Month: February 2011

Chapter One:

I felt trapped. As if I were caught in a binding spell and couldn’t move. Footsteps sounded from outside my cell. The heavy sound of boots. A swish of a cape outside. I started to shiver. Coldness crept into my limbs. Suddenly the door was flung open. A shadowed figure stood in the doorway. “Fawn,” it said in a voice that was silky smooth and at the same time crackling and rusty, “At last we meet.” He stepped out from the shadows and….

I woke up. Just like that. One minute I was in that imaginary cell, getting ready to confront my host and the next, I was sitting up in bed shivering and looking around for the mysterious man. I looked out my window. Outside, I saw the courtyards and a heavy blanket of clouds in the air. Or I thought that’s what I saw. The glass of my window was so covered in frost, it was nearly impossible to make out anything.

I tossed my blankets aside and got out of bed. I dressed with a snap of my fingers and a small whisper of words.  I picked up my school books and walked out into the hall. Outside, the lanterns were lit with a white light. Their radiance so bright, it was impossible to look straight into one of the lanterns.

I rushed down the hall and down the stairs. Kids were milling around everywhere. As soon as I got down the stair and made my way the main hall, Aspen, rushed out of the crowd, right at me.

“Did you hear?” Aspen cried over the sound of the other students, “There’s going to be a new kid in the second year!”

“Really?” I asked, “Have you seen him or her?”

“Na,” Aspen shrugged, her  cloak moving around her, “Probably will though.”

Then, the two of us made our way down the Dining Hall in the west wing of the school.

The dinging hall was grand. Lanterns hung in the air. Four long banquet tables stretched the length of the hall. In front of it all, a long table was set, facing the other tables. We made our way to the second table where the students of the second year were sitting.

Aspen and I sat down. We were soon joined by two other girls. Juno and Mila.

“Hey, guys,” I smiled.

“Hi Fawn,” Juno smiled back, pushing a lock of her platinum blond hair out of her face.

Mila was as quiet and still as always. She and Juno sat across from us. As soon as all four banquet tables were full, a procession of people slowly seated themselves at the head table. At the center, sat the head master, Hunting. He was a middle aged man with a dark curly beard and small black eyes. he sat down, then stood up once more.

“STUDENTS OF SILVER WAND ACADEMY!” he bellowed, his voice traveling throughout the hall, “WELCOME TO ANOTHER YEAR AT SILVER WAND ACADEMY! I HOPE WE CAN ALL START THIS YEAR OFF WITH A BIG, DELICIOUS BREAKFAST!”

All at once, plates and platters flew into the hall, landing carefully on the tables. The covered dishes revoved their lids on their own, revealing food. Yummy food. Delights such as pancakes, eggs, toast, fried duck, and fruits. The glasses were filled to. They were filled to the brim with orange juice.

A strong aroma filled the air. Kids at the first year table started to pile their plates, but then noticed how quiet the hall still was.

The head master wasn’t done talking, “I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE NEW FIRST YEAR TO SILVER WAND ACADEMY. AS WE CAN ALL SEE, THEY ARE ALL TOO EAGER TO START ON THE FEAST. HOWEVER, I MUST FIRST INTRODUCE SOME NEW ARRIVALS IN THE SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH YEAR. ALL NEW COMERS PLEASE STAND.”

A few kids from table three and four stood, but only one kid in the second table got up. It was a boy. He was a little taller that me. He had dark curly hair and blue eyes. He looked so somewhat familiar to me, even though I didn’t know why.

“IN THE FOURTH YEAR THERE ARE: KALLY SOWERS AND SEAN HAILSBURG. IN THE THIRD YEAR THERE ARE FAIN STOOPS, CATHY HEWY, AND DEREK HEART. AND FINALLY IN  THE SECOND YEAR THERE IS LOGAN SPARKS.”

To be Continued….

