THE NEWCOMER

BI - PART ONE 

Sitting at the edge of the divan, Stacie held a book, gripped tightly by hands smaller than the pages. The ten-year-olds at the Day-Care Centre, where she stayed until her aunt came to pick her up, did not seem to understand her fascination with reading. Why couldn’t she just play tag, like the rest of us, some asked. The others, mistaking her seclusion for a haughty attitude, ignored her. She had never minded, because in books she found happiness no amount of running around could provide. Her eyes scanning the lines, were curious to know how Hermione would make the Polyjuice Potion, when a loud noise disrupted her attention. Mildly irritated, she looked up, and found that all children had run out of the Living Room, towards the Main Gate. She concluded that the Ice-Cream vendor had arrived, in time for their later-afternoon snack. She didn’t really like sweet things, so she remained seated, daydreaming about meeting Harry one day. Surely JK Rowling had based him on a real-life person.

In her peripheral vision, she could see everyone returning, and she felt something had changed. There was one more person than usual. A new admit? More than before, she wanted to disappear into the world of magic; she was extremely awkward around strangers. But something made her steal a look at the new child. She slowly adjusted her vision, and saw a girl, roughly her age, with long brown hair, curls spilling all around her shoulders. She felt a slight discomfort in her chest, and was about to divert her gaze, when the girl looked right at her, and smiled. She had coffee-caramel eyes, and they were looking, not past, but into Stacie. It must have been the upfront gesture that made blood rise to her face. She covered herself with her book, praying that the girl wouldn’t approach her. To calm herself down, she tried to think about her bench-mate, James, to whom she had introduced the Percy Jackson series. When his eyes sparkled as he talked about the characters, she had told herself she would never be able to like anyone more than him. Wasn’t he perfect?

By the time she left the Day-Care for the day, she had forgotten about the encounter. The new girl had talked only to the popular kids, and so she hardly saw her.

***

Stacie’s eyes flew open the next morning, and she tried to catch hold of her dreams, as the pieces slipped away from her conscious. She felt a slight buzz in her arms, the way she felt when James shook her hand at dispersal, and wondered if she had dreamt of him. She could see only a blurry figure when she closed her eyes, trying to recollect, and at the back of her mind, she knew it wasn’t him.

She walked to her classroom, bouncing her bag on her shoulders, and stepped in, to find him sitting at his usual spot, spectacles buried in the book she had lent. Is this not how Percy felt when he saw Annabeth? She wondered, as she took her place next to him. To any passer-by, the pair must look like they were twinning, she thought, feeling pleased. Her day was going well, she was praised for her essay on friendship in English, and was able to ace the Social Science quiz. At lunch, she went to the Library to talk to the Librarian, who was, as much as a teacher could be, her friend. “Hi, Ms. M. Any new consignment today?”

Ms. Maria looked up from her desk, and smiled warmly. “Arrived about five minutes ago. Do you want to help?” Stacie squealed with happiness. The fragrance of new books, coupled with conversations of English classics with Ms. M was a pleasure unexplainable. Just as she bent down to pick up the first five books, to mark and stack them, the hair on her back stood up, as if electrified. “Good Morning, Ma’am. I was wondering if I could issue a copy of Jane Eyre.”

The voice was a little rough, and the speaker out of breath, as though she had been running. Stacie turned around, and almost gasped. It was her, the girl she had seen yesterday at the Day-Care. Why was she here, in the same school as her, in her safe haven? What did she want?

Ms. M spoke, sounding amused, “Aren’t you a little young to read Jane Eyre?”

The girl looked slightly offended, but Stacie could tell she was trying to compose herself, “I’m in Grade VI, Ma’am. I think I will enjoy it. I have already read Pride and Prejudice.”

Stacie couldn’t help but gape. Pride and Prejudice? She had not met anyone her age who had even heard of it, much read it. Mostly its existence was known in the form of the movies based on the classic by Jane Austen. She had been staring for too long, because the girl turned to her. She turned around quickly, feeling the same heat make its way from her shoulders to her forehead. She had noticed that the girl had braided her hair, and a few strands had escaped, curling behind her ears. Why was she thinking about her hair? Subconsciously, she touched her straight hair, and wished she had curls too. They looked pretty. On her, you mean? Ruffled by this distracting thought, she tried to do she had come to. Behind her, she heard Ms. M ask, “What is your name?”

“Auria Smith.” A few minutes and a thank you later, she heard the Library Door close. She didn’t know she was holding her breath, until she let it out, sharply.

Up until school ended, she found herself dazed, and worried about going to the Day-Care, where she should meet her again. What if she said something to her, about the library incident? Would she think she was weird? Why does that matter? It was only when James shook her shoulder after the last bell of the day had rung that she was broken out the reverie.

“Are you okay? Are you having a vision?” She couldn’t help, but smile. ‘Vision’ was their way of indicating that they were lost in a book-world, and shouldn’t be disturbed. She shook her head and wanting to change the topic, asked him about his reading status.

By the time she reached her bus, she had laughed so many times because of James’ description of the Greek Gods, she found herself letting go of what happened before. She took her usual seat on the bus, third one from the front, by the window and was about to place her bag on the empty space next to her, when a familiar voice spoke, “Hey. Can I sit next to you?” She looked up to see Auria standing in the aisle, her fingers clutching her bag tightly, her eyebrows raised expectantly.