Hi guys! This is my first story, hope you enjoy!
Belle sighed as she pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her best blue dress and turned to her mirror. Today was her first day of senior year, and she was absolutely terrified. Under normal circumstances, Belle wouldn't have had a problem going to school. In fact, she usually loved it! She was incredibly smart, and even though she'd never had very many friends, she did have one. Jessie Potts had been a stunning red-haired girl whose intelligence was second only to Belles. However, after Jessie's mysterious disappearance a month before, Belle's father had insisted that they move, so that Belle would have a chance to get over the loss of her friend. That was how she had ended up at Storybook Heights, in the incredibly small town of Fableville, Ontario.
As she pulled up to the school in her used, old car, her jaw dropped. The 'school' was more like a castle! It was massive and would have been intimidating if it hadn't been painted a friendly shade of light purple. Belle smoothly pulled into a parking spot and began walking up the long, twisting path to the front doors. As she walked, she couldn't help but notice the people around her. They looked so different from the students at her old school! While her past classmates had worn older clothes, and didn't care much for how they looked, these students looked incredible. The girls had bright, long, flowing hair in nearly every colour possible and wore dresses that would have put a supermodel to shame. The boys though, were where Belle noticed the biggest change. Instead of wearing jeans like normal teenagers, they were impeccably dressed in suits and other fineries. Seeing them, Belle blushed as she remembered her own faded blue dress and hand-me-down shoes and hurried into the building.
Once inside, she rushed to the office to get her schedule. As she pushed open the heavy white door, she heard a thump and jumped back as she realized that she must have hit someone standing on the other side.
"Oh my goodness, I am so, so, so sorry! I-I-I didn't see you…" Belle stammered nervously. The door opened fully to reveal a very handsome, tall boy with red hair pulled back into a low ponytail.
"Don't worry about it," the boy smiled as he held the door open. "My name is Adam. What's yours?"
"I'm Belle." She blushed shyly.
"Well, Belle, it's been a pleasure to meet you." He said charmingly. "Hope to see you in class."
Belle smiled and nodded mutely before turning to enter the office. Now that Adam was gone, she could concentrate on what she needed to get: her schedule.
Leaving the office with her schedule and books that the kind, plump secretary had given to her, Belle hurried to her first class. As she stepped into her Advanced Math class, a realization hit her. It was already two months into the year. Everyone would already have made friends by now. Who would want to sit with her? Steeling herself for the worst, she took a step inside, and heard the class go completely silent. A tall, thin woman with a pinched face and graying hair stood by the chalkboard. Seeing that Belle was frozen with fright, the woman gestured her inside.
"Hello girl. What is your name?" the woman snapped.
"Belle." She replied. "I'm new."
"Obviously." The woman drawled. "Go sit next to Ariel."
Belle looked at the students, trying to determine who this mysterious 'Ariel' was, when a flash of red caught her eye. She glanced over and saw a beautiful girl with bright red hair waving her over. Sighing with relief, Belle nearly ran to the desk beside her and collapsed in her chair. As the lesson begun, she snuck glances at her partner. Ariel was stunning. She was petite, had beautiful green eyes, and was wearing what looked to be a very expensive dress. However, the thing that made Ariel the most different was the fact that she was in a wheelchair. Belle wondered what had happened to her, but of course, she would have never asked. Once the teacher had allowed them to begin working, Ariel turned to Belle.
"Isn't Lady Tremaine an awful bore? I'm so glad she finally gave me a partner! "
"You've had to work by yourself on all of this?" Belle asked incredulously, looking at the piles of work that had been assigned to them.
"Yep. She's never liked me very much. " Ariel stated. "It's because of my wheelchair, everyone knows. She thinks I'm a freak, so she always makes me work alone."
"That's terrible!" Belle replied. "I don't think you're a freak!"
"Thanks, Belle, I don't think you're a freak either." She joked. "But, if we don't start this work soon, she won't like you very much either!"
The girls smiled at each other as they began to work on the questions together, and by the end of the period, they had become quite good friends. When the bell rang, they compared schedules and were delighted to discover that they had lunch and French together.
"That's great!" Ariel said. "You can sit with me and Adam. It'll be fun!"
"Thanks Ariel! That sounds great." But as Belle realised who Ariel had said she was sitting with, she froze. Certain that she had heard wrong, she turned to ask Ariel, but she was already gone.