PHANTOM *On Hold*

Part 1 Chapter 1

I yawn as I walk through the halls of my high school to my locker. The halls are filled with students rushing to their next class, already hating the school year and eager for a break. Dodging through the crowds has become an artform, one that I and few others have mastered. I duck across the hall to my locker and turn the dial, and an image of cracking a safe comes to mind. That is, if safes held worthless school books and worksheets.

I bend down and switch out my literature book for my science binder. As I stand up I notice the figure leaning against the locker to my left, previously blocked from view. In the noisy hallway I hadn't heard him approach. Brighton gives a half smile.

"Normal place, usual time." I nod in acknowledgement. He pushes up from the locker and strides down the hallway, exiting through a side door. People's eyes follow him out and then look back at me, studying for a moment before they lose interest and go back to their conversations. I stow my binder in my bag and shut the door to my locker with a reverberating slam before re-entering the moving stream of bodies to my next class.

The rest of the day moved slowly after that. My science class was easy, mostly consisting of a lecture and a couple worksheets. Lunch was strictly torturous, most of my friends skipped out to work on a project they had yet to finish for their class. So, of course, the second half of the day slowed even further. Leaving me to watch the clock endlessly for the bell to ring. When it did finally shriek through the building announcing our release I quickly gathered up my stuff and left the rest of my classmates in the room behind me. I dumped anything unnecessary in my locker and slammed the door shut, to my great satisfaction. Walking quickly down the hall I shouldered open the side entrance that Brighton had used earlier.

Teens spill through the main doors of the building in eager expectation for the weekend. Their eyes skipping over everyone other than their friends. They stand in clusters on the pavement with streams of people headed to the busses flowing between them. I join the largest of the flows and follow them away from the door. People pile onto the busses and the stream thins out until it is nonexistent.

***

I pull open the door to the conference room and am greeted by the sound of multiple people talking at once. "You guys make a lot of noise for so few of you." I quip loudly over them. The three people in the room look over at me. Brighton nods in greeting, now in his usual, older, skin. Most migrants had the ability to change how old they appear, he usually prefers to look in his late twenties or early thirties. He just finds it easier to get in and out of the school as a teen. Elle grins and stands to give me a hug. Jack waves from his seat across the room.

"You wouldn't be quiet either, but clearly someone hasn't heard the news." Elle flops back in her seat and spins it around as she speaks.

"News?" I ask, Jack shrugs.

"Honestly, it isn't that exciting. We are just getting a new member to the team." He props his feet on the table and leans back in his seat. Brighton makes a noise not very different from a snort and shoves Jack's feet off the table. "Hey!" Jack glares at Brighton, who shrugs with a smirk in response.

"Is that what this meeting is about?" Elle nods excitedly, her long hair is braided and pinned around her head, a few strands fall loose with the motion. "Cool." I take a seat at the head, between Elle and Brighton.

It's only a couple minutes after I take my seat that the door opens again, Elle swivels her chair and the rest of us look up. A young man steps into the room. He glances around the room at us and raises a hand in greeting. I stand from my seat and offer him my hand.

"Hey, I take it you are our new member." He grips my arm firmly, "My name is Katrina, most of these bozos call me Kat. This is Elle, Brighton, and Jack." I gesture to each of them in turn.