The Nutcracker Prince and The Mouseking

Chapter 8: A New Threat

Alexander sat in a corner flicking through his phone, trying to block out the sea of loudly chattering voices in the open cafeteria. A ping and he taps the notification banner, reading the message Clara had sent him and taps in a reply. She responds quickly and with a little flustered laughing emoji. She sends another message asking about Alexander's upcoming visit during the Easter Break. He starts to write his reply, smiling at the thought of seeing her again but the bell rings. A sharp, metallic beeping telling everyone that breaktime was over. Students scramble, hauling their bags on their shoulders and legging it their next class. He taps in a speedy reply and hurries off to his next class; double chemistry. Not bad but not great. His teacher had a nasty habit of droning on about random facts and getting quite off topic. However, it was bearable, just until he finishes his lost year of school thanks to that curse.

He feels his shoulder get nudged as a few girls surround him, one of them giggling and the others whispering madly,

"Soooo, Alexander, which one of us would you go out with?" she asks with a mischievous tone. He sighs, not this again, they keep doing this. He might as well just tell them,

"None of you," he replies sternly, quickening his pace through the packed halls. The girls almost stop, staring at him hard, gasping,

"What?" they chirp,

"None of you...I'm taken," he replies smirking as they gasp again. He chuckles as he enters the old and worn classroom, taking his seat, and getting his pencil case out of his rucksack. He reaches for his book from the centre of the table and flicks it open to a new page and jots down the date and title. His stout teacher starts to call for attendance and explains the lesson, detailing the dangers of the Bunsen burners they would be using and the chemicals to make these bright blue copper sulphate crystals.

His table set up quickly, placing the equipment down and carefully following the instructions given to them. Once alexander was watching the chemical mixture in the crucible heat up, his table disperses to talk to their friends, leaving him on his own to tend to the practical. Alexander sighs, they always did this but thank God that they did. He couldn't put up with their hedonistic views. He groans as the same girls from earlier crowd around him, watching expectantly,

"What is it now?" he grumbles, taking his black blazer off, tucking in his tie and rolling up his shirts sleeves; moving to adjust the hot mixture,

"Soo, who's the lucky one that has your heart? Does she go here? Who is she?" they quip incessantly. Alexander has half his mind tied to using his magic to shut them out; the other half tied to hoping that telling them would get these girls to shut up and leave him be. He sighs defeatedly,

"Well, Clara, doesn't go here. She lives closer to Cambridge then anywhere else. There, now you know, could you please leave me alone?" he says sharply. The girls gasp dramatically and laugh,

"Oooh a posh girl, well, well, what a surprise! Ole' Braidy likes posh girls!" they tease. He sighs again, staring out from his eyebrows at the wall, his mind pleading that they go away.

Someone shrieks. The whole class stops as someone screams,

"MOUSE!"

The whole room backs away from a table, Bunsen burners still going, pointing at a large black and white mouse striding up on the table...on two legs. The teacher pauses, quickly shuts off the gas supply and approaches the mouse. It hisses and the teacher steps back dumbfounded. Alexander has gone pale. That mouse has a crown and a sword! A crown...not again, please not again. The mouse sniffs the air and glances in Alexander's direction,

"Hmmm, where is it? It's certainly in here, I can smell it!" he murmurs, bringing up a few gasping shrieks and everyone takes another step back,

"A...talking...mouse?" the teacher whispers. The mouse whips his head around,