MesonHill’s Anem

Chapter 6: The day before

It was Friday 23rd October. The holidays had dawned on Celeste much quicker than she had expected and she couldn't work out whether that was a good thing or a bad one. It was time for her to go home to visit her parents, only for her to tell them that she would be unable to stay for the whole of the October holidays. She felt fraudulent in a way, but nothing could mask that excitement burning inside of her whenever she thought about the trip to France. It made the guilt crumble and allowed her usual smile to appear again. That was until each time the guilt took over again and she was left with that horrible burning feeling in her stomach.

That morning, she stumbled out of bed and packed a few clothes, that she would be taking home with her, into a small duffle bag. She then placed a larger duffle bag onto her bed which she would return to later to pack for the trip to France. Unfortunately, this still wasn't the height of Celeste's problems that day. She still had lessons up until twelve that morning, so she slipped on her uniform and then lulled down the corridor from her dorm to the common room.

On arrival in the common room, she came face to face with Beck who had just arrived from the corridor leading to the boys' rooms. He stumbled back overdramatically when he saw her and his face turned a bright red as if he had been holding his breath for too long.

"Oo, sorry Beck! Good morning." Celeste laughed, whilst stepping back to free him some personal space.

"Good God, woman. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" He gasped, bending over with one hand on his knee, and the other holding his chest, as he inhaled deeply. "But, yeah. Good morning."

Once he had managed to catch his breath, he presented Celeste with a smile. She was about to mirror his kind gesture but as her lips started to curl up at the corners, Celeste suddenly felt two arms wrap around her shoulders from behind, and a heavy weight pulling her backwards. Celeste staggered around in circles trying to figure out who the leech was clinging onto her back but she needn't do so for long.

"Fawn, calm down, love! You're going to break her back!" Beck laughed. Fawn immediately jumped off of Celeste's back and stood, arms crossed, throwing a hurt look at Beck.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you calling me fat?" She questioned, pouting. Her foot had found itself tapping the ground like the claw of a velociraptor. 

"No! You know I didn't mean that!" Beck pleaded," Cely wasn't expecting it, so you could have hurt her. Come on, you know I didn't mean that." 

He was fighting a losing battle. Fawn was still fuming with anger, but she had a sort of playful look in her eyes. It appeared that she most definitely knew that he was joking with her, and she was just toying with him back.

"You two are impossible. Completely unbelievable!" Celeste rolled her eyes and laughed at the state of the situation. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

On Celeste's cue, the three of them exited the Jade common room, waded through the busy corridors, and arrived at the canteen. Axel and Aria were already seated, so the three of them rushed to grab some food. Celeste poured herself a bowl of cereal and added some milk before she followed Fawn and Beck to the table once they had gotten their food, too.

"Morning losers." Said Axel, saluting them with two fingers as they sat down. Meanwhile, Aria gave Celeste a nod of acknowledgement and Fawn and Beck a faint smile.

"Morning you two!" Said Fawn.

Axel happened to be sitting next to Celeste, that morning. He reached his arm up and rested his hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly as he said "big day for us two today, right? Homeward bound!"

Of course, it was! It was only Celeste and Axel who had to go home. The rest of the group were staying at MesonHill, so they were much less stressed than those two. Celeste and Axel had so much packing to do after a whole morning of lessons whilst the remainder of the group could pack their luggage that evening or the following day. They had all of the time in the world, not to mention less to pack because they weren't going home at all.

"Yep, as much as I can't wait to see my Mum and Dad, it's making today really stressful," Celeste admitted.

"At least you're coming back tomorrow morning." Axel said, "You could pack some things tomorrow morning, and you have the afternoon off today for that, too. I have lessons until 4 pm, and I have to pack for the rest of the holidays!"

Axel was usually a very relaxed person and little ever bothered him, so it was unusual for Celeste to see him so irritated by something so little as packing a bag. Unless there was perhaps more behind it. Maybe he was stressed that the whole holiday wouldn't go as planned. That maybe the monitors wouldn't believe the groups' stories and that our parents wouldn't believe that we were staying at MesonHill the whole time. Or, maybe that was just the issues flying around in Celeste's mind and Axel really was just irritated by the thought of packing a bag.

"I would offer to help you pack, but school rules state no mixing of teams in common rooms." Celeste shrugged her shoulders and smirked at him.

"Oi, you two." Said a voice, as a small chunk of bread was launched in Celeste and Axel's direction. "Stop flirting, would you, and listen to Fawn!" There was no surprise that the cheeky comment had come from Beck's mouth.

Celeste blushed at the accusation Beck had just made. She wasn't sure if they had been flirting, really. She had never flirted before, nor been flirted with, so was unaware of what it felt like. Regardless, she shook away the strange thought and diverted her attention to Fawn.

