An Air of Alliance

Chapter 1

The door was locked from the inside. Basil concluded this as he slid down his door, fuming. He had just been down to his mother's car to gather the rest of his things and wave good-bye, and now he was here. Locked out of his own dorm room, and as if to rub salt in his wound, the IDIOT on the other side was playing Led Zeppelin at max volume. Not that Basil had anything against Led Zeppelin, but it was like a mock from the person, most likely his new, wonderful roommate. Like he was doing that thing that kids do, putting their fingers in their ears, yelling 'I CAN'T HEAR YOU'. Basil threw his head back, slamming it against the door, but it was futile; the music was louder than a space shuttle launch.

Across the hall, a door opened. Out peeked an pierced and tattooed face, angry eyes glaring at him. Basil tried his best not to react, but the person looked directly at him, like they were about to murder him. "Excuse me," the person said, and now Basil could tell it was female, her voice warm and deadly. "Can you tell whoever is in there, that they are a god damn idiot?" She stepped out into the hall, the rest of her body now visible. Basil gulped. This girl, or woman, or wrestler  looked about as intimidating as a hungry wolf. She shot him a look that said 'what, are you an idiot too?'

Basil shrugged, and made it look as casual as possible, while his insides were trembling ."I can't get in. Left my keys in there, and my roommate has locked the door." Basil tried to look nonchalant, but the girl sighed.                                                                                                                      

"Can't you just go get a spare one?" She crossed her tattooed arms over her chest. Basil turned red, and mumbled something that sounded like mumble fumble. "What?" She said, like he had just insulted her entire family. Basil came to the conclusion that it was probably best to just come clean about why he couldn't just go down and get a spare key.                                                
"When I was down there earlier, there was a particularly pretty girl over at the elevator, and," Basil sighed, his face red with embarrassment. "I wanted to show off, you know, so I started to talk loudly about how I didn't need the spare key, because I was always so on-point. So I'd be too embarrassing to have to go down there now, after all that talk." Basil hid his face in his knees.

The punk girl looked at him for a few moments, silently judging him, before cracking a grin, and sitting down opposite of him. Their feet almost touched, and she rolled her eyes. "I'm Artemis," she smiled, and suddenly, she didn't seem so threatening at all. She had tattoos up her arms and a couple of rings in her eyebrows and one in her nose. "So, this is your first year? What are you studying?" Artemis asked, cocking her head to the side, like puppy. Basil pulled his feet back, sitting with them crossed in his lap.

                                                                                          
"I'm an English major," Basil answered, nodding along. Artemis nodded too, understanding. "Yeah, a lot of witches I know take English, is it because of spells and stuff?" She pushed her fingers through her short, deep purple hair. Basil frowned. Witch?                                                         "What are you talking about? I'm not a witch," he said, quizzically. Artemis slapped her hand over her mouth, looking embarrassed.                                                                                                                 "I'm sorry, you just – You didn't seem like anything else. Are you a were like me, then?" she questioned.                                                                                                                                                                   
"Wha- no, I'm human. I mean, I don't have anything against downworlders, obviously, but you know, I'm not," he finished bleakly, looking at her. Artemis cocked a pierced eyebrow.  
  
"Are you sure? Then why are you here?" Basil paled, fumbling through his backpack, looking for the paper pamphlet. At last he found it, and after looking at the paper in his hands, an information pamphlet for the school; he bit his lip. Basil read the first page, and after a disbelief moment of shock, he slumped back against the door, defeated.                                                                                                         
"Are you serious?" With a beaten sigh, he threw it away. Artemis frowned at him. "What do you mean?" With a nod, Basil indicated to the paper on the floor. "They talk about how magical the atmosphere in here, but I didn't know they meant it literally!" For a second, Artemis looked stunned, her mouth half open in shock, before she doubled over, laughing like a maniac. For a fleeting moment, Basil just stared at her, as she laughed hard on the floor. Then he grinned, and in the end, they were both laying on the floor, giggling like children.

It seemed like forever, the pair laying in the hallway, laughing. Every time they stopped, they found each other's eyes, and started giggling again. They were so out of it.                                  
"I can't believe I got into a supernatural school by accident!" Basil wheezed, clutching his stomach. He looked at Artemis, who nodded, and wiped a tear. "You really are an idiot," she laughed, leaning back against her own door.