Element

✯ Chapter 22

Two days till the solstice. School got out three days ago, and everyone's going crazy. Literally, crazy. It's been officially announced that there's going to be a party in the dining room on the night of the solstice, anyone's invited. Kaelie, Brooke, and Alanna have decided to keep their plans for me a secret. I often see them giggling together, and whispering. They've really become good friends over the semester, and that's great.
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I smile to myself as I wander down the hallway alone, not really having a purpose. A light humming interrupts my thoughts. I see Mr. Farefax hanging up a poster... it almost looks like a sign-up sheet.
"Hi... Mr. Farefax." I say slowly, while walking towards him.
He glances over his shoulder. "Oh! Hi... Ramaya, right?"
"Yeah." I say, slightly puzzled. How does he know my name? "What's that?" I say pointing to the sheet behind him.
"Oh! That? That's the battle team sign up sheet!" He says happily.
My eyes widen. Wow. Already? I think.
"We have an entirely new facility for battle team this year! It's complete with fifteen different battle arenas, five practice arenas, one for each element team, and high tech training suits as well as battle suits. And General Forge is running it all!"
"Where is this giant practice area? It sounds huge!" I say, slightly confused. "But it sounds cool!"
"It's located right outside school grounds, not too far away."
I pause, considering for a second before asking, "Can I sign up?" I motion to the sheet.
"Yes! Yes! Of course! Go right ahead!" He says excitedly.
Taking the pen, and a deep breath, I sign my name on the first line under air.
"The tryouts are sometime during the end of the winter break, so stay posted." Mr. Farefax says with a smile.
I nod, taking note of his statement. Just as I'm about to turn away, he adds, "Oh, just so you know, I'm the Air Team instructor."
I smile politely. "Really? Cool! But I have to go now!" I say, before turning on my heel, and running away.
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I'm running so fast, and I'm breathing so hard. I was just in the library for two hours, looking up battle team concepts after my encounter with Mr. Farefax. It got me psyched to be on the team. Conditioning is one of the concepts, as well as dodging, agility, smarts, strength, and power use. There was so much information, I'm running just to clear my head. I can now focus on only one thing- breathing in and out. I close my eyes for a few seconds to try and relieve the pounding of my head, but immediately regret it when I collide into something hard. I stumble back, and so does the thing, which I now see is a person. Rhodes.
"Oh, um... Hi Rhodes!" I stumble over the words.
"Hi Ramaya." Rhodes says, laughing a bit and smiling. "Walk with me to the willow?"
"Sure!" Why am I blushing? Is it the cold?
We slowly walk to the willow tree in silence. Our boots crunch the frozen pine needles and other leaves adorning the ground. The air smells clean, but that's to be expected in the thicket of trees. We're standing by the tree before I realize it. I grin, and grab a branch, climbing to what I've come to see as the sitting branch, seeing that we always sit on it.
Rhodes takes my hand in his, and my heart flutters. "So... Ramaya," Rhodes says shifting his weight towards me. "What are you doing at this time in two days?"
"Well, it's about five o'clock right now, and in two days... Is the solstice." I look over at him, and our eyes meet.
"Ramaya Naciat, will you go to the winter solstice party with me?"
My heart is leaping out of my chest. Him? Go with me? I run it through my head a few times before I respond.
"Yes! Of course I'll go!"
Rhodes smiles from ear to ear. "Thank god! I was so scared you would say no-" He starts, but I cut him off by hugging him.
"You shouldn't have worried," I say with a smile. I was always your's.
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"C'mon Ramaya! There's no time to waste!"
"You're five minutes late!"
The girls' chatter fill my ears as they drag me into a chair in front of my mirror. I just finished taking a shower, and I'm already being bombarded. Kaelie and Alanna blow my hair dry by sending wind through it. Felicity then bursts through the door.
"Am I late?" She asks taking off her sweater.
"Nope, just in time! Start curling Ramaya's hair!" Brooke says. It takes them about half an hour to do my hair and make up. They've already finished their own make up and stuff, so all they have to do is put on their dresses and shoes.
"Okay, let's put on our dresses!" Alanna squeals. They all rush out of the room, and down the hall into their own rooms. I turn, and walk into my bathroom. I gasp. The girls have chosen a beautiful dress for me, and it's not the one Alanna originally chose. It has thin white straps that connect to a silver, sparkly top. The skirt is separated from the bust by a wide piece of white fabric. My hand strokes the soft, flowy fabric that makes up the skirt. It's white, but contains a few sparkles within the folds. I tenderly pull the dress on, being careful not to rip anything. The dress ends at my mid-calf. Silver shoes with a slight heel rest by the bathroom door. Slipping them on, I walk to the mirror, admiring the flow and simple beauty of the dress. I hear a knock at the door, and Alanna bursts inside.
