Page 5

Malia

"Here you are! I was so worried.

Oh man, I can’t believe you stood up to Keahi," Wystan gushes, hurrying toward me.

"It’s okay, I’m fine.

I will get a punishment for stealing his pear, though." I have to admit, breaking the rules on my first day here isn’t what I expected or even wanted.

I don’t even know what had gotten into me that made me act out in the cafeteria. I’ve never been described as mellow, but I usually keep my head on straight during confrontations.

There’s something about Keahi that made me lose the ability to do that.

The way he acted, like he had every right to be mean and his word was to be taken as the truth, it didn’t sit right with me.

Especially considering he turned all his malevolent attention on my first and only friend in this place. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.

"Forget about that, everyone is talking about you." My friend brushes me off, their voice high and excited as they drag me back to the hall.

My steps falter at the news.

It’s my very first day, and I am already the center of attention. Way to go, Malia, way to go!

"Me? Why?" I hadn’t noticed anyone watching while I argued with Keahi.

We didn’t make that much of a scene, did we? I mean, yes, it escalated when he used his damn powers on me like a total psycho, but that didn’t last so long.

Then again, Kaz yelled at us to stop across the entire cafeteria, which definitely drew some attention. Oh, man.

"The guy that stole my apple, Keahi, is one of the best students of his division, some even say the best.

And he is only ten years old.

He has a temper, though, and a rotten personality, so no one really talks to him."

Before I can express my lack of surprise that people avoid him, we enter the cafeteria, and I decide to keep my mouth shut.

Some students turn their heads as we walk by, but I hold my chin high, returning any smiles that are thrown my way until I finally sit down at the table Wystan tells me to.

I already cowered yesterday when I entered this room, and I don’t plan on making it a habit.

"That was awesome!" a boy at our table expresses his excitement as soon as Wystan takes a seat next to me.

I smile at him wordlessly, not sure what to say to that.

Luckily, Wystan swoops in by making introductions first.

"Malia, this is my friend Dustin.

Dustin, Malia." With that out of the way, the other kids at the table start asking me questions about myself.

I reply openly and hope my nerves don’t show at having everyone’s vivid attention on me. They all seem nice, which only makes me more afraid of messing up by dropping an inappropriate joke or laughing too much. I don’t know these people and their sense of humor, and I ramble when I’m nervous.

After the short interrogation, which I surpass with no major hiccups, the conversation takes a natural flow.

I relax in my seat, glad to be learning some things of my own.

Wystan, for example, used to live in Brazil while Dustin was born in Sweden.

As they talk about the individual countries, something inside of me twists painfully.

How can they talk about their homes so easily when they haven’t been there in years? Homesickness is already nagging at me from the back of my mind, making me dread the night when I’ll be left alone with my thoughts.

I’ve been here for less than 24 hours.

I marvel even more at my new friend when they tell me all about their father without bursting into tears.

He raised Wystan by himself since their mother left right after giving birth, but he got sick when Wystan was around five years old.

A year later, on the day of their father’s funeral, an agent from Arcane found Wystan near their father’s gravestone and brought them here before the authorities could get them settled anywhere else.

I come close to shedding a tear for my friend, but I seem to be the only sentimental one at the table.

While Wystan’s voice carries obvious affection as they speak of their deceased parent, there’s no melancholy or sadness.

Maybe a bit of regret at most.

If I were to talk about my family, I’d be a sobbing mess in seconds.

The hopelessness and finality of my situation would come crashing back into the forefront of my mind, but I refuse to let it come to that.

This isn’t the time or place for that.

No, I push all thoughts of anything besides this academy far, far away to the back of my mind.

"Malia?" A tall girl interrupts us a while later.

"I’m here to give you a tour of the academy." She smiles down at me, and I tell my friends goodbye before following her outside.

She’s a water handler and tells me about the school’s rules, teachers, and other students.

We walk down a few pristine white corridors, and she shows me the training- and classrooms before we end up in the west wing.

The whole interior is very simple with its plain white walls and marble floors.

Only the training rooms a floor below are a little darker.

Their contrasting black floors and grey walls give them a cavy look. My eyes welcome the small respite from the constant brightness of the upper floor.

In the west wing, there is a long hallway with rooms to the left and right.

That’s where all the rooms for the water division are.

My guide shows me to my dorm where my roommate already awaits. With that last piece of information, I thank the older girl and she leaves.

