Ava understood completely where the girl was coming from, and it took everything in her not to say it out loud. Instead, she said, "Absolutely not true! I bet your classmates can't wait to meet you." Ava looked so serious that Priya burst into laughter. Not sure what was so funny, Ava allowed a smile to sneak across her lips. She wished her mother could see this right now. Lucy would find it quite a trip to see Ava consoling a child. Lucy always said Ava was a complete train wreck around kids. Well, look at her now.
Watching the glee in Priya's eyes as her tears dried up, Ava decided to stay with her throughout the rest of the trip. Sure, it might be social suicide, having her introduction to her classmates be seeing her hanging out with a ten-year-old, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the girl. She wondered briefly where her new Miami classmates were, but it didn't matter. They'd gotten away from her the minute they stepped into the registration port. Clearly, she couldn't entertain any fantasies of being friends with them.
"How about we play a game?" Ava spoke at the exact moment the ship's foghorn went off three times and rocked them from side to side. Priya looked very surprised as she had just attempted to stand up but immediately fell into Ava's lap.
"What!?"
Ava repeated herself.
"What game?" The girl sounded intrigued.
"I point at a student, and you make up a story about them." Ava was mildly excited. She used to play a similar game with her mother when they went to the mall together. People-watching was one of Ava's favorites.
"A story? I love stories," Priya squealed.
Ava looked around and searched for the right person. There were all kinds of people around her. Some dressed in more outrageous ways than others. Then she spotted the perfect candidate as the ship fell into a more comfortable groove and sailed smoothly into the sea. "What about that one?"
"That funny dancing boy?"
"Yeah, him." Ava had gestured toward a boy who stood out slightly from the clique about ten feet away from him. He had dyed-black hair, green headphones balanced across his head, and in his lap was a notebook he was presently scrawling on.
"All right," Priya agreed, scrunching her tiny red lips together.
"He's from Asia, probably Japan, and he's running from something or someone…"
"Okay, what else?" Ava prompted.
Priya tapped her cute little chin, her dark eyes narrowed in concentration. "His clothes have not been ironed, his pants are two lengths too short, and they are way too tight." She let out a giggle. "His shirt is almost down to his knees; he had to pack and leave in a hurry. He's writing a letter to his family now, to tell them about the crime he committed, and he's on the run, but he's going to be all right."
Ava clapped happily, noticing Priya had completely forgotten to cry for her father as they sailed along. She repressed her smile as best she could and asked again, "Oh yeah? And what about her?" She pointed at a curvy blonde-haired girl looking over the banister of the ship.
"She's heartbroken, clearly."
"Really? And why is that?"
"Look at her. She has stringy hair, like she's been mussing it with her hands, mascara running down her cheeks, and she's not talking to anyone. Her lover must've been someone dangerous. Oh, probably a knight! He had to leave her, against her will, and defend their kingdom."
Ava laughed again. Momentarily, she forgot her own crippling fear of trying to fit in at this new school as she pointed to one person after another. She was having way too much fun with little Priya. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, the academy would be easy for her to survive in after all.
4
The sun had dipped down the horizon. Or something like that. It was at least some sort of fiery red ball, but not like what she was used to in Miami. Although this was under water, so that made sense. According to Priya, the scenery was a magical illusion, put there so the students would feel more comfortable. Ava silently wished she had a magical father to tell her these things like Priya did.
"Do you think we’re close?" Priya asked after a while.
"I would think so. We've been sailing for hours at this point."
They had walked around the main deck of the ship somewhat, but still hadn't talked to anyone else. Everyone already seemed to keep to their own cliques.
"I'm hungry," Priya announced, bouncing between her feet. The dark-eyed girl also wore sensible sneakers like Ava did. But hers were beneath a gray skirt that stretched below her knees. A prim and proper princess, her dark blonde hair packed tightly in a bun atop her little head.
