Selene and the Moon

8- We meet again.

I quickly duck into the massive crowd of chattering Cleffies, trying to avoid the boy with the turquoise hair.

Miss Nutkills frowns, looking at me like I may have lost a few marbles. And what if I have? I can't think of any explanation for the boy I met this morning to be right here, right in my school, right now.

At least, an explanation that actually makes sense.

I mean, I don't even know his name!

I start sweating as Miss Nutkills walks towards me again. I frantically gesture for her to go away, but she doesn't. I mouth 'NO', but she doesn't stop.

Once she reaches me, she talks again. "What's your name again?"

"Selene," I mumble, as quietly as I can.

"Selene," she repeats loudly, apparently delighted. "You have a wonderful name!"

"Thanks," I say sarcastically, hoping she'll pick up on my reluctance to talk and give up.

She doesn't.

Instead, she decides to keep blabbering on.

"I'm Miss Nutkills," she carries on, drawing the attention of another few people. "Are you new?"

"What?," I say, indignant. "I've been at this school for eight years, Miss Nutkills!"

She laughs awkwardly, makes a lame excuse about there being 'a hundred or so lovely children in this grade,' and anxiously sidles away.

I breathe out. Finally she's gone. In other words, thank goodness. 

But it's too late, I realise.

Because the boy from this morning is looking at me, beaming, and waving.

I pretend not to recognise him.

"Hi - Selene." A familiar (but flustered) voice calls out.

"Oh, hi Verity," I say, smiling. "You're here!"

"Yeah," she says, panting. "I woke up late. Had to - run - all the way - to school."

Then she sees the Boy Who Has no Name. Her eyes widen, and she turns to me. 

Oh god.

Oh no.

"Selene, you didn't tell me you had a-," she begins, looking - very - mischievous.

Thankfully, she's cut off by Dr McMalady, the head of house, calling us into the hall. "File in please," he calls.

Everyone goes silent.

Verity sighs, but then looks at me again, raising an accusing, but knowing eyebrow.

I realise. She thinks that weird boy is my- I can't bear to think about it.

"No," I mouth, for the second time today.

I can tell she doesn't believe me.

Now what do I do?

My life is so complicated.

We're shepherded into our register order lines, marched into Cleffy Hall, then told to sit on the ground based on our grades (youngest to oldest)

Luckily for me, Verity is placed far away from me (my surname's Altaria and hers is Poppycock) so I don't have to go through more teasing for now.

Dr McMalady steps up to the heavy looking stone slab at the front of the hall, and clears his throat.

"Good morning," he calls.

"Good morning Doc," is the choral reply.

"Alright," he begins. "Who can tell me what 'endeavour' is?"