2
A chime from her cell phone wakes Alice from her sleep, notifying her of a new email. She makes a mental note to put it on silent in the mornings. She rolls over, and after fumbling around for it for a solid minute, grabs it off the nightstand. She switches the ringer off and opens her new school email.
From: Tarrant Hightopp
To: Alice Kingsleigh
Hallo!
Today at 7:33 AM
I just realized I don't have your number.
Alice laughs softly to herself and enters it into her reply, along with:
It took you a day to realize that?
She receives a text notification shortly after.
Yes.
And then another.
What classes do you have? We might share a few.
Alice steps out of bed, careful not to wake Mirana, and pulls the rumpled paper off of her desk. After taking a photo and sending it to Tarrant, she supposes she should start getting ready for the day. Classes start in less than thirty minutes. She's surprised that Mirana isn't awake already, but also a little relieved. She picks out a grey t-shirt and jeans from her dresser. Simple and comfortable.
Her phone flashes with another notification. She slides it open.
Tarrant: We've only got two classes together :o(
Alice: Which ones?
Tarrant: History and Religious Studies
Alice: Well, at least you can keep me awake through that last one.
Alice: I've got to get ready. Talk to you at breakfast?
Tarrant: Okay!
Alice sets her phone aside and grabs a towel for the shower along with her bundle of clothes. When she comes out again, dressed with her hair wrapped up in a towel, she finds Mirana changing and reflexively averts her eyes. The Catholic school girls Alice knew were very touchy about what they allowed to be seen, despite being the same gender. Seeing as this is her only point of reference, it's only natural that she looks away.
She hears Mirana giggle. "Alice, it's all right." she says, her voice as light and breathy as ever. "I don't mind if you see."
Alice still refuses to look and begins to dry her hair vehemently to distract herself. She can't believe she's even thinking this, but she can't wait for class to start.
Mirana clearly doesn't take the hint, or at least chooses to ignore it. "I saw your schedule last night."
"Oh?"
"We share all our classes."
"Oh."
Well, this just complicates things further. It seems as if no matter how hard she tries to pull away, some force, God, perhaps, only pushes her closer. Maybe Tarrant would be able to help. Alice shoulders her backpack.
"Do you have a favorite subject?"
Alice turns and nearly jumps, finding Mirana standing right behind her, now fully dressed in yet another white outfit: a turtleneck and a flowy skirt. Alice wonders for a moment if Mirana owns any other colors, then dismisses the thought as irrelevant. She composes herself mentally before answering. "Art." She moves past her, grabbing her phone on her way to the door.
"Oh, that's lovely!" Seeing Alice nearly out the door, she adds, "I'll see you at breakfast, then?"
"Sure." Alice mumbles, shutting the door behind her. She opens her messages and taps something out to Tarrant.
Alice: Please tell me you're already there.
Tarrant: Yes.
Tarrant: Mirana trying to sway you already?
Alice: Not yet, but I get the feeling she's warming up to it.
Alice rounds a corner and descends down the stairs, makes to go left, then remembers the dining hall, called the Cibus, is to the right, and corrects her direction.
The Cibus is enormous. Dozens of long, golden tables covered with red runners trimmed in white take up the center of the hall, red and white vases of roses in the middle of each one, matching gold benches set on opposing sides. Alabaster ceramic tile patterned with scarlet diamonds spread across the floor, the walls massive blocks of white marble broken apart with enormous windows trimmed in crimson, giving an excellent view of the grounds outside. On a raised platform of the same tile is a separate section of tables and chairs, for the teachers, Alice can assume. There are seven diamond chandeliers, three on each opposing side and one large one in the center. The cafeteria, called the Cicero, must be somewhere separate. Alice decides, find Tarrant, food later.
Luckily Tarrant flags her down, grinning, though he would have been impossible to miss with that massive hat on. Alice eagerly makes her way towards him, slipping through other students trying to find their places. She seats herself beside him, settling herself on his left.
"Ah, Alice!" he says happily. "We were wondering when you were going to show up."
"We?"
"Us, love." says a voice to Tarrant's right.
