Scripted Wishes

Chapter 1: Salamander

Lucy sighed contentedly. Students shuffled around her, exuberantly seeking out old friends or meandering up the steps to the front of Magnolia High. The front patio of the school, lined with well-kept foliage and comfortable wooden benches, was bustling with the excitement of the new school year. A hint of anxiety clenched at her throat, but as she gazed up at the majestic statue before her she was able to shove it away. She glowed as she read the banner strung between the two large wings of the stone mascot:

     Welcome to Magnolia High School

                 Home of the Dragons

             Let's make it a good year!

She was here. At a real school! Not that her previous educational program hadn't been, but it lacked the most important thing any school should have: a theatre department. Private academies like those she had attended her whole life rarely fostered anything as rowdy as a theatre program. Konzern Academy had some great things, she'd admit – they were top-notch when it came to academics, and they were the only secondary school in the whole of Fiore to boast a fully-fledged Astronomy program – but the school lacked something incredibly important. Some called it heart. Some called it imagination. And Lucy called it a theatre department.

Lucy flipped out her smartphone and turned on the internal camera, checking to make sure her ponytail was still sitting just right. She smiled giddily, jogging in place momentarily whilst trying (and failing) to contain a squeal. She had intended to come the previous school year when she turned sixteen and could legally move out and away from her father, but it took more work and more saving to build up the funds to afford it than she could do as a fifteen-year-old. After turning sixteen she was able to find work and saved every penny of her tiny, part-time paychecks until she could afford a few months rent somewhere in Magnolia City. Her father certainly wasn't happy about her working jobs behind his back, and she could only imagine how much less happy he was the morning he discovered she wasn't on the estate anymore, but at least he hadn't come interfering as of yet.

Anxiety gripped her throat again. She hadn't heard anything from him – no calls, no texts, and no limos to drag her back to the estate. It was somewhat concerning. But, determined to enjoy herself, she swallowed down the knot in her throat and rushed past the dragon monument into the building.

The main lobby was cool and bright, despite the massive number of people scattered about in clumps. The variety in tastes and personalities was quite apparent from a single glance. There were no uniforms. She had hated the dress code at Konzern Academy. It left no room for individualization, and even though she looked fantastic in her school shirt, she wanted to wear cute clothes intentionally rather than by obligation. Like she could do here. Like she was currently doing. She had specially picked this outfit. She wore a nicely fitted light yellow blouse hanging loose over a thigh-length black skirt to really accentuate her petite structure. Around her ponytail was tied a large black bow, and she had splurged a bit to pick out some cheap black jewelry just for today. She was so excited about being herself that she even took the time to lace her black boots with yellow laces to complete the look. Seeing all the other variety in the room made her feel right at home as she was dressed, and she liked it.

It's so different, she thought, weaving between groups. It still feels like high school, but there's so much more energy. She snuck her way between a group of darkly clad metalheads and a group of bubbly freshmen to the main office.

"Excuse me?" she said, drawing the attention of the secretary.

"Ah, Lucy!" the woman replied, "I assume you're here about your schedule adjustments?"