Chapter 2
1163 Words
Zara’s pov
I pieced the paper together like a puzzle. It looked terrible. But this was all I had to show. All I could show.
I looked around the tiny room; that’s when I stared at the windows. I couldn’t rot here anymore. I pulled out the worn sack I kept under the bed.
There was almost nothing to put inside, just a few clothes, my toiletries, and my journal.
I hesitated only once. My hands hovered over the window.
She thought she could stop me because of the letter she tore. One step out and everything would change.
I jumped out of the window, walking fast towards the woods. I didn’t look back. I am ready to choose myself.
It didn’t take long before I was standing at Shadowbrook station; it was well before dawn. My shoes squished through the mud and my sack was on my back.
I brought out the sorry excuse for a letter and held it tight.
“Would they take me seriously?” I thought.
The station was a tiny building made of cracked stone and crooked wood, smelling of dust and old soot. A couple of early risers were at the station. An old man with a thick mustache, a woman wrapped in a shawl and a teen lying on their backpack, half asleep and drooling slightly.
They watched me suspiciously as I approached the ticket booth. The man there offered me a kind smile, his face full of wrinkles. “Morning, lass, Heading somewhere special?”
I nodded and offered him the pieced-together letter with trembling hands.
“Well, I need to get to Crescent Veil Academy,” I said, trying to sound confident. “I’m needed.”
He took the letter and adjusted his glasses. His smile faltered the moment he saw the torn edges and the crooked tape lines holding it together but just barely.
“Where’d you get this? His voice sharpened.
“I-I got this yesterday. My aunt tore it up, but I managed to put it back together. Look, my name’s on it.”
He raised an eyebrow, still studying the ruined letter. “Anyone can scribble some fancy words on parchment these days. This could be forged.”
I leaned in, whispering “Look, I know I don’t look like the others. My clothes are old, the letter’s ripped to shreds, and I probably smell like a burnt potato.”
The man blinked. “You do smell a bit toasty.”
I gave a sheepish shrug. “Long story. Tea. My aunt. Anyway, if I were going to forge a letter, don’t you think I’d make it look better than this?”
He held the patched-together letter up to the light, frowning at it. “You’ve got a point. This is a mess.”
I smiled, a little hopeful. “Exactly. No one fakes something this badly unless it’s real.”
He gave me a long, assessing look. Then, surprisingly, his face softened.
“You remind me of my niece. Always had a smart mouth and no idea when to quit. She ended up at Crescent too”
I stopped breathing for a second. “So—?”
He handed the letter back. “Platform Nine. Train will be there in twenty. You get caught sneaking in without a real invite, it’s your tail on the line.”
I clutched the letter to my chest. “Thanks. And I promise, I’m not sneaking, I’m just different.”
He chuckled. “Well then, Miss different, good luck.”
***
Crescent Veil Academy looked like something out of a storybook.
Tall towers rose into the mist, their stone walls marked with silver lines. Lanterns floating above a wide courtyard, lighting up the smooth stones below. Marble wolves guarded the gate, frozen in a snarl, like they could come to life at any moment.
I stepped forward, clutching my worn bag, my hand me down shoes stomping on the ground.
Yeah my aunt and I are the same size.
I only walked a few steps before I bumped straight into someone.
“Oh! I’m sorry”, I said quickly, grabbing the girls arm to steady her.
She blinked, surprised, then smiled. Her golden-brown curls framed her face perfectly. “No problem. First day?”
“Yeah,” I said, my cheeks going warm. “Zara”
Before she could reply, a mocking voice called out behind me.
“You took a wrong turn, beggar. The dump’s that way.”
We turn.
A girl with platinum blonde hair and eyes like ice stood with two lookalikes by her side. Everything about her said money, power, and attitude.
“Maya that’s so funny”, one of her groupies chuckled.
Maya.
I didn’t know her yet but I knew her type from the movies. The queen bee, the mean girl. Classic.
Next to her was a guy built like a wall. Tall, broad shoulders and a cocky stance.
I won’t be surprised if he thought gravity would bend to his ego.
“Roman, look at her,” Maya said as she gave me a slow once-over, nose wrinkling like she smelled something rotten. “That outfit’s bold. You must be a reall charity case.”
The girls beside her cackled. As a crowd gathered around us
“Maybe she’s here for science class, one of them sneered. “You know, as a specimen.”
They burst into high-pitched laughter except Roman.
He moved closer, hands in his pockets. “You don’t belong here.”
My stomach twisted but I stood my ground.
“I was invited. Just like you.”
Maya’s brows lifted. “Wow. Admin’s standards really have tanked.”
Roman gave a mocking sigh. “Maybe she’s here to mop floors.”
He leaned in, close enough I could smell mint. “Or you could stick by me, sweetheart. Might be your only shot at relevance.”
My fist clenched I didn’t even realize when I pushed him away.
“Heyyy!!! How dare you touch me, fool? You can’t even walk on the ground I spit on and you dare touch me?”
“You don’t get to talk to me like—”
“Zara Winters”
A voice echoed across the courtyard, strong and clear.
Everyone turned.
At the top of the marble stairs stood a man in a dark robe. His presence silenced everything. His eyes scanned the crowd until they locked in me.
That had to be Headmaster Julian Drayke. I thought.
“Follow me”, he said, his voice calm but firm.
Maya smirked. “Ooh first day and already in trouble with Headmaster Drayke.Cute.”
I didn’t look at her. Didn’t give them the satisfaction. I walked past them, past their laughter, fake coughs, jabs and stares.
My heart was pounding, my knees a little shaky but I kept walking.
Because whatever Crescent Veil Academy had waiting for me?
I wasn’t backing down.
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