Destiny's Institute

Part One - Chapter Six - The Correspondent, Mysteriously Lit Fire

          "Wait, what do you mean? Like she..." I stuck my tongue out and closed my eyes, hoping that Scarlett understood what I was asking. "We're not sure. They both just... disappeared."

"'They'?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. There was more than one? And how do they just disappear? Someone had to have witnessed where they went or what happened. The fact that Scarlett didn't deny the part where I asked if Hayden... you know... actually scares me. "There was no trace to where they went, and no one was quite sure what happened. All everyone knows is that they were here, then they weren't." It was like Scarlett could read my mind. "Nyla was devastated," Scarlett continued. "We decided to give up looking a few weeks ago because that was when she and Damon Alleger, the boy that disappeared along with Hayden, had been gone for a full year. No updates about their whereabouts have been given yet."

"Wow," I breathed, beginning to bite my nail. Biting my nails has been a nervous habit for me since I was about seven. I hate doing it, but it somehow eases my pain and worry, even though when I finish, I've bitten all the way down to the tip. Therefore, I barely have any type of nail left. "I seriously shouldn't have told you that. I'm in danger." The 'I'm in danger' part was the part that she muttered. I'm not quite sure why she did, but I could hardly hear it. Luckily, I know enough about lip reading to get me through my current life. "I have to go now," she added, shuffling out of the room. When I looked back up, Scarlett seemed to be taken aback in what looked like fear. I wondered what happened, but then a voice asked, "Why?"

"Aah!" I shrieked, more than surprised to see Nyla leaning in the doorway like she had when we first met, observing and clearly listening to me and Scarlett's conversation. How long has she been there? I wondered to myself. "Seems as though you two were having a nice little chat about my family behind my back."

"We weren't really having a nice little chat about your family behind your back," Scarlett corrected, twiddling her thumbs. Her panicked expression said it all. "It was more of a 'get to know Nyla' type thing. You know..." Scarlett nudged Nyla, but Nyla scooted away from her. "I know what? That you went behind my back and spilled personal business without my consent?"

"I know exactly what happened, so why do I not have a reason to enlighten people about it?!"

"Because the thing that you want to enlighten people about is what happened to my sister!" The silence that fell at that moment was deafening. I was trying my hardest not to laugh (you know) as Nyla and Scarlett's tense glares made the atmosphere feel heavy. Finally, Nyla yelled, "You don't just get to decide to talk about my family behind my back! Especially a family member that you know for certain that I was close with. What makes you think you can just tell someone without my consent? Hm? Do you think you're the Queen Of England? Do you make the decisions? Oh, hello, I'm Scarlett Olivia Banks and I'm the Queen Of England, so all you peasants listen up because I make the decisions," Nyla said in an English accent and I could feel the laughter that I had been holding in about to make me explode one way or another.

"You weren't even the victim, so why does it matter? Azlynn," my face flushed red, "deserves to know what happened. You can't just expect her to come in here and wonder why everyone's so solemn. Especially you! You're trying to feign coolness and you totally turned all goth on us!"

"Losing a family member will do that to you!" Yet again, I was trying not to laugh while this drama was just continuing to unfold. Holding back a smile was really starting to hurt me physically, mentally, and emotionally. Finally, Nyla turned in the doorway, about to round the corner to her room when she turned back, shot Scarlett a glare, and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry you don't understand that."

Here it comes, I thought, feeling slight laughter rise from what seemed like my stomach. It came out as a whisper-sounding giggle, but when Scarlett snapped around at me, I subtly covered up the giggle as a cough. "Great," she said, turning back around to stare at the empty doorway. "Now Nyla hates me." She frowned."Come back to me when you want more life-ruining history." She stomped out, her silhouette disappearing down the dark hallway. I assume she made it to her room because a few moments later, a door slammed shut, the silence that followed after once again deafening. Then, one recognizable sound rang out. The atmosphere and I had become tranquil and peaceful until that point. I was unpacking my clothes, hanging them in the closet. The siren made me push my hands into my ears forcefully, trying to block out the noise. "The fire alarm!" Scarlett screamed, racing out of the room. "Everybody evacuate in an orderly fashion!" Not like her way was orderly. She was halfway out the front door when Nyla and I were rounding the corner of our room. "Everybody stay calm!" Chancellor called out, standing at the door to await the rest of us. We all filed out the door and I caught the eye of Cole. He was standing with Maverick and Cole, staring at me out of the corner of his eye. When Auden finally saw me, he rushed over and walked with me over to the road. "Can you believe this is happening?" He asked. If I'm not mistaken, I swear I heard some type of eager tone in his voice. I mean, yes, it was cool and we got to miss school and introductions, but my drama story was just beginning to unfold. I never got any of that action at my old school. Everybody over there was too primp and proper to be engaging into blood filled fights, unfortunately. "It's like we're in a survival documentary."