villain.

⑊ o n e ⑊

I N N O C E N T. I stare at my wrist again, just to make sure, hoping it had been a trick of the light. But there they are, the thick, inky letters on my skin spelling out the word plain as day.

Sighing, I turn my forearm over so I won't have to look at it any longer. So this is what years of waiting looks like. Dissapointment.

If you haven't guessed, today is my 18th birthday. It's what everybody fears, because you can never tell what your mark will be, even if you have specific skills. Most people are innocents, of course, but that doesn't stop most kids from dreaming; me especially. I mean, I thought I was different. But I guess I'm doomed to be the same as most of the people in this world.

"Hey sweetie!" My mom calls as I walk down the stairs. "Did your mark appear yet?"

I nod. "What's for breakfast?"

"What did you get?" she asks, looking up at my frown. "And I made your favorite, waffles."

"Thanks," I smile and reach for a plate. "Nice try, but you know I'm not allowed to tell you."

Mom chuckles. "Alright, I'll stop asking. Have a good day at school!"

After finishing up my waffles I shove all my new school supplies into my backpack and sigh. It's usually always my birthday on the first day of school, but this year I was hoping it would be different. As you can tell I'd been hoping for a lot of newness, which has obviously turned out well so far.

I say goodbye to my little brother, Peter, and then walk out to my car. My college is only a mile from my house, but I don't feel like walking today. Maybe I'm just tired.

When I walk in I temporarily forget my gloomy mood as I remember how much this place excites me. It's my first year, but my sister went here and she had plenty of good things to say about it.

"Hey look, a freshie," I hear a guy laugh behind me.

Turning around, I meet his eyes with a glare. His build tells me he's athletic, and his strong facial features indicate that he's handsome and he knows it. Great. I just walked in and I've already met an arrogant jock.

"Ooh look, the captain of the football team! Oh my gosh I'm so pumped to meet you!" I say as sarcastically as I can manage.

His eyes widen but instead of tightening his jaw as I expected, he laughs. "We have a sassy one, Amber! I'll leave you with her."

Amber, a slim girl with perky red lips and red hair to match smiles brightly and takes my arm. "That's Joe. Jocks here aren't the same as other schools, so you don't worry about him. He was just making an observation. By the way, how'd you know he was captain of the football team?"