Alice looks past him to find a tiny, mousy looking girl with relatively plain features wearing a red checkered dress and little black flats. Her sandy hair is thin and wispy, framing her face like a cloud, curling outwards. Black eyes burn with an excited, fiery passion, like sparking coals. Beside her is a taller boy, almost as tall as Tarrant, with greyish brown hair in a wavy shag, caramel colored eyes weighed down with exhaustion and a wide jaw. A white piece of plastic is wrapped around one of his ears — a hearing aid. He wears a yellow flannel and ripped jeans, and Alice can barely see that he's only wearing socks on his feet. He notices her looking and smiles.
"HALLO!" he bellows.
The girl scolds him. "Thackery, not so loud!"
His expression turns bashful. "Oops. Sorry." It's a whisper, but it's still fairly loud for the intended volume.
Tarrant cuts into his stack of pancakes. "Well, now you know Thackery, and this is —"
"I can introduce myself, thank you very much." the mousy girl says, interrupting him. She beams at Alice. "Hallo, love, my name's Maliumpkin, but I'd rather you call me Mally."
"It's nice to meet you both." Alice says.
"Bacon." Thackery says happily, looking fondly at his food as he stabs a strip of meat with his fork.
"Thackery's a bit off the wall." Tarrant explains. "Don't be alarmed by anything he says, half the time we can't understand him either. He's partially deaf in one ear as well, that's why he gets loud sometimes. It doesn't help that his aid's absolute rubbish."
"So how'd you end up comin' here?" Mally asks.
Alice is about to respond when she feels soft fabric brush against her hand and turns to find Mirana settling down beside her, her plate practically empty save for a few pieces of fruit.
"Hello Tarrant, Thackery, Mally," she says breezily. She bestows a radiant smile upon Alice. "And Alice. How are you this morning?"
"STOATIN!"
"Thackery!"
"Sorry."
Mally pats his arm. "It's early love, we forgive you."
"Alice?" Mirana looks at her expectantly.
"Fine, thank you." Alice mutters. She can't help but think Mirana's trying to endear herself to her, even now.
Tarrant rescues her from further conversation. "Alice, you haven't gotten anything to eat yet!" he exclaims, leaping from his seat. He tugs her upright. "Come on, I'll show you all the best things!" With that, he pulls her through the tables towards the Cicero.
Tarrant grabs a tray for her. The line has died down considerably since the morning rush, so getting food from the buffet line is considerably easier. He shoves it into her hands and starts grabbing a few utensils. "You know, when I said 'don't let her sway you', I didn't mean you had to be a dobber about it."
Alice takes the utensils from him and grabs a plate. "Dobber?"
"A git." He grabs a paper cup and sets that on her tray as well. "You can be friends with someone without getting involved in their business, you know."
Alice peels a cheese omelette off of the stack. "How so?" She reaches for the spoon dipped in the blueberries.
"You just enjoy each other, that's all. Mirana and I are friends; I just refuse to become involved with her more… political activities. It disappoints her, but she knows how to respect that." Tarrant leans against the sink and scratches at a piece of dry food stuck to the counter. "I wanted you to make your own decision, because sometimes Mirana makes decisions for others without meaning to. It's not exactly something she can control, you know. It's just her way with people."
Alice fills her cup with coffee. "You said there were two sides." She grabs the bottle of half and half and pours a little before stirring. "What about Iracebeth?"
"STAYNE!"
"Speak of the Devil and she shall appear." Tarrant mutters under his breath. "Come on, let's get back to the table before she gets in here with that louse of a boyfriend of hers."
It's too late. Two people stomp in, and Alice is immediately assaulted with a storm of red and black.
Iracebeth is easy to identify. Her hair is piled on top of her large head in cherry colored curls, almost appearing as if she is wearing a bush of roses. Her eyes, twin coals, are painted a sparkling dark blue around the black orbs, her face powdered over and over again, giving her an unnecessarily pasty complexion. She wears a red and black plaid dress trimmed with black lace as well as a pair of black thick heeled boots and two sets of black bracelets on both arms.
Stayne appears at her side instantly. He's got long, shaggy black hair, one eye heavily done up with eyeliner while the other is covered with a red, heart-shaped eye patch, two angry pink lines running through at the top as well as one stretching towards the bottom near his jaw. He wears a heavy leather jacket covered in band patches, shredded black jeans, and combat boots. His hands are gloved with the fingers missing, one of them holding Iracebeth's.
A goth power couple if Alice has ever seen one.
Iracebeth's eyes lock on Alice. "Who's this?" Her voice is nasal, a stark contrast to her sister's airiness. "I've never seen you before, and I know everybody."
