It was Farah Dowling’s 16th first day as the Headmistress of Alfea College, and yet she somehow still felt as if on some obscure level, it was the equivalent the first day of her very first year. It’s not that she was nervous, goodness no. She was a figurehead at Alfea, the fairy Headmistress, and that meant projecting strength every second of every day whether she was nervous or not. She wasn’t unprepared either. Each year before the start of the first semester, she completed piles upon piles of paperwork and lesson plans to prepare for dozens of classes the semester.
So then what was it that made her feel so unsure about the upcoming year?
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Saúl Silva, the Specialist Headmaster, enter her office. He stood just inside the doorway, watching her study feverishly over file after file and move them from once side of her desk to the other before he smirked and knocked on the door frame. “Farah?”
Farah’s head looked up quickly in shock, and her natural eyes narrowed and flickered silver-blue for a second, but they changed back to brown quickly when she saw it was only Saúl who startled her. She relaxed and shook her head. “Saúl… No need to scare me like that.”
Saúl chuckled to himself. “I’ve been here for over a minute.”
“Oh.” Farah scolded herself internally for not noticing him sooner. Some mind fairy she was. “Can I help you?”
“Just wanted to see what you’re up to,” he remarked and entered deeper into her office while shutting the door behind him.
“Nothing much. Usual first day business, that’s all,” Farah replied, setting the sheet of paper in her hands down. “Where is Ben?”
“I saw him heading towards the greenhouse,” Saúl answered, coming around behind her desk to stand next to her seat. “Farah, what’s going on? You’re already busier than usual, and it’s only the first day."
“Don’t tease me, Saúl,” Farah retorted.
Saúl's eyebrows arched. "Well?"
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes, I would! It’s why I asked.”
Farah laughed, but she still didn’t answer his question. As much as she wanted to tell him everything running through her mind, she didn’t. The weight of it was draped around her shoulders and hers alone. She was determined to keep it that way.
"Why are you here anyway? Aren't there some first year Specialists who need to meet their headmaster?" she suggests, arching an eyebrow.
"And aren't there some first year fairies who need to meet their headmistress?" he countered.
Farah sighed. She knew she would get absolutely nowhere if they continued this back-and-forth banter, so she pushed herself out of her seat and headed toward the door. "You, Saúl Silva, are officially the most difficult man I've ever met,” she declared at her fingers plucked her coat from the hanger by the door.
Saúl grinned and followed her. "A title I hold with pride."
Farah rolled her eyes and slipped her arms through the sleeves of her coat quickly before opening the door. She strode confidently through the hallowed halls of Alfea College, and her head was held high with an air of importance surrounding her.
