Best Day Ever

     Ilarya inhaled deeply and held the breath for a count before fully exhaling. She kept her eyes closed as she basked in the warm, morning sunshine that contrasted with the cool September breeze. The day was still warm, but she could tell that the weather would soon shift to the cold Canadian winter that she had grown accustomed to since moving here. It certainly was a drastic change from the muggy New Orleans heat that she had known in her childhood. Still, she was glad that her family had relocated so her father could teach at such a prestigious school.

     Bawa Ekin Mani was unlike any other magic schools she had visited over the years growing up. Her father had taught at many, and so far this one was her favorite. She felt very blessed to have been able to visit him at his various jobs and get glimpses into her possible future at any one of these schools. The day had finally come and now she too was a magic student, just as she had always dreamed.

     As the fond memories washed through her mind she let out another long breath, this time accompanied by a contented sigh. She opened her eyes slowly and gazed happily out at the playful way the sun glinted off the calm river water.

     "Today is simply the best day of my life," She thought to herself. She had waited so long for this day and now that it had arrived she noted it in her mind as one of those moments that you just know is going to stick in your mind forever, like her first time at a rock concert when her favorite band came out, or that moment mid-summerbreak when she had laughed uncontrollably with her best friend, Mia, and it had felt like the summer would last for an eternity, and everything was perfect.

    "Another best day of my life," She mentally corrected herself.

     She stood up on the top of the rock on which she had been sitting and took one last look out over the water.

     "Thanks for everything you did for me to get me here, Mama." She remembered her mother's face fondly and imagined how proud she would have been to see her baby girl starting Magic School. It had only been a year since her mom had died in a car crash and Ilarya always felt better when she took time to say a few words to her, even if she couldn't hear her replies.

     Ilarya turned away from the water and hopped down off the large rock. She pulled out her phone to check the time as she began walking back through the forest towards the old castle.

     "10:45. Mia should be getting here soon," She thought to herself. She silently wished she got cell phone reception on the school grounds so she could just text her best friend, but at the same time she was glad there was a spell that blocked it. Besides keeping the school more secure, it also added to both the peaceful and mysterious elements of being here.

     Having walked this trail to the riverbank dozens of times in the past, Ilarya got lost in her blissful fantasies about how the coming school year would go, and she arrived back at the castle's Welcoming Garden before she knew it. She could see clusters of students still making their way up the trails and through the doors into the Welcome Hall so she took her time strolling through the footpaths filled with perfectly pruned hedges and shrubs. She looked around, over all of the pools and ponds, to the various colorful flowerbeds to see if she could spot any of the faes that tended to the gardens. None seemed to be around this morning and judging by the crispness of the garden they had been sure to finish off all of the floriculture before any new guests arrived to the castle. They took great pride in their work and their love of the plant kingdom showed.

    As Ilarya made her way towards the main doors and followed the stream of other students inside, she noticed a chaotic pile of luggage had formed next to the doors. This was new to her as she had previously only visited the school during her summer breaks.

    "Boy am I glad I stashed my things in Papa's office," she thought, relieved as she watched a vintage-looking doctor bag slide off the top of the pile and fall right on top of a panicking boy.

     She continued pushing her way through the crowd, while offering polite 'excuse mes' and friendly, 'how are you doings' to the other students. She recognized her first familiar face and headed towards the somber man standing next to the wall.

     "Hi. It's Tomomi right? My dad introduced us earlier this morning," Ilarya gingerly asked the tall man who seemed to be supervising the entrance hall.

     "Tom is fine, and yes, I remember. You're Houngan DesMortiers daughter." His response was matter-of-fact and polite.

     "Yes, and you are the Kheezik Head Mentor and Zahra's Teaching Assistant."

     "Professor Nathifa, yes." He turned to make eye contact with her for the first time during the conversation and continued, "You have an impressive memory. I noticed that you were introduced to a lot of people this morning before the staff's orientation day meeting."

    Ilarya nodded. She got the impression from Tom that he was fairly difficult to impress and she felt a moment of pride at having done so. There was a comfortable silence between them and they both looked back at the bustling crowd.

     She noticed the flaming red hair of her best friend bobbing through the sea of students and tried to catch her eye. Mia saw her almost immediately and came bounding over.

     "Ilarya!" Mia shouted affectionately and pounced on her friend for a hug. "I can't believe we're finally here!" She was beaming and it only added to the sunny disposition that she usually carried.

