…Rubie woke up the next morning to sunrays sprawled across her empty bedroom. For a second she almost forgot where she was, but another look at the blank white walls reminded her of what had happened last night.
She sighed. That was right…she was at WIA– again.
The comfortable warm embrace of her blanket weighed her entire body down, practically begging her to curl up into a little ball and sleep the rest of the day away, but she knew that was just impossible. Her schedule for today spiraled sleepily in the recesses of her mind, as if reciting it could strengthen her memory and get to where she should be, when she should be. Today was the day she'd be briefed of all the new classes she'd take and schedules she'd have to follow. Rationally, she knew she couldn't miss it. She tried to open her eyes as wide as they could go, getting used to the way the soft warm lights lit up the room, spotting her phone laying flat on the bedside table next to her. Rubie reached over, sticking her hand out of her fuzzy cocoon and into the blasting cold of her bedroom to yank it off.
She clicked her phone open, watching as the screen illuminated. The time reading... 1:20 PM
She blinked at her screen, as if rubbing her eyes from weariness could change the numbers that were staring back at her In that moment. Even bundled up in warm blankets and cushioned comfortably in her mattress, Rubie felt her world go cold. It was 1 pm– How had she slept through her entire morning??? Don't get it twisted- in an ideal world she'd pay it no mind and go straight back to sleep, but maybe, just maybe! She couldn't miss today.
She almost face planted onto her floor while wrangling herself out of her sheets, dragging the blanket behind her across the floor as she frantically opened up the messages she'd traded with the school management. Today she was supposed to meet the staff for a quick briefing and full tour of the school and- wait, when was that again?
WIA Reception:
WIA. R: Our Apologies for your late arrival schedule Miss Yang. There will be an attendant waiting for you at the gates when you arrive. Thank you for your understanding.
WIA. R: Quick reminder for tomorrow's schedule: meeting with School Representatives at 2 pm, is this okay with you, Miss Yang?
Rubie: Yes, thank you.
She heard herself sigh in relief, Thank goodness- Rubie wasn't sure of what she would've done if she missed probably one of the most important appointments of her life here. WIA was freakishly huge- she felt like a total grandma thinking stuff like this but Willowfield really had changed over the half decade she'd spent away, since when was it so fancy???
But- agh crap. she didn't have time to think about any of that right now! If she was seeing things right, she had about 40 minutes until she had to leave. Rubie braced herself for the whirlwind that'd ensue– She spent a while aimlessly wandering around her empty dorm until she found their bathroom. She took the quickest shower of her life, dug through her suitcase to find something appropriate to go wear, and double checked the location they'd sent her.
Rubie spent the next however long following the marker on her phone's map while referencing her own memory to find the main office. Walking out the dorms, through the gardens, past the left wing and into the main building through the polished glass doors near its front. She wasn't so familiar with the schedule they follow here anymore, but the halls were mostly empty. The sounds of her footsteps resonated through the wide halls as she kept her eyes locked straight ahead of her, fingers crossed in hoping she'd still be able to find it despite the years that'd passed. And, much to her relief, the reception had stayed almost exactly the same since she'd last seen it– still looking more like a front desk you'd find in a hotel lobby than a high school.
"Um…Good Morning, I'm a new student here…"
The lady at the front desk peered over her glasses, stopping whatever she was typing to scan Rubie up and down…yeah…it wasn't hard to tell she was a new student just based on the fact that her WIA uniform was nowhere in sight.
"Oh! Good Morning, welcome to Willowpeak! So you must be here to see Mr. Oakhill then– For the introduction briefing?"
"Yes! Yes, for the introduction briefing!" she nodded, smiling through her awkward wording.
The woman smiled at her and picked up one of the desk phones before beginning to dial a number. "Hold on for a moment miss, I'll inform him of your presence here and-"
"Oh, no need Ms. Valerie! I'm making sure to arrive on time for my to my appointments now"
A big, booming voice shook Rubie out of her conversation with the receptionist, she turned around to see a tall, large man dressed in a full navy and white suit, a prim and proper woman followed behind him. The receptionist– Ms Valerie laughed it off before the woman next to man whom Rubie could only assume to be "Mr Oakhill" himself walked over to her.
"Hello! Might you be Miss Yang?"
With how bright and cheery this man's demeanour was, Rubie could only muster up a mumbled affirmative nod before he continued speaking.
"Ah, yes." he chuckled "Please, allow me to apologise for your late arrival last night- there were some altercations that had pushed things back, the roads close down this time of year– have you heard of our Lunaris Festival?"
Her eyes widened– Lunaris, that was a name she hadn't heard in a long time.
"Oh, Sir– Don't bore the girl with your ramblings! I'm quite sure her classmates will be giving her the rundown on Lunaris tomorrow, isn't that right?"
Mr Oakhill turned to look at the woman beside him, a smug and playful look on her face as she watched him do something akin to a factory reset in his brain.
"Oh! Yes! Gosh, I really do have to control myself sometimes don't I? I'm sorry Miss Yang." he cleared his throat, regaining his poise before asking the woman a question "Ms. Dahlia? Could you bring over Miss Yang's documents?"
Ms. Dahlia turned to hand him the documents already in her possession, poking fun at him for 'always having poor Ms Valerie keep the documents somewhere in the front desk rather than keeping them for himself' The three of them were all laughing, taking lighthearted jabs at one another like a group of friends. With the way they acted, it really felt nothing like any school Rubie had been to in her life.
Just a second later, Mr Oakhill and Mrs Dahlia had shown and briefed Rubie on all her subjects, schedules and school timings she'd be expected to follow, as well as talking to her about the rules and regulations expected from her as someone staying in the WIA dorms. 'Information overload' was an understatement, but even so, Rubie still managed to keep up with the barrage of papers, schedules and letters they piled on top of her. By the end of their mini presentation, Rubie had already gotten her student ID, multiple papers she'd need to sign, as well as a folder all the other students seemed to have to keep all their stuff in place.
"Do you have any questions for us?"
"No, it's alright. Thank you."
"That's great! Me and Ms Dahlia sincerely wish you a fabulous time with us here in WIA, Miss Yang. If you have any problems or queries please do not hesitate to ask us, or any member of staff for help!"
The two of them smiled at her. Warm, inviting smiles that were probably only there for show now that she thought about it but were reassuring nonetheless. Mr Oakhill checked the time on his watch, his cheery expression faltered as a pensive stare took over. She thought that this was it– done and dusted, but that look on Sir's face had Rubie wondering if there was more she needed to do.
"Now…where is that boy…" he clicked his tongue in a show of lighthearted irritation "I'm terribly sorry Miss Yang, we were planning to have one of our Student Ambassadors show you around campus." He swivelled his head around, scanning the area for any signs of this person he was waiting on. "But it seems as if he's just a little bit off schedule…"
Ms Dahlia and Ms Valerie laughed behind them "Poor kid, he's such a sweetheart too! Ms Dahlia please don't think of giving him another negative point for this…"
She raised a brow at her coworker "Me? I only play by the rules. If he's late, he's late! That falls under our rules against unpunctuality"
Rubie looked on at Mr Oakhill, then at the two women. She didn't know what to expect of WIA, but it seemed like everyone here was particularly tight knit, it was a nice change of pace from her old school. Her gaze lingered on their smiles, how they somehow managed to make all of this out to be a silly joke…
"Mr Oakhill!"
But she snapped back to being fully alert just a second later at the sound of an overly zealous voice calling down the hallway.