A Stranger Calls

"How long does he expect us to wait?" Lucy grumbled. It had been nearly two years since the Pevensies had exited Narnia. "Just be happy that you two are destined to go back." Peter answered as they were preparing. That was the thing, before they left, Aslan had told her and Peter that they would not be returning to Narnia. Devastation had followed in the couple of weeks after returning to England but in due time, Peter and Susan had moved on, although they still remembered their times in Narnia.

The holidays were over. The new term was due to start at St Finbar's School for Girls and Hendon House. It wasn't goodbye completely since the two schools were only a few blocks apart. The Pevensies waited patiently in the train station for their coaches. In a few minutes one train would take the girls to St Finbar's, and soon after the boys to Hendon House.

"I'm going to take a look around Ed, and see if anything has changed." Peter mumbled. " Don't forget, registration is in 15 minutes." replied Edmund. The walk was familiar to Peter, he would walk around the offices and then taking a path into the gardens behind the gymnasium. The real reason he came here was to collect his thoughts and prepare himself for the new term. To Peter's surprise, there was somebody already there.

She was outstandingly pretty and had light blonde hair with sparkling blue eyes, she was of average height. Peter estimated her to be around 5'8. She must have sensed something and whirled around to face Peter. "Oh, Hello." She greeted him politely. To her, there was something mysterious about him. He was tall, standing at 6'2 with broad looking shoulders. His eyes were warm but she could tell they had seen things. "Hello." He replied simply, Peter had never been one to pursuit friendship but something told him he would be seeing this girl a lot.

"I'm Victoria, Victoria Reed." She flicked her hair and forced a friendly smile. "Peter, Peter Pevensie." He answered keeping a straight face. Usually, the smile and hair flick technique told Victoria a lot about the boys she talked too. However, Peter's straight and seemingly uninterested face had surprised her. He was a mystery she was definitely going to solve. "It's been nice talking to you, but registration will be starting soon and I don't want to be late." He politely nodded goodbye and retreated back to Hendon House.

"Where have you been Pete? You were almost late!" Edmund demanded. The two brothers had become much closer than ever and could tell each other anything.

"In Narnia." Peter joked. Edmund smiled at the comment, Peter used that joke regularly and whenever he said it, it meant he wasn't going tell you anything. "Students of year 8, come forwards!" Edmund patted Peter on the shoulder and joined his year group. They were escorted away by a serious looking woman called Mrs Macready who Peter made a mental note not to cross.

Soon after, the year 11 was called. Peter was still 16 years old but some of the other students he was surprised to discover were 18. The man handling registration handed every student a timetable for the year. There weren't many subjects. This years timetable Peter noticed was geared toward Physical Education and had an "Iron Man" competition each week. He knew why. The war wasn't going too well, Britain was losing. Peter knew that the army now had links with the schools and was going to look into the school's strongest and fittest students, hence all the gym classes.

The week had gone by quickly and Peter found himself sitting alone outside in a nearby street during lunch hour. Edmund and his friends were all inside and Peter wasn't very fond of the other boys in his year. "Mind if I join you?" somebody said out of nowhere.

He looked around until he spotted Victoria. "Sure." He said mumbling, and slid across the bench to make room. "Why are you out here alone?" Victoria questioned. "Most of the boys are morons, I'd rather be by myself." He replied. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing but for the girls. Come on, I want to show you something."

She didn't give him a chance to respond. Taking his hand she lead him off outside the school gates and through a series of streets until they came across some woodlands off to the left. Victoria flashed him a smile and led him deeper into the woods where they found a wooden hut randomly placed there. "I spend my lunches here. Nobody else knows about this place except me, and now you. It's a good place to come if you don't want to be bothered by the 'morons'." Peter wandered in and take a curious look around. It was small but cosy. There were carpets along the floor, paintings on the walls, small tables and a single mattress. "Like it?" she asked. "Thanks." He smiled at her. The smile was genuine and she knew it. Peter closed the makeshift wooden door behind him and edged towards the mattress, he crashed down onto it like he owned the place. He was a King of Narnia afterall, thing is he sometimes forgot that he wasn't in Narnia.

"So what's the secret?" Victoria edged closer towards him. "What?" He replied confused. "You're different from the others. You seem.. I don't know how to describe it." She told him. "Is it because the others aren't as muscular as I am?" Peter joked. It was true though, Victoria had seen some of the guys from Hendon House and they didn't seem as physically mature as Peter was. "How old are you?" She questioned, edging even closer. "Sixteen, yourself?" He responded. "Seventeen." She smiled. He rolled his eyes, which didn't go unnoticed.

"I'm older, means I can beat you up." Teasingly. "I don't think s-.. Peter had barely finished his sentence before Victoria pounced. Within moments, she had him straddled on the mattress using her arms to pin him down by the wrists. "I'm sorry, am I hurting you?" She grinned. "Not at all." He replied. Although he wasn't about to admit it, he was actually fairly comfortable. He looked at the watch on her wrist, his next class was supposed to be starting now. "I completely lost track of time, I need to go."Said Peter. "Tough." Victoria replied slyly. That's right, Peter was tough and strong. It didn't take much effort for him to climb back onto his feet, despite the fact that she was still clinging onto him.

"Now, do I have to introduce you to Mrs Macready?" Victoria laughed and let go of him. "Okay tough guy, you win." She exclaimed. "I thought so." Peter said with a chuckle. He was out of the door like a bullet, by the time he arrived at his next class, he was 13 minutes late. When he opened the door, it wasn't Mrs Macready at the front of the class. It was an older man, who looked to be in his late 60s. The man's head turned to face Peter.

"Mr Pevensie, how.. MAGNIFICENT of you to join us!" He smiled. Peter got the feeling that this man had intentionally used the word magnificent, as though he knew of Peter's title as the High King. "My name is Professor Kirke, I will be in charge of History from now on."

Professor Kirke was a strange man. Towards the last 20 minutes of the class, he would tell the class a story. The stories he told weren't just any stories, they were descriptions of certain places in Narnia! The first story he told was about a magical place which had two kings and queens. Professor Kirke also looked at peter when explaining this bit. It was 4pm and the bell signalling end of the school day rang. Peter sighed in relief and took his place at the back of the line to exit the class. As he was leaving he heard Professor Kirke say "My king."

Peter spent the next two hours looking for his bag. It contained most of his jotters and books for the subjects he was taking. He finally remembered he had taken his bag with him at lunch time which meant it would be at the hut Victoria showed him! Making sure nobody was following him, he exited the school gates. He was almost down the road when he heard the gates shut. An immature side of him told him to go back to the gates and shout for help but he knew that would do no good. Fortunately, he had a decent place to spend the night.