"I suppose there’s some sort of food around here, right?" Ava asked, more to herself than Priya. "I can go ask around for you, if you like?"
"Okay, I would love that,” Priya agreed eagerly. "I'll wait here."
For the first time since the ship had left the tunnel, Ava left Priya on her own and took the opportunity to check out more of the ship. The captain was consulting charts and yelling at others a few feet away. She thought about asking him, but thought better of it because he was probably too busy to talk to a lowly student like her. Looking around for someone else of authority, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Are you looking for someone? Maybe I can help."
Ava squinted at the source of the voice. She couldn't make out who it was exactly, because he had stepped toward her and blocked the sun—or the weird fireball or whatever—so she couldn’t see his face clearly. But she definitely recognized that unique accent and deep, husky voice.
It was the gorgeous, brown-skinned, white-haired boy from the registration line. She wanted to crawl into herself. But he was smiling at her like he wanted to get to know her.
Just wait until he found out what she was. He would never talk to her again. But, for now, she knew she should make the most of it. Okay, what the heck, talk to the gorgeous guy.
She peeked over her shoulder to check on Priya; the girl was laughing and stuffing her face with pie now. Where the heck had she gotten pie so quickly? Oh well, didn't matter now.
Just as she was trying to figure out what to tell the attractive boy she was looking for, since Priya now had pie, the ship lurched and threw Ava forward, directly into the boy's arms.
Her face crashed right into his chest and then—she still couldn't steady herself fast enough—she dropped to her knees at his feet.
"Whoa there!" He laughed loudly, a deep baritone sound. "We just met, and I'm pretty sure I should buy you dinner first."
"What?" Ava looked up at him, then realized her face was within an inch of his thighs. "Oh!" She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. This may be the worst moment of my life.
"I'm just messing with you, of course." He stepped back from her and extended his hand.
Trying to will the redness to leave her cheeks, she took his outstretched hand and used him as leverage to pull herself to her feet.
"This is your first year, right?" he questioned her.
Dear God, is it that obvious? Ava wanted to die. Instead, she answered as casually as possible, "Yes, it is," as she tried to brush herself off, but there wasn’t anything to brush off—the surrounding area was quite clean.
"Me too!" he announced as he led her around the corner. They were apparently heading up toward a wooden desk, the sound of their footsteps lost in the surrounding noise.
She looked at him, surprised. He was really new? Like her? He seemed so comfortable there. "That's cool."
"Of course, this is a pretty crazy new year for everyone, don't you think?" He placed his fingers gently against her upper arm as he smiled down at her. "Considering they admitted just about anyone, it seems!"
What was he getting at, exactly?
"Oof!" he grumbled suddenly, doubling over.
"Sorry," a high-pitched voice called from somewhere. "But watch where you're going." Ava realized it was a young boy who came up to no higher than this guy's waist.
"Even kids." He finally completed his sentence, once again stretching to his full height.
"I don't get it either," Ava admitted. "Do you know why the rules have suddenly changed?"
"No one does. Or at least not anyone I know."
"Really? That's so weird." Ava's heart dropped to her feet. What if she made it all the way to the academy only to be told it was all a mistake, just a terrible error on their part, and she was sent home, rejected and humiliated? Her dream snatched away before it could even begin.
Great, now she would spend the entire year worrying about that. Being kicked out. But, on the bright side of all this, that meant there were plenty of others like her: exchange students accepted from all over the world. After all, until this year, this exclusive school formerly accepted only students from Australia unless they were the best of the best. And she was a freaking tabby cat.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she returned her attention to what he had just said. "Wait, what do you mean by ‘not anyone I know’? If this is your first year, how do you already know people at the school?"
"Oh, I grew up with a few of them. My best friend is actually going here with me this year, but he’s sick right now so he will be a few days late. Several other friends of mine are here though."
"You already have shifter friends? Where are you from?" As she asked the question, she was immediately extra curious. She couldn't place his accent at all. He looked Indian, and his accent had an Indian inflection, but that wasn't all.
