19Elizabeth walked toward the huge iron wrought gates at the entrance of St. Patrick's Boarding School, one of her trunks rolling behind her. It was a gorgeous summer day, the kind you did not see in Texas, actually days like this are rare here too. Six years ago Elizabeth and her mother moved to Texas, during that time, she had spent four years at Epiphany, a private all girls' boarding school. Now she was going to visit her dad in Wales at St. Patrick. St. Patrick was a private all boys boarding school where her dad was the headmaster. I could get use to this being the only girl for a whole summer with tons of boys. Elizabeth thought to herself and the chuckled a bit. Elizabeth pushed open the gates and started walking down a brownish trail toward the "headmasters' mansion." It wasn't quite a mansion but from what could remember it was pretty big. She felt all of eyes of the guys in the courtyard snap towards her. This is just a little bit awkward. All of the sudden a football flew past her face and landed at her feet. A boy maybe a freshman or sophomore came running over, she figured the best thing would be to throw it back to him. The boy must not have been excepting for her to throw it as hard, or he didn't think she would throw it all, but when the boy caught it he nearly dropped it. Being the only child of a man who loved sports actually was coming in handy not to mention living in Texas for six years were football was almost a religion rather than a sport. Then all the guys that were playing football with him began to laugh, and teasing him. Elizabeth turned to them and there were some pretty hot guys. The one with the football was a blonde with blue eyes, he was playing without a shirt on, thankfully, he had nice abs. Then there was a boy with scruffy brown hair and maybe hazel eyes, unluckily he had a shirt on. Funny, he looks like… no he couldn't be oh well. Elizabeth thought to herself. She turned to look at a third boy, he had dark messy red hair, with brown almost black eyes, and no shirt on. Elizabeth looked down at her watch, Oh crap its 11:21, my dad is expecting me there in four minutes. Elizabeth had wasted 20 minutes staring at guys and throwing a football around. She nearly ran the rest of the way, but running is a little bit hard in heels. Finally she got to the house, Elizabeth looked down at her watch again, 11:29, not bad. She raised her hand and knocked on the ornately carved door.
"Head Master's Residence." said a voice from inside the house, "what can I do for you?"
"Umm…My name is Elizabeth Reynolds … my dad is the headmaster… I'm staying here for the summer." Elizabeth said uneasily.
The door swung open "Elizabeth your father had been waiting for you, your other trunks are in your room, and I'll take this one and put it with the others. Just keep going down the hall and go in the last door on the left your father will be waiting in the study." Elizabeth hadn't seen her father for six years, she was so excited, she speed walked down the hall.
A sophomore boy, with blonde hair and blue eyes ran as fast as he could from the Headmasters mansion. He took a short cut across the field then ran up the steps of the front entrance to the Dormitory Building taking them to at a time. He threw open the doors and slid across the entrance hall, it was freshly mopped and in his hurry he didn't see the "WET FLOOR" sign. He stopped sliding right at the staircase. He ran up four flights of stairs once again taking them two at a time, finally arriving at his common room. He threw open the door and everyone turned to him.
"Did you figure it out, Charlie?" yelled Charlie's best friend Anthony.
"henamsliza" Charlie tried to say but he was so out of breath it made no sense.
"Breath, dude, breath," laughed Mark, another of Charlie's friends.
"Wooh," Charlie let out a big gasp of breath, "her name is Elizabeth Reynolds, she is the headmasters' daughter and she is staying for the summer session."
"Dude that is so cool!" said Mark. Most of the other sophomores started talking about the new girl wondering if they were ever going to see her. All except Anthony, he knew that he recognized the girl when he saw her walking up to the "mansion" but it had been so long.
Elizabeth walked down the hall. There were probably twenty doors on each side and tons of pictures of the past headmasters. Finally she arrived at the last door. Elizabeth slowly raised her hand and knocked timidly.
"Come in."
She slowly pushed open the door. The room was covered in books, shelves lined every wall with marble ladders for the hard to reach books. All the shelves were absolutely covered. Elizabeth had to exercise great control not to just walk over to the shelves and start picking up books. There was a fireplace and a couch with two side chairs at the end of the study. Elizabeth immediately fell in love with this room, it reminded her of studies in old films. She wondered why she didn't remember this room.
"Father is that you?" She asked the figure at the end of the study by the fireplace.
"Elizabeth Adelaide Charleston? Your father had to go on an important phone call. He will back in a little bit. He told me to show you to your room, by the way, my name is George, I'm your father's assistant."
"Oh," Elizabeth said disappointedly, "I was hoping my father would be here and I go by Reynolds."
"Let me take you to your room. Miss Charleston," said George ignoring Elizabeth's last remark. He stood up, turned around and walked to the door. Elizabeth half-heartedly followed.
I waited six years to see him again a few more hours won't hurt. She followed George back out of the room and went to the door right across the hall.