"As I was saying," Fawn continued, "I was reading some of the books in the library -shocking, I know! They were the ones that you were showing me, Celeste. Anyway, they said that the stone is guarded by some 'beast'. I don't know how true that is, though."

Celeste was thrilled to hear that Fawn had become as interested in magic as she was. However, it worried her that Fawn had found some information that Celeste had never read or seen before. Did that mean that there were more dangerous aspects to the journey that they were about to take than she realised? Did it also mean that Celeste didn't know everything there was to know about Zirkyan magic, like she thought she did?

Before Celeste could say anything, however, the others had already brushed off what Fawn had said as a mythical tale to deter people from trying to take the stone. And, the subject of conversation shifted to something much more lighthearted for the remainder of breakfast.

Soon, it was time for Celeste to go to her first lesson. She had Languages first, Biology second, and her final lesson of the term was Art.

Art went by quickly, like usual. She shared the class with Fawn, so she spent most of the time talking when Miss Anson wasn't nearby. Though, even when they were talking, they were both productive. It was a subject that the two of them enjoyed thoroughly as they both happened to be surprisingly good at it. The class happened to lower Celeste's stress levels that day as she focussed her attention elsewhere for just enough time to relax.

When the bell rang, to signal lunch break, Fawn offered to go up to Celeste's dorm to help her pack. Considering how stressed she was feeling, Celeste accepted her kind offer, so they wandered together up to her room.

As she'd already packed a smaller bag to take to her house, she now only needed to pack for the trip. She unzipped the duffle bag that she'd laid out earlier, and started to fill it. Fawn pulled out all of Celeste's drawers from the chest and swung open her wardrobe doors.

"Right, so we'll be there for two weeks. So you'll need 24 pairs of underwear, you know, just in case. You'll need daytime outfits. Maybe some nicer, going out outfits if we go out for dinner? And, of course, some pyjamas!" Fawn was in her element, listing things that Celeste would need. With her help, her bag was packed easily within thirty minutes.

"Fawn, please sneak into Axel's room and help him pack. He could really use your help. You're actually a lifesaver!" Celeste praised. Fawn responded with her familiar, warm smile. "Anyway, thank you so much but you should go find the rest of the group, now, I have to go," Celeste said.

She felt quite sad about having to leave. It was only for a night but, usually, she didn't have a reason to stay at school. She actually had friends at MesonHill, now, so things were different. They had welcomed her into their group with open arms (apart from Aria, obviously) and had become her best friends within days. It was like she had known them for years, so it was only natural that she didn't want to leave them.

'It's only one night' she kept telling herself. And, she didn't realise how eventful a night that would be.

"I'll go look for them now. Have a great time and I will see you soon!" Fawn pulled Celeste into a hug to say goodbye and then walked out of her room.

Celeste followed Fawn not too closely behind. She left the common room and entered the school halls. With her bag over her shoulder, she bounced down the grand, stone staircase and out of the entrance doors to MesonHill.

When she reached the gates, the monitors stopped her.

"Miss, what is your name, and where are you going?" the monitor asked. They were tall and dressed all in black. They looked like they should have been bouncers, guarding a high-end venue.

"Celeste Ripley. I'm going to my Auntie's house, in Nottingham, for the night." She replied.

The monitors nodded at her and allowed her to pass. Before she knew it, she had made it to the Leeds train station, which was about a twenty-minute bus journey, and then was actually on her way to Sheffield.

45 minutes later, Celeste arrived at the station on the other side. She made her way to the interchange to catch a bus to her house. The bus arrived at twenty past two, and half an hour later, she arrived at a bus stop a street away from her house.

As she walked down the street, she couldn't help but wonder if her parents would believe the story she was going to tell them. She was planning it out in her head, how and when she would break the news.

Moments later, her house was in sight. It was a humble home with two storeys and a traditional British brick exterior. The house was on the dead-end of a street full of similar houses.

To the left of the house, there was a vast, empty field. When she was younger, Celeste used to play in that field all day long with her parents. She would pretend to ride an imaginary horse over the imaginary hay bales and her parents would play along.

There was a path of paving slabs from the field leading into her garden. The garden was well kept with the autumn leaves swept away that had fallen from the oak tree planted there. She opened the gate to her front garden and advanced up the path to the doorstep. She rang the bell and waited for an answer. Seconds later, the black, oak door swung open, and her mother greeted her with a hug. This was followed by her father, shortly after her mother had let her through the door.

"Celeste! How are you? How has school been? We've missed you!" Her mother blurted.

"It's been great, Mum. I made some new friends. It's only taken me four years!" Celeste laughed at how sad her life had been since she had started in her seventh year at high school.

