Eden's Gate

Chapter 2: Out in the Sun

A few days had passed since the final soccer game of the school year, and the kids were getting used to their new home. The common room was a nice place, painted in blue with a white stripe near the top of the wall. It had a fireplace, and a bunch of tables for people to hang around. Kaitlyn and her friends were currently sitting at or around one of them.

Sitting against the wall, carving his falcon figure for his new cane, was Richard. His green eyes were fixated on his work, currently covered by the scruff of red hair. He probably had the palest skin of all the group, though Kaitlyn's came very close. When his face lifted enough, she could see a smile on his face.

Taylor and Clifton were together, playing with Clifton's pet turtle, Voltaire. He was supposed to be named in the same vein as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, but when Clifton had got him he hadn't known the difference between Italian Renaissance Artists and French Enlightenment Philosophers. Still, he was cute. Voltaire was a Mississippi Map turtle, with a brown, gnarled shell that looked like spikes and a black body covered in yellow stripes. His eye was also a sharp yellow, and his lack of eyelids made him look like he was constantly freaking out about everything. While he moved as slow as you'd expect a turtle to move, Kaitlyn had seen him perform surprising feats of speed when food or safety was on the line. He was exploring around, trying to find if Taylor's pockets had snacks at the moment.

Edelweiss, however, was the center of her attention. She was currently playing her flute. Kaitlyn had seen her when she first started and could tell she was improving. The sound coming out of her flute was clear and steady now, where it had been hollow before. She was playing the flute part for the Blue Danube, and Kaitlyn found herself enjoying it, until the door slammed open hard enough it gave all five of them a heart attack.

A teenager stood at the other side of the door - Kaitlyn recognized her as one of the seniors, but didn't know her that well. She was tall and lanky, with dyed green hair, and green eyes that could only be described as phosphersent. She was not wearing a uniform, instead wearing black strapped pants, an orange t-shirt and a torn up gray vest with two badges on it. One was the Prefect badge, and beneath that some sort of gold and red badge with a crossed hammer and sickle. The same symbol adorned a batch on the sleeve of her jacket. Kaitlyn had always seen her wearing it but she wasn't sure what it meant.

"Hello children!" She shouted.

She looked over the common room, studying them all. Kaitlyn felt like she was watching them in particular.

"A pleasure to meet you all! I'm your Prefect for the 5th Grade Bulldog Dorm, Sasha Pitornik. If you have any problems, come find me and I will help you." Her voice had a strange quality where it felt like it was loud to begin with, so her shouting almost made Kaitlyn want to cover her ears. It was also punctuated with a Russian accent.

The room was silent. Kaitlyn could hear the psychic whispers of some of the other kids but they were too distorted to make out properly.

She pulled out a pack of cards from her pocket and began to shuffle them. "As a way to get to know you all, I'm going to go around the room now and we'll draw a card together, and both answer the question on it. Understood, yes?"

Her statement was very intended to sound like a friendly invitation, but it came off exactly like an order from a commanding officer.

She went to the nearest group's table and sat down with them, pulling out a card. She was now surprisingly quiet as she conversed with the kids about whatever the card said, and probably asked them their names.

'She seems crazy.' Richard whispered telepathically.

Edelweiss nodded, 'I don't think I've ever seen her before.'