Strangers (ON HOLD)

Chapter One: Emi

"Good morning, class," I could hear the teacher saying from outside the hall, as well as the mutterings of the students as they replied.

I stood outside the door, my feet frozen in place. The principal had left me there ten minutes ago to go help other students, and he hadn't bothered to see if I went inside. My hand rested on the door, and I was torn between pulling it away and pushing the door open. I clenched and unclenched my left fist, and bit my lower lip. Then, I let my hand slip off the door.

Before I could stop myself, I knocked on the door, my knuckles rapping on it in quick succession. The teacher halted in his lecture, and a student opened the door. She was pretty, with long blond hair and blue eyes, and she wore the school uniform in the most pristine form possible.

"Did you need something?" the teacher asked from the center of the room.

"Uh..." I hesitated, raising my hand weakly, like a white flag. "Um... I'm Emi Griffin..."

"Ah, the transfer student," the teacher smiled. "Late on the first day, Miss Griffin?"

"I got lost," the lie slipped past my teeth, and my knees shook.

"You can take a seat at the back of the class, for now," the teacher smiled. "I'm Mr. Abel, and this is Earth Magic 101. I have to say I was surprised to see your name, Miss Griffin."

I smiled weakly, and sprinted to the back of the classroom, taking a seat. The classroom was set up into elevated rows to tables, with rolling chairs for every student, each level raised so that everyone could see the teacher, regardless of height. Mr. Abel was at the bottom, in front of a chalkboard that was already covered in scrawlings and sketches.

I opened my grimoire (that is, the one that my parents gave me), and copied down the writing on the chalkboard, in case the teacher did written tests, though they were unusual. Usually, magic teachers had you use the spells they taught in magical simulations rather than having you write down the spells.

"What is your opinion of the Bahr method for summoning a rockslide, Miss Griffin?" Mr. Abel suddenly asked, pinning his attention on me.

I shrank back into my seat, considering how I should answer. He looked at me expectantly, an eyebrow raised. I shrank further back, and noticed that several students had raised their hands, their arms straining in their sockets.

"The Bahr method works fine, I suppose," I mumbled. "If you're not especially gifted with magic. I suppose it could be called rudimentary."

"An expected response from the daughter of the Griffin family," Mr. Abel smiled. "Would you mind showing us the more elaborate version, Miss Griffin?"

I cast my eyes downward, and whispered, "I can't, sir."

"Why not? You're an Earth mage, aren't you?"

I shook my head, raising my hand to my ears. All I wanted was to disappear. The hair at the back of my neck rose, and I shook my head harder.

"No," I whispered. "No."

"What is that, Miss Griffin?" the teacher began to look worried.

"I'm not an Earth mage," I looked up, my face dead. "I'm a Wind mage."

I could feel my classmates staring at me their faces twisting from sympathetic to mocking. Some of them scowled at me, and Mr. Abel just looked confused.

"I guess that just goes to show," some of them muttered to each other. "Even a family like the Griffins will produce a failure every once and awhile."

"Why is she even alive?" others whispered cruelly. "Wind mages are useless. They always are. Why doesn't she just kill herself?"

"Why was she even admitted to this school? I thought you had to be especially gifted with magic to get in."