Chatoyant College Book 2: Initiates

Chapter 1: An Alarming Morning

Monday, September 1

Dawn woke up to the blare of what was possibly the most obnoxious alarm she had ever heard: shrieking at approximately the same volume as a rock concert and sounding something like a cross between a car alarm and an angry cat. She sat up blearily, feeling around for the alarm with her left hand. She didn't find it, but the noise stopped anyway. By that time, unfortunately, she was fully awake and aware that no, her alarm did not sound like that at all. She looked around the room. "Naomi?" she called carefully. "Was that your alarm?"

"Mm," said Naomi. She was burrowed under the blanket. Dawn sighed and climbed out of bed. No way she was going back to sleep now. She checked the clock. It was 8:15 in the morning; there was still more than an hour until her first class started. She started to collect her things--might as well have a shower. She almost jumped out of her skin, a minute later, when the noise happened again. This time she saw Naomi's hand reaching out from under the covers to smack at it. She apparently missed, because the noise kept going, and Dawn heard a muffled groan, then saw Naomi's messy blonde dreadlocks emerge from under the blankets.

"I can't believe I signed up for such an early class," she mumbled. At least, that was what Dawn thought she said. The alarm was still blaring. Naomi squinted at it and poked at a button, and it finally turned off.

"You're going to wake up the entire hall with that thing," Dawn said.

Naomi smiled apologetically. "Nah, they'll get used to it. I can't wake up any other way." She yawned. "Right, it's theater production, isn't it? Gotta go to that. Mm. Clothes." She wandered toward her closet, obviously paying no attention to anything around her. Dawn headed out the door to the showers.

When she got back, Naomi was gone, but she still had a while before she had to leave for her first class. She sighed, opened the blinds, and booted up her computer. Might as well check her webcomics.

She was more awake and feeling decidedly more cheerful at nine, when there was a knock on her door. She opened it and was unsurprised to see Corrie, looking as perky and healthy as ever. "Hey!" she said. "Glad you're up. Want to get breakfast before class?"

"I approve heartily of that idea," Dawn said. "Just let me get my things together. What's the weather like today?" She knew her skinny blonde friend would already have been outside jogging whatever the weather.

"Gorgeous," said Corrie. "Not a cloud in the sky. It'll probably be hot this afternoon."

"Glad I wore a skirt, then," Dawn said. She slipped her feet into sandals, picked up her messenger bag, and stuck a notebook and a pen in it. She had no idea what book they'd need first for this class, and didn't want to bother bringing something heavy. Corrie had one of those tiny sack-type backpacks, so it was clear she didn't have a textbook with her either.

"What time is Edie's first class?" Dawn asked as they walked past Corrie and Edie's room and further down the hall.

Corrie shrugged. "Later, I guess. She's still asleep."

She nodded, sighing with slight jealousy. "Naomi woke me up early with her alarm. I think it's something I'm going to have to get used to."

They ate a quick breakfast at the dining hall, then walked up the path to the magic building, which wasn't very far away. It was an odd, hexagonal building, and all of the outer walls on the first floor were glass. As they walked partway around the building to get to the front door, Dawn could see that the outer part of the first floor was some sort of extended lounge; there were couches, a piano, a place with several computers set up, and even a table with a coffee maker on it.

Corrie consulted her schedule once they were inside. "We're in room 307, looks like," she said. "I guess that's on the third floor." The stairs were right by the door, and also clearly visible from the outside of the building, at least on the first floor. They joined the crowd moving up it, then turned when they reached the third floor.

Their classroom turned out to be in the center of the hexagon. It was a large, amphitheater-like room, with a hexagonal space in the middle and six aisles running between sets of seats. The ceiling was higher than Dawn had expected. They found seats on the second row of one of the sections and settled in to wait for the teacher. Dawn took advantage of the time to look around the classroom; unsurprisingly, there was no one she really knew here, since Ever was gone and Edie and Naomi weren't taking this class. She had hoped she might see Rico or even Duncan, but if they were taking magic, they were in a different section.

The girl with long, wavy dark blonde hair who sat down in the row in front of them looked vaguely familiar, but Dawn couldn't place her. Mostly what seemed to be filling in was the first three rows; people took seats in the rows further back, but there weren't enough students to fill the whole room. She looked up at the clock on the wall to her left. The teacher wasn't quite late.