~

I lift my suitcase out the boot of the taxi, closing it shut. I pull up the handle, and then drag it round to my brother, Newt, who's handing the taxi driver money.

"Cheers." I him say, before the driver signals and pulls out the car park.

Newt looks at me, his grey-blue eyes twinkling. I just stare at him blankly.

"You alright?" Newt asks me, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. His British accent will definitely stick out here in Denver, Colorado. Although, I couldn't say much, as we pretty much shared the same accent.

I nod at Newt, and a yawn escapes me. "Tired." I say simply. We had to travel from the Uk, leaving my step-mum and dad at 3:30AM, to catch a flight to Denver, and then a 2 hour train to the station near the school, and finally a taxi ride. It was definitely tiring.

I turn around and look at the boarding school, my home for the next 10 months. It was massive: Glade Boarding School definitely wasn't disappointing.

"Big, isn't it." Newt states, placing his hands on his hips.

"Definitely." I say. "Shouldn't we go in?"

Newt nods at me, and then hoists his very massive rucksack on his shoulders. I snort at him, and he gives me a look.

We walk towards the entrance. It was very welcoming. Bushes with flowers of different colours lined the pathway up to the entrance, and above the big glass doors was the sign, "Glade Boarding School for Boys and Girls." You could tell it was a very rich school.

Newt reaches the doors first as I'm too busy looking around. Across the side, I notice a water fountain, as large as the taxi me and Newt came in. Newt coughs, and I look at him. He's holding the door open for me, and I walk through.

Inside is another amazing story. Marble tiles decorated the floor and walls, with marble poles running all the way up to the highest floor, which is at least 5 storeys high. Gold chandeliers hung above the reception desks lined against the right wall, adding to the grandeur of this place.

It was amazing our family could afford this. It was hard to believe it was a school.

Newt walks over to a ginger-haired woman, freckles creasing as she gives him a smile, and then me as I join Newt.

"You two twins?" A common misconception when me and Newt were together. Technically speaking, we could be twins, but we only shared the same dad. Newt was born first, as my dad had cheated on his mum while she was 3 months pregnant with Newt. My biological mother ran away after I was born, so Newt's mum and my dad had raised me. It's why I never called Newt my 'step-brother'. I've lived with him my whole life. And we looked the same as well; blonde hair, grey-blue eyes, lean build. It was understandable why we were mistaken for twins.

Newt shakes his head. "She's my sister." He states.

The woman types something into her computer, confusion etched on her face. "Are you two in the same year?"

"Yes." Me and Newt say at the same time.

"And how's that?"

"It's a long story." I say wearily. "We share the same dad." Is all I disclose, and that gets rid of the confusion on the woman's face.

"Okay." The woman types again. "And what are you're names?"

"Newton Brown." (Yes, I had to make up a surname for him.)

"Olivia Brown." I say afterwards. The woman nods, ginger hair shaking furiously.

"Ahh yes." She hums. "You're in sophomore year."

"Sorry?" Newt says, his eyebrows furrowing again, nose wrinkling. Classic Brown features.

"Year 11." The woman says simply. Like I said, our accents were very noticeable. "As the time is currently 6:20PM, you are required to be in the Main Hall, where you will receive a welcoming speech, timetables, and dormitory assignments." She recites, clearly something she's said multiple times.

"Here's a map," She hands us a folded piece of paper. "Enjoy your learning journey here at Glade Boarding School!" She flashes us a smile, and I smile back as Newt struggles with the map.

I drag my suitcase away, as Newt heads towards one of the marble poles to lean against, so he can study the map.

"Right, so we have to go here." He points at the Main Hall, typed up in big, red letters on the map. "And to get there...gosh, this is bloody confusing."

"I'm just glad you have the map."

"Not helpful." Newt glares. "Maybe we should ask that person over there." He points at a boy with sandy-brown hair, who seems to know his way around. "OI!" Newt shouts at him, and he turns around in shock.

