Autumn glared at her nails, studiously refusing to look at her parents. The black nail polish she had applied had almost dried, but there was a spot on one of them that looked off. She blew on them and fanned out her fingers in the hopes they would dry faster.
"You should be excited to be given this chance," said her father in his grumbling monotone. "Your mother and I went to great lengths to get you accepted."
She redirected her glare to encompass her parents. "I was doing just fine in my previous school. I don't know why you think I would be excited to lose all my friends and start from scratch. Shit."
"Language, young lady," said her mother, looking serene with her hands folded.
Her lustrous, black hair was wrapped up in twin buns, as it always was. Her mother took care of herself meticulously, spending at least an hour each morning to get ready for the day. Her father certainly seemed to appreciate the care she took, but Autumn suddenly found herself annoyed at the perfection.
She far preferred her t-shirt with a graphic celebrating her favorite metal band, grungy cut off denim shorts with a studded belt, and chunky boots. The dresses her mother wore were so boring!
"I attended Limax Academy finishing school when I was your age, and look how that worked out for me. I found a loving husband." She reached a hand out and squeezed her husband's hand.
He turned and laid his other hand over hers, sniffing one of the buns in her hair. "Your mother is right, we would never have met if it hadn't been for Limax's outreach program. They arranged everything for us."
Autumn groaned. She didn't want to go to a school for fashionable ladies. They'd beat the goth right out of her, turning her into their idea of proper marriage material. She firmed her mouth. Too bad. They could try their worst, but she wasn't going to change to suit them, and that was final.
"Ah, we're here," declared her mother, gently pushing her father back into his seat. She patted his shoulder, giving him a loving look.
The chauffeur climbed out of the limo, opening the door for them. Autumn sighed and followed her parents out onto the sidewalk. They meant well, but they were being overbearing again.
Shined metal rails on the gates made the school look more like a prison than a place of learning to her. "Limax Academy - We Make Young Women Into Ladies," was the tag line, written in cursive.
The gates were currently open, a stream of young women wearing the same uniform streaming inside. She already felt out of place. They would probably make her wear that dreadful two piece polyester outfit once the induction ceremony had been completed.
Even stranger, all of the girls had their hair done up in the same way, in two buns, just like her mother. Some of them had shorter hair than others, but otherwise they all looked the same. Her mother must have never lost the habit. She shrugged. Probably another strange part of the school uniform.
She turned and hugged her mother, who gave her a warm kiss on the forehead. "Follow their lessons to the best of your ability," she demanded, squeezing her arm.
Her father stood there, stolid. She gave him a short hug, and he patted her on the back, uncomfortably. "They're top rated," he said, belatedly. "You know I can't say no to your mother."
Indeed, he couldn't. In all other matters, by all accounts he was a tough customer, able to run a multi million dollar chemical business with flair. However, she had never seen him stand up to her mother. In their household, Alexandra ruled with an iron fist.
It wasn't that she nagged him all the time, no. Instead, there was a solid core of inevitability that always brought him towards her desired outcome, like an intense gravitational pull. He simply wouldn't deny her anything she wanted.
Which is why she had ended up here. She gave him a slanted smile. "Don't worry, I'll survive."
She turned and tucked her hands into her pockets, looking down at the ground while she followed the sidewalk up to the school. She didn't like goodbyes, and she didn't want to look like a grade schooler in front of anyone else.
Fortunately, the bell from the school's intercom rang before she could get hopelessly lost. The voice came muffled from all around her. "All students report to the gymnasium for the induction ceremony."
A hand pressed against her side, and she looked up, taking in another student who was sharing the walkway with her.
"Hi!" the woman said, overly bubbly. "I've never met you before, are you new here?"
She had golden brown hair, done up in dual buns, just like her mother. She wore the school uniform, a short sleeved top paired with a skirt, dark navy blue with white pinstripes. The hair that was not done up in the buns had been pinned to the top of her head with a red bow. She must be an upperclassman.
"Yes," she replied, morose. If everyone at the school was this cheerful, she was going to lose her marbles pretty quickly.
"Nice to meet you!" replied the student enthusiastically. "I'm your student council president, my name's Phoebe!"
She extended a hand, which Autumn took reluctantly. Autumn's lips twisted into what could be mistaken for a smile. "I hope I'm not breaking the rules with my current outfit," she said.
Phoebe looked her up and down. "Very punk goth, I like it! Nah, this is your first day, you're not expected to follow any of the rules yet. They'll issue you a standard outfit once you've been integrated."
She took Autumn by the hand. "Come with me, it's time for induction! We don't want to be late!"
Bemused, Autumn let herself be led, not feeling like bucking the system her first day. Phoebe greeted other students as she passed, who waved back at her and Autumn. She felt like a rock star just by following Phoebe around.
It probably wouldn't last. Autumn didn't have many friends, due to her brooding moods. She figured it probably wouldn't be any different here, but at least for now she was enjoying the attention.
They rapidly approached a large brick building, blue letters on the side spelling out "Gastropod Gymnasium," with a stylized figure of a snail in bronze sliding over the top of them. Hardly the image of athleticism.
Phoebe whisked her inside, past the entrance to a row of tables set up at the side of the atrium. "Here you are," she declared. "You need a name badge to start with. A registration packet will be in your room that you can fill out later. You will also find your school uniform there, but you can pick that up after induction."
Autumn accepted the name tag from one of the assistants, pinning it to her chest above a cute, tiny skull on her t-shirt.
"Cutey-death, right?" asked Phoebe, smiling at her shirt.
Autumn raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, how the hell, I mean, how do you know?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"I'm a big fan," she replied, forming a heart with her hands in the same way the band usually did while on stage. "We should hit up a concert some time, I'm looking forward to their new single."
Autumn lit up. Maybe this school wouldn't totally suck. "No way!" she replied. "Yeah, absolutely!"
Phoebe ushered her through a large set of double doors. "Why don't you come up with me to the stage?" she asked. "I have to make the announcements at this ceremony, and I think it would be cool if you came with me."
"Okay," replied Autumn. "Will it be okay with the school?"
"Oh yeah, not a problem," said Phoebe airily. "Nobody's that strict on the first day, and I'm the one who makes sure the rules are enforced around here anyway, so if you're with me you won't have any problems!"
That made Autumn feel better, but being on stage in front of everyone was still making her nervous. She wasn't going to back out on a potential new friend, though. She had precious few of those.
Phoebe led her over to a series of wooden steps that led up to a platform at the front of the room. She concentrated on her feet, the loud murmuring of the crowd make it difficult to hear.
At the front of the stage was a single microphone on a round base. Next to the base was a storage box with folding covers. At the rear of the stage was a series of seats, already filled with additional students. These must be the other members of the student council. They looked similar to one another, sharing the bun hairstyle and navy blue uniforms.
She gave them an uncertain smile and slid to the rear, out of the way, hoping that she wouldn't get too much attention. Phoebe walked up to the front, confidence beaming from her frame. "Welcome back to Limax, everyone! It's the start of another wonderful year!"
The murmuring died down, the upperclassmen cheering and clapping. Autumn peered out at the audience, surprised to see that there was an even mix between new and old students in the crowd, the new students obvious due to their lack of school attire. What seemed odd to her was that the new students were not grouped together in clumps, as she had expected.
"As you entered the gym, you were handed a name tag and assigned an upperclassman to be your escort." She pressed her hand against her own name tag. "My name is Phoebe, nice to meet you!"
