Air Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Eight - Min

Min had an extra bounce in her step all day, and everyone seemed to notice how happy she was. Which made her wonder, did she always come across as down and out? Or was she just that obnoxiously chipper?

"Did you already finish your final presentation?" one of her fellow psych majors asked. Her name was Kamala, and she was Min's favorite study buddy. About as close to a real friend as Min was going to get until Ijn relinquished the claws gripping onto her so tightly. Just thinking about how soon that would be brought out the huge grin again.

Shaking her head, she gathered up all of her books. Once they were secure in her bag, she gazed over at Kamala. "A lot of good is in the air, and I can't help but let it show."

"A lot of good? Are you in love? Did you get a new job? Do you have big plans today?" Kamala pressed.

"No, no, and no." The only plans she had involved more studying. Unless Ijn couldn't do the one task she'd been given. Buying a dress should not be too traumatizing of an outing. If she went with their mother, she'd have an insightful opinion to balance her indecisiveness.

Kamala shrugged. "Had to ask. Go on, continue to be a woman of mystery."

"I am not mysterious," Min countered. "I'm boring. There's nothing to share. I already told you about my last exciting event, and if I recall correctly, it wasn't exactly all that exciting by your standards."

"Tipsy at a party isn't much," Kamala agreed. "Boring is a good thing, I think. Imagine if every day was dramatic. Sounds overwhelming. Just gotta ask, because you're a lot more different today than usual. More...free?"

Because my freedom is in sight. "Yeah, drama twenty-four/seven gets old fast." Ijn provided more than enough of that. She didn't talk about her twin with Kamala. All of her problems sounded so petty once they left her lips. Her parents stopped listening a long time ago, so why would one of her peers be any different? Kamala must have suspected Min was hiding something because she raised an eyebrow. Quickly, Min added. "At least, it seems like it would."

"Right, well, let me get some of those good vibes coming off of you. Maybe they'll be contagious." She rubbed Min's arm. "I have a meeting with the head of the department about an internship in Aeorol over the summer."

Jealousy briefly trickled through Min. An internship anywhere outside of Aero City sounded divine. "Take as much of my vibes as you want. There are plenty." She checked the time on her cellphone. "I need to bolt. I didn't realize how late it was getting already."

"Keep some in stock for tomorrow."

"Deal!" Min rushed out of the library for home. Being late for dinner never went over well. Her parents, always the old fashioned type, saw it as incredibly disrespectful to miss family meals for anything short of a life or death emergency. Unless it was Ijn having a meltdown. How would a crown prince handle one of her panic attacks? No, I can't sit and worry about what he might or might not do. She's not going to be my problem anymore, and he'll have the rest of his life to figure her out.

And that was the best part. Ijn was no longer her responsibility.

"Did you find a dress?" Min asked as soon as she walked through the door. Her good mood crumbled when she saw how pale her sister's skin was and the defeat inside of her dark eyes.

Ijn pressed her lips together tightly. "I've got it narrowed down to four choices."

"Okay," Min said slowly. Four choices was better than ten. Progress was progress, right? "After dinner we'll have one."

"They're all the same color. I've decided on a color!"

Congrats? "Great!" She forced the enthusiasm. The weight of her homework seemed to multiply in her bag, reminding her of all the studying she'd planned on doing that would now be placed on hold for a little while longer. Only a few more months. After this summer, I'm out of here, whether Ijn is ready or not.