It was that time in the morning when everything was perfectly balanced. The sun was just rising, the birds were still fast asleep in their nests, and the sky was a kaleidoscope of colors. It looked as if it was going to snow later in the day, but right that moment, a soft glow of warmth heated the earth. There was in innocence about it. As if it had no idea what was about to happen in the next few hours.
Kit, with her backpack strung over her shoulder and black hair braided down her back, begin the trek to her first day of her new highschool. She was walking, which was bad enough, but it didn't help that her little brother was padding along beside her, his tiny hand wrapped around her wrist. She didn't mind him. He was better then most brothers - tried to stay out of her way - but he was dyslexic and deaf, and seeing the way people treated him because of this always broke Kit's heart when she watched. No matter how many threats, bloody noses, and bruises she produced on his account, no one ever seemed to feel a moment of kindness and just decide to stop.
Dustin was, in all fairness, a handsome little boy. His hair was black, although not quite as black as Kit's inky strands, and his eyes a marvelous shade of emerald. But it wasn't just his looks that made him so appealing; it was the grin that was always on his lips, the charming, crooked white teeth and mischievous, boyish gleam in his gaze. Kit herself wasn't much of a charming person herself. Like her brother, she was quite beautiful. Average height, but with a waterfall of ebony hair and blue eyes. However, she lacked the passion of her brother, didn't feel the same zest for life as the eight year old boy trudging along beside her. She didn't feel the need to question why the seasons changed. She didn't feel an excitement for any one religion. It seemed she didn't feel all that much these days.
The highschool itself took its design after a prison. Three stories tall, with gleaming glass windows and brick walls. It didn't look inviting or promising, as her mother had gushed that morning upon getting the acceptance letter. There had been many schools like this in the past ten years, but this, Kit thought, took the top for lack of warmth. Dustin didn't seem to realize this, or at come to the same conclusion. There was a bright, excited smile on his little features as she released him to start the lonely trek across the playground to the elementary school next door. She watched him for several seconds, then shoved open the main door and stepped in.
It wasn't as bad as it looked on the outside. Black rugs covered the front, linoleum under it, and the glare of the lights over head. A stream of kids of all shapes and sizes scurried from classes or lockers or breakfast, the backpacks bouncing happily behind them. A door to the right led into the office, where a fern could see in the window that stretched from ceiling to floor. A line of chairs was barely visible past the tall plant. To the left was a staircase, covered in swarming kids as they all rushed to their various classes. With a sigh that resigned herself to her fate, Kit pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket, that was warn from fingers touching it, and read the first class listed under "KITALYA BRAXTON". Period one was honors chemistry. She still had no idea how she'd made it into the class. It was listed under room 65, which was at the opposite end of the school then she was at.
Just as she was imagining the best course and fastest way to get there, the bell rang - a shrill sound that echoed in her ears as she winced and glanced around. The halls around her had emptied in the second it'd taken that two-second sound to echo and stop. Sighing, because she was late as usual, Kit began the walk down the corridor. The lights flickered ominously, their bulbs flashing once before returning blindingly bright. Eventually, she found the classroom, in the eastern western part of the school between two sets of lockers. She turned the knob, pulled open the door, and stepped in.
The teacher was old. At least sixty, with graying hair and watchful eyes. She had a hunched over figure and a brittle smile, her face wrinkled so she almost looked like a bulldog. When she saw Kit, she smiled, and for a moment, the beautiful, youthful girl she must've been fourty years ago was visible beneath the haggard appearance. Then it disappeared, and she motioned Kit forward with a bony finger.
"Class. Today we have a new student." She croaked in a warm, almost careless voice. If she'd been anywhere else, Kit would've dubbed her as 'senile' on the spot. "This is Kitalya Braxton, the school's permanent foreign exchanged student." Kit winced at the title. Her accent was hardly noticeable. "Would you please tell us a bit about yourself?"
Feeling as if she were in kindergarten, doing show-and-tell, Kit slipped to the front of the class, her inky hair falling into her face as she fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt. Finally, she took a breath and looked up, surveying the class with a quick sweep of sapphire eyes, began to speak. Her voice was contradicting to her personality - it sound full of emotion, inviting. It almost had a lilting quality. The french tone in it was a bit more obvious then she'd thought. "Most people call me Kit, not Kitalya. It's a bit of a mouthful. I'm sixteen." She shrugged, trailing off. "French. I swim and do gymnastics and...well, yeah." With a careless shrug, she crossed the room to the corner, removed her backpack, and sat down. No one in the room looked like they wanted to be there less.
After that, second period past quickly, as well as third and fourth. Lunch was slow, as she sat alone, and was soon joined by several girls all with matching expressions - fake. Two of them were blonde, the third a red-head who seemed genuinely nice. Kit didn't trust them, but she played nice, and soon that was over as well. Fifth and six were over in a flash. Nothing eventful happened all day. Nothing at all. It wasn't until she got out of swim - which was after her gymnastics practice - and was waiting the fifteen minutes for her brother to get of school that anything eventful happened.
It was nearly five, and the sky was beginning to darken. She was sitting on a rock, a textbook spread open on her lap. There was just enough light, combined with the street lamp, that she could do her homework. There was still another few minutes left to Dustin's after school schooling when the lamp begin to flicker, then shut off entirely. Lifting her head, Kit stared at it, almost as if trying to decide whether to do something about it or not. Then she heard the voices.
They were low, hushed tones that called secrecy, sneakiness, and danger - and they were close. Lifting her head, Kit closed the book slowly and tucked it under her arm, standing up and slipping stealthily behind the thick pine tree lining the front. Only moments later, two shadows sulked forward, one fairly taller then the other. The only obvious attribute was their hair color - one red, one blonde - and their height. Nothing else could be distinguished. Even as she strained her ears, Kit still couldn't make anything out.
She crept backwards, and felt the cold stone of the building press against her back. While their voices were hushed, their footsteps weren't, and she could tell they were getting closer. The only word she heard before everything erupted into chaos was her name. The taller one turned and looked straight into her eyes, as if the darkness around them wasn't a complete barrier. He started towards her. In a defensive gesture, Kit raised her hand, falling backwards. From her palm, a brilliant light exploded. The man cried out. She turned and ran.