A rare author's note 😉
To all my lovely readers, thank you so much for the support you've given for my story! I hope you'll enjoy the adventures that I'd soon share with you! But for now.. here's a new chapter. The longest chapter I've written. Nearly 3k! Thank you for patiently waiting.
This is dedicated to my wonderful beta a_force_of_nature and an adorable little girl. XOXO
*****
"Your hair looks like a fucking bird's nest," Gabriel spat out. At first, he looked disgusted with it, then, seconds later, I saw his eyes shut tight and his shoulders flinch hard as Luke thumped him on the head. "Fuck! Ow, shit! What was that for?!" Gabriel shrieked, caressing the back of his head as he squatted down onto the floor.
"Sometimes you're just too rude. Do you know that?" Luke had both hands placed on his hips and was towering over Gabriel. "She looks too cute with that cupcake graphic on her shirt, so stop with your yapping! You already commented on her clothes, twice. I just can't deal with you when you do things like this."
Gabriel looked up, a sneer on his face, and said, "Well, I am not leaving this building with her looking like that." He gestured with both his hands, pointing my way.
"Then don't come," I said dryly, sending him the stink eye. I was not about to let anybody insult me like that. I might have looked plain with a pink t-shirt and jeans on, but at least I looked decent. Is this not what teenagers like us wear these days?
These people might have saved my life before, but pointing fingers and demanding answers from me in this manner would stop right now.
Directing my gaze towards Luke, I asked, "Do you have time to accompany me to somewhere I could get my uniform? Mr. Blackbourne said that it was imperative I get it as soon as I can, since I have lots to fix concerning my class schedule and dormitory registration."
"That's what I'm here for. Let's go, my cupcake-loving cutie pie." He stuck his elbow out towards me. Trying hard not to blush at his term of endearment, I gladly snaked an arm through his.
"Am I late for the party?" A shock of red hair popped in through the small opening in the doorway. Nathan's eyes quickly scanned the room and his gaze settled on our little group in the middle. "Oh, good. You haven't left without me. I heard you're getting your uniform today, Sang."
You and me both. I'd only heard the news that morning, when I'd woken up. "Only if you're willing to be seen out in public with a girl who's got a bird's nest for hair," I shrugged.
He looked so confused; it was adorable. He eyed the two boys in the room and something in his eyes shifted as he noticed Gabriel's look of disapproval.
Nathan raised both his eyebrows and gave me an innocent look, as he asked, "What nest?"
Smiling widely with his answer, I let out a small giggle and cheered. "Okay. Let's go!"
Not even a minute after we'd exited the room, which was actually Mr. Blackbourne's, we heard loud footsteps behind us on the stairs, followed by soft curses coming from Gabriel. He was following us.
"Sorry about Gabe back there. He's just a bit of a diva at times. I think his little outburst was because of stress. You see, our team performs as a band and he's the lead singer. He's the one who gets all the remarks about the clothes and the hair, so he's gotten a bit stressed out about those things," Luke explained. Oh. Teams? I'd remembered Mr. Duncan saying yesterday that he'd leave me in the care of Mr. Blackbourne's team. How exactly did teams work here?
Refusing to talk about Gabriel when I was sure that he could hear our conversation clearly, if he just stopped with murmuring profanities, I asked them, "Your team performs in a band?"
"Well, you've already met some of us. Me and Luke play the guitar. Gabe has the lead vocal. Victor, the piano. Mr. Blackbourne plays the violin, but he also substitutes it for the drums when we need him to. Doc is the bassist and also a backing vocal. And the ones you haven't met just yet, Ko-"
Before Nathan could finish what he wanted to say, I felt a presence behind me as someone crept up and hissed, "Why the fuck won't you let me touch your hair? Ten minutes! I only need ten minute to tame it. To style it. It would look so beautiful with the right love and care. You're using awful shampoo, by the way. I don't mean to insult you. You're beautiful. Just let me fucking wash it. Maybe cut it. Give it a bit of style. Please! You're killing me here!"
What Luke and Nathan had just told me... they are so talented... almost made me blush. But, with Gabriel calling me beautiful, I couldn't stop the colour rushing to my cheeks.
Before I decided whether to turn down Gabriel's demand once more, I thought hard about what the other two had told me. Gabe was the lead vocalist? They were in a band? Of course; he probably didn't want to be seen out with a simpleton like me! I didn't want to ruin anything. Plus, he looked so desperate.
Releasing a small sigh, I stopped in my tracks and turned to face him. "Okay, geez. Just five minutes, okay?"
A look of horror flickered across his face, as he heard me cut the time from his original request in half. I saw him open his mouth, ready to complain, but I beat him to it. "Nope. Five. That's all you get."
Still, he looked so excited and his eyes shone with delight as I succumbed to his demand.
