Argenian

-3-

The car jolts and throws me to the side. I look up and glare at Michael.

"Are you driving like shit on purpose?"

He smirks at me through the rearview mirror. I try to pull my hands out of the restraints to punch him, but the ropes binding my wrists together are too strong.

I had woken up in the car a few hours ago, with my arms bound behind my back. Michael refused to tell me where we were going, but I had figured it out soon enough.

He's taking me to the school he had mentioned earlier-if there even was one. 

The car jolts to a stop. I look up at Michael, but he looks just as confused as I am. The car shakes and the windows shatter as if someone threw a rock through them. 

Michael unbuckles his seatbelt. "Turn around!" Confused, I turn around and he slices through the bonds on my arms. "Now run! Get to the school."

I don't hesitate. In a flash, I'm out of the car and running towards the large building that I assume must be the school. Michael must not have been lying.

I look back over my shoulder. Michael is standing beside the car, talking into his phone. I'm too far away to hear what he is saying, but it looks suspicious. He keeps glancing up at me, then back down at his phone. I focus back on the building and keep running, my breath coming in short gasps.

Soon I'm at the entrance of the school. I shove the doors open.

"Wonderful job, Deary. Please stay there while we wait for Michael." Mrs. Davenport greets me as I walk in. I open my mouth, but she holds up a finger, shushing me.

A few minutes later Michael walks in, slightly out of breath.

"Ah, Michael. Thank you for safely delivering Evelyn. You are dismissed." Mrs. Davenport waves him away. Michael nods and walks down the hall and through a door. "Evelyn, how are you?"

I nearly smack the old lady.

"How am I? Well, I was just tranquilized and kidnapped, then the car that I was kidnapped in was attacked by something-"

"That was just us. It was a test seeing how fast you would react to an emergency situation. It's protocol, everyone has to do it."

"Seriously? After all I've been through today you thought it'd be a good idea to pretend that the car that me, a freaking sixteen-year-old, was riding in, was being attacked? Yeah, great idea." 

"Well, I would feel a bit overwhelmed if I were you-"

"A bit? More like a lot." I plop down on the floor. "I seriously need a nap." Mrs. Davenport takes a look at me and sighs.

"I can see that. I'll just take you to your room and let you settle in and relax before dumping anything new on you." She grabs me by the arm and hauls me up. "This way, Dear." 

We walk down the long hallway and through the door Michael had gone through earlier. On the other side is a huge foyer with two marble staircases leading up to a second floor. Mrs. Davenport leads me up one staircase and to the left into what seemed to be the girls' dormitory hall.

We stop in front of a door, half silver, half gold.

"Well, this is where I leave you. I'll tell your roommate to wake you up when it's time for dinner." With that, she walks back down the hall.

I open the door, expecting to see something like a college dorm, but instead, I am greeted with a very large hotel suite-like room. On one half of the room, the walls are painted gold, there's a bed that's messy and unmade. The other half is painted silver, a neat, made bed.

I plop down on the neatly made bed, pull off my shoes, and drift off to sleep.

~

"Hey, Newbie, wake up." Someone shakes me awake. 

I groan, "What?"

"It's time for dinner. Mrs. D told me to get you. Now get up or we're gonna miss the buffet." I open my eyes and watch as she walks over to the door. "Seriously, let's go or I'm leaving you here to starve." My roommate says, obviously annoyed at my slowness.

Slowly, I get up, put my shoes on, and follow my roommate to dinner.

She leads me through a series of hallways, then stops at a set of doors.

"Welcome to the mess hall. In this school, we are separated by color. I'm a Crysos, so my color is gold." I note her gold clothing. "I sit with the gold group, A.K.A the other Crysos. According to Mrs. D, you're an Argenian. You guys are silver. The rest are Aeris, which are bronze. Just stay away from them, they have egos bigger than the moon." With that, she walks into the mess hall, leaving me by myself.

I take a deep breath and push open the doors. I expect people to stare at me like they would in a normal school, but they pay me no mind as if I'm already one of them. I spot the buffet line and hop in. 

After grabbing more food than I could ever possibly eat, I wander around, attempting to find a group of people dressed in silver.

"Hey! Newbie!" My roommate jogs over. "You look lost."

I laugh. "I am. I literally can't find any other Argenians."

She stares at me. "What do you mean? There aren't any others here.  Pure Argenians are super rare. I'll show you where you're supposed to sit, though." She leads me over to a table coated with silver paint. 

"Thanks." I sit down and plop my tray on the table. I see people glance at me. I understand, though.

I'm the first Pure Argenian they've probably ever seen.

~

A few minutes into lunch the doors burst open violently.

"Let me go!" I hear a voice scream. I stand up to get a better view, but I still can't see. Without thinking, I unfurl my wings and rise into the air. I hear a few gasps as the other students watch me.

I look down towards the doors, ignoring the others. A tall boy stands there, visible dark circles under his eyes. His eyes are full of anger and hatred as they meet mine. His emotions course through my veins and I tremble with anger. Slowly, I find my own emotions buried under his. I change the flow of emotions, transferring good feelings into him, drawing bad out.

I see him visibly relax, his tense shoulders becoming slack. I see Michael, who was holding the boy back, let go of his wrists.

Slowly, I drift down to the floor. Almost instantly Michael is by my side.

He grabs my arm. "We need to see Mrs. Davenport. Now."