Creak!
The first step was a creak on my foot, but when I left the carriage, it was a calm and simple moment, met with the warm air of this school. Not one seems to bat an eye at me, much to my surprise. Perhaps I underestimate this uniform's capacity. This would be a tense day for Doorwell. So many humans to meet, but so little chance to get to know them.
"Okay. That's weird...nothing's happening here..." I mumbled.
"Well that would be what happened when you're set in a private school, Dorriel. Just be sure not to take up too many attention there,"
"Oh, brother. If only you had told me that earlier."
Coldham High School—it was the place, according to the contract I just signed. It was a huge place, bigger than the Institute's playground—and also outdoors. All I had to do here was to get my education and new friends before I would be forgotten like a rotting dough.
"Alright, Doorwell. As a reminder, the Institute will be monitoring the school area in case of any incidents. So don't be afraid! You're not alone here..." Dr Volcker supports me as always.
"Would be good if you did." Samuel commented from inside.
"Bye-bye, Samuel! Bye-bye, Dr Volcker..."
The carriage left for the railway towards the north, leaving me alone in this school. Although Dr Volcker didn't say I was alone, I could still feel a sense of his absence creeping back like a nightmare. It's hard to have someone trustworthy for me—especially in a place like this.
I started with a few steps into the gate, and I was welcomed by the human teenagers in the park. Still unbothered, I walked further with my uniform towards the hallway while watching some lovely things happening around the grass.
"*Chuckle* Hey, Dessa. Can you stop that? We're in public?"
"*Chuckle* Or what? You're going to bite me?"
"*Chuckle* Hehe, I'm such a lucky girl to have you, Dessa."
"Ooh..."
Love is in the air! I can see it well with these people around me. Those two girls over the fountain are filled with blooms. I wish to help them feel happier there with my lyre, but I didn't have enough time to spare for my first class. Pray for them! Pray for all of them!
Still, nobody bats an eye at me despite my face being clear! I have the dough out, but I'm still walking into the school's hallway without raising any attention. I see so many lockers, instead. I wonder which one is mine. It stretches out to the east.
*Background noises*
"Whoa, this is a metal locker...wow..."
I took a gentle tap to reassure myself that it was a metal locker. To my surprise, it bangs like one. Such a surprising gift of a human world for a cookie like me. But when I was done, a boy suddenly appeared before me with an angry face because I kept tapping that locker. It wasn't my intention to hurt his feelings.
"Hey! That's mine! Who do you think you are?"
"Sorry! My apologies for that! I was just checking if it was a locker." I bowed as quick as he appeared.
"What do you mean? This is a locker...are you dumb?" He closed the locker before I could see what was inside.
"Uhm..."
"Hey, who are you? You're not from this school! I don't recognize your voice!"
"I'm a new student! I just came here looking for my class! Also, I want to be your friend, too!"
I wanted to show a warm gesture for this new friend of mine with a handshake. Those black sunglasses he's wearing make him look so menacing, and I was nervous that I would become his enemy. To my surprise, he was refusing the offer with silence. I was also worried he would also hit me with that cane he's holding.
"What the...you're weird...get off of me..."
"Oh..." My hands are down. I didn't expect the guest to be so disappointed with me.
"Well, I only have ten minutes to go to class."
*Bump* "Do you mind?"
"W-wait, was that a human? Why did she have pink hair and an eye like that?"
"What are you talking about?"
Befriending humans here is quite challenging. But at least I knew they weren't acting out of the blue all the time. At the end, I found my class through the sheer power of passion for friendship—and some attempts not to break a conversation with people who keep glaring at you when you call their names.
My class had just started, and the teacher was calling for attendance. Somehow, I made it in time, unlike how I've always been in the Institute. Not only was I always late, but I would get called out by a cookie for that. Maybe now I have learned my way to be a better girl.
"Woo! I'm on time!" I waited at the door.
"Alright, students. Before we started this class, I would like to inform you that we have a new student coming today."
"Yeah...woo...another student...what do I expect...?"
"I hope it's a girl! We've needed more girl in this class lately, don't you think?"
"Who cares? New students never impressed me."