We returned to the orphanage around 6:30. While everybody else hurried back to their rooms, I checked in with Ms. Robinson. I came in. “Hi, sweetheart. How are you and the rest of my favorite little group doing? How was your day?’, she asked. “Good. We went to the Museum of Modern Art and to see a movie. We also ate dinner and lunch.”, I replied. “Okay. How did things go with Rob?”, she asked. Geez. Did Ms. Robinson have an endless stream of questions available? “We’re now friends with benefits.”, I replied. She giggled. “Okay honey. You could go back to your room.”, she replied.

When I returned to the room, Miranda, Faith, and Eliza were showering and preparing for a gossip fest. Eliza came out of the bathroom. “Okay. Shannon, its your turn.”, she told me. I went and washed my worries away in the shower. When I came out, I announced dramatically, ”Let’s have a gossip fest later with our candy!”  “Fine with me. But I have one thing to say. Shannon, when you came here I thought you would be kind of a tomboy. I realized that you are in some ways a drama queen. I mean, you’re not really in to all those cliche` things of what a drama queen is and romance and stuff. And that’s what makes you cool. You break boundaries.”, Miranda stated. I blushed and replied, “According to my mother, I got the acting gene from my father. My mom was a film buff, but she didn’t like to act. I’m a film buff and an ack-tour. In fact, I was in a few school plays when I lived in the city.”   ”Ack-tour. Nice touch.”, Faith said from across the room. Eliza glanced at the clock. “7:00. ” “Well, we’ve got 45 minutes to kill. You wanna go to the lounge and watch TV?”, Miranda suggested. “Sure.”

Forty-five minutes later, we were on our way to Group Chat.  When we got there, Ms. Robinson asked us to tell about our day. Rob was very sweet and went on and on about how fun and awesome today was. He said so much that Ms. Robinson needed to stop him. Afterwards, it was candy time. I have a serious sweet tooth.  After I filled up two bags, (yes, two.), I went to sit on a couch. I felt a bit socially awkward because I saw a lot of kids dancing to the music on Ms. Robinsin’s iPod and some of them were kissing. My friends sat down with me until they were asked to dance with some boys. I was sitting alone until Rob asked me to dance. We laughed at the stupidity of our dance moves and the fact that we were stepping all over each other’s feet.

The diner was pretty awesome and fifties-ish. We sat on bright red stools. There was a real soda counter and just for the sake of experiencing fifties-style shakes, sodas, and fast-food, we each got a soda, shake, and a burger and fries. The drinks came in tall glasses and the food came in red baskets. My “date’s” friends were talking up my friends. I knew Miranda would be all perky and “he’s so great” when we got back. My  “date” was nice, but I’m not ready to “date” anybody. He was really interesting and funny as a friend. Maybe in the future I would date him, who knows. I actually told him that and he said he didn’t really want to be someone’s boyfriend and he just wanted to see if we could be friends. “I think that we would be good friends. We both like the Mets and we have the same sense of humor.”, Rob replied when I told him we should just be friends. Whatever, I’m proud that I spoke up for myself and that I didn’t let a boy change me. Because in the future, no matter how much I like a boy, I will not change myself for a boy. That was my rule in life. You either take me as I am or leave me alone. My mother always said I had a good head on my shoulders, a strong work ethic, and smarts and that is something you should never change and something that not one person can take away from me. She told me no matter how much you want to be “popular”, you should never change for any friend or person. Because if they don’t take as you are, they’re really not a friend. To this day, I think of that rule every single day. I knew that by myself before my mother told me. Everybody always said I had the personality of my mother and the looks of my father.

Rob shattered my thoughts. “Hello, earth to Shannon.”, he said, waving his hand in my face. “Geez. I was just thinking, Rob.” , I replied. “Whatever. Anyway, we’re going to to the Museum of Modern Art. Then, we’ll go see a movie and go to dinner.” , he said. “Fine. Let’s go, but we need to check in with Ms. Robinson first.”, I replied.

