CHAPTER TWO: LYRA

Two years after Lyra's heart-wrenching separation from Will, she and her dæmon Pantalaimon decided to take up Dame Hannah's offer and go to her boarding school, even though she knew that she would despise all the other girls.

Now, one year after Lyra decided to go to the boarding school, Lyra was wishing she'd never chosen to go to the boarding school. Out of all the hundreds of girls in the school, only one was her friend.

"Oh!! Lyra!! You'll never guess what Jake told me today!!" Hannah blabbered to Lyra on morning before school started. Her dæmon was a small chattering chickadee, which fit perfectly with Hannah, thought Lyra blandly. The only reason Lyra kept Hannah as a close friend was because she didn't have the heart to tell her to go away, and because somehow, her incessant chatter seemed to take Lyra's mind off things that troubled her. Mostly Will.

"Uhhh..." Lyra let out a sigh, thinking about what Jake could've possibly told Hannah, while slowly combing her hair, and preparing her things for class. "He told you he likes you and wants to go out with you?" Lyra smiled gently. But upon closer inspection you could see her smile was deeply troubled.

"Who told you?!" Hannah said sharply.

"Well it's only obvious," Lyra said chuckling softly. "You're constantly getting new boyfriends, and I think this is the first time you've said the name 'Jake' around me," She gave Hannah another wounded smile.

"I am NOT constantly getting new boyfriends!" She said slightly insulted by Lyra's comment.

"I don't know about you, but I would call two boyfriends a week constant," Lyra said, almost finished preparing her things. Hannah was very disorganized, and was usually late to class. But before Hannah could interject, Lyra said quickly. "Sorry Hannah.. Math," She sighed mournfully. Hannah gave her a look of shock and disgust.

"Oh... Okay, see you later!" She said rather sad as Lyra walked out of the dorm and headed to math class. Lyra shook her head and laughed silently to herself. Unfortunately, Hannah wasn't in any of her classes because she was a few years younger than Lyra. Now that Hannah wasn't around, Lyra just thought about things with nothing to do with whatever class she was in. She was constantly berated for this.

Half an hour into her class, she suddenly jolted in her seat realizing that Midsummer was just a week away. However this caught the attention of everyone in the room. Including Mrs. Juliet.

"Lyra! What is the matter?" A stern voice most recognized as Mrs. Juliet's' voice called out.

"Huh? Oh!—Uhh... I uhh I figured out the err, the answer to the problem we're on." She said doubtfully.

"Oh!" Mrs. Juliet said in a somewhat happier tone of voice. "Would you care to tell us?"

Lyra looked up at the bored and saw a hopeless string of numbers and equations, and other gibberish you couldn't even dream of understanding. Now was one of the times where she really wished she could consult the alethiometer. But now since she could not she had to resort to saying,

"I forget," and glared fiercely at everyone that giggled and pointed at her. Pantalaimon in his Pine Marten form even added some menacing growls too. But When Lyra glared like that she couldn't bear it. Every time she did this she remembered Will, and her heart thudded painfully. After she could bear it no longer, she sullenly looked down, and sunk her head into her arms, with Pan around her neck, reassuring Lyra as much as he could.

The rest of the day was similar. This is why Lyra hated the boarding school. But at the end of the day, most of her troubles by Hannah's endless babbling of what Hannah defined as "love". Of course Lyra knew Hannah had never known love as Lyra had known it. But for now, all Lyra did was listen and she was comforted. And before she fell asleep, she mentally recounted how many days till midsummer. Sorrowfully, she smiled, then all her worries were not thoughts, but dreams.