The cab pulled up next to the curb just outside the front gates of the academy. The pavement and courtyard beyond the gate was swarming with excited students ready to start the next year of learning. Leah surveyed the happy faces through the glass of the cab window. The ecstatic smiles and floods of laughter gave her a good first impression. The people looked friendly, maybe moving away from home to join the academy wasn't such a bad thing. Leah had been terrified when her parents had first told her she would be leaving, she had never lived away from her family before.
A month earlier
The post had come in the morning like it always did and her mother had collected the entire selection from the mat and brought it with her to the breakfast table. Her father had been drinking his coffee as her mother passed him the morning paper and he flicked it open to see the headlines. Leah had been spooning cereal into her mouth trying hard not to bring any attention to herself. She had done badly in her last school test, if you could call a B grade badly, and her parents hadn't been able to stop talking about it since. her elder brother Nathan had loved that. He had been rubbing his A* grades in her face all week and constantly reminding her about how he was waiting to hear back from Oxford. A tap on her shoulder started Leah out of her thoughts and she quickly slipped her headphones off her ears and paused the music on her ipod. The buzzing sounds instantly came flooding back and Leah had to try hard not to wince. It felt like there was a hive of bees in her head.
"Your mother is speaking to you young lady."
Her father's tone was slight raised to extenuate his annoyance at her rudeness.
"I'm sorry" Leah apologized quickly "What's the matter mum?"
Her mother was staring at a letter in her hand. Leah could see it had her name on it so her mum had been opening her post again. Leah repressed a sigh.
"Darling, I'm so proud of you."
What the hell was in that letter? Her mum never called her darling.
"You've been offered a place at the Seraphic Academy of Zodiac Magic. Of course you're going to accept. We'll sign the forms right away and send them off this afternoon. I always knew you were special. My only daughter couldn't be a failure all her life."
Her father beamed across the table at her.
"Brilliant news Leah, now tell us, how long have you been hiding your abilities? What are they? No need to be coy now, the game's up."
Powers? Leah's head was killing her and the death glare from Nathan combined with the sickly sweet smiles of her parents weren't helping. The sounds were just getting louder.
"I don't know."
She managed to get the words out through the confusion in her brain. Her parent's faces instantly fell.
"It's a mistake" Nathan sneered at her "You're not special, they just got the wrong address."
"Even so, she's going."
Her mother's prompt, clipped tone indicated the matter was settled, Leah was moving out.
Present day
Leah opened the door of the cab and stepped out onto the pavement. The driver handed her the pull along suitcase that held all her worldly belongings before driving away leaving Leah confused as to what to do. A tall girl with red hair saw her distress and came to help. She walked with Leah through the throng of people chattering away, not caring that Leah was wearing headphones and couldn't hear her. The massive amount of people was starting to make Leah uncomfortable. She had enough trouble just being around one or two people. It hadn't always been like this a few moths earlier she had been just a normal girl with loads of friends but recently the buzzing had started and she had just tried to be on her own, her head hurt less that way. The red haired girl pointed at a group of bags and cases so Leah left hers there and followed the girl into a giant hall where students were sitting on benches ready for the welcoming speech. The red haired girl sat and patted the bench next to her then gestured to Leah to take off her headphones. Slowly Leah slid her headphones off her ears and the second she did the buzzing started.
She could hardly concentrate through the ceremony and just wished it would finish. After the headmistress dismissed them Leah shoved her headphones back on and headed for the door intending to get her schedule and hide away in her room soon as possible.
The woman at the desk was pleasant enough but Leah just wanted her to give her the dorm room so she could run.
"I'm sorry, I don't really need to hear this do I?"
The woman looked a little shocked at Leah's brusque tone.
"Can I just have my schedule and dorm room please? Leah Edwards."
The woman shuffled through some papers and handed them to Leah who grabbed the handle of her bag, replaced her headphones like lightning and pushed through the thickening crowd to find her room.