I can hear the cheer for my name in the class immediately. Everyone was talking about me like I was a star in their eyes. Of course I am! I wouldn't doubt that fame in any shape. But these teens are so impatient to see me that they were not sitting well.
"Be sure to greet her as your fellow friends because she's...need more assistance with humans?"
"What?" Everyone was mumbling together.
"I don't know how to say this, kids. We have a new student, and she is not like what you think she is. Let's just say...she's coming from a big place before..."
"Ms Valentine, can you come now?"
I stepped in the moment the teacher called my name, and everyone was looking at me with such surprise. At first, they couldn't distinguish the dough from my resemblance to them. But it only took another sight before they realized that I was not a human. Their jaws are open for some reason.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Doorwell Lovemore, and it's nice to meet you here! Hope we can have fun and share more about our passion here as a teenager!" I waved.
This is their first time seeing a cookie before. They didn't know what to say, and they were speechless, but their eyes couldn't look away from me. They knew that I was something beyond just a glimpse or a friend. I was Doorwell Lovemore, the matchmaker and the greatest cookie ever.
All those times, they thought I wasn't real. But here I am, showing them how wrong they are. Doorwell is nowhere near fake. They didn't believe that someone like me could be here with them, in a place where a cookie wouldn't step easily with this uniform.
"Uhm, your name is Dorriel Valentine here...?" The teacher checks my notes.
"Yes, that's my name, too! You can call me that if you want."
"W-what? What is that? Is that a human...?"
"That is a girl? That's talking a cookie!"
"Gotcha! I knew you people still got it! Gee, I thought nobody here can tell a dough skin."
"But how? How's that possible?"
"Long story. It all began from the Joylingers studio when I was baked off and I was here! A student and still a matchmaker."
"Ooh...That's interesting..."
"So, are you like a Screenshow star...?"
"Like? I am a star! Otherwise I wouldn't be here with you, my new friends!"
"Woah! She's like a popular girl but if she is actually popular!"
The audience is getting tense suddenly. I was more of a spokesman than a model here, but I like what engaged my audience more. The introduction went well, and I could say that those blushes coming from the boys and girls are the result of my sugar spreading above their heads.
*Thought* "Hope they didn't see the glitter above their heads yet..." I muttered as a cloud poofed out of my hair and rain such a sweet.
"Dorriel, please have a seat...we're about to start the class."
"Okay!"
"Should we let her? I don't think I trust that girl!"
"Dorriel, over here! Sit with us! Sit with us!"
"Okay!" That is the blissful sound of a paradise for me.
I reached for a seat next to two girls and one boy at the front. The table setting in this classroom looks more like a bar for a Joyling to order a strong drink. The girls sat facing the boys, so I got to see this one particular gentleman before me. He was adoring to look at, like everyone here.
"Alright, student. Since we're having a new student. I would like you to introduce Dorriel to this class. Class, could you remind us how we greet new students here?" The teacher was nice to give me a surprise.
"Should we call you Doorwell or Dorriel?"
"Call me Doorwell, please. I prefer to be called me by my real name."
"But I thought you are a human named Dorriel Valentine?"
"I am. But you couldn't say that this cookie look like someone with that name, did you? Back in the studio, they called me Doorwell everytime I went in and out. And I never heard the name 'Dorriel' uttered to me."
"Alright. Whatever you said, Doorwell!"
"Kids, maybe you should have some time with Dorriel first. I'll have to look for the paper..." The teacher left the class. "I'll be back!"
I was left alone with the new students here, who are so curious to meet me on the spot. I couldn't they say they watched my show, but I could say that I'm still a star just by sitting here as a cookie. A lot of them are not even paying attention to anything but me.
They were all waiting at that table like a queue for a meetup. I remember my last queue with humans was before the Great Frown Outbreak, and the humans were younger than this. But this one? I think it's more of a mature and subtle meeting. I started with the human girl, of course.
"Hey, new friend!"
"Hey! Nice to see you too, new friend. What's your name?"
"You can call me Anna! I love your hairstyle! What did you use there?"
"Haha! Me? It's natural! But it was made out of cotton candy."
"Cotton candy? That's impressive! I never thought someone could look so adoring in that."
