[01] This Is Where Your Story Begins

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Life is chemistry. It sounds complicated, or like something you might hear from a middle school science teacher, but it's true, nonetheless. We're not talking about the chemistry that you would learn in a lab. Life is the chemistry between people. Sometimes it is volatile, violent, and intense, leaving nothing but destruction and chaos in its wake. Sometimes it is bliss, calm, and peaceful. A true union between two souls that combine to create something more, something better. It cannot be predicted. It cannot be synthesized and recreated. What it is, is undeniable. Life is the interactions between people, and each moment in time creates a change in who you are and what you will become.

Remember that.

This Is Where Your Story Begins

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This Is Where Your Story Begins

An intimidatingly large building stood in front of her. The leaves shaked in breeze and caused a slight shiver in the air. Claire's shoes clicked against the stone floor as she hurriedly walked towards the classroom entrance. She feared being late on her first day. 

She could fake the confidence need to survive, if it wasn't for this feeling of estrangement in this chattering and crowded classroom. Hesitantly, she walked in as quietly as possible, trying to avoid being seen or heard. Being the here was unlike any other stress she had felt in her life, but she knew this could be good for her either way—a new environment in a physical classroom.

The room was rectangular in shape with an upwards slope, which allowed all the students to see the large blackboard at the front of the room. Claire frowned as she noticed the odd placement of desks; The teacher's desk was in the front of the room, down at the bottom to her right, and the students' desks were lined in rows, each row six inches higher than the last. Steps led up to the top rows; these were required to accommodate those who chose to sit on the uppermost level, even though only five rows were back from the front. Nothing else was visible other than the lack of Mr. Ednill's presence, making the room feel uneasy.

Her heart thumped unusually loudly in her ears as she stood awkwardly in the corner, furthest away from the other students. She rested her head in her palms in an attempt to control her pounding chest and heavy breathing. It will be fine, she thought to herself. It was like regular classes at her old school, just indoors. She felt the eyes of everyone in the classroom subtly glance over at her, the feeling of embarrassment and discomfort evident on her flushed face. It felt as if time had slowed down just enough to make the handful of seconds it took to go up the seven stairs to the highest desks feel like minutes without end.

"Quick, open the window!" a muffled voice shouted. Several students ran over to the girl on the other side of the glass pane, pushing and pulling at the locks and levers on the windowsill.

One student unlocked the window with a rapid flick of their wand, and everyone watched in awe as it thrust open with a loud bang.

A girl with umber brown hair tied into a loose braid threw her book bag into the now open window. It hit the floor loudly, and the girl followed suit, flopping her body inside and landing onto the elevated floor behind one of the fifth-row desks. Moments after her foot made its way over the windowsill, a slender man walked into the room. His face was solemn and square-shaped, with a rounded chin that seemed like it was perpetually pushed in. The man's neatly combed hair atop his head was dyed a grayish-black like a sea snail coming out of its shell. His wide eyes were the color of rich soil with gold rings around his pupils and his tall stature, composed of long legs and a short torso, gave him the appearance of something other-worldly. He stared at the girl by the window and re-adjusted the navy blue tie resting over his blue checkered shirt.

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