"I've been living in England with my parents for the past several years," he explained. "My parents moved there from India when I was a kid. There are a lot of shifters there."
So that explained it. His accent was a mix of British and Indian. It actually sounded really cool.
"So, anyway," he went on. "Who or what can I help you find? I got here a lot earlier than everyone else—they deliver from the English branch a lot earlier—so I’ve had plenty of time to explore the whole ship."
Ava struggled as she searched for something to say. Finally, she just settled on the truth. "I guess I'm not looking for anything anymore. I was going to look for food for my friend, but she figured it out on her own."
"That's cool. Wanna check out the engine room with me then? It's right down there by the kitchen, so we could stop for snacks as backup for your friend or something." He winked adorably.
"Okay, I guess so," she agreed and followed him as he led her down a set of wooden stairs.
"I'm Tarun, by the way. It's nice to meet you." He looked at her over his shoulder as they descended the steps.
"I'm Ava."
"Where you from? Your accent is cute."
Her accent? What was he talking about?
"I'm American. From the Miami branch. What do you mean about my accent? I don't have one."
He started laughing. "To me, you do. And you’ll have one to pretty much everyone else here, as well. Except the other Americans, of course. But there aren't that many of you."
She immediately felt stupid. Of course she had an accent. What was she thinking? She promptly changed the subject. "Why the interest in the engine room?"
"I just think it's cool. All those cogs and machines. They fascinate me. I checked it out before the ship even launched." He paused for a moment, twisting his fingers rapidly. Ava feared he might break them.
"Seriously? Why?" She couldn't understand what was so interesting about the ship’s engine.
"I don't know. I always wanted to be an engineer. Preferably a mechanical engineer. But then, you know, I manifested. And now…"—He struck a pose as if to say ‘Ta-dah!’—"Shifter life. And now I need to be trained for combat."
Ava followed as he resumed walking. She didn't know this guy, but something about his disarming smile and scattered white hair appealed to her. She wondered what kind of shifter he was. Hopefully something embarrassing like her. His eyes were also very catlike—wouldn't it be cool if he were a cat shifter, too? She doubted it though. He seemed way too confident and comfortable there. But hey, a girl could dream.
As they approached a door labeled "Engine Room," Tarun pushed it open to reveal the chaos behind it. The room was enormous, and Ava could see workers dressed in blue overalls. Those close to the flame wore masks that protruded out at least six inches, covering their entire faces. The heat drenched her face in sweat the minute they stepped in. It felt like being thrown in Hell, only hotter.
"Don't worry," Tarun shouted over the roar of the machines. That door must've been soundproof, because she hadn't heard a single thing on the other side of it. "The workers change shifts every fifteen minutes to get some air. Otherwise, they'd suffocate."
Ava nodded. He took her around the room, introduced her to a few of the workers he'd apparently already met, and explained a few parts of the ship she didn't know existed.
"And that's unicorn dust." He pointed to a jar in the corner. It was a relatively tiny glass bottle sitting atop a rough, cracked counter. Ava didn't know when she started walking toward the little canister, but she did. The dust glowed dully in the dying light—a beautiful azure shine.
“What are you doing, come back,” Tarun whispered hotly.
She was two steps from it when a worker blocked her way. She paused, coming back to her senses. Something about that dust called out to her—she just wanted to touch it, to run her fingers through it.
“Leave now,” the worker said forcefully, as though he could read her thoughts. She jerked back, colliding against Tarun.
“No one is allowed to touch it, Ava, I should’ve warned you…let’s go,” he said, dragging her away.
The last thing Ava saw as she left was the worker’s glinting eyes. He did not look happy at all.
“What’s that used for? I thought unicorns were extinct?”
“They are. But they use it to fire up the ship; that’s how we’re traveling so fast.”
