“Rumours are called rumours for a reason. They are not fact,” said Jessica, who was chatting absentmindedly with a half-chewed sandwich in her mouth.

“Of course, but this time I heard it from Mrs. Saunders,” Marianne replied. Jessica rocked forward on her chair so that all four legs were once again in contact with the ground.

“You’re sure?” She said.

“Yes”

“You’re sure, sure?

“Yes! Jessica, she was talking about it with Mr. Hill when I walked past.”

Marianne was getting more and more annoyed at Jessica’s lackadaisical attitude towards the topic, not to mention her slovenly manners.

“All right,” Jessica shook her head and finally swallowed her sandwich. “Even still, what are we supposed to do about it?” Jessica had recognised Marianne's annoyance and started eating with a little more etiquette.

“Keep ourselves safe, they say trainee magicians are common targets for rogues,” Marianne said with a serious tone. Jessica leaned forward, getting engrossed in the atmosphere.

“I heard of a rogue who was caught trying to use her magic to help a village prosper,” Jessica rebutted despite knowing it was a flimsy argument.

“Do you want to take that chance, Jessica?” Marianne muttered. “Either way, I want you to be careful on your way home after school.”

Jessica only nodded in reply as she had the other half of her sandwich in her mouth and she did not want to bring Marianne’s opinion of her down any further. After lunch, they returned to the classroom. It was the last lesson of the day and they were happy as the weekend was a measly hour from beginning.

Jessica and Marianne walked with their arms linked because it was a freezing cold January, as they walked towards their classroom, they could see their footprints from before that were only slightly snowed over. Jessica had fun trying to retrace her steps in reverse.

Marianne was quite a reserved individual who disliked crowds and Jessica had been her friend since they were little, so they found an empty classroom every lunchtime in order to eat in private. Sometimes that involved changing building and braving the weather, which neither of them minded.

They returned to the classroom as it was filling up, it was a shared mindset that because it was the last lesson of the week, they should make the effort to arrive on time to avoid any chance of being held after class. Mrs. Saunders had never left the classroom so when the final student was sitting, she started her lesson.

She finished ten minutes before the lecture was supposed to finish, confusing the students slightly. “Students, we have received word from the Headmistress that the Magic Control Regiment is currently investigating rogue activity in Bath. I want you all to be very careful and please stay indoors over the weekend.”

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A student raised their hand. “Yes,” Mrs. Saunders signalled the student to ask their question.

“Can you tell us what kind of rogue it is?” The student asked what was on all the student's minds. Mrs. Saunders crossed her arms.

“You will have to wait for tomorrow and find out in the newspaper like everyone else I’m afraid. For those of you with parents in the area, they have come to pick you up. Those without, will have a teacher escort them to dormitories,” she said. The students had no trouble with this, they were all terrified and thankful for the added security.

Marianne and Jessica waved goodbye to each other after chatting with their parents a little. Most families were climbing aboard horse and carriages, but Jessica’s father was not someone with the money for that sort of lavish commodity. He was not a magician or of noble birth and neither was his wife. Jessica watched Marianne climb aboard a beautiful wooden carriage with tasteful silver fittings adorning the doors and running up to the driver's seat where a portly man with a moustache whipped the horses into motion.

Jessica’s father led the way home, Jessica jogged a little to catch up then latched on to her father’s arm, seeking some warmth to brave the snow. Marianne had offered her a lift but not only were they going opposite directions, but Jessica lived right around the corner, a five-minute walk at most.

Marianne spent all of ten minutes in her house after she arrived, she had a tight schedule and despite all those words about staying safe to Jessica over lunchtime, her job in a high-street shop was not going to give her a day off. She rushed out of the house with her shop uniform on. This was a job she had maintained since the beginning of the year and was her mother’s idea of getting ahead of the competition.

Marianne was uncertain how working in a shop was going to put her ahead as a magician but did not complain nonetheless. To start with, she was not the type to complain about a bit of hard work, but it also helped that her boss could quite possibly be the most delightful human-being in England.

Marianne walked to the city centre, she felt relatively safe as all the businesses were open, not to mention it was the high-street so there was no lack of people. Not at this point in the afternoon at least. She hurried to a shop called Mrs. Morrison’s Wands and Staves. Wands and staves were not particularly necessary in the study of magic rather, they were items that could help a beginner learn to regulate and manipulate their mana. People that specialised in delicate magic were also quite partial to the added control a wand provided.

“Good to see you, my dear,” a woman with the same uniform exited the counter and approached Marianne. She began fussing with Marianne's coat as it was covered in snow.

“Hello, Shiela. How has your day been?” Marianne got out of her coat and allowed Shiela to shake it off and hang it up.

“Well, same as yesterday really. You really do look so nice in that uniform.” Shiela admired Marianne, the wood coloured shirt complimented her hair colour, Shiela thought.

“Stop it!” Marianne replied bashfully and brushed her hair behind her ears. They worked hard in the little shop, with only the two of them there were always jobs to do, whether it be helping customers, doing inventory or managing restocking. Marianne was thankful for the job as it allowed her to get out of her head, for a little while at least.

It seemed Shiela had not heard about the rogue in the city as she had been inside the shop all day, her only conversations with customers about her wares. Marianne was going to bring it up but thought it best not to. After all, if she had, Shiela would have insisted on walking her home and Marianne did not feel good about letting an old lady with several leg problems walk home alone in the freezing cold with snow and ice on every single centimetre of pavement and road.