Hey all, welcome to my first story on fictionpress! I'm slightly nervous about how this will go, so please give me some feedback via that little purple button down the bottom. Umm... well, this is meant to be the first of two stories, one original and one fanfiction... which I haven't started writing yet.

This was originally a challenge on quizilla, where a girl has to somehow be put into an all-boys boarding school. Yes, I know, completely unrealistic, but it was an intriguing idea. I wanted to put this down as a semi-action story, but that's not working for me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my story!

It was a cold winter’s day, torrential rain beating at the windows. A small teenager sat at her desk, furiously typing away on the laptop she had been given on her 15th birthday. Pausing for a moment, she cocked her head to the side, wondering what brought her out of her daze. Faint voices came from the formal lounge, barely heard over the sound of the rain thundering down onto the windows.

It was good that it was raining; the entire country had been in a drought for over ten years, and now the government was finally doing something about it, with talk of desalinisation plants and thousands of kilometres of pipes, after shoving their heads in the sand for so many years. It was funny how election years tend to give the government a kick up the backside.

“John, it can’t keep happening like this! She’s coming into her last few years of school, and it’s the most important thing that she’d given a good education!”

“I’m sorry, Evelyn! I can’t help where the government places me, and I can’t help leaving for a tour, because I’m needed, and you know how many specialists like me are available!”

“Please don’t go, it’s a war zone out there! I don’t want to get that phone call! Think of your daughter!”

“Look, you know Marcus’s son, and how he went to an English boarding school? Maybe they could do something for Claudia. They’re about the same age, too.”

“England? That’s too far away, John, you know it is!”

“It’s closer to Iraq than it is to here, and you know they need you there too.”

“What if I refuse to go?”

“Damnit Evelyn! They need good doctors as well as diplomats over there, and you’re the best I’ve heard of. If I was injured, I’d want you taking care of me. We’ll be together, and Claudia’s only a short plane ride away.” There was a pause, and Claudia tiptoed to the door, pressing her ear against it.

“Alright, do some research to that boarding school, and see if you can’t use your status to get the government to pay for it.”

“I knew you became a diplomat for a reason.”

“Don’t tell Claudia about it just yet, it’s just an idea.” Her mother sounded tired, and Claudia could picture her rubbing her forehead in exasperation.

“I’ll talk to Marcus about it.”

“Thanks.” Claudia tiptoed back to her seat at the desk, mind whirling, analysing the conversation. She sighed, staring at the computer, and the words typed on the screen. It was only midway through the year, she didn’t finish until late November when exams came around. It would be summer in England. She decided, staring at the ground. And a hell of a lot colder in winter than it is here. She sighed, dropping her chin onto the palm of her hand, staring at the desk.

It would suck, but she’d get through it. She always did, being a military brat and moving every other month to some random town she had never heard of with a base nearby. She knew her father was involved in some secret operations through hacking the military computers, involving England and the US in The War Against Terror as told by their pathetic excuse for a Prime Minister, Mr Johnny Howard.

She was only 16, but knew how to hack computers like she had been doing it for years. She had almost been caught a couple of times, but they had never figured out it was the innocent looking military brat wandering out of the science labs, claiming to be lost and looking for her mother. It worked brilliantly every time.

She sighed, sat back up properly and continued typing, hands flying over the keyboard as she struggled to finish the pointless essay on Much Ado About Nothing, knowing that she would be moving again very soon.

It was almost a week before they said anything, bringing it up at dinner, one of the few times that they actually ate together.

“Claudia,” Her father began, putting down his cutlery, glancing at his wife who gave him an encouraging look.

“We’re moving again, aren’t we?” Claudia interrupted, deep green eyes flicking back and forth between the two now nervous adults.

“We’re both being called to Iraq, and we can’t let you stay in Melbourne alone, sweetie.” Claudia sighed and nodded.

“Am I going to go to one of the local schools there?” She asked, mentally beginning to pack her recently unpacked things into the various boxes sitting in the spare bedroom of the house. Her mother looked worried, clasping her hands together.

“They don’t allow female students, and we want you to get a proper western education anyway, so we are considering sending you to England to finish off your final two years.” Claudia stared at her. She knew it was coming, had heard the whispered conversations, but still couldn’t believe it.

