Heartless

Chapter 10

During the past weekend, Quin and I became very close. I broke down crying after jade the twins left. I never thought I would cry over those three but there I was sitting up in my bed late at night with a steady stream of tears falling from my eyes. Part of me was sad that they were gone but a big part of it was relief from them being gone. I've felt overwhelmed since we arrived on this new Earth but I've been pushing aside the feeling to be there for my cousins. Now that I am free of them, all my emotions are coming unhinged all at once and they're coming out as tears.

Quin was by my side so I decided to be truthful to her about everything... well, maybe not everything. I told her that we are from a different world, I let her fill in the blanks. I wasn't sure which would be harder for her to believe, that we were from Earth in a different dimension or another planet, so I let her choose.

I told her that we were being hunted and that it was crucial for us to leave her unnoticed and that we were separated from my aunt and uncle so we were there alone.

She seemed surprisingly calm as I explained. Nothing seemed to shock her, maybe that was just the world that I ended up in, one where anything can seem normal, or maybe she knows more than she is letting on. Either way, she promised to help me fit in and keep me safe.

I felt relieved by her response but I couldn't shake the feeling that she knew more than she said. She never pushed me to tell her my secrets so I'd feel guilty if I pushed her to tell me, but not as guilty as I felt for suspecting that she may be a trap and working for the Elysians because of how well she was taking the whole thing.

I wish I could trust her but "trust" has never been my style.

Besides being bored out of my mind and having a hand cramp, my first seemed to be going well until the end of the hour came when an adult entered the room.

"Fantasia Sparks?" He called, and I felt myself sit up a little straighter in my seat.

"Is Fantasia Sparks in this class?" He called again.

Quin nudged my elbow and whispered, "That's you, so stand up."

I immediately did as she said, my movements were too rushed, too mechanical, I attracted the eyes of the whole room as I stood. "Yes?" I said, feeling tense.

"Can I see you in my office?"

I nodded once before following him from the room. He led me down the hall into an office. I squinted in order to read his name written outside the office. It takes a moment for my eyes to focus. It reads "Principal Robert Williams." What is wrong with me? I wonder. I've never had this problem before.

"Miss Sparks, do you know why I called you into my office today?" He asked me.

"No," I replied, unsure of what I could have possibly done within my first hour of being a student. "No, sir." I added, remembering the manners that Quin tried to teach me, but gave up after four hours of practice when she decided that I was hopeless and that I couldn't learn enough to fit in here over a weekend. She wasn't wrong. I thought her manners were stupid. Back home, we simply said what needed to be said. We had no time to waste on pleasantries when there was work to be done and money to be earned living in the slums of the Easton Empire.

Here people get paid to sit around and do nothing all day. No wonder they talk so much. They have nothing better to do.

I'm used to using a different dialect of English called Terra Lexicore which roughly translates to Earth tongue. It is largely based on English but we were taught that it is a mix of every human language to create a single language. Sure, some words are different depending on where you're from but you can understand anyone who speaks it wherever you go. Many people wonder where it came from. Most of Earth's early history is lost so no one knows the origin of the cultures that this language was based from or what happened to them. Now, humans are all considered one race. They also aren't living alone on their planet anymore. In some regions human kind is the minority and in others other species are put to death for being different.