St. Alaska - Sacraton's Tornado

Chapter 1 - Study Hard and Be Brave

Fluffy and white, an owl flew, it followed a distant ring of a tiny bell; above the autumn mountains and through a tunnel, a tram huffed along an old track. As the tram leaned upon the corner, through a window, a girl sat, face pressed on the glass. She had dark brown hair, blue tearful eyes; she was wearing a grey shirt and blue jeans; her ears were as sharp as an elf's and her nose was bright red from crying.

Just then, a boy with smooth brown hair sat down in front of her. He had a cheerful smile on his face as well as many freckles. His ears were partly hidden in his hair.

"Hello!" The boy had broken the awful silence, "I'm Hebrew. Eleven years old...and you are?"

Gathering as much courage as possible, the girl spoke.

"Hi." She sniffed, "I'm Cheryl. I um...am eleven too." Their eyes caught each other. A silence followed. Suddenly, the friendly driver announced,

"We will be arriving in Wesley Grove, shortly."

Cheryl continued to stare into empty space, thinking about her home. Hebrew, on the other hand, planned on asking Cheryl lots of questions.

"Cheryl?" Hebrew asked. Cheryl shook out of her flashback, "Cheryl? Where do you live?"

Cheryl, who was very shy, mentioned about Oak Valley without really knowing what she was saying.

Outside the train, a cold autumn breeze was blowing. A city lay in front of them.

The tram bell tingled as it halted to a stop. A few children, wearing white collar shirts, ties and black pants pushed out. In split second, the tram huffed off.

Following the pathway, Cheryl and Hebrew met more and more students in uniforms on the way. Eventually, the small crowd of student reached a brick school.

A majestic castle-like building stood before them. It had brick walls and loads of windows; a stone bridge could be seen, as well as many trees. A mirror clear lake lay at the back of the school.

Night had fallen and a chill filled the air. A woman, dressed in a pale yellow dress emerged from the field of crops. Everyone was stunned and scared.

"Good evening. I am Ms Helen from St. Alaska. I expect you are the new first year students, aren't you?"

Ms Helen was blonde with the sweetest smile. She had long curls of hair and at first glance, her favourite colour could be seen as pale yellow. Her voice was stern yet persuasive and kind. She raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh! Move out of the way, PERSON. Ms Helen, I am Ruby Anne. My MUM actually teaches in THIS school so OBVIOSLY we are students!"

Bellowed a girl with extreme sass. Ms Helen took no offence and nodded,

"In that case, welcome to all. I hope you enjoy your time studying here at St. Alaska. Before the school term starts, we'd like you get comfortable and choose some subjects. In this school, you must promise to study hard and be brave."

The students followed Ms Helen across the field to an arched gate with two brick pillars on the side. Golden antique gate lamps hung on the pillars, shining bright in the darkness. Ms Helen calmly looked down at a manhole and stood on the lid. The manhole lid sunk down a bit and ivy started growing rapidly on the gate. Ms Helen pushed the ivy away and a tiny lock was in its place. She took off her silver locket and opened it. Inside was a gold key that shone. Ms Helen picked up the key on end and wriggled it in the lock. The gate creaked open loudly; Ms Helen turned around and boldly said,

"Welcome to St. Alaska dear students."

The students walked through the gate as the stars above twinkled brightly. Through an archway, there was a marvelous courtyard. Surrounding it were many low-rise houses. In the middle sat a quiet fountain, trickling crystal clear water in its basin.