Pangaia: Agendas (Year One: Fall)

Chapter Twelve - Cheyenne

 Five minutes late to her first class wasn't a good way to make a first impression on anyone. Not only did Mr. Thantos have an annoyed scowl on his face when she interrupted his lecture for World History I, but she also was thrust into the spotlight. She nervously fingered the collar of her shirt, promptly stopping when she remembered she didn't want attention drawn to her neck. She scanned the room for a place to sit. Preferably somewhere close so there would be less time for everyone to gawk at her.

Her eyes searching, she found a familiar face among the fifteen other students in the room. Although it was hard to miss Anj as he waved his right arm back and forth at her excitedly. He motioned for her to sit in the seat in front of him, which was conveniently empty.

Quickly she sat down and pulled out a notebook. Class, she was there to learn. However, it was difficult for her to bring herself into that frame of mind when all she could do was stare at Mr. Thantos' back.

Protruding from it, and through his rather expensive and stylish black suit, were a pair of delicate, black, feathered wings. What was even more interesting about them was they were ripped, torn, and otherwise broken beyond the point of ever being able to make use of them again. They were beautiful and depressing at the same time. He must have been a magnificent creature when they were full and in their prime.

"Now that we are all done staring at a new student," Mr. Thantos said dryly as he walked over to his desk in the front of the room. "Because we all know you have never seen one of those before." Which was spoken with obvious and rich sarcasm. "I believe we can now take our test." He paused his speech to pick up a stack of papers and then he proceeded to hand them out one by one. "Or I should clarify, you will be taking a test, and I will be watching you to ensure you are not cheating. Not like any of you would do that. You are all smart enough to know better."

He stopped at Cheyenne's desk and stared down at her. She risked a glance up at him and was greeted with a rather menacing image. His crumpled, dark wings painted him as an even more intimidating man than his cold heart did. She was almost afraid to even think it, but he looked evil.

She shivered and quickly stared down at her desk top. For the first time, she noticed he showed a real emotion and an unexpected one: sadness. He hid his deep frown quickly and resumed his rather stoic appearance.

"Ms. Loveless, I am well aware you are not yet familiar with our curriculum, however I want you to participate. I do not want to backtrack an unnecessary amount with you if I do not have to, but be assured it will not affect your grade," he explained.

Cheyenne nodded at him slowly, glancing over the questions quickly. The front page was entirely multiple choice. She felt like she stood a chance at doing well enough to not look dumb. Still, she was nervous. Anj gave her shoulder an unexpected gentle squeeze as if he sensed her discomfort. It helped her feel a small bit more confident in herself.

She carefully picked up her pencil and went over the questions slowly in her mind. She did her best to recall the answers. Some of them were things she was familiar with. Others were much more specific, and soon she found herself stumbling over dates and names. She didn't even know it was time to leave until Anj tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of the blank gaze at the last questions she still had to answer.

"Welcome back to the real world," he said with a tiny smirk, brushing a hand over his eyes gently in an effort to move some of his hair out of the way. After doing this, he scratched the top of his nose. "I believe class time is done. What's your next one? I'll be sure to escort you there personally so you won't be late this time." He made a motion for her hand, a rather grand one, as if he were purposefully trying to attract more attention to them.