Chapter 21 (redone)

Chapter 21

It has been five months since I was kidnapped from Earth and brought to train here at the School. Since my “enrollment”, I have not been back home. There’s no reason to go; my parents think I’m dead, and the only people I care about are here at School. The Jamesons say that everyone back on Earth thinks I committed suicide. A common enough killer these days.

At first, it irked me that people thought that I had done something so horrible as end my own life. I mean, I definitely wasn’t happy, and I had plenty of reasons to end it, but I know that I never would have. I had Kyle, plus a rather stubborn will to live. Mrs. Jameson told me that the so-called “suicide rate” in the media is severely flawed, since over half of those people end up at the School, alive and intact (most times).

Since I have been here, I’ve continued my private lessons with Lorik instead of joining other Class Unum students like I thought I would. For one thing, my Power is still a little unpredictable, so it’s dangerous for other people to be around me when I’m learning. And the mind connection that I maintain with Lorik is too strong to break. Being assigned to another Instructor would be disastrous for my state of mind, or so Lorik says. I believe him. He has become one of my closest friends and my confidant. No, he hasn’t gotten any less cranky. We just understand each other better now.

I contemplate these things as I roll out of bed and shake Aiyamar awake, shielding my eyes from the intense light flaring from her body. Ya’asa isn’t back yet from her weekend on her home world, Chastan. She’ll probably meet us in the Mess Hall, along with Llare.

Aiyamar growls at me for disturbing her sleep, and slowly the light fades until she’s fully awake. We dress leisurely, letting the Shifters change into various clothes before we decide on what we want to wear. The Shifters are guided by direct mental commands. If there aren’t any present, they change according to the mood of the wearer. It’s very convenient, being able to change your outfit at a moment’s notice.

I drag a comb through my hair, using intense heat from my hands to straighten it. It took me a long time to figure out how to build up enough heat to effectively style my hair without burning it and starting another fire. If he were here, Llare could do it much more ease; that’s his Power, manipulating temperature. Only it’s a lot more complicated that than, according to him. I don’t understand the scientific part of it.

I watch as Aiyamar fishes in her dresser for a hair tie. She always wears her hair in a ponytail. “Hey, Krystal, can I borrow a hair tie?” she asks, coming up empty-handed. I shake my head. “You know I don’t do ponytails. Why don’t you just wear it down?”

She laughs. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Why not?” I never understood why she doesn’t wear it down. It’s a beautiful mahogany brown, long and shiny, with natural highlights and lowlights. “Come on, I’ll help you,” I encourage her.

She looks doubtful, but lets me take over. After about ten Earth minutes of brushing and smoothing, I turn her to face the mirror. She looks back at me and strikes a sexy pose. Well, she intends for it to be sexy, but it doesn’t quite work out. We laugh loudly until someone knocks at the door. We both know who it is. “Come in!”

“Good morning, ladies,” Wynn greets us. “Morning, Wynn!” Aiyamar says cheerfully, rushing over to give him a quick hug. He returns it a little stiffly, introvert that he is. My greeting is a little more restrained, more so for my comfort than his, though. “Good morning,” I say with a wave.

“Hello, Krystal. I came to ask you a favor.”

Aiyamar pouts her lip in mock offence. “You mean you didn’t come to admire my new ‘do?”

“It’s lovely, Aiya. You should wear it down more often. Krystal, if you see Ya’asa and Llare before I do, would you tell them to meet us all after breakfast?”

People often ask me for small favors like this, since I am telepathic. We don’t have a Mind Bender on our Team, so Kyle and I are the next best thing.

“Right after breakfast? Are classes postponed today?” I ask, a little confused.

“Yes. Will you?”

“Uh, okay. But--”

“Thank you, Krystal.” With that, Wynn closes the door before I can finish. Knowing him, he probably wouldn’t have answered my question, anyway.