by ClareMarie .
“Hmm, I think you've already got a title, considering you're doing math to hide it from me,” David says with an amused laugh.
“I do. Paranormal Sky Academy, or PSA for short. What do you think?” I ask, stepping away. I shuffle my feet, staring down at the leaves and the earth of the woods.
“I love it. It's perfect. And I love you,” David tells me, kissing my lips. A tug of my hand brings me back into his warm embrace, and right here, in this moment, I feel my destiny slide into place. And the feeling of home fills me.
We are known as Paranormals to the world, but we were previously called The Gifted.
Fourteen years later.
2065.
Ariana Dale
Listening to Principal Lex talking about spells and potions for almost two hours now is starting to become tiring.
“Ari,” my best friend, Anna Hart, whispers beside me and I smile, turning to her, knowing she's probably going to say something outlandish as usual.
My full name is actually Ariana Dale, but most call me Ari, especially Anna, since our names are so similar.
“Yes, Anna?” My lips pull up at the grin on her face.
“I say we go back in time to see Tyler Posey for the assignment,” she suggests, her eyebrows waggling, and I smirk.
“I already have my teen wolf,” I whisper back and look down the aisle, three tables in front of me, to my Werewolf boyfriend, Kai James.
Kai's ears are twitching as he turns on his super hearing to eavesdrop on Anna's crush, and I'm pretty sure I can see the corner of his mouth lift in a smile at my response.
Principal Lex calls mine and Anna's names with an eyebrow arched.
“Finished?” she asks, and sheepishly, I nod.
“Okay then. Class, get into your assigned pairs,” she instructs.
Kai stands up from his table and heads our way. Anna, Kai, and I always partner in assignments. We work the best together because of the level of trust we all share. Some assignments include visiting the past or the future, as well as dangerous spells. Without that trust, things can go horribly wrong in life and death situations, so Principal Lex didn't protest too much when we asked for the three-way pairing.
“Hey babe,” Kai says when he reaches me, bending down to kiss me. My toes curl, as always, and I give him a big smile, my heart rate quickening at how attracted I am to him.
Kai's black curly hair is in a messy mop on his head because he is always running his fingers through it. Those blue eyes that bore into me, as if reading my soul and caressing it, always captivate me. His diamond-shaped face with a jaw that looks like it could cut stone with is absurd. Not to mention how his body is tall, muscled, and ripped, which always gets my heart thudding, especially when he’s shirtless. I also have blue eyes and long black hair that reaches my lower back and Kai has joked that our children will inherit the same eyes and hair from us. My body is petite with an oval face so it's a toss-up which body type and facial shape they'll take on, but it's fun to guess.
Myself, Kai, and Anna live in an academy for Paranormals called Paranormal Sky Academy. PSA is your typical academy, with high ceilings, stone walls, wooden or marble floors, and stained glass windows. I myself am half-Witch from my mother's side and half-Elemental from my father's side of the family. Anna is a Vampire, who now wishes she was a Werewolf, after watching Teen Wolf.
Principal Lex’s specialty is spells and witchcraft. As a way of teaching discipline and responsible spell use to PSA students, we are given tasks to perform and for tomorrow's, we must choose to either go to the past or to the future. We’ve always chosen what we desire or wish to see and under no circumstances can we interfere with the outcome, as one thing changed can be disastrous, throwing destiny completely off course. That's where the discipline and responsible spell use come in.
When Kai sits in the seat next to me, we immediately begin brainstorming for tomorrow's assignment. Anna has already expressed her choice of going into the past to see Tyler Posey, the star of one of her many favorite TV shows back then. I think she's afraid of what we'll see if we venture into the future and honestly, I can't blame her, but the desire to see what my future holds is urgent. Something is pushing me – in fact, insisting – I choose the future, which I can only presume is the work of destiny with some kind of message or warning.
Kai takes my right hand in his and rubs the top with his thumb, easing the sudden tension in my body I hadn't realized had crept in.