"Wow! Alanna! You look... Amazing!" I exclaim. It's true. Her gold dress ends a little below the knee. The top part is strapless and made of shiny cream-colored fabric. A shiny bow and ribbon separates the gold skirt, made of the same material as the top. The skirt hangs straight down. Her straightened hair works great with the whole look. A minute later, Brooke, Kaelie, and Felicity come in. Brooke has a light blue, floor-length dress, Kaelie's is light pink and goes to her knees, and Felicity's is yellowy-orange and ends right below her knees. They all look fabulous. Kaelie and I are the only two with an official date, but I wouldn't be surprised if the other three get asked to a dance by someone
"Well, I suppose we should go," I say just as my clock turns to 7:30.
"Yeah. Let's go!" Kaelie says excitedly, and we walk to the dining room.
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Tonight has been amazing. The dining room is decorated fabulously, all gold and silver, and the food was great too. Rhodes and I were inseparable the whole time, dancing and chatting. He's dressed quite handsomely tonight, with a collared black shirt and white pants. And of course, his spikey hair.
Rhodes and I are now slow-dancing. It's really late, past twelve, and a lot of people have left the party. I spot Kaelie and Gavin still here, too, also dancing together. I pull my eyes to meet Rhodes'. His hazel eyes are so pretty.
"You look so beautiful tonight, Ramaya," he says quietly, brushing a curl of hair from my face. I tingle at his touch.
"Thank you, Rhodes. It's been fun tonight."
"It sure has. Because I spent it with you."
He leans in to me. My heart is beating wildly, but I don't pull away. He kisses me, just for a moment, and then breaks away slowly. I close my eyes.
"Ramaya, would you please just date me already?"
I giggle. "Yes. I will." He hugs me, and I feel as if the moment could never end. And I don't want it to. I just had my first kiss! From the boy I thought would never actually ask me out. He looks into my eyes, and I have to stand strong so my knees don't go weak.
"Happy solstice," he says quietly.
"Happy solstice," I echo, smiling. He pulls away, but holds my hands in his, facing me.
"It's quite late." He says.
"I know. Maybe we should go."
"I bet you Yvette's party is still going strong." He says jokingly.
My eyes open wide as I break out of my dream state. Parisa. She's at that party.
"Rhodes, I have to go. I'm really sorry." I say, stepping back.
"No, it's ok. I got to spend the night with Ramaya Naciat, didn't I?"
I blush, and turn to go. "Bye Rhodes."
"Bye Ramaya." I walk out the door of a room that now holds much significance to me.
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Aately's dorm is not too far from Parisa's, and I can find it by the pounding of music coming from the crack under the door. I open the door cautiously, and my senses are met with overload. Strobe lights, blasting pop music, and people everywhere, dancing, jumping on the bed, basically going crazy. No long, fancy dresses here, either. I completely stand out. I sigh, and look through the crowded room, trying to find Parisa. I finally find her, wearing really short shorts and a crop top, cropped a bit too high. I roll my eyes and shove my way over. I then see she's flirting heavily with a third-year. She sits on his lap, and I practically shout out with disgust. I catch her eye, and she glares at me, but eventually gets up and walks over to me.
"Why are you even here?" She asks snottily.
"Because everyone's invited." I shoot back. "Let's walk outside."
We both push our way to the door and into the hall. The door clicks shut, and the music dulls to a soft beating.
"What. Do. You. Want?!" Parisa practically yells.
"Well, first of all, what is with your outfit?"
"I can wear whatever I want, you-"
I cut her off right there.
"Nevermind. But seriously, I was just concerned for you at this crazy party."
"You're kidding, right? I helped Aately and Yvette plan it!"
I purse my lips. "Really?"
"Yeah. I did." She says matter-of-factly.
"Look. I'm sorry for bothering you. I just didn't want anything to happen to you, I didn't want you getting in over your head with these... Other people."
She gives me a look of pure hatred. "You think I can't handle myself?"
"No, I just-"
"No! That's exactly what you think. You're my big, annoying sister, and you think you can control me and baby me! Well guess what, I'm at school too, which means I'm old enough to make my own choices. You don't have to be concerned for me all the time! I think you should go." She says, pointing towards the stairwell.
"Parisa, please," I'm begging her now. "Listen to me!"
"NO!" She raises her hand to my chest level. A strong burst of wind sends me skidding back along the hall. Her eyes get an evil look to them.
"Parisa! No! Don't do this!" I have tears in my eyes.
"If this is the only way for you to realize I don't need you anymore, then yes, I have to do this." She shoots bursts of wind towards me at an alarming rate. I dodge some, but get hit by others, each feeling like a punch to the face. I double over, feeling like my head's going to explode.
"Parisa. Please." I say, quietly.
"No."
She shoots one last gust. I put my hands up in front of me, making a counter-wind to shield me from her blow. Then, I take the counter-wind, and shoot it towards her. She wasn't expecting it, and it knocks her to the floor, groaning. I get up and slowly walk over.
"Parisa, please don't do that again. I try to love you, and you don't let me. Please see me through." I walk away, leaving her there, just before the sobs and tears come.

How bout that chapter huh? Let's recap.
•Winter solstice
•Ramaya gets asked out
•First kiss
•Battle of the sisters
Pretty awesome, action-packed chapter, right? Thank us later. Oh and also...
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Megan and Wien