Prelude: The Girl (RW)

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part one

She took a deep breath, hands making contact with the frigid metal of the door handle

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She took a deep breath, hands making contact with the frigid metal of the door handle. She exited her car. For a still, silent moment, she remained unnoticed, but that was only for a moment. Curious eyes caught on to her soon enough, pair by pair until everyone was staring.

She tugged on her hood.

The air wasn't cold, no, that wasn't the word to describe it. It was sharp, an icy blade sliding against her exposed skin, chilly at first.

Her mask protected the majority of her face, the only visible parts being her eyes, her mouth, and her chin.

The sound of whispers filled the air along with the gentle whoosh of wind. A wisp of raven black hair fell out of her hood, fluttering in harmony with the breeze.

She raised her head slightly, gently pushing her hair behind her ear, fingers subconsciously curling around it before she let go.

Her eyes flicked to the gossiping students, infinitesimally narrowing. The silvery orbs glittered with the promise of danger, should she be provoked.

With a lazy kind of grace, she walked through the school doors, hands in her pocket. Her trip to the office was quiet enough that she could hear her heart steadily beating in sync with the gentle tap, tap, tap of her footsteps, so silent they could be missed if you weren't listening for them.

Was it normal for a school to be this quiet?

She wouldn't know, she hadn't been to a real school before. Her eyes fixed onto the door in front of her.

O F F I C E .

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she pushed the door open. The girl was instantly hit with stale air that carried a hint of lemon. Her eyes went to the fake plants in the room, to the beta fish in a weirdly shaped tank, drinking in the sleek architecture.

Maybe the "life" was meant to make the office look warmer, more welcoming. Her eyes finally stopped at an administrator clicking away on a computer.

The girl cleared her throat, not missing the flinch of surprise. The administrator's head shot up, eyes widening for a split-second at the sight of the mask. Then, they narrowed in annoyance.

"Can I help you?" The administrator asked, her "politeness" robotic. Her fake smile gradually faded into thin-lipped displeasure.

"I'm the new kid."

The administrator shook her head, lips pursed. "I'm sorry but we do not tolerate these kinds of jokes. It is against the rules to come to school with a mask."

The girl rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to reply. Someone happened to beat her to it. "Ms.Kelly, please leave this to me. Our new student comes with special conditions. I would like her to be treated as you would treat any other student."

The girl stiffened at the voice. She could've sworn that she'd heard it before, but she couldn't quite remember where. Every time she reached out in her head for the memory of it, it flew further and further out of reach until it was no longer there and she was left with a dull ache in her head. She almost screamed out in frustration. Where had she heard that voice before?

The girl spared a glance in the owner of the voice's direction. She didn't know how exactly she knew -maybe it was the aura he gave off, powerful, calm, reasonable- but he was the man in charge, the principal.

She didn't recognize him. No memory came up at the sight of his face. But his voice... Then again, she could've been thinking about a voice eerily similar to the principal's. Shrugging, she decided to ignore the matter altogether.

"She's that student?" the administrator -Ms.Kelly- asked in disbelief. The look she got from the principal shut her right up.

With a quick, forced apology, Ms.Kelly typed something on her computer. The printer beside her started up. Grabbing the freshly printed seat, she held out her arm. "Here is your schedule, I assume you have your lock."

"Yeah," the girl took the sheet and muttered a quiet "thanks".

The principal gave the girl a reassuring look. "If you need anything let me know." She paused, glancing at the door, then gave a slight nod at him before she turned around and started walking.

Ms.Kelly's sharp glare dug into her back, following her out the office door.

~~~~~~~~~~750 words~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright © Tasneem

Rewritten

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