"Hi, my name is Malia," I tell my roommate after a second of hesitation, feeling strangely shy.

I’m supposed to be living with this girl for the next eight years, after all.

If we don’t get along, it’ll make both of our lives a whole lot less comfortable. I need her to like me.

Luckily, the small girl breaks into a huge grin that eases some of my worry.

"Nice to meet you.

I’m Baia," We start chatting, both rambling just a little too much in a show of our nerves or maybe excitement. Before long, there is a knock on the door.

In the meantime, I’ve learned that Baia has been here for almost a year now but still struggles with her powers.

She’s told me it is hard for her to concentrate and that some people have a weaker bond to their elements.

I just hope I will do alright and that Arcane really didn’t make a mistake bringing me here. It seems surreal that I’m supposed to be able to control water.

I open the door and find myself face-to-face with Keahi.

Baia is quick to hide behind a corner, but I don’t move away.

He rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Kaz says we have to clean training room 11.

Some earth newbies made a mess." His voice is dripping with disdain and condescension, his eyes bored and hard as they bore into me.

It’s enough to trigger my fight or flight instinct, begging me to stand up to him no matter how irrational that would be. I fight the urge and say nothing as I push past him and walk to said room. His long steps make just enough noise for me to know that he’s trailing after me with lazy steps.

"Where are the cleaning utensils?" I ask once we are in the training room.

He doesn’t answer, walking straight toward a little door in the wall instead.

Coming back, he’s carrying a big and a small broom, as well as a garbage can.

He presses the small broom into my hand, lays the can down, and starts gathering all the dirt into one pile in the middle of the floor.

All without acknowledging me beyond sending me a few dirty looks whenever I’m in his line of sight.

When he is done, he finally addresses me.

"Get that into the can." He puts his broom back into the closet and leaves without another word.

I should have known he would take the easy job and leave me to do the rest.

I huff at the closed door he just vanished through and set to work.

I walk back into my room twenty minutes later.

I wasn’t sure how perfectly clean the floor was supposed to be, so I tried my best to get all the dirt in the can, hoping not to make an even worse impression to my superiors than I already have.

I find my room empty when I return.

I don’t know where Baia is, but I’m glad for some time to myself.

There are so many new things I’ve learned in the last twenty-four hours, and I need some time to process them. Not the part concerning my parents, though. I still push any memory or thought about my them away. I don’t know what would happen if I acknowledged the fact that my parents, the only people I had in this world and who meant everything to me, are... No.

I distract myself with my fear of the first training session tomorrow, my new friend Wystan, and even Keahi.

He will definitely continue to be a problem.

The thought of how he acts like he’s better than everyone here and walks all over the other students is enough to make my blood boil. I can’t believe everyone lets him get away with it. If he expects me to fall in line, he’ll be in for a surprise. I will not let him treat me or my friends that way anymore.

"Uhm, Malia? Are you all right? Don’t you want to get dinner?" Baia’s soft voice rips me out of my thoughts.

I sit up on my bed to look at her.

"Yes.

Wait, did you just say dinner?" How long have I been lying here?

"Yeah.

I’m sorry I didn’t get you, I thought you knew." She looks sincerely sorry, so I brush her off.

"Don’t worry about it.

Can I still go?" With no clue about the current time, I wouldn’t know if the buffet was closed yet.

She confirms it’s still open, and I enter the cafeteria a few minutes later. Most of the tables are still occupied by older kids, but it’s certainly less crowded than this morning. Not seeing any of my new friends or acquaintances, I sit down at an empty table in the back.

"You have got to be kidding me.

Get away from my table, Princess," Keahi’s voice disturbs my peaceful dinner a few minutes in, his words doused in apparent annoyance.

I turn around to see him standing cross-armed behind me.

"This was the only empty table.

Besides, I don’t see your name written on it," I say, deciding not to remark on the stupid nickname he gave me.

I don’t know where it came from or what stupid link he made between me and that particular word. Princess. Jerk. He’s probably just looking to get a rise out of me so I get into more trouble.

I’ll be damned if I give him the satisfaction.

Oh no.

I’ll make sure to keep my temper in check this time if it means he’ll be robbed of any sort of pleasure.

"I don’t need to label it since it is clear to everyone whose seat this is and has been for the past six years." He stares me down, a fire in his dark eyes that tells me he won’t rest his case any time soon, and it’s almost tempting to walk away and not waste my breath on him.

If only it wouldn’t grant him the satisfaction of thinking he won.

