A/N: A new story, this is something different but I thought it would be interesting. I do not own the Worst Witch or the characters. One hour!

Learning to Adjust

Chapter One

A Bad Start

Esmerelda stood in front of her mirror looking at herself and playing with her hands to try and steady her nerves. Dressed in a school uniform consisting of a blue blouse, a blue and red tie, a blue blazer and black trousers she looked every bit like students from schools outside the magical world. She took a deep breath, grabbed her bag and then stroked her cat on the head before leaving her bedroom.

At the end of last year Esmerelda had been tricked into giving up her powers to Agatha Cackle and although the school was saved in the end, her powers had not being returned to her and she had had no choice but to leave her beloved school, Cackle's Academy because obviously she could not practise magic when she had no powers. At first her parents had been trying to find alternative solutions, maybe a school where she could still study the concept of magic but without practising it but they had found nothing suitable and although keeping her at home was her next option her parents had been told she had to have some sort of education. So she was starting at a regular normal non magical school today and she was going to have to try to integrate into their society.

Despite her nerves when she left the house she was actually a little excited because she got to ride a bus, something she had never done before. Witches found it really cool to learn about the different types of transport that non magical folk used and she was excited about this new adventure.

At her bus stop was two other girls in the same uniform and despite Esmerelda usually being a confident person she was not confident now, she had lost a lot of her confidence over the last few weeks and she had no idea what to talk to non magical girls about, right now she wasn't focusing on making friends she just wanted to get to school and start to fit in this world before she worried about that.

When the bus came she stepped onto it and paid trying to hide her smile as she thought the driver would think she was so weird for being so happy about going to school and getting a bus, she paid without an issue and took a seat, choosing a seat at the front, unfortunately for the girl she would soon learn about seating arrangements.

She was enjoying the bus journey, she was the first stop and it was fairly quiet, and even though it was a school bus just for her school she thought it would stay reasonably calm but she soon learned how wrong she was.

Children were laughing and talking loudly, getting up and casually walking around the bus, throwing things at each other, screaming at people across the bus and being generally disruptive. The blonde sneaked a glance at the driver who wasn't batting an eyelid, clearly this was the norm.

The twenty minute journey to her new school was far to long and pupils ran of the bus barging into one another as they did so. The boys ran in the direction of their school and Esmerelda followed the girls to the other side.

Despite her new school being an all girls school the bus service also was for the boys at the school opposite. Esmerelda had tried to explain to her parents that from what she had read most non magical schools taught both sexes but they wouldn't have it and found her a small girls school to attend.

"What if you developed a crush?" were her mothers exact words and Esmerelda had rolled her eyes at that. She was going to school in a world she knew nothing about, the last thing on her mind at that moment was finding a boyfriend.

The girl would be starting in year ten, whatever that meant. She assumed it was the same as year four at Cackles. As she was new she had been told to go and meet the headteacher and she luckily found the office no problem because it was right as she entered the school. She knocked and a female voice said come in. She walked in with a polite smile which dropped as she entered the room.

She did not know what she had expected the office to be like, maybe like the one at Cackles with cosy chairs and wacky ornaments all over but she had not expected something so boring.

It was a small room painted in white, there was no ornaments just a wooden desk and an old chair at the end of the room. She tried to not show her disgust and forced her smile back on.

"Melinda Hallow?" the woman asked as she looked up. She must have being around her mid thirties with a pixie cut style hairdo which was black.

Melinda? Who on earth was Melinda? Esmerelda stepped closer to the woman and politely replied.

"It is Esmerelda" the girl replied confused. How did the teacher even get it wrong? It is not like the names were similar.

The woman nodded and monitored her to sit. Esmerelda sat on the hard wooden chair as the woman read through some papers.

"You were thrown out of your last school?" the woman bluntly asked which took Esmerelda aback.

"Well no I ….had no choice I had to leave" Esmerelda replied wondering where this woman was getting her information from.

"Why?" the woman asked her and Esmerelda tried to think of a goof excuse on the spot.

"My teachers thought I was doing to much for my sisters and wanted to separate us" Esmerelda lied hoping she brought this excuse. The woman shrugged and nodded again.

"Right well my name is Miss Green and I am the headteacher of this school, here is a copy of your timetable, your locker number and key and a timetable of extra curricular activities, I am sure you will be happy at Northbridge" the woman said as she handed the things in question over to Esmerelda.

"Right I will get my secretary to take you to your first lesson, MISS WALKER" the woman shouted across the room. A plump woman with blondish hair walked in and nodded.

"New girl, take her to Mr Horracks class please" she said casually and Esmerelda nodded, got up and thanked her, wondering if this was how all normal schools welcomed pupils.

"Try to get used to where everything is, if you are late you will get detention" the woman told the girl as they walked. Esmerelda looked around, she did enjoy the fact it was warm here and not freezing like at Cackles but the place was so ...normal...she really hated it.

The woman led her into the classroom and spoke to the teacher before she spoke.

"Girls shh" she said as the pupils stopped talking and looked at her for attention.

"This is Melinda Hallow, it is her first day today so I trust you will make her feel welcome" Miss Walker said to the class and all the classmates looked like they could not care less, they clearly were bored stiff.

Esmerelda opened her mouth to tell the teachers her name was not Melinda when her teacher stood up. An old man, dressed in a white shirt and tie and looking like he would rather be anywhere but there right now.

"Take the seat at the back" he told the girl and Esmerelda walked over to the empty seat and sat down. In the school they sat two to a table and Esmerelda ended up next to a dark haired girl who stuck her nose up as she sat down, Esmerelda smiled at her and the girl rolled her eyes. Great start Esmerelda, great start. She told herself.

"Girls, today we are going to be learning fractions" Mr Horracks said and all the girls around her moaned. Esmerelda had only ever done basic math but she told herself she would soon get used to this, it would just take practise.

"We will start by doing page fifteen in your textbooks, lets get them brains working after the summer" he told the class and the girls turned to the page and started to write. Esmerelda turned to the page and stated at it, her opened mouth. She looked at the girls textbook next to her and saw she was indeed on the right page, what on earth was this though? She had never seen anything like it before.

She leaned her head on her hand trying to not sure she was more confused than she had ever being in her life, is this how Mildred Hubble had felt when she opened her test paper at the selection day at Cackles? Now Esmerelda could relate.

She didn't know the answers and had no idea how to do it so she took a book out of her bag and started to read not seeing anything wrong with it, at least she was being quiet.

"Oi, this isn't English, save the reading for this afternoon" Mr Horracks said and Esmerelda closed her book and put it back in her bag shocked. A lot of the classmates laughed at that and Esmerelda looked at her text book trying not to show she was upset.

She knew it would be hard to adjust but Esmerelda turned to the girl next to her.

"Hey, I am..." Esmerelda started to say.

"Yes I know a geek, who wears their uniform like that?" the girl replied. Esmerelda looked at her blouse and tie, her top button done up and her uniform neat and tidy, she always wore it like this at Cackles so she just didn't understand, all she knew was she seemed to have gotten off to a bad start.