Tora (The Tora Trilogy Book 1) (5 page)

“How did you end up here?” Eva asked.

Ariana hesitated. “Let’s not go there.” She said quickly, looking away as though she was embarrassed about something.

She turned to Eva and said, “How about we talk about you, Eva instead.”

“How do you know my name? She asked.

“Um honey,” she said in a shrill voice, putting a hand to her hip, breaking into a laugh and gave her that
you-have-a-lot-to-learn glance.

“
Ev..er..y..one
knows who
you
are. You’re the newest girl since the new semester broke out. News gets around like a lightening flash around here.” She clicked her fingers.

Her confidence had just plummeted. Now she knew slipping behind the group to disappear wasn’t an option, it made her feel a whole lot worse. Being the new kid again sucked, but not as much as starting school mid-term after everyone had settled into their new classes. It stirred up a cold grey fear in the pit of her stomach.

Eva straddled one of bleachers. In many ways, her school in Boca Raton had been rather conservative. The girls were forced to wear dresses that fell down to their ankles, even in the summer. Religion was compulsory and more often than not, she was forced along with her classmates to attend regular sittings at the chapel on the school grounds. She tried to imagine Ariana at Margate College making a crude joke in a loud, lively voice. She tried to imagine what Thea would make of her. No one had been as boisterous and wild as Ariana was.

“Now pull out those scissors and make me look fab!”

“What?” Eva’s jaw dropped. “But your hair is – gorgeous!”

It was true: Eva would do anything to have hair her hair. Ariana pulled her hair out of her high bun, letting it fall loosely over her shoulders into locks that Eva was deeply envious of. Her hair was Neutrogena pretty, ready to be displayed on the pages of a magazine. In the sunlight, her enviable waves sparkled a little, giving off a tinge of defiant red, revealing highlights Eva hadn’t noticed before.

“But what about the cams?” Eva looked up to find a dome planted above her head reflecting a smaller concave image of Eva from above.

“I refuse to even acknowledge them.” She said, crossing her arms. “They’re not patrolled like you think they are.”

“I’d like my hair to fall just below my ears.” She waved a photo in Eva’s face. “See. It’s edgy and I like it.”

Eva crossed and uncrossed her legs. She wasn’t sure whether to feel unnerved by the way Ariana assumed she could have anything she wanted.

Eva frowned.

“Don’t give me that –i-don’t-know-how-to-chop-off-hair-look. I don’t care what you do with it as long as I look like her.” Ariana demanded.

“Alright.” Eva said, unsure how to proceed.

Sitting awkwardly in a back to front chair on the deck, Michelle had gone about looping her teased hair into a messy ponytail before cutting the whole lot off. But Eva was sure there had to be a more efficient way of chopping hair. Eva tucked her hair behind her ears, but short wisps of baby hair flopped back in front again. Eva gathered her thick long hair in her hands and grabbed a hair tie from Ariana’s open palm, tying it into a bunch. She took the scissors and just below the hair tie, she began to cut away.

When Eva decided she couldn’t do any better, she ran her hands through her hair to fluff it up a little. Individual strands of hair had fallen in a heap on the pavement along with her artificial hue. “Your hairs done.” It actually looked really cool on her.

“Awesome.”

Ariana whipped her head around, pulling a mirror from the bag on the bench.

“It’s time to hear the verdict!”

Eva watched as she tugged at her loose strands of wavy hair. She leaned in, checking herself out in the mirror, drawing her lips into a pout.

“Ummmmmm.” She drew her forefinger to her mouth, shooting her a quick sideways glance.

“Love it.” She said running her hands through her freshly cut mop of hair.

“A natural you are.  You’re my new stylist whether you like it or not. I’m not giving you an option by the way.”

“Why is everyone so, um, hostile around here?” Eva asked.

“Miss Reardon?” Ariana said boldly, raising an eyebrow and rising up from the seat.

“Um… yes,” She almost whispered tentatively, glancing around cautiously to make sure no one was eavesdropping, uncertain of whether Ariana was the right person to be spilling her character judgements to.

