Author's Note:
Confession: I do not own the Sea of Trolls series.
Chapter 1: The Girl's Dorm
Once again, Jack was walking through the girl's dorm. This is so embarrassing, Jack thought. Female apprentice bards are peering at him through cracks of their doors, whispering filled the hallway. Jack stared at the ground and followed Pattie, Thorgil's roommate to her room. Nobody stop them, this is quite serious because only Jack was able to persuade Thorgil to come out of her bed. At first they won't let Jack go in since it was a girl's dorm, but since Thorgil had been lacking behind in her class, this is the only way.
Pattie opened a door at the far end of the hallway and entered with Jack behind her.
"Go away!" Thorgil said sharply from under her covers. Jack sighed and tugged on the blanket. It is already the third time this week he had to do this.
"Thorgil, you need to come out somehow," Jack called, slightly irritated.
"I DON'T CARE! A SHEILD MAIDEN NEED HER SLEEP!"
"And the shield maiden isn't you!" Jack retorted now clearly frusterated.
He got no reply except strings of curses coming out of a peep hole that Thorgil had left open for air.
"You'll die in there if you don't come out, and go STRAIGHT to HEL." Jack pointed out, trying another technic.
After 12 minutes (yes, he was actually counting), eventually Thorgil decided to come out. Her wheat-colored hair was and dirty, her face pink from... shame? He wish. From the lack of air under the blanket. To make it worse she was wearing her own clothes, which were male clothing.
"How long since you last bathed?! You STINK!" Jack said pinching his nose, he thought he had heard laughter from outside the room. He was pretty sure there is more than one person outside the door.
His only reply was a ferocious scowl sending his way.
"Look Pattie, I need to go down now, if I stay here I will sure be late for class! Make sure she doesn't crawl back in bed," Jack said as he went out the door. Like he had guess, girls were surrounding the room, all of them ran off giggling when Jack opened the door. Hurrying, he ran down the stairs two at a time, to his own room in the boy's dorm.
"Morning Jack," A freckly boy said while getting up from his bed. His bright red hair tousled and unevenly cut. It was said he wanted to try a new style. Well, that's what Thorgil had said anyway. If only it was that simple.
One day they went to the forest to search for the rare fire-proof mushrooms.
"One bite could make you immune to fire for 16 hours," Their teacher had said. "It's rarely found but luckily, in the woods of our school there are at least three or four each year. Only cut the top red part of the mushroom. The bottom white stem is poisonous and can cause serious rash. Got it? Good! Partner up!"
It could have been an accident since the mushroom was a red and rather skinny looking that Thorgil may or may not have thought Patrick was a mushroom and accidentally cut of half of his hair. Either way, he came back with unevenly cut hair and rash up till his forearm. The surprising thing is that they were the only group that came back with the fire-proof mushroom caps, three in all.
Thorgil was suspiciously nice to Patrick that week... although for a whole month after that, he wouldn't walk next to Thorgil, neither partner up with her. And that's how Patrick earned Thorgil's trust.
"Morning Patrick," Jack replied. Patrick was Jack's roommate ALSO Pattie's twin brother. He and Pattie were the only one nice to him and Thorgil when they just got in school.
Patrick yawned and went to his closet, he got out his white cloak, staff and his leather boot. Since Jack had already dressed he open the window and waited for the bell to ring.
When it ring once it means they need to go to breakfast, when it rings twice it means they need to go to their class for first period. There are other meanings too like it would ring ten times it means there is a fire, which happens quite often since they learn life force as one of the subjects too. This school isn't JUST a school, it is also were bards from all over Europe comes to learn magic as some people called.
But to be honest, Jack missed his family. His mother was probably wondering when he's coming back and why in the world he hadn't been contacting. Plus, Hazel, his long-lost sister was finally an addition to the family after Lucy his other sister, turned heartless and left.
Lucy, Jack silently mourned. I could have saved her.
He shocked his head to get the thought out of his head. No, she chose that path herself.
Just when Patrick had done tying his shoe the bell rang, together they walked down the stairs out the student dorm to the cafeteria. The smell of hot cider and bread floated out from the window filling their nostrils. Maybe today isn't that bad after all, Jack thought.