“What do you want?”
Mackenzie let the annoyance seep into her voice, letting Cazire know she was on the cliff’s edge. Farou and Rouale swiveled their heads back and forth, as if watching a sports match. Harker gouged a deep mark onto the tabletop with his claw.
Cazire leaned in, her white hair spilling over her shoulder, golden eyes gleaming. “Have you guys noticed anything off lately?”
“What do you mean by that?” Harker retorted. Yet Mackenzie knew his interest was piqued, and it irritated her to no end – can’t he see I want her to back off?
“Like, oh, I don’t know, the teachers acting strange, students disappearing…?” Cazire said, leaving the sentence hanging on purpose, knowing their full attention was hooked now.
Farou swallowed a bite of his lunch. “Not really.”
“Stop beating around the bush,” Mackenzie ordered. “Tell us what’s really going on, why you’re really here, showing up suddenly where you’re not wanted.”
“Well,” She began. “For starters, a couple of older students just vanished. One day they were here, the next they weren’t. The teachers claimed they were sent back home because they were sick. Quarantined, you know what I mean?”
“That’s nothing suspicious,” Harker complained.
Cazire rolled her eyes, flicking her quilled earring away. “I carry messages for the teachers. Yesterday, I got a really suspicious message – your professor wanted me to pass it to Professor Ovonel. It was asking Ovonel to make sure that no students were allowed to go to the fourth corridor on the second level, and to make sure the doors were locked. Sounds fishy, doesn’t it?”
Mackenzie frowned. “They’re probably just doing some top-secret Council project thing. The doors locked? Probably something to do with explosives, that’s why.”
“Then how do you explain the missing students?” Cazire persisted.
“They probably are ill, and it’s just a coincidence.”
“I’m going with Mackenzie on this,” Harker agreed.
“I don’t think so,” Rouale mused. “Cazire might be right. Farou?”
“Definitely, brother dear.”
“I’ll believe you if you have proof,” Mackenzie said skeptically.
“Fine,” Cazire relented. “You know my brother, Calon? He told me he was passing some papers to Professor Enirgerep two days ago. He passed the fourth corridor… and swears he heard screaming, ‘Doors will not hold us!’.”
“Then, when he asked Professor Enirgerep about it, she got a funny look on her face and shooed him off, insisting it was nothing. Calon passed the corridor again, heading to his class. He told me there was nothing but silence then.”
Mackenzie still didn’t believe her, even though Cazire’s story left her uneasy. It’s just silly gossip, why am I afraid of? “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”
Cazire looked indignant. “Why, you still do not-”
“BOO!”
The unexpected bellow startled them all. Mackenzie unwittingly screamed, along with Harker’s yelled curse ‘Irutinb!’ and Cazire’s wailing cry of shock. Stupid twins and their stupid jokes.
Cazire had fled the moment she heard the bellow. Harker growled, flecks of poison flying out of his mouth. He brandished his claws. “You think that was funny?!”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Farou and Rouale laughed uncontrollably at their reaction. They doubled over until they choked.
Mackenzie’s face was tomato-red. “I’ll kill you both.”
“We-we’re s-sorry,” Farou snorted, pincers darting everywhere.
“O-or are w-we?” Rouale’s voice shook with mirth.
Those two, I swear. She hurled her fork at them, cursing.
Unluckily, the bell rang at the moment, signaling the start of classes – which meant Mackenzie couldn’t properly berate the brothers.
Of course, there’s always lunchtime.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“All students, please go to the Assembly Hall at once.”
The announcement echoed all around the classroom. He wondered what was going on, wondered if it had to do with why his mother had been so grave these days.
The class had been doing a test (yet again) when the PA system crackled to life. He was glad to hear the silence being broken – he thrived in a chaotic class, not quiet prep.
The class began buzzing with chatter, speculating about why they needed to go to the Assembly Hall. His mother looked graver, if that was even possible.
