes,” she added, “please let me know. I will first start with your classes, Mr. Kain.”

Kain instinctively moved forward in his seat and straightened his back. Obviously he felt the need to be more formal around this woman like I wished I had done earlier.

“We have four periods per day,” Ms. Chomsky began, “the first class at 7 o’clock in the morning and the last at 2:30. The classes will alternate every other day, Fridays are half days provided for mandatory laboratories for each core class.”

Kain and I both sat there, nodding when appropriate and replied “yes ma’am” when necessary as she continuously emphasized each sentence.

“…and it is
required,
” she continued, as she put papers inside packets for us, “for you to have an extracurricular activity that meets outside of class time, be it one of the school’s sports teams, cheerleading, or any other club. Just make sure you sign up for one of them or
I will
do it for you.”

After we got our classes all figured out she had us sign several documents, one was an agreement for classes and another a promise for conduct while living on campus along with a few others. She gave us the information for our dorm rooms and told us to go over to the dormitories so that they could give us the keys. She gave us both a booklet on the school’s policies and then we left to meet up with Lee again.

We headed to the trail towards the dorms and crossed the small bridge that was built over a small river. The woods were all covered in moss and the trees’ leaves hardly let any sun through, making the forest much darker. We came to a Y, the left pathway holding a sign that read “Boy’s Dormitory” with an arrow pointing in that direction while the other sign indicated that the girl's dormitory to the right.

“Okay,” Lee said, turning towards me, "so we’ll walk you until the entrance and then I’ll take Kain over to the guy’s dorms. We’ll meet back up in like twenty so that we can get our stuff, alright?”

“Let’s go," I smiled.

We took the pathway that led towards the right, which curved around a small hill. The path was darkened by the forest that surrounded it, protecting the earth from the sun completely.

We soon saw the outline of a tall building made out of smooth gray stone accented by white pillars at the entrance. It stood in an opening surrounded by velvet green grass and a stone pathway leading to the maroon doorway. A couple of girls were already lounging on the only spot of grass that had any sunlight. They glanced at us with curious eyes, but then continued chatting amongst themselves. It really did feel like a college! I couldn’t wait to get started and meet everyone.