Secrets and Seduction: A Dark Boarding School Romance (Preston Academy Book 1)

I looked after my father as he drove off the campus of the boarding school without giving me one last glance.

For it being the beginning of October, the weather was still quite mild. Single rays of sunlight penetrated through the cloud cover and warmed my face. It smelled of freshly mowed lawn and flowers that were nowhere to be seen.

As peaceful as it looked outside, the main building seemed creepy. The stone facade was dark and covered with moss while some scary-looking statues lined every corner. A dark aura radiated from this place. I just couldn’t tell whether it fascinated or repulsed me.

I pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of my coat and lit one up. Who knows if they would take my stuff. I wanted to enjoy my last free minutes before I became the guinea pig for their new project.

The familiar taste of burned tobacco spread through my mouth, and I almost smiled as I thought of the reason I stood on their grounds, looking at the fancy entrance with ornate wooden elements. I didn’t care if everyone here judged me, if they thought I was a ruthless criminal. I was used to having no friends anyway, so I embraced the idea of having my peace for a year.

With a sigh, I dropped the butt and dragged my luggage with me to the entrance. My knuckles didn’t have time to touch the bulky door before a tall lady with a pale face and a stern expression opened it. I took a step back and studied her from top to bottom, which apparently displeased her.

“Avery James?” she asked dryly.

“Yes. You must be the principal, right?” She didn’t give me more than a brief nod before opening the door wider so I could enter.

The view almost left me speechless. All the furniture was kept in dark wood tones. Everywhere you turned, it was bursting with history and culture. Paintings, books—I didn’t know where to look first.

A few steps further, a huge common room lines with couches and tables stretched out in front of me. They even had a real fireplace and an expensive-looking chandelier which cast dim light through the open space. It looked cozy and spooky at the same time.

“Are you sure I’m at the right address? This place looks nothing like an undercover prison for rebellious kids.”

The principal just kept walking, not giving me time to stop and explore my surroundings.

“We found this boarding school to give young people a new perspective on life, not to lock them up. However, someone who doesn’t follow our rules, disrespects the staff or causes harm to other students, will be punished or sent back home, where they can face the court once again.”

I followed her for a while until we turned into a wider and better lit hallway and disappeared into her office. My fingers twitched from carrying the heavy luggage and I put my hands in the pocket of my coat.

She gestured for me to take a seat and I gratefully followed her call. My legs ached from this short distance alone.

“Here’s a binder with all the information you’ll need for all of your time here. You can find the house rules down there.” She pointed to the top sheet.

I read through the page. No alcohol, no drugs—obviously. But no phone or television?

“How can I contact my father?” I almost screamed. Panic welled up inside of me, heart skipping a beat.

She pulled out a device from one of her drawers that strongly looked like a large cell phone or a small tablet.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“This is your replacement. It’s programmed so that you can call home once a week. We’ll even provide you with a boarding school social platform. Each student has a profile that they can use to communicate with other students and, if need be, with faculty. However, if our goodwill is being exploited, this privilege will be lost.”

I nodded, just thankful for the possibility of talking to him, well…someday. “Here, you will find your schedule tailored to your knowledge and needs. Since you have already missed one month, you will be assigned a tutor whom you will meet a few times a week.”

A tutor? That had to be a poor joke. It was not enough that I had to spend a year in this pretty prison. No, the little free time I still had, I should spend with another professor.

“Thank you,” was the only thing I got out. She nodded briefly, couldn’t force even a small smile.

The principle, I noticed, was a bear you shouldn’t provoke. I just wondered what might have been behind her strict facade.

“Alright. Since we’ve cleared these things up, I’ll send you to the nurse to give you a health check and run some blood tests. It’s a standard procedure. After that, you can go to your room on the west wing. There is where the girls are staying. Your roommate will show you the rest.”

I looked down at the floor plan. With all the twists and turns, I would surely get lost ten times, I thought to myself.

The principal rose and held out her hand to me in farewell. I returned the gesture, applying just enough pressure to let her know that her cold nature did not intimidate me.

“One last note, Miss James: I expect you to be on your best behavior. My eyes and ears are everywhere.”

I gave her a smile that did not reach my eyes.

“I bet they are.” With that, I handed her my phone and my pack of cigarettes and disappeared through the wooden door.

Sweaty and out of breath, I had finally reached my room. As I had feared, I had turned in circles a few times until I found the west wing.

I still couldn’t get over the elegance of this place. Despite its darkness, the aftertaste of pure seduction lurked in every corner. I just didn’t know what to make of it.