"Oh, there's a lot you can learn from me, Anna. But that was just one thing about me."
"Well, you want to know one thing about me? I love horses so much. My family had a stable, and we always rented a horse to ride."
"I'm a good jockey, you know?"
"Interesting. I've always heard about this horse game that a human had for a race. Too bad I never got a chance to see one..."
"Pity you. You should visit my home after this! I always love some sweets in my house! A cookie like you fits well in a stable, you know?"
"Alright, then. I'll be there when we're done here!"
My first human friend was Anna, the girl who loved apples and playing with horses. She brought such a melody of passion and ambition of a Joyling, and she was eager to know more about me as a cookie than a friend. It's hard to say if it was a compliment or an insult.
Then there's a second one. A boy. He was sitting before me, but his eyes were glazed with honey. He was such a handsome man, but I couldn't fall in love with a human or a stranger. Moreover, I had care equally for everyone.
"Hey, Dorriel—I mean, Doorwell! Nice to meet you, cookie! Name's Stan, and I would like to hear more about you!"
"Whoa, you're so enthusiastic about this, Stan."
"Oh, I'm just so enthralled by your presence, that's all. Not everyone in this place gets to see a cookie like you before. Some say I've been a chef because of the time I've been around a bakery before."
He's not much different from Anna, but I adore his confidence to talk to me. Stan spoke as if he were a comedian, and I liked a little joke from a harmless human like him. But when I tried talking to him, he showed me that his eyes were more fascinated with my belongings once he heard what I was saying about them.
"You have something worth sharing to us? I know you bring something to school more than just a book!"
"I wish...had to keep my stuff at home because I'm not allowed to carry them at school."
"Aww! But I want to see that lyre!"
"Don't worry, I'll show you later on when we're going home."
He was a collector. I can see from his backpack that he was holding so many things from shiny rocks to something worth my lyre. I didn't collect much to let him know anything he finds interesting. But he was happy to know that I have a lyre and a bow made of caramel.
"Hey, Doorwell."
"Hey, you—oh, you..."
"I know what you think. Not your happy colours, isn't it?"
Then there's the third friend beside me. Yet she didn't look happy like others. Her eyes are black, like she hasn't slept for days, and her hair is dark like a night sky. But when she looked at me, she didn't appear much happier than I hoped. Yet she was curious enough to ask me and approach me to my seat.
"Colour me surprised, huh? You are really a creature."
"Thank you for not calling me a cookie! I'm Doorwell."
"I'm Calista. I never thought I would met someone made to spite everything about me..."
"Aww, I'm sorry. I didn't meant to."
"Don't worry, it's not your fault. I like you, girl. Just seeing a girl like you is enough to make me feel less of a freak here."
"You're...welcome?"
"I want to see you in the lunch room together. I want to see something..."
"Sure! Anything for a friend..."
That was an interesting talk I had with Calista. Before she left me, she gave me a candy on the table! How did she know? Or maybe it was a sign of kindness from a human? I couldn't let that gift go for nothing, right? But I couldn't eat that under the doctor's command.
"Woah. I can't wait for more of this..."
"The teacher better be quick, because I wanted to finish this class..."
"Why is he taking so long, anyway?" Stan asked.
———————————————————————————————————
"Everyone! Everyone! She's here!"
The teacher was regrouping with others in the teacher's room. The man was coming with a rush, but he made sure everyone could hear him from that table. He knew that Doorwell's arrival couldn't go to waste after the government went silent about it. So he had to inform the others.
"Bernard. What are you doing? Do you know what time it is? Nobody's running on the hallway including teachers."
"She's here! The child...the new student child..." He was exhausted, trying to regain his breath.
"Bernard? What's the matter?"
"Amelia, you...you remember that child in that Sebastian studio that was...closed...? The child who's name was...Doorwell Lovemore?"
"Well, I know. My daughter was a fan of her. But I don't understand why you would care about a children's show? You want to recommend something to my daughter?"
"The rumour was true. Sebastian made those children a toy..."
And then everyone went silent. But it was a long walk for the humans to reach out to Doorwell in her class. And when they thought that Bernard was lying, he was not.