“Mum… England? Couldn’t I stay with someone here and finish school off? Maybe they have a school in Iraq for people like me.” She asked almost desperately. Her father frowned at her.

“Claudia, it’s important for you to get a proper education. We know you’re smart, but all this moving around isn’t good for you.” He said, an unreadable expression on his face.

“But dad… I like being a military brat!” She knew she was whining now, but couldn’t help it.

“Claudia, where did you hear that?” Her mother asked, raising a dark eyebrow.

“The last base we were at, one of the lieutenants said something about hating military brats, and I assumed he was talking about kids like me.” She explained, tucking a few stray dark hairs behind her ears. Evelyn shot a glance at her husband, prompting him to continue.

“This will be good for you. Do you remember Evan, the two of you went feral at the bases in WA?” John continued, looking slightly hopeful. Claudia nodded, a wicked grin crossing her face. Ah yes, the pranks they did, trying to outdo one another. Good times.

“He’s at a school in England, and we want to send you there too.” Claudia nodded slowly, absorbing the information.

“It’s a boarding school, isn’t it? I remember him complaining about it before he left, and in the mass emails he sent me when he got lonely over there.” She explained, eyes sinking to the table.

“We’ve done the research, and we’ve already enrolled you for the start of the new school year in September.” Evelyn continued, looking slightly apprehensive.

“Does this mean I have to go through school here until I have to get on a plane to get to school there?” Claudia asked, giving a slight pout. Her mother grinned, knowing that the danger zone had passed.

“Nope, you’re finishing in the last week of July, and we’ll be flying out to England with you, just to help you get settled in properly. It’ll be like moving base, but you’re going to be there for a few years.” She said, picking up her cutlery again. Claudia nodded and picked at her food, suddenly not hungry anymore. I’ll just have to take it as it comes. She thought grimly, missing the worried looks that were sent between her parents.

It was a month and a half later when Claudia found herself at the airport, tightly clutching onto her large backpack, alone and hopelessly lost. Her parents has been called to go to Iraq before she left, so they had left her in the temporary care of one of the lieutenants at the base where her mother worked. She glared at the sign on her jacket that declared her for all the world to see as an ‘UM’, or an unaccompanied minor. She cursed in Spanish before whipping out her ticket, looking at the gate number. 68. Great. When the hell did Tullamarine airport get so frickin’ big? She thought, catching sight of a gate sign. 60. Yes! Getting better! She grinned victoriously before quickly walking towards the gate headed towards London, England.

“Second call for flight 286 to London, now boarding.” She heard over the loud speaker just as she rounded the corner into the gate. She quickly joined the que and waited her turn, smiling as the receptionist swiped her ticket, handing it over to an air hostess who took her into the plane, directing her to her window seat.

“Thanks miss.” Claudia said, giving the customary smile. She watched as the air hostess walked away, the smile on her face sliding off as quickly as it had come. She began digging through her bag and brought out her mp3 player and a sudoku book, dumping them in her lap, determined not to stay bored throughout the flight. The rest of the plane filled up, a dark haired woman sitting in the seat next to her. Claudia quickly looked out the window, not wanting to have to go through introductions.

The flight was mostly silent, Claudia’s mp3 player dying during the last part of the flight. Cursing quietly in French, she packed it away, noticing out of the corner of her eye the woman who had sat silently beside her staring in shocked amusement. Claudia gave a faint smile to the dark haired woman, mentally berating herself.

“Interesting grasp of French, young lady.” The woman said in an English accent, a half smile sliding onto her face. Claudia grimaced, then turned to face the woman.

“I’m sorry ma’am, I didn’t know you could understand me.” She apologised, dropping her eyes to her lap.

“Oh, no, you’ve used some creative French, although I must ask what your parents think about your language.” Claudia bit her lip.

“They usually can’t understand me.” She replied, dragging her eyes back up to the English woman, who smiled.

“Well, you’re a lot better than some of the boys that I teach.” She commented. Claudia smiled back.

“You’re a French teacher?” She asked, twisting to face the woman who could be her mother, they were so similar.

“Yes, at Brighton Academy.” Claudia stared at her.

