Chapter 8: The Leader and the Newbie
I observed my future room. I want to laugh. Is this really a school or are they just playing with me? I have my own room. A room that is bigger than Lucas" house and it was even filled with items I couldn"t afford.
"Feel at home, you are in the Pandora section of the castle. Only the senior students are allowed in this part." Miss Aura said while putting away my uniform that she held.
"We are not sure about your sizes yet that"s why the clothes in the closet are free sized. Don"t worry I will tell the clothing department about what you need. Maybe before the end of the day, they will be here."
"How—"
"Breakfasts are taken in the Hall and in the Hall only. Lunch is in the cafeteria and Dinner is your choice," she said and ignored what I was about to say. "Your schedule is on your bed. Don"t worry you won"t really study. You just have to train like your group. Your schedule is different compared to the normal students of t.i.tan." She paused as if to recall about something she forgot.
“Miss —”
"And yes, I will see you later. I am one of the advisers of your group. Let"s see, what else?" She looked at the clock. Six-twenty-five in the morning. "I think that"s all. You need to go to the Breakfast Hall."
"By myself?" I asked.
"I taught you where the hall is earlier, right?" she asked. "And I have to be presentable as a teacher too. If you have questions just approach me okay? I have to go. Good luck." Then she left me in the room.
I exited the room and walked in the hallway where I came earlier. As time pa.s.sed, I felt that a lot of stares were being directed towards me. I"m like in a factory of porcelain dolls because I saw how the people here looked and how fair their skin was. And all of them have this curious expression on their faces.
I simply looked at the view around the Great Hall. It"s one of the many chambers of the palace and it"s bigger than the first one that I saw. The windows that reached until the ceiling were covered with thick curtains. There was also a chandelier above that was made of crystals.
There was a long table in front and some banners hung on the wall. The logo of Hesperia was in the maroon banner, in the green one was a logo that I was unfamiliar with, and in the gray was the logo of t.i.tan Academy. I gazed at the logo of t.i.tan and I remembered the crest. Did they know what happened last night?
"Is she a new student?" I heard a woman asked.
"Maybe. I"ve only seen her now," answered the person that was with her.
I’ve suddenly become conscious of myself while they were looking at me. Now I"ve stepped in a kind of place where there"s full of people whom I’ve never even dreamt to be with. All of them looked perfect, beautiful, and rich. Far from me. I felt suffocated.
I continued walking and tried to ignore the looks they were giving me. There were four long tables in the Hall where I need to find a seat. It"s in a color code and it"s the same with the uniform of the students. Freshmen students who wear maroon uniforms were on the maroon table. Soph.o.m.ores who wear brown were on the brown table. Juniors wear navy blue and seniors wear gray, you get the picture.
I immediately went to my designated table. I walked in the middle of the people who didn"t have anything to do but stare at me. Why were they looking at me like that? Did they only have a new student now? I sighed and continued walking. Then out of nowhere someone suddenly screamed.
"Guys, they are here."
I frowned and halted. Within the next five seconds, the noisy hall became quiet. The students sat down on their designated seats. The others completely stopped talking some even stopped breathing. I was the only left standing in the middle of the Hall. Who were they referring to? The teachers?
I followed the gaze of almost every student. From the opened double door of the Hall, I saw who they were. Gin"s group. They entered the Hall one by one.
"Psh." I silently mumbled. So it"s just them.
The first to enter the Hall were Ethan and Cain. They seemed to be talking seriously because they didn"t even notice the people that were staring at them. Or maybe they were used to it? They were followed by Victoria, who was frowning early in the morning. It looks like she woke up in the wrong side of the bed. The last were Gin and Corrine. They walked together but they were not talking. It"s like they have this silent conversation. They were communicating through body language.
"Wow, they came together."
"Look, even Corrine is with them."
"Didn"t Corrine already backed out?"
I stopped at what I heard. Right. Corrine back out that"s why I"m here. A moment later I noticed Cain looking around it seems like he is looking for someone. The women around became excited, as Cain"s gaze swept past them. It made them happy.
