"Wake up Seattle! It's 6:00 in the morning, and boy do we have a beautiful day ahead! Clear skies all day, except for periodic rainstorms in the East bay - be sure to watch out for those! In traffic this morning there was a minor fender bender along..." Smack! Celia turned the radio off and tried to go back to sleep. Ten minutes... Fifteen minutes... it wasn't working. Bleary eyed, she untangled herself from the bed sheets and dragged herself to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she ran a comb through her unruly, tangled mess of curly red hair.
"Is there anything to look forward to today?" Celia asked herself as she put on her silver chain necklace - a present from her grandmother. Her cat, Mischeif, whom everyone called "Missy" began playing with the leg of her purple pajama bottoms. "Hey Missy, I think I have that test in Marine Biology today. Oh, and we turn our notebooks in for math. Swim practice afterschool. And umm... I don't know what else." She finished brushing her teeth, put her hair up in a hasty bun, and dressed for school. 'Disorganized, disorganized!' Celia thought as she rifled through her dresser, finding anything clean to wear. "Ah Missy! I'll wear my tight jeans today with...ummm...my pink shirt!" She was shocked and surprised to find her favorite ensemble wasn't dirty.
It was Wednesday, and Celia did not look forward to the rest of the boring week. For the last two weeks, students at Willow Grove High school enjoyed Monday s off. Celia thought it very sad that all she had to look forward to was a day off from school, on which she would do nothing. Celia was a 15 year old sophomore at Willow Grove. All her friends were as bored as she was. Two whole more years before she got out! How would she last?! It was nearly the end of the school year and she didn't look forward to summer vacation when she had to spend two months in hot, humid Florida in a retirement home with her grandparents.
"Aaaaahh! Why won't something interesting happen to me?! I'd settle for a pop quiz in history at this point! Just don't make me go through the same old boring day schedule!!! Missy, go away! You're sitting on my shoe!" Celia grabbed her shoe and ran downstairs for breakfast.
"Come on Celia, you're going to be late again!" yelled her very impatient mother. After her breakfast of Cheerios and orange juice, she got her backpack and ran to the car.
"So Celia, do you have everything?" asked her mother.
"Yes mom." said Celia, sounding very exasperated.
"Okay then, bye! Have fun at school! Learn something!" said her mother, stopping the car in front of Willow Grove High, and yelling loud enough for everyone standing on the front lawn to hear.
~*~
"Go on mage, show us some more of your tricks!" shouted one of the noble girls that Nealan of Queenscove was entertaining in the palace hallway. He had the Gift, and was entertaining them with simple illusions. He was flirting, he knew it. So did Keladry of Mindelan, the only girl page at the royal court of King Jonathan III.
"Come on Neal! You're the one who always wants to get to the group on time!" said Keladry - Kel, as she was known to her friends. The group she referred to was their evening study group.
"I'll be along in a second." said Neal, the tone of his voice saying differently.
"Neal, do something new; something we haven't seen before." said a pretty blonde girl in a green court dress.
"Well, I could try the "Transport spell" which should, if I do it right, transport someone here." said Neal.
"Someone? Like who? A gallant prince?" asked another of the girls.
"I don't know exactly who, or from where for that matter. I could be transporting the Stump!" joked Neal. Kel laughed also, trying hard not to show her amusement.
"Do it Neal! Please?! For me?"said a very pretty, very flirtatious, brown haired noble girl.
"Alright! Alright, I'll try." said Neal, blushing fiercely. Kel stood against the wall of the hallway, rolling her eyes at this disgusting display of flirtiness.
~*~
Celia was nearly asleep in her history class. Her teacher, Mrs. Roberts, giving another hour long lecture on the Russian Revolution. It was only first period! How on Earth was she going to survive the entire day?! "I wish I were somewhere else," she thought dreamily to herself, "anywhere else, just not here." With that thought, she fell asleep.