"Mother! Stop it, please!"
A young girl was sitting at home in front of a mirror. The building was a small white stone house. On the opposite side of the room was a large wood fire. A middle aged women was standing behind the girl. She was fumbling with the girl's hair trying to straighten it into a pony tail. A smile formed on her frail looking face.
"Aria please. You look a state. I cannot have you leave for school like this.""I know Mother but I can dress myself.""Well when you start doing so I will stop helping you!"
Aria gazed out of the window. The view was always the same. Sand and dried out trees. She never understood why her mother had moved them both to such a place. She was able to attend the Alexandria College from their old village. There didn't seem to be a logical reason.
Either way she hated it. Aria disliked getting hot and sweaty but how can you stop that from happening in a desert?
Her mother tied a light blue bow around her hair at the top of the ponytail. Aria smiled and stood up. She glided over to her wardrobe and began rummaging through her many outfits. Five minutes passed whilst she scrambled through her collection of garments before she finally chose one.
Aria slipped of her nightgown revealing her slender body dressed in just her underwear. She lifted up her arms and her mother slipped a lovely pale blue dress over Aria's head.
Aria smiled and curtseyed before turning toward the kitchen area. Opening the fridge she reached for the last slice of her mother's four day old birthday cake. After scoffing that she picked up a chocolate bar and opened it with a loud rustling.
"Aria! I have told you need to stop eating so much! You have a chocolate bar in your packed lunch along with sandwiches and an apple!""I know. I am just having a quick breakfast.""A slice of cake and a chocolate bar-"Aria's mother was interrupted by the sound of an engine and a beeping horn."Oh, the bus is here. I've got to go mother. We will talk later. Bye!"
Aria quickly ran over to the shoe rack and donned her white slip-on shoes. After opening the wooden front door to the house she hurriedly ran out toward the bus.
She stepped onto the yellow school bus and paid her fare. As usual she got very odd glares from everyone on the bus. She didn't really have a lot of friends. She did really have any. She walked gracefully to the back of the bus and sat down by herself.
The bus rattled as it accelerated. A cloud of sand was flung up behind it and it sped off toward the city. Aria sat quietly, staring out of the window. It was always the same. Once she had heard someone talking about her on the bus. They had said "she tried too hard to be posh when she was as common as dirt."
That was her biggest problem since she joined Alexandria College. Everyone there came from wealthy families. They had been born with money. She hadn't. In fact her mother still had very little money. Most of it was going on Aria's tuition fees. She always tried to fit in but she never could. For some reason it was always the same, no matter where she went. She would try to fit in the rest of the people and they would shun her.
She let out a quiet sigh then lay her chin on her hand. She looked out of the window once again. If anyone had cared to look at her they would have seen an expression of loneliness and longing. She had always been longing for something. She just never knew what.
An hour passed. A silent hour as always. The bus slowed to a halt and the doors hissed open. Everyone disembarked. Aria was the last to get off. She looked up at the seven hour a day prison that was her school.
It used to be the manor of an Earth Alliance leader who moved abroad. It was four floors tall with a very Victorian style. It was completely out of place in Egypt. Aria had been told by her mother that it was built especially for the Alliance official. It resembled the country manors of Old England she had read about in history books. Whilst staring at the building as she always did something caught her eye. Something in the sky was flashing.
All of a sudden hundreds of orange and red streams filled the sky. They looked like shooting stars. It was a magnificent sight. Aria stared up in awe. Her mouth was wide open and she was smiling at the same time. She heard a group of boys behind her mention the spectacle in amazement. She presumed everyone else must have been looking at it too.
A short moment later however, it was over. Aria shut her mouth and with a small smile gazed up at the sky for a further few seconds. Closing her eyes and smiling to herself she turned toward the school again. As she walked toward the entrance she stopped suddenly.
A cold shiver ran down her spine as a look of confusion covered her face. She turned her head toward the south. Something was there. She was sure of it. Why was she sure of it? What was "it" in the first place? A sense of fear struck her all over and she wrapped herself in her arms.
Taking a few very heavy breaths she tried to relax herself. What was it she was feeling? She couldn't understand it. Her thoughts were disturbed by the school bell ringing loudly. She was late for class.
Aria shook her head quickly before collecting herself. She blinked slowly and started moving toward the school. She would have to work out what that feeling was at later time.
