Fiery Chaos (Book #1 Of The Sylin High Series)

Chapter 8

I woke up disoriented the next day. It was as if my brain was upside down and for a minute I forgot where I was. Until I realized a blonde-haired girl was clinging onto me like a koala bear, her face buried in my nape and her humongous wings curled around me. Nati.

"Get off me." I told her, pushing her head away from me. She groaned and latched onto me, refusing to move. I heard a chuckle somewhere and I scowled in irritation.

"If you don't get off me now, you should know I'm not scared to set you on fire."

Quick as lightning, she was out of my bed, falling face first with a groan. "Leo. You're no fun." she whined, giving me a dark look as she tried to tame her messy hair.

"I don't want to be fun." I muttered, throwing the covers aside as I got out of the bed, running a hand through the knots in my hair as I did so. "How did you even get to my bed?" I asked, trying to remember what happened but coming up with nothing.

Nati only shrugged, stretching as she got to her feet. "I dunno. What I do know is that I had the best sleep ever." she stated with a wide grin.

"And a good morning to you guys too." Hailey said sarcastically, cutting out whatever retort I had in the tip of my tongue.

She was already dressed up; a flared black skirt that stopped mid-thigh adorned her waist, a midnight blue vest with the school's crest on the right was worn over a crisp, long-sleeved white shirt and a striped tie hung loosely on her neck. She wore black knee socks with a pair of black boots and I didn't think anyone could look as badass as she looked.

Nati came to stand beside me, crossing her arms with a smirk. "What made you dress so responsibly today? Don't tell me you have a crush?"

Hailey returned her smirk as she also crossed her arms. "Just thought I'd be a good role model to Leo."

"Whatever floats your boat, Harriet."

Before I knew it, a vase was thrown straight at Nati like an arrow. I could only watch wide-eyed as she caught it with a wide smile.

"Nice try. But still too slow."

"Oh really?"

A hairbrush shot out of nowhere and smacked Nati upside the head, making her yelp in alarm.

"Hey! That was a cheap shot!"

"Whatever floats your boat, Natasha." Hailey taunted with a smile, walking into the closet.

"I hate when she does that." Nati grumbled, placing the vase on her bedside table. "You should go get ready or we'll be late."

I nodded in agreement, making my way to the bathroom. I found myself walking to the sink and I just stared at my reflection.

"You should have been the one to die, Eleonora." I whispered, staring straight into my eyes. "Maybe everyone would have been happy."

***

The girls escorted me to the counselor's office to get my schedule and settle some minor issues.

"Eleonora, is it?" Miss Lori, a svelte dark-haired young lady dressed immaculately, smiled warmly at me as she typed away on her computer.

"Just Leo is fine." I replied, thinking about how easy I'd adapted to the nickname. And how I secretly liked it, which made me think of Derek.

"Are you okay, dear? You look a little red." Miss Lori paused in her typing, watching me with concerned eyes.

Flustered, I cleared my throat and shook my head. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

I made the mistake of turning my head to look at my roommates who were perched comfortably on a black sofa to the side of the room. Hailey was looking straight at me with a knowing smirk and I groaned softly. She read my mind. Again.

"So Leo, what do you think of Sylin High?" the counselor asked, bringing my attention back to her.

"It's...alright."

"Right. Well, I want you to think about that question because you're gonna have to give me a better answer the next time we meet."

"Wait what? Next time we meet?" I asked in confusion and slight panic.

Miss Lori gave me a bright smile, showing off her pearly whites. "Yes Leo. We have two sessions a week, mind you it's compulsory. Every student here has sessions every week." she explained patiently. "And you my dear, have been assigned to me."

I didn't know how to feel or what to say so I just kept quiet and stared at my laps. I certainly didn't need anyone poking their noses into my business.

"Hey, Leo, there's nothing to be worried about. Here," she said, handing me a thick slip of paper, "that's your schedule. Feel free to go through it and tell me if you have any problem."

I scanned the paper with squinted eyes feeling numb. Pyro 101, Psycho 101, what the hell?

"Because you just discovered your ability, you'll be taking some classes with the freshmen like pryokinesis and psychokinesis, nothing to worry about." Miss Lori grinned good-naturedly, trying to make me feel better but I couldn't help squirming in my seat.

I swallowed and rubbed my sweaty palms on my skirt. "What are the blank spaces for?"

"You're required to choose an extracurricular activity, swimming, French, dance, even pyrotechny, I trust Nati and Hailey to help you with that. It's also compulsory."

"Right." I said grimly, trying not to look irritated.

"That would be all for now." she concluded, just as a bell rang. "Time for class girls. Off you go." she stated, shooing us gently.

"Well, that was interesting." Hailey remarked in a bored tone once we got out. "You'll be fine, Leo. You have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, Hailey's right. You'll get the hang of it, trust me." Nati said with a smile, placing a hand on my shoulder. Her hair was down today, falling down in soft tumbles past her back making her look like a princess from heaven.

"What do you have first period?" she asked, taking a glance at my schedule. "Yikes, Pyro 101." she chuckled in amusement.

"Well roommate," Hailey said dramatically, "this is where we part ways. I wish you luck, you'll need it."

"Thanks. See you later."

"Bye! We'll save you a seat for English!" Nati waved as they walked away in the opposite direction leaving me staring longingly at them.

I jolted when the bell rang for the second time, wishing the girls took me to the class 'cause what the heck was WDS? Apparently, that was where the class was being held.

After asking around and getting a lot of awkward looks, I finally figured out that WDS meant woods. The woods where the bonfire ritual took place.

A good fifteen minutes had already passed when I got to the location and all eyes turned to me.

"Sorry I'm late. I'm new and got lost a bit." I explained quietly, staring at my feet to avoid the judgemental looks.

The huge, black man with bright blue eyes standing in the middle of the group stared at me for a minute before nodding. "Eleonora, right? It's nice to have you here but you have to know I don't tolerate tardiness. I'll let it go because you're new, better let there not be a next time, you got that?" he bellowed, his voice thick with authority.

"Yes sir." I answered quickly, not being used to the attention.

"Alright. Settle down."

I did as I was told, sitting down cross-legged on the cool ground as the others did. As Mr Dawson or Harvey went over the day's lesson and demonstrated some moves, all I could think was that Hailey was right. I needed all the luck I could get right now.

Could this day get any better? Please?