Violet

The Lesson

The twentieth floor canteen is filled today, mostly with students and teachers. My class--where I am the teacher--just ended and as usual, I grab something to eat at the canteen. 

The Guild is practically busy today. With the grand mission only two days from now, I don't blame them at all. It's going to be a big step humanity will take. Too bad I'll stay at the backstage again.

A hand suddenly slaps at the table I am currently sitting on, and the least person I want to see sits down in front of me. 

"What is it now, Fayne?" I ask her. Why does she have to ruin my already ruined day?

"Listen up, Arche. I'm not here to have a silly chit-chat with you cause that's the last thing I wanted to do--" Fayne starts to speak.

"Well, same here," I interrupt her. 

"And don't you dare interrupt me while I'm talking," she slaps her hand on the table again. Woah, someone's having a bad day."I'm gonna go straight to the point. We need you, Arche--no, not you--your skills in our mission. We might just be spies but we know what we'll be encountering, and watching you, I know you're the missing piece in our journey." 

Do I hear it right? Fayne needs me. In another time, in another place, I will probably be laughing so loud the whole Guild will hear me. 

"Believe me, Fayne, I wanted to join that mission, but you know the Guild didn't give me the license to be part of that mission," I say, taking a bite from the apple I've been holding.

"You know what, that's the thing about you, Ache," Fayne says rather harshly. "You go around this Guild acting all tough but the truth is you're nothing near strong."

"Excuse me?" 

"You heard me, Arche. Yeah, you may have the skills and all but you don't have the guts! You're always the pathetic one, the one every feels bad for. Sure, you suffered a great loss but newsflash, girl, everyone did! You get sad because something didn't go your way but it the end, you don't do something about it!" 

"How dare you say that to me, Fayne! You don't even know me!" I am well aware that our voices are rising and that we are already attracting a crowd, but I don't care. 

"Oh, I know you well enough, Arche. I know you better than you know yourself. I always overhear Victor and Seth... and now Aidan talk about you--how they're going to help you with everything. I understand, Arche. You grew with up with three amazing boys as your bestfriends. They are always there for you, protecting you, taking care of you, and making you feel secure. And now everything changed, they're not here for you anymore and you don't know how to deal with things. You keep hiding in their shadows! Always hoping one day they'll return!" 

The most annoying thing about this whole conversation is that Fayne is mostly right, and I hate being told what to do with my life. 

"What do you want me to do, then huh? If you think you got everything figured out," I challenge Fayne. 

"For starters, join our mission. I know you want to." 

"You want to me disobey the Guild's orders?" I'm not getting her at all.

"No, I want you to make a decision yourself. For the past years it has been everyone else that making the decision for you. This time, you make the decision."

"I can't believe this," I mostly mumble as I stand up, and gathered my things which was just a sweater and a book.

Fayne stands up too. "Listen to me, Arche!" she says, her voice raising.

"I know there's more to this than just my skills. I know you too, Fayne. There's more to this."

"Alright! Fine, I'll tell you. It's Jet--"

"Jet?!" Unbelievable.

"No--listen, Arche. I'm just worried that if something goes terribly wrong with the mission he'll do something heroic yet crazy. He's just the sort that does everything including sacrificing himself just to get everybody else okay. And that's why I want you to be there. With you, nothing could possibly gothat wrong." 

There's something in Fayne's voice that really bothered me. Every time she says Jet's name, her voice falters. Then it hits me. 

"You... care for Jet, do you?" The jealousy in my voice evident. 

When Fayne doesn't answer and instead blushes, anger takes over me. Nobody can take Jet away from me. He's mine. 

I start to walk away from Fayne. I am starting to get why she hates me. She probably knows about our past. And her showing up here and telling me I've been wrong. The nerve of her! 

"This isn't just about Jet, Arche! Please think about it!" Fayne calls out to me, but I don't listen. 

No, I'm not listening.