Sucking in a deep breath, I force my legs to move faster and continue up the seemingly endless driveway.
More cars pass me, but I don’t look over, I just focus on where I’m going. On what I’m about to embark on.
After what feels like the longest walk of my life, one that I’m sure not many staff nor students have done over the years, the colossal main school building appears before me.
“Wow,” I breathe.
I might have spent all of last night studying the Knight’s Ridge website to soak up everything I possibly could find about the school, but none of the pictures I looked at were able to express the sheer magnitude of this place.
It’s… unbelievable. The architecture is beautiful, haunting, mesmerising.
It’s still early, the only people making their way toward the main doors are staff, but I know that won’t last long. With only an hour before school starts, there will be students getting ready for the final day of their week.
A fresh bolt of nerves shoots through me as I think of just a handful of those students.
Thankfully, they’ll spend their days in the sixth form building. I just have to hope and pray that I never have to venture over there.
With my eyes locked on the biggest set of double doors I think I’ve ever seen, I keep moving. My feet hurt and my back aches with everything I’m carrying. It’s something I’m going to have to get used to if I’m going to spend the rest of the school year here. That or I’m going to need to invest in a bike.
I almost snort a laugh as I picture myself cycling up the driveway amongst the expensive cars.
Really, it’s hardly a surprise they never let student teachers in. I can only imagine that their members of staff are fully vetted to ensure they’re the right calibre of person to teach the darling children of the city’s—hell, the world’s—elite.
I step through the doors with blood rushing past my ears and immediately focus on a woman sitting behind a small window to welcome visitors.
Her eyes find mine, a soft smile playing on her lips as I approach.
“Good morning,” she says, thankfully without any judgement in her voice.
I don’t belong in a place like this. I know this, and despite the new clothes Jodie insisted I buy yesterday, I’m pretty sure the receptionist knows it on first sight too.
“How can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Brianna Andrews. I’m meeting Mrs. Hendrix.”
“Perfect timing,” a soft female voice says from behind me. “But please, call me Melissa.”
Spinning around, I find a beautifully dressed woman clutching a laptop and a textbook to her chest.
The second I look into her eyes, I relax.
She’s not the stuffy old matron I feared, but a kind, soft-looking mentor that I suspect I’m going to need during my time here.
“Hi,” I squeak. “I’m Bri… Brianna.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Brianna. I have to say, I’m excited to have a student to work with. It’s been a number of years since I’ve had the chance.”
With a quick thank you to the woman sitting behind the reception, Melissa gestures for me to move toward another set of doors.
“I’ll give you a very brief tour before we get started. I don’t know about you, but I could do with a coffee before we dive into the serious stuff.”
I release a huge breath I didn’t realise I was holding at her mention of coffee.
“Yes, please.”
“Brianna,” she says softly. “There is no reason to be nervous. Knight’s Ridge is going to be a fantastic place to spend the final weeks of your training.”
I nod. If the situation were different, I’d agree in a heartbeat. Something tells me that the coming weeks are going to be an eye-opening experience and a serious learning curve in an entirely different way from my previous placements. But with Nico’s presence looming over me, I fear it could be anything but fantastic and instead the exact thing nightmares are made of.