“People put you in your place.” She said. “Her job isn’t to put you at ease. That’s for the counsellors. She just gives out orders. She makes sure everything is running smoothly around here. So much for keeping order.” She contradicted. “Wait till you see what we get up to.”

Rules and security restrictions aside, it sounded like there wasn’t many adults patrolling the grounds. The fact that no one had disapproved of Eva cutting Ariana’s hair was a bit of a surprise. It sounded like there was some freedom in one way or another in regards to clothing, jewellery; the things that were restricted at Eva’s old school, who handed out detentions for minor things.

Eva clamped a sweaty hand around the phone in her pocket.

“But why was she so stressed?”

“Everyone here has a life story here. God knows what kind of background she had. She might come across as being well let’s say – a little inconsiderate,” she emphasised doing an impersonation in a funny voice that made Eva laugh, “but it’s her way of demonstrating her authority and keeping in control.” Ariana explained.

“Trust me, she’s not the worst case here, you’re gonna see.” She assured. You’re likely to get a shock, especially since you’ve come all the way from Boca Raton. “Besides,” she added, studying her, “you don’t look like the naughty type.”

Eva shrugged.

There was some truth in Ariana’s judgement about Eva. Eva feel like she belonged here. She wasn’t the type who tried to get in trouble all the time. She didn’t dress like the girls like here. She didn’t want to be in a hotspot for students that had been in trouble. But she had no choice. After so many years island hopping, the few schools that were left, declined to accept someone with such a poor schooling history. Reform school was her only option. Eva would have liked to agree with her, but after years of being treated like a total psychopath, she didn’t know what to believe anymore. If Miss Reardon wasn’t the worst character here, Eva wondered who exactly they were dealing with at Combe Bank.

“What should I do with my bags?” Eva was ready to be dismissed and flop onto her bed. Even though her home was only an hour away, she felt unaccustomed to the times here. She wasn’t used to seeing darkness like this in the morning.

“Ohhh.” Ariana said, dropping her eyes down to her duffel bag and suitcase. I’m sure Francesca won’t mind if you bring your luggage to class.”

“Follow me.” Eva watched Ariana, waiting for an offer of help. With a smirk, she took Eva’s massive duffel bag that she’d been cradling in her arms, and carried it in one arm by her side as they walked on ahead. Now that Ariana had taken the luggage that had been weighing her down, she felt as light as a feather.

As Eva jogged to keep up, she took in the rest of the grounds. Weeping willows dangled to the floor. Vultures swooped low, narrowly missing an idle minded student, who hung their head in the realm of book. Eva watched nervously as the kid suddenly raised his hand and swatted the bird away like a fly. She quickly averted her eyes.

Ariana had seen it too. “That happens a lot here.” She said, grinning. “Which is why I generally don’t spend too much of my time outside.”

Her pale skin and the shady grey under her eyes was reflective of that. Eva didn’t think Ariana was the type to be sitting around lapping up the sun anyway. If it was Michelle, she’d be telling her to get out in the sun more.

“That building over there,” Ariana said, assuming the nasal voice of a tour guide, gesturing towards a large, faintly medieval looking dome, “is St Nassacre.”
What an unusual name for a building,
Eva thought. The walls were arches at odd angles, holding up a spire of impossible size. Above the arched oak double doors stood a large stain glass window. It was cloaked in a grey mist that made it impossible for her to see what was inside. In bold letters ST NASSACRE had been chiselled into a wood plaque, that she recalled seeing on the website. Now when she took in all its features physically herself, it looked way uglier than she’d seen it in the black and white photo. Despite that the walls that stuck out at weird angles were notably brighter, everything managed to look just as gloomy as all the other buildings she’d passed this morning.

“Nassacre.” Eva repeated, although the word came out sounding more like ‘massacre’ on her tongue.

“It’s where we have our classes.” She said. “To the untrained eye it looks more like a synagogue, but this place is where we spend most of our time.”

“Isn’t it spectacular?” Ariana said, stretching her arms out wide to emphasise the enormity of the structure. Eva checked to see if she was kidding.

