Fen and Mara - Open Novella Contest 2019 Short List

Chapter 4

Save for bumping into what turned out to be one of her new classmates, first period goes by smoothly. Her homeroom teacher Mrs. Stewart assigns her a seat next to a very chatty girl, making it easy for Mara to talk along. The girl is asking the usual questions, like her name, where she's from and why she came to their school this late in the year.

"I moved in with my dad," Mara answers quietly, keeping one ear open for the teacher's instructions. It looks like they're just starting a new assignment, another lucky event; she had already been lucky because her first class was literally twenty steps away from her locker, so she didn't have to wander the building in search of the right room.

"Is your dad Professor Prince?" the girl who introduced herself as Almera Halid asks curiously.

Mara just nods in reply, not really wanting to get in to it. She can feel the stares of her classmates, most of them not even trying to hide they are watching her with interest. It's to be expected, you can't start a new school without catching attention. Mara had already prepared herself for this, first times are always awkward, no matter what kind of first time it is. First days of school, first kiss, first time riding a bike, first night sleeping in her new home - even though she has slept there countless times when she came over for the weekends. All are awkward in one way or the other. Maybe it'll be just an unpleasant first day, maybe it'll be an uncomfortable week, either way, she has no other choice than just live through it. One minute at a time.

"Miss Prince, have you studied Shakespeare at your previous school?" the teacher asks her, cutting off Almera's whispers.

"We did, earlier this year," Mara confirms politely.

Mrs. Stewart cocks her head a little, giving her a small smile. "Well, maybe you're lucky with this assignment then."
She proceeds to read of a list, assigning a different play or famous poem by the English playwright to every student.
"I ask you to use the Oxford editions, they're available in our school library as well as the city library. Don't wait too long to get a copy!" she warns them with a stern shake of her finger.

Mara is lucky again: the teacher assigned 'Hamlet' to her, one of the two plays they discussed at her old school. The pages of the book are safely stored away in her mind, along with the assignment that came with it. Another convenience is that Almera has the same classes as her today, meaning she can rely on the Muslim girl to show her around school.
She does so for the whole first week, claiming Mara would probably get lost in the many corridors of the old building without her guidance. Howemont High has grown a lot over the years, adding new parts to the school every time it was needed; meaning there are some staircases that will take you to the science classrooms on the second floor, but others take you to a completely different wing that's not connected to the science wing at all.
Thanks to her photographic memory Mara knows her way around the school on the second day, but Almera is fun to hang around with. She gratefully lets her new friend show her around the school.

Her new class seems nice too; everyone is getting along. Of course there are some cliques, like at every school. You have the jocks, the emo kids, the pretty boys, the theater kids, the nerds; you name a teenage subculture, Howemont High has it.
Almera has introduced Mara to her friends, a bouncy group of girls who have made it their goal in life to talk each other's ears off. Almera is maybe the worst one of them all; she is only silent when there's food in her mouth. The young Muslim girl is always cheerful, something that her colourful outfits support. She coordinates the colours of her clothes to her hijab - or the other way around -, meaning she is wearing all purple one day and all blue, red or another colour on the next day. The other girls are just as preoccupied with their clothes or their looks; every other conversation is about fashion or makeup. Or handsome boys, that's a popular topic too. The girls have a point system, which they are more than happy to tell Mara about during one of their lunch hours.