Scales & Tales - The Tales of Mystic High - Book 1

Chapter 9

The elevator ride was awkward, as Aquamarine and Blackout stood next to each other, Atlantic leaning against the cold metal bars that lined the edges of the elevator for people to grip onto as the elevator moved.

Once the elevator door opened, Aquamarine quickly pushed through the crowds of people near the elevators, wanting to escape the awkward situation. Blackout and Atlantic were walking behind her, talking quietly. Aquamarine saw Atlantic blushed furiously, his eyes widened as he frantically shook his hands back and forth, muttering something about "I'm mean-! No-"

Aquamarine chuckled lightly to herself, as Atlantic's flustered act had always amused her. She walked outside to the freshman building, and entered. Once there, she was looking up at a map that was held to the wall by a thin layer of glass, as Atlantic and Blackout caught up to her. Atlantic seemed much less flustered, his cheeks slowly losing their color.

"Alright, so it looks like Ms. McKlaw's room is on the second floor, room 214," Blackout stated, pointing to a certain spot on the map.

Atlantic looked on. "Oh, you're right! Good job, bestie!" Atlantic patted Blackout on the back, and Aquamarine watched in horror as Blackout gave her cousin a small smile back.

He... He's replacing me... Aquamarine thought worriedly to herself. Shoot... What do I do.. I don't know, I-

"C'mon!" Atlantic shook Aquamarine by the shoulders, snapping her out of her worried daze. Aquamarine noticed that Blackout was already near the elevator, waiting impatiently. "You never zone out.. What's going on?"

Aquamarine let out a light chuckle, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. "Aw, sorry, Atlantic... I guess it's just first day nerves, huh?"

Atlantic thought for a moment, before shrugging. "Okie dokie, then! If you're sure! C'mon, let's go!" He took Aquamarine by the hand, leading her to the elevator. The two squeezes into one – along with Blackout – and a bunch of other strangers. Many buttons were pressed, and Atlantic quietly pouted as a little autumn fairy pressed floor two. "I wanted to press it.." He grumbled to himself, causing Aquamarine to do a sigh-chuckle combination.

"Don't worry. You'll get to press it on the way back, alright?"

Atlantic nodded. "Yeah, okay..."

After some commotion between two males – one a zombie, the other a werewolf – that occurred on the elevator, the elevator opened and the students filed out like tiny little sardines entering a restaurant hungrily.

Aquamarine felt a hand and recognized it as Atlantic. She was dragged out by the hand, and realized it was Atlantic, but his other hand was holding Blackout's. Atlantic seemed much more interested in his hold on Blackout's hand than hers, and she frowned, her thoughts seeming to be confirmed even more that she was being replaced.

"Yay! None of us got lost!" Atlantic cheered with a smile, lifting his two hands up to the ceiling. Aquamarine struggled to keep her hold on his hand, as Blackout kept it easily, considering he was a good few inches taller than Atlantic.

"Yeah, that's good," Blackout nodded in agreement, but Aquamarine saw him looking at her with a tiny snarl.

"Mhm," Aquamarine nodded. She dragged Atlantic down the hallway, as her cousin kept his hold on Blackout.

"This is the wrong hall," Blackout stated flatly, causing Aquamarine to turn to face him with a scoff. "Oh, really? I'm pretty sure this-"

"Oh, you're right, Blackout!" Atlantic pointed to the top, which said that the hallway they were currently in was for rooms 200 to 205. "You're so smart!" He smiled widely, a small red covering his cheeks.

The same happened to Blackout, who smiled and turned away. "Y-yeah, thanks. The hallway we want is this one," He gestured to a hallway two hallways down, which was marked classes 211 to 215.

Aquamarine mentally threw all kinds of nasty insults at Backout, but didn't dare to say a single one of them as Atlantic turned to Aquamarine and said, "C'mon! Let's go meet our teacher!"

Aquamarine gave a crooked and forced smile. "Alright. Let's go."