The Academy [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 4

   My room was fantastic. That was the only way to describe it. The entire room smelled like the pine and cedar forests back home. There were a few empty shelves for me to fill with my own belongings, but one shelf had ten books on it. The bed felt like mine, not too hard but not too soft, so I had slept great. There was a pair of French doors that let out to a small balcony that showed an immense view of the beautiful mountain forests.

   I breathed in the fresh crisp air. Even though I was in an entirely different place, it felt like home. The sun was just peaking over Mt. Rainer. I turned back into my room and quickly got dressed. A loud knock rang on my door and I jumped as it did. Without waiting for an answer, Kinkajou barged in.

   "Three moons," I exclaimed. "Don't you know how to wait for me to let you in?" She giggled.

   "Oh, I know. I wanted to see your face as I did it." She gave me a toothy smile. "Come on! Class starts in ten minutes!" I smiled wearily. Kinkajou linked arms with me and steered me out. Carnelian was still muttering in her room. I jumped when Kinkajou knocked on her door.

   "What are you doing?" I whispered fiercely. Carnelian would not take this kindly and would likely do something horrible.

   "What?" Carnelian barked. Kinkajou didn't flinch.

   "Come on. We have our first class in ten minutes and we need to find where it is," she said happily. There was a pause before the door flew open and Carnelian stomped out of the dorm. "Does that mean she knows where we're going?" Kinkajou asked. I shrugged so she tugged me after Carnelian.

   It was easy to find her. She was clearing a path with the force of her glare. We walked down the hall, and while Carnelian and Kinkajou took the stairs, I decided to fly down. There was less of a chance that I would embarrass myself. As soon as I landed, Carnelian glared at me with such a force, that I flinched. She jumped off of the stairs and flew herself to Flicker's desk. She abruptly turned right and continued down the hall, me and Kinkajou trailing after her.

   "What got her into such a bad mood?" Kinkajou asked. At impeccable timing, Carnelian thought,

   Stupid Scarlet, stupid Dragonets of Destiny. If Scarlet wasn't possibly alive, I wouldn't have to protect the brats.

   Her fingers twitched, shooting out sparks. I was about to answer Kinkajou when Mother's mantra came into my head: Stay secret, stay hidden, stay safe. Instead, I said,

   "I don't know." Kinkajou grinned at me suddenly.

   "Then this calls for investigation." She vanished so quickly, I didn't know where she went, but I could feel her. Carnelian walked into a room on the left side of the hall so I steered the very solid nothing into the room. Tsunami was in there, basking in the sunlight that was coming from a large open window. There was a small stream just outside of it that was trickling like the one by my house. There was a large desk where Tsunami sat (her feet were on the desk with the chair balancing on two legs) and three other tables placed around the room. It was probably her office.

   I took a quick note of what she was wearing; denim jeans, a gray t-shirt, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail.

   "Hey, Carnelian, Moonwatcher. Good job on finding the right room." She looked at me curiously. "Uh, Moon, you don't have anyone next to you." Kinkajou popped back into view, exclaiming,

   "HI!" Tsunami yelped and fell out of her chair.

   "Oh, squid guts. I told you not to do that to me anymore, Kinkajou!" she said loudly from her spot on the floor. Kinkajou barely heard over her laughter.