Element

✭ Chapter 5

    I wake up the next morning to my alarm clock radio, tuned to the school station.

"Good morning everyone! Rise and shine for your first full day of classes! The weather today is-"

I shut the radio off.

I yawn and stretch my arms. Stumbling out of bed, I wander to my dresser and pick out an outfit from the clothing articles I packed. A tight-fitting maroon quarter-sleeve shirt, and jean capris rolled at the bottom. Nothing fancy, just comfortable. I pull my stubborn hair in a ponytail, not wanting to deal with combing it, and put on my gray shoes. I yawn once more, finally waking up completely, and open my door to the hallway.

I walk slowly down the stairs until I reach the ground floor. I take the long way to the Dining Room, not cutting across the grass, but taking the winding cobblestone path. A few early risers are out and about, but I'm mostly alone. The air is clean and crisp, and the dwindling orangy pink streaks in the sky make for a lovely late-summer morning. I follow the path for a bit, but stop to sit down on a bench. This quickly gets boring, and I find myself making little gusts of wind to rustle the leaves of a nearby bush.

Before long, I can smell frying sausages, and the scent draws me to the Dining Room. I hurry over to the serving counter, and help myself to the sausages and potatoes. After pouring myself some orange juice, I find an empty air table and sit. I bring a fork pricked into a potato to my lips, but pull it away hastily. I could already feel the heat radiating from the potatoes. I wait a few minutes, before trying again. Definitely less hot this time. I take my time, cutting up the sausage, and staking occasional sips of OJ.

Kaelie comes a little bit late, looking bedraggled.

"Good morning, sleepy head," I tease, and smile.

She rolls her eyes. “I forgot to set my alarm.” She says, stifling a yawn.

"Oh. Good you’re here now.” I try, wanting her to feel less stressed.

"Yeah. I guess. Although I really wish I didn’t have Dimicel History as my first class. It’s a snooze fest.” She groans, taking a bite of potato.

"I have that class too! Thank god we don’t have to endure it alone.” I smile.

She returns it, her mouth stuffed with food. “Seriously? That’s great! I don’t think I could ever live through it if I hardly knew anyone in that class. I heard Ms. Hersmer is worse that Mr. Vald last year!” She exclaims.

“You’re kidding, right? I hated Mr. Vald. He was so boring!” I groan loudly.

“It’s hard not to be boring when you’re teaching a boring subject.” Kaelie smirks.

“Yeah. I guess. At least we have that class together.” I sigh.

“Yeah.” She replies quietly.

We finish our breakfast in silence.

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On our way to class, we see Ellis.

“Hey. Ramaya? Have you seen Parisa anywhere? We have first class together.” She asks, talking quickly.

“No. Sorry! Maybe she already went to class! Check there, alright?”

“Okay. Thanks.” Ellis hurries through the crowd of students heading to their classes.

A bunch of people are already milling around outside our classroom, some looking absolutely disgusted this is their first class of the day, others a bit cheerier once they find a familiar face. As Kaelie said, nobody really likes the teacher, Ms. Hersmer, who apparently is grumpy, boring old lady who could have come from the history books themselves. No one knows why she hasn't retired yet.

I spot Parisa walking in the crowd.

"Parisa! Hey!" I yell. She sees me and waves.

"Hey, Ellis was looking for you," I tell her when she runs over.

"Yeah, I found her." She says.

I wonder why she isn’t with her, but ask, "So... first morning, what's it like?" I’m excited to know how she feels about it.

"Not bad. Pretty anti-climatic if you ask me," she says, smirking.

"Yeah, well, after the first day, the shine wears off a bit," I admit. The bell rings, interrupting our conversation. “Good luck in your classes Ram!” She yells, running away to her classroom.

"You too!" I yell back, and turn to Kaelie, who smiles at me.

“I’m sure she’ll do fine.” She assures me, reading my mind.

“How did you know what I was thinking about?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“You looked concerned after talking to your sister. It isn’t that hard to connect the dots.” She giggles. I roll my eyes playfully. Sadly, we have to go inside when the door opens, and Ms. Hersmer welcomes us to our fourth year of school in a monotonous tone. Everyone whoops and cheers half-heartedly as we march into the most boring class of the day.

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This chapter has been revised and edited.

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Megan and Wien