SNAKES AND ARROWS
Chapter 2: Christy Martin

As Belle reluctantly approached the entrance to the girls' dormitory, she took a moment to look over the building, which was considerably larger than the boys' dorm. It was three stories, whereas the boys' was a single floor, and it even looked wider. How odd, she thought, knowing that boys outnumbered girls here nearly 5 to 1. She turned her attention back to the double doors and realized she was stalling, because the thought of walking into this giant structure full of females her own age was honestly terrifying. But, her things were somewhere in this hell-hole and she also had class at some point, so she knew the sooner she got settled into her room, the better off she'd be.

With a deep breath she entered the dorms and walked forward into what must have been the common room, a wide open area with a fake fireplace and very modern (read: uncomfortable) looking furniture. She didn't have much more time to assess her new environment before someone snapped her name.

"Spicer!"

She jumped slightly and spun around to see an older woman round the corner, recognizing her as Mrs. Peabody, who was in charge of the girls' dorms. They'd briefly met earlier when she first arrived, and the woman had taken her suitcases while she was sent to see the principal. "Oh! Uh, call me Belle, please~ Spicer is my father!" With an attempted smile, she laughed nervously. "Or... I guess my mother, depending on the... prefix, heh..." Her voice trailed off as the wrinkled and grey-haired woman stared at her completely unamused.

"Your bags are already in your assigned room. Do unpack immediate needs before your class, and tonight there is a mandatory meeting to go over all dormitory rules and policies."

"Eh... a whole meeting?" She asked with another uneasy chuckle. "Is that necessary? Is there a printed out list somewhere?"

The woman's expression remained unchanged as she glared at the younger girl, before reaching out to hand her a key. "Your room is 2-E. Welcome to Bullworth. Let me know if you have an emergency." And with that, she turned and walked off.

Geez, what an absolute delight, she muttered within her mind as she started for the staircase that spiraled up to the second floor. Repeating her room number under her breath, she meandered down the hallway until she came to the proper door. It was just barely cracked open so she merely had to give it a quiet push, before seeing someone else relaxing on their bed.

The other girl quickly looked up with wide eyes, adjusting her ponytail. "Oh! Are you the new girl?! We're roommates!" Jumping up, she rushed over to practically pull Belle into the room. "My name's Christy!"

Belle could only seem to blink, not quite prepared for such enthusiasm and energy, but still did her best to smile politely. "Uh, nice to meet you, I'm Belle~"

"Wow, you're like, really pretty... and you seem nice!"

"Um... thanks? I mean, so do you."

"Honestly I was a little nervous, getting a new roomie," she leaned in a bit closer, her blue eyes shimmering behind stray strands of her bright red hair, "I mean, heh, you know Bullwo- oh, I guess you don't know. But you'll find out soon enough! This place attracts... strange people, ya know?"

"Really...?" Walking over to her own bed, she sat down and her chipper new friend followed her, sitting down next to her.

"Oh goodness, alright! Let me explain to you everything you need to know about this place!"

Belle gave a slight frown, cocking a brow. "Can I... not figure it out on my own?"

Christy feverishly shook her head. "Nooooo~ not before potentially ruining your reputation! Trust me!"

She wasn't sure she really needed a social tutorial on how to survive a schoolyard, but she didn't know how to refuse without being rude. She also needed friends, especially if she was going to be living with this one for the next year. "Okay," she mused, giving in to the other's enthusiasm, "teach me the ways of the Bullworth student!"

Christy turned out to be somewhat of an encyclopedia of knowledge about the sociological aspects of Bullworth Academy. She taught Belle how the students were mainly grouped into various cliques; the preps, the jocks, the greasers, the nerds, and the bullies. Each clique had their own hierarchy of leadership and had their own areas of the school - the nerds hung out around the library and the observatory, the jocks had the gym and the football field, etc. Belle thought it was pretty simple, straightforward, and even a bit cliche, but Christy told her these things with such a strong conviction that she wondered if she was missing something important.

"So what about students who don't fit into a clique?" Belle asked, though only half-interested. She never really fit into any kind of category or clique, but preferred it that way. She wanted to be able to decide who her friends were based on their merits as a person, not for fickle reasons like similar clothing style.

"Well! That can either go one of two ways~ I, for instance, don't belong to a clique but I'm well liked and can float around and talk to everyone, you know?"

A genuine laugh escaped from the raven-haired girl. "You do seem like the type who talks to everyone!"

"Exactly! And there are a few other non-clique students who are the same way. Basically, if you're cool, you can make connections within each clique and everyone kind of accepts you."

"Well that sounds nice... but, what's the other way?"

"That..." Her voice trailed off as she rolled her eyes and quietly sighed. "... would be the students who don't get along with anyone. Complete social rejects. They're pretty much ignored by all the cliques and are left to their own devices."

"Oh? Anyone I should be aware of?"

"Totally! Well, for one, there's the creep Gary Smith."

"Hmm?" Now they were getting somewhere - actual knowledge that may be useful to her. "What's his deal?"

"Ugh, he's just a complete psychopath. An A-Class asshole if I've ever seen one. Usually if you just ignore him, he'll ignore you back. Besides, he doesn't really pay much attention to girls anyways."

"I see... anyone else?"

"Hmm, well there's Ivan, who's like, obsessed with becoming some hotshot indie movie producer and thinks he has leprosy."

"Leprosy?"

"Yeah, like crazy right? It's obvious he doesn't, besides wouldn't they like keep him in a hospital or something?"

Belle resisted the urge to correct her, since it seemed unnecessary at this point. Besides, it was probably very unlikely he actually had leprosy... but then again, she'd never met the guy.

"There's also Pete, you'll know him right off the bat because he's like, super tiny. He also wears a pink polo under his sweatervest, but freaks out if anyone calls it pink!"

"Huh... I bet he washed it with a red shirt."

Christy snapped, her eyes widening. "Right?! That's what I said! But everyone thinks it's more fun to think he just bought a pink shirt."

"So what does- oh, wait, shit!" Belle blinked for a moment before suddenly jumping up and patting down the sides of her skirt to find the pockets. "When does class start?!"

The other female gave her a blank look and a disinterested shrug. "Uh, dunno, I don't have class today."

Finding her schedule, Belle pulled it out and quickly unfolded it. "Ahhhhh I've got five minutes to get to my biology class!" Racing over to her bags, she nearly ripped the zipper off a small suitcase and rummaged around to pull out a notebook. "Sorry Christy, can't be late on my first day!" Turning to the door, she bolted out and down the hallway, calling over her shoulder: "We'll chat later!"

Flying down the stairs, she cut through the common room and burst through the double-door entrance and into the bright outside world.