Chapter 7 - The Amazing Meatballs

A girl came marching into the dorm. She had brown hair with long bangs. She wore a brown longbow on her back and an orange and blue scarf around her neck. She had a bright smile on her face as she stared at Lost and Swirl.

"Hi there! I'm Graciepopstar!" Gracie said.

"Hey, I'm Lost and this is Swirl," Lost replied. "I'm guessing your our dorm mate?

"Yup," Gracie said, looking around at the room.

"Is that your suitcase?" Swirl asked, pointing at the bag near the bed by the window.

"No, that's not mine. It must be our other room mate," Gracie said.

So, Gracie isn't the mystery roomie.

"Well," Gracie said as she moved her duffel bag to a bed, "I overheard one of the teachers talking to some kids and they said art starts tomorrow. They wanted us to get settled in."

"Oh, I was wondering about that," Swirl said.

Lost nodded, even though she had totally forgotten about art. She watched Gracie start unpacking her duffel bag and neatly refold her clothes.

Suddenly, a loud crackle came from overhead. There was sounds of static before a voice started speaking from the speaker in the top corner of the room.

"Hello again, students! I hope your all getting settled in your dorms and getting to know each other. I can already tell that this year will be a year to remember," Headmaster Clark said, cheerfully. "Just so you all know, some parents have come with all your belongings. I suggest that whoever doesn't have any luggage should make your way down to the lobby. You will meet your parents there. Thank you and as we say in Jamaasian High, jam on!"

The speakers went silent. Lost could hear a couple of doors closing and the pounding of running feet.

"I should go get my stuff," Lost said, pulling herself to her feet. She made her way to the door, quietly shutting it behind her. She went down the stairs to the main lobby. The bird statue glowed mystically.

Lost slipped and slid over to the doors. Marble floor sure was slippery!

Lost peered through the glass doors, noticing how spotless they were. Whoever cleaned the school certainly deserved a pay raise!

Seeing her mom, Lost pushed the door open and took a deep breath. The air smelled cleaner here than it did back at home.

Mom walked up the front steps with a smile on her face and holding a brown suitcase. She put it down and pulled Lost into a hug.

"How are you? How's the school? Do you like your dorm?" Mom asked.

"I'm fine, school's great, and I love my dorm. It's so weird though, there's like, famous people here!" Lost exclaimed.

"Hmm, interesting," Mom replied. "Well, I probably should let you go. It's most likely going to be supper soon."

Lost nodded and picked up her suitcase. "Thanks for bringing this, Mom."

"Anytime!" Mom smiled. "Bye, sweetie!"

Lost waved before turning back around and walking inside. She hurriedly made her way back up to her dorm room.

As she reached her dorm room door, it opened and Swirl and Gracie marched out.

"Where are you guys going?" Lost asked, confused.

"Oh, while you were out getting your stuff, the supper bell rang. It's time to go down to the cafeteria," Swirl replied.

"Go ahead and put your stuff in the room. We'll wait for you," Gracie added.

Lost nodded and quickly put her suitcase down on the carpet beside her bed. She'd have to unpack later.

The three girls made their way down the stairs. Lost could hear the clatter of dishes and smelt the aroma of food as they walked up to the cafeteria door. Lost quickly grabbed the handle and held it open for Swirl and Gracie.

"You guys wanna sit at the same table, right?" Gracie asked.

Lost nodded. The idea of trying to find another spot with a group of people she didn't know didn't sound like the ideal plan.

The girls walked up to the end of the line, waiting for their turn. Lost peered past the line to see what was being served.

"Oh yum!" Swirl exclaimed. "Meatballs and spaghetti!"

Lost moved up in the line and grabbed a yellow tray. The serving lady raised a giant spoonful of spaghetti and plopped it down on a plate. Lost cringed at the huge amount.

After getting meatballs and water, Lost made her way to the table where Swirl and Gracie sat at. Just as she sat down, a girl pulled up a chair next to Gracie.

"Ja!" Gracie yelled. "How've you been?"

"Hi Gracie! I haven't seen you since this morning!" Ja said. She wore one silver glove and a red-brown jacket. It had a bow and arrow design on the front.

"So, guess what? I was really hoping to be in a dorm with you and it turns out, I'm in the same room as Sarah! Fancy that, huh?" Ja continued.

"Really? That's such a coincidence!" Gracie said.

