"Maybe they're not opened yet," she said.
"Oh they are," her stepmother quickly butted in. "I checked last night."
"Then why does it look so dead?" Sydney asked.
"Because you're probably the only one here," her stepmother replied.
Sydney felt nervous about the new school. She would be the first one here and she didn't know anyone. She left alone and she couldn't decide to rejoice that she was getting away from her stepmother or not. Her dad parked in front and his wife headed in to get her registration packet.
"Now listen, Snow," her dad said. "I know this is a big change for you, but you're going to make tons of new friends and have a great time."
"I know, Dad," she sighed.
"You should really thank Sheila for finding this place," he said. "It's a shame it's several hours away from us, but you're a strong young woman. You're mother would be so proud of you."
She smiled, but just as she was about to say something to her father, her stepmother appeared and directed them to the dorm.
The dorm was huge, but thankfully she was only on the third floor. The room was spacious, yet quaint. It looked more like a resort than a dorm room. The walls were painted blue and there were two wardrobes, two vanities, and two twin beds. Sydney wanted the one near the window. You could look out past the campus into the woods. She wondered what was out there and thought about going for a walk there sometime.
"Here you go, Snow," her father said. "I love you and I'll call you later."
"I love you too Dad," she replied as she embraced him.
"Harold!" she stepmother said. "I have a terrible headache and I must lie down. Let's go."
"Coming!" he called. He kissed his daughter on the head and left. Sydney wished he would see past Shelia's act. She saw a bag on her vanity with her name on it and quickly opened it to reveal an apple pie with a note attached "Here's a goodbye gift. Shelia."
"Unbelievable," she said. "She's knows I'm highly allergic to apples!" She tossed the pie into the bag and put it outside the door.
She watched as her father and his wife drove off the campus of Fantasia. Sydney had always reminded herself in times of despair to look on the brighter side of things. At least she was away from her stepmother. She wouldn’t be forced to clean up after her or take care of her stepmother’s poodle. She laughed at the thought of her stepmother actually having to do something for a change.
She stacked a few books on the bookshelf, but put one on her nightstand. It was a collection of fairytales that her father used to read to her before bed. She cherished that book and it always stayed with her along with her journal. Sydney sat on her bed and opened up her journal, trying to figure out how to start writing, but nothing came to her. Her mind kept going back to her family. Sydney wished her mother was still alive. Things would have turned out different, but she couldn’t keep dwelling on the past. She had to focus on her future.
Sydney took out her packets on the school and started to look at her classes. “This is going to be a good year,” she stated. “No more cleaning and being under the house with that wicked witch. I can actually be a normal teenage girl.” She hoped her mother would be proud of her and the woman she was growing up to be. Sydney’s stepmother had made sure to get her to the school the earliest day they would take her, so she didn’t know if any other students would be around. Sydney decided to turn on her music up and enjoy the evening by herself.