Welcome To Aviara (1)

Aviara High School, a school that at first glance looks like an ordinary boarding school--as it should be, this year has to undergo an acceptance ceremony for new students, again. Which is the most troublesome event throughout the year because more than 300 new students will set their foot on the school grounds.

Maybe that's why the student council president looks so stressed today. "Ugh…" He technically grumbled like that every morning, but today his irritated tone sounded more distinct as if he were imitating a troll.

"Hh… Hh…" On the other hand, a girl seemed to be catching her breath while squatting beside her suitcase. Be it her small body or her large trunk, the girl seemed to be able to fit in inside. It has Alisa Arkain's tag on the zip.

On a sunny morning like this, her long hair looked shinier than usual. Though it was also still inferior compared to her clear eyes and small pink lips. Even though she was sweating, the features of her cute little face just stayed the same.

The stairs leading to Aviara are actually not that long. But stepping her feet up while carrying a large suitcase is not an easy thing to do. Not only her, there are also many other new students who are also taking a break because of it.

But instead of being curious about her potential new friends, her eyes were instead focused on the tall, large gate in the front. "Wow, it's really high." She squeaked. It didn't look elegant as there wasn't any fancy signboard, but anyway it was the tallest wall she had ever seen in her life. Well, she's only 15!

But after being so amazed, suddenly her lips began to curl back in pleasure. The fact that her new school life was right there and now, instantly cheered her up again. Maybe that's why she hastily took out her cell phone and took some photos around. She almost wanted to take a selfie too, but she quickly started to feel embarrassed and decided to quickly follow the people walking through the gate.

"...WHA$#?!"

But something went wrong with her first step.

Startled, Alisa immediately backed out of the gate as if she had just stepped on a dead mouse on the ground. "What just…?"

'Why is there magic energy there…'

Confused, she decided to reach her cell phone and call her aunt. "Aunty? Aunty, what school is this? Magic school?" She babbled immediately in a spirited whisper.

At first there was only silence, but then the sound of grumbling began to be heard until finally a woman's voice answered. "What? Ah, yes, yes, I think so. Who knows." She replied in a hurry. "Uh, anyway, I'm hanging up now. Because there was a fire—not my doing, of course, haha. Bye. Oh! And don't call me aunty!"

"Wait aunty--" But the phone was already hung up. "Why didn't you tell me from the start..." She complained with pursed lips. The idea of a magic school might not be scary, but Alisa has never met any other witch her age since she was little, so she's a bit uneasy about it.

"But earlier she said 'sort of'…?" She muttered again as she turned towards the gate. Since Alisa herself wasn't the type that was sensitive to magical energy, she didn't really realize whether all the students who entered the gate were also magicians like her. But what she knew for sure, the magical aura that was inside the school gate just now was really dense.

Having no other choice, Alisa decided to swallow her aunt's useless explanation for a while. And she finally stepped into the school which said was 'sort of' a magic school.

"...!" Due to the drastic change in the magical atmosphere, Alisa again paused to catch her breath. It was like going to a bright place after being locked up in a dark place for a long time. The excessive magical energy had almost made her a stranger to her own body. With such a thick aura, Alisa can almost smell the aroma. Leaf scent?

Though maybe it was because of all the trees that were around. Trees, trees and grass. The school is completely invisible. Not even a single building could be seen as far as her eyes could see.

But not far from there, it turned out that there were several buses with graffiti motifs waiting for her and the other students. When she noticed that, Alisa realized that everyone around her didn't look as confused as she was. Unlike her, casually they just got into their bus and started chatting with each other.

Well, although maybe it was because they didn't have any aunt who was too busy taking care of the fire in their house and didn't have time to tell their own niece and nephew what school they were going to…

Moreover, because of the dense magic aura, Alisa becomes increasingly unable to distinguish which one is a witch or not, considering that all she can feel is this magic aura that smells like leaves.

Feeling different herself, Alisa became nervous. But then she began to muster up her courage and went back to the flow of students making their way towards the bus. And when she saw a girl walking alone, Alisa already wanted to poke her awkwardly to say 'hello' and then asked her to get on the bus together.

But haven't had time to do it yet, the driver on the front bus was heard to speak first. "I'll go first!" He shouted and started driving the bus. It seems that if the bus is full, they will go straight to the dormitory first. Seeing that, Alisa became curious how many buses had left before she arrived.

Even before thinking that, there was something else that amazed her. Alisa only glanced at him, but the driver was seen wearing a school uniform. So it's probably an upperclassman. But even though they are upperclassmen, aren't they still under 18? As someone who has never driven a car, Alisa is somewhat impressed to see it.

Despite the fact that this school was able to let its students drive the bus, in a way that was both good and bad, this school kinda looked cool already.

Then another boy in uniform holding a megaphone started talking too. "Just leave your suitcase and other luggage there." He said while pointing to the area marked with the 'transport' board. Other suitcases were piled up there as well. "Later you just look for it in the yard of the dorm." He added.

Back following the flow of other students, Alisa also dragged her suitcase to the place mentioned. But while doing so, Alisa overheard a conversation between the two upperclassmen who were there. "How long will this take? I haven't had breakfast!" The other boy complained, even though the boy holding the megaphone just frowned a little and ignored him.

Alisa spontaneously laughed softly at that, but she immediately walked to the half-full bus in front of her.

"Name?" Asked a girl at the bus door. Maybe because of her loose tie or maybe because of her towering height or maybe because of her dark red lips, the upperclassman looks a bit scary in Alisa's eyes.

"A-Alisa Arkain." Answered Alisa nervously.

"Alisa..." She repeated while looking at her tablet computer. And after a while, she replied. "Okay. You can go in." She said and Alisa was finally able to set foot on the bus.

"Hi, hi!" Greet the young driver friendly. "If you want, the cupcakes are free." He said while pointing at a small basket that was nearby.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Mm…" She can't be sure with the taste yet, but the cupcakes do look pretty. "Then..." Alisa took a cupcake with Minnie Mouse decorations on it. "Thank You." She said before starting to find a seat.

If possible Alisa wants to sit with someone. But unfortunately at that time there was no empty seat next to anyone. So in the end she was forced to sit alone in the back seat while waiting for someone else.

But when she just put her butt on the seat, the people in front of her sounded already engrossed in gossip. "Did you see that? That senior just used teleportation magic like that!" Someone exclaimed.

'Hmm?' Interested in that topic, Alisa also brought her head closer to continue eavesdropping. "I know right! Looks like the rumors are true, huh?" Another said. "If we enter this school, we can use magic!"

"...?!" Not believing what she heard, Alisa could only widen her mouth in shock. So that's what 'sort of' means?

Even her surprise was confirmed as soon as a magic light appeared outside the window. And seconds later all the piles of suitcases had disappeared into a magic portal.