“I vote for the future. There's something important I need to know,” I begin to say, but Anna immediately puts up her hand to silence me.
“You can't change the future, if that's what we decide to do, so whatever happens there that is nagging you, it can't be undone, Ari,” Anna insists, reminding me of the rules, as if I could've forgotten.
I told Anna and Kai this morning about my strange dream last night and the feelings I have been having since Principal Lex mentioned the new assignment yesterday in class.
“Oh trust me, I know. The urging I have isn't to stop or undo what I need to see there, but more of a warning to be prepared for what happens,” I explain, and Anna's eyebrows furrow in concern as she chews on her lower lip; her telltale sign she's considering my words carefully.
Finally, Anna nods, curling a lock of her mid-length blonde hair behind her ear and her dark green eyes lift from the table to look at me.
“I'm in. But you owe me. I'm missing out on Tyler for this,” she grumbles halfheartedly with a smile.
Anna really is beautiful, with her shiny hair, stunning eyes, and pale skin. She hates her toned slim figure because she's never able to put on weight or muscle mass, no matter how much stronger she's getting from fight training, thanks to her Vampire DNA.
“Anna, the next assignment is all yours...” I say excitedly, but I trail off. “Well, unless Kai objects,” I add, but Kai shakes his head.
“Nope, no objections. Besides, I have a feeling that this future we need to see involves me, so yeah…” He shrugs, but I can see the nervousness building within him; clearly, he feels the urgency too.
“That's settled then. Kai, you'll meet Anna and I at our dorm around 6 pm tonight, and we'll work on the spell. I know we have a week to do this assignment, but I'm itching to get it done. Unless you two are busy?”
Anna and Kai shake their heads, with similar looks of apprehension displayed on their faces.
The bell rings, and we exit the classroom as doors all along the hallway open. Students pour out, dressed in the academy's uniform and colors, as students head to new classes. The girls wear white shirts, black and red ties, black skirts with white knee length socks, and black flat shoes. On top, they wear red blazers with the PSA logo of two swords crossing each other in an X-shape inside a triquetra. The guys wear the same, except with black pants and shoes; the teachers also, only they wear ID badges.
I enter my next class, Paranormal History, a few doors down. Honestly, I find this subject so interesting, since it's the history of mine and other species. I settle in my seat for the next sixty minutes and listen eagerly.
After two more classes, I'm in the canteen finishing my lunch of lasagna and garlic bread with Anna when Kai joins us, setting his plate down next to mine. With Kai being older, we don't always have the same classes and our lunchtime differs sometimes. He kisses my forehead in greeting before starting to wolf his food down, no pun intended. I'm so used to how he eats that I ignore it, but Anna sits across from us, arching an eyebrow at him. Feeling the stare, Kai looks up from his food at her amused expression and shrugs.
“What?” he asks sheepishly, but she just shakes her head in amusement and eyes me dubiously.
“You find that attractive?” she asks jokingly.
“Very much so when his shirt is off,” I smirk and Anna laughs.
“Fair enough,” she agrees.
“Hey!” Kai says, placing his fork down and putting on an affronted look, but there’s a smil
e in his blue eyes. “I'm not a piece of man candy, to be used for my body,” he continues to complain and I kiss him, biting his lower lip.
“Of course not, baby. I love your mind also.” Kai's lips pull up at the corners and appeased, he begins to eat again.
“How were your classes?” he asks between bites, looking at me as he chews, and I sigh because I had zoned out midway through Paranormal History, and my other classes? Forget it. Kai and Anna read my sigh and immediately know what's bothering me.
“Babe, don't worry. Whatever is waiting for us in the future, we'll deal with it together as a team, okay?” Kai assures me and I nod, staring into his eyes as he comforts me. When I turn to Anna, she's nodding in agreement.
“Have you told your parents? Maybe they might know something?” Kai wonders, as he pushes his empty plate away from him.
“No, it will only make them worry and they're busy teaching.” My mother, Abby, and father, Austin, are teachers at PSA. Mom teaches Witchcraft and Dad, Elemental Magic of Water and Fire.
