Story.ea

Abbey stumbled into school after being jostled aside for taking too long at the door. How was she supposed to know it was a pull instead of push? She grabbed the straps of her backpack as they rested against her shoulders. The books that they used here were much heftier than her old books. She now had a few more options of classes than she did back in Germany. She sighed as she looked at the small piece of paper and tried to find her locker. She passed the various numbers. 901, 902, 903...here we go. She thought as she reached locker 904.

Abbey bent down low to the bottom locker, that was now hers, and inserted the key that she had been sent. She was a month later than all the other students but technically she had already graduated and was only attending by choice. She wanted to seem as normal as possible since being capable of magic and being an international genius didn’t give her much opportunity to be ordinary. Abbey shoved her books into her locker and withdrew a letter that had been sellotaped to the far wall. It was titled “Abigail Patricia Wilhelm”. She hated it when schools used her full name. She rubbed her temples and quelled the anger.

She was half an hour early for classes. Her mother had insisted that she sort out her books and try to get to know some of the other early rising classmates. Abbey was not pleased with coming to school early to “interact” with other children. She wasn’t a big fan of social activity; in fact she avoided it most times. She sorted out her books and copies for her first three periods and loaded them into her backpack. Abbey looked up as a shadow fell across her locker, above her stood a boy rearranging books and extracting them. She stared up; annoyed that he hadn’t even had the common courtesy to tell her he was going to be above her.

Abbey fumed slightly but let it go; after all it was just a petty lack of manners. She took her time to cool off and tried to withdraw her bag from in front of her locker after closing her locker successfully. She pulled it and it flew out into her hands but not after causing the boy to lose balance and fall backwards. Serves him right. She thought but after a minute helped him up and apologized in a thick German accent. “Sorry, I was just trying to get my bag. I did not realize you were standing on the strap.”
“It’s okay.” He replied kindly. “Happens all the time. You must be the new German student.” He exclaimed in excitement, obviously picking up on her accent. “Guten Tag. Wie geht’s?” He said in German.
“I speak English. Good day to you too and I’m quite good today and you?” She replied in English. She also knew six other languages including Irish and Latin; both of which weren’t used often in modern times.

He stared at her in amazement for a minute or two; causing her to shuffle awkwardly on her feet. “So you are a genius.” He said enthusiastically. “It’s a pleasure, I’m Terrance Evans.” He said extending a hand towards her. Abbey politely shook it and after a thorough shaking, replied. “I am Abigail Wilhelm but just call me Abbey please.” She asked him nicely. She remembered the letter and opened the small flap at the top and removed sheet of folded paper. She unfolded it and her eyes fell upon her schedule and class name. She was in “6B” whatever that was supposed to mean. She looked up at the boy that was still staring at her. He is rude but maybe he can help. “Sorry, what class are you currently residing in?” She asked him and he curtly replied with: “6B. It’s the top class.” He said proudly, puffing out his chest in pride. “I’m guessing you are too.”

“Okay, can I follow you to our classes for today? Then I’ll leave you alone.”
“Yeah, sure. Are you positive that you will be able to remember where to go after only the first day?”
“I’m almost certain.” Abbey replied and turned to the left. “Where do people in our year normally congregate in the morning before classes?” She asked him before leaving.
“In the cafeteria; it’s straight down the hall. You can’t miss it.” Terrance said and smiled warmly.
“Thank you.” Abbey said before leaving and heading towards the cafeteria where only a few students were gathered, in their own cliques of course. She sighed out of frustration realizing she would soon encounter another problem. Who to sit with? Nerds, Swots or normal girls her age. She probably wouldn’t fit in any of them since she was way too smart to be simply called a nerd; she didn’t have to study since she had a photographic memory, so that was a no to swot; and all of the above reasons ruled out normal girls.

Abbey ignored all the occupied tables and sat on her own at a deserted one instead. She would make her own clique instead: Smart German Genii. Of course that would mean she would be on her own again. She didn’t mind most of the time but other times it hurt more than anything else in the world. Abbey took a book out of her bag and started to read “The Complete Works of Shakespeare” for the third time even though she knew every word already. She hadn’t been able to get to the library recently due to the fact that school was starting and she had to get ready and get all her books and copies. What a pain it was.

