My Story Book

The Candy Train

                "All aboard!" the conductor hollered as passengers scrambled to get into their carriages. Among the crowd was a timid young boy holding his school trunk. Liam Onel was nervous in the bustling crowd as he struggled to drag his trunk into the carriage. Just then, a couple of older children of the same brown uniform came up to him.

                 "There we go." said the girl as she pushed his trunk in. "Are you a first year?" the boy said kindly. Liam nodded. The boy replied as he and the girl got on, "Well then, don't wanna be lost on the first day! Come on, follow us." Liam immediately went with them, heaving a sigh of relief. They took their seats and put away their luggage.

                 The boy said, "I'm Gabriel Walters. She's Celia Sugarcoat." Liam nodded awkwardly as he stared out the window. "Liam." he said. "First time on the Candy Train?" Celia asked, "We were surprised to see you without your parents. Usually, first years at Sugarplum Academy are bawling their eyes out with their mummies and daddies." Gabriel elbowed Celia at the comment. Liam looked at them awkwardly. 

                 "Well, daddy had to go to work, and mummy went to the market, and my older sister leaves for school before we wake up. So I walked here myself. My house isn't very far." Liam explained. Gabriel asked, "So what did it feel like coming to the station yourself? Nervous?" "A little.". "I would never dare to come myself. My mummy always drives me to the station. You're both braver than me." Celia laughed. 

                 Liam was confused. "I always ride my bicycle to the station and lock it there with an explanation note until we come back." Gabriel explained. Liam nodded. Suddenly, Celia jumped up in excitement. "Look look look! There's Waffle Valley! We're entering the Land of Sweets now!". Gabriel and Liam scrambled to the window. Sure enough, after passing through Waffle Cone Tunnel, the grassy fields had slowly become vast lands of cake, biscuits and cookies. 

               The uniforms changed too. Gabriel's uniform turned baby pink with an embroidered cookie badge. Celia's school dress turned baby blue with an embroidered cookie badge as well. "Don't you just love it when we enter the Land of Sweets?" Celia breathed in excitement. Liam looked down at his uniform. It hadn't changed. The ticket master came by, and afterwards Liam asked about the uniform colours.

                   "Oh don't worry about that, all first years get their house colours after sorting." Gabriel explained. "Sorting?" "It's a personality test. All first years go through it. My house is Bon Bons. Which means I'm kind and delicate and tactful." Celia said, showing off her dress proudly. Gabriel snorted, "There must have been a glitch in the system for that to be true." which earned him a smack from Celia.

                    Gabriel groaned loudly as he rubbed his sore arm. Liam asked, "How many houses are there?" "4. Blue for Bon Bons, pink for Cotton Candy, yellow for Lemon Drops and white for Frosting. Bon Bons as Celia said are more on the compassionate and caretaker side. Cotton Candies like me are upbeat, playful and sometimes super hyped. Lemon Drops are the more serious, logical and strategic ones. Any time someone gets a prize or scores top points in exams you can be sure it was a Lemon Drop. Frostings are the most fun to be friends with. They go with the flow and can adapt to any situations. Coincidentally all the Frostings I know are impressively good actors." explained Gabriel.

                     "This is our stop!" Celia said as the Candy Train slowly came to a halt. The children grabbed their luggage and hurried down as many other students scrambled off the train. "This is where we go to our class. You'd better go with the other first years to Student Orientation. See ya Liam!" Gabriel shouted as he and Celia joined the crowd of children. 

                     Liam got his luggage, and as he turned, the Candy Train chugged through two candy canes that made a giant X, and disappeared. "Oi! You there! Come join the others!" said an older girl with a yellow school dress and an embroidered cookie badge. A Lemon Drop. Liam hurriedly joined the small group of 11 year olds. There was a flash of bright light, and there appeared a beautiful fairy. "Hello new students, and welcome, to Sugarplum Academy.".