The Aurora Witch - Chapter 1

Looking for honest/constructive feedback on first chapter of middle grade fantasy novel

Chapter 1: Summer Plans for the Grantham's

Millie awoke with a start. Heart racing, she tried to recall the strange dream that had jolted her from sleep. Yet now that she was awake, the details were already fading. She could remember colorful streams of light dancing around one another. But what had it been that had scared her awake?

There had been a feeling, an odd sensation, like someone was watching her. Not just in the dream, but here in this room. She turned towards her window, the faintest memory of black feathers and beady black eyes crossing her mind.

Pulling on her glasses, she clicked on her lamp. The window was, of course, empty.

Millie shook her head. She was really too old for this kind of nonsense. She glanced at her bedside clock, seeing that only a few minutes remained before her alarm would go off. Sighing, she got to her feet and began dressing for school.

"No, I haven't talked to them yet," a voice said, and Millie recognized the deep timbre of her father's voice. "I really don't have a choice. No nanny in the state would take the job."

Millie scowled.

She didn't need a babysitter. She was almost twelve, and in some countries that was considered adulthood. Well, she didn't really know if that was true, but she could've sworn she'd read that somewhere before.

Once dressed, she took a long look at herself in the mirror and grimaced. Her too-large cat-eye glasses began sliding down her nose as tugged on her uniform that was snug in all the wrong place. The glasses had once been her mom's and had never fit her. But Millie had been unable to part with them, even when the girls at school teased her.

She reached out and touched the old photograph taped to the mirror. The young Kara Grantham was smiling brightly, white teeth glowing against dark bronze skin, her thick black hair styled in loose curls. She kissed her fingers and touched it to photograph. Then, with one last woeful glance in the mirror, she made her to the kitchen.

As Millie began cooking breakfast, her mind wandered back to her dream. Had there been a raven, she wondered.

"Are the boys awake?" Albert said, startling her from her thoughts.

"Not yet," Millie replied, eyeing her father surreptitiously.

He was dressed neatly in his usual smart trousers and a button-down shirt. He looked tired, more so than usual. She remembered a time when her father had been very handsome. Now his wavy brown hair was streaked with gray at the temples, and he had deep lines carved into his face.

With a sharp pop, she turned to see that the bacon was finished and quickly turned off the stove. She divvied up the eggs, bacon, and toast, and set the plates on the table.

"Thank you, Mildred," Albert said and she grimaced.

Millie's real name was Mildred. It was, in her opinion, one of the worst names to ever have been invented. If anyone at school ever discovered that her name was really Mildred, she'd have no choice but to move to Iceland.

As though summoned by the smell of bacon, there was a thud of a slamming for before Henry came careening into the dining room, his honey-colored hair a mess of unruly waves. Then Oliver followed, his eyes still half-closed and his jet-black hair sticking in every direction.

"Good morning," Millie said, a little too brightly.

Oliver immediately narrowed his eyes at her, and Millie felt her cheeks flush.

He had this annoying way of always sensing what was going through her head. She met his onyx colored eyes. What are you up to? They seemed to say. But Millie shook her head, shooting a nervous glance towards their father.

"What are you guys talking about?" Henry said with a mouthful of eggs.

"Nothing," they chorused. At this, Albert glanced up, briefly eyeing the two of them before returning to his paper.

"I hate when you guys do that," Henry muttered as Oliver took the seat beside him.

They ate in near silence. Henry squirmed in his chair as he plied far too much butter on his toast, and Oliver looked like he might fall asleep on his plate. Millie decided that there wouldn't be a better moment than this and awkwardly cleared her throat.

"I was thinking," she began, her voice somewhat wobbly, "that it's time I start babysitting."

The table gave a cinematic pause, silverware clattering onto plates, Henry and Oliver both watching intently.

"No," Albert said firmly.

Millie opened her mouth to argue, but he had already returned to his newspaper. Oliver must've noticed her look of defeat because he pounded his fist on the table.

"Why not?" he argued. "I'd listen to her."

This was most definitely not true, Millie thought, but she appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

Albert met Oliver's look of defiance with a hard gaze before removing his glasses.

"I was actually meaning to discuss something with the three of you," he began, rubbing the inside of his eyes, "You see, something very important has come up, and I have to go to Oxford this summer."

"When?" Millie choked, her stomach twisting. "How long?"

"You're just going to leave us here?" Oliver asked incredulously, his hands balled into fists.

"Not here," Albert answered before clearing his throat, "you'll be staying with my sister."

Millie froze. Oliver's mouth fell open. Henry frowned in confusion.

"Aunt--Aunt Edith?" Oliver stammered, a look of abject horror on his face.

"You have a sister?" Henry asked earnestly, making Albert choke on his coffee.