The words of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ swirled around in Abbey’s head as she reiterated the lines of all the characters again. She sighed as she started to recite the words of scene two of Act two. It was so annoying that she had never had a relationship; neither had she thought about having one until she read these plays that depicted the scenes of love at first sight. After these descriptive tales her heart would flutter and her realization that she might never have anyone to call her own. She figured that she intimidated some people with her intelligence and that she seemed un-social most of the time. For all her smarts she couldn’t figure out how to counter all these things.

Abbey rested her cheek on her hand and looked out of the furthest window that occupied half of the cafeteria’s wall. She watched the rain drizzle and the delivery truck drop off several boxes labelled with various brands and names. She heard someone approach and twisted her head around to look at the newcomer that was braving a visit to her. Terrance occupied her vision and sat down next to her. He smiled. “Hello; again. You looked a bit; neglected.” He said and put his bag under the table, kicking it into place after giving it an unsuccessful push the first time.
“I don’t mingle.” Abbey replied and narrowed her eyes. Neglected? What does he think I am? A starved runt of the pack?! That impudent little knave. She thought.
“So; what books do you like?” He asked apparently oblivious to Abbey’s annoyed look.
“Anything.” She responded. “I don’t have a particular genre that interests me or satisfies my taste for knowledge and enlightenment. I find that a specific topic isn’t fickle enough for my tastes. I prefer to come from one book and topic into another completely different topic and book. This only seems to occur when I speak about my book taste. It is truly an annoying trait to have; that I must always stray from the topic at hand.”

“Ah...” Was the sound that emitted from Terrance’s mouth as he looked away for a few minutes. He’s regretting coming over to talk now. She sighed silently to herself annoyed at her unconscious ability to alienate people. This is going to be a hard time amongst these ignorant students and their pitiful teaching techniques. Why wasn’t everyone born with a photographic memory and with magical parents? She realised her thoughts sounded quite snobbish so she stopped thinking and tried to distract herself by making conversation with Terrance. Abbey opened her mouth to speak and the bells’ ringing sound resounded throughout the school and was followed by the sound of stamping feet as the students headed off to class. Abbey had looked around at all the people leaving and then turned back to Terrance to find that he was gone. Great! Another person estranged by Abigail Wilhelm. She shook her head and dislodged the thoughts from her mind.

Abbey set off for class, asking for directions several times, with her rucksack slung over both of her shoulders. Some could call her cute but she wasn’t beautiful. She didn’t like to be arrogant but being one of the smartest people in a country did have that effect on her. What a drag. She thought as she rounded a corner and hit the door of her classroom. For an intelligent person of her magnitude she could sometimes do the most idiotic things; like that time she base jumped off a four storey building. Abbey rubbed her head and stood up. She felt dizzy and her head felt sticky as she withdrew her hand from the back of her head. She saw blood and looked down at the floor; there lay a recklessly discarded piece of wood. She didn’t have time to go get proper medical attention so she muttered “Heiluar” and her wound healed leaving a small scar where the cut had been. It was an unfortunate side effect of her choice of words but was easily mended when she had time.

***
Terrance sat in class with his books neatly laid out on his table. He fiddled with a pen as he waited for their teacher to arrive. A lot of the teachers had different classes in different rooms and so took a couple of minutes to get to their next classroom. His pen spun effortlessly across the back of his forefinger and thumb as he waited. It seemed like ages. He didn’t like school, typically, but he figured if you’re going to do something you might as well do it right. It was a motto that encouraged him to trudge through the worst days of school and come out shining like a star but when he tried to put this in motion with other students they never really had the same determination. There was a term for that; he believed it went “You can’t polish a turd.”

Terrance glanced up as the door opened but was a bit disappointed when Abbey walked in. He wasn’t having to good a day and wanted to get this lesson over with as soon as possible. He motioned to the empty seat next to him for Abbey if she wanted to sit down. She sat down next to him and produced her books from her bag. Terrance felt sort of grateful that she had chosen to sit next to him. Of course she probably felt obliged to sit down next to him, because he had offered, plus the fact that it was the only free seat in the class also probably played a factor in her choice.

