Alfea was huge. I stepped through the invisible wall and onto the campus. The grass that covered the quad was a bright green, almost neon. There were no clouds in the pale blue sky above, and the woods behind the school set a beautiful backdrop for the pink and purple Alfea castle. I hitched my black duffel bag higher onto my shoulder and walked slowly into the quad. There must have been hundreds of girls, milling around the space outside, enjoying the weather and start of the year excitement. A lot of what looked like upper classmen were dressed up, wearing skirts or summer dresses. I was wearing a blue and orange plaid button down, black skinny jeans, and worn black low-top Converse. A black zippered Fedora covered my spiky brown hair, tipped with red, white and blue.
I wove through the throng of girls, standing around, and made my way to a long line of younger girls, that looked like freshmen. A few of them talked and chatted, a few standing awkwardly alone. I turned up the volume on my iPod. I felt so nervous about not knowing anyone, I just wanted to get into a dorm room already! When I got to the head of the line, there was a grim looking woman standing there, staring at me from over the thin rim of her blue glasses.
"Name?" she screeched. I took my headphone out.
"Alice White."
"Place of origin?" the woman said, sounding more and more annoyed.
"Earth," I replied. The woman looked at her list for a moment, then nodded and I moved past her. I popped the earphone back in. "How many Alice Whites can there be?" I muttered.
"Alright ladies, gather round." A woman's voice shredded through my music a few moments later. I took a headphone out and saw the same grouchy woman clapping her hands in the middle of the quad. I looked around; a majority of the girls were walking away from her, but they all looked older. The freshmen girls made their way, eagerly and nervously, towards her. I joined the group of girls, and once we were all there, she started to talk again. "My name is Ms. Griselda, and I am head of discipline here at Alfea school. In a moment, you will go through the doors and meet your headmistress, then you will check into your dormitories. But before you do that, I will tell you what is expected of you here at Alfea.
You are here to learn and perfect your Winx. First off, there is no unauthorized magic allowed in the school. All use of your Winx is for academic purposes only. Our punishments here at Alfea are very strict. Break the rules once, you will be struck with a severe warning and grounding to the school property for a week. Break the rules twice and your powers will be suspended for a week. Break the rules a third time and it will result in your expulsion from Alfea.
Which brings me to our most important rule; Stay away from the witches of Cloud Tower, at all costs. We don't have a punishment for that because nothing we can do will be horrid enough as what they will do if they catch you there! And believe me, they will catch you. Now, follow me."
My head was spinning by the time she finished talking but I gathered my things with the others and followed Griselda up the steps and into the school.
"Hello ladies!" A woman was standing just beyond the doors at the foot of a long staircase. She was shorter than Griselda but her hair was gray and curly. Her dress was also much more flattering on her and her eyes twinkled when she smiled. "My name is Ms. Faragonda and I am your headmistress here at Alfea. Each of you is here for a different reason and each of you is unique. All of your powers are great and you will grow to do great things with them. Some of you will rule your realms as royalty. Others will be guardians of your planet. Others will find your own, different path in this great world.
Now, it is time you all check into you dorm rooms and meet you roommates. Classes start tomorrow morning so get a good nights rest. Have a good rest of your day girls, and let's make this a great year!"
We made our way up the stairs and started to look around. Down a golden hallway, teal blue doors dotted both sides of the hall. All of the doors had a list of names on them. I assumed these were the rooming lists. I searched for my name, and slowly, the girls in the hall disappeared into rooms. Finally, at the last door on the left side, I found my name. It was at the bottom of a list with the names of six other girls. I looked around and saw only a couple other girls left in the hallway, and assumed my roommates were already in there. I took a deep breath, turned my music off, and walked in.
The first sound to hit my ears was laughter and music. In the living room, sat five girls. Three were seated on the couch, and one in a chair, another in her lap. When I entered, they all looked up and the laughter died.
"Uh, hi there," A dark haired girl said. She got up from the other girls lap and walked over. "Do you need something?
"Just a room," I said. "My name's on the list too, I'm Alice."
