Zodiac Academy (Draft 1)

Chapter 7: I burn, but I don't

I was pulled out by a wave of students. My fellow housemates swarmed out the door, clogging up the only exit. At least, I think it was the only exit, I'm not sure. The afternoon sun gave off a minor heat wave, dousing us with warmth. Kids from other houses laughed and mingled as we followed the crowd towards the houses.

Libby, a seventeen year old girl with straight dyed purple hair and hazel eyes led our group towards the towering marble buildings arranged in a circle. I learned that she had been in Leo House the longest, I believe this was her sixth year. Another girl (Evie?) had also been here that long (I believe it was her fifth year), but it was obvious that if Leo House had to have a leader figure, it would be Libby. She was just so mature, yet immature at the same time, however that works.

Adam trailed behind our group, scrolling on his phone, oblivious to the noise around him. "Come on, people! I don't wanna lose you newbies before we even get started." Libby called out from the front. She walked backwards, astoundingly not running into anybody.

The guy named Ray piped up, "We're gonna eat first, right?"

"Later, we need to get them into ZA uniforms first." Libby explained, she spins around, her purple hair catching the light and revealed some pink and blue undertones.

The circle of white marble buildings loomed over us, they seemed to be about fifty feet tall. There was about a twenty foot gap spacing between each House, a stone path cut through the center about four feet wide, both sides of the path bordered by luscious green grass that was dotted with bright and colorful blossoms.

The path ran around the whole arrangement of Houses, connecting all twelve dividing paths that led to the center quad, a stone circle that already hosted several groups of students socializing.

I take a look around me, marveling at the tall pillars holding up each roof. It really was like one of those Ancient Greek structures. Admiring one of the Houses, I noticed a shimmering gold symbol, placed right in the triangle of the roof. The golden Libra symbol reflected the afternoon sun. Each house had its own golden symbol embedded in the stone.

"Hey, Libs! We'll catch you guys later!" The guy named Aaron called out, the rest of the Leo guys laughed and ran off, managing to pull Adam along with them.

"What? Hey! Aaron! You can't just-" Libby sputtered.

"See ya!" Aaron waved and took off with the rest of his friends. They laughed and disappeared into the crowd.

"Ugh!" Libby stomped her foot. "I swear, they're so childish! We need to get Adam into uniform before-"

A girl with ombre waves touched Libby's shoulder. "Loosen up, Libs. You're too uptight."

"I'm not uptight! They're just irresponsible little-" Libby fumed.

"Hey. If it makes you feel better, we still have a newbie." The girl said again, smiling.

"Alessandra," Libby said calmly. "What will make me feel better is when they get back, I will strangle the living-"

"Okay, okay. Geez." Alessandra said, raising her hands in an 'I-give-up' gesture. "Whatever, you're the boss."

Another girl with straight black hair scoffed, "She's the boss? That's funny. In Leo, everyone's the boss."

How does that work exactly?

Alessandra smiled and twirled a strand of her hair, "Oh, my bad. Silly me."

"Come on." Libby spun around once more, and I wondered if she only did that to show off her purple locks.

We dodged kids playing with footballs and taking selfies. Several of whom were doing both at the same time.

The marble steps leading up to the golden doors of Leo House gave me another shock as Libby and another girl went to get the double doors. I hope the doors weren't that heavy, and that it really wasn't full on gold. Could this place get even more impressive?