Isabel Mincherly had a tragic life. Her father died when she was very young, and her mother, Annabel, went off the deep end soon after. Her grandparents tried to keep her mother's "illness" quiet by having their daughter and granddaughter move in with them. But that only made matters worse.
It was the last straw when little Isabel came home from school one day to find her mother in the bathroom, shaving off her eyebrows. Isabel never forgot what her mother told her that day, before the accident.
"Isabel," she said, "your grandparents mean well, always remember that. They've made a lot of mistakes, but they love you. If they get to be too much, I have a brother you can contact. All you have to do is call out the word, (here she spoke in a whisper) Chrestomanci. Your grandparents made me like I am, and I have to leave. But Christopher, he was lucky; he got away. Now I'm going to get away too. Goodbye."
When Isabel was much older, she thought a lot about that speech, and why she remembered it. That was the only thing that her mother ever said to her that made any sense, and it was also the last time Isabel was allowed to see her mother.
It was a few days later that news reached her grandparent's house about the train accident. Her mother, it seems, was okay, but she hit her head rather hard.
Grandfather bribed officials so that they would say that Annabel's muttering was due to nothing more than the accident. But that didn't satisfy Isabel, every day she'd ask her nanny where her mother was, and if she could see her, and every day, the answer was no.
Isabel hated her grandparent's house with a passion! She was never allowed outside without her nanny. About once a week, Isabel was made to wear a frilly dress that was like a smaller version of her grandmother's, and sit through a grownup's party. At these parties, there were always old ladies with wigs on, saying things like, "Oh Miranda, she's such a darling child! She looks just like her mother! But she has her father's eye, of course.
When Isabel turned seven, her grandparents decided to send her to a very good school in England, where she would become an accomplished young lady, and eventually marry a wealthy gentleman.
The school was called Miss. Alice's Academy for Gifted Young Ladies, but most of the students called it Magal's, and the parents called it Miss. Alice's. Either way, the school was pretty bad.
The girls at Magal's always wore stiff gray skirts with starched white shirts. In the winter they wore gray coats and hats, and they went on walks every day.
On the first day of class, everyone stared and asked Isabel if she spoke Japanese, and were disappointed when she answered them in English. Then once lessons started, Isabel learned that she was miles ahead of everyone else, in almost every subject. The teacher soon found out, and Isabel was placed in a more advanced class.
Her English teacher, Miss Danielson, was delighted to see such a little girl in her class. "Oh my! Stick with me, little one, and I will mold you into an incredibly accomplished young lady!"
That was when Isabel saw her, in the back row. She was a tall girl, and her light brown hair was cut short like a boy's. She was chewing on her rubber, and was frowning at her notebook. Isabel liked her immediately.
"Hello, my name is Isabel Mincherly. Would you mind if I take this empty seat next to you?" Isabel asked with her best manners. The girl snickered.
"Be my guest. Hey, you're that girl from Japan, right? What's it like there?" The girl was frowning at the chalkboard now; her eyes were liquid brown, the color of a walnut tree.
"Oh, I don't know, I wasn't allowed out much. The gardens were pretty; we had a pond covered with water lilies. You know, that's really the only thing I miss, besides my mother of course." Said Isabel in a faraway voice.
The girl was speechless; all that she could think to do was introduce her. "My name's Carol Oneir, it's nice to meet you."
Isabel was speechless. This was the girl who had made nearly one hundred dreams? She was so, so, strange! Isabel took a closer look at Carol. This teenager was nothing like the chubby little girl whose picture was on nearly every dream bottle in the world!
"B-but how can that be? You're so, so big!" Isabel sputtered.
"Well you see it's called growing up. It's a process that we all have to go through you know. I don't get why my agent has to put that picture on every bottle!" Carol was laughing now, so loud in fact, that Mrs. Danielson shot the girls a dirty look.
A/N Thank you Artemis Obscure for reviewing me! Without her help, I would never have been able to rewrite this chapter, and add something to Isabel's character. See, your reviews do make a difference!