Chapter 1

So, my day started out normally enough: my waking up late, younger sibling screaming, parents shouting; all was right with the world. I guess I should start with the introduction to my family, small as it is. My Mum and Dad are the type of parents who put on a show when going out, act the happy family and all that, but when it's just us all its ever been is shout, and nag, and that's when they even notice me and Alice. That's my sister, by the way. She's 10-years-old, has long chestnut brown hair and wears glasses that frame her eyes. (It makes her look a bit owlish, but she somehow manages to be the most popular in her class.) When I was that age, wearing glasses meant social suicide, and ridicule for as long as you were at school, though thankfully I don't speak from experience. I think the reason that Alice isn't made fun of is due to the fact that she scares the living crap out of her classmates, and I thinks she scares the teacher a little as well. Once, I swear I saw her flinch when Alice looked at her. That's Alice's death stare, one, that you don't want to be on the receiving end of. It can freeze you where you stand, and while being stared down by a 10-year-old may seem funny, let me assure you, it's not!

Anyway, now onto me. I have medium length raven-black hair, and ice blue eyes. It's my looks that got me the nickname 'Jackdaw'; even the teachers (the nice ones at least) call me by that name. Mercifully, I'm not plagued by the accursed acne that seems to follow my classmates, which means that my tanned skin is clear. (yay!). Also, I'm taller than most kids my age, which is why I would be good at athletics. I say 'would be' because, and anyone can vouch for this, my balance is terrible, and my legs are always getting tangled around each other. This is why I'm also known as 'Stork' to my close friends, who poked fun at 'Jackdaw' whenever they could. That's the lovely thing about my mates: I want to kill them at any given time, yet I know they've got my back no matter what. At any rate, now you know me and my nearest and dearest, those that I care about at least. Back to my late wake up, proceeded by a scarfed down breakfast that consisted of a hot-crossed-bun, that to be honest, tasted of cardboard. I then went on to run to school, making it by the skin of my teeth, with only a scowl from the gate-teacher as punishment.

I won't bore you with the details of Form, or the misery that is Maths, Spanish and History, one after the other. I'm sure you understand, that living through it once was painful enough. I will, however, introduce some of my friends, just so you get an idea of what I have to put up with. My best friend is called Tom, has sandy blond hair and is probably the smartest guy that I know, as well as looking like the poster boy for one of those adverts for the clothes you want but can never have. The nice thing about Tom is that while he knows he's smart, he doesn't brag about it and is often kind of shy around other people, for all his outward looks. Another of my friends is called Zoe. She has auburn hair, is short in stature, which pretty much mean that I tower over her. She also has freckles, and I think (though I'll never ask) that she has a bit of a thing for me, as she blushes whenever I talk to her, and I'm not talking about a gentle blush either, but like a tomato! I've never really returned the interest; I just can't see her as anything but a friend, as well as some other reasons as well.

It wasn't until 4th period, English, that the event actually happened. I was staring out of the window at the time, daydreaming through the class, hoping that it was near its end. All of a sudden a resounding crash echoed through the class, as the ceiling seemed to ripple, then shatter like glass. I say glass because as it fell it fractured even further, so that when it reached out head height, it was no more than dust. The strange thing was that no one seemed to notice what had just happened, nor the boy that was kneeling in the middle of the classroom. You know how I described Tom as being like one of those models? This boy was like a fallen angel. That's not even an exaggeration. His russet hair fell from his head in waves, while his face, seemingly sculpted from the fines stone, caught the dim light of day. His eyes, greener than the grass of a meadow, glinted like emeralds in the shadows of his hair, and at the centre there were twin fires glowing, the dying embers of a great fire. I then realised, that in the appearance of this beautiful boy, and the ceiling disintegrating, I had fallen from my seat, drawing the curious looks of my classmates.

I pointed a shaking finger towards the place where the ceiling used to be, the to the boy, who oddly was still kneeling. "Did nobody see what just happened?" This statement drew worried frowns and inquisitive looks, first to me, the to the places at which I pointed. Tom, who sat next to me, and Zoe, on the other side, knelt down next to me, asking in hushed voices if I was ok, or perhaps I needed a drink. Tom whispered: "Hey dude, are you alright? What happened?" Zoe then tapped my shoulder: "Yeah, why'd you fall over? And what do you mean what just happened? You kinda interrupted the teacher mid-lecture!"

"Are you kidding me?! Are both of you blind?" I hissed at them both. Of course, both returned looks of shock and hurt. "Can you not see that the ceiling has disappeared and the boy came crashing through?" I looked over as I was pointing, then felt like I had been punched in the stomach: the boy had gone, as had any trace that he was there I the first place. Dreading to do so, I looked up, my fear being confirmed before my eyes. The ceiling was as it always had been, in one piece, and not a sign of any disturbance whatsoever. Both of my friends were still giving me worried looks, so I forced a smile and reassured them that I was fine, that perhaps I was just a bit dehydrated and was seeing things. This seemed to comfort them, and they went back to their respective seats, though every now and then they, and a few others, gave me looks that suggested they thought I was a little loopy. The end of the lesson couldn't come soon enough.