“Thanks for the warning,” I murmured to Elizabeth.
“You did fine, cousin. Just fine,” she responded quietly.
“Headmaster Daizlei was unable to meet with you. He asked that I give you this,” a short girl with glasses and curly red hair informed Blair, handing her a white envelope.
“Thank you, Darcy,” Blair said, dismissing her.
If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve said that Blair was the ringleader of this circus.
“What’s that?” I asked her as we strolled down the brick pathway.
“Your room numbers,” she answered as she glanced through the papers.
“What building?” Elizabeth asked.
“Two.”
She frowned. “The main? That’s strange . . . those rooms are usually first come, first serve.”
It was so bizarre so see my cousins in their element, and not under Mariana’s thumb.
“Tell me about it,” Blair muttered. “I only got in this year, and I’ve been here four years.”
Only four years . . . Now that was an interesting piece of information. Why hadn’t she come sooner? I would have to file that away for later.
“This is a beautiful campus,” Lily said.
“It ought to be. Millions of dollars were wasted building it,” Elizabeth said.
I cracked a smile at the dirty look Blair gave her.
“It looks hundreds of years old. Was it rebuilt?” Lily asked.
“Actually, it’s only a hundred and fifty years old. It’s constantly being remodeled,” Blair said proudly, apparently taking over as tour guide.
“Well, it’s amazing,” she told Blair as they strolled side by side.
“Not half as amazing as what’s inside,” Blair boasted, then giggled like the schoolgirl she was.
“No one cares,” I muttered under my breath, blocking them out. I fell back next to Elizabeth and Alexandra as I attempted to mute everyone’s voices. My migraine was getting worse.
“Are they irritating you, dear sister?” Alexandra snickered, nudging me.
“Slightly.” I flashed her a don’t-mess-with-me look.
“Cheer up. You promised her you’d be good,” Alexandra said sarcastically.
“Oh please, I’m always good. Even if I’m not always nice.” I sneered just as someone twice my size bumped into me. I stumbled a little, but my strength was nothing to be trifled with.
“Excuse yo–” I turned to see my attacker, and the earth stood still. Gravity shifted, and I was unprepared.
“Sorry. That was my fault,” he managed.
His eyes held me in a trance. There were so vividly green and alive—it awoke something in my dying soul. A shiver ran through me. A yank on my arm brought me back to myself.
“Hellooo! Anyone in there?” Alexandra waved her hand in front of my face.
“Rude much?” I muttered, turning my back on him. Strange. I shook my head, clearing him from my thoughts.
“Who was that? Talk about hot . . .” she said and ogled.
“I have no clue.” I glanced behind me, but he was gone.
“I’m going to be taking off now, cousin. Catch ya later,” Elizabeth called as she ditched us for a group of Goth kids across campus.
Figures. I thought of her all-black ensemble and studded belt.
“Welcome to Building Two,” Blair said from a few feet ahead of us.
We stood in front of a Victorian mansion with a giant Welcome Back sign hanging from one balcony to another. Inside, there were multiple halls and stairs. At least the doors had numbers on them.
“Okay, so if you just walk around, you’ll find your hall. Alexandra, your room is one-oh-one, Lily’s is two-nineteen, and, Selena, you’re two-twelve. I’m going to take care of some things. Dinner’s at seven. I’ll see you later.” She disappeared into a hallway.
Great, now we’d been dropped by the only two people we knew in this forsaken place.
“Glad she’s gone. I mean who does she think she is—” Alexandra started.
“Not now,” I told her. “Look, you should be in the front here somewhere. Lily, I think you and I are on the next level.”
“We’ll catch up with you later, ’kay?” Lily told her.
“Yeah, I need to go find out what people I’m living with for the next year, so . . . bye.” She gripped the backpack strap a little too tightly as she walked through the door, and then she was gone.
I followed my gut and went up the stairs on the right. My room was the second on the left and Lily’s was the fourth down. I hugged her and watched her close the door before I turned the handle on room two-twelve.
Two girls looked up in surprise.
The closest to me was a brunette with shoulder-length curly hair and golden eyes. She was lying on a bright red, twin-sized bed, open-mouthed as if I’d disturbed her conversation. “Who are you?”
“Uh . . . I’m Selena,” I said. Was I in the right room? It was built for three, and there was an empty bed . . . but the blond girl with dark emerald eyes seemed very confused.
“Oh, you’re the new roommate. I remember now,” the brunette said.
“New roommate? You didn’t tell me anythin’ about a new roommate, Amber!” The blonde had a country twang.
Oh great. Hillbillies.
“I forgot. God, Tori, give me a break,” Amber said, throwing her hands up in frustration and giving the girl a look.
“You forgot? You forget your homework, you don’t forget a person,” Tori said, motioning to me. She stood from her bed and made her way to Amber.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything about it now,” Amber shot back, rather rudely. She jumped to her feet, and the height difference was almost laughable. Amber was short. Possibly under five feet kind-of-short.
“Wait. She’s one of the new girls they told us about before summer vacation?” Tori asked, again motioning to me.
We didn’t move until a week ago . . .
