Twisted Wonderland | Mickey's Print

37. Another First Day

Just as Crewel assured, Yukiko received her new school uniforms as they were finished on Tuesday afternoon. She was now putting on her main school uniform to finally attend her first day of class.

"Come on, Yuki," Yuu called outside of her room. "The others are waiting for us."

The young girl was looking at herself in front of the mirror as she struggled with her tie. Her school uniforms had always worn ribbons instead, so she had never worn a tie like a suit before and was having a hard time. "Just a second! I only have to tie this, but I don't know how to do it like you."

"Don't think too much about it, tie it like a bow, just like you did yesterday," Yuu told her. "Lots of students like Riddle and Lilia wear it that way."

Yukiko didn't think twice and she tied it up like that in a matter of seconds. "This will do! How do I look?"

She had already tried on the school uniform Professor Crewel had given her, and now she was wearing it to finally attend class. Under her jacket, she wore a yellow vest. On her left arm, the black and yellow striped band representing her dorm, and her magical pen was stored in her respective pocket.

"You look cool!" Grim replied, showing that his opinion from the day before didn't change.

"Yes, it suits you very well," Yuu added. "If you're ready, let's go now. We'll meet the others on the main street."

It had been around a month since Yuu had imagined his sister studying alongside him at Night Raven College and many more boys. By then, it was just some small idea with various possible scenarios that seemed funny to him. But now that he saw her there, dressed in the uniform and ready to begin her first day there, it felt even more real than Crowley's announcement of her enrollment as a student.

"Wait, don't forget your magical pen!" Grim reminded her when he noticed she didn't have it in its respective pocket. "It might not be as cool as my magical gem, but you're gonna need it to do awesome spells, yanno?"

"Oh, right..." Yukiko picked up the magical pen lying on her bed and gave it a doubtful look before sighing and placing it in her jacket.

"Are you nervous?" Yuu asked her, being well aware of the effort she had had to go through for a few hours during those two days to at least get used to wearing her white choker. If it had already been tough to watch her putting up with nausea and the urge to cough, she didn't want to imagine how hard it had been for her.

"A bit," she admitted, feeling a knot in her stomach. "I mean, I want to learn how to use magic. But going through the same as yesterday!? I know, I know! Most of it is just theory, the first spells are easy, I know I shouldn't worry too much and all that, but..."

It was common for a new student to feel nervous during their first day at a new school, but having an unstable magic and starting immediately at a magic school would be the last straw for anyone. It was something that was only supposed to happen in books and movies.

"At least it doesn't hurt so much to wear the white choker anymore," Grim reminded her to cheer her up. "I wish your magic wasn't so mean to you... But I still think it will help you cast spells faster, yanno! I'm sure you'll be riding a broomstick like a pro in a jiffy!"

What Yukiko was most excited about was being able to ride a broomstick, like the witches in the stories and the protagonists of that anime of magical girls that Yuu and her used to watch when they were kids. Yuu couldn't do it, and it hadn't occurred to him to ask any of his friends for a ride (Grim offered to do so, but was immediately turned down for having a tiny broom and getting too excited when flying at elevated heights.)

"We still have to wait for that, but he's right: you did great yesterday. Remember what the Headmaster and Professor Crewel told you: baby steps, okay? Nobody is rushing you," Yuu told her calmly. "Someday, you'll be taking me for a ride on a broomstick better than anyone, you'll see."