Celestial

chapter 8

A/N: So who do you guys think was the Unknown POV in chapter 7?

I was so tired by the time I was done with my conversation with Lynn. I kept stumbling in fatigue. I tripped and skinned my knee. Who knew first day could be so tiring? Someone snorted. "Who would have ever thought your last name would suit you? You certainly don't walk with grace." I could recognize that snotty voice in a heartbeat. Suzanne Garfield.

"Oh yeah. Says the person who's last name is the name of an orange cartoon cat," I sneered, my cheeks flaming. She shot me a glare and stormed away. I feel like I won that one. I grinned to myself. Before I could say hippos eat plums for fun, a dozen orange cats were charging at me. They clawed at my face and arms. Suzanne was snickering in the back round, but still keeping her focus on the cats. I realized she was controlling them. I recall Professor Nunes saying her Gift was animal control. Their claws were so sharp. One of them even bit me.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" someone shouted. Suzanne froze and the cats stopped. It was Professor Milora, the headmistress. I sighed in relief. Since she was here, I would be safe. "Both of you in my office! NOW!" Milora yelled. We followed her up three flights of stairs. Yes, stairs. Suzanne and I were both panting by the time we reached her office, or really a vending machine. Professor Milora took out a key resembling our room keys and put it in a slot. The vending machine transformed into a door and we walked inside. I marveled at the office. The ceiling was a direct view into space.

Suddenly, I toppled to the ground. "No Horace, we don't do that," I heard Milora say. I turned around and found myself face to face with a live hippo. I stumbled back in surprise. Professor Milora chuckled. Then, Horace transformed into a man. Mr. Elmer to be exact. He bowed and laughed at our shocked expressions. "H-How did you do that?" I stammered.

"It's a gift." He said. "No pun intended." He grinned. "I can transform!" Suzanne looked at him bluntly. He gasped and brought his hand to his chest in mock hurt and said, "I am hurt by the way you treat me."

"Okay that's enough of that Horace. Now go. These girls need a lecture. Especially this one." Milora said pointing a stern finger at Suzanne. She blushed a bright red. Horace- Mr. Elmer turned into a pigeon and flew out of the window. Professor Milora rolled her eyes. "What a show off," she muttered.

"Now. Ms. Garfield and Ms. Grace may I ask why you are in my office on the first day of school?"

"Because you told us to follow you," Suzanne shrugged.

"Don't be giving me sass miss!"

"Sorry," Suzanne muttered.

"Especially since you broke one of the school's biggest rules. Misusing your Gift. Your Gift is something special. Here at Hippoplum, our job is to teach you to use it for good. But instead you used it to bully someone. Why did you do that to her?"

"Because she called me an orange cat."

"Orange cat?" I heard a snort. Milora's lips twitched and suddenly she burst into a fit of giggles. She was clutching her sides and slapping her knees. It was quite a sight. She was about to collapse to the floor, but she contained herself. Professor Milora wiped her eyes and waved us off.

"Go. Consider this a warning Ms. Garfield." As we left her office I heard, "Orange cat" and a snicker following it. Suzanne and I walked back to the main floor. Through all of that action, I forgot how tired I was. All of the fatigue from before came crashing into me again. My eyelids drooped. My face and arms stung from the scratches. The minute I stepped into my room, Emma stood up and exclaimed, "Where have you been?! Oh my goodness! What happened to your face and arms?!" I never got to answer because the second my head touched my pillow I was fast asleep.

The next day I had the same classes as before. Professor Nunes excused me to go to the nurse when she saw the scratches. Suzanne hid her face. I entered the elevator. I pressed the button that had a red cross on it. The elevator lurched sideways. By now I was used to this, but I was still not able to balance. I blushed despite the fact that I was alone in the elevator since everyone was in class. When I got to the nurse, she rushed me in. I was the only one in there.

"What's your name sweetie?" she asked.

"Aspen Grace."

"What a lovely name. I'm Mrs. Elmer."

"Wait. Are you married to Mr. Elmer?" She nodded excitedly.

"We got married a week before school started," she said as she showed me her ring.

"Wow! That's great. Congrats."

"Thank you. Now let's fix up these scratches. How did this happen?" I explained the whole story to her. She frowned at the part when she found out it was Suzanne controlling them. She smiled when I talked about how much Professor Milora was laughing at the Garfield joke.

"Wow. That must have been pretty funny for Ingrid to laugh that hard. It's pretty rare," Mrs. Elmer said. She healed all the scratches with a touch of her hand. Her Gift is healing injuries. She spent five minutes explaining how she can only heal injuries not illnesses. She helps out with illnesses though.

When I left the nurse, I finished up the rest of my classes and then headed to the garden to do homework. Hunter thought Mrs. Elmer's Gift was so cool. He and Will already heard the story about the cats from Emma. In fact almost all the first years know and the only person who is talking to Suzanne is Clarissa Myers. Everyone else came up and asked if I was okay or what happened. Then, Emma would launch into the whole story all over again.

The rest of the week passed by quickly. It was the same routine every morning. Emma wakes me up. I groan and complain. We eat breakfast twenty minutes early. Class. Hippal training. I fall off the hippo. Hunter stays on the hippo. Will draws Emma a new stuffed animal. Homework in the gardens. Suzanne and Clarissa insult. We go to our rooms. Sleep with no dreams.

My eyes fluttered open. I sighed. Finally. Saturday. My first day at Hippoplum where I can just have fun. Emma decided to "sleep in" so her being Emma, instead of waking up at 6:20, she woke up at 7:05. She said she never felt more refreshed after having an extra forty-five minutes to sleep. I rolled my eyes.

We headed down to breakfast. Since it was the weekend, we didn't need to wear our uncomfortable uniform, which I was happy about. Emma on the other hand was disappointed and said that uniforms represent the equality among us Celestials or something like that. I just listened to her blabber on as I dug into my purple pancakes. Apparently it was Mr. Elmer's idea to dye the pancakes purple every Saturday, just because it was the weekend. Surprisingly, they taste way better purple. He said the only reason why he was a teacher at Hippoplum in the first place was because he wanted to make sure us students weren't bored to death. Then he transformed into a horse and let all the first years ride him around until Professor Nunes scolded him. Well if he's trying not to bore us, he knows how to do his job right.

A/N: That's it for this chapter. I hope it was a satisfying length. I'll try to update soon. Comment and vote!