As Abbey unpacked her things Terrance looked out the window at the world that seemingly lay a mere touch away. The hills expanded on for miles and the birds circled the crops as they constantly searched for food and survival. The world that was a constant distraction to every human being that lay eyes upon the beauty of those grassy hills and the elegant black birds and not to mention the wildlife that the farmers bred and cared for. Terrance watched the cattle graze on those fields and the sheep herded into a neat square encircled by a large fence. He loved that world just outside his reach. He unconsciously reached out slightly and grasped the air.

A small tap on the shoulder snapped Terrance out of his daydream and he spun around. “Which books do we need for this Irish class? I have all three with me at the moment.” Enquired Abbey.
“The largest one and the smallest one until Christmas then the largest one and the smallest one ‘til the end of the school year.” Replied Terrance. At that moment the teacher walked in and put her books on her table. “I understand we have a new student” the teacher announced “and I would like to welcome you into our class.” The teacher looked straight at Abbey. “I am Miss Blume.” Stated Ms. Blume.

“Thank you Miss.” Replied Abbey.
“What is your name? I don’t seem to have it listed.” Said the teacher whilst rummaging through a pile of papers that had mounded up on her desk over the last month. Terrance had seen it evolve from one sheet into fifty in more than a month. He was amazed at how untidy their Irish teacher was.
“I’m Abbey or Abigail Wilhelm. I prefer Abbey.” Replied Abbey as she blushed slightly. Everybody had turned to look at her only now noticing the new face amongst their group. The amount of observation and perception this class gave to things outside of themselves was astounding. How could you be so dim-witted that you would overlook a human being.

Terrance placed his chin on his hand and propped his head up with his elbow resting on his desk. He gazed at all the people that were staring in Abbey’s direction. He was also a target for observation now and he acted as if nothing interesting was going on. The group decided the same and turned back towards the top of the class as the lesson started. Terrance commenced taking notes and Abbey imitated him. It looked to Terrance as if she was trying to get used to taking notes.

After Terrance’s first three classes were over her headed to his locker and changed his current books for the books he would need for the next three periods. He sighed when he was done and turned around just as Abbey was bending down to get to her locker. “Hello again.” Terrance said in a feeble attempt to strike up a conversation. “What do you think of Irish weather?”
“It’s okay. I like it mild and that’s pretty much the same all year around as far as I can see.” Abbey replied. “No offence.” She added as an afterthought.
“None taken.” Said Terrance delighted that he had sparked a tiny conversation. He smiled invitingly. “Would you like to eat lunch with me?” He asked inquisitively.
“Yeah, sure. I’d love to.” She replied. Abbey finished getting her books and stood up to look at Terrance.
***

Abbey walked beside Terrance as they made their way through the crowds to the cafeteria. Abbey hadn’t brought a lunch, expected to buy or make her own in the mornings which she really couldn’t be bothered to do. They sat down at a table near the back of the cafeteria next to the large windows that overlooked the downward slope of a hill. She looked at Terrance a bit suspiciously. She couldn’t figure out if he was the guy who had many friends or few but Abbey needed a friend right now and he seemed to be an ideal choice.

Terrance ate his small lunch quietly while Abbey watched him. She got bored after a minute and took her MP3 out of her pocket. She turned it on not bothering to pick a specific song but put it on random. She turned down the volume so that she would be able to talk to Terrance if they started to talk. Abbey started to hum the song that was playing. Terrance looked at her while he ate and Abbey looked at him eat. Abbey got bored with the music as it came to a song that was too slow to hum along to. “How long is this break?” Asked Abbey. Apparently they took two breaks during the day here.
“Fifteen minutes. It’s called small break coincidentally and the break after the next three periods is forty-five minutes long and called big break.” Replied Terrance.
“Okay.” She said and propped her head up on the table with her hand under her chin. She looked at Terrance again. Terrance looked away from her and she detected a small blush flush his cheeks. Abbey’s eyes became wide. Surely he doesn’t...No he can’t, can he? She thought. “I don’t like you in that way if you’re wondering.” She said just to be sure that he wasn’t getting the wrong idea.

