Umber In Level 8

+Chapter One+

[A/N: Yeah... I might have had a little too much fun with this one. You'll see...]

Umber's POV

Level 8 was going just as I had dreamed of. I had the perfect boyfriend, Ruy. I had the perfect best friend, Gisela. I had the perfect grades. And I had the perfect looks–not to brag or anything.

"Hey Umber–want to have lunch with me?" Ruy approached me at the end of class.

"I'd love to." I smiled flirtatiously, flipping my shiny pitch-black hair over my shoulder.

"G-great," Ruy turned around and walked straight into a pillar.

Ruy had been my boyfriend for about a month, and I quickly found out that he was the whole package. Good looks, totally gullible, and only has eyes for me.

"Whoa," Gisela raised an eyebrow in appreciation. "You have the hottest guy in school wrapped around your finger."

"Hey," Gethen complained. "Are you saying I'm not hot?"

We ignored him.

"Ruy's not the only one." I sighed as a familiar figure waddled towards me.

"Umber!" He waved awkwardly.

Most of my followers have been really popular, really hot guys. Claude Trix was the only exception. Half of the school just called him Trix. The better half of school called him Dorky Trix. With his wide rimmed glasses and messy hair, the name Dorky Trix was very fitting. For some reason, Dorky Trix had a huge crush on me. I was usually fine passing by my ogling guys, but Dorky Trix did not fit.

I faked a smile. "Hi Trix." I made a point of checking my watch. "Oops, gotta go!"

I walked away, my huge fangroup behind me.

"Umber, will you sign my foot?" One asked.

"Ew, no," I told him.

"Umber, will you sign my face?" Another asked. "Sorry, not today." I quickened my pace.

"Umber–" Someone interrupted.

"Bye!" I ran off, but you can only run so fast in six-inch heels. [A/N: Kiss of Life, anyone?]

"Umber! Come back!" Someone yelled, but I ignored them. Did I mention how hard it was to be popular?

+++

"Umber? Umber? Are you listening?" I was shaken out of my daydream by none other than Sir Bubu. But seriously, who can focus on boring lectures if you can think of all the beauty elixirs you can buy?

"Of course, Sir Bubu." I tried to keep eye-rolling to a minimum–getting those phone calls home got me in trouble more times than I'd like to admit.

"Wonderful. I think you'll find this part of my lecture particularly fascinating. You see, back 1,000 years ago, the Council–"

"Sorry, Sir Bubu. I don't feel too good. I think I need to go to the Healing Center."

Sir Bubu frowned. "Can't it wait?"

I shook my head.

"Run along then. But come back quickly!"

"Whatever you say, sir." I smiled, then turned to leave. Sir Bubu was so gullible, wasn't he? It made ditching almost too easy.

I'd almost turned the corner when I heard voices. I walked as quietly as I could–it's harder than it sounds when you're wearing heels–and poked my head around the edge.

I couldn't believe what I saw. It was Ruy talking with some... girl.