She's waiting on her true love while he's waiting for his soulmate.
One wishes for a happily ever after while the other wishes for total destruction.
One embraces the light while the other caresses the darkness.
Ember learns a few thing in life...
The time has finally come for me to leave for Empire Academy. I swear, my bags were packed the following day after we received the letter. I couldn't contain my excitement. I've been cooped up in these four walls. I've only seen two common faces for eight years. I hadn't interacted with anyone my age or any age really since I was ten. So, deep down inside.... I'm still that eager little child ready to bee-bop to school every day. My excitement gets mixed with nervousness due to the fact, what if I don't fit in? At this giving moment, I'm bouncing on my toes ready to see what life has in store for me. Ready for a new experience. Anything other than these same old boring beige walls.
Charity and Clarity, they're nervous beyond measurements. When Charity gets nervous, her bright green right eye ticks uncontrollably. Do you know what her right eye is doing at this moment? Ticking or twitching as some call it.
When Clarity becomes nervous, her hands begin to tick as well. She has a habit if she's standing, she has her hands clamped together. Or if she's sitting, she sits on her hands. If her hands can't tick, her feet begin to bounce up and down repeatedly. Do you know what Clarity is doing? Walking around in a gigantic circle with her hands clamped together.
Both are nervous and they can't lie about it. All their signs are displayed for anyone to witness.
"Ember, your herbal tea is ready!" Charity calls out from her seat. Her voice brings me out of my excited thoughts. My face twists into a displeasured face. It's like I can taste the tea bouncing off my taste buds.
"Don't give it to her yet! You've made it extra potent. I am not packing her and her bags to the car." Clarity warns from her circle dancing in the middle of the floor. My face turns into a sour mess as I begin to make a gagging noise. Her loopy tea I can't stand. I don't like the smell of it. It smells like artificial roses mixed with fresh cut grass. I absolutely hate the taste of it. It tastes like rubbish that was burnt. If it is as potent as Clarity says; then I'm definitely going to hate it today.
"You know why we have to do this Em." Charity says as she rolls her eyes as she walks off to the kitchen. The kettle pot is whistling, telling us it's time. I can hear rustling from kitchen where I'm seated as the whistling abruptly stops.
"I have the tea in this teacup!" Charity announces with a light blue China cup in her hand. Her words are like word vomit to my stomach. I wouldn't give that tea to my worst enemy.
The teacup is the signal as to it's time to leave now. Before I'm even told to make a sweep through my room, I stand up from my seat. Within my two steps, Clarity tries to speak.
"Make a."
"Sweep through my room." I finish words for her. I come face to face with my white door that has chips of missing paint here and there. The smell of fresh air hits me as I open it. I glance around my small beige room and scan the open area. With my small feet, I begin to walk into my room as I twirl around as the carpet squishes beneath my shoes. Sadness comes washing over me like a tidal wave. I might be excited to start my new adventure but I will miss this room. Even if I complain about seeing the same walls every day. This room and this home is all I have ever known. I notice I hadn't missed anything that needed to be packed. That is until I made a full one eighty and a small little photo has gotten my attention on my desk.
It's him.
It's a photo of the unknown boy and I. The teacher had taken this picture one day. It's a photograph of us playing in the sandpit. He was helping me build a castle. I've kept it ever since.
"Em! Let's go!" Charity yells from the main room. With the photo in my hand, I tuck it into my back pocket for safe keeping. My door closes in the distance as I walk towards my future. The old white porch creaks under my feet as I make my way to Charity's car. In one swift motion both my bags are tossed like potatoes into the trunk. Before I could work myself up on drinking this awful tea. It's already in my hand as I begin to take a seat in the back. With one quick gulp, I down the awful drink. In a matter of seconds, my eyes begin to droop. By the time my seat belt clicks, my eyes begin to slowly close.
"Sleep well Princess." Charity's voice fades as I slip into unconsciousness.
"Welcome class! This is Lazarus Morningstar." Ms. Opal introduces the gray eye boy in front of the class. The classroom echoes with a chorus of hellos, welcome Lazarus, and good luck. My eye sight doesn't stray far from the boy as he walks in front of the class. I watch as he glides across the floor and take a seat three rows to my left. From my position, I can see the freckle right behind his right ear. His hair bounces as he racks his fingers through it.
'Ember.'
The voice startles me as I look around the room. Class mates are each looking at the board where Ms. Opal is writing. With my pen in my hand, I begin to write 'Empire Academy' on the first line.
'Ember.'
I stop writing and scan the room for the voice. Everyone is heads down writing everything our teacher has written on the board. I pick my fallen pen back up and start to write the next few sentences on the board. 'Empire Academy, an academy for supernatural creatures. By law every magical creature must attend when they turn eighteen'.
'Emmmbberrr!'
My pen falls from my desk and rolls under the seat in front of me. I blink a few times as I scan the room for the third time. Everyone is engrossed with our lecture.
"Ms. Opal, may I use the restroom?" My voice is small and shaky as I ask her.
"Of course Ember." Her motherly voice echoes in a room full of pencils writing against paper. I quickly get out of my seat and sprint as fast as my legs would go. I race down the empty hall and into the bathroom. With the cold water running full blast, I splash my face with it. As I glance in the mirror, my skin jumps from my muscle and bones. Behind me is a small set of beautiful white wings. I blink three times and on the third blink, I hold it. When my eyes open, there's no wings. No white wings.
"I have lost it. No more chocolate for me." I mumble to myself. Patting my face with a towel, I toss the wet paper contraption into the bin as I walk out. I walk this time down the hall to my classroom. As I open the door, I hear the loudest thud and a groan on the other side.
Behind the door is the new boy, Lazarus, holding his right eye. As his left eye locks in on me, it's like I'm stuck in place. The teacher, the students, the noises were in slow motion. It becomes hard to break eye contact with this wounded boy in front of me.
'Ember.'
This time the voice doesn't startle me. This time it's a breeze in the open, a voice I completely ignore.
"Oh goodness! Are you two okay?" Ms. Opal's voice breaks our connection.
I wake up to a terrible smell. As both eyes open, I see Clarity standing with a smelly stick under my nose. I stretch my arms over my head before I even attempt to get out of the car. Clarity and Charity both have my bags in the arms by the time I'm standing on my own two feet. I quickly grab the bags from them and give both a loving hug. They both wave me off with tears in their eyes.
Is this how a parent and a child feels when they leave home?
I push open the dorm doors and on the other side is a loud thud. As I look up to see who or what I've hit, gray eyes from my past are straight start at me.
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