“Come,” She called, opening the door. “Don’t dawdle.”
They dropped their stuff and trooped outside. He was happy to skip the test, and he suspected the others felt the same. Walking down the hall with everyone else, he noticed a nervous face and grinned. Here comes trouble.
He sidled up toward her, pushing through the throngs. Sneakily, he tugged a lock of her hair, just hard enough to get her attention.
She whirled around at once, furious. “Julian Pirelou, I don’t care who your mother is – if you do that one more time, I will curse you!”
Julian began to reconsider his decisions. She was the best student in class, the A-list, smarter than anyone else. She might actually know how to curse him. But he forged on anyway.
“Oh, Latroine, I know you wouldn’t hurt a fly,” He teased. “Why the long face? Is it because…you didn’t get to finish the test?”
She threw up her hands and started ranting, despite her dislike of him. “I was almost finished! If only I had a little more time!”
“Latroine, you’re the only one unhappy about it, did you know?”
“So?” She snapped. Of all people, she would be the one who wanted to finish the test. Such a know-it-all.
“And don’t call me Latroine,” She growled. “My name is Kesmarane! Is it so hard to say?”
“Whatever you say, Kesmarane Latroine,” He said wickedly.
Kesmarane’s hair was tied into four braided ponytails, two larger than the others. Her green complexion contrasted with her flaxen hair, which didn’t have the usual leaves of Maguez. Two brown horns showed her Xollir blood. Her emerald eyes glowered at Julian, with a hint of threat.
He found her last name hilarious. Latrione meant ‘weary king’, after all. He annoyed her at every chance he got, enjoying her outbursts. Still, if she’s going to curse me…
“Leave me alone,” She grumbled. She pushed her way through the crowds, all the while glaring at him.
Julian chuckled to himself. As they reached the doors to the Hall, his mother going in first and everyone filing in after her, he plotted the next thing he was going to do to irritate Kesmarane. Maybe I’ll stick a paper crown on her head.
Once inside the Hall, he followed the class to an empty row of seats, which his mother directed them to. He found himself sitting next to Alistair Low, the tall yet scrawny boy from his class.
Alistair’s yellow eyes looked like they were looking something not in the room, wandering. His freckles were almost hidden by his grey chain markings. Dark blue hair shorn at the bottom showed off the peculiar tail that wavered at the back of his head. He had the expression of someone someplace else, far away.
Julian never talked to Alistair much, since he was quiet and studious, which Julian was not. They rarely said anything more than two sentences to each other.
He crossed his legs and folded his arms, humming while waiting for the assembly to start. Wild ideas flashed in his head as he had nothing else to do – did the headmaster call an assembly to announce they were finally going to add pretzels to the canteen menu? Abolish homework? Expel Julian for bad behavior?
Although, surely they wouldn’t gather every single person in this place just to announce they’re going to kick me out.
If only I was that famous.
Suddenly, he felt Alistair stiffen. Then a goading voice called out, “Hey Alice, how’d you do?”
He smiled to himself; he was always pleased when he discovered a fellow joker. Farou and Rouale are a bit much, though. He turned around to see Alistair struggle to think up a good comeback and a girl with a mocking face leaning over from the row above them.
Tsuki Jiloneg.
Tsuki was a Mixed, a person of many bloodlines. She had perfectly wavy, coiffed tawny brown hair flecked with gold streaks, wore a leather tunic, dark eyes and pouty lips forever colored a brilliant red that contrasted with her paper-white skin. On her left arm all the way down to her hand was runic designs, like the ones under her right eye. Her limbs had odd raised bumps with a scaly texture – unformed fins.
Tsuki smile maliciously as Alistair still hadn’t come up with a retort, talons casually fingering her jacket. “Cat got you tongue?”
“Please stop calling me Alice,” He muttered.
“I like it. Very classic,” Julian joked. “At least your mother didn’t name you Alabaster or something silly.”
“Don’t know about that,” Tsuki purred, fangs showing. “Alistair sounds kind of old fashioned.”
