Prompt - School's In

[Prof. Sky Alton]

There’s something about a school setting that really captures people’s imagination. Over the years, lots of people have put their own spin on the school story: stories set at universities, military academies, magic schools… You name it, someone’s probably tried it. And now it’s your turn.

For this prompt, we’d like you to introduce us to an unusual school in a story of 200 words or more. It could be a magical school, a school in an unlikely place or a school that has something else out of the ordinary that makes it stand out. Providing it’s HOL appropriate, it’s entirely up to you.

You’ll earn 20 beans for completing this prompt as well as it counting towards the chance to snag our shiny Quill and Ink award.

There is no deadline as such for these prompts but if you’d like it to count towards your chance of earning the award for a specific year, we’ll need it by the end of that school year. If you’re comfortable sharing, then post below. If not, email your story to us via hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without the spaces). Oh and remember it’s a good idea to check through your piece carefully for spelling and grammatical errors as they make it harder for people to properly enjoy your work.

[Louis Walles]

It's September again, and yet again I am getting ready for my first day at school. Today I am going to a completely new school that I don't know much of. The only thing I know is that there may or may not be plenty of werewolves and vampires there...Sounds about great! I got ready as quickly as possible and I left my house with my head filled with worry.

The building turned out to be a rather small and ordinary looking. It looked like just a plain normal school. The walls were painted orange and there were only two floors. There was absolutely nothing special about the school, which made me very confused at first. When I went inside of the building, my impression remained the same. Everything about this school screamed normal. Everything but one thing. Students.

All students were wearing black or red clothes. No one was wearing any other colour, which was very odd. Some students were talking in small groups but most of them was staring right ahead of them with a dead look on their faces.

During our lessons, we were talking about the dark magic and how to use it properly without harming yourself or anyone else.

This was a very weird day.

[Aura Nightmoon]

It was September again, as it would be in any other year, and once more, it was time for school to begin. I had attended school from a very young age at home. Most people may find this unusual, but a school at home is open to many possibilities. In fact, to get to my school, one would step into a portal and end up in a classroom with a space large enough to fit five small desks, bean bag chairs, and gigantic, fluffy pillows across the floor which I use to drag my sisters across the room during our break time.

Some days, our school will take field trips to distant lands. Although we would only seem to be going to a local art museum, I would be transported back in time to Ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia or perhaps even Ancient China! Then there's the science museum where if I touch certain things, my hair does a magic trick and stands on end! Muggle physics for the win, am I right? Other days, our trips would take us through a mysterious garden where the shade holds secrets one can only hear if they listen closely.

The start of the school year at my school always brings with it numerous surprises. I think of it as a rollercoaster, plenty of ups and downs and twists and turns, yet at the end is nothing but a whirlwind of smiles and laughter.

[Hiya Debnath]

It was time for me to go to my new school. When I arrived, I thought it looked very, very funny. It was painted in all sorts of colors from purple to green to red like a rainbow and had flowers and petals sticking out of it. I was here to learn Fae magic. I wore a dress that was a typical Fae costume - the school uniform. The school band constantly played tinkling tunes that pleased the ear and made the air feel magical.
I sat on the giant lotus leaf cushions that were meant to be our desks and seats combined. There was a toadstool in front of me where I could keep my books and stationery. There were about five or six students sitting around me in the same fashion, all of them eager to learn Fae magic in this very pretty Faerie school. In front of us, instead of a blackboard, there was practically nothing but air, and the horizon. The Fae teacher used a wand to write in the air in front of us, but usually she taught by talking and singing, giving important information through poems and songs that we had to focus on and listen to to make out the words in and understand. There was no ceiling, but we were seated under the blue sky. We loved the lessons and songs. The first lesson was about how to greet someone in a Faerie realm. The answer was mostly bowing and fluttering one's wings. Since we didn't have wings, we were told we had to flutter our costumes instead. We were also told that the only costumes allowed in the Fae realm were fluffy, bright, flashy, and/or colorful.