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Holmes Academy
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I sighed, "Don't know; don't care. Religion and science are just ways for humans to explain things. Who made the Sun? Some say God, some say gas or the Big Bang or whatever. But I say I don't give a shit. Why would you care? As long as the sun keeps working I'm fine."
I shrugged, "I don't get why people would keep torturing themselves to find the answers to everything, even things that can't be explained. I would just leave it and accept that I don't know why something works."
I turned around to face the girls, "Like one time in fifth grade when I dismantled my fridge to figure out how it kept cold. I couldn't figure it out so I just put it back together and left it. I didn't care about how it worked, as long as it kept working."
They looked shocked and I grinned, "What? Never dismantled a fridge before?"
I shook my head and nodded to the Patrisse girl, "What about you? Science or religion?"
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"To me the whole questions is a paradox. It completely contradicts itself. If we lived in a world without Religion then we wouldn't even know what Science is since Religion and Science are opposites. Science is all fact where as Religion is faith. You can't have one without the other" I explained. "So I would live in a world without Science because then we would have Religion which means we would have Science." I stated.
"But that completely contradicts itself." Abby replied.
'Exactly, it's a paradox. A statement which contradicts itself" I said.
Now my head was starting to hurt. I was thinking too much. I went back to playing with my fingers whilst the scenery passed us by. I hoped we'd be in London soon.
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The train stopped at a station and several people got off, including the person on the seat opposite me. I glanced outside but it wasn't my stop. I propped my feet up on the seat in front and leaned back, closing my eyes.
Bored
I'm bored.
Bored, bored, bored.
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An hour passed. Soon we'd be there, I thought.
Suddenly, the train stopped abruptly causing Abby and I to fall forward, our heads smacking on the seat in front.
"We've stopped," Abby said suspiciously.
"Which means we're here, talk about bad steering" Raymond stated recovering from the slight head injury.
"But we can't be there yet," I said.
Something wasn't right. I just hoped it was all some dream and we had actually reached HOLMES Academy.
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I peered out the window, noting fogged-up skies, wrought-iron lamps with barely flickering bulbs and a faded sign reading 'Nackford Station'. "What station are we meant to get off at?" I asked Patrisse.
"Nackford," she promptly replied, leaning closer as she tried to get a better look out of the window. "Why?"
"Then this is our stop."
Patrisse pressed her lips together. "But..."
"Oh, stop being such a wet blanket," Raymond exclaimed, getting to his feet and reaching for his luggage. "We're here!"
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I swiped my arm through the overhead carriages, gathering my suitcase and backpack as well as the two girls' bags. I tossed their bags to them and turned, walking to the exit, ignoring their surprised faces.
The gloomy weather outside on the platform didn't faze me at all but the heavy atmosphere was a bit disorientating. I swept my eyes over the surroundings, noting the positions and appearance of the people around me. The lady wearing a red trenchcoat, black beanie and fake diamond earrings with a pram with a wailing baby. The greying man hunched over an outdated newspaper. The young, brown-haired man in a black buisness suit, looking very out-of-place in the faded surroundings. I took an extra amount of time examining him, before taking out my phone and flicking through the notes I'd written there to see what to do next. I looked up at the peeling map on the platform, committing it to memory.
It was getting dark so there weren't many people. But then again, how many people could possibly live in a place as bad as this? I shrugged to myself. It was better then home. Anywhere was better than home.
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I think I was going to panic then and there. He touched my luggage bag! He TOUCHED it! Trying not to panic from my OCD I hurried outside before joining Raymond. I quickly took out my disinfectant spray from my carry on bag and sprayed it over the bag before putting it back in.
"Are you serious !?" He said gawking at me.
"yes, I am. I'm OCD, really the only reason I'm so good at investigating, because I notice that which everyone else ignores. So you'll have to get used to it. And for the record, NEVER touch my stuff AGAIN." I explained.
Abby joined us amused by my conversation with Raymond. Using Abby's map we very slowly made our way to the Academy.
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It was a long, slow walk to the Academy, a walk in which I was constantly irritated by the weirdos walking along behind me. The old-fashioned slugs behind me used a map while I used my I-Phone's GPS.
According to my i-Phone, HOLMES was about an hour's walk from the station.
Great.
Another hour with an OCD girl and a book-referencing freak.
I couldn't wait until we got to the Academy.
