Zodiac Academy (Draft 1)

Chapter 10: The Day of Libra

I don't even remember going back to housing, the whole walk was a blur. I faintly remember telling my housemates that Libby was right and I had been summoned for registration purposes, and it had all been sorted out. Originally I had believed it would be hard to keep this all under wraps, but it actually wasn't that difficult to keep my lips sealed after taking a shower to wash away some of the shock and clear my head.

The rest of the day passed by in a haze — for me at least — everyone was going through their things to make sure they had all of their school supplies for tomorrow. Class schedules would be posted at breakfast the following day, something that seemed way too normal after knowing that I, Skylar Song, would play a part in the ancient prophecy. I spent the rest of the day trying to act normal, keeping my panic and confusion inwards. If any of my housemates seemed to notice something was off, they didn't mention it.

Before I knew it, night had fallen and I had tucked myself into bed while the other girls got into theirs. I closed my eyes preparing for a fitful sleep seeing as my mind wouldn't shut up. My thoughts were on full blast as they raced by, keeping me from rest. I envy those who can fall asleep minutes after their heads hit the pillow.

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The last thing I wanted to do was lie to my mother, but the universe had a twisted sense of humor. I completely forgot to call her and was served guilt for breakfast this morning in the form of eleven missed calls. Two of whom were from Shayne.

Libby waited for me at the top of the stairs as I stared anxiously at my phone, pacing the foot of my bed. "Skylar, are you waiting for your mother to climb out of your screen or are you going to call her?" Her tone was light and teasing, but my brain didn't seem to register her joking attitude.

"Oh gods, do you think ZA actually does have some sort of magical device that could do that?" I muttered to myself, dreading the phone call that I would undoubtedly have to make. I would most definitely receive a scolding for not calling home, or worse, she'll come to Zodiac Academy herself and take me home. I can already imagine the heated conversation between the two of us.

Libby let out a hearty laugh, "You're funny, but honey, even I know you're being overly dramatic. But you're only delaying the inevitable, just give her a call. Get it over with." She offered me a piece of advice before glancing down the stairs, "I'll leave you to it, good luck!" She left with a final wave and leapt down the stairs, her purple hair bouncing behind her.

I took a deep breath, Libby was right. I was only delaying the inevitable. With sweaty fingers I dialed my mother and held my breath as I braced myself for my mother's wrath. She picked upon the second ring, "What took you so long? We called you eleven times! Are you okay?"

"Hi mom, sorry for not calling sooner, things have been...hectic." For lack of a better word. It wasn't exactly a lie all things considering. "And yeah, I'm fine, everything's good!" I forced enthusiasm and whatever else it was into my voice, trying to convince my mother that all was well. I didn't want her to worry, she had put so much trust into me and this newly discovered Academy that we'd only just found out about days ago.

"Skylar, you're doing that voice again," My mother said from the other end. Damn, she knew me too well. "And you only ever do that because you're hiding something. Now tell me what happened. Why weren't you answering? Didn't I tell you to have your phone with you at all times? Or did you have it on silent again." The last part was a statement, not a question. She seemed to be very intuitive of these things, knowing me inside and out. With her, I was like an open book — no matter where in the world I was. Her voice was stern, but I knew underneath all that she cared for me.

"I'm sorry..." I said, stalling for an explanation. All last night I kept thinking about the conversation that I would have with mom and how I was going to get out of it. So far I hadn't come up with anything brilliant.