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?” Amber snapped, waving a hand in my direction just like Mariana did when she motioned at something she thought wasn’t worth her time.
“How would she know?” Tori rolled her eyes.
“You know I’m standing right here,” I said.
“Sorry, it’s just, we’ve never had anyone start late, ever,” she said, putting her hand to her forehead and sighing.
“Well, I guess I’m an exception. Yay, me . . . ” I threw my stuff on the bed in the corner and unthinkingly played with the ring on my left pinky finger.
“But you are, actually. You must be really powerful or somethin’. They’ve never done this before.”
Truthfully? I was, and they had no idea. Of course, they never would either. My sisters and I were the only ones alive who knew about me. I shrugged.
“Amber, did they tell you anythin’ else to do with her?”
“Look, if you think I’m incompetent, read the letter Professor Clearwater gave me a while back.” Amber dug a letter out of her backpack on the floor and thrust it at her.
Tori just huffed as she opened the crumpled piece of paper.
“In the unlikely event that Miss Johnson delivers this letter, I would like to let you know about the new roommate you will be receivin’. Her name is Selena, and this is quite a transition for her. I hope you will welcome her and make your parents proud. She will be attendin’ all the same classes as you. Please show her around and answer any questions she has. I’m countin’ on you, Victoria. Don’t let me down,” Tori read aloud.
“Oh wow, big surprise. I’m Miss Johnson, and you’re teacher’s pet Victoria,” Amber whined.
She muttered, “Well, you ain’t the most respectful—”
Huh, could’ve fooled me.
“And? This girl is what? Fifteen, maybe sixteen? She hasn’t earned respect! No offense,” she added, and I just smiled to myself. “Respect isn’t something you give to everyone, only those who earn it. So Clearwater can go and—”
“I agree,” I said. I strolled into the bathroom and took in the amount of styling products covering the sink and shower, and spilling out of the medicine cabinet. I ran my fingers across the fixtures before returning to the room.
“Agree with what?” she said in her annoying voice.
“I agree that people should have to earn respect. I don’t agree that you should be disrespectful when they haven’t yet been given an opportunity,” I told her in a flat, cold voice.
“Excuse me?”
I stifled laughter. God, how amusing this little girl was.
Like a flash of lightning, she was in my face. She was fast. Unbelievably fast. If she’d been hoping to startle me, she was about to be disappointed.
I kept my critical gaze leveled at her. “No offense,” I said, echoing her earlier comment.
“Of course,” she said tightly and sat down again.
The other girl I might be able to get along with, but this one, whoa. She was a piece of work—a rude, annoying, outspoken . . . I stopped myself before I sounded childish, even if it was only in my thoughts. Especially here, where there were no limits to what we could do. Even my thoughts had to be guarded.
“Umm . . . it says this is new to you? Have you actually, you know . . . ?” Tori asked, clearly trying her hardest not to offend me.
I nodded once.
When she looked unsure about whether to ask her next question or not, I decided now was probably the best time to tell them how this year was going to go.
“I’ve known all my life, and I don’t need anyone’s help adjusting. I can find my own way around. I’ll keep to myself, and I expect you to do the same. You can continue living your lives just as you did before I came here. I’m your roommate, not your friend. Oh, and one last thing, don’t ask questions and don’t borrow my stuff. I take it personally.”
The country bumpkin’s mouth dropped into a perfect O, and Amber stared like I’d grown two heads before turning away.
After that, they didn’t say a word to me, or I to them. Amber took a nap, and Tori put up photos from summer vacation. When an alarm went off at 6:55 pm, my torment ended. For the time being.
~.~.~
When I stepped into the hall, someone crashed into me hard, and we both fell to the ground. I looked up to see Lily’s smiling face on top of me.
I groaned. “Lily, I’ve told you more than a million times not to do that.” I sighed and pushed her off me.
“Selena, this place is amazing! I can’t wait for you to meet my roommates, Devon and Bella. They’re so nice and—”
I got up off the hard, wooden floor. “Lily, do you think I care?” I said but regretted it right away when her eyes watered.
Two girls came up behind her—the redhead I’d seen earlier, except without glasses, and a small brunette with large brown eyes.
“I thought your name was Darcy,” I told the redhead.
“No, my sister’s Darcy. I’m Devon. We’re twins,” she said with much more confidence than Darcy had shown.
I nodded once then proceeded down the hallway, with Lily giving me a rundown of every other moment between when we’d parted and now. I pretended to listen, occasionally catching a word and nodding. That was, until I spotted my other sister.
“How was it?” Lily asked her before I could speak.
“Like, great. Duh.” Alexandra rolled her eyes.
“No, really. Tell me all about it.” On one hand, I was happy that they were enjoying themselves, for the first time in a very long time. On the other hand, I needed fresh air.
“How about we chat over dinner?” I prodded them out the door.
Outside, the warm August air hit me. It was a little over an hour after we’d arrived, but the sun was already setting.
“Selena, did you hear me?” Alexandra bellowed from a few feet away.
“No. What do you need?” I said pointedly.
“I asked you what you think so far.”
