Page 3 of Akarnae

“Welcome to the academy, Newbie.”

Alex scowled at the two girls in front of her as she swiped her sopping hair out of her eyes and pulled herself out of the fountain. She ignored the continuing laughter and marched towards the administration building, determined to put as much distance between her and the uniformed—andmean—zombies as possible.

Barely five minutes had passed since she’d arrived at the academy and already she knew her parents had been wrong. Judging by her classmates’ welcoming committee, there was no way she was going to have an enjoyable time, nor was it likely she’d make any friends. Not a single person had tried to help her out of the fountain—they’d all been too busy laughing at her. That told her all she needed to know. She would just have to grit her teeth and get through the next eight months, and once her parents were back, she would never have to return to the academy again.

She trudged forward with bitter resolve and tried to air out her enrolment papers, but there was nothing she could do since they were just as soaked as she was. At least the ink hadn’t run, that was something.

Alex entered the building and paused when she caught sight of her reflection in a mirror just inside the doorway. Her clothes were stuck to her shivering body, her long dark hair was stringy and wet, and her normally warm brown eyes were darkened by her turbulent emotions.

She shook her head and turned away from her bedraggled appearance. So much for making a good first impression.

Dripping water all the way, Alex headed over to the reception desk.

“Can I help you?” asked the lady seated there, without so much as a glance upwards. It was probably for the best since Alex was leaving a small lake on the pristine floor.

“I’m here to enrol,” Alex said. It didn’t take a genius to hear the misery in her voice.

“Name?” the woman asked.

“Alexandra Jennings.”

“Take a seat, Miss Jennings.”

Alex shuffled over to a line of chairs and sat down with asquelch.She still couldn’t believe what had transpired outside. She wondered if it was too late to try and call her parents one last time—and convince them to find a way to smuggle her away with them—but she knew it was useless. Their plane had probably already taken off; they were likely long gone. She was on her own.

“The headmaster will see you now,” the receptionist said, still not bothering to glance up. “Down the hallway, third door on the right.”

Alex rose from her seat and headed down the brightly lit corridor, soon losing sight of the reception area.

If only things could be different, she thought sadly, knocking on the headmaster’s door. There was no answer, so she tried again, louder. When still no call came to enter, Alex shrugged and turned the handle.

It was dark inside the room. Pitch-black, in fact.

“Hello?” she called out from the doorway. “Is anyone in here?”

Just as she was about to retrace her steps and go back to the reception, the room exploded with light. Alex had to hold her hand up to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. When she was able to lower her arm again, she stared in shock at the sight before her.

“What the…?” she whispered.

I must have hit my head when I fell into the fountain, she reasoned. It was surely the only explanation for the view in front of her.

The doorway opened into a small forest clearing. Sunlight streamed through the canopy of evergreens and their shadows dappled the mottle-coloured forest floor. The surrounding trees continued further than her eyes could see, with no school buildings in sight.

“It must be some kind of optical illusion,” Alex muttered to herself. She glanced behind her and took in the sterile walls of the corridor before she turned to face the forest again. She couldn’t wrap her head around the different scenery, but something about the dense woodland captivated her attention.

I’ll just have a quick look around, she thought.No one will know. Then I can come back and meet the headmaster.

Decision made, Alex quickly stepped through the doorway before she could change her mind. She expected to hear the crunching noise of dried leaves under her feet, but instead the ground disappeared and suddenly, impossibly, she was catapulted through the air. The wind rushed past her, whooshing by her ears as she flew along at what felt like the speed of light.

Just when she thought she might throw up, everything stopped.

Alex’s heart thumped wildly in her chest. She lay spread-eagled on the ground but had no idea how she’d landed. Her eyes were shut tight, but she could feel the leafy forest floor underneath her; she could smell the woody scent of pine cones in the air; and she could hear noises—branches creaking, birds singing, wind whistling through the trees.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and looked around, finding herself lying in the middle of the forest clearing she’d seen through the doorway. But the doorway itself—and the administration building—was nowhere in sight.

The good news was that her airborne journey had somehow dried out her sodden clothes and hair. She wasn’t even damp anymore. The bad news was that she had no idea where she was or how she was supposed to get back.

Alex sighed and threw her arms out to the sides, sending leaves scattering. “This new schoolsucks.”

---