Journey to the Edge

Chapter 4

Roselyn was standing by the doors to the academy. The previous night, they had all graduated from it. Today, their parents take them home. In a few moments, the last bell would ring, and they would be allowed outside and their parents had all day to get them. Roselyn had already said her farewells to her friends and now stood at the head of the crowd. Anticipation hadn't eaten her up the previous night, but it did now.

Soon enough, the doors opened up to the front courtyard. Roselyn, along with hundreds of teenage students, rushed from the enclosure of the academy and out into the world. Some kids ran right into the arms of their parents or guardians, while others took their small bag of belongings they wished to take and sat around an area, waiting. Some stayed in groups while others branched off alone. Roselyn walked over slowly to one of the tall, black metal fences and leaned against it, tossing her tiny leather bag down beside her.

As she stood there, she couldn't stop herself from identifying the faces of the people rejoicing with their families. Some faces that she recognized matched up with their parents perfectly, while others looked completely different.

She watched Makai pass by the gate she leaned by. He stopped briefly and the two stood there, staring at each other. They didn't say anything, but that silent interaction meant so much more than their words could convey, at least on Roselyn's end. They both knew that this could possibly be their last meeting. Anything could happen to one of them without the other even being the slightest informed. Roselyn was contemplating saying something, but Makai gave her a gentle smile and walked over to where a group was waiting for him: presumably his mother, father, and older sister. She remembered Makai talking about her; always busy and way smarter than he was. Roselyn always wanted to meet her, as she was the only person she had known of with glasses.

With Makai on her mind, she soon began glancing around to try and find Mireya. She had already said her formal goodbye to her friend, but she wanted to get one last glimpse of her. As far as she looked and squinted, she couldn't find her. She caught a glimpse of Livy, who was with her parents and an older brother, who looked just like a male and taller version of Livy herself.

Not that Roselyn didn't care for or about Livy, but she didn't really feel like interacting with her.

Roselyn resumed her leaning position and took one last sweeping glance over the area. The only other person she recognized was Kira, who was sitting on the entrance steps to the main front of the academy. Her head was in her hands and her knees were pulled up to her chin, but her eyes shimmered with faint happiness.

Hours passed.

The sun came to rise directly over Roselyn, and came close to setting. It cast a dark orange glow on the courtyard and was fading to the gentle, silver light of the moon and stars. Over time, the last of the parents trickled in to take the rest of the kids.

But Roselyn remained.

She stopped paying attention to the others in the surrounding courtyard, so she had no idea how long she was sitting there, alone. She just faced ahead, where the stone street stretched out across the town. Only now, when the moon began to reveal itself, did she look around.

She wasn't the only one still left behind. Kira was still on the steps.

Roselyn couldn't stop herself from straightening her posture out of surprise. Kira? Left behind? Something didn't add up. That didn't seem like a thing that would happen to her. As Roselyn stared in a small surprise, she noticed the overall mentor of the Pyrokinetics approach her. Kira stood with a bright face, but it slowly fell to one coated in terror. That coating melted away, leaving one of a combination of sadness and fear. She snapped something at her mentor before turning tail and rushing into the academy.