Original Souls (A World Apart #1) (34 page)

"Oh!" she gasped in surprised. "Yeah, I got you. I'll keep it under wraps ... for now ... definitely." He looked at her curiously. "Look Andy, I know I put you out at our last school, but I can keep a secret when I want to."

"So, that means you wanted to tell everyone about my feelings back in Imperativo?" he inquired, with a sad frown bubbling over his boyish, fresh looking face.

She cowered slightly as she realized she told him something she never wanted him to know. "I thought that the Imperativo people were more accepting of other cultures, Andy. How was I supposed to know they'd kick you out?" She was trying to sway him to her reason. "And think about it, really! If those jerks would have never discriminated against our family..." she paused to collect her thoughts. "Well, then...then Aurora Boreal school would have never let us in. None of us have high enough test scores to get scholarships. Nor enough family riches to buy our way in. S
o
… really you should be thanking me. I'm the only reason why you even got the opportunity to meet Corinth. Or go to this marvelous school." She was kissing her own behind at this point. She closed her eyes as she spoke in a higher register with each word.

Eventually, Emmy couldn't take it anymore. She swiftly walked over to her twin sister and smacked her face so hard that it knocked Emm
a’
s headband off. Emmy's eyes were wild as she stood over her sister, now splayed on the ground of the gazebo.

Some of the kids in the gazebo cheered. "Cat-fight! Twin ~ Cat-fight!"

"No!" Emmy shouted at a torn asunder Emma. "What really happen was you sold your own brother up the river. All because you're too stupid to know when someone's pumping you for information! Those Levantarse jocks had it out for Andy from jump street. And all that, because one of them said that you were prett
y
— which is a given by the way!" Emmy noticed that Emma started to cry. She attempted complimenting her sister while chastising her all the same. "Because he said you're cute Emma," she calmed-her tone, "you told him that Anvard likes boys and not girls for relationships. You know i
t’
s a normal thing in Lirio, and even in Velocidad. You also knew that it was far beyond taboo in Imperativo. You kne
w—
and you did it anyway."

Emma was on the floor sobbing, while the others left the gazebo to jump on the chariot. Only Claudia remained besides the trio of Fielder family members. Emmy took a much needed deep breath after she wrapped up her monologue.

"I'm sorry," was all Emma could come up with at first. "I'm truly, deeply sorry, Andy. I hope you don't hate me for all this trouble I caused you." Tears streamed down her face as her brother knelt down to wipe them from her cheeks.

"No, I could never hate you." Corinth walked up onto the steps of the gazebo as Anvard started to speak. No one but Claudia noticed him. She waved her hand, to say hi, but didn't speak a word. He and she then turned to the brother and sister show after the awkward greeting. "I just hope that you learned a valuable lesson from all we've been through since mom and dad were forced to transfer us from that Imperativo school to this one. Even though you screwed me over big time, it never crossed my mind to want to hate you." He lifted up her chin, and saw a smile break through the tears that continued forming. "Come on, let's go see if we can find Corinth."

They all turned around and noticed their little friend standing on the steps. "Hey guys!" he said, and his voice cracked awkwardly, because he could now see all the tears in Emma's eyes. "Sorry, if I kept you waiting."

"No worries, le
t’
s just hurry up and get on the chariot. I
t’
s the last one," Anvard informed Corinth.

"Are you sure i
t’
s the last one, because I just saw it pull off into the sky a minute ago," Corinth told them.

Anvard's face dropped. "What! And you didn't try to flag them down?"

Corinth got a little defensive. He didn't think it was his fault. "Well, I had no idea it was the last one. Sena. Hendrix walked me down here, but told me to skip the chariot that had just pulled up. Then she used some spell to get herself to the Pavilion quickly, because she's the speaker," he took in a deep breath. He rushed through the words so forcefully that all the oxygen left his lungs abruptly.

"I wasn't blaming you or anything," Anvard told him as he walked over and grabbed his hand. "I just don't know how we're going to get to the Pavilion now." He led Corinth out of the gazebo and onto the grounds that sparkled with silver pixie dust.

"Well, my dad said that when he went to school her
e
— the kids always walked over there," Corinth offered that tidbit to the group with a hopeful shine in his turquoise eyes. He was suggesting that they suck it up, and just march their more than able legs over to the massive structure. He'd only seen it on that map that Emma stole from Bernard's office, but he could tell it was huge.

"That seems to be the only plausible way to get there," Claudia spoke up with her silky voice. She then galloped, in a not so silky manner, over to Corinth. She gave him an awkward hug. Awkward for Corinth, that is. Then said, "hi, again."

"You two already met?" Emmy asked.

"Well, sort of. It was while Emma was blubbering on the floor, but we still kind of met," she declared innocently.

Emma's heart didn't take too well to that statement, but her face told a different story entirely. She looked unfazed by the jeer. She just stood there with the faint remnant of a smile, as she fixed herself up. Utilizing the small mirror in her compact, she gazed upon her beautiful face, brown hair and flawless skin with pride. She was seriously considering turning over a slightly new leaf. Hearing those words come from Emmy's mouth made them all the more real to her. Her twin sister was the only one she truly respected.

"Okay, so Corinth, this is Claudia. She's me and Emm
a’
s roommate. Claudia, Corinth. So, now you two have been properly introduced," said a formal sounding Emmy.