"Oh," a blond girl answered, disappointedly. "I thought it was just going to be the six of us."
"Sorry to disappoint," I said, staring at her.
"No, it's cool," a red head replied, getting up from the chair also. "I'm Kat." She smiled and held out her hand. She was slightly taller than me, and her skin was milky white, sprinkled with brown freckles all over her arms and legs. Her red hair was curled into tight corkscrews, and cut super short in a stylish bob, just to the middle of her ears. She had on jean shorts and a pale blue off-the-shoulder top.
"And I'm Miranda," the dark haired girl said. She was taller than the others and her hair fell just above her shoulders, black with a purple streak in the side. Her skin was as pale as mine, but her cheeks were pink with blush. Her eyes were an icy blue and they looked like they could stare daggers if Miranda was a mean girl. But something in her eyes told me otherwise. She was wearing a faded denim skirt and black a V-neck shirt.
"I'm Hunter!" another brunette giggled. She stuck her hand out to shake mine. Her hair was shoulder length and pulled into a ponytail and her ivory skin was smooth and clear of any mark or blemish. She was almost as tall as me, maybe quarter of an inch shorter. Her eyes were chocolate brown behind her glasses, and she wore blue jeans and a purple tank top, with a black hoodie over it. Her socks were two different patterns and her smile was wide and happy.
"That's Tori over there," Miranda said. I looked at one of the two blondes on the couch. Tori smiled and gave a small wave. Her hair was shoulder length, dirty blond and hung limply around her face. Her skin was the color of a slightly toasted marshmallow, tanned only a little, to where it still looked natural and even. She had dark blue eyes and was dressed in dark wash jeans and a white Owl City shirt. Her glasses were square and thick framed.
"And you already met Cassidy," Kat chuckled, gesturing to the other blonde. Her eyes were a dull blue color, her blond hair cut just below her shoulders and she had dramatic side bangs. There was a red, glittery flower on a headband perched on the top of her head. She wore dark skinny jeans, a skinny yellow belt, a red tank top, and a denim vest over it. There were a few handmade bracelets on her wrists and there was a gold ring with a blue stone in it on her left pinky finger. She stood up and crossed her arms, her hips cocked to one side.
"Nice," I said, looking closely at Cassidy, then turning away. "So where are you guys from?"
"Wheaton, Illinois," Tori replied. "Church capitol of the U.S." The other laughed and I looked at them, as though I missed a joke.
"So where are you from?"Miranda asked.
"Tucson, Arizona," I replied.
Just then, a short, dark haired girl walked in from another room. She was the shortest one there, and her hair was loosely curled and went down to the middle of her back.
"Um, hi?" she said, looking slightly confused.
"Bridgette, this is Alice," Miranda said. "She's bunking with us."
"So that's why there was another bed in Cassidy's room!" Bridgette said.
"And here I was hoping to have a room for myself," Cassidy grumbled.
"A room with two beds?" I challenged. She glared at me and turned away.
"Anyway, it's nice to meet you," Bridgette said with a smile. Her eyes were brown and she wore dark wash skinny jeans and a gray T-shirt with a flying pig on it.
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Hunter squealed. "I can tell already this is gonna be a great year!"
"Right?" Bridgette replied. "It's gonna be so amazing. Just being here is kinda surreal."
"My mom went here and said her time was one of the greatest times in her life," Miranda agreed.
"Oh, Alice," Kat said suddenly. "Do you wanna go put your stuff away?"
I looked down at my duffel and nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."
"Cool," Kat says. "Like we said, the only open bed is in Cassidy's room. Come on." I picked up my duffel and Kat lead me down one of the three hallways leading out of the living room. The room was pretty big, one bathroom, two walk-in closets, and two beds with a night stand next to each.
"Wow, this is nice!" I exclaimed. I noticed the bed closest to the balcony was already taken, do I took the one by the bathroom. I tossed my duffel down and lay on my back, looking at the ceiling. "This is so rad!"
"Yeah," Kat laughed. "I can't wait until classes tomorrow!"