9

Sunlight streamed in through the window, turning my closed eyelids golden. My head was throbbing and my neck stung. I remembered last night and immediately wished I didn't. I could still see the girl, she was haunting me. I lazily stretched my limbs out, ignoring the stinging on my arms as the fresh wounds hit the cold air. I wondered if Aurel was still asleep, she seemed like an early riser but no sound came from her direction that would indicate being awake. I opened my eyes, preparing myself and hoping I wouldn't embarrass myself; she wasn't there.
The space where she should be was empty, so was Skye's bed. A white piece of paper folded up on Aurel's desk caught my eye.
"You looked exhausted when we woke up, so we left you to sleep. We're having breakfast at the food hall, we'll see you there - Aurel"
Her handwriting was a beautiful, cursive script. It could be a font.
It was then I realised I had no clothes with me to change into. Aurel was too tall to borrow fitting clothes off and I would never be prepared for Skye's reaction to my borrowing her clothes.
I found myself walking down the corridor to C5, contemplating the odds of running into Cal. Hopefully not, I didn't know if I could bear seeing his smug face without resisting the urge to hit him. I was usually a pacifist, never getting into fights. But Cal had somehow managed to get under my skin.
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to knock, surely it's etiquette but then again, it's also my room. I settled on knocking twice and opening the door, letting Daisy know I was there but also reminding her that I owned the room too. Daisy was sat on her bed, her hair was in a messy bun and there was mascara smudges under her eyes. She stifled a yawn and smiled broadly at my arrival, she was the only person who made me feel welcome her. Well, apart from Jaspar but I had the impression he made everyone feel welcome.
"Out all night on your first night here? God, you're going to be fun!" She was chuckling to herself, seemingly amused at my 'wild night out'. 
"I stayed at Aurel's, I didn't want to... disturb you and Cal." I tried to speak delicately, I didn't know how to broach the subject. Her lip curled in distaste when Cal's name came up, I thought I'd found the reason behind her mascara smudges. I watched her nervously as she shook herself and smiled broadly, she seemed like someone who was just as neurotic as she was positive.
"Right! Okay let's get dressed for breakfast, I wonder what's being cooked today. Cereal's okay, but you can't go wrong with a fry up. But I guess if I keep talking, we'll miss even the cereal." She chattered on incessantly as we got dressed. I decided to go with a rusty jumper that was slightly too big and unflattering, over a pair of casual black jeans. Paired with black Docs, I looked nondescript, something I was aiming for on my first day. I didn't want to stand out.
"Ready?" Daisy was wearing a pastel pink dress that ended just above her knees. It was plain, but it brought out her blue eyes. She was good at finding her best features and making them pop. She linked my arm and we walked out together.
"We have psychology first, with Skye! That's the only lesson we have together so I hope you're sat by me. Your timetable shows the rest of your lessons, we have four a day which, I know doesn't sound like much but you definitely learn a lot!"
"I, uh, I don't have my time table with me, I left my bag in the room." I felt so stupid, first day of class and I left my bag in my room?
"Oh! That's okay, your first lesson's with me and then your last three are with Aurel so I'm sure she'll stick with you!" Somehow, I wasn't sure.
"I'm not too sure about that, she doesn't seem to like me much..." I let my voice trail off, awkwardly. I didn't want her to pick up on how much I thought about Aurel.
"Oh, no! That's just Aurel. She doesn't seem to like anybody. But I know that's her defence. If you like her, go for it! I know she doesn't hate you."
"How do you know that? She's so cold towards me." There was no way Aurel liked me. Even if she didn't have this vendetta against me, although not as strong as Skye's, she was too perfect for someone as ordinary as me.
"Well, she never accepts comfort off anybody, you're a first. And nobody has ever been allowed to stay in her bed. Not even myself or Skye." It was looking up, knowing she's given me exceptions.
"So what if she did like me? How would I know? What would I do?" Daisy laughed, I felt quite embarrassed knowing she now knew how I felt about Aurel.
"May calm down! Get to know her, let her open up. There's no use jumping in the deep end before you can swim. I mean, you met her yesterday and yes, you got to comfort her but it hasn't been 24 hours. Let her be your friend first." For someone so emotional, she was wise. Daisy had an aura of knowing things. I felt like her eyes saw through people, she knew how people worked and how to behave around different people. After this advice, it was only right I offer her some comfort.
"So, what happened with you and Cal?" I tried my softest voice. I wanted Daisy to confide in me, to trust me. She sighed gently and rubbed her eyes.
"Nothing really. Just the same as usual. I feel like we're getting somewhere but I always know. I can always tell when he's seeing someone else, he looks different. But it wasn't just someone else last night. I saw the way he looked at her, the way he tried to get to her. He will never admit it but it's so obvious he's in love with Aurel." She turned to look at me in panic, "I'm so sorry! You've only just got here and I'm bombarding you with drama! Please don't tell anyone, I don't want to make things difficult between everyone. It will change the group dynamic." I put my hands up to stop her panic and laughed. She was like a child, she felt things more than others did and it was refreshing to see someone who cared about everything so fiercely.
"Don't worry, you can count on me to keep my mouth shut. I don't get it though, why stay with him?" It puzzled me, someone so passionate as Daisy with someone so blasé as Cal. She deserved a lot more than him.
"Because I love him, May. I can't help it." She sounded so forlorn, I hated Cal more than anything. He ruined the group, upset people who were so many levels above him.
"Oh well! It keeps my life interesting!" She beamed at me, but her bright smile didn't quite reach her eyes. I had the impression that Daisy was a girl who made everyone else's life easier before her own. I felt a strong urge to protect her.
"I hope we're not stuck with the stale cereal, we've been long enough!" Her peppy voice came back as we reached the doors to the food hall.
The noise of the hall was overwhelming, I didn't have enough time to register much as Daisy propelled me towards a table in the far right of the room. Aurel was sat down, engaged in an intense conversation with Skye. She caught sight of me and I was sure she threw a significant look to Skye. Their conversation died down as they both turned to smile forcedly at us.
"Daisy! We saved you the fry up! Uh, May we weren't exactly sure what you wanted to eat so we didn't save you anything." Skye spoke hesitantly to me and forced another smile. I felt out of it again, an outsider to the group.
Cal and Jaspar sat at the top of the table, both leaning back in their chairs and talking. I didn't feel like conversing with them, and the girls didn't want to talk to me so I slowly made my way to the serving area. I grabbed a sad looking bowl of Weetabix and trailed back to the table. I didn't know what I expected, maybe a real smile or a friendly welcome. It didn't seem like much considering what happened last night. But I was so wrapped up in the moment I forgot I was still a stranger to them and they didn't trust me.
I sat next to Daisy, who tried to include me in the conversation as much as she could. We were discussing the pros and cons to Daisy constantly eating fry ups (pros - tasty food, happy Daisy, full meal. Cons - high in salt and fat and generally unhealthy) when the doors opened. Nobody really noticed as students were milling in and out before lessons but a few heads rose in interest as 3 adults walked in.
"That's the headmistress and her assistants," Daisy whispered in my ear. Around us more heads were looking up and the loud din lowed to hushed whispers as students speculated the reasons behind her obviously unexpected entry. She stood in the middle of the food hall, demanding attention and respect by only her posture. She held herself tall and dignified. As the whispers quieted down and the hall became silent, she looked around us gravely. Her eyes rested on a few students, myself included. She had a wise face, it was timeless. It demanded respect.
"Students, I'm afraid I have to make an unfortunate announcement."