After the muesuem, we walked to the movie theater. We decided to see this comedy. It wasn’t the funniest, but at least you were able to laugh at it’s dumbness. Then, we ate at this great Italian restaurant that served complimentary all-you-can-eat breadsticks and salad. We stuffed ourselves silly. Rob kind of put his arm around me, in a friendly way. It was slightly cringe worthy.  Then, we got on the subway. It was a long ride and I had brought my daily journal along so I wrote.

6:30 PM, 2/19/11, Subway

Well, I went out on a date with Rob. As I’ve said before, I really don’t want a boyfriend, so we agreed to be friends/ “friends with benefits” . Okay, that last sentence- total corn/cliche` fest.  Anyway, I had a great time. We went to the Musuem of Modern Art, ate lunch at this fifties diner, saw a movie, and ate an early dinner at 5:00 at this Italian place. When we get back, I’m going to veg with my friends, change and shower, and go to Group Chat.

Rob and I chatted until our stop. I realized that he was kind of cute in that laid back kind of way. After that, we returned to the orphanage.

Chapter One
The smell of pine cones wafted into the room. Its aroma filled  my nose and the entire room. I set the green tinted bowl on the desk. In it were, 12 small pine cones, the source of the fragrance. I breathed deeply.
Suddenly, a knock came from the window. I glanced and saw a pair of watery blue eyes staring into my dorm room. I rushed to the window and opened it.
“Hey, Fawn,” the girl outside was clinging to the wall, seemingly without effort.
“Aspen?” I asked, “What are you doing here? And how did you get out of your dorm?”

Aspen grinned, her face shining as though she had a great big secret, “I’ll tell you when you come on down.”

I smiled uncertainly, but ran to my dresser and pulled out a black cloak. I ran back to the window, “I’ll be down in a second.”
I closed my window and rushed to the door. Slowly, I opened it. Outside, the hallway was lit dimly, just as it always is during break time, when all the students are supposed to be in their dorm rooms. I slipped out the door and slowly closed it behind me, making sure the door didn’t creak. I snuck down the hallway. Lanterns that lit the hallway, cast dim shadows and reflected their orangey glow on the dark oak floor boards.  At the end of the passageway, a long stair case, led down to the ground floor. As soon as I made my way down the stairs, I encountered the tricky part. The door. Two dormers stood nearby, talking in low voices. Students weren’t supposed to leave the dorms during rest period or after lights-out, so the school always had dormers stalking the hallways or in front front of the doors. The two dormers here were huddled in a corner, their long black cloak swished as the moved ever so slightly. Their dark hoods were pulled over their faces, muffling their words.

Slowly, I crept towards the door, unnoticed. The cloak shimmered and moved around me as if it were a living thing. Just as I was going to open the door, it swung open. The door banged against the back wall, before swinging back again. A man, about 2 feet taller that me, stormed in. He wore a midnight blue cloak that blew away from his torso, revealing all the weapons of magic he kept hidden in his belt. There were wands, sparkling potions, enchanted knives and daggers, and more I could not name As soon as the door closed behind the man and his cloak settled down, the two dormers ruched out of their corner as I scuttled into one. One of the dormers held a raised wand.

The new man held up his empty had and said, “I’m clear. I need to talk to the head master.” From my corner, I could make out some of the man features. He seemed like a kind man, his eyes were a gentle blue and even when he though he was frowning, they seemed to smile.

The two dormers hissed and looked at each other from under their hoods. Without so much as a nod to each other, they said to the man in unison, “Follow us.” Abruptly, they turned on their heels and rushed down the main hallway with the man following.

Once the man and two dormers were out of site, I rushed to the door and opened it. Outside, the sun shone down, but for some reason, it seemed to be an icy sun. A chilly breeze blew across the grass and cobblestone paths. I stepped out of the doorway, and closed it behind me. I rushed to a bush and ducked. Two figures were walking down a path. Both wore shimmering white cloaks. I smiled. They weren’t anybody to be afraid of.

“Juli-pie! Ray-sight !” I called in my loudest whisper. The two ghosts looked my way.