"Yes, of course, I have a sister," he coughed, "I'm sure I've told you about her before."

"We can't stay with her!" Oliver exclaimed. "She's--she's--" he twirled his finger in a circle near his temple, "you know..."

"She's crazy?!" Henry exclaimed, eyes wide.

"She's not crazy," Albert said with exasperation, though his tone was hardly convincing. "She's just...odd."

"Odd is just something you say when you can't call a crazy person crazy," Oliver huffed.

"She's just eccentric," Albert stated, as though this was better somehow.

"You told me you didn't like us spending time with her," Millie said, unable to hide the accusation in her voice, You said she'd fill our heads with strange ideas. You said that's why she never comes around anymore, not after Mom--"

"Things have changed, Mildred," Albert interrupted.

"It's Millie, Dad," Olive snapped, "She hates being called Mildred."

"Son," Albert warned, and Millie knew Oliver was pushing his luck.

"Why would we stay with her?" Henry interrupted. "Why can't she come here?"

"She has several, uh, animals that would be difficult to relocate," he explained.

Oliver gave a derisive snort, earning him a warning glare.

"How long will we have to stay there?" Millie asked and was surprised when Albert cleared his throat nervously.

"I don't even know if it will all be sorted out by the end of the summer."

"The whole summer?!" they all shouted.

The table erupted into a flurry of protests. Millie had risen to her feet. Henry was in full-blown tears, and Oliver was shouting words that would've most definitely would've had him expelled from school.

"Enough!" Albert shouted, his voice cracking like thunder.

The room fell silent.

"Your Aunt Edith is very excited to have you all," Albert continued in a steadying breath. "Her house is next to a great little town that you can walk to. It's really old-timey," he said, appealing to Millie, but she looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.

Oliver shoved away from the table and stormed out of the room. Albert called after him, but the only reply was a slamming door.

"I don't want you to leave us, Daddy," Henry said in a wobbly voice.

Albert's face softened as he pulled his youngest son into his lap, a rare display of affection.

"I know, Henry," he said, "But I think you'll like it. There are lots of shops and a beach nearby. It'll be an adventure."

Henry seemed somewhat mollified by this, hopping to his feet and returning to his plate. Millie finally met her father's gaze, letting every bit of betrayal she felt show on her face. Lifting her chin, she quietly excused herself from the table, unable to hold back her anger as she slammed her bedroom door.

*****

It was barely a ten-minute walk to Overbrook School, the small Catholic school that their father had once attended. But today it felt more like a funeral procession than the cheerful stride usually reserved for the last day of school.

They were neatly dressed in their uniforms complete with their blazers for the end of the year service. Millie walked hand in hand with Henry as Oliver angrily kicked rocks on the pavement beside them.

"I don't want to stay with Aunt Edith," Henry began, staring up at Millie with large watery green eyes.

"Yeah? Join the club," Oliver said waspishly and Millie shot him a warning look.

"Think of it like an adventure," she said encouragingly. "Whisper Hollow sounds like a fun place, like something in a book."

"It sounds ridiculous," Oliver muttered.

"What's she like?" Henry asked.

In truth, Millie could hardly recall the last time she'd seen Aunt Edith. It had been nearly five years at their Mom's funeral, a day they'd never spoken about.

"It's strange, but I don't remember very much of her," she began, "But I know Mom liked her. She always said she was funny."

Oliver stiffened, and Millie could see the tick of his clenched jaw. She turned to Henry and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I promise we'll make it fun," she said.

As they approached school, there was already a tangible hum of excitement. The energy quickly infected Henry, who began bouncing as they dropped him off with his teacher in front of the elementary school building.

Students had gathered and were talking excitedly together in the courtyard. Millie slid her too-large cat eyeglasses up her nose and smoothed her brown hair. Oliver, spotting Sophie's younger brother Ben, quickly left her side to greet him. She was relieved to see her best friend, Sophie Pham, waving at her from across the lawn.

"Oh look, it's Millie Poppins," said a loud voice, and Millie turned to see Jamie Sullivan flipping her bright blonde hair as the surrounding girls giggled.

Jamie Sullivan was the most popular girl at Overbrook School. She was also the meanest girl Millie had ever met and had been making fun of the way she talked since the first grade

Millie had spent so much time with her Mom when she was young that she'd picked up on her accent, something Jamie loved to point out. Though it had faded overtime, the nickname of Millie Poppins had followed her all the way to Junior High.

Choosing to ignore the girls pointing and laughing at her, Millie made her way to Sophie, who greeted her with a huge smile.

"Look!" she squealed, sweeping aside her glossy black hair to reveal a sparkling rhinestone earring. Millie gasped.

"They let you do it?"

Sophie smiled triumphantly.

"Dad took me to the mall yesterday and let me do it. Mom was furious."

