Polarized

Hyacinth

"Hello," a woman who looked to be in her mid twenties greeted, walking over to Skye and Ivan. "My name is Hyacinth. You said you wanted to call home, right?" 

"Yeah," said Ivan. "So where's my phone?"

Hyacinth dropped Ivan's phone into his hand without saying a word. 

"Thanks," said Ivan, about to dial. "And by the way, where's Luka? You know, Luka Archer, seventeen years old, able to control plants…"

"In the garden behind the second building, most likely. He spends a lot of time there," Hyacinth answered. "But he doesn't talk that much. Sure it's him you wanna see?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure. But I'm making this call first."

"Alright. And remember, do not tell your parents about Avriya if you aren't sure whether they'll keep our secret. We trust your judgement, but I will be listening," Hyacinth reminded Ivan, who was dialing Cole Everson's number. Ivan nodded and pressed call.

"Hello?" said Ivan, holding the phone up to his ear. "It's me and Skye. We're safe, so don't worry about us—" 

"Where is Skye?!" Cole boomed from the other end of the line. "Skye, talk to us so we know you're there."

"Hey," Skye murmured into the phone. "It's me."

"Ohmygod… ohmygod… my babies… my darlings… I was so worried for you… I thought I was going to have a heart attack…" Maia gurgled between rounds of sobbing. "What happened? It's been five hours and not one call or text… I've heard the news. Every single one of you… gone. All we know is that Skye's group was last seen exiting the building at 3:30 pm. According to reports, one of them had fainted, so the entire group had to leave to get medical help. Nobody has been seen since then."

"So I've heard," Ivan responded. "Many aura-havers have gone missing recently, especially during their tagging appointments. Worrying, isn't it?"

"I know," Maia said with a sigh. "I'm glad to hear that Skye is with you, but I hope everybody else is fine." 

"So do I," added Cole. "But Ivan, you've been away for too long, and for some reason we couldn't track you on our phones. So don't cause us to worry like that again, okay?" 

"Okay," Ivan muttered. 

"And by the way," Cole added, "how was your study session with Theo?"

"Study session?" Skye asked, but Ivan put a hand over her mouth.

"We kept getting sidetracked but at least it's over," Ivan said nonchalantly.

A puzzled expression crossed Skye's face. What is he talking about?

"SIDETRACKED?!" Maia yelled. "You abandoned us at HACF for what you said was an urgent study session with your friend, and it took you this long to call us back because you were fooling around instead of studying?! You scared us half to death, Ivan Everson."

"But we got our work done even if it took longer than expected," Ivan replied. "Plus there's no point in dwelling on how much time has passed. Right now, getting home with Skye is more important."

"Do you even know how to get home from where you are?" Maia asked, a hint of accusation in her voice. 

"Well…" 

"How did you find Skye?" Asked Cole, interrupting Ivan before he could finish speaking. "And do you know where the others are?"

"As I was leaving the building, I saw Skye's group waiting outside. She ran up to me, so I told her I was going over to Theo's house to help him study. She kept begging to come with me, even after I said no. But there was no refusing her. Skye was so scared of getting tagged that she had followed me to his house, and I had no choice but to let her," Ivan falsely reported. "So no, I do not know where the others are. Only Skye."

Yeah, right. Lie about your sister being difficult while making yourself look good, Skye nearly blurted out, but she bit back the comment.

"Thank goodness you let Skye follow you, or else she would've gone missing as well," Maia said, her voice heavy with relief. "Anyway, I've decided to call off the tagging appointment. It all seems to be too much for her."

For a moment, everybody stopped talking. But then Cole broke the silence. "But what about the school's orders?" He asked. 

"I know, Springs won't let Skye back in until she has her papers proving she got tagged, but in this case, our daughter's wellbeing comes first," Maia asserted. "Plus, I don't think that sending her to school was a good choice in the first place. We're pulling her out and homeschooling her again, whether you like it or not."

Yesyesyesyesyesyes, Skye thought.

"I guess you have a point," Cole admitted. "But we can't keep sheltering her forever…" 

"So Skye isn't getting tagged after all?" Ivan asked excitedly. "Thank goodness. Also, I'm sorry if it takes us longer than usual to get home. Public transportation's acting up." 

"That sucks," said Maia. "Anyway, stay safe, and if you need help, call us."

"And take care out there. We know how far Theo's house is, so use maps if you can," Cole advised. 

"Thanks," Ivan responded, "and see you later." Then he hung up the call. 

After the call, Skye stared at her brother like he had two heads. "Did you just—"

"Yeah, I bullshitted my way through that phone call," Ivan admitted. "What was I supposed to tell our parents? That I only told them I needed to help a friend study so they can let me out of HACF's waiting area? That I actually followed some old lady with explosion powers to a secret island for aura-havers?"

Hyacinth piped into the conversation. "Don't call Juliana some old lady, that's not nice." 

"Wait." Skye said. "So Juliana was an explosion mage this whole time?" 

"Of course, why else would she bomb abandoned houses for fun?" Ivan responded. 

"Oh. Yeah. That thing you said back at Thunderport." Suddenly, Skye recalled what Ivan had told her about Juliana. So there's this cool grandma on the next aisle, her name is Juliana, she has thousands of grandchildren, and she bombs abandoned houses for fun…

"Juliana doesn't do it for fun as much as she does to practice using her aura," Hyacinth corrected. "She has to find places like abandoned houses, empty parking lots, and other areas where she can set off explosions without harming people."

"And what about her having thousands of grandchildren?" Skye asked.

Hyacinth laughed. "I don't know where you hear these things, but all of the children at Silver Run call her Granny-Ana. So while I wouldn't say she has thousands of grandchildren, maybe fifty or so is more accurate." 

"Wow. Just wow." Skye commented. "Ivan, how many lies had you told today?"

"One hundred and counting," Ivan deadpanned. 

"That's another one."

***

"Would you like me to walk you to the garden?" Hyacinth offered. 

"Sure," said Ivan. "Then Skye and I can go home, right?" 

Hyacinth nodded. "That's right." 

The trio started walking in the direction of Silver Run's central building. "If you have any questions, go ahead and ask them," Hyacinth offered. "I'll be happy to answer."

"Are you a mage? Do you think I'd make a good mage? What's your life like over here?" Skye asked. "Oh, and by the way, you're really pretty. Just wanted to say that." 

"Why, thank you," said Hyacinth, beaming. "And yes, I'm a healer mage. I'm also Avriya's personal counselor and an instructor in aura combat. The work is tough, but I wouldn't ask for anything better," she replied. "Also, Skye, though I'd like to say you'd make a good mage, I don't know a thing about your current skill level. So it's hard to say." 

"What's your last name? What are your honest opinions on the people here? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you married?" Ivan probed. 

Hyacinth smiled and shook her head. "That's enough from you."