Raven

~ Chapter One - Raven ~

The world seemed to crumble around me as I walk through the gates of McKendrick School of Arts. I shuffle stiffly through the empty, echoing school corridor, past the long rows of lockers. Almost all of which are covered in all sorts of things. The art students' lockers have incredible paintings and drawings on the front of their lockers, whilst the music and dance students have obviously found parts from guitars, ballet shoes, and sheet music, and glued them to theirs. I felt my breathing relax the smallest of amounts. Not just any kid can get excepted into this school. I feel my heart rate gradually increasing as I fumble for my timetable. That's just one of the many problems endured when you enroll in a school in the middle of the school semester.

I walk hesitantly through the huge ornamental swing doors of MSA, my bag slung over my shoulder, a pencil tucked neatly behind my ear, with my books and folders in my arms. I was both excited, and really freaking anxious. I wasn't very good at making friends, to begin with. But my mom always told me to stay strong, so I did. I blink away the tingling sensation at the back of my mind and tell myself not to cry.

It's been three years Raven. Three. You promised yourself you wouldn't cry on your first day of school, and dad is counting on you. You can't mess this up.

Even with my self-reasoning, I can't shake the image of my mother out of my mind. I miss her. So, so much. But she's gone, and she isn't coming back. I take a deep breath, bringing myself back to reality. I glance down at my papers, to find my locker number and combination. The school board gives you a standard lock and combination before you get your own, and even then, you have to tell them your own lock passcode and emergency key in case they need to do a locker search. I glance down at the paper again.

Oh please god, don't make it number thirteen, or I swear, I will scream.

On the paper was written "locker number 37". Thank god. It took me about a minute to find my designated locker. I moved past each locker, laying eyes on each for just a second or two. Each and every one of them was unique and incredibly creative. The obvious musicians used broken piano keys, guitar strings, and someone even decided to use the pipes from a set of bagpipes. I mean, wow. If that is how creative these kids are, I don't know how I could possibly fit in. I passed lockers coated in layers and layers of fabrics, buttons, and pins. Finally, I came across a locker that was completely plain and unoriginal. Placed on it with large paper cutouts were the numbers "3" and "7". Bingo, locker thirty-seven. My gaze returns to the paper as I mumble the digits for the lock. "Left to twenty-six, right to two, left to thirty-three." The lock sprung back and I sigh in relief. I open my locker and neatly place all of my books inside. I decide to decorate and personalize my locker another day. If I last long enough that is. When I reach into my bag to grab my ukulele, a sweet, kind face stares back at me. I muffle my nervous shriek.

"Hi!" The girl says excitedly. "Oh, sorry if I scared you. Are you the new kid? I'm Willow. I think I'm supposed to show you around."

"Don't worry about it. And yes, I'm the new kid - my name's Raven."

"Cool! What do you have next?" She asks, unnaturally excited for the middle of the semester.

Before I forget, I take out my phone and take a quick photo of my timetable, map, and information paper. I then set my timetable as my screensaver. Smart me - for once.

"Math, then break, then English - double, break. And then I have to report to the principal."

"Oh my god, I have the same. What homeroom are you in?" She asks, almost hopping from one foot to the other.

"Uhm, D - I think."

"Same!" She declares, smiling from ear to ear. I giggle and reach back for my ukulele and place it carefully in my locker. "Which section are you in?"

"Can't you tell?" I laugh, indicating toward my ukulele.

"I'm in fashion." She chuckles. "Come on, we can walk to Math together." I nod, before grabbing my book and closing my locker.

As we walk through the campus, I glance briefly at the classrooms, all of which were decorated in incredibly detailed and creative ways. The arts program here must be incredibly good. I sigh. I can't imagine how difficult the music program will be. I won't last a day.

"Here we are." Willow's voice cuts through my train of thought. "Math 7. Come on, and don't worry, Miss Ellis is really nice." I nod and follow Willow into the classroom.

"Goodmorning class," Miss Ellis addresses the class. She looks young to be teaching a grade ten maths class. Especially at a school like this. Miss Ellis notices Willow and I at the door and gives me a reassuring smile. "Ah yes, we have a new student today, this is Raven. I'd like you all to welcome her here." I give a small nervous smile to the class and make my way to an empty seat next to Willow. Some of the students give me welcoming smiles when others don't take any notice. I place my books on my desk and sit in the seat. I open my workbook and take the pencil from behind my ear. We were doing math I'd done at my previous school so I sat and waited. I sigh in silent relief. So far nothing had gone wrong. Until I turned around and saw a guy staring at me. I spoke too soon.

~ Authors Note ~

Hey! I hope you guys enjoyed my first chapter. The next few will just be some fillers, but don't get too bored - it will get better. Yes, Raven has the same name as me, but she is nothing like me. I'm a ginger. Which is ironic because I'm named after a black feathered bird. I mean come on! ( ;
The above photo is the beautiful Emily Rudd, who I imagine Raven to be, of course, you can change her however you like in your mind.
Don't forget to vote and comment!

A huge thanks to my friend Amy, for helping me edit. She will be editing most of this book.

Lots of love,
- RavenandSparrow