“Honestly? I’m bored.” I yawned. It was more for show than exhaustion, but I didn’t want to tell them how I actually felt about being here.
“Bored. That’s the best you can come up with?” She rolled her eyes again.
“Would you like me to lie to your face instead?” I asked, falsely cheerful.
“Ugh, never mind.” She waved me off. “Just stick to your sulking, okay?”
“Gladly,” I said.
We strolled across the ground while they swapped stories and I stared off into the sunset. Only when we got to the cafeteria did I notice my sisters’ friends waiting for them.
“We’re not sitting together, are we?” I asked them as it dawned on me.
“Umm . . . sorry. I told Blair and Bella I’d sit with them.” Lily shrugged as Bella came over and dragged Lily into the cafeteria with her.
I looked at Alexandra.
“I kinda told Hannah I’d eat with her. Sorry, sis. You’re on your own.” She patted my shoulder awkwardly for a second before walking away.
I sighed and followed. Being by myself never bothered me anyway.
I walked through the doors to a room of three thousand seated individuals. Eyes fell on me from every direction, including the multiple balconies that hosted tables. I looked up to the second floor where only a single man stood. His dark features were ageless, and I could tell he was both tall and strong, as were all Supernatural males.
“Ahh, just the person I was waiting for,” he said in a deep, but kind voice.
Me? What would he want with me?
I made my way through the crowd of chairs and took the only available seat I could see.
“First, I would like to say welcome. For all of you who are returning, and those of you who are just beginning.” His voice echoed as murmurs rippled through the crowd. “As many of you have heard, this year is going to hold many surprises. We’re welcoming three new students into our sophomore class. I hope you will all embrace them. They aren’t outsiders, after all.” He paused, and the crowd chuckled. “Which brings me to the subject of classes. Your schedules will be handed out in a few minutes, and many of you will notice a new name. I would like to personally welcome our new Battle Simulation instructor, Professor Vonlowsky.”
He motioned to one of the teachers sitting at the head table behind him—a young man with pale skin and cold features. His aloofness immediately drew my interest.
“Students, this will be a hard year, no doubt about it. Many of you will be dealing with even more changes, which can, at times, be a great struggle. Do not let this discourage you. All of you are up to this. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.” He paused again. “And now, before we all die of starvation, I bid you a very good night, and wish you the best of luck this school year. You’ll need it.” And with that, he took his seat and the room broke into a dull roar.
Everyone got up and went to get in line for dinner, but I just sat there, pondering.
“Stop thinking. You do that too much,” a voice behind me said—a voice I would’ve known anywhere.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Look, I told Hannah you’re gonna eat with us tonight, so come get in line with me,” Alexandra told me. I rolled my eyes but didn’t object.
“This is my sister, Selena. Selena, this is Hannah.”
Hannah was tall, like her, with deep eyes and brown hair that framed her face. Very pretty, of course—all my sister’s friends were pretty. I think she had an aversion to ugly people or something, because it was like this everywhere we went.
“Nice to meet you,” Hannah said.
“And you.” I flashed a polite smile and turned as a boy walked up.
“Are you the Foster girls?”
We nodded.
“Names?” he said in an irritated voice.
“Selena and Alexandra,” I answered, just as irritated.
He looked up at me and shrank away, handing me two pieces of paper as he went.
“What was that about?” Alexandra as
ked me, taking the one that had her name on it from me.
“Oh, they’re just the sixth graders who come around and hand out schedules while everyone’s in line. It forces them to learn names and meet people,” Hannah answered before I could speak.
I looked down at the paper in my hand. I was in class from 7am to 4:30pm.
“Why does my schedule have a bunch of human classes if this is a school for Supernaturals?” I asked Hannah. The only class that stood out was Battle Simulation, and I hadn’t the slightest clue what that was about.
“For sophomores, the half before lunch is what we would take in a regular high school and the half after is the Supernatural curriculum,” she explained.
“Let me see yours,” Alexandra said, taking it out of my hand to compare as we reached the counter.
As we walked back to the table, I spotted Lily across the room eating with her new friends. These roles seemed to be reversed at the moment. Alexandra was taking it upon herself to sit with me, since they both seemed to think they needed to look out for me. Which was both bizarre and oddly entertaining. I was the one who took care of them, picked up the pieces of their lives every time something happened. Yet they thought I couldn’t eat dinner alone. I smiled to myself. It was endearing.
“Okay, we have first, fourth, fifth, and seventh together. That’s good. We have more together than not,” she pointed out, marking an “S” on her schedule next to our shared classes.
“So you said that our Supernatural classes are after lunch?” I asked Hannah, taking my schedule back from Alexandra.
“Mm hmm,” she mumbled.
“How are Health and P.E Supernatural classes?” I asked her.
“P.E. is really hard. Lots of physical stuff with our abilities and everything, and health is, like, how we became this way, or something? I don’t know,” she said vaguely.
So . . . she was a pretty bobble-head, not a brain. That was why Alexandra had chosen her—this girl was her first step to power and alliances in this school. The mind games had already begun.
Daizlei Academy Omnibus Collection Page 5