The Mark of Fallen Flame

Chapter 4- Emma

Emma was up before her alarm, showered and dressed in the outfit she had picked out the day before. Her hair was kept in its natural wavy state, tamed with the help of anti-frizzing oil. She went the extra mile with her makeup, applying liquid liner and light shimmering eyeshadow.

She stared at her reflection for several minutes, tilting her head at different angles. Her eyes were bright with excitement, but they didn't glow. The sliver of normalcy helped to unknot the twisted mess inside her stomach.

A knock startled her from her jumbled thoughts. Her spine straightened as she smoothed her hands over her shirt. Opening the door, she stalked out of the bathroom, avoiding her mother's amused gaze.

"I'll be ready to leave in ten minutes," she heard her mother call before Emma closed her bedroom door. She decided to check for her class schedule again, rationalizing that in her nervousness she wanted to be sure she had every detail memorized. Not because she thought her missing class schedule was odd, she told herself.

She searched through everything, scouring her room in case it had fallen somewhere, but to no avail. Several minutes later, her mother called up to her from the main floor. With a frustrated huff, she slung her backpack strap over her shoulder and headed downstairs.

"Have you seen my class schedule?" Emma asked once they were in the car, shivering from the cold morning air that blasted through the vents.

"No, sorry, honey." She glanced sidelong at Emma. "You can get a new one printed at the main office if you're worried."

"Yeah." The pesky thing would probably turn up sometime next week once she was settled in all her classes.

"So, what's your first class?" her mother asked. Emma knew her mother's interest was partly meant to fuel her excitement. It worked.

"Organic Chemistry," she sighed as if those two words were a romantic date and not a high school class. Senior year meant she got first pick of classes and teachers. She had meticulously studied the options, weighing the value of each one based on what her college schedule was going to look like next year. She wasn't entirely set on a particular major yet, but she knew it was going to be science-oriented. She went back and forth between marine biology and hydrology despite her mother's more than suggestive hints that she would make an excellent surgeon.

Stuffy hospitals weren't Emma's idea of an exciting and fulfilling career. Whatever she chose, she wanted to be physically out in the field, touching and observing things for herself. She loved all living things, especially those that resided in the dark, watery depths.

Her fascination with the collectible children's books on creatures and plants of the deep kept her awake late at night when she was little. Beneath the covers, she read about every scaly and finned creature by flashlight. When she would gush random facts that she had learned the next morning, the expression her mother wore was conflicted. Once Emma got a bit older, she realized it was because her mother hadn't wanted to dampen her enthusiasm by putting an end to her late-night reading sessions.

"What's your next class?" her mother asked, the corners of her lips twitching.

"Calculus." Emma's voice went flat. She didn't hate math; math was required in chemistry, but without the scientific application, the subject was as dry as a desert in her mind.

"You'll do wonderfully," her mother assured her as the car pulled into the coffee shack's drive-thru. Emma didn't respond, her mind had already switched gears.

"Large, triple-shot, Irish cream latte," Emma said after a quick glance at the board. Her mother snorted.

"When you're old enough I'll get you a real Irish cream latte and see if you still like it."