Abbey thought she heard a small sigh escape his lips. Was that relief or frustration? She thought. Is he relieved that I don’t like him or is he frustrated that I don’t like him? Ahhh...this is just too confusing. “Do you like me in that way?” She purred at the question seeming as if she was enjoying this and of course she was. No one had ever really liked her, as a friend or otherwise, it was a lonely life but she had come into this world expecting difficulty and solitude. Terrance moved awkwardly in his seat, an obvious yes. Abbey’s eyes narrowed. “Oh.” She said, she wasn’t expecting this. “What do we have for our next period?” She asked him trying to divert the subject.
“English, Science then Maths.” He replied sounding a bit unsure of what he should do.
“Thanks I’ll see you in English.” She said and smiled.
“Yeah, okay.” He said quietly as she left. Abbey knew it was going to come up again. This topic was just one of those awkward things between friends. She barely knew him a day how could he already feel that way? She sighed in frustration and shook her head. The group of people immediately around her looked at her as if she was a lunatic that had walked in off the street. The stares didn’t last, the bell rang and everyone scurried off to their classes. Abbey followed suit and followed a girl from her class. They made a bit of small talk on the way but Abbey didn’t think they would be friends just acquaintances.

***

Terrance felt crushed after his lunch with Abbey. How could I have been so foolish? He thought. I thought she would...Oh it doesn’t matter anymore. I need to go somewhere for a while. He stood up in the empty cafeteria and walked head on towards one of the walls. It was cloaked in shadow and Terrance walked right through it and appeared in a new world, a shadow world. Around him were little puddles where the shadows were gathered. The puddles showed him a live image of the other world. Terrance watched as Abbey walked to her class with Emily, the class bitch, at least it didn’t look like they would be friends. Terrance summoned up that power inside of himself and the shadows responded in kind. He jerked his hand upwards and a seat was created for him which was invisible to the normal human eye but to his more acute sight he could make out all the little details it carried.

***

The world flitted by in the afternoon sun as the cars travelled and the people bustled through the towns and cities but in a particular town in a particular place time had stopped for every man and woman that inhabited it and used its many land uses. Amongst the frozen people emerged a girl about medium height with long, black flowing hair. She was garbed in a black dress a black tutu like skirt and on her arms were elbow length, black gloves that concealed most of her arms. Her eyes were a dark crimson and her face was a pale white. She was not a vampire even though her appearance suggested she was one, also there are no such things as vampires. Her eyes darted back and forth along the streets scanning for something but nothing revealed itself to her.

She, hereby known as unknown, walked up to one of the motionless beings that stood crowded on the frozen streets. She flicked one of the people on the forehead and the statue like person did not move. She scoffed. “They were right when they said ‘time stands for no man’ but it does stand for every witch, warlock and magic user that exists in this feeble world.” She stated out loud to herself. She felt amused that these beings squandered the little time they actually needed. She liked to observe them just as much as she loved to toy with their petty emotions. Anger and love went hand in hand with her.

She moved between the people seemingly leaving a small, faint afterimage with every move. She glanced at them as she passed and occasionally muttered love hexes that would cause them to find true love then have it torn away from them. “I haven’t felt like this in years.” She said to herself and continued through the people. Of course this visit wasn’t all pleasure; she still had some personal business to take care of. Her arm instinctively snapped to the back of her neck as her mind remembered that event.

***

Abbey sat alone in her classes as Terrance was nowhere to be found. Apparently the only available seats were next to him. Abbey felt terrible for crushing him now. It seemed he was a loner although a few people did claim to be his friend no one really sat by him. What a horrible life for a human being. She remarked in her head then remembered she was in a similar situation. This enlightening moment made her feel even worse about what she had said and done. If only I had enough power to turn back time. I’ll have to patch this open wound before it starts causing other damage. She thought as her final class finished. She heard that glorious bell and went looking for Terrance. The school wasn’t that big and they would have found out if he had gone home. From what Abbey could gather he wasn’t in the school but he had never left the school. This confused Abbey immensely; it was just so puzzling. How can be and not be somewhere at the same time. It’s physically impossible for a human being to be here and somewhere else. Aghhh. Abbey tore at her hair as she fell back against the locker and slid slowly down to the awaiting floor.

