Spinning around, I hastily started pulling bubbles and foam to cover my body, as the surrounding water cascaded down all around me, from my broken concentration. The water drenched my already soaking body and created a tidal wave, which covered the whole surface floor of the bathroom.

As I raised my head and met the intruders shocked but awe-stricken face, I was relieved that what water had fallen back into the tub just about covered my modesty. For a moment, both of us said nothing.

Then, we burst out laughing.

The girl standing before me had an adorable laugh, which made her tight, black, long curly hair bounce up and down against her shoulders. As we grinned back at each other, I noticed that she was wearing a loose, baggy t-shirt, faded jeans and flower patterned wellies (well, lucky for her, she must have received the briefing about the change in meeting locations) and I realised that we had a similar dress sense. Eventually, after laughing so much, she doubled over, wincing as she clutched the stitch that had formed in her side.

Once I had controlled my own laughter, I found the breath to talk again.

"God. You scared the living daylights out of me!" I wheezed, wiping my tearful eyes on the back of my wet hand.

The girl threw me an "are you kidding?" glance - a scarily good impression of my renowned expression, although she was smiling.

"I scared the living daylights out of you?" she retorted, when she had in due course managed to breathe herself. "More like the other way around. I came along to collect you only to find some serious craziness awaiting me in the form of ten foot high, pink water, which seemed to have a life of its own."

As she talked, I laughed.

"Sorry about that," I finally replied. "It was all my doing."

She nodded after my comment, although she flashed me a grin.

"I guessed that when I saw you in the middle of the bathtub," she replied, before she added something which totally threw me off guard. "Although may I just say that you've got some awesome skill there for someone who's only just 'awoken'."

I beamed back at her after she had finished.

"Thanks," I answered, although I was puzzled by her last comment. "But how did you know that I've 'awakened'?"

The girl laughed at my perplexed expression.

"Relax," she replied and unconsciously, from the casual tone in her voice, I felt my shoulders fall. "I know about your 'awakening' because I'm also in the same boat." She threw me an excited grin. "And Mrs Sampson told me, when she asked me to collect you earlier."

All of a sudden, she cursed after turning her head to look at the clock now high above her head.

"Oh lord," she exclaimed, hastily wiping up the water soaked floor with a fluffy towel. "We'd better get going. Everyone's waiting for us, or more you and I bet they're getting touchy. After all, I was supposed to be back in the entrance hall ten minutes ago."

She threw me over a gorgeously soft, golden towel and spare clothes. Then, she slipped behind the wall, near the entrance of the bathroom, to give me what little privacy was available, whilst I dried off and changed.

"It didn't help that I got lost on my way here," she added. "This place is massive."

As I pulled on my underwear, I fired questions at her.

"What do you mean 'everyone's waiting for me'?" I asked.

She replied swiftly.

"Well, there's a group of us newbies, including me and you, who arrived at the academy this morning and Mrs Sampson wanted to give us a tour of the academy when we're all together. However," she concluded, "the tour can't officially start until you're ready, hence why we really, really need to get a move on."

I nodded in response to her reply, as I quickly pulled on my t-shirt and a silence fell, before I asked my second question.

"So...what's your name?"

The girl laughed.

"Well, now she asks me that question after all this time." She replied before continuing, smiling brightly. "My name's Jasmine, but everyone just calls me Jazz. What about you?"

As soon as she had replied, I was reminded of the Disney princess from the film 'Aladdin'. She even looked like her which was cool.

I answered her question.

"My name's Alexandra, but everyone just calls me Alex."

Jasmine giggled.

"That sounds pretty badass," she said. "Are you badass?"

After she had finished, it was my turn to laugh, as I finished dressing. Jasmine had no idea how ridiculous that sounded, particularly after what I had been through.

"Nope," I replied, before practically stumbling out of the bathroom door in my rush to get to the entrance hall as soon as possible. "I've never been the badass type."

My amusement faded when a horrid realisation suddenly passed over me.

"Where's my case?" I asked her, panicking for I couldn't see it anywhere and racing around the hallway like a madwoman.

It was as if it had vanished into thin air.

Much to my exasperation, Jasmine's response was to laugh at me, as I hysterically looked in every nook and cranny. She didn't even offer to help. Eventually, she solved the problem, after drying her teary, grey eyes with a handkerchief.

"Calm down," she retorted, reining me back by my shirt. "And stop panicking. Mrs Sampson sent some of the staff to take your case up to your room earlier. It hasn't been stolen, if that's what you thought?"

After hearing this, I glared at her.

"So...now you decide to tell me, after laughing at my confusion?" I snapped, crossing my arms in irritation.

Sensing that she had aggravated me, she backed off.

"Look," she said, holding her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry for laughing at you, but the fact that you were trying to look for a huge case inside that tiny flower pot over there just set me off. You couldn't possibly have thought that it was in there?"

