Chapter 2

The school day continues and there is a flying lesson that ends under strange circumstances.

It had taken a little convincing on her friends' parts to get Olivia into class and even then Adam and Natasha had to take a hand each and let her squeeze as hard as she needed to, after May had headed to the Library for her free period. Olivia had at first been hesitant to when taking Natasha’s hand, considering what Ryan might think if he saw them, as he inevitably would, being in their class, but that dissipated after Natasha had started to say something very crude about what Ryan could go and do when Adam cut in. 

“Think what, that she has a thing for ridiculously attractive asians?” 

“ADAM!” His friends exclaimed in shock for what was probably different reasons, Natasha’s being that her friend had just called her ex-boyfriend “ridiculously attractive” which, to be fair on Adam, he was, and Olivia’s because she never knew how to take compliments like that.

“Did someone say ridiculously attractive?” A voice further down the corridor asked with a raise of eyebrow and a suggestive smirk in Adam’s direction. Olivia saw the moment that Adam stopped grinning and started doing the look that they had all coined the “Ben smile” as a slight blush spread across his cheeks as he looked in awe at the taller boy that had come to be in front of him. Olivia gave his hand a gentle squeeze from where it rested in hers, he stopped looking quite so stupid for a bit after that. “Who, may I ask, is ridiculously attractive?” He asked as he flicked his hair out of his face.

“I-Uhh.” Ben had actually managed to catch the first time that Adam had said anything about the attractiveness of a guy that wasn't Ben in a fairly long time. It had all been “He’s so beautiful, it’s not fair.” and “His hair’s so pretty, it’s almost white.”

“Hey, Tasha. Olivia.” Ben’s twin sister said from behind her brother.

“Hey Rose.” Olivia felt her friends hand loosen ever so slightly for a moment and Olivia kind of felt guilty for a second before she realised that she was surrounded by people just staring at each other and they where going to make her late.

“Benjamin stop taunting Adam” Olivia said.

“You know it’s Benedick.”

“No, it’s not. You may be an idiot but you did not change your name to Benedick.”

“You know how our parents are, Rosaline.”

“DONT CALL ME THAT YOU SH-”

“You like Shakespeare, don't you Adam?” 

“Yes, Ben. Yeah. I do.”

Once the five of them had gotten to class without any notable instances of anyone making an utter fool over themselves they sat around the back of the class. No matter what Natasha attempted to assure her, Olivia was still scared of what might happen. She was pretty sure that she was causing her friends to be in pain for how hard she was holding their hands but neither made any comment on it, Natasha had swapped her right hand for her left so that she could wrap her arm around her friend’s shoulder. Ryan was sat at the front with his friends and had turned around when Olivia had said her affirmation of being present, earning him matching glares from the girls sitting together at the back. Olivia didn't let go until they had gotten past the last name on the register, which happened to be Natasha.

Olivia noticeably cheered up half way through the lesson when Ben leaned over and commented on how the scene that they where revisiting had used to be played out entirely by men, causing Natasha and Olivia to start giggling until Rose slapped Ben playfully on the arm so that he would start paying attention to the lesson again. The twins had managed to find some seats near one of the two large windows of the classroom  and the morning sun was hitting them in a way that illuminated their white blonde hair, they looked like they belonged in the pages of a fairy tail. Somehow the twins made the world seem even more magical than it already was with witches and nymphs and vampires. They where things of beauty as she watched them bat at each other and bicker under their breath, it looked as if someone was going to end up with highlighter on their face. Again.

It gave Olivia a renewed energy of excitement when the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson. It was Friday and that meant that she, Natasha, May and the twins had flying lessons. Olivia went ahead as Rose and Natasha started talking about some book that they had both read recently, leading the way to their lockers that held their shorts and leggings that the girls would change into, from the skinny jeans that some where wearing, like Rose, or the skirts that some of them had worn, determined to face the cold for the last couple of days, like Olivia and Natasha. It didn't take long at all for the students to change in the changing rooms tucked behind one of the Magical theory classrooms, the cubicles bright orange and purple in a way that was painful to look at.

Natasha wasn’t looking so great but that was probably because she was sort of really terrible at flying, and her tendency to make a fool out of herself in front of anyone that she liked. She was obviously trying to not look like she was freaking out as she took her broom from the sports cupboard and headed onto the field. Olivia was a different matter, when she picked up her broom and the feel of the wood, similar to a hockey stick, felt reassuring in her hands. She knew that soon she would be soaring above the grand building that she lived in. The knowledge of that always sent a thrill through her body. Flying was such a thing that couldn't be experienced apart from one way, it was amazing. 