"Fuck it! Come here! No time at all," Gabriel exclaimed loudly.
The moment he touched my hair, I heard another cute, distant little voice saying, 'I'm the only one allowed to touch your hair, okay?' Oh God.
Last night, I had accepted that I might get snippets of my memories back from time to time, and I'd decided to be calm about it. At least until I could ponder it later, once I'd finally written it down before I'd gone to sleep. But, I couldn't help but get shivers all over my body, whenever I got surprises like these. So, apparently, I'd had a hairdresser even as a child. I wonder if that person from my memory is going to mind me letting someone else touch my hair.
*20 long minutes later*
I might have been guilty of enjoying the head massage too much as he washed my hair. How had we gotten back inside the room? I don't even know the answer to that. I'd just heard them arguing about him using his Voice Pheromone Alice on me. I was pretty sure he hadn't used it. No tingles. Nada. He's just got really good hands, I thought to myself.
As I looked in the mirror, I had to admit that my hair did look better. It looked shinier and had a bit of curl at the bottom.
Once we got the 'Okay, for now' signal from Gabriel, we quickly left the building and stepped outside.
It was just after 9am, and the sun was peeking in and out between the clouds that were rolling by. We decided that travelling by foot was the best way to get to the store, as it would give me a chance to explore the place a bit. It was a Friday, and they told me that they had the whole morning free.
The building we'd just left behind was actually an apartment for boys who were in their fifth year. They said that the area we were now in had the apartments and dormitories for students in higher years. I noticed that there were only a couple of stores around here, unlike where the fountain was located.
My attention had been divided between the three boys as soon as we'd hit the streets.
Gabriel was actually asking if I could sing. He said that it was about time that they had a girl vocalist in their band. I would've said, no, thanks, but he was already checking his schedule on his phone to see when we could practice. Well, I hadn't really said yes to anything yet, so I hoped he understood when I told him that I couldn't sing.
As we turned to another corner, Luke was my tour guide, but he only pointed out the sweet shops that we passed by. There were quite a few stores on this street, and small parks too.
I mostly listened to Nathan. He had been telling me about the school. "Alice Academy has three divisions." He'd held three fingers up and spoken about the details of them.
'The Elementary School division.
The High School division.
And the Apprenticeship and Training Division.'
The first and last divisions had Mr. Duncan as the principal and Mr. Buble as the vice principal. The high school division had a Mr. Hendricks, who I had yet to meet, as the principal, and Mr. McCoy as vice. That Mr. McCoy?
"Mr. Duncan possesses the Barrier Alice," Nathan continued, "and is still keeping the school safe by strengthening the power of the barrier. Mr. Buble has the Alice-Holder Detection Alice. With just a single touch on the palm of your hand, he would know what you possess. They are perfect as the elementary principals", Nathan said.
"Oh. You've been here since you were a kid?"
"Yeah. Since we were six. Me and my brothers. That's why it was easy sticking together and forming a team. We've known each other since we were kids." He smiled at me.
I was jealous. Based from the memories I had seen, I knew I'd had a set of friends I'd grown up with. I wish I'd known them that long too. Maybe I could find them here? They are alice users too, after all.
Before we could continue with our discussion, my attention was directed back to Gabriel as he pulled gently on my arm.
I looked around and noticed that we were outside a small, quaint store. There were two giant spools of thread on either side of the double wooden doors. The spools were spinning round and round, then actual threads would get pulled from the spools and on top of the shop doors and onto a pointy end. A spindle? The threads were sparkling in different colors as they met in the middle. There was also a huge pair of hands beside the spindle, both its pointer fingers almost touching the pointy end. I liked it. It was a great play on Sleeping Beauty's tragic moment.
There was a sign above the doors, beneath the spindle that read: 'Welcome to Bec's Finger Threads'.
The double doors had a small single window in each, useful only for peeking at what was on the other side. Like the old, wooden type.
I almost bumped into Luke, as he turned around and advised, "Whatever you do, don't let her catch you staring."
What? Who am I staring at? Or should I not stare at?
The doors were opened, then Luke and Gabriel led the way.
I was speechless when I saw the interior. It was breathtaking. It looked like a huge old garden, where flowers crept up from the walls and over and around the wooden pegs sticking out from a few spots in the room. And there were also a couple of spinning wheels, complete with spindles that lit up when you went near them. Just like the fairy tale.
It was wonderful.
"Hey, Lady Charlotte! How are you doing?" Gabriel spoke loudly.
"What? You really wanna know?" A heavy, British accent echoed loudly through the room. I side-stepped and saw a woman behind a high wooden counter, chewing on a gum. She had messy bun on one side of her head, with a single large peach-colored peony stuck into it. She looked older, with her sharp-edged, black-rimmed glasses, and I'd have guessed that she was at least ten years older than I was. She was either towering over everyone in the room or was sat in a really high chair. I could only see the top of her body, and it was covered in a dark robe. Only then did I notice that it was colder inside.
