Academy of Ashes

Two: Cracked Reflections

Kaltain Rompier glowered at her reflection in the cracked murky mirror. She looked a mess. Her dark hair was begin to frizz as she pushed it off her damp forehead. Her eyes were shadowed and purple smudges were appearing underneath them. An unattractive sheen on sweat glistened over her already pale skin. She swung her bag round and placed it on the sink in front of her before reaching in and grasping two small white pills. She held them in her hand for a moment before quickly swallowing both. A painful headache was starting to throb at the front of her skull. Reaching further into her bag she pulled out a small brown pouch. Pulling open the strings she eyed the soft white powder nestled inside. The bathroom door swung open and she dropped the pouch back in her bag.
Kaltain prided herself in never appearing alarmed but the sight of Arobynn Hamel striding into the girls bathroom ruffled her. His sandy hair was pulled back into a ponytail accentuating his sharp features.
"Arobynn" she stuttered. "You can't come in here"
"Kaltain" Arobynn smirked "I can go anywhere I want. Haven't you realised that by now."
Kaltain lowered her gaze to the grimy floor.
"You're a lovely girl Kaltain" he said taking a step towards her. "But I don't give presents."
Kaltain kept her eyes fixed on the floor. A gasp escaped her as Arobynn gripped her chin and titled her head upwards to face him.
"You owe me" he said
"I don't have it at the moment" Kaltain whispered, his fingers pressing against her jaw.
Arobynn's gaze hardened. "You haven't had it for a while now Kaltain I'm starting to lose my patience."
"Soon, I'll pay you soon"
"A week. You have a week else I'll start to get rather cross"
He dropped her chin and smoothed down her hair before smiling and walking out the bathroom. Kaltain let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and turned to face the mirror again. Placing her hands on the cracked sink basin she lent forward; bile rose in her throat.
At the sound of the door swinging open her head snapped up. Lysandra, Arobynn's girlfriend met her gaze in the mirror. Lysandra was stunning. Her coffee coloured skin glowed even in the harsh synthetic light and her chocolate curls spilled over her shoulders. Kaltain lowered her head.
"Arobynn's sent his slut to intimidate me some more" she seethed.
Lysandra flinched at the name. "He doesn't know I'm here" she admitted quietly. "I know you're in a difficult situation. I want to help. I can help"
Looking up Kaltain could see several notes clutched in Lysandra's delicate hand. She held them out tentatively. Kaltain whirled round.
"I'm not a charity case" she seethed, her voice dripping with scorn and disdain. "I'm not something you can buy to make you feel better about yourself."
Lysandra stepped back as if she'd been slapped. "That wasnt- I didn't mean""
Kaltain turned to face the mirror again, at her disheveled reflection. "Get out Lysandra"
Lysandra turned and let the bathroom door swing behind her.

//Authors Note//
So there we have it- first to chapters sort of setting the scene. There's so many more characters I want to put in but I'm not sure if I will update it. I depends on the response on these. Let me know what you thought and if you have any suggestions. Thank you lovelies