Emilia enjoyed the short walk; it was a pleasant day and the environment was serene. There were few others outside, and the grounds were mostly empty. The only figures she could see were far away.

Emilia’s eyes roamed all about her, seeing as much as she could.

This place is so cool.

Emilia paused, looking to the side.

‘That’s a pretty big car-park for the size of the school’ Emilia noted. ‘It’s like the kind of size I would expect for a super-market carpark. Hm.’

Emilia reached the entrance of the building, where the doors were left open and welcoming. She paused then, glancing towards the plaque on the wall.

VISITORS THIS WAY

Emilia smiled in satisfaction, marching forwards, following the arrows upon the wall pointing her towards the reception.

She rounded a corner and came to a stop, suddenly faced with an obstacle.

A long flight of stairs.

‘Ugh’ Emilia rolled her eyes to the ceiling. ‘Great. Stairs. My one weakness.’

She frowned to herself, leaning forwards briefly and knocking on her knee with her knuckle.

Here goes nothing.

Emilia took a first step forwards, pausing, tilting her head up towards the top of the stairs.

From where she stood, she could see another sign, directing visitors towards the reception.

Emilia reached out, grasping the handrail firmly. She began to climb the stairs, doing so carefully and methodically.

Eventually she reached the top of the stairs, sighing in satisfaction. She was very pleased with herself.

‘That wasn’t so bad.’

Emilia continued to walk. She could see the reception now at the end of the corridor, a pleasant and spacious environment.

As she went, Emilia passed by a small group of girls. As she did, one of the girls, the one walking ahead of the others, turned.

‘Oh my god, what are you wearing?’

Emilia glanced around in response, eyes wide in surprise. It took her only a moment to gather her thoughts and think of a suitable response.

She stopped walking and turned fully around the face the girl that had spoken.

Emilia drew a slow and steady breath.

She formed her reply.

‘EEEEEEMAAAAAAHHHHHH GAAAAWWWWDDDDDDD. What are yew wearing?’

The girl blinked in surprised, obviously caught off guard by the response. The two girls that followed her, one either side, both looked shocked.

‘Oh look, a playboy bunny’ Emilia added as an afterthought, speaking normally now.

The stranger blinked again, composing herself.

‘You must be new’ she spoke curtly. ‘You stand out, and not just because the way you’re dressed.’

‘What’s wrong with the way I'm dressed?’ Emilia asked meekly. 

The girl sneered at her, like Emilia had just asked the dumbest question.

‘You’re not in uniform. And why are you wearing trousers? It makes you look like a boy.’

‘I’m not in uniform?’ Emilia echoed. ‘Well dam, it’s almost as if I'm new to this school or something. Weird.’

‘You think you’re funny?’

‘Eh?’ Emilia shrugged.

The bunny’s eyes flashed. Emilia could tell that she was getting under the girl’s skin, though she honestly wasn’t trying that hard.

‘Why are you even in this school?’ the girl said to her, ‘you don’t belong here. You’re just a commoner.’

‘How can you tell?’

‘Anyone who comes from a decent background could tell’ the centre girl sneered. ‘Isn’t that right?’ she said to her companions that stood either side of her like columns.

They were already nodding at her words.

‘You can tell at a glance’ girl A said.

‘You look scruffy’ girl B added, ‘your shoes are scruffy, your clothes are scruffy…’

‘Not to mention the way you speak’ girl A chimed in.

‘My god’ Emilia said. ‘It’s like a hive-mind.’

‘Shut up’ the girl standing between the other two snapped angrily.

Emilia chuckled lightly.

‘I’ve met girls like you before’ she went on, ignoring the leader who had spoken, ‘the popular pretty types. It’s all a front. You act confident and throw your weight around but in reality, you are nothing.’ She continued without pause, the looks on all the girl’s faces were all a mixture of anger, confusion, uncertainty, hate. ‘You are not as great as you think you are. You are in this same shit-show of life as the rest of us. And if you’re the kind of person who has to put others down to feel good about yourself? Then that makes you only one thing.’

Emilia tilted her head.

‘Pathetic.’

A moment of hesitant silence followed. No one moved.

Emilia blinked then, lifting her head slightly.

‘I have to-’

The girl slapped her, abruptly halting Emilia’s words.

Emilia instantly tasted blood, having sharply bitten her tongue.

She whipped around back towards the girls, eyes burning with anger now. She was grabbed by one of them, who wrapped an arm around her neck, grabbing Emilia with her other hand by the hair.  

Emilia snarled, teeth bared as the leading girl moved closer, hand lifting to hit her again.

Instinctively Emilia’s leg shot up, a perfect motion. Smooth and calculated.

She kicked the girl beneath the jaw, and the girl stumbled back, hand going to her mouth, eyes wide in shock and surprise.

She spat out a tooth.

Her friend stepped forwards then, not the one holding Emilia, but the other one. She began to sprout profanities at Emilia, charging towards her.

What she said went something like this.

‘You darn fool, I really wish you hadn’t hurt my friend. We will show you the error of your ways and make you regret defending yourself. You foolish female dog.’

The girl’s foot shot out, connecting with Emilia’s knee.

It was at that point, that Emilia’s leg fell off.

The momentum from the kick made the prosthetic leg sail through the air, sliding across the hallway floor and tumbling down the stairs.

The girls all screamed in fear and confusion.

All their noise had finally attracted attention.

The girl holding Emilia let go of her abruptly, causing Emilia to lose balance and drop to the floor.

By the time the receptionist arrived, the girls were long gone.

Emilia gazed up guiltily at the stern and frowning woman.

‘Emilia?’ the receptionist questioned. ‘The new student?’

‘Yes?’ Emilia replied, trying to sound as nonchalant and sweet as possible, sitting there with one leg folded outwards, and the other, at the bottom of the stairs.

 [END OF CHAPTER 1]