The Rejected Elemental

[6]

I grudgingly walked down the stairs to breakfast, feet dragging along the floor. Hayley had woken up me up at bloody six in the morning, shrieking something about it being my birthday and all. I did not enjoy it. Nope.

You know what I want for my birthday? The right to sleep whenever I want, wherever I want, for as long as I want, without being woken up by screaming best friends or cocky little curly-haired boys.

"Hello, sunshine!" Hayley sang as she skipped into step beside me. I just grumbled at her, at turned away, pouting. Hayley laughed. "You just wait," she trilled as she did a pirouette and danced down the steps.

I stomped down the stairs, glancing at my reflection in a nearby mirror. Hayley had forced me into something nice ("It's your birthday, Mia, you can't dress like a slob!" "Gee, thanks-" "So wear something casual for breakfast, and later in the evening, you can change to dressy, 'kay?") and so I was wearing a pretty mint jumper and black jeans with a couple of necklaces.

Hayley nearly had to get me to her dressing table at gun-point though, since I was totally unwilling. There she proceeded to put my hair in a half-up half-down hairstyle, which actually looked kind of nice, now that I think about it.

The one thing that freaked me out was the hair-curler, so I stubbornly refused to put my head near it. Hayley finally gave up, thankfully, and just did the best she could using actual rollers, which totally made me look like one of those housewives in the 80's. The only things needed to complete the image were a pair of bunny slippers, a night robe, and a box of fancy chocolates. Don't ask me why.

Moving on.

Hayley pulled me by the arm towards a corridor that I hadn't seen before, and pushed open a door that I was pretty sure did not lead to the dining halls.

"Actually, Hayley, breakfast's that way...?" I trailed off as she gave me an offended look. "I've lived here since I was born, Mia. I think I'd know my way around the pack area by now."

"Well, breakfast-" I began, but one look at Hayley's face and I shut up. My best friend dragged me up a flight of stairs and paused in front of a door that looked similar to my chamber's. She the stepped back and smiled excitedly at me. "Go on. Open the door!"

Shooting her an unsure look, I slowly opened the door, but did not step in, instead waiting for a bucket of water to fall down. The classic prank.

But thankfully, there was no bucket. Instead the room was lit, and inside were a few friends in the pack that I had made during the past three days that I had spent in Black Ice: Nina, Hayley, her mother Dani, her younger sister Brooke, Nina the Healer, Jason, Cyril the Beta, Jamie-the-blonde, and surprisingly, Miles.

Dani was the first one to reach me, and she pulled me into a hug. "Happy Birthday, honey," she smiled as she pulled back.

"Thanks-"

"So you're finally eighteen!" Jason crowed gleefully as he ruffled my hair and messed up Hayley's work. "Sweet!"

"I know," I grinned at him. "I can't wait to have a drink with you guys."

Trust me," Jason said smugly. "You're gonna enjoy it. I'm an expert at this kind of stuff." Behind him, Cyril shook his head exasperatedly, and came forward to greet me with a hug. From behind him, Brooke jumped into my arms, her pearly whites flashing as she grinned sweetly at me. "Happy eighteenth, Mia! I expect gifts!"

"Actually, isn't that the other way around-?" I started in confusion, but just then Miles managed to burst a balloon, and my attention was temporarily diverted. Taking advantage of the chaos that ensued as Miles attempted to burst another balloon, I let my eyes scan the entire room. A table had been set up at the centre, and was laden with Dani's excellent cooking, which included a pretty little chocolate cake with pink and white icing on top.