Charlie Bone and the Sandman.

Chapter 5 - First day jitters.

First day of school. Which meant the occasional butterflies, the nervousness of fitting in and the constant nostalgia of your old school. And that was exactly how Jason was feeling at the moment. He had trouble making friends, because of his endowment and lack of sleep. The blonde male had dark rings around his eyes and would be teased by other students. They would usually call him a zombie considering how tired and worn out he looked. Hopefully this Academy could be a fresh new start. Maybe he could hang around with Olivia and whatever friends she had, but maybe she didn’t want to be friends with him. Some people were different in and out of school.

Luckily enough for Jason, the violet-haired girl had explained everything for him. There is a drama, art, and music department. Drama children wear purple capes, art children wear green capes, and music children wear blue capes. Each department had  its own coatroom, assembly room, and cafeteria. The children come on Monday mornings and didn't leave until Friday afternoons. There was a west wing and an east wing where the classrooms were. The west wing was out-of-bounds for students. It was decorated fancily with rich carpeting, a chapel and a grand staircase leading up to the attics and the Music Tower. There was a door to the west wing, at the end of the blue, green and purple cloakrooms, which lead to a hallway to the arched doors of the ballroom. The boy's dormitories were located on the floor in which the art room was, and the girl's floor on the floor above. In the art room, there was a door where dressmaking was held at the end of the semester of the play, also where first years had their lessons.

The head of drama was Mrs. Marlowe, the head of music Dr. Saltweather, and the head of art was Mr. Mason. Every year at the end of the semester, there was a ruin game in which children in each department went into the ruins where he or she searches for a medal. There are three nights for the game. Each child has a lantern to help them see in the dark. If they find the medal, they receive one and a whole year free of detentions and get gifts like masks, instruments and paint sets. After the ruin game, they have a party in the dining hall.

Walking through the gates with the blue cape flung around his shoulder, Jason’s chocolate eyes darted left and right as he scanned the huge school which seemed to be full of livelihood. It was at that moment when he sighed, that someone bumped roughly into him. “Oof!” A voice squeaked and Jason, stumbling back, looked down to see a familiar figure. It was Olivia, but this time she had black hair. The female had told him about how she would usually change appearances considering her plays, and this time she had black hair. Nevertheless, she looked attractive in her black skirt and dark blue top.

“Sorry!” Jason apologised as he grabbed Olivia’s hand gently to help her stand up. The girl only shook her head in response, brushing imaginary dust off her legs. She ignored his apology and just beamed at him, shrugging her shoulders once. “First day’s bound to make you bump into people. Relax, I’m not bruised or anything.” She replied with a grin, nudging him softly.  The blonde-haired boy smiled and slung his bag off his shoulder, looking around then back at her. “So what’s your first lesson?” Jason asked curiously, looking into her enchanting grey eyes. “English, I hate it.” Olivia let out a groan and rolled her eyes. The teacher was a huge jerk and had already given Olivia detention for ‘not having her cloak on.’ Jason only tilted his head, looking down at the piece of paper he had received when entering the place. “Looks like I have English as well.” He looked back up at the girl. “The teacher is a douche, just saying. Oh, and follow me!” With that said, she grabbed his wrist and headed with him to the English class.

She was quite fast and Jason had trouble keeping up with her. But he hurried after her, looking at the door when she let go of his wrist. He sighed and entered the classroom after her, taking a seat near the windows with Olivia sitting next to him. Jason pulled out his equipment and notepad until he felt a tap on his shoulder. “That’s my seat.”

A huge boy towered over the blonde, with his eyes narrowed and fists clenched. “S-Sorry.” Jason was about to stand up until Olivia spoke out. “Get lost, Damian. Not every seat is yours.” She squinted her eyes, earning a snort from the giant whose name was Damian. “What are you gonna do about it? Hit me?” He asked mockingly. To that, Olivia only smirked. “Or I can make wasps chase after you.” With that said, Damian’s eyes widened and he slowly walked away. The black-haired girl winked at Jason with a grin before looking forward again. Jason could only watch in shock at what happened. This girl was definitely something else.