“Yeah right,” Alistair said, brightening unexpectedly. “Like your name is so cool. Tsuki sounds like saliki, which means thunderstorm, right? Definitely matches with jiloneg. Sunset and thunderstorm, ha!"
“Very funny,” Tsuki scowled. Whatever she meant to say next was cut off by Julian’s mother, who shushed at them.
Julian faced in front, trying hard not to take sides. Tsuki knows how to insult, but Alistair did too. Tough choice. He was annoyed at his mother for interrupting what might have been an interesting talk.
He had zoned out so completely he didn’t even notice what was happening had Alistair not nudged him.
“-thank you all for coming on such a short notice,” The headmaster, Galor Conwak was saying.
“Now, many of you may have heard of the older students’ absence,” He continued. Julian was certain he saw Conawk glance at the Hon’Vallin siblings in a crowd. Makes sense, since I heard it from Calon and Cazire. “I would like to clarify about it, because I would rather you hear the facts, not a gossiped version that causes unnecessary panic passed around.”
“I know it was very sudden, but the absentees were diagnosed with some unknown malady, which is why they are not here today – they have been sent home, for quarantine purposes.”
“Another announcement is that students are now forbidden from going to the fourth corridor on the second level. A Council project is currently going on there. Any student caught there will be punished, so I suggest none of the older students try it.”
“I’m afraid to say that all sports tryouts will be suspended until further notice. Any usage of the stadium will also be suspended, as the stadium is off-limits. Since the project needs a wide open space, the stadium will be used.”
“If you notice any student is behaving strangely, please report it to a professor. Kindly stay away from them until they are taken to the hospital wing, since this malady is highly contagious.”
“That is all,” Galor concluded. “You may return to your classes.”
Weird assembly. Julian gazed around, observing the students reactions. The older ones were excitedly whispering, exchanging gossip. A few rows in front, he spotted the irritable girl from his class – Mallory? Madison? No, Mackenzie – giving Cazire an exasperated and I-told-you-so look.
Looking to his right, Julian then realized Alistair was frowning at the professors. He heard him mumble something to himself.
“No, that can’t be right. Where is Lyndi?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sister fights.
Most people might think boys are the most vicious in a quarrel, but clearly, they haven’t met Ecalias, Lu’rinou and Belryam Hongoro.
They fought like a pack of rabid Rewlians.
Rongo made eye contact with Cazerilo, his adoptive brother. They came to a silent agreement and continued eating their dinner, politely ignoring the ongoing verbal combat.
Dierlos, his older adoptive sister, had flounced off to go sit with her friends; the yelling was extra loud for her, due to her super senses. “Can’t take it!” She had squealed before grabbing her tray and gliding off, covering her ears with her hands.
From what Rongo could glean, Belryam had apparently hidden herself, invisible, as her older sister Ecalias was walking. She’d stuck out her tentacles, therefore tripping elegant Ecalias. They were arguing about it, Ecalias accusing Belryam of bullying her, Belryam defending herself. They had dragged poor Lu’rinou into it, wanting her to take sides.
“Can we please stop fighting?” Lu’rinou pleaded. “We can work out a compromise!”
Ecalias sniffed. “Seriously? You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“Seriously! Okay, uh, how about…” Lu’rinou fumbled for an idea. “Belryam apologizes, Ecalias. We’ll forgive and forget, like they say!”
Rongo thought that would happen when Dyacin came back to life.
Judging by Cazerilo’s expression, he felt the same.
He ate his food, careful not to say anything, or else his cousins would drag him in. He thought about the assembly. The reasons were logical, but things still feel suspicious.
After some more negotiating, Lu’rinou finally convinced her sisters to stop fighting. They came into a grudging truce in the end, though the tension was still thick enough for Rongo to cut it with his dagger.
“How’s you guys week been?” Cazerilo asked, in a transparent attempt to change the subject.
