Embers

Chapter 2

School was back on the next day, which I was not excited for, given the lack of sleep I had gotten the night before.

Jackie had texted me early in the morning, asking me if Erin had given me any details about the fight. I told her she hadn't. Which was true, technically speaking. Erin had hardly said anything about the fight, my mom, on the other hand, was another story, but Jackie didn't need to know that.

Since my mom was already at work, and Erin was in no condition to drive us, Marco and I walked to school that morning.

As we walked, all I could hear were the voices around us. "Ember, Ember!" They all kept repeating. I gritted my teeth, my fists clenched.

Marco grabbed my wrist."Don't let it bother you," He said in a soft whisper.

I sighed, unclenching my hands. "It just seems that right as the Ember hype was dying down, all this happens and suddenly it's all around me again."

"I know it's overbearing, I get that, but you have to calm down. Remember what happened last time when you let it get to your head?"

I sighed. "Yeah..."

"Just keep under control, alright?"

I nodded.

He smiled. "Good, cause we're at school already."

I glanced up at the giant building as students and teachers flood in and out of it. Next to its huge walls, I feel so small, so tiny. I don't like that feeling.

"I need to go talk to a teacher, I'll see you later," Marco says, waving me goodbye as he heads in. I wave back at him as I venture off to find Jackie.

She's waiting for me by the band room, our first hour. "They released footage of the fight this morning. I found a compilation of all the currently available clips online. I know you probably don't care, but there's this one part you need to watch,"

I sigh and let Jackie skim through the video trying to find the part. "Here it is," She says, holding the phone close to us so we can hear.

"This is the end of your fight," Ember says, her hand on The Raven's throat. There's a man standing behind her, wearing a white trench coat and a blue shirt and pants. Solstice. I think to myself.

"I don't know how you came back, but it won't happen again." My mom holds up her other hand, flames at her fingertips. She reaches into the air, ready to strike down hard, but then, I caught a quick glimpse of a smile on the Raven's face before Ember's hand slipped through his throat as he faded away.

"I don't wanna watch anymore," I said.

Jackie turned off her phone, sliding it into her pocket. "You okay?" She asked.

I nodded. "Just, thinking about some things."

The bell rang and we disappeared behind the door to the band room, beginning our day.

Ember's name followed me like a shadow. Everywhere I turned, everywhere I went, it was there. I forced myself to block it out, my mind was like blinders on a horse, only seeing what was directly in front of me and ignoring everything else.

Marco met me at the front doors after school was done.

"You get in any fights today?" He said, slightly elbowing me in my arm.

"Not today," I said, turning my head towards him as we began walking towards home. "Have you seen the video of the fight?"

"Which one?"

"The one, right at the end, where it shows him disappearing."

"Ah, that one. Yeah, I've seen it."