Page 21 of Thrust into the Light

“I see that you are enjoying that, but I need to know, is it too creamy? Too sweet? Not sweet enough?”

“Nope, it’s good.” I like how it is.

He laughs. “Alright, so for coffee you like it with cream and two sugars.” I finish what I can eat, and Connor has already eaten most of the food at the table. He takes our plates and cups to the kitchen, then comes out, holding a bag.

“Stand up and let’s get your backpack on you. This is probably going to feel a little strange at first, and it might rub your scars on your shoulder funny, but I need to get this adjusted to fit you right.” I stand up and walk towards him. He is looking at my shirt and has a smile on his face. “Farlen dear, do you know what your shirt says?” I shake my head at him. I can hear him trying not to laugh as he says, “It says, Take a picture, it will last longer.” I don’t understand what that means, but I smile at him. He seems to like a lot of the shirts he bought me. Some clothes make him hit his head on the wall and he makes a funny noise. I don’t put those on anymore.

As I get close to him, he gently turns me around and lifts my arms up to the side. He puts something on me. I can feel the weight of it and he turns me back towards him. There are pieces of it on the front that he grabs and pulls, and I can feel the weight shift from near my butt to my back area. He nods once and pulls out his phone.

“Shit, sorry, we need to get going to the assembly hall. It starts in about twenty minutes. Your sunglasses are by the door. Let’s go.”

Connor grabs my hand and begins walking fast, faster than I have ever moved before. I don’t feel like I am moving as fast as he wants me to. He keeps getting his phone out and looking at it. After the third time he does it, he looks back at me.

“Sorry sweetheart, we don’t want you to be late.”

I don’t understand why he is saying sorry. I no sooner thinkthat than he stops and picks me up. Then he starts to move fast. I wasn’t going to keep up with him if this was as fast as he wanted me to go. I close my eyes, because he was bouncing me around and as fast as everything was moving past us, it made me feel like I was going to be sick. It reminds me of the time Agnes carried me down the stairs, but he isn’t moving as fast as her. He goes fast through a door that is open and sets me down. Next to him is another set of doors with lots of talking coming through it.

“Alright sweet girl, I will be here waiting for you when you’re out of there, so I can take you to your first class. Go in there and find a seat. When you’re done, just come out and stand next to the wall until I find you, okay?”

I nod to him and walk into the room. If I thought there were a lot of people before, I don’t even know how to say how many people are in this room. Almost every seat in here has someone in it, and it takes my eyes a while to adjust to the size of the room. There is a part of the room that is higher up than the rest, and a lot of lights are shining down on it. It looks like it is so far away from me. I look around and see some empty chairs not far away and begin walking towards them.

As I make my way to the chairs, I see people stop what they are doing and look at me. There’s no Connor here to hide behind, so I try to hide in my hair as I am walking, keeping my eyes on my feet. I peek up every now and again to make sure I am going where I need to. When did it get so quiet in here? I look up again and it feels like everyone has gotten quiet; I look around and every face I can see is looking at me. I hide in my hair more and hurry to my chair. I sit down in it, and the people in the chairs in front of mine turn around and look at me. They are whispering to each other, but I can still hear it.

“Holy Gods, what a freak, dude. What do you think caused all those scars?”

“Fuck if I know, man, but if she survived it all, she’s probably dangerous as fuck. Turn around dumbass, we don’t want her getting pissed off at us.”

He hits the other one in the back of the head and they turn back towards the platform. All around me I hear more whispering, and more than once the word freak reaches my ears. I don’t know what the word means. Maybe Connor can tell me, or we can use it in the next word of the day?

The talking in the room gets louder and louder, as people start talking again. I still try to hide inside my hair. I don’t like this feeling. My skin has gotten so much more itchy as I sit here. Not long after the talking started, it stopped again. I look up to see if people are staring at me again, but there is a man in the higher part of the room, standing under all the lights. He has a weird metal thing on his face near his mouth. I can’t tell how tall he is from here, but he has pointed ears. He has long black hair, and is wearing fancy looking clothes. They look a lot nicer than mine.

