Elite || Marhinki

•Chapter Twenty-Nine: Lords•

We spent most of the train ride in silence, staring out the window. By the time we arrived, the sun had started to set.

Mr. Lee Yang had come with us, and we followed him out of the train. We found ourselves in the same room we'd arrived in during the tour, which felt like forever ago. Mr. Lee Yang turned to face us.

"Okay Elites, here's the plan," he explained. "Today's going to be pretty simple. You're going to meet everyone in the Elites Court, aka your future colleagues, and then you'll be shown the building all of you will be living in, which is where you'll be staying for the rest of your life. So, let's get started."

He turned and walked down the hallway. We followed him out of the train station. This time, instead of a bus, there was a long, sleek, black limousine waiting for us. A Purple opened the side door for us, and one-by-one we got in. Wes, Mari, and I found ourselves on the right side of the long chair. Mr. Lee Yang got into the passenger's seat in the front. As the Purple got into the driver's, he shut the window between us.

"Well, isn't this fancy," Mari whispered, leaning against me.

"I think everything's going to be fancy where we're going," I whispered back, throwing my arm around her shoulder, which got us some looks from Olivia and Shayne. All I did in response was grin at them.

Mari scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I hate that you're right."

No one talked for the entire drive after that. With all six of us there, it felt more than awkward. I started tugging on my sleeve to pass the time.

Eventually, the limo rolled to a stop. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Unsurprisingly, I found myself standing outside of the castle. Mr. Lee Yang was already walking up the walkway, and everyone rushed to keep up with him.

The castle didn't look as impressive as it did the first time I saw it, but it was still shockingly beautiful. As we made our way through its halls, I doubted that I would ever get used to this place. It was just too awe-inspiring.

Soon, we found ourselves outside of familiar doors. Mr. Lee Yang pushed them open, revealing the Elite Courtroom. But this time, all the chairs were full.

At least seventy people turned their heads as we walked in. They all wore the same thing--a simple black suit--but besides that, they couldn't look more different. No two people looked alike. They differed in gender, race, age, height, and appearance.

"Ah, the new Elites!" Quinta was standing at the podium in the middle of the tables. She opened her arms like she was about to give us a hug. "We've been expecting you!"

All of them stood up, and next thing I knew, I was in a whirlpool of people, all clambering to shake my hand and introduce themselves, smiling the whole time.

"Hi, I'm Shane Dawson."

"Safiya Nygaard, nice to meet you."

"I'm Anna Akan. What's your name?"

"Hey, I'm Jack Douglass. Congrats on making it here."

"Welcome to the Elites Court. I'm James. Who are you?"

"I'm Keith Habersberger. And you are?"

I could barely say my name fast enough before someone else grabbed my hand. I had no idea how I was going to remember all of these people's names. There were just so many of them. It was kind of overwhelming.

After a man introduced himself as Drew Gooden and shook my hand, it finally stopped. They all went back to their seats. As I looked at their faces, I could only name eleven of them, and they were the last eleven to greet me. God, this would take awhile.