“Junandre!” Ecalias ranted. Her idea of curses were poisonous plants. She should take lessons from my old gang. “Professor Ovonel was fussy enough before. Few days ago she became even more so, fussing about this and that!”
Ecalias flicked her leafy hair away, some leaves falling out. She had all the beauty and grace of a Maguez, confident and brilliant her jade eyes capturing anyone’s attention. She was perfect in every aspect to an outsider. But to someone who truly knew her, she had a wild and colorful personality with a taste for dangerous plants – the deadlier, the better for her.
“I know, right?” Lu’rinou agreed eagerly. “My professor was really, really nervous. All you have to say is ‘Hello’, and he’ll jump out of his skin!”
“You haven’t met my professor,” Cazerilo chimed in. He paused. “Actually, she hasn’t been around lately. So it’s just her assistant. He’s okay, but while he does teach okay, I’m not sure if he’s even supposed to be qualified for this, since I’m quite sure he can’t read. You should hear the way he talks.”
“I’m not even sure how you qualified to come here,” Ecalias teased. “You did leave all your books at home!”
“How about you class, Rongo?” Belryam asked.
He nudged the last piece of his food. “Alright.”
“Explain more?” Lu’rinou said politely.
Rongo didn’t like the attention. Why is everybody staring at me? “My class combined with another, since our professor’s not here.”
“Interesting,” Cazerilo said, poker-faced. “Yes, Cazire did not tell everybody that about, oh, three days ago.”
Lu’rinou thumped him on the back, which must’ve hurt, since she was made of solidified metal. “No making fun of him. Or I kill you.”
Lu’rinou looked terrifying with her beat-you-to-a-pulp expression. She was muscular and gangly, bigger than her older sister. Not as tall as my roommate, thankfully. She really was sweet and helpful, so Rongo knew she’d never carry out any threat she made.
“Watch the wings,” Cazerilo complained.
“Saw your roommate the other day,” Ecalias commented casually. “So tall, I thought his head was going to hit the ceiling.”
“Does he scare you?” Cazerilo said in a sing-song voice.
Rongo said nothing.
“Shut your big mouth, Caz,” Belryam chastised. “Rongo, did you notice anyone from your class acting strange?”
“No,” he admitted.
“Why?” Lu’rinou wanted to know, scratching her silvery birth mark on her cheek, which was a pattern of dots and lines.
Belryam dropped her voice as everyone leaned in, even Rongo. Anything going on with my class? “Dierlos told me she heard someone of Rongo’s class – she didn’t know his name – talking to the nurse when she dropped by the Hospital Wing yesterday. Scrawny, freckles, probably Eshenqi half-blood. You know him?”
The last sentence was directed to Rongo, who shook his head regretfully. I feel like I do know him, but I can’t remember his name. Belryam shrugged before continuing.
“He was asking the nurse about someone called…Lyain? No, wait, Lyndi or something. He kept insisting she wasn’t at home, and if she wasn’t here, would the nurse tell him where she was?”
“Sounds like the kid’s two petals short of a full flower,” Ecalias decided. “Which is to say, he’s senile.”
“That’s rude,” Lu’rinou protested. “Maybe this Lyndi person was sick, had to go home, came back here, had to go to the Hospital Wing but didn’t go. The school is large, they could be anywhere.”
“I’m going with Lu’rinou,” Belryam said.
“Not I,” Cazerilo declared. “Ecalias, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have my support. Don’t lose it.”
By this time, Rongo had completely lost interest. He tapped his Janga horn earring, deep in thought while his family took sides and debated whoever’s theory was right.
He had a feeling, one he couldn’t explain. He felt like something was going to happen very, very soon. Rather like stretching a rubber band longer and longer – you knew something was going to happen eventually.
He still had that feeling as afternoon classes went by. It followed him throughout the evening, dinner time and as he fell asleep. No matter whatever reasonable theories he came up with, it bothered him.
Something is definitely happening.