Abbey looked up at the circular windows in the ceiling and beyond at the clear blue sky and the fluffy clouds that passed overhead. A girl approached as Abbey was transfixed with the sky. The girl tapped Abbey on the shoulder and Abbey shot out of her daydream. Abbey felt she knew the girl, who looked older than Abbey but not by much with long, flowing golden hair and a straight posture. “Baptised with a perfect name
The doubting one by heart
Alone without herself.” She sang in a whisper to Abbey and walked away, disappearing down the hall. Abbey stood up, the words ringing in her ears. The hall was empty.

***

Terrance sat in the shadows, alone. He rummaged through his pockets until he found a piece of paper. He carefully removed it from his pocket. What lay before him in the palm of his hand was a crumpled picture that portrayed a young schoolgirl dressed in uniform with long brown hair, tied up at the bottom, and with dark blue eyes. The girl was walking away from the camera but was looking over her shoulder. She had a bright smile painted across her features. Terrance let out a long breath that he hadn’t been aware he was holding. He slowly put away the picture again and stood up from his seating.

He picked a random puddle and walked through. He closed his eyes as he felt a watery sensation fall over his body and then evaporate miraculously. Terrance stepped out of the walls shadow and appeared across from Abbey. She heard him as he stepped onto the floor and she stood up. He turned to leave and started to walk away from her. She grabbed his arm and he turned to her in response. “I may not like you in that way but I still want to be your friend.” She said to him. Terrance was silent for a minute before answering: “Okay.”
“Good, now where have you been?” She asked him slightly angry. “I’ve been all over the school and I couldn’t find you.”
“Places...” He said quietly and turned around again. Abbey clung to his arm to prevent him from leaving. “Where?” She said sternly.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He told her simply.

***

Unknown stood outside the school as she scanned it. It seemed to be unaffected by her spell and that just couldn’t be tolerated. She extended her mind into the living beings that wandered its educational halls. She despised schools with their abundance of teenage "love" and happiness. It sickened her to the very core of her being. She felt like she was about to throw up when a mysterious presence spiked her interest. She focused in on it with her mind but was forced backwards by an unknown force. She knew the presence. "Abigail." She said and spat on the ground.

Unknown cast a simple invisibility spell and walked slowly into the school. She had to make sure that Abigail hadn't cast other spells to counter hers. It was a slow and arduous process of avoiding flailing limbs and scrambling teenagers. She felt sick again and changed her course to a dark corner of the school. She threw up silently and it disappeared with a couple of words of Totua Spraal.

***

Abbey released Terrance from her grip and took a step back. Her head was spinning and her stomach was growling like a wild beast that had been starved for weeks in preparation for the killing of a slave. She groaned and shouted: “Frelel.” And the school stood still, frozen in time. She closed her eyes and her mind expanded outwards, searching. She was so concentrated on her search that she failed to realise that Terrance was still mobile and he was given a large boot to the face when he tapped Abbey on the shoulder. “Ne tun sie faccia!” Said Abbey still in Totua Spraal. She corrected herself and said. “Don’t do that!” She extended a hand to Terrance and he promptly took it and stood up.

Abbey slowly started to grasp the fact that she had cast a time freeze and Terrance was still able to move freely and not even without a struggle. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she said: “Y-You can move!” Terrance blinked in reply. “Yes...so can you. In fact several billion humans can actually use these limbs, called “legs” to move about.” He said smiling.
“Shut up this isn’t the time for smart remarks I cast a spell and you’re still moving. Why?”
Terrance looked around for a second. “You’re a mage?”
“Not as such but we may have to continue this conversation later.” She said and then reverted back to Totua Spraal. “Turfwhak.” Abbey jumped once then succeeded in doing a back flip down the hall and back. The spell worked unfortunately Terrance wasn’t going to be able to have that kind of ability during this fight since these type of spells were only self-applicable.