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I liked him less and less. He obviously thought I was a freak just like everyone else and he seemed to think he was more superior to us in the technological aspect.
"Ok, so we have to turn right here," He directed.
"Um- are you sure that's right. It says here to turn left." Abby said.
"Uh.. No. I'm positive it's this way. A I-phone is heaps more advance than that sluggish thing." Raymond replied.
"No- I'm pretty sure it's this way"
Oh well this was great.
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I checked my i-Phone. It clearly traced the path to the right. I rolled my eyes, and went to look at their map.
"See? Turn here and follow this path..." Patrisse traced her finger through the roads to the Academy.
"No wonder why." I nodded, "You're taking a different route."
On their map, I traced the path I was taking. I raised my eyebrows, "Therefore..." I walked to the right path, "I'm going this way. Feel free to go your way, It'll be a lot better for the three of us."
Without waiting for an answer, I walked off down the path to the right.
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The Academy was like something out of a BBC production.
Looming, made of stone and smelling of secrets and old books with dog-earred pages, it made an impressive figure against the English landscape. Tall, iron gates stood before it and I could spot several cameras posted around the walls.
"Wow." Patrisse looked impressed. "Nice set-up they have here."
Raymond was checking out the cameras. "Nice technology. I wonder if they have Wi-Fi."
Patrisse rolled her eyes conspiratorially at me and said, "Come on - let's head on in!"
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I whipped out my iphone and aimed the camera at the Academy. I stared at the screen for a minute, then snapped a picture. I smiled slowly as the screen showed me a picture of static, like a TV with no antenna. There must be some kind of electrical wave being emmited from the building which blocked pictures being taken.
I took a few more static pictures of the grounds, then pocketed my phone and scanned the area with my eyes, commiting every little detail to memory. Abby and Patrisse walked down the path and, after a few seconds, I followed them.
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"Just calm down, it's okay. It's just some dirt. Nothing to worry about." I whispered to myself as we reached the end of the path. I hated anything dirty or inhabited with germs, which was like everything. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.
"What is wrong with you?" Raymond asked, obviously annoyed.
"I'm OCD. Not my fault." I said defensively.
"Well it is your fault. So please shut up. You're annoying me."
I rolled my eyes at him as we entered the main building. At the end of the corridor was the reception.
"Better go in then," Abby said.
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I bent slightly and ran my finger along the water drainage pipe, collecting the dust which had settled there, then brushed it off on Patrisse's arm. She stifled a squeal, hurriedly grabbing some disinfectant or whatever from her bag.
I sighed, retard, then walked down the corridor to the reception.
The lady sitting there eyed me carefully, then smiled, "Raymond Karler?"
"Rayne." I smiled back, twitching. I refused to use the name my idiot of a father gave me.
"Welcome to HOLME." She reached back and opened a filing cabinet, flicking through until she reached my name, then took out a whole bunch of paperwork.
"Thanks." I scanned along the office, memorising most of the files, evacuation maps, dorm locations and other things. She handed me the papers, going through them with me and telling me what was what, then told me someone would come soon to show us around. I stepped back and took a seat on a chair, waiting, as Patrisse stepped up next.
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The lady smiled as she looked over my profile. "Patrisse Delinton"
"Yes, that's me."
"No nickname."
"No. Just Patrisse."
"Well then, Patrisse.' She smiled and I couldn't help noticing how perfectly straight her teeth were. "Welcome to HOLME."
She handed me all the paperwork which I absent-mindedly flipped through whilst sitting down next to Rayne waiting for Abby to collect her paperwork.
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The lady picked up another folder pull of paperwork and checked the tag, nodding to herself before holding it out towards me. "Abby Dallington, I believe?"
I nodded, accepting the paperwork. "Yes, m'am."
"Abby is your full first name, is that correct?" she asked me, all professionalism, high heels and perfectly coiled hair.
"Yes."
"Welcome to HOLME then, Miss Dallington." She gave me the same mass-produced smile she'd given Rayne and Patrisse, before gesturing to a seat beside the ones the others had taken. "Please feel free to take a seat and look over the documents."
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"Name, age, gender, date of birth, nationality, former education, allergies, blah blah blah..." I flipped through the two pages of the application form, "Why this stuff? Don't they already have a profile?"
I stood and walked back to the receptionist, who had handed Abby her paperwork.
"Hey, sorry to bother you." I said politely, "But is there a reason to fill out a profile of ourselves when you already have one?"