I sensibly avoided her accusation. Still, despite her sincere apology, I didn't completely trust her.

"Are you absolutely sure that they took my case up to my room?" I asked her, scrutinising her features.

She laughed even harder than before.

"Have I mistaken this building for some form of interrogation centre?" she asked, smiling.

When she saw my un-amused look, she sighed.

"Look. I promise that your case is fine. I saw them head up to the dormitories with it, if that's any comfort but," she added, seeing the glint of mistrust still lingering in my eyes. "If it helps, I'll cross my heart. Happy now?"

Slowly, I nodded before, hesitating slightly, we started strolling down the corridor. We walked in uneasy silence for most of the time.

I was the one to break the tension.

"Mrs Sampson," I finally asked and I heard her exhale noisily, relieved that I was talking to her again. "Is she the kind lady with the short, brown hair and green eyes?"

Jasmine nodded.

"Yep," she replied. "That's her."

Again a silence fell but soon, I was the one to speak once more, as I studied the mark in the middle of her left hand in interest. It was an image of a sun, surrounded my two big, fluffy clouds and was gold in colour.

I had no idea what that mark meant.

"So..." I asked her, not sure how to approach the matter but nonetheless intrigued. "What power do you have?"

Jasmine threw me a grin, unconsciously tracing her mark with her other forefinger after I had finished. It briefly flashed a golden colour, before dimming. However, before she could answer, we arrived in the entrance hall and were greeted with one very worried face and several irritated ones.

I blushed.

Mrs Sampson hurried over to us, her face lined with anxiety.

"Thank goodness you're here at last Alexandra. I was getting very worried that something nasty had happened to you in the bathroom. Still, as you're here now, I can finally get on with the introductions."

Clapping her hand on my shoulder, she smiled at me, clearly relieved. Then, she released me, before turning around, until she faced everyone.

All of us looked at her intently and, despite the fact that she had begun her formal opening, I still felt the occasional heated glance. Standing next to Jasmine, I pulled my hair down over my face, so that it covered my burning features. After a few minutes had passed and feeling that most people were no longer looking in my direction, I quickly snuck a look at the others in my group.

My heart fell at one particular sight.

Over the other side of the hallway, was that pretty, unpleasant girl who could fly. Sensing that I was looking at her, she turned around, caught my eyes and threw me a particularly horrid glare, distorting her beauty fleetingly. I went slightly red at this reaction, especially as I couldn't understand her motives. However, ever since overcoming my fear of Jessica Wademen, I found the confidence to glare back at her once more, which she met with bristled dislike, before she turned away from me, scowling.

Smiling to myself, I was just about to turn away when I saw her catch my eye and whisper something nasty to the girl next to her, causing both of them to burst into a fit of giggles. That earn't them a heated glance from Mrs Sampson. Nonetheless, that didn't detain them from their clear amusement, which went on in occasional bursts of sniggers and exchanged, knowing smiles.

Clearly, I thought to myself, when I finally managed to peel my attention away from their hushed mutterings and sidelong glances at me. I had encountered another Jessica Wademen type, minus the copious amounts of fake tan. Lucky me.

To distract myself from the unpleasant comments being made, which were obviously directed at me for some reason or other I couldn't comprehend, I concentrated on assessing the others in my group.

In total, there were ten of us, who stood in a semicircle in the middle of the grand hall, facing Mrs Sampson. I guessed that the friend of the girl who could fly, who had raven coloured hair and a permanent snooty look on her face, had some form of power relating to animals, as her eyes were remarkably hawk-like. Then, next to her, was an extremely tall boy, with savagely cropped, brown hair, sun-kissed skin and who was bulky in size.

Giving him the once over, I determined his power instantly, in particular from the way he constantly crushed his hands together and clicked his knuckles.

Really, it didn't take much thought.

Next to him, there were a pair of twins, a boy and girl, who were both extremely pale and had big, blue eyes. Their most prominent feature was their blond hair, which permanently stood up on end, as if they had just been severely electrocuted. Therefore, I decided, if I was right in my analysis, I would definitely try to avoid them in the future. After all, water and electricity, as a combination, is one best to be avoided. That left Jasmine, two other boys and another girl.

Jasmine, I assumed, would tell me of her powers soon. Consequently, I focused my detective skills on the remaining two boys and girl. One boy was practically as thin as a bean pole, with medium length, curly blond hair, a pale complexion, green eyes and a vague, daydreaming expression. As for the girl, she was Chinese, had long, brown hair pulled back with a headband and a small, petite, slim figure. She was also constantly moving, unable to keep still as she hung onto every word Mrs Sampson was saying, which I was distantly paying attention to. Due to her jittery movements, I guessed that she could have powers related to speed.

