him,
Lennox, and Ivory and Ebony, the two other girls at the table. Emmy
snorted a laugh at their names, although nobody else seemed to find
this funny.
Persephone pivoted on her heels and headed out of the
cafeteria, and Emmy followed suit. She tried to study her from the
side without being too conspicuous. It was very hard to believe
this girl was Jade’s best friend.
“ She likes your brother,” Persephone said, interrupting Emmy’s
thoughts.
“ Sorry?”
“ Alex. Jade likes him. If Alex asked her to watch out for you,
which I’m sure he did, no doubt she’ll take you under her wing.”
She paused. “Jade does that. It’s like she has a need to take in
any stray that comes in here. She brings all the misfits together.
Like me.”
Emmy
tried to keep her amusement to herself at the idea of someone
liking her rock-headed brother. She could sort of see it; they
seemed to have a lot in common and had similar personalities,
something that couldn’t be said about Jade and Persephone. However,
it didn’t surprise Emmy much that Jade liked to help people who
needed it, like herself, or Persephone.
Persephone was right: the walk was long. It was made worse
that the two of them had nothing to say to each other. Persephone
didn’t seem interested at all in Emmy’s unique background, and Emmy
was too scared to say anything to her in case she got angry or
ignored her.
The cold
air bit at Emmy’s skin unpleasantly when they got outside, and even
more so in the stables where it was moist and dark. Boots and
helmets of all sizes lined the far wall, Persephone helping Emmy
find the proper sizes in silence.
She sat
on the bench, gazing at all the horses in their stalls. It was the
biggest stable Emmy had ever seen, with over forty horses, their
muzzles breathing out puffs of frosted air.
The
lesson for the beginners was taught by a woman everyone called
Foxe, who didn’t look much older than Emmy herself. While she was
passionate about her subject, Emmy found her to be rather
condescending, not even letting them get on the horse even though
the majority of them had ridden before.
Emmy
stared longingly at Persephone on the field, riding a beautiful
beige palomino, seeming to be having a swell time jumping over
hurdles while attempting to throw a lance at a target
board.
Too soon
however, it was the last class of the day, the one Emmy had been
dreading since the moment she got up. Peacekeeping.
“ Come on, we have to hurry up!” Persephone urged her as she
took off her boots. “If we’re late the coaches will make us make us
fight them, or each other. And no offense, but I’d probably kill
you.”
Emmy
suppressed a groan, picking up the pace. She had her tracksuit on
within thirty seconds.
The two
of them sprinted out of the stables and across the grounds towards
the edge of the forest. Emmy didn’t question as Persephone seemed
to know where she was going, but they were getting farther and
farther away from the school.
“ What exactly do we do in this class?” Emmy asked.
“ It’s different in every one, and the coaches never tell us
what’s coming. Although since it’s the first day of classes I’m
guessing it’ll be pretty basic stuff, lucky for you.”
Emmy was
finally able to see a group of students in a circle. On the edge of
the circle were two men who Emmy assumed were the
coaches.
Persephone pointed to the two, “That one’s Maverick Babbage,
and that moron beside him is Nero Flin. They both take themselves
seriously, but do not piss off Babbage. He’s the senior coach and
will tear you apart if you mock him.”
The one
she pointed to called Babbage looked like a spider with long skinny
limbs and a tuff of gray hair. Flin on the other hand looked like a
bumblebee, round and buzzing with excitement. They came across as
mismatched as Jade and Persephone.
Jade
glared at them as they ran up and whispered, “Where’ve you
been?”
“ Relax,” Persephone snapped. “We didn’t miss
Lennox, and Ivory and Ebony, the two other girls at the table. Emmy
snorted a laugh at their names, although nobody else seemed to find
this funny.
Persephone pivoted on her heels and headed out of the
cafeteria, and Emmy followed suit. She tried to study her from the
side without being too conspicuous. It was very hard to believe
this girl was Jade’s best friend.
“ She likes your brother,” Persephone said, interrupting Emmy’s
thoughts.
“ Sorry?”
“ Alex. Jade likes him. If Alex asked her to watch out for you,
which I’m sure he did, no doubt she’ll take you under her wing.”
She paused. “Jade does that. It’s like she has a need to take in
any stray that comes in here. She brings all the misfits together.
Like me.”
Emmy
tried to keep her amusement to herself at the idea of someone
liking her rock-headed brother. She could sort of see it; they
seemed to have a lot in common and had similar personalities,
something that couldn’t be said about Jade and Persephone. However,
it didn’t surprise Emmy much that Jade liked to help people who
needed it, like herself, or Persephone.
Persephone was right: the walk was long. It was made worse
that the two of them had nothing to say to each other. Persephone
didn’t seem interested at all in Emmy’s unique background, and Emmy
was too scared to say anything to her in case she got angry or
ignored her.
The cold
air bit at Emmy’s skin unpleasantly when they got outside, and even
more so in the stables where it was moist and dark. Boots and
helmets of all sizes lined the far wall, Persephone helping Emmy
find the proper sizes in silence.
She sat
on the bench, gazing at all the horses in their stalls. It was the
biggest stable Emmy had ever seen, with over forty horses, their
muzzles breathing out puffs of frosted air.
The
lesson for the beginners was taught by a woman everyone called
Foxe, who didn’t look much older than Emmy herself. While she was
passionate about her subject, Emmy found her to be rather
condescending, not even letting them get on the horse even though
the majority of them had ridden before.
Emmy
stared longingly at Persephone on the field, riding a beautiful
beige palomino, seeming to be having a swell time jumping over
hurdles while attempting to throw a lance at a target
board.
Too soon
however, it was the last class of the day, the one Emmy had been
dreading since the moment she got up. Peacekeeping.
“ Come on, we have to hurry up!” Persephone urged her as she
took off her boots. “If we’re late the coaches will make us make us
fight them, or each other. And no offense, but I’d probably kill
you.”
Emmy
suppressed a groan, picking up the pace. She had her tracksuit on
within thirty seconds.
The two
of them sprinted out of the stables and across the grounds towards
the edge of the forest. Emmy didn’t question as Persephone seemed
to know where she was going, but they were getting farther and
farther away from the school.
“ What exactly do we do in this class?” Emmy asked.
“ It’s different in every one, and the coaches never tell us
what’s coming. Although since it’s the first day of classes I’m
guessing it’ll be pretty basic stuff, lucky for you.”
Emmy was
finally able to see a group of students in a circle. On the edge of
the circle were two men who Emmy assumed were the
coaches.
Persephone pointed to the two, “That one’s Maverick Babbage,
and that moron beside him is Nero Flin. They both take themselves
seriously, but do not piss off Babbage. He’s the senior coach and
will tear you apart if you mock him.”
The one
she pointed to called Babbage looked like a spider with long skinny
limbs and a tuff of gray hair. Flin on the other hand looked like a
bumblebee, round and buzzing with excitement. They came across as
mismatched as Jade and Persephone.
Jade
glared at them as they ran up and whispered, “Where’ve you
been?”
“ Relax,” Persephone snapped. “We didn’t miss
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