"These are the back stairs, you are to use these at all times unless given permission to use the main stairs." said George.
Elizabeth was about to question this, but George had started up the stairs and she figured she should keep up. At the top of the stairs there was another door, which George opened.
"Here is your room."
Elizabeth walked in and looked around in one corner there was a gorgeous canopy bed, with a sheer white flowing silk hanging down from the top. The bed's sheets were silks embellished with gold threads. The walls were bright white. There was large bay window with gold silk cushions. The window covering was a gold and white silk combination. Elizabeth immediately felt like a princess.
"It's gorgeous," Elizabeth sighed.
"I'll tell your father that you like it he had it done up especially for you."
"Umm… George… Are the boys in class?"
"Yes, till one o'clock, why?"
"I wish to go on a run."
"I do not see what it would hurt."
"Okay, awesome thanks."
"Well if that is all I will be going." George said as his left.
"The best way to deal with disappointment is to do something you enjoy." Elizabeth remembered her health teacher saying, for Elizabeth the best thing to do was run
Elizabeth saw her trunks lying in the middle of the floor. She went and opened the first one, p.j.'s, jeans, long sleeve shirts. But no running clothes. Onto the next trunk. Short sleeve shirts, ahh my running shirt, and here are the shorts! Elizabeth was thinking as she was throwing the stuff out of her suitcases.
Elizabeth changed into black sophie shorts, a sports bra, an Epiphany track shirt, and pulled up her hair brilliantly red into a tight ponytail. She threw open the stairs door and ran down the stairs. Without bothering to put away the clothes she had taken out.
Mark was staring out the window wondering if the history class that he convinced Charlie and Anthony to skip would be more interesting. All of the sudden he saw something out of the window.
"WOW, hot girl running, hot red head running, come on lets follow her, it is the girl from earlier today" said Mark
"Dude I don't know if that is the best idea, I mean that is the head's daughter," said Anthony cautiously, and that wasn't his only reason for not wanting his friends running after her.
"What are you chicken, come on Charlie lets go, we can just leave chicken Anthony here." said Mark
"Well," said Charlie uncertainly, but then he saw Marks face. He couldn't loose face in front of him and plus it was a hot girl. "Okay, come on Anthony."
"Fine, but I don't like this idea!"
The three boys ran out and hurriedly started following the girl. She was wearing black sophie shorts and a T-shirt, she had brilliantly red hair pulled up in to a ponytail. The ponytail swished back and forth. Mark and Charlie had a hard time not watching the hair and watching the road. A couple times they nearly fell over for lack of attention.
Elizabeth kept running until she got to the edge of the woods. She paused to catch her breath for a minute. She didn't realize that three boys had just jumped behind a bush, fearing that she would see them. Elizabeth decided to keep running into the woods. Charlie, Mark, and Anthony quickly untangled themselves from the bush pushing each other back down trying to be the first to get out. Finally they all got out, and started trailing Elizabeth until she reached the river. When Elizabeth came upon the river she was hot and sweaty. Elizabeth looked around, saw no one, the boys had lingered back in the woods. Feeling she was alone Elizabeth took off her shirt and dived in to the river with just her sports bra and sophies on. Mark and Charlie were so mesmerized by Elizabeth's beauty they walked right on to the bank, in full view of Elizabeth when she turned around to get out of the river.
"OH MY GOSH! What do you think you are doing?" Yelled Elizabeth hysterically, her sweet southerly drawl shocked the boys. She immediately sunk down so only her head was showing.
"Thinking" Mark, said slyly, in a Scottish accent.
"What about?"
Mark turned to Charlie and said, "You think she is hotter with clothes on?"
"I'm wearing clothes!" Elizabeth said indignantly
Charlie looked down, chuckled then looked back up at Mark and gave him a smirk.
"I agree I think she looks hotter…" but Mark was cut off by Anthony yelling from the wood "HEAD'S COMING!"
Charlie and Mark split. Elizabeth ran onto the bank grabbing her shirt.
"Is my father really coming?" Elizabeth asked frantically.
"No my uncle isn't coming Lizze, he is still in the mansion. He never comes out here."
"Uncle… wait no calls me Lizze but my cousin Ant… ANTHONY"
Elizabeth started flipping out.
"Yeah it's me Lizze, I haven't seen you since your parents…well since you moved to Texas."
Elizabeth was about to hug Anthony until she realized she hadn't put on her shirt. She paused to put it on and then ran to him and hugged him.
"Oh my gosh I haven't seen you for so long I missed you so much. I can't believe you're here, since when have you been enrolled in St. Patrick?" said Elizabeth.
"Since sixth grade. Hey its 12:45 the guys will be getting out of class soon for lunch and just not the sophomores, so I think you need to get back to the mansion.
"Oh, yeah I guess I better. Well I'm so glad we met back up." Elizabeth gave Anthony another hug. "Bye!"
"Bye!"