Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters apart from Safara and Aquaria. They belong to Jenny Nimmo!
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Emma glided swiftly down towards Art. The prospect of seeing Tancred in her class caused her heart to flutter and for just a moment she forgot she was in a slightly busy hallway full of skeptical students walking to their lessons. As she turned the corner to Art, she noticed some static blond hair and immediately knew whom it belonged to. There sat Tancred with his best friend Lysander. Upon entering art class, she surveyed the room. Easels and canvases stood almost vertical to the roof. Discarded masterpieces sat in pile upon pile in every nook and cranny of the large but cramped art room. The large east facing windows showed the rising sun at about mid-morning. As the sun rose up Emma's face Tancred watched in awe. After Lysander swore he saw Tancred salivate down his face, but Tancred blatantly denied it. The suns rays now hit Emma's eyes and she was suspended from her thoughts only to come back to reality to find her entire art class staring. Colour rose to her cheeks, and she flushed a sudden scarlet. She took her place and began drawing facing downwards.
A substitute teacher was talking eccentrically to the class about lino printing. She had printed her name it bold cursive righting and was busy instructing and encouraging students. Her dress sense showed her mad art styles and the dreadlocks she had loosely arranged on her head, hung limply off her head in waves. She wore huge circular glasses, that she always wore lopsided and made her eyes look much bigger than they actually were. Her large over sized belt, hung off her body. It held many odd but treasured items, which were always splattered in paint. Her skirt was long and brown, with lots of embroidered circles in all colours of the rainbow. Her top was the only tight object on her body. It was a metallic colour somewhere between gold and silver and had many swirling patterns curling down one side. Her eyes lit up as she addressed the class.
"Class," she coughed dramatically "I would like to introduce you to a new member of our school. This is Aquaria Mist. She will be in our art class from now on. I would like you all to make her feel at home." Aquaria Mist looked around the room shyly. She surveyed her surroundings and sat down in the spare seat next to Emma. There was a blank canvas on her easel that she quickly started washing in a calm shade of blue. Her eyes were focused on her work so didn't notice Emma's gaze.
Charlie stood impatiently outside his next class. Music was his least favorite lesson, but was compulsory for him, so he unwillingly took the lessons as they came. Students were scattered through out the corridor, but an unknown face was making her way towards Charlie. Charlie stood expectantly, but the girl simply walked past him and into the music room, where she greeted the teacher, Mrs Daggles, with as much courage as an old student would have. Charlie was stunned as he was sure that this girl was new, yet she had the presence and attitude of someone who had been at the school for years. The rest of the pupils filed in as the new girl and the teacher started talking. Mrs Daggles suddenly pointed at Charlie. He sat up suddenly and flushed red. The new girl walked slowly towards him and sat down in the seat next to him. She smiled, and flicked her red hair before introducing herself to Charlie.
"Hi! I'm Safara Nuli. You must be Charlie." She spoke with the confidence of a good friend, rather than someone he had just met. She had amber coloured eyes, and fiery red hair, which crackled as she moved.
"How did you-" Charlie began before she interrupted him and said:
"The Headmaster has put me in all of your classes, which means you are my assigned buddy" she grinned widely displaying pure white teeth.
"Oh…" said Charlie doubtfully.
"Oh, and I'm endowed!"
"So am I…" Awkwardness filled the room leaving a lingering feeling of guilt. She pondered on the thought of being too out right with him. "How… How are you endowed?" Charlie asked hesitantly.
"I can manipulate fire, and create it," Safara spoke less enthusiastically this time, then looked up to the board were Mrs Daggles was writing out the lesson plan for the day and the aims that the students would be asked to archive.
When she didn't say anything more, Charlie softly said, "Lets see then." Safara looked shocked, but agreed and clicked her fingers. A small flame appeared on the tip of her index finger and stroked her skin lovingly. With a click it unwillingly left her. Charlie sat there motionless for a few seconds, until finally he released a breath of astonishment. Safara smiled shyly, but internally felt like she'd broken through the thick outer skin, or was it just simply thickness? She pondered her way through first lesson, and by second period she found herself leaning towards the possibility of being friends with Charlie.
Emma looked up from her painting and caught sight of Tancred staring at her canvas. She was painting a picture of all her friends, including him and he was the only one she had done in colour so far. She blushed and continued painting, moving on to colour in the outline of Olivia.
"Sander… she's so beautiful" Tancred murmured.
"Well ask her out you moron," Lysander hissed back, "now shut up, because I am trying to finish this for my mum's birthday, next week."