“Don’t mind me, I’m only joking. It’s hideous.” She said. “Apparently over one hundred and ten years ago it used to operate as a church, and then Combe Bank Academy founded it and took over. And there hasn’t been a heck of a lot of maintenance as you can see,” she said, nodding at a mouldy wall in the distance and a pile of rubble. 

“By the way, I can guarantee you’re going to hate the classes here. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be human.”

Why? What’s so bad about it?”

“Everything.” Ariana replied, groaning. “I’ll tell you after, I sense the bell.”

“What’s your number one tip? Eva said quickly.

“Keep up.”

Four

~†~

The double fish eyed doors to the dated block of classrooms swung open and in walked a lanky guy with mossy green eyes.

He looked blankly from Eva, registering he hadn’t seen her before, to Ariana breaking into a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Ariana demanded, offended, putting her hands on her hips, her eyes burning into him as her forehead creased into a large frown.

“Nothing,” he returned evenly, choosing to swallow whatever it was he’d just been laughing about.

“Is this the new kid?” He asked Ariana, turning to face Eva.

“
Eva
.” She corrected him, giving him the eyeball.

Eva laughed at Ariana’s dramatic tone.

“I’m bored already.” Ariana announced mid yawn, shuffling aside, leaving the two strangers to mingle.

“It’s nice to meet you Eva,” he said, shaking Eva’s hand formally. He was wearing torn, washed out jeans and a woollen sweater. “I’m Avan.” He added, tucking his hands into his jeans.

“It’s nice to meet you Avan.” It was the first time in a while Eva had meant what she’d said truthfully. His genuine smile was reassuring. 

Avan’s deep green eyes sparkled a little when Eva looked into them, and she felt her stomach do a backflip. She took in his features. His pale skin. Dishevelled hair that hung loosely over his eyes. The soft shape of his lips that were slightly parted. They were the rosy lips that girls would kill for. He was tall and lanky, but had a slight muscular build to him that was kind of sexy. Eva drew in a slow breath and held it there. He stared at her like she was a statue and for a moment, Eva too, felt fixed to her spot. His eyes were intense, warm and alive, brimming with the kind energy that Eva hadn’t seen in a while. He was the first guy today who had welcomed her properly to the world of Combe Bank and who looked pretty normal.

If there were more hot guys around, maybe this place wasn’t so bad after all.

“How’s your first day been?” He asked, ending Eva’s trance like stare.

“It’s been great.” She lied, forcing a smile, but sounding rather unconvincing to the contrary.

It wasn’t just the appearance of everything here that bothered her. Even the sticky humidity of the air at Combe Bank made her feel as though she was sinking into quick sand. She wasn’t sure what to make of Miss Reardon or Ariana. They were both weird in their own ways.

Avan smiled sympathetically.

“I had the same view of this place when I first got here,” He said looking around the classroom quickly piling in with people. “If you watch your back and avoid people who are looking to give you a hard time, “ he said nodding in a dreadlocked kids direction, “you’ll settle in quite well. It’s nice to see Ariana has a friend after all.” He winked over at Eva, who stiffened. Ariana had clearly heard, but Eva wondered if it had been Avan’s intention to wind her up.

Ariana scooted over to them both. Instead of opening her mouth to curse him, she sassily she moved in between them, leaving Avan no option but to walk off.

“Who was that guy? Eva asked. “He seemed pretty nice.”

“I can tell he’s attracted somebody’s attention.” Ariana rolled her eyes. She still looked angry. “Avan is
such
a flirt.”

Eva flushed, realising how she might have looked to Ariana. Now she had swapped her black top and pants for a black corset dress with frilly cuffs. Accompanying the piece was the tattoo of a Celtic cross on her neck just below the trim line of her new haircut. She too, following the popular trend wore bangles up to her elbow and a vast set of sleepers on one ear making Eva feel like the odd one out here.

“He
wasn’t
flirting!? He was just being nice! Or is that an
abnormality
here?” The words tumbled out before she could stop herself.

“Just winding you up.” Ariana laughed, then cleared her throat. “But I’m not saying Avan isn’t a pain.”

“Nice haircut Ariana!” a Caucasian guy taunted as he skimmed past her, tugging at a strand of her hair.

