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Chapter Two
Worst First Day
Esmerelda's bad start at her new school did not get any better. After a while the teacher had proceeded to do peer marking and Esmerelda switched her book with the girl next to her who smirked at her when she saw the page was blank as if it amused her. The girl raised her hand and spoke in a soppy voice.
"Sir the new girl did not do her work" she told him. He looked up, his frown if possible getting deeper, he walked to their table and picked up her booklet.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked Esmerelda with a hard stare.
"I don't know how to do fractions sir" Esmerelda explained looking at the floor.
"You don't know how to do something you have been doing since primary school? A likely story, I don't know what your last school was like but not doing work is unacceptable here and you young lady can do the questions you didn't bother to do in detention" he told the girl whose eyes widened.
"What? No I am a good student I don't get detentions!" Esmerelda told him, how had she managed to get in so much trouble already? She had being here less than half an hour.
"Well now you do, tonight after school, don't try skip out, I know where the classroom for your last lesson is" he told her as he threw her book back down. Esmerelda just sat there open mouthed in disbelief.
The bell rang making Esmerelda jump as there was no bells at Cackles. Students stood up and walked towards the door and Esmie checked her timetable seeing she had science next. She followed some of the girls from her last lesson hoping they had science next to. Luckily they did and she walked in the lab and a woman was sat there. She seemed very timid because pupils were talking and she wasn't trying to stop them.
"Melinda Hallow?" she asked in a quiet voice as the girl entered the room, already annoyed from getting detention she was even more annoyed now.
"It is Esmerelda" the girl told her annoyed. The woman nodded and told her to sit down, whether the woman had listened or not was another story.
The woman talked about stuff Esmerelda had never heard about before but she did hear girls discussing if they were going to be doing a practical, if they were Esmie only hoped it was like potions.
Sadly that was not the case. They did do a practical, only it was nothing like potions, there was no ingredients and no cauldron, just something called a bunsen burner and some metal she was supposed to heat or something and she was told to put on a pair of plastic glasses she looked ridiculous in. She was told to work with a group of girls in the corner of the room who did not look thrilled at this at all. When she walked to them one of the girls started to speak, she had blonde hair like Esmerelda and a face covered in freckles.
"Geek, you can do the work" the girl told her turning away to talk to her friends and leaving Esmerelda to do everything, she was going to protest but knew it was not wise to make enemies now on her first day. She followed the instructions as best as she could but they were confusing and she had no idea what she was doing.
She managed to get the bunsen burner lit but she didn't realise a bunsen burner needed a cover and she burned her hand as she was trying to burn the metal. The teacher told her to run it under cold water and she ran to the sink to do that, if this had been Cackles HB would have sorted it by now, instead she was left with a nasty blister on her hand, she was grateful when the lesson was over to say the least.
After her lesson she had breaktime and she used this opportunity to find her locker. It didn't take long to find it and it was just a simple turn of the key for it to open, at least something had gone right today. She shoved her maths book in annoyed at how much everything had gone wrong already and because she was annoyed she slammed her locker shut just as a teacher appeared out of nowhere, a balding man who looked annoyed.
"Who slammed that locker?" he asked the students around the lockers, Esmerelda knew being truthful would be best.
"Me" Esmerelda said confused not knowing what was going to happen.
"Detention!" he shouted and the girl gawped wondering how this led to detention.
"But I have one tonight already!" Esmerelda replied.
"Well tomorrow then" he told her matter of factly.
"But" Esmerelda argued thinking this was unfair. She was sure it was a normal things for stroppy pupils to slam their lockers.
"Two detentions, do you want a third?" he asked the girl who shook her head and he walked away leaving Esmerelda to feel stupid and lean her head against her locker.
Despite her rubbish day so far she had English next and she was looking forward to it. She loved reading and writing and language in general. She entered the lesson happily and took a seat and when her teacher, Miss Berry, told them she wanted them to read the first two chapters of the book being handed out Esmerelda was thrilled, finally a lesson where she was good at something. Finally a lesson that was not different from the magical world and she understood.
She picked up the book and although she had never read it before she was excited about reading it, any new book was exciting to her, but it was only as she read the first few pages she realised something, it was the most boring, bland and confusing book she had ever read in her life. The story itself was awful and she was not enjoying it at all. The characters were forgettable and she could not remember who was who as the names were all so similar. She wondered if she had to write a report about this book because if she did she had no idea how she would get through it. Esmerelda loved to read everything she got her hands on and had never yet not finished a book, this might be the first time.
"Remember girls this is the main book you will be tested on your GCSE so you must know it like the back of your hand" the teacher told them as they read the book. Esmerelda was shocked, why did she have to read such a horrible book when she had one in her bag she was desperate to finish, she raised her hand and the teacher walked over to her with a smile. Luckily Esmie had managed to grab a table alone so she had no nosy partner listening in.
"I was just wondering would I be able to read a different book for the exam?" Esmerelda asked already having the perfect one in mind, it was one of her, and actually Ethel's, favourites, They both adored the book and it had been read so much the cover was a battered mess but it was still her absolute favourite.
"I beg you pardon?" her teacher asked not seeming to understand what she had just asked her.
"Would I be able to write about another book?" Esmerelda asked again not sure how she could make it anymore clear.
"Is there a problem with the assigned one?" her teacher asked her and Esmerelda decided she had to tell her, it was awful and she had to know.
"Yes, the characters are boring, the story is awful, it is confusing and badly written" Esmerelda replied and her teachers eyes widened at her, Esmerelda wondered what she was thinking. The woman's eyebrows disappeared under her fringe she raised them so high. She was tall, dark skinned and had dark hair with a fringe and her hair styled in a ponytail.
"And you are an expert are you? Did you write the exam?" she asked the girl in a mocking way.
"No but if you want us to study a book can it not be a good one?" Esmerelda asked her. The teacher looked at her and started to shout.
"IT IS YOUR FIRST DAY AND YOU ARE ALREADY ANNOYING ME, NO YOU MAY NOT READ ANOTHER BOOK, I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU WENT TO BEFORE BUT HERE YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANYTHING, YOU WILL READ THE SAME BOOK AS EVERYONE ELSE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" she shouted Esmerelda nodded and nervously placed with her hands, always one to hate being shouted at. The teacher walked away and Esmerelda put her head down to read this book she hated so much.
Her next few lessons, music, RE and History were not really very eventful, Esmerelda kept her head down really upset about how her day had gone. She had detention which was a nightmare as her teacher kept her till nearly seven because she still couldn't do the work, in the end she wrote down some rubbish knowing it was wrong but at least she was allowed to go. She got back so late she had no time to mirror her sisters and she sighed hoping she would be able to tomorrow.
She got home and was really upset, she had not expected her first day to be so so bad, she focused on a book on her desk in her room and pointed her hand at it, hoping by some miracle her powers had being restored but of course nothing happened, not even a spark. She threw herself onto her bed feeling her head hurt and the burn on her hand throb. She knew it would take her months to adjust.