“Well, it might not hurt to ask?” Kai muses, looking thoughtful. No doubt thinking it would be good to see them, but since I moved out and into my dorm when I turned sixteen, I haven't seen them as often as I would like.
“It would be considered cheating on the assignment to ask for help, I think, as everything we need to know was taught in class this week. So, we'll wait till afterward, if things are bad. Deal?” I ask him and Anna.
“Deal,” they reply in unison.
“Now quit worrying. You can do that later as we write the spell, if you must, because Vincent is coming over and I want to flirt without stressing my best friend is spiraling,” Anna says with a sweet smile at me, and I shake my head in amusement just as he reaches us and sits down next to Anna, thrilling her.
Vincent Santiago is a Werecat but, more specifically, a Panther shifter and Kai's best friend. Vincent has the same body type as Kai. I think it's how all shifters are built, and his shoulder length hair is black, like his Panther's. Vincent's eyes are a dark brown, almost black as well, and his jaw is chiseled hard enough to cut granite. Anna and I often joke how bizarre it is that a Wolf and a Panther are best friends in both human and animal form, meaning both man and animal choose one another. Werewolves and Werecats normally don't get along, but these two hit it off straightaway.
Anna and Vincent have major feelings for each other, but no matter hard Kai and I try to play matchmaker, they're both too stubborn to realize it.
“Hey, man. Why weren't you in class?” Kai asks as Vincent chugs water from his water bottle, then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I was begging Principal Lex to assign me a new partner for the assignment because Daisy is driving me mad,” Vincent says, sighing with frustration and running a hand through his hair.
Vincent was originally a part of our assignment group, as we're all best friends, but he got stuck with Daisy for an assignment partner because she was left without one. Being the kind soul he is, he volunteered to be Daisy's, as Vincent can't stand seeing someone left alone. Daisy has a lot of friends but no one wanted to collaborate with her because she does zero work but takes all the credit.
“How so?” Kai questions, watching his friend closely. He must have picked up on Vincent's tension that's rolling off him, like I have.
“She thinks every study session we do is a ploy to get into her pants, even though I insist it's only assignment-related.” Anna stiffens beside Vincent, clearly not liking another girl trying to get it on with him when it's so obvious he wants her, not Daisy.
“Did Principal Lex listen to you?” Kai asks, tilting his head to the side, which kind of reminds me of the gesture a dog makes when it's confused or trying to understand you. It's so cute, but I'd never tell him that.
“Not at first, but when she walked into the classroom to find Daisy literally trying to undo my pants, she finally saw I wasn't joking.” Anna glares at the side of Vincent's face, with a mixture of annoyance and hurt.
“That could've been fun,” Kai jokes and I elbow him in the ribs because his comment brought another flash of hurt in Anna's eyes that he missed and he grunts, chuckling.
“You’re a pig,” I tell him, shaking my head.
“Nope. I'm a wolf,” Kai fires back, and I can't help but flirt with him as we smirk at each other.
“Do you mind me crashing your threesome?” Vincent asks, interrupting mine and Kai's playful banter, his lips twitching. I throw a cold French fry from my plate across the table at him, and he laughs.
“No,” Anna shouts a little too eagerly, making me jump.
“I mean no, as in, no, we don't mind. Do we guys?” Anna stares at Kai and me with a “you better not say no” expression, as if we would.
Kai and I look at each other with knowing smiles. Anna wants to get Vincent away from Daisy. Maybe now that they're forced to work together, it might actually bring them closer, perhaps even together.
“Nah, we don't mind. Come to mine and Anna's dorm at six with Kai,” I tell Vincent and he nods appreciatively.
The canteen is beginning to empty of students who are returning to class so with sighs all around, we all stand, collecting our belongings and heading back for three more hours of classes.
I check the time. 5:55 pm. Kai and Vincent will be arriving soon. Anna and I are sitting on our beds in our dorm room, watching TV. Some episode of an old TV show called Friends, and it's really funny.