Everyone is so happy to always give him whatever he wants, and I’d hate to do the same.

He might be stubborn, but so am I.

Keahi

Malia scoots to the very end of the bench and continues eating.

I scoff, effectively making her turn to me with an unimpressed glare.

"I’m trying not to make another scene today, so just drop it," she tells me.

Meanwhile, I’m wondering when we changed into a dynamic where she tells me what to do.

Oh, that’s right. We didn’t.

I don’t follow her orders, which means I was absolutely not going to drop it, but a familiar figure looming by the back entrance catches my eye the exact moment I open my mouth to tell her so.

Kaz has already taken away my privilege to stay up until 1 am this Saturday.

I don’t need another punishment and lecture. His orders, I do follow.

Malia looks as surprised by my action as I feel, which only irritates me more.

I eat as fast as I can without sparing the infuriating human at my table a glance.

Then, I rush out of the hall, initially heading in the direction of the fire dorms but taking a flight of stairs down instead of heading straight ahead at one point.

There are only a few ways to get in and out of this building and you need a permission slip from Adira or a trainer to use any of them.

Luckily, a few years back, I stumbled across an old janitor’s closet with a small vent that leads to the outside.

It’s possibly the only security flaw in the entire institution, and while a good person would point it out to a superior to minimize the chances of an attack ever reaching us through there, I’m willing to take the risk to keep the one place that manages to calm me down no matter how furious I am.

I close the door to the tiny room, look it behind me, and heave myself into the vent.

I press my legs and arms against two opposite walls of the cool, smooth surface and push the lid off once I am at the top.

I used to struggle with the climb leading outside, but now the few steep feet have nothing on me.

The vent leads to a vast field of grass right outside the academy walls.

Up ahead, the trees of the forest surrounding the academy stand more and more closely to one another, and while it should evoke a restricting feeling, being between the academy’s unmovable wall and the dark forest, I’ve never felt more freedom than here.

Any other season, the field would be covered in flowers. Now, the ground is frozen stiff. The fresh winter air hits my face and instantly has the violent flames inside of me calming down. Skies, how I love this place.

I only stay outside for half an hour since I don’t want to raise any suspicion, but it’s enough to sooth my anger and frustration.

I have two lessons of actual school before my training starts tomorrow, so I decide to get ready for bed.

While the groups in which we practice manipulating our elements consist of people with the same level of skill, our other classes are divided by age.

It’s always a feat dealing with other ten-year-olds, so I’m desperate to be well-rested, at least. As well rested as I can get with my struggle to fall asleep and the nightmares.

In the morning, I’m one of the first kids at breakfast and quickly eat my food.

Most people sleep as long as possible on weekdays and end up being in a hurry afterward.

I’d rather sleep an hour less than spend my morning in a cramped cafeteria.

My first class is geography, my favorite.

As the start of the lesson draws closer and more classmates start filing into the room, I make sure to glare at every one of them so the seats closest to me stay empty.

Any fidgeting nearby drives me crazy, so I’m not taking my chances with any of my classmates. They’re all noisy in one way or another.

The bell rings, an awful, shrill sound, and the teacher immediately claps his hands to get everyone’s attention.

"So, class, this is our new student, Malia.

She is from Italy and part of the water division." The teacher points at Malia, who I now notice is sitting in the front row. She turns around to smile at her classmates, and I can see the light blush on her pale cheeks as she doles out a small wave. I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the teacher. Of course, she is in my favorite class.

Like she hasn’t ruined enough with all the change she’s trying to bring to my day-to-day life, she turns out to be a very engaged student.

I was used to being the student who answered all the questions alone, so when Malia reveals herself to be a teacher’s pet a few minutes in and I’m suddenly invisible to the man up front, I have to bite my tongue to refrain from making a scene.

I take my education seriously and don’t want to get sent outside.

See it as a challenge. I keep telling myself that. Maybe some competition will boost my ambition even further.

It's hard to hold on to that mantra for the next hour of class.

Great fucking challenge it is when I’m not picked to reply to any of the questions.

Malia’s hand always shoots up immediately with the kind of desperation that teachers love, so the lazy rightening of my arm with my elbow resting on my desk isn’t even noticed.

By the end of the lesson, I’m the first to leave the stuffy room without a backward glance.

Luckily, Malia is in none of my other classes today, so the time passes quickly.

By the time my last period ends, I am more than ready for my training. I put on my uniform and am the first one in our room; training room 3.