The last person in the group held my attention the longest. It was for a reason I couldn't explain. He was of average height and build, although he was slightly broader in his shoulders and wore a thoughtful expression on his face, as he listened to what Mrs Sampson had to say. This boy was exceptionally pale, which only succeeded in heightening his jet, black hair and wore casual clothes, including a scruffy, leather jacket, jeans and shoes. These items of clothing were in complete contrast to the girl who could fly, who practically screamed "designer fanatic" in her expensive dress.

As I gazed at him in intrigue and interest, I noticed that his eyes were a deep, rich honey colour, behind his glasses. They seemed to dance with an inner strength that gradually drew me in.

Soon, I lost myself in their glow.

It was as I stood their gazing at this boy, in some form of trance, that he must have sensed my presence. Suddenly, he turned his attention away from Mrs Sampson and met my gaze with a small smile, the golden hue of his eyes lighting up in abrupt awareness.

As our gazes met, I became tomato red, embarrassed to be caught looking at him in such a way. I hurriedly turned my attention back to Mrs Sampson, who was finishing what she was saying. For a moment, I sensed that he was still looking at me, skimming his eyes over my features and sussing me out. Eventually, he politely dropped his gaze and returned it onto Mrs Sampson.

My heart pounded with adrenaline, as I let the heat slowly drain from my burning cheeks.

I decided to nickname him: 'Mystery boy'.

Mrs Sampson's abrupt tone brought me back to attention, snapping me out of my emotional reverie.

"So," she said, looking at each of us in turn. "With that being said, let's start the tour. When we've finished, I'll leave you to explore the academy for the remainder of the day. However," she continued, "I ask you to keep your noise level to the minimum so that you do not disturb lessons, which will be continuing to run regardless of those who, like you, have arrived new to the academy. Lastly, at precisely seven o'clock, dinner shall be served in the dining hall and," she added, "a word of advice - make sure that you arrive early, otherwise you may go hungry."

Once she had finished, she immediately began to walk up the gigantic, ornate staircase in order to begin the tour. We were about to follow her when she turned around, for the final time, remembering something important.

"Oh," she said, chuckling to herself. "I almost forgot to remind you that you'll find your timetable waiting for you in your new room, which will start tomorrow (this announcement was met with small groans from some, although they were silenced by Mrs Sampson's sharp glance) and you'll be sharing your room with one other person, which has been randomly allocated. A notice will be sent out later in 'The Grand Western Wing' for you to see with regards to this matter but," she said, sensing our restlessness. "For now, let the tour begin."

And so we were led throughout the grand building, from the dark, dusty basement at the bottom of the academy, to some of the classrooms, where fellow students sat either in sleepy boredom or passionate interest. Eventually, we reached the high attic, at the top of the academy, accessible only by an ancient set of spiralling, wooden stairs, which was a space encouraged by the teachers. Mrs Sampson explained to us that this room was built to allow students to work in silence, away from the bustle of the main building. It also boasted an amazing view of the surrounding woods and the sea in the far distance, which could be seen on clear, sunny days.

As soon as we reached the attic room, I hurriedly raced to the window in the far right-hand corner of the wide space, followed by Jasmine and looked out of it in delight, feeling the cold, fresh air hit my face. Instantly, I knew that this would be one of my favourite places to work.

Jasmine gasped at the wonderful views of the surrounding countryside and we grinned at each other, knowing that we clearly shared a deep love of nature.

I jumped as Mrs Sampson's amused voice sounded in my ear.

"I can see that you feel at home here already." She said and I turned around, meeting her smiling face with eyes filled with excitement, nodding vigorously.

"Yes," I whispered, still overcome with exhilaration, as I watched fellow students frantically working at the tables, over the other side of the room and on the huge, comfy chairs dotted at random. "This academy is amazing, although I think that this area is my favourite."

She chuckled at my contentment, grinning down at me.

"Your clear happiness reminds me so much of myself when I started here many years ago," she replied, laughing. "This place was my favourite space too." Then, still smiling, she finished the tour, stating that it was our time now to explore the academy and its wonders.

As I climbed down from the window, helped by Jasmine, I noticed 'Mystery boy' watching me in deep curiosity, for he had overheard our mini conversation. Once more, I blushed before turning away and, avoiding his piercing gaze, I asked Jasmine if she would like to explore the grounds and the lake with me, before we could find out our new roommates.

Much to my relief, she met this question with a definite nod of enthusiasm and we scanned the room one last time. Subsequently, Jasmine and I headed off down the spiral stairs in the opposite direction to the girl who could fly, her hawk-like friend and the intriguing boy with the golden eyes. Then, we found ourselves outside, in the chilly sunshine and, this time, both of us were wearing appropriate footwear.

***********
AN:

So again we are introduced to even more characters. What do you think of them? Do you think Alex is right in her guesses as to what powers they have? What do you think of 'mystery boy'?