Well hello there! *waves awkwardly*

So yeah, another chapter of this baby. I owe a huge thanks to FallingforWerewolves, Guest, and Witty Name Goes Here for reviewing. You guys rock! And thank you to those of you who added this to your alerts or favorites.

Sorry if there's any typos in the chapter, it was late when I typed it.

Enjoy!

Matilde didn't wake up until eleven thirty the next day, not that she cared. Still partially asleep, she staggered down the stairs, through the hallway and into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and washed off the remnants of the makeup she'd been wearing the night before. She then proceeded to make her way to the kitchen, knowing that her parents would probably be waiting for her.

Sure enough, they were both seated at the table, looking even more serious than usual. Despite knowing that she was in trouble, Matilde tried to play it cool.

"Mornin'," she greeted them. Neither responded.

After a long, awkward silence, her mother finally spoke. "Sweetheart, why don't you sit down?" Uh-oh. That didn't sound good. Still, she did as she was told.

"Your father and I have been thinking-"

"It's time you change your behavior, young lady," her old man cut in rather rudely. And 'young lady'? Was he actually serious?

"Honey, Joanne specifically told us not to confront her."

"To hell with what Joanne told us!"

At that point, Matilde decided to interrupt. "You know, it would be really nice if you guys could tell me what you're even talking about."

Her mother apologized and went back to the discussion at hand. "We've been... concerned about you, and we think it's time that you make a change in your attitude." She didn't like the direction this conversation was heading in. At all.

A pamphlet was pushed towards her. The front cover read Greenwood Academy for Troubled Young Women.

"You'll be going there for the rest of the school year," her father said bluntly.

Oh fuck no. There was absolutely no way she was going to let them ship her off simply because she wasn't the perfect, goody-two-shoes daughter that they wanted her to be. It just wasn't going to happen.

"No."

Her mother looked upset, but she honestly didn't care. "We're doing this because we love you, Matilde. We don't want to see you throw your life away."

She stood up, clearly angry. "Don't you dare pull that one on me! It's bullshit and you both know it!"

"Don't speak to you mother like that!"

Turning around sharply, she shot her father a look that could freeze a person's blood in a matter of seconds. "I'll speak to her however I damn well please." And with that, she stormed back to her room.

Matilde left for Greenwood four days later, much to her obvious displeasure. The school was clear up in northern Michigan, and they were driving the whole damn way, another thing she wasn't happy about.

The entire trip was awkward and uncomfortable. When he was driving, her father stared straight ahead at the road, not bothering to make eye contact with his wife or his daughter. He did pretty much the same thing when he wasn't behind the wheel. Her mother tried to start a conversation with Matilde on how many new friends she'd make at Greenwood, and how she'd probably end up loving it, but to no avail. She refused to speak to either of her parents, only giving one or two-word answers when it was absolutely necessary. And the fact the one of them was always watching her like a hawk at any stop they made didn't help things. Apparently, they didn't trust her and thought she would run away if given the chance.

She eventually leaned her head against the nearest window, opting to get some sleep. They'd gotten her up at the crack of dawn, after all.

Hours later, Matilde was awakened by her mother gently shaking her. "Sweetie, we're here."

"Mmm- wha?" She asked, her voice slurred by sleep.

"We're here, it's time to get out."

"Oh."

She climbed out of the car and stretched, though that was cut short by her father thrusting a suitcase into her hands. Sighing, Matilde took it and turned her back to the car to get a glimpse of where she'd be stuck for the next several months. Instead of the cement bricks and barred windows she'd been expecting, the school was a large, old, almost castle-like building. Green grass was sprawled out in front, and several trees adorned the pristine lawn. She hated to say it, but it was beautiful.

Her mother's girlish, high-pitched voice interrupted her musings. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

As stunning as the building was, it didn't change Matilde's outlook on the situation. "Do I have to?"

She only laughed. "Of course you do!"

Not seeing any other options, Matilde allowed herself to be led down the cobblestone path that gave way to several cement steps. Those steps, of course, led to her imprisonment.

Once inside, they were greeted by a pair of female security guards. One of them patted Matilde down before sending her through the metal detector, while the other searched through her bags. It didn't change the fact that she was being sent to a fucking reform school, but she was a bit comforted by the fact that at least it was a woman who was pawing through her underwear. Her cigarettes and lighter had been confiscated. She'd been expecting it, but there had also been a tiny spark of hope that she would get to keep them, which was what prompted her to bring the items along in the first place.

After being cleared by the guards, the trio walked a short distance before coming to the main office, where a strawberry blond-haired woman who looked to be in her mid twenties was sitting at a too small desk, her fingers clicking and clacking away at her keyboard. She glanced up and smiled at them.

"Hello there! Y'all are the Kohlers, right?" Her voice was low and thick with a southern drawl, and Matilde found it sexy as hell. That would have been a laugh, getting sent to reform school, only to hook up with the secretary. She briefly pondered what would happen if she did.

