Amethyst
The naked siren in the fountain drew nearly as much attention as Amethyst herself. The statue because of the breasts and her because of her dripping wet clothes.
She'd been walking around all morning, peeking at the various clans who had activities between classes. The instructors had already begun with their lectures by the time she arrived at school, and she really didn't want to be berated on being late on her first day.
Thus she decided to skip the first few lectures, and enter class after break when the instructors would change. And the longer she could stall meeting with that person, the better.
Break started at noon. The rain had stopped but clouds still covered the sky and no ray of sunlight passed through. It caused a gloomy atmosphere that Amethyst was not used to.
Having lived in Maghur all her life, she was not fond of Nordea with all it's snow and storms and depression. No wonder they stayed cooped up in their mountains most of the time, it was a challenge to go out.
She had seen less clans than she thought she would, although that's likely because most of them held their activities after classes finished for the day. The ones she had seen were the art clan and athletics clan, though she hadn't been able to tell which element they were subs of.
There were four major clans in every school, standing for the four elements of fire, water, earth and wind. Students joined whichever clan matched their aptitude, and then joined the sub clans that suited them.
Amethyst herself had an aptitude for fire, as most of her kin did. She was fairly skilled in ele-ball so she'd likely join the athletics clan for fire.
Students streamed out of their classes. Some headed to the cafeteria and some for the grounds. Most loitered in the courtyard, sitting by the fountain or o the outskirts of the maple grove.
Boys giggled at the fountain, acting like immature teens who had just seen breasts for the first time. Girls avoided it, the more noble ones feeling uncomfortable at the blatant display of female nudity.
Amethyst had just sat down to rest a bit on the edge of the fountain when a student passing by tripped over her outstretched legs. She would've laughed at him had he not accidentally pushed her into the fountain in an attempt to regain his balance.
The water was icy cold, the constant stream pushing her down from above, making it difficult for Amethyst to get up. Her temper surged, and she started thrashing around. She wanted to get up quickly to beat some sense into the guy that dared push her, but her struggling only made it more difficult.
Eventually, after some more splashing, a hand shot down into the depths of the fountain and grabbed onto her tunic, hoisting her up. She gasped, panting and coughing to get the water out of her lungs.
It had caused quite a commotion, and people were staring at her. She glared at them. None had moved to help her, only watching with their mouths agape like fish out of water.
After she had caught her breath, Amethyst looked up at her saviour. He looked concerned, his wild fluff of hair bouncing frantically as he looked her over. "A-are you o-okay? Y-y-you're not hu-hurt are yo-ou?" he stuttered.
A closer look at him and she noticed he was the same boy that had pushed her. Anger welled up in her, overtaking her gratitude.
"Is that all you have to say after I nearly drowned because of your clumsy arse?" she demanded. The boy grew even more flustered, his red eyes watering as if he was about to cry.
"Tsk, forget it," she said, her anger subsiding a little as the chill started to set in from her sopping wet clothes. "Point me in the direction of the nearest changing room, will you? It's bloody cold."
He nodded and pointed towards the east of the courtyard. "G-go down that ha-hallway-y. It's th-the th-th-third room on the l-left," he said. She shooed him and he ran away quickly, as if a dog was on his heels. She noticed a notebook on the ground.
"Hey, you forgot this!" she called out picking it up, but he was already out of earshot. She was about to run after him, when a gust of wind blew and she shivered violently.
"I'll just give it to him later," she muttered, rubbing her arms in an attempt to get warmth. She walked towards the hallway. Something cold landed on her nose. She went cross-eyed, trying to look at it. "Oh, it's snowing.."
Mercifully, the changing rooms had heating stones built in the walls, making them a lot warmer than the rest of the school. Amethyst went to her locker, following the number on her student id card. She shrugged out of her soiled uniform, taking out the spare one.
Great, first day and I already need to use it. Oh, how Uncle would laugh if he knew.
Once changed, she felt a lot better. Then she sneezed. Several times in a row. Oh no, she was going to be sick now too? Amethyst groaned in frustration. Just as she was about to stomp out of the room back into the cold, she heard shouting.
"You dumb bitch, I asked you where your locker is. Can't you even tell me that?!" Amethyst's blood ran cold. Bullies. Someone was getting bullied in here. She had been so occupied in herself that she'd failed to notice the group of girls in the back corner of the room, near the showers.
They were surrounding a much smaller girl, who was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, her hands covering her ears.
Amethyst wanted to go up there, yell at them and ask what the hell was going on. But her feet remained glued to the floor. No matter how much she tried to move, her body resisted. She was helpless and could only watch on.
The girls kept mocking her, asking her questions and getting angry when she wouldn't answer them. Amethyst felt bile rising up her throat. Her stomach churned and her head swam. Breathing became difficult and she had to lean against a nearby locker to keep from falling over.
The day kept getting worse and worse. If she had an attack right now….no, she had to overcome it. She couldn't let it shackle her down any longer.