Corinth threw a clunky wave her way, and she smiled back graciously. Corinth thought she was absolutely beautiful, but her hair didn't quite measure up to his perception of beauty or normality.

Claudia was from Velocidad. A far off World away from Draconia. In Velocidad things moved very fast. The entire place was like one massive city-center. Everything was high-rise, and made of asphalt and steel. They had a city life mentality, and a respectful openness to self-exploration. Her skin was light tan. It almost looked yellow to Corinth, but he had certainly never seen a person in Draconia with purple hair. Claudia dyed her hair to match her eyes. She loved everything matchy-matchy. Her natural hair color was a very dark brown. Much better than purple in most peopl
e’
s eyes, but she didn't care about opinions. But facts on the other hand. They were her sustenance.

She was a stone cold killer when it came to fact checking. She would challenge anyone on the integrity of their research, even Sena. Hendrix. And that's saying something. Her black rimmed wire glasses made her look very studious. But didn't exactly coincide with her eccentric fashion sense, though somehow her eclectic ensemble worked. She wore a purple plaid skirt with white stockings and a white and purple striped hoody.

A breeze blew by that made her shiver. "I am so glad I brought this jacket. If we're going to be walking there I don't want to freeze to death doing it," Claudia announced.

"I
t’
s not that cold," Anvard corrected. "The firebirds that fly above the force field keep everything at a fairly constant temperature from night to day," he motioned to the sky as if there were actually firebirds to witness.

"Actually, Andy, as they call yo
u…
" He smirked, but was hiding how much it irked him for her to call him that. He didn't even like when his sisters said it. "That's a myth. No realistic evidence has ever been established on their existence."

"Well, why isn't it as cold as ice this far north. The Angora Mts. are just outside the school grounds on the far north side of Hyperborean. Everything outside the force field is frozen solid. But the mountain ranges that fall under the field are nice and comfy." He came in a little closer, emphasizing his next point.
-“
So, in your -
expert
opinion, what the heck is keeping this place from being a popsicle
?
”

"There's some real magik doing that. Not myths!" she insisted her own point as she stuck a scolding finger out at him, chiding him for feeding into legends.

"Ah," he knew he had her cornered now, "and is that magik known, or unknown?"

Claudia put that same finger she pointed at Andy, to the side of her mouth. She had a look that expressed deep thought, but she snapped out of the fogginess quickly. "Okay, okay, you're right. I don't have enough information to finish this debate. But I'll get it! I guarantee you that." She grinned and he smiled. But he really didn't care whether she followed through or not. He knew he was right, because he'd seen a firebird with his own eyes.

"Okay, I'm finished with my makeup, we can go now." Emma was back in control and ready move.

No one bothered to tell her that they weren't waiting for her, because they were afraid she'd burst into tears again. Little did they know that she was far passed whining over Anvard's personal problems. She loved Aurora Boreal, and was more than satisfied that they were transferred just in time for the start of the semester. She walked ahead of them all as they made their way from the Olympus Grounds, northeast to the Pavilion.

<*>

Meanwhile, the last students and staff alike were filing in through the gates of the massive structure. There was nearly no seat unfilled, except those not holding Corinth, the Fielders, and Claudia. It was a mandatory assembly. Meant to inform students, new and old, of the way Aurora Boreal functioned as a singular unit.

The beige, yellow, and black cylinder shaped arena seated tens of thousands, though only 8,200 students attended the school per semester. The other seats were taken up by staff and family members that dropped their children off, but couldn't just leave them. These types would miss their babies before they turned on the ignition to their car to drive out of the parking lot. Emotions were running high for a lot of parents and students. Even the staff was a bit high strung.

The academic faculty & staff had a peaceful early spring-break away from their work place, and most didn't want to return. Not to sniveling little rich kids, over intellectual scholarship recipients, or numb skulled athletes. They wanted to stay far away from the small World of Hyperborean. Keep to their hometowns in the Worlds they hailed from. But money makes everything go round. The positions they held at Boreal school paid handsomely, so there's always someone, somewhere, just waiting on a waiting-list to take their jobs. None of the faculty or extended staff ever forgot that key detail. They treated their positions with a precise diligence. Perhaps none more than Sen. Bernard.

He stood a tier below Sena. Hendrix as she turned, from reviewing a sheet of notes, to the podium and the large audience before her. She was in the center of a massive crowd in the bleacher seats, running the length of the Levantarse track that encircles the Pavilion field. The hologram screen behind her bore her forward presence. Large enough for everyone, from every angle in the stadium to see. This was to ensure that all students got a good look, once again, at who their Grand Ministrant is. Likewise, to see the presentation. Beginning no
w
…

"Hello students, family members, faculty & staff. It is wonderful to see all of your shining faces here tonight."

She was surprised to hear cheers already rippling through the stands like crashing waves in the ocean. The students were all amped up from their chariot rides through the sky.

"I am S
eñ
ora Silvia Patricia Hendrix, but you can just call me Sena. Hendrix, the Grand Ministrant of Aurora Boreal. I don't know which is shorter, but we can work out the kinks on that over the semester." Some of the parents chuckled in their seats as things got underway. "I am your host this evening, and I hope that I do entertain. As this is as much a presentation of information, as it is to sell you on the marvelous experiences you can have at the greatest institution in all the Worlds." The speakers picked up her voice effortlessly as she tried to stay focused on the task at hand. Not worry so much about the gut wrenching feeling she had, which caused her to intentionally delay Corint
h’
s arrival.