Elemental Academy

Shunned

Phoenix groaned from the banging on her door and turned away from it. The door burst open and she was dragged from her bed, out of the common room and into the hallway. Her roommates stood drowsily outside the door while other freshmen - some in their uniforms - were peeking out out of their doors, some in awe and others laughing. The elemental heads of water and fire (Emily Signer and Tyler Safers) were inside the suite searching with headmistress Cade while Graham and earth head, Jason Campbell were outside with the four roommates. Graham stood in front of Aria, not ever taking his eyes off of her while she kept her head on the ground.

The beasts (Charity; Dire; Teal; and Vixen) were by their owners' sides while Jasper and Freya were curled up next to each other by the door, inside the suite. Vixen turned to Teal and pranced onto him while Dire pranced on them both and Charity merely watched. The little amarok, crushed between the Cadmean fox and bandesnhatch, could only squeal while the fox chuckled.

Dire purred as he bounced back towards Aria, scratching at her calf for her to pick him up. His gray fur with black speckles was thick, like his matching black saliva and gray tongue. Teal also scurried to Aria, sitting beside her, obediently. The white wolf's fur stood stiffly, as if he was electrocuted but that didn't stop him from wallowing about in their suite.

Vixen's coppery coat was contrasted by her white tipped tail, paws and the patches by her face. She was a hyper pup and was already notorious - among the roommates - for her dominance over Teal. Charity, like Phoenix, was a loner and did quite well on her own but she never strayed far from Phoenix's side.

The sound of falling objects - durable and fragile, alike - still filled the hallway from the suite. Raquel, Phoenix and Quinn made eye contact; daring themselves not to show fear but Aria never looked away from her bare feet on the non waxed floor. Graham's gaze still locked on her, it may've lightened but it was still there and that's why she never dared to turn her eyes elsewhere.

Jason Campbell stood in the doorway, occasionally turning from the hallway to the inside of the suite. Mostly when the sounds of demolition were slightly louder than usual. Quinn was between him and Raquel, who stink eyed freshmen who bothered to look her way. Phoenix was across from Jason, watching the headmistress and her two senior goons penetrate their privacy.

The suite went silent briefly which caused Raquel and Quinn to exchange confused looks. The silence caused Aria to look up, for the first time, and turn to Phoenix. Charity had sank lower to the ground but she didn't touch the ground and Phoenix was petting her head while her eyes were still locked inside their suite.

A livid headmistress Cade strutted out of the suite with Emily and Tyler behind her. "Where is it?!" She turned and hastened to Aria - in her heels and unnecessarily tight pencil skirt that revealed her muffin top. "Where is it," she repeated slower and this time eyes locked with Aria's. "I'm not going to ask again, Ms. Sage."

Aria petted Dire as her unwavering gaze on headmistress Cade remained... Well, unwavering. "It's not on campus," was all she said.

Headmistress Cade turned to Graham with a raised eyebrow and sternly squinted eyes. Graham nodded slowly, "she's telling the truth."

"Ms. Sage, do you understand that if you fail to turn it over, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice will be forced to intervene, as this is a criminal offense?" Aria didn't flinch or blink or give any form of a response. "Your parents will be notified and, until this matter is resolved, I have no choice but to suspend you and your suite mates."

Aria's lips parted. "They have nothing to do with this!"

Headmistress Cade turned to Graham and a smile threatened to spread on her face. Graham kept his gaze on Aria for a long moment before sighing. "She's telling the truth," he lied and Raquel smirked at Phoenix before turning back to  headmistress Cade and Aria. "Ms. Solomon and the others are innocent," he went on. "They can't be punished for a crime they didn't commit, headmistress Cade."