Illuminae Heights

Defence Class

The next morning, everyone in our grade skipped breakfast. No one said why, and no one asked us. In truth, we were just worried. Worried about what Eva Lavins was going to do to us. I spent the morning getting ready for my first class, Defence, and talking with Adara and Kira about our abilities. Kira's main skill was changing the form of matter and even changing its properties or creating new matter. I marvelled at her incredible display of ability, envious that nothing about me seemed to be special at all. Maybe the mutation hadn't hit everyone, and I was just a normal Illuminae. Sure, I lifted the rock when I was younger but Kira can do even more amazing things. It's just no one tested her for her abilities, they tested her for theirs. Adara laughed as the water she was drinking turned to solid ice in her mouth, before spitting it out since it was too cold. It hit me in the forehead, considering I was sitting across from her and left a cool wet trail down my nose. "Gross!" I told her, tossing it back onto her lap. My friends laughed and I joined them. I wondered what Kaden and Hudson were doing. Were they showing off their unique ability or keeping it hidden for future leverage on their competitors. On me. "Let's make a pact." I told them once our laughter had died down. "We have each other's backs. This is a competition, but we should all make it. We are a team, ya?" Without hesitation, both my friends grinned at me, Kira reaching over to give me a quick, comforting hug. "Ya. We're a team." They both agreed and part of me felt relieved. The other part was slightly nervous. I wondered what Elijah was doing. Was he worrying about me? Was he in danger? Maybe he was just sitting on the side walk talking with Adara. He could be perfectly fine. But Elijah was mischievous, and I knew that whatever he was doing it wasn't a good idea. I just hoped he had the sense not to get himself killed. "It's time to go to Defence class." Kira informed us, shrugging on her bubblegum pink backpack. I lifted mine on my shoulders. The uniform felt like it was suffocating me, but I ignored it and we walked out the room.

The Defence class was outdoors and it was scorching hot. I could already feel sweat down my back and I hadn't even started class yet. We were only 20 first years at the 9:00 Defence course. Adara, Kira and I searched the crowd for Kaden and Hudson, but they found us before we found them. "BOO!" Kaden shouted into my ear. On reflex, I elbowed him in the stomach and swivelled around. He had a hand on his abdomen and his face had what the hell bro written all over it. I apologized and he shrugged it off. "I'm fine." His brown hair was slightly dishevelled whereas Hudson's was properly cut and neat. Hudson's goofy laugh reached my ears and he grinned at me. "Nice one." He added, shoving my shoulder a bit playfully. I wasn't stressed at all, which made me feel like a normal Illuminae. Elijah was probably stressed, however, and I regretted putting that weight on his shoulders. "So, have you guys discovered any hidden abilities?" I asked, not wanting to sound threatened or worried. Because in all honesty, I wasn't threatened by Hudson, Kaden or Kira at all. I knew with absolute certainty that they were good people. Kaden spoke up first. "I haven't yet but I'm not worried. Hudson has, though. What about you girls?" Adara looked over at Kira with a smile. "Lila and I don't. Kira, however, is a total badass." Kira burst out laughing, shaking her head. "I'm not a badass. Ok, I am. But only a little. What's your ability, Hudson?" The red head grinned goofily. "Guess you'll find out during this class."

The class started out rather roughly. Mr. Burkes, our teacher, seemed like he had a bit of a hangover and couldn't be bothered with a bunch of first years outside so early this morning. He had a dark grey beard and a square shaped head. He had the I-want-to-punch-you look permanently on his face and his left eye was practically white, which was already terrifying, never mind the other one being dark brown, making the contrast slightly frightening. He walked across the field quickly, making a beeline for the center of the training square. He was wearing a black jacket, which made me wonder if he was sane considering it was so hot outside he must be dying of heat. All of the students immediately stood around him and I followed, leaving my backpack on the giant pile of them the 20 of us formed. We all didn't know what to expect from this Burkes fellow, but we acted as if we personally knew him just to impress the others. That meant, we were all acting far too confident. I was used to being the talented one at my school, now all of the talented ones were in one place. And we all knew all the tricks. The only one left up our sleeves was the hidden abilities some seemed to have. "WELL, WELL, WELL, THE PRODIGY CLASS OF 2016. JOY." This greeting seemed anything but joyous, but we all pretended not to notice. We all winced from his yelling and he lowered his voice in response. "Ms. Evans told me how, this year, you're special. Well it's bullshit." I honestly had never seen an Illuminae be so harsh. His demon must be a nightmare. "In my class, I will teach you like I teach everyone else." Not thinking, I spoke up. "But some of us have different abilities. Who will teach us how to make our own talents weapons?" The class fell silent and, seeing the look on Mr. Burkes' face, I understood why. He was looking at me calmly. Too calmly. "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" I made sure I didn't flinch this time and stood up to the challenge. Maybe it wasn't the best idea, but I wasn't going to come across as weak in front of the others. Adara shook her head at me in warning but I ignored her. "Lila." I answered neutrally, as if I had handled these situations thousands of times before. Truthfully, I had almost never been yelled at. It just wasn't the way Illuminaes acted. "Well, Lila, what's your special ability you would so like me to teach you?" I didn't answer and he laughed. "What's the matter? Don't like being in the spotlight?" I wasn't feeling any form of anger, but I knew Elijah was. The dark side of me wanted to punch him in the face. The side that I was, however, was perfectly calm as an Illuminae should be. "No, I just don't like being spoken to in that tone. But if you're going to refuse my proposition anyway, let's move on with your lesson because I don't want to be a waste of time." I told him. He shook his head at me, now obviously even more annoyed that the direction had assigned him in this class so early in the morning on a hot day. "Next time you act in such a way, the direction will hear about it. Is that clear?" I nodded, and I realized I didn't want to be sent back to my home in Decim Harbor. I had made friends here and, in truth, I liked the idea of saving people. What I did not enjoy, was the air of mystery surrounding Illuminae Heights and my father's death. And what I absolutely hated was the way the government, made up of Illuminaes, kept our demons on that other half of the Earth. What if we could help them? Then I thought of Elijah warning me to stay safe. Whatever was going on with the demons, it wasn't going to incite the government to help them one bit. I was here to protect innocents, not criminals. So that's what I would do.