"Could've given me a warning." I grumble, as the boy comes over. He doesn't look too bad; his hair flops over his head, his eyes wide in shock, but that was because of Newt.

"Yeah?" The boy says.

"Do you know where the Main Hall is?" Newt asks. He's acting like a tourist, and that makes me groan inwardly. Sometimes he acted like such a middle-aged person.

The boy glances between me and Newt, eyes flicking past. "Are you 16?"

"I am, she isn't." Newt states, as I open my mouth. I close it shut, staring at the boy, who seemed to be thinking very deeply.

"Amazing!" The boy says excitedly, and I can't help but smile. His personality seemed so happy, similar to me. I'd like to think of myself as a very positive person.

"Thomas." The boy says, sticking his hand out to Newt.

"Newt." Newt says, and shakes his hand.

Thomas snorts. "Newt as in-"

"Isaac Newton, yes I know." Newt grumbles, but his face is lit up.

"And you must be?"

Thomas stares at me expectantly. Gosh, his stare was penetrating, but there was something enjoyable out of it.

"Olivia." I stick my hand out.

"I'm calling you Livvy, and you're not changing my mind." Thomas quickly shakes my hand, and I gasp and remove my hand quickly.

"You did not!" I gasp again. Livvy was horrendous. Newt tried to call me that one time, and I slapped him across the face.

"You did not!" Thomas mimics my accent. "Anyway, we really need to go. Welcoming speech starts in 2 minutes."

My eyes open quickly. "2 minutes?" I say in shock. I was not being late on my first day here.

Thomas looks at me. "Yes, Livvy, you heard me right." I glare at him, as he smiles cheekily at me.

"Well, we better bloody get a move on then!" Newt exclaims.

Thomas just snorts, and then turns around to walk to a staircase. The handrails are covered in gold, the steps, once again, in marble. It really made me feel like a princess.

When we reach the 1st storey, Thomas heads into the corridor ahead of us, and then stops at the third door.

"Blimey, this place is massive." Newt states to himself.

Thomas doesn't say anything, just opens the door to the Main Hall.

Only one thing I can say: it is massive. Red drapes covered the glass windows, as if it were a theatre. There was a stage at the front, where a woman was just starting to enter. Loads of kids are seated on the floor, maybe about 500?

"Quickly!" Thomas hisses behind me. I sneak off to the back of the hall, Newt in front of me. We find a place to sit down, probably the only place left, which made sense, since we were most likely the last ones in.

I sigh in relief, glad to have a chance to just relax. I neaten up my blue shirt, my white denim shorts, my white trainers. I hadn't had a chance to look at myself properly, but I'd say I was alright. I grab Newt's rucksack, and pull out my white cap from the front pocket. Giving the rucksack back, I place the cap on my head.

There. I was complete.

Just in time, too, as the woman reaches the microphone.

"Children." She begins, and I straighten my back. Her blonde hair beginning to whiten, pulled up in a bun, adds to the strict look she has with the white coat she's wearing, similar to a lab coat.

"Thank you all for joining Glade Boarding School this year, to the ones that are new, and the ones that are here again. My name is Miss Ava Paige-" Thomas snorts next to me. "-and I am the Principal here. I don't have much to say, apart from that I give everyone a very warm welcome. In a moment, your brand will be read out, with your name, and the people who's in your dormitories. After this, the teachers lined up along the hallway will call out your dormitory name, and you will go as a dorm to them. They will then give you your timetables." Ava finally takes a breath. "And now, I am happy to say that you are now all officially Gladers!" There's a moment of silence, until a teacher begins to clap, and everybody else joins in.

Thomas is clapping sarcastically next to me.

I glance at him. "Oh, come on, Thomas. It will be fun!"

Thomas grins at me. "You call this fun? Wait till you see what else happens here." There's a glean in his eye, and I get a bit worried. What did he mean by fun?

