The First Day Of School

The two suns shone brightly as I pushed open the window. The cool wind breezed through the room, fluttering my cotton-blend, periwinkle curtain in a soft dance. The smell of tulips and hibiscus filled the air, waking up my senses. My view opened to an old Gothic church and a joggers park at the corner of Trinity Street. Sitting down on my mother's favorite vintage wingback chair, I put on my lucky orange vans. It was a beautiful morning for a dreadful event that was about to happen.

"Nyla!" My mother, Iris Richards, hollered. I rushed to the foyer to find Mom standing near the main door with a lunch bag in her hands. "Here is your lunch," she said.

Sighing, I grabbed the bag hastily out of Mom's hands. "Why do we have to go to a school in the main city?" I whined. "The school in our compound was perfectly fine."

Mom tucked back a loose strand of my hair from my face and hugged me at the side. "Because your uncle said so. With so many dangerous incidents happening around, I, too, think it's a… good idea" Mom smiled softly. "It won't be so bad. You've had Eybosnian friends before, you can make friends again." She tried to look optimistic but failed miserably.

"Yeah, but that was before they thought our people were trying to "corrupt" their world. Before they-" I halted mid-sentence when I noticed mom's solemn eyes. "Mom." I exhaled sharply. "I don't think it's good for us to go there. What if they try to hurt Annabella? Or Daxton?"

"Nyla, no one will hurt you or your siblings. Uncle Winston has made sure that there are guards protecting all of you and the others at all times. No harm will come to you," Mom said as she pushed me out the door. "Annabella and Daxton are already on the bus. Look after them." Nodding my head dejectedly, I turned around and walked towards a gray 'bus'. It looked more like a spacecraft. Just before I could walk inside, I heard Mom call out my name. "Nyla! Don't cause any trouble out there."

Yeah right! As if, Eybosnia Academy of Higher Excellence will be a treat for us little Earthlings.

The Academy was situated in the capital city of Eybosnia, Astral. It might sound like a regular private school but it was far from it. It was a steel gray and beige building made out of Lothalt metal, which was similar to Steel and Aluminum on Earth, and concrete. It was a three-storey construction with numerous tubular columns supporting the first and second floors. Perfect cut out ribbons windows were placed in a balanced asymmetry along the walls. The only upside to the school was the huge wrap-around porch covered with blue Silantra flowers and light pink Jejina flowers. The flowers reminded me of the empire blue butterfly bush and snapdragons. A sadness overwhelmed me.

I stared out of the window of the bus to see a bunch of Eybosnian protesters shouting outside the school gate. The bus landed and Annabella gasped next to me. Her big brown doe eyes widened in shock. "Nyla, is this for us?" Her lips trembled at the sight of the furious people.

I hugged her and rubbed her back in a slow, circular motion. "Don't worry, Bella. Nothing's going to happen to us. You see those guards out there?" I pointed at the row of armored men standing in front of the mob. "They will keep you safe. Keep us safe. Okay?" I looked at my twin and gave him a pointed look. He quickly escorted Annabella out of the bus/spaceship.

My best friend, Avery Dawson, walked in front of me. "Well, isn't this a warm welcome," she muttered.

Hayden Livingston, my boyfriend, had his jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed. I placed my hand over his shoulder and leaned in. "Don't worry, Hayden, we'll get out of here soon enough." With that I kissed him on his tan cheek. He seemed to relax a bit as he smiled at me.

Grabbing Annabella's hand, Daxton walked beside me. "And you thought it would be bad." He smirked. I rolled my eyes.

There were five Eybosnian guards that stood at the gate with Nocrume Blasters. The Eybosnian protesters screamed in Asniya, an Eybosnian dialect, while some did in broken English. Fury blazed in their eyes and their screams echoed in my ears. Fear was slowly settling in my heart.

The guards ushered them quickly into the school. "No school day can be as exciting as getting booed on your first day." Avery joked over her shoulder. I looked around the school and wished I was back in my old school at Earth Center. You read it right, our compound in Eybosnia was called Earth Center.

A man wearing a half black and half white suit walked towards them. It was not difficult to know that the man in front of them was an Eybosnian, regardless of what he wore. Eybosnian people looked a lot like humans. They have two eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth, well, except for one distinct mark. Every individual of Eybosnia had a Mark called Nalin. It looked like a birthmark but in reality it's where the Eybosnians stored their powers. They weren't allowed to use their powers ever since the Black Fallout.

It was an event that happened years ago when Eybosnia was at war with the other Great Cities of Odrone. Many people died and Nalins were stolen. The rulers of the 5 Cities decided to call a truce and stopped its people from using their powers. Now, the only people who were allowed to use it were the military and the higher officials of the Astral Investigative Bureau.

