Jade Finster stood in the middle of the busy hallway, unsure of which way to proceed. Some jock knocked into her rudely and turned back to give her a cheeky grin, while the rest of his friends roared with laughter. Jade was about to bend down to pick up the books that flew out of her hands when she saw her brother Jasper coming towards her. Flinging down the rest of her books in frustration, she sighed loudly.

            "What's up, sis? Having a bad day?" Jasper asked, all smiles. Jade gave him a hard look, but that only made Jasper break out in fits of laughter. She did not understand how her brother could take things so easily while she was always feeling so uptight. She picked up all her books and began to stride down the hallway, remembering that her next lesson was in the V-block. Jasper hurried to fall into steps beside her.

            "Hey, cheer up. We still have a long day in front of us." Jasper said good-naturedly. Jade whirled on Jasper and poured out her woes, "I was late for my very first lesson, and that fat woman just won't get off my case! This is only the third period of the day and I'm already picked upon by the jocks. Cheer up? Things don't always go as smoothly for me as for you!"

            Seeing the hurt look on Jasper's face, Jade lowered her tone apologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't mean it that way." Jasper looked at her for a moment before answering, "You know what? At least you're in the pink of health, and your brother here doesn't even know how many days he's got left." Leaving Jade staring at his back helplessly, Jasper walked on to his next venue.

            Jade sighed for the umpteenth time of the day, unable to believe the way things had turned out on her first day in Clainesville High. Her mother had brought the siblings to Clainesville in hope to let the family put their past behind them. Her father had been an abusive beast when he was drunk, and it was only after seventeen years before they managed to be free of her father's grasp.

            The school bell jarred Jade out of her thoughts and she hurried to get to her class. Disappointed, she found herself in her most dreaded class, Biology. But the teacher was kind; he did not give her a hard time for being tardy. Thanking him silently, she started to look for her textbook. To her horror, she realized that she had not brought it.

            Sensing her distress, the guy beside her shifted his desk nearer to her, and she found herself blown away by his presence. She started to blush and stuttered as she tried to thank the guy. He looked up from the book and stared at her with ink black eyes for a second before shaking his head, gesturing that it was all right. At least her day was not going to turn out as bad as she thought it would.

            One hour passed swiftly and Jade was grateful for the break. As she stood up to pack her books, she saw that they guy was already heading for the door. Just then, she overheard two girls, cheerleaders judging from their outfits, gossiping. "Saw that? Kyle was actually sharing his book with the new girl, I wonder how Clio will react if she knows about this!"

            Feeling uneasy, Jade quickened her efforts to pack her books. Something rolled off the desk and she bent down to pick it up. Realising that it was Kyle's pen she had borrowed just now, she wondered how she was going to return it to him.

            "Maybe in the next Bio lesson." Jade told herself. The teacher was looking at her in a curious manner with his green eyes, as if asking her why she was not making a move. She hurried out of the classroom, narrowly missed tripping over a table leg.

* * * * * *

            "I sense the source getting… nearer," Elspeth said slowly. Dressed in all black, she opened her blue eyes as she pulled herself out of the trance.

            "Nearer, nearer, NEARER! That's all I've been hearing all week long! I'm tired of hearing the same old things. Tell me," Ralph snarled, "are you up to the job, or should I summon Mervyn?"

            Trust Ralph to get so worked up, Elspeth was about to give a quick comeback at him when a powerful, icy voice spoke, "No need to trouble Mervyn yet. He's got enough tasks on his hands in preparation to accept the power from the source."

            Ralph took a step forward and tried to argue that Elspeth was not up to the job to locate the source. A tall figure rose from a seat in the middle of the room. Turning around, his red amber eyes flashed as if on fire. "You wish to challenge me?" His voice as cold as glacier, his shoulder-length blue hair matching the chilling feeling he gave. Ralph shivered and shook his head meekly. If he still wants to survive in Blood Iris, he'd better learn when to keep his opinions to himself.

            "Elspeth," Nathaniel said slowly. Elspeth bowed her head respectfully as she awaits his command. "You have to learn to quicken up your… research, or Blood Iris isn't going to hold on longer if the source doesn't come in time to replenish our powers. Now, you won't like it if we are weakened, like we were a century ago, right?" His words menacing, Nathaniel addressed Elspeth. Eager to make up for her incapability, Elspeth sought retreat to her lab in hope to get clearer vision of where the source might be at.

            "Uncle Nat! I had a good time in school today!" Nathaniel spun around and upon seeing the red haired girl with bright brown eyes, he showed a rare smile. It had been a long fifteen years since her late father entrusted Clio in his care. Nathaniel had promised Theodore on his deathbed that he would take very good care of his daughter. Now, at seventeen years of age, Clio looked like a playful pretty girl that any guy would want to date. But Clio would only want Kyle, that damned daybreaker. Now, if only he could bring that girl to her senses…

            "Something in your mind, Uncle Nat?" Clio asked, her brown eyes big with concern. Nathaniel shook his head and played with Clio's red hair. She's got her father's features, Nathaniel thought sadly. If only Theodore had lived to see it.

            "I'm going out with Kyle tonight. Don't wait up for me." Clio said as she climbed onto Nathaniel's chair. Nathaniel smiled at Clio, not wanting to dampen her spirit. "Have good fun then. I wish I was back at your age, having no worries, nothing but enjoying youth." He sighed and Clio came over to his side. "Uncle Nat, you don't seem happy today. Has something happened to Blood Iris?" Nathaniel shook his head quickly, not wanting to burden young Clio with problems.

            At that very moment, Elspeth budged in through the doors. "We have located the source."