She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Memories flashed across her eyelids. A white-haired girl, a tree, her brother. They were laughing, everything was laughing. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her thoughts, but they just wouldn't go away.
Thud.
A scream. Amethyst's eyes shot open, fearing the worst. When she looked, the girl that had been on the floor was standing up with the biggest girl on the floor.
The girl had shoulder-length brown hair, and hazel eyes that burned with fury. Blood dripped from her ears, her uniform stained with red blotches.
As Amethyst watched in amazement, the tiny girl's leg shot out, kicking the kneeling bully in the stomach. The rest backed away, clearly scared. They didn't even try to go against her, leaving their friend behind to run to safety. What a bunch of wusses.
The girl glared at the bully, then punched her. She punched her again. And again and again and again. The bully was bleeding from several places by then. Amethyst found that she could move again, and ran to the scene.
She grabbed the tiny girl from the waist and lifted her, pulling her away from the abused sack of meat on the floor. Glancing at her, Amethyst almost felt sorry.
The girl squirmed wordlessly in Amethyst's tight grip, punching her chest and even biting her arm. Amethyst yowled and was forced to drop her. The girl got in a fighting stance, her fists protecting her face.
"Woah, woah! I'm not going to harm you, see?" she said, raising her hands in the air. Amethyst gestured behind her. "I was just trying to make sure you didn't kill her. Wouldn't be a good look on the first day of school now would it?"
The girl seemed to believe her, and slowly lowered her fists, eyeing her warily. "Phew, now that you realize I'm not an enemy, maybe you'll grant me your name?" Amethyst quipped. The girl remained silent.
"Okaaay, maybe not," she chuckled nervously. She was never great with civil conversation, and this girl was not making it any easier.
"I'm Amethyst, from class 2-C. Nice to meet you, unknown student," she said, taking the initiative. She thrust her hand out. The girl regarded it then tentatively shook it, to her joy.
She beamed at the girl, and was rewarded with a shy rise of her lips. That was when the girl winced, her hands moving to her ears. Amethyst completely forgot that she was hurt.
"Oh shit, uh, come with me, I'll take you to the infirmary." She wound her arm around the girl's waist, to offer some semblance of support and rushed her to the infirmary. They didn't have much trouble finding it, as Amethyst had crossed by it that morning when she was loitering in the halls.
The nurse was at her desk, reading a book. She looked up only when Amethyst cleared her throat several times. She had certainly not expected any students this early in the year, given her startled expression.
"I'm going to need to see your ID dear," the nurse said, sitting the girl down on one of the many clean, lifeless beds lined along the infirmary walls. The girl nodded, and silently gave her the small steel card.
"Oh my, they told me about you. But I didn't expect to see you this soon…," the nurse contemplated, then putting the card on her desk she pointed at Amethyst and sternly said, "You there. Keep an eye on her while I get some bandages." All Amethyst could do was squeak out a "Yes ma'am," before the nurse briskly walked to the other end of the room and into the medicinal closet.
The girl just sat on the bed, her head down so Amethyst couldn't make out her expression. Her ID was still on the nurse's desk. She couldn't control her curiosity and after making sure the girl couldn't see her, she snuck a peak at the card.
NAME: Dila
AGE: 15
CLASS: 2-A
HEALTH CONDITION: Hard of hearing, Mutism
…oh. That explained a lot. No wonder she didn't say anything when those girls were bullying her. But if she was hard of hearing, then how had she been able to tell what Amethyst had said to her? It'd be rude to ask, considering the circumstances so she reigned in her curiosity.
Amethyst had always been very inquisitive, so when the nurse returned with a bowl of water, alcohol and some bandages, she was relieved to have her attention diverted elsewhere. The nurse practically kicked her out after, saying the patient needed some rest in a peaceful environment. The last Amethyst saw of Dila was her back facing the door.
As she walked towards the classrooms, she noticed other students going in that direction as well. It seemed like break was over. She wondered if someone had found that bully yet. Despite the pity she felt, Amethyst didn't feel like helping her at all. Besides, there's no way her wounds were severe enough to cause death so she'd be alright, eventually.
She thought back to when Dila beat her bully up. She had looked so cool, her hair billowing, her eyes seething and her fists swinging. Amethyst hoped she'd be able to befriend such a brave person. Dila had the courage she lacked, for all her combat skills and athleticism. It all amount to nothing, for at the end of the day, Amethyst could not stand up for herself or others.
Before she knew it, she had reached the classrooms, absorbed in her self-reflection. She noticed a familiar figure standing in the doorway of the classroom opposite hers. Amethyst smirked.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't prissy little miss perfect," Amethyst taunted. "You haven't changed a bit, princess." She examined the other girl top to bottom, taking in her luscious snowy white hair, her determined pink eyes with not a shred of sympathy or regard for other humans and lips pulled tightly in her usual frown.
"Been a while hasn't it, Selene?"