Chapter 2
"Welcome back Form Two." Miss Hardbroom swept into the room with Aurelia in tow. The girl stood nervously at the door. The room had become instantly silent when the teacher appeared.
"Good afternoon Miss Hardbroom." The girl's chorused in unison. Many of them were staring at Aurelia, which did nothing to help her nerves.
"This is your newest classmate Aurelia Candlewick. Maud, as class representative I would like you to show Aurelia around today." She spoke to a chubby girl with pigtails and glasses. "Aurelia, take the seat next to her."
Aurelia went to claim the seat and smiled weakly at Maud and the girl sitting directly next to Maud who had long dark hair in messy plaits. They both returned the smile.
"Hi, I'm Mildred." The other girl whispered. "Welcome to Cackles."
"Mildred Hubble, do I have to remind you that I expect silence in my class? A very disappointing start to the year indeed." Miss Hardbroom glared at the girl who immediately put her head down.
"Now Ethel will hand out your timetable." She handed the pile of papers to the good-looking girl with dark blonde hair sitting directly in front of the teacher's desk. "You can spend the next hour writing targets about what you hope to achieve this year. I expect for some of you this will be easier than for others." She glared at Mildred again. "Off you go."
The next hour felt like an eternity. Aurelia was shocked to find that the only noise that escaped the girls was the scratching of pens against paper. At her old school most of her teachers struggled to be heard above the hustle and bustle of teenage girls working. She spent most of the lesson watching her aunt, who was scribbling on some papers. The woman looked exactly like her mother, she acknowledged; high cheekbones and her mother's ebony hair. But this surprisingly didn't assure her .The woman must have felt her gaze as she caught her eye.
"Is there a problem Miss Candlewick?" Her eyebrows had risen up her forehead and joined in one long line and she spoke coldly at the young girl.
Aurelia hastily looked down at her paper and quickly wrote down a few general targets.
"Ruby, please collect in the sheets". She ordered a pretty African girl who hastily sprang to her feet. "I believe your first class is spells with Miss Cackle. "Off you go, I will see you all at supper." With that the teacher vanished into thin air.
Xx
"So what do you think of HB?.. sorry Miss Hardbroom, everyone calls her HB around here" Maud asked her newest class member.
"she's ermmm.."
"Terrifying?" Mildred chuckled.
"Yes, definitely scary." Aurelia nodded.
"To be fair you did catch her on a bad day, normally she's harsh but something was definitely up with her today." The girl who had been introduced as Enid Nightshade cut in.
"What does she teach?" Aurelia asked Maud.
"Potions."
"Oh no, I'm rubbish at potions!"
"You can't be any worse than me!" Mildred assured her.
"I'm terrible!"
"Trust me, Mildred makes anyone look like a potions expert!" Enid giggled.
The girls had reached the spells classroom and hastily took seats at the back of the class.
"Good afternoon girls!" Miss Cackle strolled in. "Now since this is your first day back, I think we ought to play 'Finish the Spell'."
The girl's all cheered at this.
"Right whose first, ermmm Aurelia, as our newest class member I think you ought to do the honours. Illius bloomicium"
"Ermm Illius bloomicium geranius geranium." Aurelia nervously waved her hands at the desk in front of her, where a beautiful red geranium appeared from thin air.
"Fantastic, well done Aurelia!" beamed the headmistress.
The game continued for the entire lesson. Except for Ethel, Aurelia was the only girl that got all the spells right. By the end of the lesson Miss Cackle was raving about her abilities. She should have been pleased, but unfortunately Miss Cackle was not the teacher she wanted to impress. She knew that her aunt would be a lot harder to please.
Xx
The first day at Cackles had passed in a blur for Aurelia. By the time evening came her brain was aching. She lay on her bed listening to stories of last year from her new friends.
"I tell you that's the only time I've ever seen HB smile." Mildred finished.
"It must have been pretty painful for her." Enid laughed.
"Wait until potions tomorrow." Maud told her. "You're in for a treat"
"Lights OUT!" came a barking voice from the corridor.
"We better go, before her highness starts dishing out the punishments. Night Aurelia." Enid smiled at her new friend.
"Night." Aurelia replied as she watched the girls leave.
Her mind was wondering. She didn't understand. Why would her mother send her here? When her aunt clearly didn't care for her. She couldn't believe that Miss Hardbroom was related to her. She was so cold and mean. All the girls clearly hated her, she didn't dare tell them that she was her niece. She could just imagine their faces.
"I said lights OUT." The door swung open and her aunt glared at her and at the offending candle next to her hastily blew it out and darkness gulfed her room, making it seem lonelier than ever. She waited for the door to close before closing her eyes tightly.
Xx
