them containing mounted lit torches, growling
animal heads and/or tapestries depicting blood-splattered battles.
Emmy noticed a fondness for decapitation in the
hangings.
They made
it just in time as the teacher got up to begin the lecture. The
room was circular with seating around the edges and upwards like a
miniature Roman amphitheatre, and in the middle a platform was
positioned where the teacher stood.
She had a
hard time paying attention, too curious to stop herself from
looking around. She caught snippets of the lecture – mostly to do
with places she had never heard of – but for the most part she just
stared at her classmates and the room. Her eyes trailed the wall
hangings, the octagonal columns two storeys high, leading up to a
ring of windows near the ceiling –
Emmy saw
it again. The bird. She looked to her left and right and behind
her, and as she suspected, nothing unusual was going on. It just
stared straight at her with those bottomless, unnatural eyes. She
bowed her head down towards her notebook, jotting notes to make it
seem like she was paying attention, but when she looked up again,
it was still there. It was hard to decipher if it comprehended any
more than a regular bird; it tilted its head and ruffled its
feathers, but its gaze never wandered from Emmy. She wished she had
something to throw to knock it off the ledge, but figured it wasn’t
something worth getting suspended on the first day over.
The bell
rang after what felt like an excruciating amount of time. Emmy
threw her book bag over her shoulder and sprinted out of the room,
waiting for Jade at the threshold.
They
continued on to their History class, which Emmy found incredibly
hard to follow since she didn’t recognize any of the names of
people, places, and events.
After the
class, the two girls headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Emmy
mumbled about needing to get to a library as soon as possible,
which Jade seemed to find funny, as if she had never heard of a
library before.
“ I’m going to make you eat lunch with me and my friends,” Jade
said, pulling her arm again. “Alex told me you’d object, so I’m not
giving you the option to leave.”
Emmy
smiled faintly, ignoring the knot in her stomach. The last time she
had made new friends she had been eight.
The
cafeteria was very bright, like every other room in Urquhart, due
to the many lancet windows, dim sunlight behind a thick blanket of
cloud reaching the glass. Jade skipped through the clusters of
circular tables over to the far end where there was a table of five
people, with two seats still empty.
Jade sat
down, shouting out a hearty hello, while dragging Emmy into the
seat beside her. Emmy lowered her face.
They
chatted for a few minutes, and only when she heard a boy say, “So,
who’s the new girl, Jade?” did she finally raise her
head.
Across
from her was a handsome black boy with dreadlocks pulled back from
his face, smiling at her.
Jade
threw an arm around her as if they had been friends for years.
“This is Emmy, Alex’s sister, but of course you knew that. Emmy,
this is Teddy.”
She
accepted his proffered hand.
“ Of course I know who you are! You look just like Alex, all
soft and fragile and gooey –”
“ Teddy!” Jade exclaimed.
“ What? She does! Emmy, trust me, it’s a compliment.” He took a
bite out of an apple in his hand. “You look normal enough to me.
Hey, do you want me to take you out flying tomorrow? It’s a lot of
fun.”
Jade, who
had started talking to another friend, perked up her ears at the
statement. “Teddy, no! She’s not ready, she just got here last
week.”
Teddy
threw up his hands. “Relax, I’ll just put a pair of solators on
her. Nothing will happen.” Jade gave him an admonishing look which
he responded to with a charming smile. “I’ll watch her the whole
time, I promise. So Rookie, what do you say?”
“ Emmy, you’re under no obligation,” Jade said, straightening
her back.
Teddy
opened his
animal heads and/or tapestries depicting blood-splattered battles.
Emmy noticed a fondness for decapitation in the
hangings.
They made
it just in time as the teacher got up to begin the lecture. The
room was circular with seating around the edges and upwards like a
miniature Roman amphitheatre, and in the middle a platform was
positioned where the teacher stood.
She had a
hard time paying attention, too curious to stop herself from
looking around. She caught snippets of the lecture – mostly to do
with places she had never heard of – but for the most part she just
stared at her classmates and the room. Her eyes trailed the wall
hangings, the octagonal columns two storeys high, leading up to a
ring of windows near the ceiling –
Emmy saw
it again. The bird. She looked to her left and right and behind
her, and as she suspected, nothing unusual was going on. It just
stared straight at her with those bottomless, unnatural eyes. She
bowed her head down towards her notebook, jotting notes to make it
seem like she was paying attention, but when she looked up again,
it was still there. It was hard to decipher if it comprehended any
more than a regular bird; it tilted its head and ruffled its
feathers, but its gaze never wandered from Emmy. She wished she had
something to throw to knock it off the ledge, but figured it wasn’t
something worth getting suspended on the first day over.
The bell
rang after what felt like an excruciating amount of time. Emmy
threw her book bag over her shoulder and sprinted out of the room,
waiting for Jade at the threshold.
They
continued on to their History class, which Emmy found incredibly
hard to follow since she didn’t recognize any of the names of
people, places, and events.
After the
class, the two girls headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Emmy
mumbled about needing to get to a library as soon as possible,
which Jade seemed to find funny, as if she had never heard of a
library before.
“ I’m going to make you eat lunch with me and my friends,” Jade
said, pulling her arm again. “Alex told me you’d object, so I’m not
giving you the option to leave.”
Emmy
smiled faintly, ignoring the knot in her stomach. The last time she
had made new friends she had been eight.
The
cafeteria was very bright, like every other room in Urquhart, due
to the many lancet windows, dim sunlight behind a thick blanket of
cloud reaching the glass. Jade skipped through the clusters of
circular tables over to the far end where there was a table of five
people, with two seats still empty.
Jade sat
down, shouting out a hearty hello, while dragging Emmy into the
seat beside her. Emmy lowered her face.
They
chatted for a few minutes, and only when she heard a boy say, “So,
who’s the new girl, Jade?” did she finally raise her
head.
Across
from her was a handsome black boy with dreadlocks pulled back from
his face, smiling at her.
Jade
threw an arm around her as if they had been friends for years.
“This is Emmy, Alex’s sister, but of course you knew that. Emmy,
this is Teddy.”
She
accepted his proffered hand.
“ Of course I know who you are! You look just like Alex, all
soft and fragile and gooey –”
“ Teddy!” Jade exclaimed.
“ What? She does! Emmy, trust me, it’s a compliment.” He took a
bite out of an apple in his hand. “You look normal enough to me.
Hey, do you want me to take you out flying tomorrow? It’s a lot of
fun.”
Jade, who
had started talking to another friend, perked up her ears at the
statement. “Teddy, no! She’s not ready, she just got here last
week.”
Teddy
threw up his hands. “Relax, I’ll just put a pair of solators on
her. Nothing will happen.” Jade gave him an admonishing look which
he responded to with a charming smile. “I’ll watch her the whole
time, I promise. So Rookie, what do you say?”
“ Emmy, you’re under no obligation,” Jade said, straightening
her back.
Teddy
opened his
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