The man in front had a mole, a size as big as my fist, in the middle of his forehead. "Welcome to Eybosnia Academy of Higher Excellence. My name is Chalke Halp. I'm the Headmaster of this school."

"Did he just say his name was chalk?" Avery snickered, causing me to smile.

"Welcome to the orientation of your new school year. Each student has been assigned a buddy. I'm sure you know how the buddy system works? I've been told you had that on your planet as well," Mr. Halp said in a thick accent. It was obvious that someone had written this introductory speech and he was forced to memorize it. "The buddy will show you around the school and will help you out with everything you need. Your classes will commence in two days. All the classes are almost similar to the one you had in your old school. But you will have an extra class to learn your choice of cultural language. Your buddy will stay with you at all times. Well, maybe, except when you are in your dorm rooms," Mr. 'Chalk' joked as he laughed at his own joke.

My expression went blank. 'Dorm room? Did he say we are living in dorm rooms?' Tilting my head slighting towards Avery, I whispered, "Are we staying here?" But looking at her best-friend's surprised expression, I guessed she hadn't known about it either. 'What the hell! Why didn't anyone tell me, or us, about it?'

"Looking at your faces, I'm guessing you weren't told that you would be residing here from now on. Eybosnia Academy is a residential school. Your luggage has already been taken to your rooms. Don't worry, you'll have tons of fun here!" He tried to sound excited but his excitement soon fell off when he realized none of the students were happy about the news. "Well, I'll just call out your names and assign you your buddy. They will show you to your rooms," he said.

I was beyond pissed. How could Mom not tell me about it? I looked at Annabella and Daxton and saw my younger sister crying. Daxton was comforting her by patting her on her back and murmured soothing words to her. "Don't cry, Bella. You knew we had to stay here, right?" he said.

"You knew about this?" I asked Daxton as I approached him.

He looked up at me and nodded guiltily. "Nyla, don't be mad. But Mom made us promise that we wouldn't tell you. She knew you would back out and not come here."

"Nyla Richards!" Mr. Halp called out before I could say anything back. Glowering at Daxton, I turned towards Mr. Halp. "Nyla? Are you here?" Sighing, I raised my arm. Mr. Halp smiled sweetly. "Oh there you are! Your buddy will be Shade Nuwolf." He pointed towards a silver eyed boy. I looked at my buddy and was taken aback.

Shade Nuwolf looked nothing like any other Eybosnian. He actually looked… normal. He had no third eye or a mole that looked like it would punch someone in the face or even a funky mustache. Maybe he had a tail or something. He looked dead in her eyes and glared at her. My, my, someone is equally happy like me.

Before I was forced to hang out with my 'new buddy', I turned around and looked at Annabella and Daxton. "Look, I'm going to get us out of here. Soon. I'll meet you later, okay?" I said as I kissed Annabella on her cheeks and threw a pointed look at Daxton.

Just as I was about to walk away, Annabella held my hand. "Please, Nyla. Don't get yourself into trouble. Mom said that if anything happens this time, she would have to send you to Reformation."

Great, again with the Reformation. Reformation was a governmental program for the troubled Earthlings. Anyone who would cause disturbance in the peace treaty between Eybosnia and Earth, would be sent off to a rehab camp. It's almost similar to the concentration camps of Germany. Atleast, I presumed. I sighed in defeat. "I won't, I promise!" I hugged Belle before dragging myself towards my 'buddy'.

The closer I got to him, the more I started to notice things about him. He was freakishly tall, had a lean body with just the right amount of muscles and no Nalin marks on any of his visible parts of his body. No, not a tail either as I had assumed. As I stood beside my Shade, I searched through the crowd for my boyfriend, Hayden and found him glowering at me. No, not at me. I tracked his gaze and saw him watching Shade. His long, gray hair had fallen over his face but his moonlight, silver eyes were mysteriously captivating. He looked like he could be a character from one of the vintage mangas that Daxton loved to read.

After everyone was assigned their buddies, Shade turned around and walked swiftly, motioning me to follow him. I took one quick look at my siblings and told them that I would meet them afterwards before I headed towards a creepy looking hallway, leading outside the school campus. As we walked, I observed the dormitory facade. It didn't look like the school building. Even though it was a dull colored building, it looked more like a rusty, old house than a funeral home. The bluish-gray walls were some-what comforting.

Walking inside, the hallways were dimly lit and gave me an eerie feeling about it. Almost something from a horror movie, completely opposite to how it looked from the outside. Halting in front of a rusty red door, Shade turned towards me. "This is your room. Your luggage is already placed inside. I think your orange haired friend is your roommate," he said, referring to Avery, as he unlocked the door and walked inside.