Suddenly Cain"s gaze met mine. He immediately smiled when he saw me. "Hey! So you"re already here."
In a snap, the attention of the people in the Hall went back to me. They all turned in my direction and their frown deepened. "Who is she really?" Someone almost complained.
It seems that Cain deliberately let that happen. They really know how to make a grand entrance, huh? I gave him a bad look. Is shouting from the other side of the Hall is his form of Diplomacy?
"Shia, come here!" He called me smiling.
The people began to whisper when I ignored what Cain said. I continued walking until I reached the Seniors Table. The people began to scatter when I approached.
"Why didn"t she follow?"
"Is she deaf or something?"
I sat down on the chair and ignored what they were saying. I purposely sit facing my back towards Gin"s group. I stared at the man in front of me. He suddenly moved from his seat.
Tsk.
A few seconds pa.s.sed and the Hall become quieter. Like they stopped breathing. What is their problem?
Suddenly I heard a scream behind me. Like they suddenly become afraid. I knitted my brow and I was about to look back, when a hand grabbed my wrist. I looked at the owner of the hand which made me startled.
"Cut the bulls.h.i.t."
Just a few words and I felt like something was stuck in my airways and I couldn"t breathe. He tightly gripped my wrist and it was painful. The Hall was suddenly filled with pressured silence. What the f.u.c.k.
Gin suddenly pulled me and dragged me to the group. What"s his problem? Commanding and talking to me as if he controlled my life as well. What an obsessive control freak.
"Let go of me." I hissed as we crossed the Great Hall.
"You"re one of us now. Now act like one." He responded without looking. How can he sound so calm dragging me as if there"s no tomorrow!
"I don"t belong to any of you." I countered.
He suddenly stopped walking. He turned to me. I froze on my spot. Okay. I shouldn"t have said that. I looked at the group and saw Corrine groaned as if I said something that might kindle my death.
"Really." Gin said and he seems to be challenging me. I stared at his sharp eyes. Those expressionless cold eyes–
"Let"s see then." I almost dropped my jaw when we went to a different direction. We are not heading to the group but outside the Hall.
My senses started screaming danger. An extreme danger. But Gin can"t just do whatever he is planning, right? It"s a violation to the rule to use his ability on other students!
"Let go of me. What the f.u.c.k are you doing?" I yelled and tried to remove his grip on me.
We are now outside the Hall and he was dragging me to the corridor. I hear Ethan and Cain talking inside the Hall. I can hear everyone talking. I can feel their fear and excitement. I can feel their wonder and curiosity. My special ability went haywire because of Gin. What is he planning to do?
We went down on a staircase at the end of the corridor. A stone staircase and far from the luxurious and carpeted corridor above. Am I going into the dungeon? Will he imprison me?
A moment later we arrived in another corridor. A corridor with a fire torch at every meter on the wall and a small light from the small window from above.
Gin suddenly stopped on a door that is made of stone. It opened slowly. I saw what was inside. It was a room. A dark room. But when it opened the light inside lit up one by one and I totally froze there. It was a training room. He pulled me inside the room and suddenly released my hand which made me almost lose my balance.
"Let"s a have a deal." He said as we are both inside and the door gradually closed.
"Beat me and you can do whatever you want," he said as if he"s offering a bargained product. "If I win, you need to stop being a little b.i.t.c.h and do whatever I tell you."
Control freak. That"s what kept repeating in my mind. He is doing this to control me. Because he doesn’t want that his orders are being defied.
I met his eyes. "What a fair game," I said sarcastically. "The leader and the newbie."
He smirked at what I said. I wanted to pat myself for sounding so calm and composed because deep inside I was overwhelmed with fear. I don"t know his ability. And based on other people"s reaction, I will surely die if I confront him.
"Complaining now, are we?" He mocked.
"I"M NOT." I hissed.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. I don"t even know if I can do this. But I don"t plan to back out. What"s the worst thing that can happen to me? I"m in a place that I don"t even give a f.u.c.k, with people I hate the most, and a guy who wants to have a control of everything?
"Okay then,” I answered. “Deal."
ED: I die every time. Curse this cliffhanger.