"Ja is Sarah's sister, by the way, Lost," Gracie explained, turning towards Lost.

"Which dorm are you in? Maybe it's close to mine!" Ja said excitedly.

"Um, I think it's room number twenty-six. Right, guys?" Gracie said.

"Oh neat! Mine's room thirty! We're just a little ways away from each other." Ja replied.

Lost speared a meatball with her fork and chewed it thoughtfully. So many people already knew each other it seemed. Maybe they had all gone to the same schools before.

All of a sudden, a loud noise came from the far side of the room. Lost looked up and saw a small stage with a microphone. Headmaster Clark tapped it gently and waited for everyone to notice him. Slowly, the room got quiet. The students looked at him expectantly.

"Well, weren't those meatballs great?" Headmaster Clark said. "Anyway, I just want to let everyone know that tonight, you're all free to do whatever you want. You can go to the library or hang out in the games room. But lights out is at ten. Please be at your dorm then. Have a great evening!"

As he walked off the stage, the chatter began again. Lost looked around and noticed Wisteriamoon over near Julian. They sure seemed awfully close.

"Well!" Swirl said, banging the table with her hand. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"Hey, Gracie? Can you come with me and go to the games room? I told Sarah I'd meet her there." Ja said.

Gracie nodded. "I can go. If that's okay with you two." She looked at Swirl and Lost.

"Go ahead! Have fun," Swirl replied.

"So. What's the plan now?" Swirl said, turning her head to look at Lost.

"I don't know. We only have a few hours. Want to go hang out at the library?" Lost suggested.

"Sure! Let's go!" Swirl said.

The two girls walked through the cafeteria. Lost listened to random bits of chatter as she passed by tables.

She suddenly noticed that she was going past a table where Aparri and Bepper were seated at. She noticed Aparri put his arm around Bepper in a friendly sort of way. Maybe they were related to each other? They both did have the same dark brown hair.

Before she knew it, Lost found herself in the library.

It had huge bookshelves in every direction. Dark green tables were set up so students could study. The walls and floor were dark brown wood. The shelves were mahogany and full of books in all shapes and sizes. Lost couldn't tell how big the room was, shelves blocked her view. The air seemed to have an ancient feel to it. Lost couldn't put her finger on what made it feel like that.

Lost took a deep breath. She loved the smell of libraries. All those books in their shelves just waiting to get picked up! All those adventures ready to be read. Yes, Lost sure did love a good library.

* * *

Lost looked up at the giant clock high up on the wall. It was almost lights out.

"We should go," Lost said, closing and putting the book she was reading back onto the shelf.

Swirl nodded and the girls walked out of the library, up the stairs and down the halls to their dorm. Lost was so tired, she could have slept right then and there!

As Swirl pushed the door open, Lost saw a girl with black hair sitting on a bed.

Aha! Our mystery roomie!

"Oh hi there!" Swirl said brightly.

The girl looked up at us and smiled. "Hi."

"I'm Swirlshine. This here is Lostfairy. Gracie is our other roomie. She's not here yet," Swirl continued.

"I'm Fangwolf. But my nickname is Fang," Fang said, brushing a wave of dark hair behind an ear. Fang had red streaks in her hair that worked really well with the black. She had a mini black and white top hat perched on her head. A matching black necklace and bracelet with white studs were on her neck and wrist. A dark red jacket finished the look.

"Hello!" Gracie said, bounding into the room. She walked over to Fang and stuck out her hand. "I'm Gracie!"

Fang smiled and shook Gracie's hand. "I'm Fang."

Lost walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. She was exhausted from the long day.

"Well, we should all go to bed," Swirl suggested. "It'll be another long day tomorrow."

Gracie and Fang nodded and started getting ready for bed. Lost groaned softly, stood up again, and took out her toothbrush.

After she had brushed her teeth and changed into pajamas, Lost snuggled into her warm covers. She watched Swirl brush her brown hair, Fang hop into a bed, and Gracie put on hand lotion.

"Ready for lights out?" Swirl asked. She ran over and flipped off the light. Lost heard her bed rustle as she leaped into it.

"Goodnight guys!" Gracie said in the darkness.

There was a chorus of goodnights and then the room went silent.

Lost stared at the ceiling and sighed happily. She pulled her blanket close around her.

Today, she had survived Jamaasian High. The question now was, could she survive the next day as well?