“I see.” Although she didn’t really. “That was fun,” she said as they climbed back up the stairs. Aside from the angry worker, it had been pretty cool after all.
“It really was. Thank you for coming down with me. We could still go back and hit up the kitchen though.”
“My friend will be fine,” she replied dazedly—the powder was all she could think about. She didn't even notice Tarun walking away when they made it to the deck after several failed tries to talk with her.
It didn’t make any sense. Why would they put unicorn dust on display like that when it was the rarest thing to acquire on the planet? Did they have access to one? She could vaguely remember stories her mother told her when she was little...about glorious horned beasts.
A single, tiny shaving off that horn was worth so much. And she knew the ship’s crew was abusing it. The powder was supposed to be used for healing, not to fire up boats. Luckily, there wasn’t enough time for her to worry...because she looked up and realized the ship had arrived at the shores of Animage Academy.
5
Animage Academy was known for one thing—and only one thing: churning out the best and most destructive shifters the world had ever seen. The elite. The cream of the crop. The best of the best.
Before this year, the school accepted only with Australia's finest shifters, such as pandas, koalas, kangaroos, wombats, and even sloths. While those particular animals may look cute and cuddly, they were as deadly as could be, especially with training. Exchange students were only brought in from around the world when they were highly coveted. Specifically dragons, wolves, bears, sharks, and birds of prey. They were allowed in even if the student wasn't Australian.
But now? Now it seemed to be a free-for-all.
The academy stood proudly in the light, kissing the clouds, the brown paint across the bricks looking lightly chipped and ancient, but that gave it an even stronger presence. The entire building emitted a strength that came from ages of existence.
Along the sides of the main building stood two trees, as though they were sentinels guarding it. Ava had read in the brochure that they were called Red River Gum trees—native to Australia. Maybe those trees were the
re for some sort of protection—they certainly looked like it.
About a hundred feet from the front entrance of the main doors, stood a tall and proud oak tree. It was said its leaves represented every student ever admitted in the school. At the base were giant roots that protruded from the earth. No fallen leaves surrounded it. None.
It was heart-wrenching when leaves fell. And they were quickly swept away and buried ceremoniously. Every time a leaf fell from one of those massive branches, it meant one shifter had left the earth realm, crossed over to the other side. In plainer words, died.
It was a scary thought, having her life so closely tied to this tree. There was a magical laser-like barrier around it. Only students of the academy could approach it, and they couldn't tamper with it. A fallen leaf represented the death of a student, and a destroyed leaf meant a destroyed shifter. Ava shuddered at the thought. Scary stuff.
The Animage staff was meticulous about the plant. Ava saw several staff members surrounding it, watering, pruning, and even as she watched, a gardener was trimming back the nearby plants to keep them away from it.
Ava stood ahead of the tree, her jaw literally hanging open in awe. The students had exited the ship without fuss and proceeded down the cobblestone walkway. Whether this magical academy was really underwater, Ava still wasn't sure. It looked like they were outdoors. Beyond the trees, she could see the old building with its own personality. Vines covered many areas. Some windows were long, some were wide, some sheer, and others barred and leaded. It was almost like a patchwork quilt or a jigsaw puzzle put together incorrectly. But somehow, it still looked majestic.
As Paul guided the students down the walkway, he continued to explain all the elements about the school itself. The building was centuries old, but they made additions along the line to suit certain modern requirements. And saying "modern" was a bit of a stretch. Animage was known for its somewhat archaic tendencies. But at least it had indoor plumbing!
Although the bones remained, the additions made it a unique work of art. It appeared to go in all directions, a mass of heights and widths, walls and corners, bricks and boards. There was no symmetry whatsoever. Ava had trouble moving. She simply stood there, overwhelmed and somewhat frightened by the monstrosity. But she could say one thing for sure: she could definitely feel safe inside. It was as sturdy as a rock.
Animage Academy: The Shifter School Down Under Year One Page 3