“Break a leg Peter.” She yelled and threatened to go at him. He laughed amongst all the other guys that swirled around him, engaged in typical reform school banter. Then he snorted at something Eva couldn’t make out and the boys crowding around him all broke into laughter, as if on cue.

“Gum got stuck in my hair yesterday.” Ariana hissed, pretended to be offended, rolling her eyes.

Ariana’s hair was cut short, her soft wavy strands visible. But Eva liked it, it suited her and complimented her round face. It looked better than the heavy mop of hair she had seen a few minutes ago.

Eva shuffled through the class, uncertain and conscious of where she should stand.

Like any new kid in an environment out of her depth, her heart was racing. She was overwhelmed with it all. It wasn’t your typical reform school. Kids blew whiffs of smoke in class, that made the room reek of terrible chemicals. There were large groups of Goth’s flaunting tats and piercings speaking in low hushed tones, whispering things Eva couldn’t hear from a distance.

Two Goths stood in the corner, looking rather alike, except they were a boy and a girl. Eva remembered being self-conscious about how pale she was, but here she was anything but pale. The guy looked as though he could be part of a punk rock band; black hair resting on his shoulders and a face as white as a sheet. Opposite him, the girl with layered black hair had red velvet tips, black lipstick, wore torn jeans, a lion head necklace and knee high boots with buckles. When Eva watched the guy and the girl lean in for a kiss, their tongue rings flashed. Averting her eyes and swallowing the emptiness inside her, Eva felt a lonely pinch inside her chest.

Behind the star-crossed lovers, a cluster of boys were milled up against the wall. Each of them wore a white starched collar shirt and a sweater. Their perfectly matched pants touched the tips of their polished shoes. From the pool of Combe Bank kids, they were the closest thing to the Margate boys that Eva remembered.

As she stood there, watching them, she saw a specific kind of toughness, a hardness in their eyes that made her realise that everyone here had a story. Just gleaning this from their demeanour, Eva wasn’t sure what to feel. More-or-less secluded.

Ariana, seeing her eyes running over the kids shrugged. “No matter how tough these guys try to appear, they have a past too. We all do our best to get through the day and put it behind us.

Now that was something Eva could relate to. She knew what having no parents felt like. Every day, she carted around a heavy heart. The struggle was real.

Commotion broke through the room suddenly and Eva looked up.

Crossing the room swiftly, a middle aged woman entered the room, followed by a few dazed lagers. Long red dress trained to the floor, her movements were so graceful she appeared as though she was gliding. Various glances were exchanged between the students and they began to shuffle towards their seats. Ariana gave her a quick jerk, nodding towards a seat in the middle of the room and Eva shuffled behind, among her new silent weary faced classmates, meanwhile praying the teacher wouldn’t give her a humiliating introduction.

“Welcome to your first lesson of the day,” she smiled at the students, winking at Eva who had filled a desk that would have been empty prior. The beady eyed, strawberry blonde haired woman scanned the room. Her face was heart shaped, cheeks rosy red and her simple floral sundress gave way to a lean frame that Michelle would describe as ‘a bean pole.’ Somehow she appeared young and old at the same time. (more description here) Eva tried to imagine what lessons would be like here at Combe Bank. There were kids who were laid back and comfortable like Avan, hard-core types who just gave you icy stares, those who kept to themselves and people like Ariana who was wild, fierce and outspoken. But the woman looked sensible. Practical and down to business.

Eva’s stomach lurched. She could feel the unabashed stares of everyone in the room – or at least most. Across from her, two rows to her right, she noted how a guy with curly black hair wouldn’t even look up and acknowledge her, but just kept picking at his nails. His cheeks were flushed and like Eva he was probably still stunned to find himself here. 

The guy directly to her left happened to be Avan. When she glanced at him briefly, he winked over at Eva, who tensed up. Instead of feeling flattered by it, Eva felt rather unnerved by the way he was looking at her. As still as a statue. In a completely unabashed way. He looked so calm and laid back it bothered her. Eva blushed. Feeling defeated, Eva looked the other way and tried to ignore him.

