Tʜᴇ ልςαdεmψ

The Place of Crushes

Jules's younger sister looked at her with a sarcastic smirk.

" 'Going out for school supplies,' huh? It seems like you might've told a bit of a fib there, girlie.", Skye told her as her smirk lingered on her freckled face that was oh so similar to Jules's.

"Well, that was the mission. I just got... sidetracked. And it wasn't with a boy, it was just with reading.", she lied to her. Of course, it wasn't necessarily an entire lie, she only talked to Aziel for possibly a minute in total. The other four hours were dedicated to her reading and shopping.

"No one gets that giddy from reading and school supplies. Even the biggest nerd on earth wouldn't."

"Fine, you caught me. I talked to Aziel Gry for just a minute! But even someone who doesn't crush on him can admit that he is attractive.", Jules replied to Skye's skeptical comment in defense.

"Whatever you say, lover girl."

׺°"˜'"°ºº°"˜'"°º×

Jules walked amongst the empty hallways of the recently rebuilt Academy. It never changed. The tile was still the marbled checkers, the latticed windows still allowed the sunlight to lightly skim the corridor, the stairs to the next floor were still tall and extravagant with the elegant railing trimming them, and the pillars were still carefully carved to make beautiful and breathtaking designs.

Jules began to walk up the gorgeous stairs to the humongous doors that lead to the second floor so she was able to get to her emaculate dorm. She was about to push open the hand carved doors to the second dor when she heard a voice come from behind her.

"It's strange how they replicated it so soon and so precisely."

Jules whipped her head around to see who was speaking to her.

No other than Aziel Gry was who she was faced with, only three steps down from the one she was standing on.

Jules paused. "It seems like you're following me at this point, Gry."

"Don't flatter yourself, Ramos.", mentioning her last name with quite a bit of salt in his tone. It was almost hurtful to Jules to hear her name mentioned with such salt in his voice. She knew she had a crush on him, it was almost as if the idea of The Academy was just a Place of Crushes. There was May's crush on Nathan, Liam's crush on May, and now her crush on Aziel. Speaking of Liam and May...

Her thoughts were cut off by the clicking of high-heels against the freshly waxed tiles.

Jules looked down the stairs to see who the new visitor was. Jealousy sparked inside of her. The girl was beautiful. She had curves in her body that Jules could never dream of having, even if she were to get surgeries, plump, pink lips, well-kept blonde curls, and dark brown eyes that popped with her light blonde hair. Jules had always thought she was an attractive girl and well-kept until now. She awkwardly brushed her fingers through her brown waves in attempt to tidy herself in the girl's presence.

"Fancy running into you here!", she told Aziel with a wink.

Aziel chuckled. "Of course, why don't you tell me the likelihood of it, smartie?" , he jokingly asked her.

She giggled. God, that giggle. It was obnoxious to Jules. Or maybe the jealousy was really taking its toll.

But jealousy certainly did take its toll whenever the girl kissed Aziel. Jules began to open the doors so she could proceed to her dorms. She couldn't watch this. It was sickening in every way.

But the blonde spoke up before she could exit the silent corridor.

"Aziel, who is this?"

"Jules Ramos, she got here only a year after we did."

"Another cute little girl thinking she has a chance?"

"That's my guess."

Jules felt her blood rise to her cheeks, making her an angry shade of magenta. She bit her lip and left the situation so she could escape to her dorm. She could feel the tears stinging her hazel irises but she refused to cry like a small child over a rude boy and his girlfriend. She wouldn't let this girl who she didn't even know the name of take her dignity.

To take her mind off of this, she began to unpack her stylish clothes. She started to fold them and place them in drawers to create neat and aesthetically pleasing patterns. Organization was a relaxing activity for Jules. She could easily do it for hours on end just as she would do with reading.

She began to place her favorite books on the tall, wooden bookshelf in order of color and then alphabetical order after that. As she was sorting her dark yellow books into their proper alphabetical order, she heard the squeaky door open. She turned her head to see who it could be.

A girl with tanned skin, light brown hair to match her skin, and dark gray eyes that resembled a stone stared back at her.

"I was told to come to this dorm. You must be my roomate?", she asked.

"I must be. I was curious as to who the second bed belonged to. I'm Jules Ramos," Jules told her.

"Elinore Eire. I got here last year, but the school got blown to ashes before I could do much," Elinore let her know.

"Same situation here.", Jules replied.

Elinore smiled and drug a large suitcase into the undecorated dorm.

"Do you need help?", Jules asked in attempt to make conversation. She knew Elinore would say no, but it could possibly spark some type of conversation. Right?

"No, thank you."

After a few moments of silence, Jules concluded that her theory was wrong. She sighed and put unpacking on pause. She spread her black comforter with brown floral designs on her bed along with her matching pillow.

"Going to bed so soon?", Elinore asked her.

"Traveling makes me tired," Jules said, more to herself than Elinore.

Elinore only nodded before Jules curled up into the warm comfort of her bed. Her thoughts went back to how The Academy had been rebuilt so fast and so efficiently. The thoughts wouldn't stop nagging at her, so she walked to her bookshelf, going through any books that could give her a clue.

She found a crippling book on mythical creatures. She vividly remembered finding it in the back shelves of her favorite hometown bookstore, covered in dust and cobwebs. Inside the book, she found a picture of the lizard creature that May and Liam had once described to her in great detail. She followed the words with experience until she found a line she fancied as interesting. The line answered the question of how the school was rebuilt so fast.

The reptiles have human intelligence. They can follow orders like a brainwashed monster. They are known for being used to make labor quick, easy, and efficient.

׺°"˜'"°ºº°"˜'"°º×

Hello loves! I'm back for about 2 weeks before I have to take another break. Requests are still open! I hope to see you in the next chapter! Happy reading~!

•- averslxo

׺°"˜'"°ºº°"˜'"°º×