Sophie Pham had been Millie's best friend for as long as she could remember. She wasn't necessarily popular like Jamie Sullivan, but she was well-liked by everyone, and Millie understood why. Sophie was sweet, funny, and very pretty. She had shiny straight black hair and warm brown eyes that brightened the golden undertones of her skin.

"Do you think your Dad would let you do it?" Sophie asked and Millie shook her head.

"I doubt it," she said, "He's a little distracted right now."

She proceeded to tell Sophie everything: her father leaving for Oxford and shipping them off for the summer to stay with her estranged aunt.

"It might not be that bad," Sophie said reassuringly. "It could be fun."

"What won't be bad?" came a very breathless voice as a disheveled boy stumbled towards them.

Rory Fletcher was a round-faced boy with sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes. He had been friends with Millie and Sophie after moving from Texas in the fifth grade. His parents were both lawyers and were very wealthy. They were also very, very divorced,

As a result, Rory split his time between two enormous houses and was constantly forgetting where he was supposed to be. Today, it seemed, he forgot his blazer.

"Oh no," he moaned, searching his bag helplessly.

Millie and Sophie both noticed Sister Angelica staring down Rory with her hawkish beady eyes and quickly moved him from her line of sight. Millie wouldn't put it past the "uniform police" to give someone a demerit on the last day of school.

"It's fine, Ror, I'm sure Sister Mary Catherine will have an extra one," Sophie said, reaching out to fix his tie and his cheeks turned scarlet.

Millie filled him in on the tale of her ruined summer, though with the lack of her previous gusto.

"I bet I could convince my dad to let me come visit you," he said seriously, his blue eyes brightening in earnest. "He loves the coast."

"I'd really like that," she said and Rory beamed.

"I wish I could come visit," Sophie sighed as the three began walking towards their homeroom, "but we're spending the summer in San Francisco with my dad's family before my Mom has the baby."

Sophie had a very large family with three younger brothers, a younger sister and a surprise baby on the way. Millie loved when they stayed with the Pham's. They had a beautiful house that always seemed to be filled with Sophie's relatives and more food than they could possibly eat. Millie often wondered if this is what her Mom's family would've been like if she'd kept in touch with any of her cousins in Gujarat.

"That sounds a lot more fun than going to Maine for the summer," Millie said and Sophie shook her head.

"Trust me, I'd swap with you if I could."

At the sound of the first bell, they made their way to their homeroom and found their seats. When speaker overhead gave a high-pitched beep, and they all made the sign of the cross. Millie noticed Rory kept switching arms from the corner of her eye, and Sophie had to press her lips together to keep from laughing.

Rory had never gone to Catholic school before, though his parents had insisted that it would be no different from the Episcopal school he'd attended in Texas.

This, it turned out, couldn't have been further from the truth. Sophie lost it completely when they finished morning prayer and Rory crossed both arms across his chest.

"What?" he hissed.

"It's the right arm," Sophie said through the side of her mouth, "it's always the right arm."

"I told you guys, I'm Episcopalian," he murmured and Sophie snorted.

"Do they have different right arms in the Episcopal church?" she asked, and even Millie couldn't hold in her laugh at this.

"Miss Pham," came Sister Mary Catherine's stern voice, and Sophie immediately straightened.

"Sorry, Sister," she said, her face growing pink, but Sister's face softened.

"I know it's the last day of school," she began, "but I still expect you all on your best behavior during the end of the year Mass."

There was a collective moan across the classroom that Sister Mary Catherine chose to ignore,

"Anyone who is participating in the Mass should come up first for uniform checks, then the rest you follow behind."

There were a few squeaks among the desks as the students stepped in line. Sister Mary Catherine checked hemlines and sock lengths.

Rory, whose face was growing redder by the minute, stepped forward with his head bowed. Smiling softly, she reached out and handed him a blazer, likely from her large stash of extra uniform supplies.

Sister Mary Catherine was Millie's favorite teacher in the entire school. She was much younger than the other sisters, yet held a presence that made students behave in her class less out of fear and more because they wanted to impress her. She started teaching at the school when Father Patrick, her brother, became Vice Principle of the school.

As they filed into the church and Millie caught a glimpse of Oliver sitting next to Ben Pham, Sophie's younger brother, sitting in a pew with the other sixth graders. Her eyes narrowed when she saw him showing Ben something in his pocket, before they shared a look of pure mischief. She nudged Sophie who, noticing her brother, seemed to realize the same thing and gave Ben a piercing glare that was eerily reminiscent of Mrs. Pham. Ben, catching his sister's gaze, gave an unconvincing look of innocence.

"They're up to something," Millie whispered, and Sophie nodded in agreement.

With the loud rumble of the organ, the students stood as the opening hymn began.