Riverdale Academy

Chapter 2 First day

Alva woke the next morning to bright sunlight on her face. She turned over and got out of bed. Alva got dressed and headed downstairs to explore the grounds more. 

Once Alva got outside, she walked around to try and make a mental map of the school before the bell rang for breakfast.

She noticed that she wasn't the only one up. A few students were jogging and others were walking around like her. Some were sitting and sketching on the lawns.

A bell rang in the distance and all the students started to head to a wide stone building on the far east side. Alva turned to leave but almost fell when she tripped on a boy's knee.

"Sorry," Alva apologized.  She looked up to see who she had almost tripped over. the boy looked around her age and had a soft smile. His hair was red, almost the same color as Professor Lava. Alva caught sight of the boy's eyes as he looked up at her, orange. 

"It's fine, I should stop anyway," He said. He got up, dusted himself off, and picked up Alva's hand for a shake. "Let's start this over. Hi, I'm Felix!"

Alva pulled her hand away so her ice wouldn't get on him. But her hand felt warm. "Alva," She answered.

"Nice to meet you, Alva," Felix said. she was smiling and Alva wished she could have some of his happiness too. "What element are you?" 

"Ice," Alva whispered. Felix leaned in. 

"What did you say?"

Alva felt the ice start to form by her feet and looked down. Indeed, ice was curling up Alva's shoes. Felix looked down to see what had caught her attention and noticed the ice.

"Your ice," Felix said. 

Alva looked up, face red. She still couldn't keep her magic in check. Felix looked at her with a big smile on his face.

"What?" Alva asked. 

"Your ice! And I'm fire! We can be friends and I won't hurt you," Felix said and went to hug Alva. Alva pulled out of the hug and stared at him, a questioning look on her face. 

"What? No, I'll hurt you," Alva said. She looked down at her hands and saw the little ice coming. "All I ever do is hurt those I love. I can't stop it." Alva felt like she wanted to cry.

Felix flung his arms around Alva and hugged her again. Alva pulled back and stared wide-eyed at the boy.

"Don't you get it, you can't hurt me," Felix told her. "I'll always melt your ice and you won't catch on fire. A perfect match."

Felix took her hand in his and Alva didn't make ice once. Alva stared in amazement. 

"I really can't hurt you," Alva asked.

"Nope. I've always been a bit too hot, so I end up starting fires by mistake," Felix said with a blush.

The bell rang and the two of them said goodbye and went off to their classes.

When Alva got to the room, she picked a desk in the far back. She saw everyone talking and some were even laughing. But noise fell at once when the door opened and Professor Blizzard came in.

"Good morning," He said in his cold tone. He walked over and sat at his desk. "I have something to say that will affect some of you. Right now I am in charge of Ice and water, but the school will be getting a teacher just for water in the fall.

Right, with that out of the way, please open your history of magic book to page 3." 

All the students opened their books and looked back at the Professor expectantly.

"Read pages 3, 4, and 5," Professor Blizzard said. 

Alva looked down to start reading and noticed tiny ice crystals on the edge of her book. She tried to ignore them and keep reading, but fear crept up and whispered in her head. 

"You're going to freeze the classroom," It said. Alva was getting worried. 

30 minutes passed and everyone seemed done reading. They all looked up again. Professor Blizzard, who had been looking out the window this whole time, turned around. He pointed his hand at the blackboard and icy words appeared. They said:

                                                                History Of Ice/Water Magic

"Does anyone here know where the magic you possess came from?" 

Only one hand went up.

"Do you know?" Professor Blizzard asked. The student got up from their seat.

"I feel like there was a god that wanted the power of the four elements, but the other gods refused so a fight broke out and some of their magic was spilled on Earth. Is that it?" 

"Almost," Professor Blizzard answered. "But you're missing one thing."

He walked over to the student's table.

"When the magic left the gods, it morphed into a destructive force. So when the humans first got the magic, craziness ensued," Professor Blizzard said. The student looked down at their hands and looked fearful. 

The bell rang signing the end of class. "Please put your books away and don't go charging through the door," Professor Blizzard said as the students got up to leave.

Before Alva had even gotten up from her seat, Professor Blizzard spoke again.

"Oh, And Alva, can you please stay after class?"

Alva's blood ran cold. she had gotten called out in class on her first day.

When the room was empty, the Professor beckoned Alva to come over to his desk.  Alva got up and walked over, very scared. 

"I saw you struggling in class with the reading, is that true?" He asked. 

"No, I'm a very good reader," Alva said. Professor Blizzard handed her a piece of paper. Frost started curling up the edges. 

"That is what I was talking about," Professor Blizzard said. "How long have you had this problem?" 

"My whole life," Alva Answered. "I killed my mother like this and I'm scared that I will hurt people if I get too close, so I've never had friends."

Tears began rolling down Alva's face and the Professor handed her a tissue.

"You'll have to get a tutor," Professor Blizzard said. "Is that ok with you?"

"Fine," Alva sniffled.

"But for now," He pulled out a pair of light blue gloves. "Here, These will keep your magic in check when your in my class or around the others. And I am looking for someone to help you this afternoon. You may go."

Alva had put on the gloves and she walked out of the room. Felix was waiting by the door.

"Hi!" Felix said in a cheerful voice. "Ooo, gloves!"

"There to help with keeping my magic in check around others," Alva told Felix. 

"Can you take them off around me?" Felix asked. Alva looked down at her gloved hands. 

"I'll keep them on for now, but maybe I can take them off for you," Alva said. 

"I can hold your hand if you want, so you don't freeze anything," Felix offered. But Alva still didn't take the gloves off.

"I'm going to the library, do you want to come?" Alva said.

"No, I think I'll walk for a little," Felix answered. And he left without saying anything more. Alva left for the library thinking about class. 

Once there, Alva found all the books she could on how to keep magic in check and they all said the same thing, control your temper. Alva had already eaten and spent the rest of the day in the library till it was time for bed.