A bright, beautiful morning, a new fresh start.
But be careful, the day might just break your heart.
The insistent beeping of the alarm clock broke the peaceful silence of Anthea 'Astrid' Hofferson's bedroom at 6:00 that morning. Astrid groaned, rolled over in her bed, and pressed the snooze button, trying to sleep a little more.
But, finding her efforts to be futile as always, she sat up well before the clock went off, and switched it off. Now the accursed noise is stuck in my head. She thought gloomily.
Astrid yawned, stretched, and reached for her hairbrush. She used to use her morning hair to scar her little brother, Harold, when she was younger, but she had grown out of it now.
After dragging the brush through her unruly hair in a feeble attempt to tame it, she got up, sleepily padding to the bathroom, and took a shower. No one else was up, she always woke up way earlier than the rest of the family.
The day was bright, so Astrid drew up a chair and sat for a while, looking out her bedroom window over the garden and the street below. A few cars drove through, but it was yet to become real rush-hour.
Astrid stayed seated there, watching the comings and goings of the people, small as her hand from the spacious fourth-floor flat she lived in, until the rest of the family were up. She sighed, and got up, walked out the door to the bustle of the morning.
"'Morning Mum." She said as Beka, her mother, bustled by.
"'Morning dear." Beka said vaguely as she hurried by, her arms full of washing. Astrid made her way to the kitchen in an unhurried way. It was empty, no surprise, so she took a bread-roll from the breadbin and chomped on it. Her father, John, popped in.
"Ah, there you are, Anthea. I was looking for you." He said.
"Good morning to you too, dad." Said Astrid sarcastically.
"Sorry dear, first day back at school is always a rush." He kissed the top of her head, and Astrid smiled at him.
Astrid and Harold arrived at school just in time. The bell rang, and Astrid made her way to the eighth grade history classroom, Harold to the third grade maths. He really was a lot younger than Astrid.
As Astrid found her way to her desk, she spotted someone already in the room. At the other seat on her desk, too! She was surprised, the bell had only just rung. He was a tall boy with auburn hair and piercing green eyes, partially blurred by large square glasses. Astrid recognised him as Hunter 'Hiccup' Haddock, the mayor's son and the school freak. She took her seat without a word, quietly ignoring him.
He smiled at her, a little hopefully, but she ignored him. The classroom began to fill up, her friends Heather, Terry 'Tuffnut' Thorston, and Rachael 'Ruffnut' Thorston. They all sneaked smiles at her, which she returned.
A few minutes later, the teacher, Miss White, came in.
"Welcome back, class!" She said brightly.
This was going to be a long day...