“Welcome back everyone to another semester at North West Academy! As is the tradition, every semester we welcome in newly awakened supernaturals, who are here to start their journey into understanding and mastering their magic, so they can be a functioning individual who provide for the community. Without the help of those better off than us, we would never rise from the depths the humans on Earth relegated us to live in. When the dark times hit, and we lost almost all of our female population, the community came together and we found out more about our match bonds. It is work like that, that you all will strive for when you finally leave the academy. At the start of this semester, things will go a little differently. No longer will the threat of being sent into a cell for the rest of your life, if you cannot learn to control your magic be a threat. We will make sure every one of you can master your magic so you can help support the community.” There’s a lot of loud noises from everyone when he says that. People raise their fists in the air as they shout.

“School rules will remain the same, but your instructors have final say in their rooms what they want the rules to be there. Above all, remember, females are not to be hurt, as they are our most precious treasures now. Any male caught inflictingdamage on a female will be sent to see me. Of course, this is outside of combat classes, but please gentlemen, remember they are not as strong as you, and try to take it a little easier on them.”

It doesn’t sound like everyone likes this as much as the last thing he said. Some girls near me are shouting things at him, as are the men surrounding them. I try to hide more in my hair, and slide down my chair more. I don’t know why they are yelling, but I don’t want them to see me and yell at me next.

“Settle down. Now everyone may clear out except our new students. Please stay seated. There is more I would like to go over with all of you.”

A lot of people stand up and leave. Some people stare at me as they walk past. Soon the noise of footsteps is quiet, as does the talking. I look around and see that the room is now almost empty, though there are still more people in here than I can count.

“Now that it is just us, my name isDean Augustus, and I hope you’ll come to see me as a friend. If you have any complaints or issues, please bring them to me. I want you all to feel welcome here. I am going to explain the rules now to you all, ladies, be your perfect selves, and work on mastering your magic and focus on your studies. If you find a match, please notify myself or any staff member. Your school and government file will need to be updated to reflect as such. Gentlemen, I know your urges to protect your match can be quite overpowering, but please try to keep the fighting out of the hallways, and if you seriously hurt another student or kill them, you will there will be extreme consequences. Please try to keep your disputes out of the sights of the weaker sex. I know you all will be on your best behavior but please remember, we are not sure if the match results are always right. If you feel a pull towards a lady in the school, try to talk to them, and any matches they already have, to see if there is something there. Now, for those of you who have no idea of what your powers are, you will be attending special classes with Instructor Fry. He will help guide you to your magic, and direct you to the classes you should be in. He will also be teaching youa basic history of our kind. I am sure most of you will know all of this, but there are a few students this year who are unaware of our histories. This first week of classes will be very full, as the Instructors test your strengths and weaknesses, and will set you into the class levels they believe will fit your magic and knowledge levels.”

“This academy hosts not only people in your own age range but we also teach the younglings, in other buildings, but you may have a crossover between them. If you are someone identified as having a dangerous power, or are a shifter, you will be in separate classes, as we do not want any damage to come to them.”

“For those of you who know what your power is, you already have your class schedules, and who your instructors are.”

“I hope I can make this place feel like a home to you, and you can find a big family here. Classes begin in about fifteen minutes for those of you who are unaware of your magic, so I will dismiss you all now. Remember, we are nothing without those who support us.”

He leaves the lights and everyone stands up. People stare at me as they walk past where I am sitting. There is a gap in the people walking, and I hurry into the empty space. I try to ignore all the whispering as I walk, hiding in my hair, following the sound of the footsteps back out the door I came in. Once I am through the doors, I stand against the wall, trying to make myself smaller so no one will stare at me. I see feet standing in front of me and peek up. Connor is standing there looking angry.

“Stand up, sweet girl. Let’s get you out of this hallway.” He holds his hand down to me. When he looks at me, he doesn’t look angry, but when he looks around at everyone else, he looks angry. I put my hand in his, and he pulls me up to my feet, then pulls me behind him to an open door that leads outside. As we walk, people bump into me and push me around the path. Connor makes a strange noise and gives me a hug, and carries me like that until we are outside.

“Alright sweetness, I need to get you to Instructor Fry’s class. Iam sorry that he is your instructor. I’ve heard he is a grouchy son of a bitch. Hopefully, it won’t be too bad for you.” He pulls out his phone, looking for something, and then begins pulling me behind him again.

“I can’t go into your classes with you, but I will be waiting for you when your classes get out. Remember to get your schedule from Instructor Fry for your remaining classes. I will help you read them and we will figure out where you’re supposed to go next, okay?”

“Okay.”

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