A New Era

Kaviatha

It's my eleventh birthday--Well, in human years. As I walk back from lunch, chattering excitedly with the other girls from the math class one and a half years older that we were (Two and a half for me), I realize that people near the lockers are acting weird around me.

When I see the candy on my locker, all the humans burst into that creepy song about birthdays.

Taking the candy off and thanking everyone, I slip it into my backpack, not able to tell them that I'm planning to give it to my human "brother".

I head to my math class--Not the math I take. The math that everyone else in my grade, save two other extra smart girls, takes.

I read Life of Pi, a book that's all over the place and makes 0% sense, while the rest of the class is learning stuff I learned three years ago. And that was in human school. Well, it would have been, if I had gone to human school.

I might as well explain my thoughts while I was reading.

The class before lunch, Science, was the worst and most wrong class I've ever taken in the Forbidden Cities. And we weren't even into any theories yet.

Yet. Not that year...

Yet.

I read my nonsense book, grateful when the bell finally rings.

There is a girl I've been getting along with pretty well in my homeroom. But my human cover name--Kathlynn--well, see, it's her name too.

I call her Kathy.

I scramble off to my gym class--oh great. Human gym class. How would I survive this?

As I expected, no splotching or channeling or levitating. We start gym by running around the room.

When that awful class is finally over, I have...

Uh-oh.

What am I going to have to sit through in Theology?

Snatching the binder from my locker, I hurry up to Theology. And by the looks of it, I am not going to be a fan of this class.

I mean, human religion is cool--Sophie taught me a bit of it. Well, apparently there's more than whatever she says. More religions. But this is a school with strict "Catholic" teachings. And the music in the background is almost hypnotic, making me sleepy.

When we start a get to know you game, relief falls over me. We're playing this thing called two-truths-and-a-lie. I can say, like, "I know of three Lost Cities," and no one can guess it's the truth.

I'm fine with it, though, when it never gets around to me.

Then I look at the girl across from me and realize it's Amber. She's reading a book titled...

What is it?

As she tilts it slightly, I see the title.

Oh no.

The book is called Keeper of the Lost Cities.

And it has my sister on the front cover.