***

A dark shadow appeared on the roof above Abbey and Terrance. A stealthy figure emerged from it and leaped down at Abbey as she dodged to the left. Terrance stared for a minute before gathering his senses and realising this was a fight. He closed his eyes and started to hum to himself. Meanwhile Abbey and Unknown were grappling with each other. They broke away from each other and shouted out phrases in Totua Spraal. A large ring of fire appeared around Abbey and started to contract towards her. Abbey said a phrase and a large serpent made of water emerged from the drinking fountain that was situated just outside the ring of fire. The serpent sprung into the ring and started to wrap around Abbey, protecting her from the flames.

Abbey clicked her fingers twice and the water started to move to the rhythm of her hands. She brought her left hand up sharply and half of the water encompassing her stretched out into a long tentacle in the direction of her hand. She started to weave down wards and extinguish the fire. She took the remaining half and released her control then clicked her fingers twice again and brought both hands up sharply. Two short tentacles extended in the directions of their respectful hand. They were just enough length for a sword. Abbey clenched her fists slowly and the water froze into the shape of two swords. Abbey grabbed both at the hilts and started to brandish them in a professional manner.

Unknown interlocked her fingers and slowly drew them apart. Her fingernails started to grow with every inch she drew her hands away from each other. She crouched low and started to run at Abbey with her fingernails, now razor-sharp and at least a foot long, slicing through the air. As she neared Abbey she spun and stroke at Abbey’s side. It caused a large gash and a stinging pain to ripple throughout Abbey. Abbey turned after recovering from the initial stun and brought a sword down upon Unknown. Unknown blocked with both hands unable to cope with the weight of the sword. Abbey stroke low with her second sword but Unknown eluded it in time to only suffer a tearing of her clothes.

Abbey spun away from Unknown and took up a defensive stance. Abbey looked right and spotted the staircase leading to the second floor above the cafeteria. She jumped towards that using her newly gained ability to her advantage. She elegantly landed on the top step and looked down at Unknown. Unknown was running up the stairs with one claw outstretched and the other held back in anticipation.

Terrance on the bottom floor finally opened his eyes and revealed them to now be two black holes where his normal eyes used to be. He moved his hand cautiously in front of his face and noticed the shadows mimicking his movement. He smiled to himself and turned towards the small battle that had unfolded. He walked forward towards the stairs and got impatient with the fact that neither of them had noticed him. His smile switched to a frown and his body started to trail a little shadow behind him as he walked. He drew ever closer but was given no more attention than before. Terrance shouted and a deafening roar resounded throughout the school.

The shadows started to shoot towards Abbey and Unknown, engulfing them within minutes. It formed a sphere around them and Terrance entered it smiling to himself. They were still both fighting even though he had limited their space. Abbey was on the top of the sphere while unknown was on the ground. Terrance identified Unknown as the threat and lunged for her only to be shoved against the wall and flipped upside down. He growled in frustration and lunged again while Abbey had taken the distraction to sneak around Unknown and take her by surprise. Unknown dodged Terrance’s attack but jumped back towards Abbey who pierced Unknown with both swords; impaling her.

***

Abbey and Terrance lay on the ground of the upstairs floor. Both were breathing heavily. Abbey muttered "Heiluar" and her wound sealed over and healed leaving a scar. Abbey let out a large sigh of relief and propped her head up to look at Unknown's body. It was slumped against the far wall with a large puddle of blood forming around it which was constantly renewed by the wounds that were situated in her back. Abbey had killed Unknown with her swords. Abbey felt like throwing up but held herself back and lay down again.

Abbey turned her head slightly to look at Terrance. He was definetly more than just human; he had shown such power back in the fight. Even though the act looked small and unimportant it took a lot of strength to make a sphere of that thickness and size and still be able to pass through without creating a hole. Terrance turned his head to look at Abbey and there eyes met. Abbey smiled and slowly moved her hand into his. Terrance blushed lightly and smiled back.

What a way to end the day....