Chapter 1 – Move-In Day pt.1
This was the most exciting bus ride Carla had ever been on. She was on her way to Alfea College for Fairies, were she would attend as a first year student.
Carla was a young eighteen year old girl fresh out of high school with very short pale blond hair that was parted to the right and flared out a bit at the top of her neck, which was as long as it went to. She had brown eyes behind a pair of glasses with large thick black frames. She was wearing a pink T-shirt with a purple butterfly on the center, light cyan denim capris, and white tennis shoes.
She was on the bus with her best friend Lae, who was on route to Red Fountain. He had light brown hair, pale light yellow eyes, and the muscular build typical of a Red Fountain student. He wore an ocean blue shirt with green around the edges of the short sleeves, yellow around the edge of the V-neck, and purple around the bottom hem; grey pants; and basic black/white sneakers.
Both were from Earth. In fact, they had only just learned a few months previous that the magic even existed. Carla had been a fan of the Winx Club TV show since she was a young girl, and one day discovered she had the ability to turn into characters from the show. The power developed, allowing her to transform into anyone, fictional or otherwise. The Winx Girls themselves had made an appearance telling her that she would to this because the was the fairy of metamorphosis, a legendary power that allowed her to become other people. They also explained that their Earth cartoon show was just another way to get people to believe in fairies, although she was the only one it worked on.*
She and Lae had been outcasts on Earth. People didn't like Carla because of her dorky obsession with Winx. People didn't like Lae because the small town they were from didn't approve of his homosexuality. But they were sure that things would be different at their new schools.
"I can't believe this is finally happening!" Carla exclaimed as she looked out the window. "I'm actually going to be an Alfea student! I might actually get some female friends!"
"I can tell that's what you're going for," Lae said, alluding to her slightly more feminine outfit which was not quite in her normal fashion style. "Don't worry, how could anyone not like you?"
"Ask our fellow Earthlings," Carla replied.
"But you've seen the cartoon," Lae pointed out. "Our fellow students here in the magic dimension can't be nearly as shallow or closed-minded as the people of Earth. I myself am looking forward to making friends who don't care about my sexual preferences."
"I'm just so nervous and excited at the same time," Carla said.
"Nervousited?" Lae asked jokingly.
"I'm serious," Carla laughed it off. "I know it'll be better than Earth, but that doesn't stop me from having worries or anxieties. Fear is directly associated with the unknown."
It was Lae's turn to laugh. "Carla, you are the biggest Winx fangirl I have ever met, how could there be any unknown about this with you?"
"You have a point there, I guess," Carla responded slowly, still worrying about what may or may not happen.
The bus finally pulled to a stop at the Red Fountain exist. "This is where I get off," said Lae. "Wish me luck."
"You won't need it," Carla replied.
Lae stepped off the bus. Red Fountain was quite an amazing sight. There were a bunch of other first years, and some upperclassmen who were either helping out the first years or goofing off. It didn't take long for Lae to end up in a group of second years. They were talking and laughing and having a good time. Until...
"Hey, my little sister's starting at Alfea this year," one said.
"Maybe our own little first year friend will get it on with her," another one nudged Lae.
"Yeah, don't even think about it," said the first.
"You don't have to worry about me," Lae assured. "I don't like girls."
The atmosphere suddenly got sharper and much less welcoming. "You mean you... like dudes? As in, gay?"
"Yeah, that's not a problem, is it?"
Apparently, it was. The boys he was hanging out with quickly scattered. And of course, word spreads quickly, and soon the whole school knew that Lae was a homo to stay away from. His roommate was already requesting a switch, and he hadn't even met him yet.
Lae sat back in his dorm, stared at the ceiling, and sighed. "Just like on Earth..." he realized. He could only hope Carla was having a better move-in day than he was.
~(*.*)~(*.*)~
Carla was amazed at the sight of the tall majestic towers of Alfea real-life in-person. It was a sight she'd only ever dreamed about, and now she was actually here. She saw all the other beautiful fairies walking in, and it was pretty intimidating.
"Hello!" Huge eyes, hyperactive voice. Carla jumped back in surprise. This girl was wearing industrial goggles that made her green eyes look freakishly huge. She had quite literally just popped up into Carla's face.
"Don't startle me like that!" Carla said. But the girl had already gone off to introduce herself in the same obnoxious way to another fairy.
Carla turned to continue into the building, when she bumped into a fairy with curly auburn hair that went down to the middle of her back. Her bangs were pinned straight around her sky blue eyes. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that down to mid-thigh length. It was so detailed and elegant, Carla was sure that this must be a princess.
"I'm so sorry!" Carla apologized.
"It's ok," the girl replied. "I'm Sasha, Fairy of Sunbursts, and..." she paused a moment, "the princess of Orminia."
"Wow, this is my first time meeting a real princess other than the Winx girls!" Carla marveled. "My name is Carla. I'm the Fairy of Metamorphosis, and I'm a commoner from Earth."
"Metamorphosis? Earth?" Sasha questioned.
"Yeah, that's me," Carla replied nervously. This was so awkward. It was her first time introducing herself to someone outside her own realm, and it only just occurred to her how weird it would sound to say she was an Earth fairy. It was already common knowledge that Roxy was the only Earth fairy other than the ones trapped away on Tir Nan Og, until the Winx stepped in, anyway. So how was she an Earth fairy? And a legendary metamorphosis fairy at that? She would have to ask the Winx later.
