Building relationships

  Gabrielle glimpsed at the two and she noticed the possessive hand resting on the girl's waist.

 

  "Oh, hi! I'm Gabrielle, but you can call me Gabby," she introduced herself.

 

  "Gabby? I have an aunt named Gabby!," the boy replied with a smirk directed at Gabrielle.

 

  The girl pinched the boy's hand.

 

  "Come on now, baby, don't be rude. Gabby, this I am Emma and this is my boyfriend Brad," she said.

 

  'Oh, so they're a couple?' Gabrielle thought as she observed the two students. Her expression tightened without her realizing it when she saw Brad kiss Emma on the cheek.

 

  "I'll go meet the guys now. See you later, baby," Brad told Emma before turning to Gabrielle and giving her a mocking grin.

 

  "Catch you later, roomie," he said as he left the room.

 

  Emma sat on her neatly made bed and pointed to a pair of double doors. "You might not have noticed, but those doors lead to the bathroom. We'll take turns cleaning it. I've already gathered the cleaning supplies from the laundry room and cleaned in there, so you'll be in charge of cleaning tomorrow," she explained.

 

  Gabrielle nodded. "Got it."

 

  As Emma looked around the room again, she turned back to Gabrielle and asked, "I don't see your school uniform anywhere. Haven't you picked up your things yet?"

 

  "No, I just got here not long ago," Gabrielle replied.

 

  "Girl, you need to go over there now. They close at six, and since tomorrow is Sunday, they will open late and close early. If you plan to go out tomorrow, you have to get your stuff right away," Emma warned.

 

  Gabrielle nodded and left the room, following the arrows on the walls that guided new students wherever they wanted to go. She remembered from orientation that they would receive their uniforms in the third office on the second floor of the administration building.

 

  When she arrived, she received a wrapped package and a zipped bag, which she guessed contained her uniform. Holding both items in her hands, she walked back to the female dormitories. The hallways were now crowded with students chatting and hugging each other, creating a lively noise.

 

  Suddenly, everything went silent; it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Looking around, Gabrielle noticed all the other girls staring at her in surprise. Confused, she searched for any reason why they might be looking at her but found nothing wrong until she heard a bold voice behind her say, "Do you mind?"

 

  Turning around, she saw a tall guy who looked like the typical sports jock from every teen movie. Their eyes met briefly before he continued on his way.

 

  "Well hello ladies," the guy said. The previously quiet room erupted with giggles and excited whispers.

 

  Gabrielle rolled her eyes and continued on her way back to her room, which she had to pass through the area where the boys were, since their room was second to last at the end of the hall.

 

  As she walked through the busy corridor, nobody noticed her.

 

  When she reached her room, she realized that her roommate was missing, so she had the whole space to herself. She opened the bag that she had fetched from the admin inside she discovered three maroon skirts, three white shirts, two black ties, two maroon jerseys, and a black and maroon blazer with what looked like the school emblem on the right breast pocket.

 

  They had been informed that if they needed anything extra, they would have to buy it themselves. For Gabrielle, what she had was more than enough, but she planned to talk to her sponsor about it. Setting the clothes aside, she opened another package that was tightly wrapped and contained a box. Searching for something to open it with, Gabrielle found a pair of tweezers in her toiletry bag. When she finally opened the box, she gasped in surprise as she found a variety of school supplies including notebooks, pens, pencils, a ruler, a pencil case, an eraser, scissors, a stapler with pins, and many other items that students need every day. Her grandmother had made sure to buy all these supplies for her ahead of time; however, the ones she received had the school emblem on them, making them special.

 

  While looking through everything, Gabrielle spotted a small book under the notebooks that appeared to be the school's information guide.

 

  Quickly putting away the things she had bought that day, Gabrielle sat on her bed and flipped through a book to pass the time.

 

  "Roomie!" Emma walked into the room and noticed her new roommate reading on the bed.

 

  She set down the paper bag she was holding on her desk before looking at Gabrielle.

 

  "I went out to grab us something to eat since I thought you might not know where to find anything yet," she explained.

 

  As soon as she finished speaking, Gabrielle's stomach let out a loud growl. The last time she ate was in the morning before leaving home.

 

  Thinking about her grandmother's pancakes topped with melted butter and golden syrup made her stomach rumble again.

 

  Emma chuckled and said, "Come on, let's eat."