With my back straight, I entered the room that would be my home for the next 365 days. I had no wish for a roommate, preferred to be on my own. Far too much disappointment clung to my heart for me to open up. Maybe I didn’t want to open up. I was probably a freak to them. But weren’t we all here?

I put my luggage down next to the free bed while looking around.

Our room was not spacious, but it had a rustic charm. The colors of the tapestry had already faded, leaving only a vague reminder of the flowers on it.

There were two rather small beds on the opposite sides of each other, separated by a large window with plenty of sunlight coming through. Apparently, I was supposed to share the closet with my roommate, but looking at the carefully folded uniform on the bed, we didn’t need much space, anyway.

With a deep sigh, I dropped onto the bed. One year—they wouldn’t skin me alive. I was a criminal, just like them.

I jumped when the door to the neighboring room—the bathroom—opened. It had been so quiet that I had not heard someone coming.

“Well, hello, Anakin Skywalker,” a girl with short, black hair and sharp features said.

I instinctively wanted to reach for the scar, but stopped myself at the last moment.

“Avery.” She reached out to me and gave me a charming smile that showed off her perfect teeth.

“Leilah,” she returned with a wink. “I hope you’re not going cold turkey right now, as pale as you are.”

I shook my head. “So, this is the boarding school for troubled teens.”

“Crazy, right? Although you don’t look like a teenager. How much did your dad pay for you to do your time here?” she asked.

“I’m twenty,” I returned, rolling my eyes. “And a lot. You don’t exactly look like fifteen, either.”

“I have my ways.” She opened the closet and proudly presented me with the empty half. “I did this just for you. Usually, I hate roommates, but when I read your file, I got curious. Pretty long list, not to mention your mugshot. Your smile was priceless.”

The thought, the smell, of that night lit up my mood.

The thrill that these memories had given me was all too quickly overshadowed by her previous statement.

She knew everything about me, every detail. “You can just read each other’s files here?” I asked, perplexed.

Leilah gave me a knowing look. “Of course not. That doesn’t mean I can’t get my hands on them. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. Besides, don’t talk to classmates about their past stuff, anyway. You’d better keep a low profile.”

Even though she crossed a line, I was grateful for her advice. Of course, I didn’t want to mess with anyone here. Not if they had done God knows what.

“What are you waiting for? Get dressed, I’ll show you the campus and all the important classrooms,” she said and pushed me along with my uniform into the bathroom.

Hesitantly, I followed her order and disappeared behind the squeaky door.

We walked through a barren garden, the flowers already in their winter sleep. Only the rustling of the leaves under our shoes broke the silence between us.

There was something raw, something unspoiled about this landscape, and yet a silent warning lurked in every corner you entered. Even the gaunt trees and sparse high hedges silently urged one to behave, to make no mistake.

The casual uniform was not much different from the normal one. Both included a skirt too long for my taste, tights, a blouse or sweater, and a pair of ugly black boots that stopped below the knee. In addition, they gave us a coat that reminded more of a potato sack.

However, I had expected it to be worse. In real prison, my outfit would be far more unflattering.

“We have some of the classes together, I made sure of that. Don’t worry, most people here are okay. Still, you’d better stick with me for now,” Leilah said, looking off into the distance, as if spotting something on the horizon.

Secretly, I was glad to have met someone like her right at the beginning. But I did not believe that we would ever become friends. All too soon we would part ways anyway and to spare myself the heartache of saying goodbye, I didn’t want to form deep friendships.

“Are we allowed to leave campus, go into the city?” I asked.

The nearest city wasn’t exactly within walking distance but being permitted to move around freely was good enough for me.

She shook her head. “Every two weeks, we’re allowed to go out for a few hours. If you’re late, you get expelled immediately.” Pretty radical, I’ll give them that. Not that I had any plans to spend my nights drowning my sorrow in alcohol. Those times were over.

At that thought, my fingers twitched involuntarily in the pocket of my coat. I brushed it off and kept walking.

The icy breeze made me shiver. Or was that the feeling of being watched? Probably I was just paranoid, but I could feel someone’s eyes on me, someone analyzing my every move.

“Let’s go, it’s getting dark,” my roommate urged, and I sighed in relief. This freezing mountain air was not for me.

Only a few minutes later, we stepped inside, again surrounded by the mysterious beauty of this school.

“Tomorrow is your first day. We have classes until the afternoon. After that, you will meet with your tutor. He will teach you some of the stuff you missed.” Right—tutor. I had completely forgotten about that.

“How is he? The tutor, I mean,” I asked, while I leaned on the wooden gallery railing and looked down into the common room.

Leilah snorted in amusement.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” I arched a brow, unable to make sense of her reaction.

But one thing was certain—she had sparked my curiosity.