Untitled Project

Chapter Two: S.S Victorian

“Good day to you Miss,” the captain said as Amberly climbed onto the boat. Amber gave a small wave to the captain and then turned to her father. In her hand was a small bag holding all the clothes she owned and in the other was a letter from her father to read when she got lonely.

A girl wearing a fancy yellow dress walked past Amberly bumping her in the shoulder.

“P-Peter Kinsley!” James Gilmore said as the Kinsley family walked by.

“James Gilmore. What a pleasant surprise. You have kids going here to?”

“It’s runs in the family. I have a daughter who is ten and a son who is 14.”

“Well I don’t believe we’ve ever ran into each other on the platform before,” Peter said, “Arabella, be polite and speak to his daughter.”

Arabella walked over to Amber, and Amber recognized the fancy dress. Amber was wearing a plaid dress that was clearly run down, for it had several holes in it and the color was faded. She wore brown shoes that had several scratches and were a size or two too big. Arabella stuck out her hand fiercely and introduced herself.

“I am Arabella Catherine Kinsley and you are?” Arabella said her nose slightly in the air and her eyes scanning Amber’s outfit.

“I am Amberly Marie Gilmore,” Amber said taking Arabella’s hand.

“Why don’t you girls sit together on the boat,” Peter said, “You can get to know each other.”

Timothy Gilmore walked over and told his father goodbye and said a faint hello to Kimberly and Luke Kinsley. Timothy followed his friends to the boat and disappeared. Arabella was saying goodbye to her family and Ethan and Millie and then began to walk away, but her father grabbed on to her and told her to wait until Amber was done saying goodbye.

Tears were in Amber’s eyes, for she had never been away from her family before. She gave her father a tight hug, her arms wrapped around his stomach. He bent down and kissed her forehead and she walked away, Arabella beside her, no words were spoken.

“How’s your wife, Gilmore?” Peter asked, “Virginia is her name, am I right?”

“Was her name is more like it. She died a few years ago a few months before we were going to have our third child.”

“I am so sorry. We were all pretty good friends at Victorian.”

“Yes- yes we were.”

Lola Madison had cried all morning. Her only child would be leaving and she couldn’t help but cry. David on the other hand was overjoyed and couldn’t wait until he would be at school. His parents were completely lost, but finally found their way into the boat and found a seat for their son.

“These girls look nice, David. Why don’t you sit here and get to know each other,” Lola said dreading the time when she would leave.

“Bye, Son. Have a wonderful first couple months. Write us,” Mark said.

“Once a week,” Lola cried.

“Okay, okay, Mother.”

“Bye,” Lola answered again and his parents disappeared.

Amber, Arabella, and David were sitting in one of the small living areas on the boat. The room was loud, for everyone was talking. New students were chatting and meeting new friends and old students were talking with there best friends from school. This one particular circle fell silent. Many families began to leave and the boat would leave in no time.

A small family came into the living area because it was the only one left with seats available. The Stone’s handed Travis his bag and gave him a small goodbye. His sister Molly cried loudly because her brother was leaving and the family ran out the door, for it was 6:59 in the morning.

“I’m Arabella,” Arabella answered, her nose still slightly in the air. She was dressed up the most among the four and stood up and curtseyed to everyone. David then snickered.

“Do you have a problem Mister My-mother-doesn’t-want-to-let-me-go?”

“Why curtsey? You think your better than everyone else?” David asked.

“I think I am better than all of you!”

“Is that so?”

“It is!”

“And WHY?” David shouted.

“Because this girl,” She said pointing at Amber, “Is dirt poor. I mean look at her. You think it’s funny I’m being polite, which shows a terrible flaw in character and he doesn’t have ANY face expression!”

“That stuff might be true, but at least we aren’t foul jerks!”

“Don’t you DARE call me dirt poor again, Arabella! You might be a lot richer than me, but…” she paused.

“But what Poor Girl? What’s your name again?” Arabella asked, “You are all just jealous that I’m better than ALL OF YOU!”

David pushed Arabella and she fell to the ground.

“Ah!” She shrieked.

“STOP IT! ALL OF YOU! Travis shouted, “You’re all jerks!”

“And you, you agreed with her!” Amber said to David.

“Amber, Amber,” Arabella said, “That’s your name, right? You just can’t hide that your poor. You look filthy, you act filthy, and you are filthy!”

“You are all filthy jerks!!!” Travis shouted again,

“So are you, Travis!” Amber shouted.

