Normal can be the most beautiful thing there is...
No one knows that more than Aline and her brother.
Aline Blake never knew what was going to happen. Only thirteen years old, she had no clue about life's dark secrets. But that would soon change...
...
When I woke up the next morning, I looked around the room. Something was different. But I couldn't figure out what.
After a few minutes of searching I noticed the thing. Or it, maybe I should say. The door.
A large door had appeared out of nowhere during the night, and now the entire right wall was blocked by it.
I hurried over to peek out. When I opened the door I was greeted by a cold wind blowing around me. The snow sparkled where the rays of the winter sun met the cold surface. In the distance I saw several other youngsters pulsating in the thick snow. It had arrived overnight. It hadn't been this thick yesterday, or any other day in December for that matter.
With renewed eagerness for the day, I hastened to put on the uniform under the outer jacket. It was today that mattered. My first day of school.
Mom was still sleeping, so I quietly crept out through the newly moved door, and out into the snow. I had understood at once that it led out to Canai and Mystic Academy, so I did not hesitate a bit when I stepped out. Simon had had a similar one when he started.
My first lesson on the schedule was the Mystic lore. Me, Tristan and Katie had decided to meet at twenty past eight and go to class together.
Just minutes after I arrived they came running towards me. Katie arrived first, but Tristan was only seconds behind her.
"Y-You didn't have to be so f-fast," he panted, clutching his knees.
Katie just laughed.
We seemed to be the first on the scene, even Miss Gable hadn't turned up yet.
After what felt like an eternity, she appeared. Then all the youngsters were bored by having to wait so long. This was the kind of class that all the youngsters in year one had, so to my deep disappointment, Jake was going to attend.
He was still as snide as he had been yesterday, and now he seemed to have developed a new kind of confidence. As soon as he met my gaze, he gave me a wicked smile that made me want to look away. He really hated me, and for no particular reason. I hadn't done anything to him.
Katie noticed the tense air between us and raised an eyebrow. "Trouble in Paradise?" she asked.
I looked at her. "Ew. Never in my life."
"If you say so." Katie smiled quirky. "But remember that love always begins with quarrels."
I don't know why, but I always imagined Miss Gable as a woman close to retirement age. Maybe sixty or sixty-five. She would wear a cardigan and floral dress. The woman who now towered over us was anything but that. She was tall, probably 3 feet, and although she had a cardigan, that was another matter entirely. Instead of a dress, she wore a pair of ripped jeans and a white t-shirt with the print Look at me, baby, I'm shining. She couldn't be more than twenty-five.
She laughed a little when she saw everyone's stares. Apparently it wasn't just me who had been prejudiced about her. "Well, you can stop staring now," she said, and although she was trying to be "grown up" you couldn't help but notice that she was close to laughing.
As if on command, everyone stopped staring and waited for her signal. "Much better," said Miss Gable, unlocking the classroom.
It was very small. Four square meters, maybe. And there would be room for around fifty students. Hardly.
Miss Gable noticed my thoughtful expression. "It's nothing to worry about, Miss Blake," she said. "It just hasn't woken up."
I gasped when she said my name. I don't know why, but I hadn't come to grips with the idea of people knowing my name. But who didn't now, after my little demonstration?
I smiled a little stiffly at her. That explained the matter. The room just hadn't woken up yet.
It would have been a very strange statement to the average person, but to me it was not at all surprising. Miss Gable could have said that there were living dragons living in the room and I would have believed her. At Mystic, nothing was impossible.
Miss Gable gathered us around her, told us about the seemingly simple task. She asked us to divide into pairs, to make sure no one was left out.
It went so fast I didn't even notice when everyone was grouped. In the end, there were only two students left. I was one of them. The other, I was surprised to discover, was Jake.
Oh no. I would have to work with him.
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