   "I know! I'm so happy!" Ilarya lit up with her friend as they shared in the joyful moment that they had spent years dreaming and talking about together. "Best day ever?"

     "Best day ever." Mia winked. She eyed the man next to them and drew in closer so only Ilarya could hear. "Who's the hottie?"

     Ilarya drew back and composed herself before turning to talk to Tom again.

    "Tom, this is my best friend, Mia. She's just starting here as well." She turned back to Mia and continued, "Tom is in his ninth year here and he's a TA for Zahra."

    "Very nice to meet you, Mia. You know Professor Nathifa as well?" Tom ask curiously, folding his hands together behind his back.

   "Well, she's a friend of Ilarya's family and I've spent a lot of time at their place. Zahra - Professor Nathifa - came for dinner quite a few times over the past few years."

   "I see," smiled Tom, "Then you have certainly been in good company."

    "Absolutely. Anyway, I actually told a girl I would find her a tissue and kinda just ran off. Do either of you have one?" Mia looked back and forth between Tom and Ilarya.

    "Oh, yes. I always have some on me. Allergies." Ilarya dug into the large pouch hanging down from her belt. It matched the floor-length green skirt she wore. "Come find me in the banquet hall afterward, okay?"

     Mia grabbed a handful of tissues from Ilarya and departed with a cheerful, "Okay, thanks!"

     "Nice to meet you.." Tom trailed off as Mia quickly disappeared into the throng of smiling faces. "We should be heading into the hall now, actually," he said, gesturing for Ilarya to proceed before him.

     She nodded in agreement and made her way down the marbled hallway. She glanced at many of the familiar marble motifs of deities that lined the long entryway and let her eyes linger for a moment on the two faces of the Roman god, Janus, one facing towards the main doors and one facing towards the Medicine Wheel hall where she was headed. She smiled, recalling her first visit to the castle when she had stood in awe at the way the lights had bounced around the hallway and illuminated the younger of his two faces. The whole depiction was now lit by the sunshine radiating in through the wide-opened doors.

     "Mister Ametsuchi, may I have a moment, please?" A voice asked just behind Ilarya.

     "Of course, Professor" She heard Tom respond and turned to see him step aside with a brightly-dressed woman.

     She continued down the hallway and through the ten-foot-high arched doorways that led to the Medicine Wheel Hall. She had never seen such excitement in the Hall on her previous visits. She noted that it was decorated in neutral tones and not the usual colors of the four Clans. 'This must be because they still have to assign the new students.'

     Ilarya didn't have time to stop and look around as the crowd pushed her into the Hall. She headed towards the teacher's table in the center of the room to see if her father was around, but he was thoroughly engaged in a passionate-looking discussion with a white-bearded wizard whose arms were wildly gesturing as he spoke.

     She turned back to face the door and spotted Mia dragging a wide-eyed girl straight towards her.

     "This is bonkers!" Mia shouted over the babble. "I love it! This is my new friend, Kaylessa."

     Mia stepped aside to present a girl her own age, but taller than them both.

     Kaylessa twisted to face Ilarya, her obsidian hair flowing over her shoulders as she turned.

     Ilarya was struck by the girl's piercing eyes and took a moment before she responded.

    "Nice to meet you, Kaylessa.  We still have some time to hang out and chat, but let's go find a good place to sit before everything fills up."

     Ilarya began to follow the other two girls away from the center table and she grinned as she noticed the white-bearded wizard was still madly flailing his arms about as he laughed with her father.  

Author's Note

Added/updated on 03-08-2016

Reviews

[EssenceofDaringx]

So many characters introduced in this chapter, m head's spinning! Though the narrator switch was abrupt, it wasn't completely jarring. I only paused to make sure that I was still reading the same story and continued on without much fuss. The only thing that bothered me about this chapter were the moments of redundancy where Ilarya would say something and then it would be reiterated in the comments to follow. For example, in paragraph 7 she says: "Thanks for everything you did for me to get me here, Mama. I'm gonna do the best I can to make you proud." Then she goes on to note: She remembered her mother's face fondly and imagined how proud she would have been to see her baby girl starting Magic School. Maybe I just being finicky, but I feel that a change of wording in these instances would fix that. Another great installment! I'll continue reading on!

[Kelly Kat]

Oo good to know. I will definitely give it some thought :) Thanks