“That’s where mum and dad are sending me. I remembered because it sounds so… bland.” She said, furrowing her eyebrows. The woman looked confused.

“Yeah, it is bland, but…That’s impossible. Brighton Academy is an all boys school.” Claudia dived into her backpack, bringing out a small squashed folder. Opening it, she found the letter she was looking for, and held it up for the other woman to read.

“See, it says Brighton Academy.” Claudia said unnecessarily, pointing to the sign. The woman nodded, still looking apprehensive.

“I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but if you are going to Brighton Academy, I’d love to have you in my class.” Claudia smiled.

“I think I’m going to have to choose French as a subject. I finished year 10 this year.” The woman smiled.

“I teach the seniors, so you might be in my year 11 class, I don’t know. I’m Miss Brown, but the boys call me Madame.”

“I’m Claudia Black.” Miss Brown smiled as they shook hands, and began discussing the school and its curriculum. This is going to be an interesting year, especially if the Headmaster’s admitted this one. She thought, dropping into French as she spoke, although Claudia seemed to understand.

The rest of the plane trip was spent discussing various topics; everything from French to military life to the latest books that had just been released. Claudia’s eyes snapped up to the seatbelt sign when it flashed, the captain announcing that they would be landing in London soon.

Leaning towards the window, Claudia couldn’t help but stare, eyes widening. London was ugly from the air, and she could only hope that Brighton was going to be better. Miss Brown chuckled from her seat.

“It’s not this ugly from the ground, Miss Black.” Claudia whipped her head around, and gave a faint smile.

“Really? I’ve never gone out of the country before, so I don’t really know.” There was a lot of noise as the rest of the plane craned to look out of the tiny windows to the city below.

An hour later, Claudia was sitting in the backseat of a car, Miss Brown beside her as they sped along their way to Brighton. The trip was mainly silent, Claudia staring out the window as the English countryside sped past. Grimacing, she shifted into a more comfortable position as they sped through a cluster of trees, seemingly intent on choking the road with fallen leaves and protruding roots.

“We’ll be there in no more than twenty minutes.” The driver called out behind him, startling the two females from their thoughts. Miss Brown smiled.

“Home sweet home.” She murmured, sitting up properly. Claudia perked up at the thought of less than half an hour in the car, staring out at the alternating paddocks and forest that the road snaked alongside.

They pulled up to the front gates of the school, Claudia relishing every second of the view from the car. The school itself had originally been built much like the early Catholic churches, in a large crucifix. Later on, the school had added wings to accommodate the growing population of the students and staff alike. It had three wings, all linked by the original building, and stood a majestic five stories tall.

The car came to a stop in front of the large front doors, its tyres crackling on the white gravel that constituted the inner driveway up to the doors. Miss Brown opened the door and stepped out, stretching. Claudia quickly followed suit, not wanting to be left alone in the car with the driver, who popped the boot from inside the car (for those of you who don’t know, a boot is also called the trunk of a car). She pulled the boot open and tugged at her suitcase, dragging it out and letting it fall to the white gravel below.

“Where am I going to be staying?” She asked quietly, looking up at Miss Brown. The French teacher paused, turning to look at the girl.

“We’re to report to the headmaster, so I suspect that you’ll find out when we get there.” She replied, tugging her own suitcase out of the boot, and closing it when everything had been taken out. She slapped down on the side of the car twice, and it immediately began to drive down the driveway and out of sight. Claudia sighed before following the dark haired woman into the school that she would soon call home.

Cursing loudly in Greek, Claudia yanked her suitcase up the last stair to the fifth floor. She sighed, glaring down at the stairwell, then marched off to the left. Why would anyone put the dorms on the frickin’ fifth floor? ‘You’ve got longer legs’ my left buttocks! She thought furiously as she stormed down towards her dorm room. She shoved the key into the lock and turned it, almost twisting the soft metal in her grip. The door clicked open, and she had to close her eyes and count to ten in every language she knew before opening them to calmly walk through the door and closed it behind her.

