Friendship and Magic?

Chapter 2: The clumsy girl

"Heather, today is your first day at your new school, don't be late!" the lady relaxing on the sofa reading the newspaper exclaimed.

"Heather!" she raised her voice. Silence greeted her.

"Heather! You are going to be late for school!" she yelled.

The door of the room was smashed open as a hurricane came tumbling down the steps. Unkempt and still droopy eyed, Heather scrambled into the bathroom and emerged not long later. Tying her brown hair which cascaded down her back in beautiful waves, she placed the slice of toast in her mouth. Slipping on her shoes, she promptly left the house in a hurry.

"Reminds me of when I was a 16-year-old, but with a little less of the clumsiness" the lady chuckled and reopened her newspaper, "I am going to miss her."

Heather sprinted down the alleys sandwiched between the towering skyscrapers, finally coming to an abrupt stop at the traffic light. She bent over, gasping for breath, sweat trickled down her forehead and landed on the pavement.

A bony, wrinkled hand quietly reached into her pocket, fishing out Heather's lime green purse.

The traffic light turns green and just as she was going to cross the road, her purse slipped out of the thief's grasp and landed on the road. In an effort to retrieve the purse, he shoved Heather away, picked up the purse and darted to the other side of the street into another alley.

"Thief! Just my luck! A thief on my first day of school! I am going to be late!" she cried. She picked herself up to chase the thief but the earlier sprint was just too much for her to take, she stumbled and fell again.

A boy with ask black hair dashed past her with breakneck speed, turning into the alley.

By the time Heather entered the alley, the thief collapsed on to the ground with a bloody nose. The boy sauntered towards her. She reached out her hand to retrieve her purse but he swiftly put it behind his back.

"After all that running, don't I deserve a thank you at least?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Ah! I am so sorry!" she bowed profusely "Thank you so much! Thank you!"

She took her purse from the boys hand, and felt his icy cold fingers which sent shivers down her spine. Unconsciously, she took a step back. Looking down, she said "I think I am going to be late for school, thank you so much for your help today." She bolted down the alley and entered the school gates.

"Saved! Just 1 minute more and I will be late." wiping the sweat off herself, she bumped into a towering, maroon haired student.

"I am so sorry, I did not mean to bump into you!" Heather exclaimed.

"It's alright, I was at fault too," the student beamed, "are you the new transfer student?"

"Yes, I am and I do not know where to go now, do you think you could help me find my class?" she replied.

"Of course I will, after all I have been waiting for you the whole morning. I am the president of class 6G, the principal tasked me with the role of being your guide for today. You are in class 6G right?"

Heather nodded. She took a quick glance at her and found that the student was in fact a very tall, strikingly beautiful girl. She was at least 1.9m tall, with shoulder length, straight, maroon hair, neatly trimmed. Her attire was spotless, her shoes were shining as if it was a brand new pair, not a speck of dust nor dirt was seen on her. To Heather, it was a magnificent sight, one to behold.

"Shall we go to class? I will show you the way. Today, I am your guide so feel free to ask me anything." she said, "by the way, my name is Annabelle."

"I am Heather," she smiled in return. Both nervous and excited for what is installed for her in this new school, she followed Annabelle and took the chance to survey the school compound.

The school, Trinity Star High School has been around for at least a 100 years, the wealth accumulated over the century enabled the school to expand its compound to five times its original size. The school gate spanned as far as Heather could see, she was taken into the central garden. Surrounded by buildings of glass, the central garden was a haven for plant and landscaping enthusiasts. A waterfall sends water crashing down from the top of the glass building to the right into the river which snakes its way around the garden. The stone bridge she crossed was intricately carved with the moon, stars and constellations. Large trees situated all around the garden provided the garden with just the right amount of shade and a place to rest and relax. The path was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side and was lined with elegant irises, bowing its head as the wind swept through the blooms.

They soon came to a canopy of white and pastel pink flowers, which scattered their petals to welcome them. A fragrant yet not too overpowering scent calmed their nerves. The canopy allowed thin streaks of sunlight to wriggle its way through, casting its faint glow on them. Heather thought that though magic is forbidden, this garden, it seemed almost too magical to be real.

The classroom block was right around the corner. The area was probably modeled after the Prague Castle. Many house like structures lined the street and a few notable buildings stood out. Such as the cathedral-like structure near the entrance where the main lecture hall was situated. They entered a giant hall. A ravishing golden chandelier hung from the ceiling which was elaborately decorated with carvings and paintings of the sky and its stars.

Maybe Heather was so overwhelmed by the exquisitely grand hall and its interior, she failed to see the boy with the ash black hair waving to her frantically from his seat.