“Oh my, Ray-sight! A talking bush!” Julipie, a lovley ghost laughed, “Who would have thought?”

“A what?” Ray-sight asked. He was a rather aged ghost who’s hearing had heard better days.

Julipie sighed, “Nothing my dear Ray-sight. It is just Fawn-feather out for another stroll when she’s supposed to be resting,”

I smiled and stepped out from behind the bush, pulling off my cloak. The two ghosts had walked over by now and Ray-sight finally saw me.

“It’s Fawn-feather, Juli-pie! She’s out here again!” Ray-sight cried. Juli-pie laughed a tinkling ghostly laugh.

“So, what brings you out here in this cold weather?” Juli-pie asked, “You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I know,” I said, ” But Aspen asked me to meet her out here.”

“Oh really?” Juli-pie asked, a thoughtful frown crossed her pleasant features, “I haven’t seen Aspen-leaf  out here.”

I shrugged, “Probably hiding.”

“You’re darn right I’ve been hiding,” Aspen jumped down from the large oak tree we were standing under.

“Aspen-leaf, dear,” Juli-pie smiled coldly at her, “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Aspen replied, bluntly.

“Well, we really must be going or we’ll be late for Fair-heart’s birthday,” Juli-pie smiled and took Ray-sight’s arm and walked back to the cobblestone path and continued on their way.

“So….” I looked at Aspen, “Why am I out in the cold?”

“Because, I found this spell,” Aspen said.

“What?” I asked, “What spell?”

“A spell that’s not in the books. Rather, I made it myself.”

“Made it yourself?” I asked, “But how?”

Aspen just shrugged, “I’m not sure, but I know it works.”

“Show me,” I said, still disbelieving.

No one I knew could make their own spell.

“Hamptoron cir la moon,” Aspen whispered, or more than whispered, she chanted. Over and over. The whole time, her flame colored wand was pointed to her hands. When she stopped, Aspen didn’t look any different. Just the same. Then she reached her hand to a strong branch of the tree and clung to the branch, without grabbing it.

Aspen looked down, “Pretty cool huh?”

To be Continued….

“So what is Group Chat and what is Ms. Robinson like?”, I  inquired. “Ms. Robinson is still like a teenager, even though she’s an adult. She lets us have boyfriends and stuff. And she knows what we like. For example, every two weekends, we have different bars at Group Chat. On Fridays of those weeks, there’s on sundae bar. On Saturdays, there’s a candy bar and you take a bag and take as much candy as you want and take it back to your room. On Sundays, there’s a snack bar with cheese curls and stuff and you do what you do at the candy bar. Group Chat is when Ms. Robinson makes some announcements and then she lets us either chat or we watch a movie. “, Eliza, uncharacteristically talkative, said. “Wow Eliza. I never heard you talk so much.”, I replied. Eliza just gave a shy smile and blushed. Miranda suddenly broke in to the conversation and said, “Well, today is a sundae Friday, so we better get moving. By the way, I haven’t alerted you on the awesomeness of weekends. You wake up late and do whatever you want. Ms. Robinson doesn’t care. She isn’t much of an authority figure. And sometimes she drives us in to Manhattan on the weekends.”  “Good for the food thing and weekend thing. But, gross! I don’t really like boys. I don’t want my life to turn in to a total cliche`. It already almost is. I mean, this is my life currently: girl becomes orphan, goes to orphanage, meets trustworthy friends. I don’t want to add girl meets boy and falls in love to that list.”, I replied, sending everybody in to a fit of giggles.

At Group Chat, Ms. Robinson had only two announcements. “I’d like to introduce the newbies. Shannon and Rob, come up.” With a blush and a push from Faith, Miranda, and Eliza, I came up.  A boy with short brown hair and blue eyes came up. Ms. Robinson asked me some questions. “What are your hobbies?” “I play the sax, read, draw, and play baseball and loyally follow the New York Mets.”, I replied. “How old are you?” “Twelve.”  “Did you meet any friends?”  “Yes. Miranda, Faith, and Eliza.”  “Ok!”, Ms. Robinson announced, “One more announcement before the sundae bar! Tomorrow, I’ll be driving you guys in to the city.” Everybody cheered.

