The elements of school

Chapter 1 The first day

Alice awoke to the sound of her loud alarm. She slowly opened her eyes and reached out to grab her wand from her wooden table. She waved her wand, cleared her throat and said "open the door, fly the clothes, make my outfit as sweet as a rose" the doors to her wardrobe opened and her clothes flew out in front of her, laying on her bed and seeming to iron out in the process.

Alice had been awaiting this day for months, the day she would finally go to the Elemental Academy. She frantically dressed herself, throwing on her white blouse and long skirt in the process. She waved her wand again, arranging thing neatly in her wicker case. One by one flying in from all directions.

She began to pack the last of her items - the rest had already been sent of to the academy last week - she packed her clothes for that day, her books, her hat, things like her toothbrush and finally her favourite coat. Alice picked up her broom, it was part of her kit list from the school every new student had received one. It was alight with a sort of red, orange glow radiating from the end of the broom. Alice walked with her broom, wand and wicker case down the stairs to see her aunt.

It had been the two of them for a while now her parents had moved in with her aunt after they'd been kicked out of their flat. A little while later her parents had got into - what she now understood - a gang. One night they hadn't returned, they'd left kissing her, we'll to kiss you goodnight they had said before walking out the door. Alice would lay awake waiting for them to come back. Minutes became hours, hours became a day, a day became a week, a week became a month. They'd found her mothers body in a lake about a mile from their home after about two months of searching, she'd been stabbed and her body had been dumped, left to rot. This would keep Alice awake at night, it eased after a while but every now and again a nightmare of her mother being stabbed and pushed into the lake would come back to haunt her.

Her father was still missing twelve years later, the police had told her aunt there was no trace of him nothing but anklet that had been found in her mothers coat, Alice would wear it everyday and had often gotten in trouble at school when they did PE for wearing it. Alice would make the same wish every year on her birthday, her father would come home, he'd hug her and explain why he left. When she was still young she'd dream he was fighting pirates and had been imprisoned for twelve years but now he had returned home for good. But now Alice knew that pirates weren't real and her father was either dead or didn't ever want to see her again. But this wasn't a time to think of her parents today would be a happy day, to celebrate.

Alice saw her Aunt standing outside of the door. "write to me, don't forget to eat and rest and don't work to hard but still study and no boys unless i approve!" Her aunt said frantically "and most importantly, i love you" her aunt said in a more calm tone before hugging her

"i love you to Auntie Eva" Alice said ,before laying her broom on the floor "rise" she ordered to the broom, the broom rose hovering in the air just above her knee. Alice hung her case on the end of her broom. Alice put on her coat and hat but quickly took her hat off and put it in her case instead. "best not, it'll only fly off in the wind" Alice explained to her Aunt.

Auntie Eva ran into the house having remembered something, a few moments later she came out holding a glowing, green ball with a compass in the middle of it. The green ball was attached to a long, metal hook. "it came from the academy yesterday evening, quite a surprise having this dropped on your head in the middle of the night" Auntie Eva grinned

"ha i can imagine" Alice laughed attaching the device to the front of her broom "well i suppose this is going to show me the way, i guess" Alice said before hopping onto the broomstick "goodbye Auntie Eva, i love you" Alice said blowing kisses, "onward" she yelled to her broom.

Suddenly the broom shot upward at a great speed. Alice had never much liked highs so as the broom rose she clutched on with great force to the wooden stick in front her her, she close her eyes shut as hard as she could and tried to think about her favourite thing. Sports, she adored sport especially running, swimming, diving and tennis but she did also enjoy other kinds of sports like hockey. She began to think of the day she had competed in the junior under 18s diving competition. She recalled standing on the edge of the diving board feeling so incredibly focused ,everything else didn't matter. She recalled the loud announcement counting down to the dive, she remembered throwing herself backwards feeling her head tip backwards and being fully upside down seeing the water just beneath her. Turning and twisting and spinning until she was falling upright again before hitting the cold water with a massive splash.