"Sorry" Tancred sighed before looking down at his blank canvas. He wasn't very good at painting, but he felt that he needed to paint something.
"I need inspiration," he muttered, before walking to the window and gazing out into the blackening sky. It had started raining, which indicated to his best friends that he was upset.
Emma worried when she saw that it had started raining. She was always worrying, especially about him.
"Talk to her, Charlie!" Olivia Vertigo told Charlie strictly.
"I don't know Livvy, she won't ever like me. I know for a fact she likes someone else." He replied sadly.
"Have faith. Don't say that. You're amazing!" she frowned, evidently annoyed at Charlie for not believing what was obvious (to her – and everyone of her friends. Except Charlie).
"But Livvy, I just want to tell her how I feel" he declared.
"What are you doing here then? Tell her!" she cried.
"She won't like me." He said, matter-of-factly.
"And how do you know that?" Olivia looked at Charlie with a faint smile playing around her lips.
"I can just tell. She likes someone, and it's not me." He looked quite sad for a moment.
"Oh for god's sake Charlie, tell her. Now. Go." She ordered him, but he hesitated.
"What should I say?" a questioning frown broke out on his face. He looked very worried, but adorably clueless.
"Just say how much you like her!" Olivia said exasperated.
"But, but I tell her that regularly, daily!" he cried, putting his face into his hands.
"What do you mean?" she questioned, but inside her heart was fluttering.
"I am always with her. All the time. When she is near me I go all nervous. I love her Livvy, and I don't know what to do." He said sadly.
"I know how you feel. I have the same problem, but he will never ever like me." She said turning sadly.
"Wait, who do you like, Livvy?" the same questioning look returned to his face, and she inwardly grinned.
"It doesn't matter. But he won't like me, and I really like him." Outside Olivia put on a sad face, thank god for all that acting! she thought.
"She won't like me."
"She does. I'm sure she does."
"And how would you know?" he asked.
"Who wouldn't like you?" she replied.
"Well… you don't." he smiled wryly.
"You're right." Charlie's face fell at Olivia's words. "I don't like you. I love you."
"I love you too, Livvy" he smiled shyly.
"Okay. So are you going to tell her yet?" she raised her eyebrows, and he flushed a deep red.
"Umm… I just did." He looked nervous all of a sudden, and Olivia's heart skipped a beat.
"What?" she blurted, not believing her ears, but hoping that they had heard him right.
"Olivia Vertigo. I love you, and I'm hoping that you l-" before Charlie could finish saying what he wanted to say, Olivia had her arms round him and was kissing him like he was all her oxygen. He responded and lifted her off her feet.
Later that day Olivia would ponder longingly back on to that moment and she would think "Talk about sweeping me off my feet."
"EQUITATION CLASSES BEGIN NEXT TUESDAY. ALL STUDENTS MUST ATTEND: First Form; 11-12, Second Form; 1-2, Third Form; 2-3, Fourth Form; 3-4, And Fifth Form; 4-5. If you have a particular talent for this class you will be moved into a 'master class' on Wednesdays, 11-12." The notice on the student board had simple instructions.
Tancred's next class was Poetry, and as he walked past the sheet of paper, he groaned. Tancred and horses did not go together. It was a match made in hell. Last time he'd ridden a horse he'd got annoyed and zapped the horse, the horse then bucked him off and he'd been hurled to the ground. End of horse-riding career. Tancred carried on his route towards poetry classes. As he was unusually early, Tancred stood against the wall outside his lesson and waited for the teacher to ask him to come in. The next person to arrive was a small girl with a petit frame and a shy face. She was scurrying towards him. Tancred stood upright and off the wall as she approached and addressed him calmly.
"Hello, I'm Aquaria. Is this poetry class?" Tancred nodded. A long pause came between them as the two stood, each waiting for the other to speak. Finally Aquaria spoke "You don't remember me, do you? I was in your Art class this morning. You were staring at that girl's work… Emma? I think you like her."
Tancred blushed so much that Aquaria could feel the heat coming off his face, and they were standing a metre apart.
"Tancred? Are you alright?" a quiet voice said. It was Emma, looking puzzled as to why Tancred was such a furious red. She stared at him, then as she realised what she was doing she looked away and coughed.
"I'm fine," he replied hurriedly, looking at the floor, and if it were possible, Aquaria swore he blushed even deeper. She gave Tancred a knowing look, just as the teacher told them to enter the class. The rest of the pupils had arrived, and so they all filed in.
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