As soon as I saw the room, my jaw dropped open. I had expected a cage-like room with steel trusses on the ceiling and beds made out of Lothalt. You know, how it is like in a prison. However, instead the room looked… comfy. There was a small living room with two bedrooms attached on either side. The kitchen was at the back of the room and a door at the left side, leading to the shared bathroom. "Wow! This is actually… nice," I said, sounding more surprised than he expected.

"What did you expect? A room with steel girders on the ceiling and beds made out of Lothalt?" A twisted smile crept over Shade's lips.

"No, I didn't- wait, how did you?"

His smirk grew wider. "Choose the room you want and unpack, if you wish. Meet me in the lobby at three." With that he slammed the door behind him.

'That guy was beyond creepy. Why did he have to be my buddy?' I thought as I picked the nearest room. I noticed my silver-blue holographic box suitcases kept at the foot of a bright green couch. My forgotten anger unfurled and had me fuming again. I was pissed. Who wouldn't be? I couldn't believe that Uncle Winston and my own mother hid the most crucial fact about the school. They actually believed that keeping it a secret would keep me out of trouble. That I wouldn't be thinking about my father's killer. But little did they know that I had a plan of my own.

The door opened again and Avery walked in, accompanied by her buddy. Well, her Nalin mark was very visible. She has two brown horns on her head. "This is your room. Meet me at three in the lobby." And with that Avery's buddy disappeared as well. However, the door survived this time as she hadn't slammed it like mine.

"Oh, wow!" Avery spun around the room, taking in the interiors of the room. "Wow! This is awesome!" she murmured, not noticing me by the couch.

"Well not as awesome as your roommate," I said, crossing my arms against my chest.

Avery squealed in delight as her eyes fell upon me and hugged me tight. "Oh thank god, you are my roommate. I thought it would be some freaky Eybosnian girl." I chuckled as I hugged her back. After a quick chat and slight disagreement, we finally came to a conclusion about the room selection. Avery and I went into our respective rooms, dragging our luggages behind us.

The room was cozy with a warm color palette. The walls were painted a soft yellow that made the small room look big. The twin bed at the far corner overlooked the campus sport center and the ground. The desk and the cupboard rested against the wall opposite the bed. I sat down on the bed and was shocked by the spring in it. Pulling the suitcases toward me, I withdrew a knife that I had stashed in the hidden pocket a long time ago. Something my mother hadn't realized when she had packed my bags. My fingers ran lightly at the carving on its hilt, the etched initials, K.F.J. a.k.a Kiefer Floyd Jennings. The tanto point blade once belonged to my father, the former leader and representative for the Earthlings.

A year ago, there had been a sudden drop in the life expectancies of females in Eybosnia. And naturally, they thought it was us. The surviving race of Earth that fled their ruined planet due to its destruction. When the snow on the mountain caps melted, a quarter of the Earth submerged. It started in Russia and slowly spread to the rest of Europe. Antarctica and Greenland ceased to exist in mere months. This started a domino effect escalating to violent volcanic eruptions which led to global disaster phenomenon. Earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, and avalanches, demolished countries like bowling pins.

But that wasn't even the worst of the problems. Women started to die. Female children didn't survive childbirth. Girls and women started to get sick with an unknown disease, which was later called the Venus Plague as it only infected the female population. Earth didn't have the necessary equipment to save them. Until my grandfather, Silas Jennings, a Biomedical scientist, found a cure. Due to the lack of resources only a handful of women survived.

His brother, Nixon Jennings, an Astrophysicist and his partner, Jacob Maxwell, came up with a plan to send a help signal all throughout the galaxy. After ten years of research and preparations, they announced a help program called Project Abscond. The survivors of the plague and the destruction were brought to Africa and rockets were sent to the International Space Station. Through the space stations, they rewired the satellites which were around the globe, to send signals to various parts of the galaxy to find help. The only one to reply to their S.O.S were the kindred people of the planet, Odrone.

For years we lived happily in seclusion. Most of Eybosnian had no problem with the tiny community of Earthlings until a similar disease seemed to be spreading in Eybosnia. Starting with Breo, the northern sector of Eybosnia, the most dangerous place on the planet. When the plague had slowly reached Astral, the Eybosnian lost their minds. They thought Humans were contaminating their world. But how could we? We weren't allowed to leave our sector according to the Odrone Settlement Accords. They thought we were destroying them, just as we destroyed our own.

The riots got bad. People protested outside the Xethari Citadel. At one of the events that my father was commencing, an Eybosnian assassinated him by shooting him in the head with a stolen Nocrume Blaster. Even though Uncle Winston and the rest of the AIB. had promised me and my family that they would find his killer, till today they haven't.

A tear trickled from my eye as I stared at the knife and whispered, "I will find him, Dad. It's a promise."

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