I shrug at him, and then look at Newt, who's listening intently to the dorms being called out.

"Tommy." He suddenly says, and Thomas leans over from behind me. "How many people per dorm?"

"3 girls, 3 boys." Thomas states. He shows no offence taken to the nickname Newt just gave him.

"Dormitory 12!" A voice suddenly speaks out. I assume it's been speaking this whole time, for dormitories 1-11, but I've only noticed now. I recognise the voice as Miss Ava Paige, probably speaking into a megaphone.

She reads out. "Subject A2, Thomas! Subject A3, Fawn! Subject A4, Olivia!" I glance at Thomas, who seems happy. That must be a good thing. I don't mind sharing a dorm with him. "Subject A5, Newt!" I look at Newt happily. A dorm with Thomas and Newt? That's all I could ask for, and I only just met Thomas. "Subject A6, Lyra! Subject A7, Minho!"

"YES!" Thomas shouts next to me, and I jump up in shock.

"Bloody heck, Tommy, are you alright?" Newt asks.

"Sorry." Thomas snorts. "Minho's in our dorm."

"And who's that?" I ask, after I realise Thomas isn't saying anything else.

"Only my best friend and partner in troublemaking."

"Ah." I say. This would be interesting.

After a while, Ava finishes reading the dormitories. From then, the teachers then start shouting out dorm names.

"Dormitory 12!" I hear a guy shout, and we get up. Thomas leads the way towards the teacher, and he greets him.

"What's up, hermano." The teacher says. He glances at Thomas, then me and Newt, and then something behind us. I turn around, and then spot an Asian kid running towards Thomas, a drop-dead gorgeous stunner of a girl with the most beautiful hair I've ever seen, and another beautiful girl trailing behind. She smiles at me shyly, and I smile back. I look back at the first girl, and smile at her. She looks shocked, but then smiles back happily.

I had a good feeling for this dorm.

The teacher coughs. "For the people new here, I'm Jorge. No need for Sir or Mr or any of that lot. First name is fine. Especially you, hermano." He glances at Newt, like he knows he has classic British manners. Which he probably does.

"Here are your timetables. And your dorm is on the highest floor, room number 12. That's it now. See you, hermanos." He looks at Thomas and the Asian kid, who I now realise is Minho, before walking away.

"Right." Thomas coughs, and I look at him. "Let's go to the dorm, and then maybe we can sort out something fun." He smirks, and I shake my head in disbelief.

Minho begins to walk to the doors, and we all follow him. I assume that him and Thomas are the only ones that have been here before, and the rest of us are new.

I slow my walking, so I end up next to the first girl, who's hair I realise is a dark red. "Hey." I say happily.

"Hi." She answers back, smiling at me. She casually tosses her hair over her shoulder, and it's all I can do not to stare in awe.

"Are you Lyra?" It was a guess, but she didn't look like a 'Fawn'.

"Mhm." Lyra trills, tapping her blood-red nails against the handle of her suitcase. "And you?"

"Olivia." Lyra smiles at me. I'm about to ask another question, when Thomas shouts loudly. I don't even know what he says, but I assume we've reached the dorm. I smile at Lyra, then drag my suitcase towards Newt, who's eyebrows are furrowed.

"What?" I ask, when I see the look on his face.

"Nothing, just shocked." I laugh at him, and then look at Thomas, who's counting down until Minho opens the door.

"ONE!" Thomas shouts loudly again, and Minho blasts open the door. He exits in, and Thomas follows. Newt shrugs at me, and follows the boys. Lyra walks past me, with Fawn following behind, smoothing her pink dress behind.

I'm the last to walk in, and I do so quickly to catch up. I enter, and my mouth drops open.

~

A/N

First chapter! What's your guys idea on it? Is it alright? 😭 Also the most I've ever written for a chapter, so well done me!

Let me know whether this is worth continuing, or if I should focus on 'Never Saw It Coming!'

Thanks for reading, love you all 🫶🏽