by Lucas Petropoulos

I wake up to the sounds of birds chirping. It’s around six o’clock and it’s my first day at Redmond. I’m still very tired from the travel here. I get up out of bed, get dressed and begin to make some porridge for myself. Not enough time to make myself something substantial, I want to get to college early to make sure everything is organized. As I begin to get my things ready to leave, I hear the stirrings of the other boys living at the boarding house.

I take a leisurely stroll to school while I welcome the scenery. First leaving the house, there’s a lot of greenery. Shrubs, plants, trees. But as I get closer to college, everything is a lot more concrete. Brick roads, brick houses, not much color. This is much more different than Avonlea.

As I arrive at college, I see some of the older students hanging around. I make my way to the administration building, grab my time schedule (which includes English, Philosophy, Religion, Communications, and History), and headed to my first class. At lunch break, I find a nice shady tree to sit under and read Jules Verne’s “To The Moon and Back”. I notice, halfway through the break, that a few older boys were staring at me. I just ignored them, since I’m used to being stared at. I then head back to finish the rest of my classes for the day.

As school finishes, I make my way home. I walk into my room and lie on my bed for a bit. Today has been a very tiring day, and I already have quite a bit of homework. I get up and sit at my desk to begin on the homework. After a few hours, I decide to start writing a letter to Anne. I did say I would after all. About halfway through, I stop and tear up the letter. There are plenty more girls that would be happy to marry a minster. If I ever become a minister. At this point, I’m not so sure anymore.

I end up having an early night. But late at night, I wake up to my door opening. I then feel myself being physically dragged out of bed and sat in my chair. I then feel something sharp being dragged across the top of my head. I try to struggle, but I’m being held down. As my eyes adjust, I can make out the faces of the older boys that were staring at me earlier today. As I swing my head wildly, I feel something pierce my skin and I yelp in pain. The boys then run out of my room. I cautiously make my way to the bathroom. The moonlight easily lights the room as I see half my hair shaved off. Will I be able to survive college?