I realize what I’ve done. At first, there’s nothing abnormal, other than the fact that I’m hiding in the school pantry while my angered mother chews out the Principal. It’s pretty normal, except that Kyle and Lorik are gone.
Then I notice that the floor is vibrating. I expect a flash of light to come and end my life or something, but nothing of the sort happens. Instead, I feel like I’m being sucked upward, like those UFO movies.
Next thing I’m aware of is a cold granite floor against my bare arms. I’m in spacious hallway. The cavernous ceilings sparkle with what looks like multi-colored lightning, which reflected off of the silver threads woven between the broad, flat stones.
“Well, here she is,” says a strange man that I didn’t notice before. Kneeling and taking my wrist in his hand, he helps me sit up. I take a good look at the speaker. He is very tall—close to six and a half feet. Well-built, with fair skin, short dark brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and a sparsely freckled face creased by laugh-lines. He doesn’t look all that old, but there’s something about his eyes. I guess he’s seen a lot. He looks like the type of guy who can handle himself well in a fight.
He extends his hand after checking my eyes for…whatever it is he wanted to know. “My name is Llare,” he says, gently helping me to my feet.
I’m Krystal, I oblige reluctantly. As soon as the room stops swimming, I look around for Kyle. He’s been standing behind me the whole time. Once I notice him, he comes forward and puts a hand lightly on my lower back. The gesture comforts me.
“Take it easy, Kryssi. It’ll wear off in a minute,” he whispers in my ear, just as I notice Lorik approaching from the end of the hallway. A teenage girl accompanies him. The last person I want to see right now is Lorik. I have officially decided that I do not like him.
“Ooh, a newbie!” observes the girl. “Hey, Kyle,” she added. She’s small, probably no taller than me. She has medium-length brown hair pulled back into a sensible ponytail. Her eyes are a warm, honey-brown with little flecks of gold in them. Overall, she seems pretty nice.
“Aiyamar, this Krystal. She’s our newest Energy Classman. I think she’s going to be on our Team” Llare says.
I’m a what?
Aiyamar appears to size me up, and then she extends her hand. “Howdy” I say to her, my words slurring just a little. Most of the dizziness has worn off by now.
Kyle, can you hear me? If I can read minds, I’m definitely going to use it as an advantage.
Yeah, we can all hear you, he replies. You’re really loud.
Loud?
Yeah. Like, “not quiet”. Use your inside voice, for Pete’s sake.
I grunt and give up for now. “So, is anyone going to tell me where I am? I have dance classes later and--”
The sound of everyone’s laughter cuts me off. Even Lorik chuckles. Barely.
“We’re not going to make it to dance classes today,” Kyle says. “We’ll be here for a while.”
I’m getting frustrated. Kyle’s acting like this is all funny or something. I stop leaning on him now that the dizziness has passed, and turn my face away. He doesn’t notice, or else he doesn’t care.
“This is the School for Inborns,” Aiyamar says. Finally someone cares to explain something to me. “We just call it “the School” though. You’re an Inborn, so you got…” she searches for a word. “…recruited,” she says at last with a smile.
I rub my head and close my eyes. This is all a dream. A very weird and realistic dream, but definitely a dream. From now on, I promise not to eat jalapeno poppers and ice cream before bed.
Lorik finally says something. “You are here whether you want to be or not, Krystal.” Directing his attention to Aiyamar, he says “You show her to Team 010’s female dormitory.”
“Wait, I’m not going anywhere until I know what’s going on!” I say, stepping away from Aiyamar. “But, we just told you what’s going on,” she says apologetically. “Look, I know it’s kind of unrealistic.”
“Heck yeah,” I agree, keeping my distance from everyone.
Aiyamar purses her lips. “Fine, I’ll show you.” With that, she disappears. Like, she’s there, and then she’s not. Or she is, and I can’t see her. No, wait—this is a dream. She’s not there in the first place. Does that mean I’m not here, too? Oh crap my head hurts more.
Kyle looks at me, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a laugh. Glad you’re enjoying yourself, I think at him.
Aiyamar un-fades back into sight. “See? I’m an Inborn, too. My Power is Light Manipulation. Yours is Energy Manipulation,” she says as if she’s talking to a 3 year-old.
My headache gets worse. I can’t take this anymore. I walk dizzily to Kyle and lean on him. He grunts and shoves me off on Llare, who accepts my near dead-weight with ease. He picks me up like a small child and begins walking down the hallway, followed closely by Aiyamar and Kyle.
