Spark

Chapter 4

The next day school seems to drag on for ages. One of those days where time passes slowly, the seconds like drops of thick syrup.

It starts in the morning on the train. The HavenPress has released an exclusive report on the governor's visit to the new recruits. Besides me there are a boy and a girl, but they attend another school so the focus is entirely on me. Wherever I go I'm followed by curious stares. Some of them jealous – I had gotten what so many dreamed of – some of them full of pity. It doesn't help, I probably look like shit as one does after only an hour of sleep.

Sara is a true angel. She tries to distract me as best as she can and scowls at everybody who gives me funny looks. I wished her tests would turn out positive as well, and soon, so I wouldn't have to go through all of this alone. Her family could use the social advance.

Her mom is mentally instable and her dad's job is paid poorly, so there isn't much money left at the end of the month. It has become a habit to invite them over for dinner whenever they struggle to pay the bills.

In the break between periods the stares are almost overwhelming. I'm tense the hole time. After a while Sara seems done with me and nudges my shoulder in a friendly way, subtly rolling her eyes.

"Stella", she whispers, watching a group of earth and water girls who are showing each other their tricks. One girl refreshes the air with a cloud of cool water droplets and another is holding a handful of sand, trying to ... I don't even know what she's trying to do. I find earth the most boring but also the most unpredictable of the four elements. Really powerful earth soldiers were able to reduce a city to dust by creating an earth quake but they were extremely rare and most of them couldn't cause much more than a soft tremble and a few cracks in the asphalt.

In my opinion water was so much more impressive and as I had told Dr. Martin if I could choose it would be water. It was fascinating how the recruits could swim like fish and breathe underwater. The only problem was the scarcity. To control water, it had to be accessible. To draw from the natural water source that is their own body carried a risk and they had to be careful not to drain themselves. In a fight the ability was useful. An opponent could be drained completely or drowned from the inside out. I imagined it to be a horrible death.

"You are popular now. If you at least looked like it makes you happy, they wouldn't stare so much. You look like you are going to a funeral."

"Sara, I hate every single second of this and I'm not going to pretend just to keep up an image." I shoot a group of first years a dark look and they quickly turn away.

"I know that. But you shouldn't make it that obvious.", she advises carefully.

We are using our free period to work on an art assignment and I sigh in relief when the door to the art classroom closes behind us and blocks out the chatter and stares.

I don't bother answering. I don't need her advice. Nothing she could say would change my opinion on the High Society.

"Okay, I understand you don't like the topic", Sara says but she's not ready to give up yet. "Although I really think we should talk about..."

"Please", I beg and rub my face in frustration. "Can we just start with our project?"

I drop my bag to the floor and take out my tablet. Sara sighs but doesn't pry further.

"We should decide on a theme first."

She thumps down on the chair beside me. She takes out her tablet as well and we start to browse for inspiration. Once books had been used for such things, but the paper industry created too much waste that it was banned and today books can only be found in museums. I've never touched so much as a shred of paper let alone a book.