“Sooo not fair...” I groan at the TV, and Anna looks over at me with a puzzled frown.
“What's not fair?” she asks. I jerk my thumb at the TV in question and explain.
“All the people below us can call a food service and have said food brought to their door. We have to go across PSA to the canteen to eat, so therefore, not fair.”
Anna looks at me seriously then gets a devilish gleam in her eyes that I know means trouble.
“Well, we could always cast a spell to take us below to get food and cast another to get back?”
“No way. We'd be in so much trouble, it's not worth it. And besides, going to get the food defeats the wish of getting it brought to you, now doesn't it?” I muse wistfully. Anna taps a finger on her chin, thinking, then nods and laughs.
“Yeah, it does. But considering your parents helped to build PSA with magic, maybe you could suggest they start a food service. It will create more jobs in our society, so maybe they'd consider it.” I eye Anna with wide excited eyes and grin, telling her I'm definitely going to suggest this to my mom and dad, when there's a knock at the door.
Anna stares at the door like it's going to bite her, no doubt smelling Vincent and Kai on the other end. I can smell them too, although her sense of smell is stronger as a Vampire. But I'm guessing it's Vincent who's making her stare at the door like she is. I wish she'd give in to him and allow him to love her the way he obviously wants to, but after losing her parents in the Event, she tends to close people out.
Our dorm room isn't like the ones we see on TV. Yes, we have beds and desks, but our beds are queen-sized and the walls are stone. We have two windows overlooking the academy's grounds; the windows remind me of the ones I've seen on old Victorian houses in movies. We have heated flooring, so I can walk around barefoot. So does Anna, but she doesn't feel the cold. There's a fireplace I use daily, which keeps me cozy, and we have a small kitchen and bathroom. In the fridge, Anna stores her synthetic blood. It's not her favorite type to drink, but it satisfies her.
I also have a section of the room I jokingly call ‘My Witch Space’, dedicated to my spellbook, herbs and ingredients for spells, and my cauldron, where I practice and study my witchcraft. Each dorm is basically an apartment designed to the needs of the occupant by the academy's magic.
The academy is located in a secret city in the clouds called Skyline City, above New York, and it's where all the Paranormals live for safety after the same Event that also took Kai's parents. PSA has thou
sands of students from the age of five to eighteen, and the academy grows magically in size as more space is needed. Surrounding PSA are woods, and roads in the sky going to apartment buildings for the adults, those who have graduated, and various businesses.
There are a few people we call Runners, who go below every month for supplies and food to sell in our shops, but most things are magically made. We have drones flying around, checking for intruders and students misbehaving. Skyline City is a small society, with the academy as the main building.
I get off my bed and open the door, where Kai stands, holding a large pizza box, and Vincent carrying soda cans. I tilt my head to the side and Anna laughs with glee when the guys walk in and she sees what they're carrying. Both guys look at each other with comically confused frowns, then back at me and Anna like we're crazy, but that they still love us anyway, because I know Vincent loves Anna.
“Erm...” Kai begins, then trails off.
“Hmm…” Vincent adds. I decide to put them out of their confused misery and explain how I had been wishing for food to be delivered to me.
“I knew you'd be hungry, babe,” Kai says, kissing me sweetly on the lips. He sits down on the floor, opening the pizza box, and I join him.
Vincent remains standing with Anna, as he waits for her to sit so he can be beside her, but she stays standing, frozen in place. I grab her hand and pull her down. She finally sits with a rigid posture, with Vincent on her other side.
Anna and Vincent are meant to be together and I don't know how I know this, but it's something I feel. Just like when I was old enough to know Kai was mine. I think I was fourteen when I first noticed Kai in a way that was more than just a best friend. Kai and I have known each other since we were babies. My parents raised him after his died in the tragic Event that occurred fifteen years ago, in 2050. We began dating one year ago, when I was fifteen and he was seventeen. Anna is the same age as me and Vincent, the same as Kai.