Animi Motus

5: Mirandum

I'm so screwed. My curfew is 11:00 sharp. Last time I checked, it was 12:45. As quietly as possible, I swing open my front floor, and creep across the living room floor to the foot of the staircase. It looks like my mother has long since gone to sleep, and I say a small prayer of thanks that I don't have to deal with her tonight.

"Have a fun night out?" the voice startles me into the air. It looks like I spoke too soon. I flick on a light switch.

"Mom, before you say anything, let me explain," I say, hands out. Mom isn't having it.

"No, Vanessa. Why don't you let me explain how I've been waiting for you to come home for the past two hours!" She hisses. I shuffle my feet nervously. "Care to share what you were you out doing that was so occupying that you didn't even bother to call?! Do you have any idea how worried I was? For all I knew you were dead in an alley somewhere, or had been kidnapped!" I've never seen my mom this mad. Then again, I've never missed curfew. I feel a little bad.

"Mom, I get it. I'm really, really sorry, and it won't happen again." I promise. "I was at Skylar's house working on this thing we're doing in Latin, and we both passed out. I came home as soon as I woke up and realized the time," I swear. It's not the truth, but only a white lie. My mom looks skeptical, but relief is visible on her face.

"Just go get to bed," she sighs. "I'm not taking you to school tomorrow if you miss the bus." I tiptoe up the stairs so I don't wake Peter, and close my bedroom door as quietly as I can manage. Once I'm alone, I finally start to soak in everything that went on today with Riley, and Asher, and Luctus. I discovered that I can electrocute people at will, Riley can burn things and is ridiculously strong, and Asher can heal people just by touching them. We set the school on fire, and then to top it all off we learned that we were mystical ambassadors of the six primary emotions. Talk about crazy. I think about opening up my atlas to see what it has to offer, but decide to save it for tomorrow. Primus Legatus Mirandum. I have to admit, it has a nice ring to it.

"Primus Legatus Mirandum." I try it out outloud. I immediately glance down at my hand when I feel my ring tighten around my finger. I try to pull it off but the metal band won't budge. A faint golden glow begins to emit from it, and then all at once, a flash of light so bright I feel like I'm being blinded pulses out of it. Then it's over. The ring stops glowing, and loosens on my finger. I yank it off quickly and set it on my nightstand. Rubbing the spot where the ring had been, I check for damage. A small spiral just like the one on the face of my ring is left where the ring had been. I try to wash it off in the bathroom, but it feels permanent. Great. Now I'll have to wear the ring tomorrow to hide my body art from my mom. As I lay in bed, I try to push anything Latin as far from my mind as possible, but it's a restless night.

The next morning I wake with a start to the sound of my alarm blaring.

"Ugh. You'd think it wouldn't be a surprise the millionth time your alarm goes off Nessa." I say as I fumble around for the snooze button. Perks of being me I suppose. And speaking of being me, where did I leave that creepy golden ring? Oh right, nightstand. After a quick examination of my ring that turns up nothing, I slip it on my finger over my little tattoo. After a few minutes, I roll out of bed, throw on some jeans and a sweater, and head out the door after a quick breakfast of oatmeal and fruit.

When I step onto the bus, I know I'm in for it. The main reason being that I wasn't totally lying to my mom last night, because I did have plans with Skylar after school yesterday. Obviously, I didn't show up because I was running away from the fire I started in the school, discovering my Primus Legatus status, and all that normal stuff. But as far as Skylar is concerned, I stood her up. When I get to Skylar's seat, she sits with her arms crossed, foot tapping expectantly.