She smiled, "It's just to make sure our info is correct. We wouldn't want something bad to happen just because we didn't know about an allergy or something."
I nodded with a smile, "Okay, that makes sense. Thanks."
I walked back to my seat and put the application profile form thing on the small table in front. I rummaged through my bag for a pen, brushing breadcrumbs off the one I found and onto the floor-to Patrisse's distaste.
Name, Age, gender, date of birth.. easy peasy. Nationality: German/English;
Former education: Etheridge High;
Allergies/Medical conditions: Allergic to almonds.. easy peasy.
Skills... this one was already filled out. Mine read: Photographic memory and knowledgeable and skilled in technology use.
Parent/Guardian's signature... this one was also filled out with my dad's signature.
I sighed boredly, filling out the form quickly and sneaking glances at the other two's paperwork, memorising various details.
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I took a pen out of my bag and began filling out details.
I got up to nationality where I wrote I was British American, when I noticed a pair of eyes scanning my page.
"*cough cough* keep your eyes to yourself Rayne."
"Your British American" he pointed out.
"Yeah, what about it?"
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I smothered a smile. "Maybe Rayne is a gringophobe."
Rayne looked confused. "A what-now?"
"A gringophobe. You're gringophobic. You suffer from gringophobia."
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"I get it!" I growled, remembering where I'd read the word before. "But I'm not gringophobic."
"You don't even know what it means."
"I came across the word while flicking through a dictionary in year five." I snorted, "A gringo is a white person who lives in an English-speaking country. Usually an American. I'm not scared of Americans."
I snapped my form shut, stood and handed it to the receptionist with a polite smile, before heading back to my seat.
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"I think we made him angry" I said snapping my form shut.
"Yeah I think we did." Abby replied also closing her form.
"Well see you around." I said to Abby as I handed in my form and left reception to find my dorm.
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As Patrisse left the office, I flicked through the rest of the papers. A map, which I didn't need, seeing that I'd already memorised the evacuation map on the wall. A brochure boasting about the 'excellent facilities' in this school. A list of all the subjects on the curriculum and their descriptions. A menu of all food in the cafeteria. My timetable. A school diary apparently to 'keep track of assignments and homework' which obviously will be used as a graffiti book thanks to my photographic memory. I flicked through the rest, all equally useless, then put them to the side.
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"Well, this is a surprise." I say when I enter my dorm which is clean, just like I imagined. But that is not the surprise. The surprise is finding out that Abby is my roommate.
"Looks like we'll be around each other a lot. Might as well be friends." She says extending her hand.
"You didn't even ask the question 'do you want to be my friend' you just said it. So I won't answer. I will, however horrifying it is, shake your hand." I say reluctantly shaking hands with her and fighting off the urge to wipe my hands.
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I pushed open the door to my room, which I had all to myself - for now at least - , and dumped my things under the desk near the window. Slumping onto the larger of the three beds, I stared around the room, feeling indifferent about the slight crack in one part of the wallpaper. The room was clean and extremely neat - the crack seemed very out of place. I considered covering it up but decided against it. After all, that would be a very OCD thing to do, and I didn't want to do anything that Patrisse chick would do.
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"And I am finally done packing!" I stated putting away the last of my clothes. Abby and I decided to allocate drawers to each of us to make it easier to navigate and so that we didn't get our clothes mixed up with one another.
"So what do you want to do now? Classes don't start till tomorrow, and there's still 3 hours till Dinner?" Abby asked writing in one of her notebooks. I presumed it was her diary.
"I'm not sure. What do you want to do?"
Name: Irene WatsonAge: 19
Quick Bio: The daughter of a science professor. Irene read many various books on the subject of science and knows how to do many important and critical medical operations and so on.
She is brilliant, keenly observant and loves to help people who are hurt and in need of care.
"Finally!" I set my bag down and rubbed my shoulder, it was killing me. It had taken me awhile to find my room, HOLME was huge! It had a room for everything imaginable it seemed. There was a basketball court, a science lab, a physics lab, a pool, tennis courts, a library, dozens of classrooms, a lunch room, and even a stage. It had taken forever to navigate the school, even with my detective skills.
I glanced at the name plate on the room, Catherine Holbrook & Christine Flynn. So I have a roommate, interesting. I lugged my stuff over towards the dresser before flopping down on the bed.