David then pushed Travis who lost his balance by an inch. Arabella jumped in and was hitting all of them. Arabella then dragged Amber by the braid and everyone was punching, slapping, and pushing everyone. No one had noticed that the room had fallen silent, for the screams of the four fighting filled the room.

Then a whistle blew from the side of the sitting area, and the physical fighting, and the screaming came to a stop. Amber’s braid had come undone and the holes in her dress had ripped and made bigger holes. Arabella’s dress had gone up and her undergarments were clearly visible.

“Stop right there you four!” A woman said. She was tall with dark brown hair and pale skin. She wore a red pants suit and matching red shoes. Arabella was frightened, and Amber was afraid she would be kicked off the boat and sent back to poverty. David was frightened, for he would have to go back to his mother who disliked his silliness, and Travis was frightened he would never see change.

“Come with me,” the woman said again. The eyes of the other students followed the four until they disappeared down a corridor.

The corridor was long and grey, unlike the sitting areas, which were filled with color and excitement. Everyone walked in silent glaring and scowling at each other. The long walk finally ended at a door. The woman put the key in the lock and opened the door showing a plain white office that was small and crammed.

“You don’t know me yet, but I am your math teacher, Mrs. Hudinski,” she said after sitting in her office chair behind a desk and placing the four on a small loveseat, everyone was tightly squished together, “What you did in the there was a violation of rules. We haven’t gone over the rules, but if you didn’t think fighting was against the rules in this school you are in the wrong place! I can assure you that this is a warning, but a severe warning. If any of you put one TOE out of nine, I will notify the headmistress,” She paused.

“I’ve worked at Victorian for 15 years. I know Mrs. Smithens very, very well. If she catches you, or hears about you fighting, I can assure you again that you will be expelled in a heart beat!” She paused and looked at some charts on her desk, “Now then, you are Miss Amberly Gilmore am I correct?”

“Yes ma’am,” Amber said shaking.

“I’ve taught your brother, Timothy. Wonderful boy. I also went to school with your father. We were friends. Timothy and you seem very much alike. This fight, I take was an accident? You didn’t mean for it to go this far?”

“No ma’am. I just needed to defend myself,” Amberly said.

“I can tell you that Timothy has gotten a detention before, and he learned his lesson well. I believe since you two are very much alike, it’ll serve you well too. Detention,” Mrs. Hudinski said again.

“Next is Mr. David Madison am I correct?”

David nodded silently, which was odd for his personality.

“You look very familiar. Did your parents attend Victorian?”

“I-I-I’m not sure. I don’t know my real parents…”

“Oh yes, yes! I know you, David! Your parents are Vivian Taylor and Noah Peterson. You look a lot like your father-almost exactly. I remember in our last year at school your mother got pregnant. She had you in the nurse’s station at the end of our last year. She took you home along with her, but she and Noah had broken up and the baby, in this case, you didn’t have a father. That’s the last we heard, but you are here! Wonderful, wonderful! If you look like your father, I’m sure you are a lot like him…

“Do you know where my parents are?” David interrupted.

“I’m sorry David. I haven’t seen your father since the last day at Victorian, and the last time I saw your mother was about 11 years ago at a grocery store.”

David face fell and then let Mrs. Hudinski finish.

“Now then I remember your father and mother go many detentions when she found out she was having a baby. I remember it served them well, so I’m sure it’ll serve you well too! Detention for you as well.”

“Alright, alright,” he rolled his eyes and looked away.

“Next up is Miss Arabella! Yes, yes I know your family well. Kimberly and Luke are you siblings?”

“Yes they are.”

“Well you have wonderful big brothers and sisters. I remember in Kimberly’s first year at Victorian she got in trouble in my class. I of course gave her three detentions and I remember she never got in trouble again, in my class at least. Luke on the other hand, has gotten many detention’s from me. That boy doesn’t know how to shut up.”

David, Travis and Arabella smirked.

“I think that you have a lot of pride, Miss Kinsley. Is that why you got in a fight today? Is because you have a lot of pride?”

Arabella didn’t answer.

“Then I believe we have an answer. It runs in the family, dear. Since detentions served your older siblings so well, I think it will suit you well also! Detention for you too!”

“Next we have Mr. Travis Stone. Your father and mother have been together since they were 13,” She laughed, “They always got into so much mischief. I remember when your mother and father would sneak into each other’s rooms or sneak a note to one another during class. They got in trouble a lot for that. I wouldn’t recommend doing it. They got married the day after the last day at Victorian. Almost everyone attended the wedding. Your mother and I were best friends and I remember sitting at the hospital with your mother about a year after they were married after she had you. I think that if detention served your mother and father well, I think it’ll serve you well to! Detention!”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Now that you all have detentions, I would like everyone of you to meet in my classroom, or office, at 7:45 on Tuesday morning. If you are not in time I will boost your detention’s to two.”