As soon as they where in the air above what had once been the gardens she was smiling so large. Her hair was whipping round her face as she turned at high speed. She practiced flying in a pattern that was supposed to test her speed for changing directions as she went up and down again and again, getting closer to the floor before pulling back up as fast as she could. 

It was then when she looked over at her classmates, she saw Rose first, closest to her own practice area, where she was trying to balance without her hands a little way off of the floor, until she was interrupted by someone speeding past her so close that she almost fell off and so fast that he was just a blur of colour until he circled back around and slowed. Ben had his head leant back as he laughed at his sister and clutched at his stomach, Olivia giggled when she saw him wiping away tears from his eyes as Rose charged him, Olivia saw him swerve out of the way and they started to chase each other after a moment. 

The next person that she saw was May, she had swapped her plaits for a bun at the back of her head, all of her red hair gathered up, some stray pieces flew around her face as she did consistent figure of eights around other students. Olivia let a smirk cross her face as she spotted the last of her friends. Natasha was flying slowly around in laps that where slowly growing higher and higher. Olivia saw an opening and took it. She sped up and managed to cut off Natasha in the middle of one of her laps, the sudden stop in momentum jolted her backwards and she swerved to get away from Olivia.

“Urgh. Olivia!” she said with a groan, heading closer to the field and away from her friend.

Olivia only started laughing when she heard a musical laugh from her left that she knew was May. Olivia and Natasha had been friends for such a long time that it had become common practice for them to try and mess with each other, including but not limited to, trying to mess up each others flying, taking each others food when it was lunch, enchanting things to follow the other one for the day, and transforming temporarily into various teachers, parents, and crushes. 

A new development had compromised Natasha’s ability to retaliate when it came to flying, that being something that they had found out one of the times that Adam, Olivia and Natasha had snuck off to do some nightly flying the year before. Natasha had been coming back at her for surprising her and sneaking up on her from where she had been hovering above where Adam had been sitting on the grass bewitching some flowers into being luminous. The two girls had been batting at each other’s brooms and had only turned back to Adam when he had let out a shout. It was then that they realised that Natasha wasn't on her broom anymore. 

Normally when someone fell off of their broom they would fall until they where laying above the air and had to right themselves to stand on the ground before they where made to fall to the grass. Olivia had originally been freaked out by this new development. There was a clear difference between flying on a broom and hovering in the air with nothing holding you up. The rules of magic stated that a witch could only make objects levitate; you could make a broom fly and be on it but humans where another thing entirely, they had erased the magic because if done wrong you could only suspend certain parts of a person. That was why Natasha couldn't do anything but glare at her from over her shoulder. They couldn't let anyone else find out about it. Not yet.

Olivia went back to practicing her turns, circling the field as fast as possible and turning directions randomly. For a while all she could hear was the wind rushing in her ears, then she heard a scream. She knew who it was before she looked, her chest felt tight as she stopped moving at all. The whole class had stopped to turn to the sound, then Natasha was falling, her eyes where open, unseeing. If someone didn't stop her she would fall face first into the ground. Olivia raced after her but Rose had somehow gotten there before her, holding her arms out the way that she had done half an hour before, but this time Natasha fell against her. The teacher, Miss Desai, was there to help the two girls get to the ground safely. They lay her down gently on the grass and one of the closest girls gave them her jumper as a pillow.

“Mr Hoang, go get Nurse Lin.” She had barely finished telling him when Ben had already run half way back to the school building. Olivia and Rose where helping to untie Natasha’s ribbon tie as per their teacher’s instructions as May was making sure that some of the other kids where not crowding in too much. Ben ran back some moments later with the Nurse following him, a levitated stretcher following along obediently.

“What happened to her?” The nurse panted out. 

“She- She just screamed and fell off of her broom, I think she fainted.” Rose informed her in a surprisingly shaky voice. 

Reviews

[Farhan Shaikh]

Beautiful chapter, looking forward to read further chapter..
Very well penned

[Mel Jayne]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it.

[bluessadmood]

Again all is nice here..style of writing ..how thought ran smooth all the way..dialogue is lovely and witty..and looked like some teenagers enjoying time at school
But then there was the flying lessons..did not expect this,which craft ..still I like how you go about it..like so natural to fly..so at ease..
Still I think you have some more strange things to unfold..I am loowing forward to see how everything will come out.
And again the style of writing is great
Lovely write..

[Mel Jayne]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the chapter. Things get out of hand quickly yeah.

[bluessadmood]

You are ever so welcome.