"Oooh, snarky. That's nice to know. Is Miss Bec inside?" Luke inquired.
Nathan and I were still by the double doors, so I thought it was safe to whisper and ask him, "What does Luke mean by that?"
"Oh, Lady Charlotte, here, is the 14th generation Keeper of Records. She's everywhere. You'll see her in most stores and she keeps tabs on everyone. And the snarky thing? Well, that's actually a good thing. She's known to display the opposite emotion to the owner of the store or whoever's the manager in a building," Nathan informed me.
But how could she be everywhere? Questions kept piling up in my head and I really wanted answers, but knew that it wasn't the right time.
"Let's get this over with. You, blondie. Come here." She pointed at a spot in front of the counter.
I gulped.
"Name?" she asked, no emotion on her face.
I bet you know already, but I was not about to get sassy with her. I didn't want to get in trouble. I told her my name and saw her stare at my face. Her eyes darted from my chin to my forehead, from ear to ear. Must be memorizing my face.
Then she leaned back and waved her hand over the top of the counter. There was a dim light that came out from her palms, and then, suddenly, there was a thick book materializing underneath her palm.
Looking bored, she placed her left elbow next to the book and rested her head on top of her hand. With a swipe of her right index finger, the book opened, its pages turning fast before settling somewhere near the middle of the book.
Lady Charlotte's index finger then traced something on the book and she read aloud, "Sang Sorenson. Crossed the magical borders on the seventh of October...yadda yadda yadda... Make six regular school uniforms; three for the summer, three for winter. Fully paid. Undetermined. No collar distinction. No star. No color."
"What the fuck do you mean by no star? How will she-"
She ignored Gabe's protest and continued. "No star means you'll receive the minimum monthly allowance of fifty dollars. Regular food portions. Small quarters. Kitchen duties at night. And zero passes outside the school."
"What? That's no fair. Fifty dollars a month? How will she live?" Nathan looked like he was about to argue, but I put a hand on his arm to stop him from stepping up.
"Thank you." I knew that Nathan was right about the money. "May I ask if it is possible to get a job around here? Maybe it would help with my expenses."
"Hmmm... Let's see. Jobs.." She blew a small bubble with her chewing gum, then it popped as she swiped a long finger over the book. Its pages made fast flipping sounds, before it settled somewhere near the first few pages. "You could earn money from a job... Yes. Just as long as it wouldn't clash with your class schedule."
"Okay. Then-"
My words were cut off by a loud, giggly voice coming from the hallway in the right, then we saw an adorable little blonde girl running towards our group. "Luuuuuke!" She jumped into the open arms of said boy and then, before we know it, Luke was twirling around, the little girl's pink, long dress dragging on the floor.
When Luke stopped spinning around, we heard the little girl giggle, then saw her giving Luke a kiss on the cheek. She then saw me staring at her and her eyes darted to my shirt. She cupped a hand over Luke's ear and whispered loudly. I thought it was cute until I heard her say, "Is she your girlfriend? She's very pretty."
Luke immediately glanced my way, then winked. "She is," He told the little girl.
"How about me?" She whined, and slightly wiggled around his arms as she stared at Luke's face.
Luke only let out a chuckle and patted her on the head.
"Hey, Freya! Are you not going to point out his lies? I know he's your favorite and all, but you're just giving him a free pass here," Gabriel pointed out. She could tell that he was lying?
"But he's telling the truth! I couldn't smell anything nasty from him." Then Freya, the adorable kid, stuck her tongue out.
"Maybe it's because she thinks so, too," Luke joked. Girlfriend!
"No. Maybe Freya's not feeling too good today. What if I say that she's my girlfriend too!" Nathan smirked my way.
"Nope. She's my girlfriend!" Gabriel said in a sing-song voice. I knew that they were just playing, but I wished they'd stop. I'd be a melting pool of goo before I even got my uniform today.
Freya looked confused for a moment, sniffing the air around. "But I really don't smell anything."
"Maybe you really are coming down with the flu, my sweet girl." In the same hallway that Freya had come from stood a woman, who looked like she was in her mid-twenties, with a bright smile on her face. She had a shoulder-length hair, which was dark in color with light blue tips.
She looked around the room until her eyes settled on me. "Are you Sang? Are you my new customer?"
When I nodded my head, she immediately walked towards me and enveloped me in a tight hug. "Oooh! I'm so excited! I love new customers!" she squealed right into my ear. Then, as quick as she had embraced me, she pulled back and bent down to my level.
Enthusiastically, the woman in front of me proclaimed, "Welcome to Bec's Finger Threads!"