Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE




          Veronica King walked up the sparkling gray marble stairs to the administrator’s office. She paused on the last step, took a deep breath and tried to shake her nerves away. Today was the first chapter of her new life. Her persistent past would be forgotten. No one knows who she is here. She planned to reinvent herself. To become someone she won’t be ashamed of in the unguarded moments. She took another long breath and started her way to the check in site of her new boarding school Hazlegrove. Walking up to the pristine building made her stomach turn into a not of fear and excitement. She pushed open the heavy wooden door to an elegant lobby designed in rich gold and cream colors. To the right of her was a quaint sitting area which overlooked the general campus area. To her left was a dark brown mahogany desk where the receptionist, whose nameplate read Sherry, was seated. As she walked over to the desk she composed herself and put on her best smile.
“Hello, I’m Veronica King. I’m here to see my advisor Mrs. Keetham”
reading the name off of a crumpled and slightly stained piece of paper in her hand.
The lady looked at her critically before answering in a sharp voice.
“ She’s just finishing up. Wait in the sitting area.”
Veronica sat down on the cool leather sofa and gazed out the window. There were three charcoaled colored brink buildings in her sight. She recognized them from the pictures on the internet she made sure she memorized before arriving. The building to the far right was the girl’s dormitories and to the far left was the boy’s dormitory. They were lined with flowers and small shrubs giving it a warm inviting feeling. The large grassy quad connected the two buildings which were covered with a mixture of girls and boys lounging about. In the middle of the dormitories was the main building which held all the classes and contained the cafeteria. Veronica took in the whole view and smiled to herself. . She could really picture herself living here and knew this was a good decision. It felt right. Veronica was interpreted in her thoughts as young man sat in the chair across from her. He looked about seventeen. He had shaggy brown hair with golden-blond flicks throughout. His smooth tanned face bore an expression of nonchalant toughness but his piercing blue almond shaped eyes showed softness. His full lips were turned down in a bored look. He was casually dressed in dark blue denim jeans and a black hoodie that had the symbol of Hazlegrove on the right of his chest. He had to be the most handsome man she ever met.
Tearing her eyes quickly away before he noticed she gave him the once over but it was too late. She felt his intense eyes on her.
She met his gaze for a moment then averted her eyes away. She told herself she wasn’t here to get a guys attention or let one get hers she had to focus on other things. Thankfully, Sherry called out her name telling her Mrs. Keetham was ready for her. Veronica started to walk towards the office door when she hard a low voice speak behind her.
“I’m Dean. Your new here right?” He was standing a little ways away from her. She could smell a slight hint of cologne and resisted the urge to get closer.
“Veronica. Today’s my first day.
There was a slight pause as he looked at her with a hint of curiosity and excitement in his eyes.
“ Good, Hazlegrove needs a fresh face.”
With that he turned and sat back down glancing out the window in a dream like stare.
Veronica made her way to Mrs. Keetham’s office while pushing the thoughts of Dean out of her head refocusing her mind on the task ahead. Charming the pants off of her advisor so she will give her the classes she wants not the ones her poor academics tell her to take. As she opened the door she was greeted by a thirty-something kind looking woman dressed in causal but professional clothes. Mrs. Keetham ushered her into a seat and they got down to business.



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