"That's interesting," Sasha said, although she didn't sound very interested. "I suppose I'll be seeing you around..." She walked away after that.
Carla hoped that meeting other students would go more smoothly. However, as she walked into the building and through the hallways, she saw cliques already forming. Preppy girls banding together, and Carla was invisible. Even if she tried to introduce herself, it seemed that other fairies were too engrossed in their own little conversations to take notice. "Just like on Earth..." she sighed,
She continued navigating through the building as best she could until she located the dorm with her name on it. "Carla of Earth" it said. The other part of the door said "Aura of Oppositus". Now Carla was curious. Oppositus was one of her favorite Realms in the show. Opposites existing in perfect harmony, it was a capital idea.
She went into the room to find that what must have been Aura was already in there. She had black hair that reached passed her shoulders with long bangs parted to the right and pale red eyes. She was wearing a black T-shit that had a white outline of Rainbow Dash's head from the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic complete with colored mane on it as well as the words "20% cooler", dark blue skinny jeans, and blue and black sneakers. She had large headphones and her eyes were closed as she sat on her bed and leaned against the wall.
"Hi, my name is Carla," Carla said meekly. Aura, however, could not hear or see her with her headphones on.
Carla sighed and moved to the only open bed which was hers by default and began unpacking. She was almost done setting up and personalizing her space by the time Aura noticed her. "Hey," she greeted nonchalantly.
Carla turned around quickly. "Hello. My name is Carla, I'm the Fairy of Metamorphosis, and I'm from Earth." She had gone through this a couple of times in her head so she would sound more composed. It didn't work, she still felt nervous and rushed.
"Whatever," Aura replied.
Carla was confused by Aura's cold attitude. Alfea fairies weren't generally like that, as far as she could tell. She decided to press Aura further. "And your name is...?"
"Didn't you read the door?" Aura pointed toward the door's location.
"Well, yes, but aren't you going to tell me anything about yourself?" Carla asked.
"Hmph, I wanted to go to Beta Academy," Aura complained. "That's where all the badass fairies go. But the only way my parents would pay my tuition is if I cam to stupid Alfea. I didn't get any options from any other school in the Magic Dimension! Can you believe that? It's because my parents rigged it that way. So I'm stuck here with all the girly preppy fairies."
Carla was shocked, to say the least. "Isn't Alfea the most prestigious school in the Magic Dimension? Shouldn't you feel honored to be here?"
"Would you believe that before the Winx went to school here, it was just like any other college?" Aura asked. "After the Winx graduated, parents got this idea that Alfea makes modern legends like the Winx. That's why it's so popular. But really, it's no different from any other school. Other than the fact that every girl here has the same personality type, so matter how much they deny it."
All the same personality type? Now that had to be a stretch. Although, now that she thought about it, even if the other students had different interests, they still all acted pretty much the same. Except for Aura and herself.
"Alright, Carla, you want me to talk about myself? Fine. You know my name and realm from the door. I just gave you my spiel about how I don't want to be here, and don't seem completely disgusted by me, so you can't be that bad. I am the fairy of rainbows. Now before you get confused, remember that I'm from the realm of opposites."
Carla was initially confused, but that did make sense. A negative fairy with a cheery power from Oppositus. That worked, somehow. There was something about Aura that she liked. Yeah, she was pretty different, but at least she noticed Carla.
"Do you think that we could maybe be friends?" Carla asked.
"You don't have friends, do you," It was definitely more statement than question, like Aura already knew Carla's social history.
"Well, I have one friend at Red Fountain," Carla answered.
"We can hang out together during classes and meetings and stuff; we'll discuss the friendship label later," Aura decided.
"That's fair," Carla agreed.
"Hey, can you believe there's some chick running around with giants eyes yelling her name at people and running off?" Aura asked.
"Yeah, that happened to me on my way in," Carla responded.
"She was the first fairy to check in this morning, and I think her plan was to introduce herself to every girl on campus," Aura explained, a hint of a laugh in her voice. "I don't remember her actual name, but she's definitely earned her nickname – mole."
"Because a mole would need to magnify their eyes that much to see?" Carla guessed.
"That, and they pop up out of the ground," Aura added.
"But aren't moles Earth creatures?" Carla asked.
"Oh please, moles are all over the place!" Aura said. "You have much to learn, Earth-girl."
The two girls continued chatting throughout the afternoon here and there, stopping occasionally for this and that. Soon there would be the dance for new students, then classes would start. This year certainly wouldn't be average, but at least it would be interesting.
End of Chapter 1
* - In the marked paragraph I have completely summarized my story More Than A TV Show. It's Carla's background story about how she got her powers and stuff. If you haven't read it and don't want to be bothered, you don't have to. I think I summarized it pretty well. If you haven't read it and are interested, it's only ten chapters long and most chapters are around 500 words. It's really short.
A/N: So! Carla's and Lae's move-in days didn't go quite as expected. This is not your average Winx story, I will tell you that right out of the gate. I like to consider myself a Winx rebel, I do things differently than in the show, as you may have been able to tell already. Leave a review if you want, run away screaming if you want. The choice is yours.