Chapter 1: A day of Unfortunate Events (and one incredibly lucky occurrence)
I shivered as I pulled my cream-colored sweater tighter around my body. It was unseasonably cold for mid-October, and I now deeply regretted not bringing another layer. As if it didn't suck enough that I was moving schools a month after the beginning of my senior year, now I had to freeze to death while waiting for somebody to realize that I was here and let me in.
Great, I thought shoving my hands into my pockets, now I have a whole hour to kill.
The school administration had told me to be there at six-thirty for our meeting and they had assured me that any time before that would be fine. Apparently that didn't apply to being there an entire hour early. I had been far too nervous to sleep much, and that combined with my usual erratic sleeping habits had equaled only about an hour of rest. I had already killed an hour just driving around the streets of my new town getting used to the lay out.
I had moved (or more accurately run away) to Magnolia in order to escape my not to pleasant home life, but we'll get more into that later. It was a nice enough town for what it was, a place that I could even potentially see myself calling home one day, if I grew to love it as much as my old place. I would definitely enjoy the school, Fairy Tail High, a lot more than my previous one, Porter's School for the Privileged. Growing up, I had never really had many friends, as I didn't really fit in well with the kind of kids who happily attended a school for the "socially elite". I hoped that attending a different school, one that didn't cost a hundred thousand dollars a year, would help me meet some people that I could actually connect with enough to call my friends.
Fairy Tail High wasn't exactly public a public school either, as it was still a fair amount of money to attend, but since it had a campus it would be just as cost-efficient as living in an apartment while attending a normal school. I figured I might as well chip in the extra thousand-or-so to be closer to my classes. Plus living in a dorm would mean forced interaction with other senior girls, which could potentially lead to friendship.
The fact that the school had a campus had actually been the determining factor when I was deciding between Fairy Tail and another school called Blue Pegasus. Well there had also been the fact that Blue Pegasus had until very recently been an all-girl's school, so the student body was about ninety-five percent female. I had once known a girl who had attended a girls only school, and every time a boy tried to talk to her, even if it was about a project, she would literally run away screaming (trust me it got old real fast). There was no way that I was going to risk becoming even more socially awkward, as, unfortunately, I had been born just a little bit crazier than most people. Okay, let's be real here, A LOT crazier than most. I mean come on, what healthy teenager shows up to school at five-thirty in the morning?
I had managed to kill ten minutes by sitting next to the main entrance of the building memorizing my map. This school was huge, and it would definitely help if I had at least some idea where I was going. Unfortunately, I hadn't really thought my plan through, and now my butt was freezing from sitting on the granite bench that was apparently a gift from the graduating class a couple years back. My fingers were also numb from handling the map.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid" I muttered to myself, as I carelessly shoved my map back into my bag, wrinkling the paper. "Oh why didn't I just wait in the car?"
Giving up hope that someone would arrive anytime soon and let me into the (hopefully) warm school, I grudgingly began the surprisingly long walk back to my car. As soon as I was inside, I cranked the heat and pulled out my iPod, planning to enjoy the warmth while listening to some of my favorite music. My car heated up quickly and it soon became almost cozy. It wasn't long before I felt my eyelids growing heavy, and my mind beginning to drift off…
Groggily, I opened my eyes, yawning in the split second it took me to remember where I was. Oh crap, I must have fallen asleep!
"No, no, no, no, no! This cannot be happening to me right now!" I practically scream as I read the time displayed on the clock 7:25. I'm almost an hour late. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!"
I practically jump out of my seat as I grab my bag and yank my keys from the ignition, stopping only to lock my door. Then I'm sprinting across the parking lot, flying by several surprised students who no doubt are returning from early morning coffee runs (although personally I'm more of a tea girl myself).
"Sorry" I scream as I shove my way through the thick crowd of people entering the school. It seems to take an eternity for me to reach the office, even though in reality it only took three-minutes (which has to be some kind of record). Pausing for a moment to smooth my sleep-wrinkled clothes, I push the door to the office open and approach the secretary. I offer her a bright smile.
"Hello Ms.…" I trail off sheepishly, forgetting her name.
"Porlyusica." She finishes with a frown. Ms. Porlyusica looks to be in her mid-sixties, her face worn with frown lines. She seems to be the kind of person that you would expect to find scolding young children or frowning at you for making too much noise in the library, not someone who would be working as a high school secretary. Her most prominent feature was her long pink hair that was pulled neatly back into a bun. I couldn't help but wonder if it was her natural color. "Ah yes, I'm Lucy Aquarius here to meet with Mr. Makarov, the principal" I offer her another nervous smile, as I fidget with the hem of my skirt. "You're late. You were supposed to be here an hour ago, but I suppose he'll see you anyways" She waved me into his office as she spoke. Despite being so late, my meeting with Mr. Makarov actually went really well. Although short in stature, he had a rather eccentric personality, which I personally loved. He seemed way more approachable and friendly than the principal at my old school. "Thank you so much Mr. Makarov!" I smiled, gathering up the things that he had given me, which consisted of a Student ID, a class schedule as well as a new map to replace my crumpled one, my locker combination and number, and the key to my dorm room. "I told Ms. Porlyusica to call down the school council principal so that she can show you around. I'm sure you two will get along wonderfully." At that moment a pretty girl with dark red hair and brown eyes walked into the room. "Mr. Makarov, you wanted to see me?" She asks before her eyes land on me. "I'm Erza Scarlet, the student council president, welcome to our school" Even as she smiles at me she has this authoritative air about her, her very presence demands respect. To be honest, she seemed a little bit scary. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lucy Aquarius. I just moved here." I grin brightly at her, she seems cool, like someone I would like to hang out with. I try to ignore how wrong 'Lucy Aquarius' sounds when I say it. She smiles back. "I understand that you need a tour of the school?" "Yeah, unfortunately I don't quite know my way around here yet." "That's totally fine, most new students usually pick it up after a couple of days. Plus the teachers will give you a little bit of leeway when it comes to being late to class for your first week or so." After about an hour, she has given a completely thorough tour of the academic buildings, including showing me where my classes were and the best routes to take to get to them. She had also explained how things like buying lunch worked. We had taken a little break at the on-campus café, mostly because I had yawned like five times and Erza had decided that I needed some caffeine to keep me going. "So, what now?" I asked as I sipped my Chocolate-Caramel Latte with extra whipped cream and five sugars (What I don't like coffee alright? It's way too bitter for me, something that I can only block out with excessive amounts of sugar and warm caramel-y goodness). "Now, I give a tour of the girl's dormitory. Do you know what room you're in?" "Yeah," I replied, fishing the key out of my bag "Room 159?" "No way!" A huge grin broke out across her face "That's my room!