“We only have one detention?” Arabella asked.

“Do you want to make it two?”

“Nooooo!” Everyone said together.

“I can assure you once more that one detention is all you will need.”

“Yes ma’am,” Amberly said again.

“Now go on to the lobby and I don’t want to see you four together. Separate!”

Arabella, Travis, David, and Amberly followed there way back down the long corridor and back into the lobby. Arabella left and found the other girls who were new; Vanessa, Ellie, Natasha, and Ava.

“What was that fight all about,” Ava asked.

“They got mad saying I was all better than them and stuff. It was ridiculous.”

“So you got in a fight?” Ellie asked.

“Well yes. David pushed me and then is just went on from there. Horrible, right?”

The other girls nodded.

“They said I was mean because I said that other girl is poor!”

“To her face?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes, but I was telling the truth, so technically it wasn’t mean!”

The other girls looked at each other.

“Yeah…technically…” Natasha said in disbelief.

Amberly went and sat by her brother who started questioning her and lecturing her immediately.

“What were you thinking, Amber? You shouldn’t sit by a Kinsley. They are rude and high maintenance! Everyone knows that,” Timothy Gilmore said sitting next to his sister and several of his other friends.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“And getting in a fight? How could you? You hadn’t been on the boat five minutes before you were rolling around on the floor and fighting. Father would be so angry at you right now.”

“I didn’t know the Kinsley’s were like that exactly. Her father sort of made us sit together, and the other two just showed up. I didn’t start it. I was the topic of the fight.”

“How?” He said looking curious.

“She said she was better than everyone else and said I was poor and filthy.”

“I swear I am going to kill the Kinsley’s one day!” Timothy said again, “Look Amber, before you go to Victorian you need to know some things. First, there are a lot of rich people here and lots of groups. The major group is the rich high maintenance crew. I’m not trying to be judgmental or stereotyping, but there’s a reason that those people are groups is because no one wants to be around to be around them. All of the Kinsley’s are in that group. Father ever agrees that the rich group was here when he was here. The second is that teachers here are strict. You don’t have to do much to get a detention. Third is to always try to be on a good basis with everyone in the school, even the rich group. They might not be great friends, but you can still be friendly. People at this school will backstab you if your not careful especially is you run around with the rich crowd. Even if you don’t, you will get hurt if you aren’t careful.”

Amber thought about what her brother had said. She took it into consideration and then began to speak.

“But-“

“Listen, Amber. You need to get close friends okay? You need close, secure friends who will protect you and you need to protect them. Choose them wisely. It took me a year to find friends right for me and I was stabbed hard. Find them, okay and watch your back.”

“I can’t find any friends. Look at Arabella. She’s over there with all the other girls in my grade.”

“This is the first day. By tomorrow the rich ones will go to the rich side and the others will stay behind I swear. By tomorrow at least two other those girls will be normal.”

“Okay…” Amber said confused.

“You’ll understand by tomorrow, I swear.”

Amber spent the rest of the time on the boat sitting with his brothers friends thinking to herself about how much she hated Victorian already. It’s not even the first day of class and she already has no friends and has already made a fool of herself. She wondered why she just couldn’t go home.

Travis found himself a small corner in the loud lobby and dug through his bag. And found one of the many books he had brought and opened it. The hours passed by as he read. He had read at least 50 pages when a small girl came up to him.

“Hi,” She said gently.

“Um hi…”

“I’m Ellie. I had to find someone else to talk to. That girl over there, Arabella is trashing all of you because of the fight and I just couldn’t take it anymore. She’s cruel!”

Travis didn’t answer. He went back to his book and Ellie sat there in confusion. The lobby was still bursting with laughter, but the four were beginning to become irritated. None of them could find friends and they each felt strangely alone.

“Do you mind if I sit here? I don’t want to go back to Arabella, if you know what I mean.”

Travis looked up finding Ellie still sitting there, “Um…sure,” He said then immediately going back to his book.

David was sitting with the other boys; Adam, Derek, Calvin, and Rives. The other boys had already bonded and David seamed like a burden to them. David was a funny and silly boy and people often laughed, but it seemed like these four boys didn’t appreciate his silliness, so he sat there in silence. He wished he had never sat with Arabella, Amberly, and Travis. Maybe if he hadn’t he would have real friends. So far, there had been nothing good about his day.