The taxi smelled like wet hay. That was my first impression of Nevermore Academy. Not the towers rising black against the sky or the stone gargoyles watching from above. Just wet hay.
I climbed down and adjusted the strap of my satchel. A girl with long blonde hair streaked in pink came bouncing down the steps, bright as neon against the gray stone. She waved like I'd been her friend for years.
"You must be the new guy!" she said.
"Unfortunately," I replied.
She grinned wider. "I'm Enid Sinclair. And apparently, I'm your tour guide. Principal Weems says she doesn't have the patience to walk slow."
I almost told her I walk just fine, but she was already tugging me inside.
The halls were tall and shadowed, every corner carved with some grim-looking crest. Students drifted past in purple and black striped uniforms. Most of them stared at me like I'd sprouted an extra head. Someone whispered "Piper's brat" and I pretended not to hear.
Enid pointed things out as we walked stopping to emphasize, " This is the Quad," before pointing out the main cliques, " There's the Furs, Fangs, Scales, and the Stoners Obviously being, in order, werewolves, vampires, sirens, and gorgons." Before continuing with the tour.
We passed a pair of sirens who glanced at me like they could already hear something in their heads. I tightened my grip on the flute case under my arm.
Enid noticed. "You play?"
"Something like that," I said.
She didn't push. She just smiled and kept talking. "And then there's Ophelia Hall. It's Co-ed and happens to be where I'm at. You're rooming there. I'm sure you'll love it."
"Home sweet home," Enid said. "Each room's got two beds. Yours hasn't been assigned a roommate yet. Lucky, right?"
After she led me to my room which was spacious and had a bed and desk on either side. I dropped my bag on a bed and turned to face Enid.
Enid leaned on the desk beside me. "So, Eli. What's your thing?"
I chewed slowly. "Music."
She waited for more. I didn't give her any.
"Okay, mystery boy," she said finally. "Keep your secrets. But just so you know, around here everyone's got some kind of thing. And the sooner you own it, the easier it is."
I shrugged. "Some things are better left buried."
She studied me for a second, then grinned again. "Well, if you change your mind, I'll be in at the top floor."
And with that she bounced off, leaving me with an empty room and the weight of the flute pressing against my side.
For a first day, it could've been worse