When Eva’s eyes shifted to her right, her eyes caught another code violation. A very attractive code violation.

Sucking in her breath, she took in his features. His high cheek bones. The soft curve of his lips. His bronzed arms and legs. His tanned face which glowed under the sun glare. He wore a red scarf, perfectly polished leather boots and a winter coat. Sunglasses rested above dark brown dishevelled hair. As she was staring he suddenly jerked his head to move his hair, and it caught the light, the golden gleam nearly blinding her. His hair itself was like spun gold, each thread falling perfectly into a seamless slick hair do that framed his tanned face. He paused for a moment, tapping his pen quietly on the desk before he continued writing in a small notepad. Eva watched his hand as he wrote. His fingers looked strong and lean, his fingernails pink and smooth, with half moons near the cuticles. His arms strong and steady. Sitting in his chair, his jaw tightened. She watched his forehead tense in concentration as he scribbled something down. His nose was straight and his lips perfectly formed, parted slightly. He breathed in and out steady streams of air.

Suddenly, he looked up and Eva caught a flash of his dark smouldering eyes, before she ducked her head away, pretending to be fiddling about with her hair.

Francesca shuffled down the isles. Holding a box up to the students, she weaved her way through, collecting things from fire lighters, to spray cans. “And that applies to you Nigel!” She clamped a hand on the kids shoulder making him jump – he shrugged and emptied his pockets. “You!” – She pointed at Eva. “Drop your distractions. We don’t have all day.” Eva looked around at everyone else, watching her and waiting for her to empty her pockets. Her phone. Reluctantly, her cheeks burning, she slipped her phone out into the box. She gulped.

Francesca slipped a pile of books onto her desk which landed with a thud. On top of the note was a sticky note.

See me after class. We will need to discuss catch up tasks.

Eva looked back at Ariana, who smirked and got the feeling that she was probably right about lessons being a burden.

Francesca smiled at the students. “This lesson, we will be researching our family’s ancestry-.”

A low grumble and a murmur of voices broke over her voice. “Silence!” Two lines pressed into her forehead. Ariana laughed under her breath behind her. But Francesca had heard.

“Ariana.” She glared. “Do you want to scrub the sculptures in the rose garden again?”

“No.”

“Then lose the attitude.”

Eva strained to concentrate. Francesca’s voice was so flat, she desperately wanted to get out of the classroom. There was not even a clock up on the wall to tell the time. Eva yawned. She looked over her shoulder and noticed everyone else was tapping away at her research. Every now and then, Francesca glanced up from her book and her small eyes watched the students. What was she supposed to do then?

A note flew by her desk. It was Ariana.

Bored out of your brains? Guess what? We’re stuck here for the whole morning.

No, Eva shook her head in disbelief. Surely not. Eva flipped open her diary to her timetable and to her horror, for three consecutive periods, she was in the same class, with the same teacher.

Oh god.

Another note flew by her desk.

See? Better get busy. Francesca’s likely to notice.

The room felt like a sauna. Sweat prickled her skin. It was a stark and sudden contrast to the blistery weather outside before that had chilled her bones. But then she realised. The teacher had turned the heater on.

To full ball.

At least she wasn’t the only one feeling it. There were students left right and centre fanning themselves with their books. But the silence led her to the assumption that Francesca was an intimidating character.

Only a creaking, moaning floorboard under the teacher's shoe invaded the monastic silence. A student's eyes darted toward the window as she witnessed a bare tree branch silently dancing in the afternoon breeze. As the teacher resumed vigil seated at her desk, the creak of her chair invaded the classroom. Ahead of her, an empty much-scarred and faded desk sat in silent testimony, witness to countless generations of students.

Eva typed in her last name into the database and clicked search.  There was bound to be dozens of last names like hers.

And she was right. But which one was hers? Eva realised it was useless scrolling through the long list when she didn’t have any more information.

Eva kept glancing over at Daniel. She was surprised that by now he still hadn’t noticed her by now. Perhaps he was ignoring her. He looked busy, but puzzled as he rested his head on his chin. Every now and then he’d mutter something Eva couldn’t hear to some dude on his right.