"That's us."

The secretary's smile grew even wider. "Great! I'm Ms. White. And you must be Matilda," she said, gesturing towards Matilde, who was about to mouth off before she was stopped by her father.

"Just Matilde, actually," he told Ms. White.

She apologized and produced a few forms which needed to be signed by both Matilde and her parents. When that process was done, Ms. White gave Matilde the number of her dorm room, her schedule, and pulled out a medium-sized box from underneath her desk which she handed it to her.

"That's your uniform. You're expected to wear it at all times during school hours. During the winter months, you can wear a sweater and tights with it if you want. It gets cold up here, as I'm sure you know."

She opened up the box, discovering to her horror that the uniform consisted of a crisp white button up blouse, a knee-length plaid skirt, and a pair of shiny black mary janes. In other words, it was your classic Catholic schoolgirl outfit, the kind that was only cool if you wore it ironically.

"Oh, how darling!" Her mother exclaimed upon seeing the uniform.

"Yes," she forced out through clenched teeth.

"If something doesn't fit you right, let me know. There's plenty of extras," Ms. White added in.

Matilde stood and listened to mommy dearest gushing over the uniform some more for what felt like an eternity before her father finally suggested that they get back on the road.

"Well, I suppose we have to leave sometime."

There was lots of hugging and crying on her mother's part, which wasn't surprising. Her father had simply clapped a hand onto her shoulder and said, "Try to get better, okay? We miss the old you." She'd responded with a simple "Yes, dad." and tried her best to make it sound sincere.

Just as her parents were leaving, a silver-haired girl who was wearing the school uniform walked in and turned to look Matilde up and down. "Is this the newbie?"

Ms. White gave the girl another one of her smiles. "Yup! Matilde, this is Julchen. She's going to be showing you around and whatnot, okay?"

"Okay."

"Well, come on, then," Julchen said, sounding as though she was actually interested in the new student. She followed her out of the office and down the hall.

"The first rule of Greenwood Academy," she began in a dramatic voice, "is that you don't talk about Greenwood Academy. The second rule of Greenwood Academy is that you don't talk about Greenwood Academy."

"Fight Club reference? Nice."

The other girl smiled. "You'd be surprised how at how many of the new girls don't get it. Anyway, the actual first thing you need to know is that I'm awesome. Is that understood?" Wow, someone's a narcissist, Matilde thought. Still, with the tongue ring she got glimpses of and the scorpion that was tattooed on her neck, Julchen did seem to radiate... well, awesomeness.

She gave her a nod.

"Great. Call me Gil, by the way. Second, the stuff they serve at breakfast is somewhat edible, but the rest of it's disgusting. You're better off sticking to the salad bar."

"Seems simple enough."

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem. The third rule is get on good terms with your roommate. If you guys don't get along, that bitch could slit your throat while you're asleep and you'd never even know it."

Well, that was certainly a pleasant sentiment. Still, Gil had a point. If this girl ended up not liking her, she could have a real problem on her hands. The sheet of paper that Ms. White had given her said that her roommate's name was Lara van Houten. Matilde told Gil this and asked what she was like.

"You're roomies with cigarette girl? That's fuckin' rad, man!"

She tilted her head a little, confused. "Why do you call her 'cigarette girl'?"

"Did you try to bring smokes in here?"

"Yeah. The guards took them away, though."

"They always do. But they take us on outings every once in a while, and Lara's figured out a way to smuggle 'em into the building when we're coming back. The bitch is awesome. But not as awesome as me, of course."

The pair strolled along through the halls, with Gil pointing out classrooms along the way. Most of her rules were fairly uncomplicated; don't piss off this or that teacher, don't get in any fistfights, and don't throw the first punch if you do.

"And most importantly, do not, and I mean DO NOT try to steal anyone else's girl, unless you're trying to get murdered."

"Okay?"

"I mean it, Matilde. Even if you know she's the love of your life, respect the boundaries." Her tone was considerably more serious that it had been previously.

"Alright, alright. I will."

"Good. Should I show you to your room?"

She nodded. "That would be nice."

As they walked the long distance it took to get to the room, Gil explained the actual, created-by-school rules that the place had.

"Breakfast is served at seven thirty, and they expect you to be up by seven on school days. On school nights, you have to be in your room by ten o'clock, and the lights go out at ten thirty. On Fridays and Saturdays, it's eleven and eleven thirty. Also, you're expected to get to each class at least five minutes before the bell rings. Otherwise, depending on which teacher it is, you've won yourself a week of having to scrub the toilets, and let me tell you, that's not a fun job."

They'd reached her and Lara's room at last. "In other words," Gil said as she opened the door, "welcome to hell."

Thanks so much for reading, and reviews/constructive criticism are welcomed with open arms.