"Oh, that's fantastic!" Her mother, Delia, said. "Wallace, have you heard this? Celeste has made some new friends at school. Isn't that brilliant?"

Delia continued to be overly excited for Celeste. She was clearly glad that her daughter was finally home. It broke Celeste's heart, at that moment, as she realised she would have to tell her parents she couldn't stay for the whole holiday.

"That is brilliant, Celeste. You'll have to tell us all about them! Mum made you a snack just in case you didn't have any dinner. Come to the living room, and you can tell us about them whilst you eat!" Wallace seemed just as excited to see Celeste as Delia. It wouldn't be easy to break the news. Celeste knew that. But, it had to be done.

They moved from the porch, through the hallway, and into the living room. The decor was old fashioned with darker colours and oak wood furniture. Celeste sat down on the brown leather sofa and began to eat some of the food set out on the coffee table. She decided that it would be better to tell her parents that she could only stay the night sooner rather than later - a technique she had learned from Axel.

"Mum, Dad, you know I can't stay for the whole holiday right? I have to go back to school tomorrow to study for the upcoming exams." Celeste said. She waited for a response in the deafening silence, as her parents looked at each other with puzzled faces.

"Honey, you can study at home, can't you?" Delia asked, confused.

This wasn't a good situation to be in. She hadn't thought of that point. She was thinking of several other excuses in her head, at that moment, that would sound believable and she happened to blurt out the first one that came to her lips.

"They're doing classes in the holidays, and I really don't want to miss them!" She lied.

She pretended to feel worried about her grades and the fact that she might fail the upcoming exams when, in reality, her grades were perfect and she had no need to worry. Her expression must have paid off, as Delia moved to sit next to her on the sofa and, with a hand on her thigh, she said "aw, Celeste don't stress over it too much. I'm sure you'll do fine but if you want to stay over the holidays to attend those classes, you can." She gave Celeste a loving smile and gave her thigh a tight squeeze.

After the dreaded conversation was over, Celeste and her parents spent the remainder of the day doing family-related activities. They went on a walk around the village, played board games, and mostly chatted about the details of each others' lives that they had missed out on, whilst Celeste was at MesonHill.

Within what felt like minutes, rather than hours, it was 10 pm, and Celeste decided to go to bed. She ran up the carpeted stairs, with her bag in her hand, and darted towards her room on the left.

Her room was painted a bright white, and her bedding was pale pink with a red flowered pattern. She placed her bag on the white, wooden chair to her dressing table, and proceeded to move to the chest of drawers next to it.

She opened the top right drawer, removed the heaps of face cloths and cotton pads, and revealed her stash of money. There were several stacks of cash, from birthdays and Christmases over the past years, filling the bottom of the drawer. She grabbed enough to pay for herself and Beck's rooms and tickets, and a few extra notes for any more expenses they might come across. She wrapped the money in one of her facecloths and stuffed it in her bag.

All that she needed now was her passport, which, unfortunately for Celeste, wasn't hidden in a drawer in her room.

When it was around midnight, Celeste snook out of her room, knowing that her parents had been in bed a good hour, so they would most likely be fast asleep. She crept down the hall, from her room, and headed towards the office - around two doors away from her parents' room. Once inside, she left the door open slightly enough to hear anyone coming.

'Now, where would they keep the passports?' She thought to herself. There was a desk with sheets of paper scattered across it, but there were no drawers in the desk, and therefore no passports.

There was a wardrobe holding her fathers best suits that he wore on special occasions. She opened it to look inside to see nothing but clothes and shoes. No passport.

That was until her eye caught something glistening against the moonlight. She knelt to get a closer look. It was the perfect place to keep important documents. It was a safe. The only issue was that there was a keyhole but no key, meaning that there must've been a key hidden somewhere in the office too.

She looked around the room and saw a small, golden key shimmering underneath a piece of paper on the desk. She took the key and placed it in the lock. When she turned it, the safe door clicked, and it opened.

All of the passports were there, along with other valuable items that Celeste thought best not to look at because the less she knew, the better. She sifted through the pages in each passport to find hers and when she found it, she quickly locked the safe door, returned everything to how it was when she entered the room and ran back to her room as quick as she could. She stuffed the passport into her bag, then clambered into her bed, before drifting soundly off to sleep.

The next morning, Celeste woke at around 10 am. She needed to get back to MesonHill as soon as possible, so she choked down her breakfast, and rushed to get ready.

She thanked her mother and father for such a lovely time, and bid them goodbye at the door, before running to the bus stop, which took her back to the train station and then back to MesonHill. She managed to arrive back at MesonHill at 2 pm and immediately went to find her friends.