[completed - under editing]
[last chapter edited - 8 | setting a trap for yourself]
"You're told all your life that you're broken, insane, mentally ill. And then you're told that you are going to repair the world."
᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽
Thirteen...
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Leilani
I am well known to be angelical. My appearance has to be perfectly, innocently reminiscent of an angel's. Otherwise, I won't be as trustworthy as I have to be. Because of this duty of mine, I'm never really myself. I'm only what I molded myself to become. A simple, powerless girl with a lovely, coaxing voice.
It's hard not to get drunk on power. It's hard to have to remind myself that I'm not invincible. And it is especially hard to not become arrogant.
"Okay, Vienna, I think you're definitely going to ace this test!" I smile at my little sister brightly, brushing pure white hair away from my eyes.
She groans, flipping through the pages of the practice exam we'd all been issued to prepare for our finals. "Leila. You can drop the act, it's just us." And she's right, it's an empty room where no one could hear us talking.
Still, though, I feel uneasy to drop my perfectly crafted appearance. "Fine, though I'm right."
Confidently, Vienna smiles at me. "Of course you're right. Now, my turn. I'm going to quiz you."
"Oh, no, I don't think I need it —" I attempt to deflect, dreading the panic of reviewing for an exam. Vienna states that review only makes her feel more confident, but that isn't true for me. It only makes my anxiety worse.
"Doesn't reflect well on my reputation that my sister is failing her classes, does it?" Vienna questions, pulling the binder of review material from my arms.
"I'm not failing, and you don't have a reputation," I argue weakly as she flips to the beginning, material that we learned at the beginning of the year and that I've no doubt forgotten.
Arching her eyebrow, Vienna becomes absorbed in the binder, flipping a few pages of handwritten notes to a copy of her first exam this year. "Don't worry, I'm gonna start with what I learned this year. You're a year above me, so you should know this easily."
"Vi, you're taking honors!" Vienna ignores my complaint, tilting the binder away from my eyes. Just as she's about to read out the first question, a series of fast knocks at the door distract her, saving me from humiliation.
She gets up, dropping the binder at her feet as she opens the door carefully. I see her expression of shock before she hisses, "The last person I want to speak with is you."
"Same, bitch. But you're in Leilani's room, and I'm here to talk to her, so mightn't you fuck off?"
I spare Leo a bright smile, greeting him. "Hello there! What brings you here at, uh, the middle of the night?"
"It's not that I care about him, I'm sure you get it, but Tauren's gone missing and Scorpius is on the verge of having a panic attack. I left Aqualia with him and she was just poking him like he was a feral animal, so we have a little bit until he dies," Leo rattles out. "Also my middle finger glows and we have magic now. Also Scorpius's wall exploded. Also we need Tauren to help because Scorpius is panicking."