On the way to the sundae bar, the guy who Ms. Robinson introduced as Rob said above the noise of the great stampede to the sundae bar to me, “Hey.”  Not knowing what to say, I just said, “Hi.”  “You wanna go see a movie with me in Manhattan tomorrow at four?”, he asked, cool as a cucumber.   Miranda and Faith were right behind me, chanting, “Say yes! Say yes!” “Oh, fine.”, I said, fed up with their chanting.

That night, I lay in bed, still awake. Even though I  had met some awesome people on my first day, I still felt a slight loneliness. I missed being a normal kid, living with, well, first my mom and my dad, then with just my mom, in Manhattan. I missed walking to Central Park and meeting my friends there for a pretzel or ice cream or biking.  I missed my school and taking the subway to school. I missed lying awake at night and listening to the sounds of the city. I knew not everybody had my luck of making friends easily. I liked Brooklyn, where the orphanage was located, but it wasn’t home.

I guess I eventually fell asleep, because next thing I knew Ms. Robinson was shaking us awake, telling us that if we wanted to go to the city, we need to wake up.  I woke up, along with Faith, Miranda , and Eliza. Miranda was perky and helped me pick out a great outfit. It was a dark green sweater and a pair of black leggings and black flats and an emerald necklace. She also tried to put makeup on me and I protested. Since there is no winning with Miranda, I just allowed her to put on eye makeup. “You know I really don’t want a boyfriend?”, I said as she applied gunk to my eyelids. “Yes. You already stated that,  quite loudly I’ll have you know, last night.”, she replied.

About an hour or so later, we were in Ms. Robinson’s car on the highway. I had a tote bag with my wallet and some extra eye makeup, which Miranda insisted I take,  and a mini hairbrush and mirror. Everytime I looked at my bag, I felt a slight tinge of sorrow. My m0ther bought me this bag for my tenth birthday, the year she got sick. It was blue with a bright orange Mets logo and below it was written “New York Mets”. I looked out the window. A mix of rain and snow was starting to fall.  This kind of winter weather made me long for baseball season, where the weather was sunny and warm. Ms. Robinson shattered my thoughts. “We’re almost there. Shannon, here’s your cell phone.” I guess I looked kind of confused, because Miranda explained. “Everybody gets a cell phone so that Ms. Robinson can keep tabs on us when we go out.”

A few minutes later, we were smack in the middle of Times Square. Everybody ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the lights. “Ok, guys. I’m dropping you off here. Call to check in every hour. To get back, take your Metrocards. That way you could pay the fare to get on the subway. Does everybody have their Metrocards and cell phones?’ , Ms. Robinson said. Miranda ran up to the curb. Rob and his friends insisted on coming with us. “Well.”, Rob said, “It’s already 1:00. Let’s go to lunch and take it from there. I know this great Italian place, but they seat you in pairs. There are three girls and three boys. Double up.” On the way there, we walked behind the boys. Miranda kept whispering to me. “I think its a ploy to get you alone.”, she said. I simply made a small fake gagging face. Ugh, I thought. Why did I agree to go out on a date? Oh yeah, because my dumb “friends” talked me in to it. Whatever, I’ll go eat and see a movie and go around Manhattan pretending there’s no boy with me. This brought me back to my mother’s words. She always said, ”If you don’t like something or someone, go around your regular business pretending they’re not there.”  Maybe I shouldn’t be so judgemental. Rob’s friend, Steve suddenly shouted. “Listen, dude. You may want to chill with your date alone. But, I’m not going to sit alone with a girl I don’t know well.” “Fine man. But what suggestion do you have because I’m starved.”, Rob questioned. “Why don’t we go to that fifties-style diner I was telling you about? Its a few blocks away.”, Steve replied. We started up the block.