Her eyes travelled around the room, taking in the four single beds which were pushed up against the walls and the half open door, from which she could catch a glimpse of a bathroom vanity. The carpet, although a nice shade of blue, had some faint stains between the beds. She paused and looked back at the stains. On second thoughts, I don’t want to know. She decided, pushing her suitcase underneath one of the beds. Home sweet home. She thought dryly, knowingly mimicking what Miss Brown had said earlier.

She sighed, and made her way to the window. She knew that, from the fifth floor, the view would be wonderful. She stopped in front of the window, a small smile sliding onto her face. The view was amazing. She sighed happily, and sat down on the nearest bed, trying to imprint the view into her mind.

The school stood at the crest of a hill, and the grass rolled down from the walls to the football (soccer, for all you uneducated heathens) pitch, and the beginnings of a forest behind it. Claudia sighed and smiled at the view, not budging as the sun streaked slowly into the west. At least it’s a south facing room. She thought placidly, watching as the trees swayed slowly in the wind.

It wasn’t until the sun set that she stirred, moving for the doorway. Judging by her inner clock, it was dinner time. She slowly made her way down the dark stairwell, feeling her way along the walls until she reached the ground floor, wandering through the corridors to find the main mess hall. She paused at a brightly lit room, poking her nose in, and found the staff sitting down around one of the tables. She paused, considering going back to her room, but her stomach growled loudly, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since the plane trip.

She sighed and took a few steps into the room, trying to sneak her way over to the food. Obviously, she was spotted just before she reached her destination.

“Miss Black, dinner was meant to be at six o’clock. Not eight thirty.” A bemused voice floated over to her. She winced, then turned to find the entire table watching her curiously.

“Hai. Gomen.” She replied curtly before reaching for a plate. The staff twittered amongst themselves.

“En anglais, si vous plait.” Miss Brown raised an eyebrow at the new student. Claudia put her plate down and faced the table.

“I’m terribly sorry, it won’t happen again.” She replied sombrely. There were a few eyebrows raised, and a few speculations flew, but they were hushed up by the quiet explanation from the French teacher.

Claudia sat down close to the kitchen, but far away enough from the teachers that she wasn’t subjected to their sympathetic overtones. She ate quickly, and wandered into the kitchen to clean her plates by hand. Stacking them neatly on a drying rack, she turned and came face to face with an amused chef.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing in my kitchen, young lady?” She asked, crossing her arms. Claudia’s hands involuntarily strayed together, and she had to steel herself against looking away in embarrassment.

“I was brought up on military bases, chief. I’m used to cleaning up after myself if I’ve missed designated eating times.” She explained. The chef’s eyebrows rose.

“Chief?” She queried, somewhat puzzled. She’s an Aussie girl, The chef confirmed. This time, Claudia did look down, somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s what everyone calls the chef of a military base, so I guess it’s just stuck.” She muttered. The chef nodded thoughtfully.

“Lets lay down some ground rules, okay? No stepping into my kitchen while any of the boys are here. You can call me chief if you like,” At this, Claudia looked up hopefully, “but only if you make it so that my new title makes them respect me.” Claudia grinned.

“Will do, chief.”

“See to it then.” The chef shook her head at the small teenager making her way out of her kitchen. The year would be interesting, she decided, glancing down at the spotless plate and cutlery that lay neatly on a drying rack. She shook her head and put them away, intent on getting a good night sleep. The rest of the school was due the next day, and she needed her strength if she was to prepare the customary first night back dinner feast.

Claudia wandered her way up to her room, sitting down on the bed she had claimed as hers. I wonder if I’m going to have company in here. She thought idly, pulling out her toiletries and making her way into the bathroom. She nodded in approval at the bathroom and its layout; it seemed to be half the size of the dorm room that she had just left.

Yawning, she brushed her teeth and changed into her pyjamas, settling down into the strange bed, halfway around the world from home. Staring up at the ceiling surrounded by empty beds and silent rooms, she allowed herself a small moment of pity before rolling on her side and closing her eyes. A new situation warranted a new outlook. She would analyse her situation tomorrow. Too bad she didn’t realise that the next day was Saturday September 1st, and close to one thousand male students would be descending upon the school, ready for a new school year.

The next installment will be coming tommorrow (22/10/08) (dd/mm/yy). Cookies for reviewers! Big chocolate chip and m&m cookies!