Stayne gives her a menacing glare, as if to hasten Alice's response. It doesn't make a difference anyway, because Tarrant answers for her.
"She's new, Iracebeth."
"Quiet, Hatter." Iracebeth snaps. "Let her speak for herself." She turns back to Alice. "I ask you again, who are you?"
Alice bites back a stream of insults at a look from Tarrant. "Alice Kingsleigh."
"And have you chosen your alliance?"
She stands her ground. "I'm not getting involved."
Iracebeth purses her lips and looks Alice up and down. "We'll see about that. You may leave."
Tarrant leads her away. "As if we needed your permission." he mutters.
Stayne growls. "What did you say, Hatter?" he says, his voice rough and gravelly.
Tarrant plasters on a smile. "Nothing, your Majesties." He gives an exaggerated bow before leaving with Alice.
Once they're safely out in the hall, Alice asks, "What was that all about?"
"What?"
"Hatter. Why do they call you that?"
"Oh! I make hats for a living, and Iracebeth's parents are two of my best customers. They're wonderful people." He scowls. "Though how they could have produced someone so nasty is beyond me." He sits down and Alice follows suit.
"Please don't talk about my sister that way." Mirana says, dabbing at her face with a napkin, though Alice can't see any offending stain. "She can't help the way she is."
"I don't agree, but you know her best, I suppose." Tarrant says. His hat suddenly disappears, and a certain blue haired fellow scampers off with it. Tarrant leaps up from the table, eyes blazing. "Ye blasted moggie! Gie back haur!"
He races off after Chess, who's grinning from ear to ear despite being chased around the dining hall. Some students watch and chuckle, others merely shake their heads. Judging from the reactions, this must be a regular activity. Alice returns to her food, smiling to herself. Those two really are a funny pair. She'll have to ask Chess why he keeps snatching Tarrant's hat all the time, when Tarrant could simply make him one.
The first class of the day is Astronomy. The classroom is simple enough, a large room with long, tall black tables and dark wooden stools. The lighting is minimal except for a few candles set into a black ring hanging in the center of the room. The windows are covered with maroon curtains drawn tightly shut, and the floor is carpeted in the same material. The walls are covered with various charts that are far too complicated for Alice to understand at the moment, though she assumes she will later on in the year. A projector screen covers the white board, blank for the time being.
"ALICE! OWER HAUR!"
Alice spots Thackery sitting right up front, diagonal from the professor's desk. She smiles at him and presses a finger to her lips to remind him to be quieter before moving to sit beside him. She notices Mirana sitting across from her with McTwisp, who merely gives her a curt nod. Mirana doesn't notice her presence and continues to unpack her things.
"Mr. Maras, please refrain from bellowing to your friends in my classroom." a rich, tenor voice says with nothing short of condescension.
The professor strides into the room, head held high. His light brown hair is pulled up into a high pompadour, and his stern emerald eyes study his students behind a pair of brass spectacles. His lips are thin and pressed into a firm line, unsmiling. He's dressed in a navy blue blazer, a crisp white dress shirt, and a black tie. Everything about him is pressed and clean, his voice matching perfectly.
"Good morning, students." he continues. "My name is Professor Alden. Please take out your textbooks and turn to page three-hundred and ninety-four; have a sheet of paper or a notebook and a writing utensil to record your notes."
Alice takes out her Astronomy textbook, a hefty black volume, and drops it onto the table without thinking with an audible thud.
Professor Alden glares at her. "And who are you?"
Alice swallows. Professor Alden suddenly made her feel very unsure of herself, and for a moment she blanks. "I'm Alice Kingsleigh." she says, a bit hesitantly.
Professor Alden scoffs. "No, you're not."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're not Alice Kingsleigh."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
"But I am!"
Professor Alden leers at her. "Then say it like you mean it."
Alice scowls. He's successfully irritated her and he knows it. "I'm Alice Kingsleigh." she says, firmer and sounding much more sure of herself now that he's successfully irritated her.
The professor turns on his heel and walks toward his desk. "That's better. Now, you're almost Alice." He picks up his teacher's edition and thumbs to the page he's looking for. "Now, you should be looking at an index…"
Alice quietly fumes in her seat. First he accuses her of not being Alice at all, and then he tells her that she's almost Alice. What is that even supposed to mean?