Welcome To Aviara (1)

Aviara High School, a school that at the first glance looked 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 200 new students will set their feet on the school grounds.

Maybe that's why the student council president looked so stressed today. "Ugh…" He grumbled. He does that every morning, but somehow 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 really looked shinier than usual. Even though compared to her clear eyes and small pink lips, it might still look nothing. She was sweating, but the features of her cute little face still looked sweeter than ever.

Aviara school was placed in the mountain area, so there were actually some minibuses that would take the new students there. But not all the way. Because to actually get to the school area, there were still some stairs left that needed to be walked manually. It wasn't that long. But stepping their feet up while carrying a large suitcase is not an easy thing to do.

Not only Alisa, there were also many other new students who's taking a break before entering the school. But instead of being curious about her potential new friends, Alisa's eyes were more instead focused on the big, large gate in the front.

"That's really high." She squeaked. It didn't look elegant as there weren't any fancy signboards, but it was still the tallest wall she had ever seen in her 15 years of life.

But after being so amazed, her lips suddenly began to curl back in pleasure. The fact that her new school life was right there, right now instantly cheered her up again. Maybe that's why she hastily took out her handphone and took some photos around.

She almost wanted to take a selfie too, but she quickly felt embarrassed by herself and decided to finally walk to the gate. But then…

"...WHA$#?!"

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 a strong magic energy…'

Confused, she quickly reached her handphone and called her aunt. "Aunty? Aunt Mia, what school is this? Magic school? But I thought it was just a normal boarding school. Why didn't you tell me I was going to a magic school?" She blabbered 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, no, it's not a magic school though. Technically." She replied in a hurry. "Anyway, I'm hanging up now. Because there was a fire—not because of me, of course, haha. Bye. Oh! And don't call me aunty!"

"Wait--" But the phone was already hung up. "Mmh, what should I do…" She still complained with pursed lips. The idea of entering a magic school might not be the worst scenario for her, but Alisa has never met any other wizard her age since she was little, so she's a bit uneasy about it.

"But she said it's not a magic school…?" She muttered again as she turned towards the gate. "But I definitely sensed a strong energy earlier."

Alisa herself wasn't actually the type that was sensitive to it. That's why she didn't realize at all whether all the students around her were actually wizards or not. But the fact that she could sense the magical energy as soon as she entered the gate could only mean one thing. That the energy inside the school was really, really dense.

Having no other choice, Alisa decided to just swallow her aunt's useless explanation for now and finally stepped into the school which said was not a magic school. But as she just thought, the strong energy was indeed still there.

Due to the drastic change in the atmosphere, Alisa even needed to stop again to control her breathing. It felt so heavy all of a sudden as if she was drowning for a second. With such a thick air, she even felt like she could smell its scent.

It kinda smells like leaves. Though maybe it was just because of all the trees that were around. Trees, trees, grass, and nothing else. It seems like the school is still further away.

But fortunately, there were few minibuses again, ready to transport everyone to the school this time. Hopefully. But unlike Alisa who was still adjusting her breath, the other students just got it there casually and started chatting with each other.

She almost wondered if everyone else beside her was used to this kind of heavy energy. But one thing for sure, they definitely didn't have an aunt who was too busy taking care of the fire--that she even forgot to tell their nephew what school they were going to.

Feeling different by herself, Alisa became more nervous. But then she started to hear someone yelling. "Okay, I'll go first!" Shouted one of the bus drivers before he went. It seems that if the bus is full, they will go straight to the school.

But no, there was something else that amazed her. Alisa only glanced at him, but the driver was wearing a school uniform. So it's probably a senior. Being able to drive a bus already sounds amazing. But the fact that the school is actually allowing it is somewhat more impressive. In a way that was both good and bad, this school kinda looked cool already.

"Okay, everybody listen." Then another boy holding a megaphone started talking too. "Just leave your suitcase and other luggage here." He said while pointing to the area marked with the 'transport' board. Other suitcases were already piled up there as well. "You can just look for it later in the dorm yard." He added.

"How long will this take?" Some other senior suddenly complained. "I haven't had breakfast, you know!" He added, although the boy holding the megaphone just frowned a little and said 'shut up' or something.

Alisa spontaneously laughed softly at that, but then she started following the other students and dragged her suitcase to the said place. And after that, she finally walked to the bus that was still half-full.

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

"A-Alisa Arkain." Alisa answered nervously.

"Alisa..." She repeated while looking at her tablet computer. "Okay. You can go in." She said again and Alisa was finally able to set her foot on the bus.

"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…" Alisa wasn't sure how it would taste, but the cupcakes do look pretty. "Then, I'll take this one." She finally took a cupcake with Minnie Mouse decorations on it. "Thank You." She said again before starting to find a seat.

If possible, Alisa wanted to sit with someone. You know, for asking stuff and all. 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.

"Did you see that?" Alisa heard some girl near her engrossed in gossip. "That senior just used teleportation magic!"

'Hmm?' Interested in that topic, Alisa looked outside the window to see it too. And yes, she could see some portal closing in, and the suitcases from earlier were also gone. It was his doing, the boy who kept complaining earlier.

"Looks like it's true after all, huh?" Another girl near her talked too. "If we enter this school, we can use magic!"

"...What?" Alisa blurted out suddenly and made the other girls turn to her. But since she didn't actually know what to say--still a little surprised too--she just went silent awkwardly after that. "I-I mean…"

"Ah, I guess you didn't know?" One of the girls finally replied. "They say we'll be able to use magic here, can you believe it? After maybe a week though, but still amazing, right?"

"....I see."

Yup, this is not a magic school. Technically.