The Dragon Queen

Chapter 1

"Aria! Aria! I just heard some crazy news; can you guess it?" Aria rolled her eyes, as she put her hair in a casual ponytail, before walking to her window, facing her neighbor/ best friend, Macy, with a teasing smile. "What? Are you finally moving away?"

Now, it was Macy's turn to roll her eyes, "you wish. But no, it's something completely bizarre!" Their conversation was quickly interrupted, as a knock sounded from Aria's door, before it opened, revealing a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and a soft smile gracing her lips, and an apron covering her dress, as she looked at Macy and Aria. "You girls should hurry now, or you'll be late for school. Wouldn't want your crush to think of you as a slob, now, do you, Macy?"

Aria held in her laughter, as Macy's face became red as a tomato. Grabbing her backpack, she turned back to Macy. "Race you. The last one outside the door is a rotten egg."

Laughing, Aria ignored her friend's sound of protest, as she kissed her mom goodbye and ran downstairs. Grabbing a toast on her plate, she munched on it, as she made her way out the door. Looking at her wrist, as if she was looking at a watch, Aria pretended to yawn as she finished her toast. As soon as she took her last bite, Macy appeared before her huffing and puffing with curses slipping out of her lips without rest.

"So, what's the news? You haven't told me yet." Now, both girls were walking side to side to their school. Macy smiled as she felt more spirited than before. "Oh yeah! Apparently, I heard we got a new P.E. teacher. He's not even from here, or we'd know, considering how small our town is." Aria hummed in thought, as she replied. "Well, it's not going to make much difference. We're 18, this is our last year of school. Not to mention, we're planning to move out for college, remember?"

"Ugh, well I know, but what's getting me pumped is one fact that I've been hearing from Ms. Popular Girl, and that was the fact, that he's downright handsome!" Disgust filled Aria's expression as she looked at her crazy friend. "Are you crazy, Macy?! He's our teacher! Not to mention, he's probably some old man."

"Chill out, girl. He may be our teacher, but I've heard he's pretty young. Practically in his 20s!"

Slightly frowning, Aria huffed tiredly. "Well, that's...new. Oh right, are you planning on joining any clubs this year?"

Macy hummed. "Yep. I'm thinking about joining the knitting club and the chess club again this year. What about you? Decided on anything yet?"

"Probably. I'm thinking about joining the karate club again this year. But hold on a second, I thought you didn't know how to play chess. Why the sudden interest?" Aria looked suspiciously at Macy, as she put her hands in her pockets.

"It's not sudden! Ryan has been teaching me the whole summer, okay?!" Macy's face turned red. Aria stopped, as she turned to her friend. "Wait, that's what you were hiding from me the whole summer?! Why on earth, would you hide such a juicy detail?!"

As Macy and Aria arrived at the school doors, a hint of uncertainty clouded Macy's expression. She opened the door, and they proceeded through the bustling halls, her fist involuntarily clenching. "It's nothing," she murmured, her voice tinged with disappointment. "I can't help but feel that his interest in me isn't as strong as I had believed. And to make matters worse, it seems that Miss Popular has captivated his attention, entirely."

"Ah, is someone jealous?" Aria and Macy found themselves in the hallways, catching sight of Anastasia striding towards them with unwavering confidence. Clad in black high heels that seemed to defy gravity, Aria couldn't help but anticipate a graceful stumble. Anastasia's attire consisted of a chic, black skirt paired with a vibrant hot pink button-down blouse, teasingly revealing a hint of cleavage with a few top buttons undone.