It was long past dark when I arrived at the Academy. The moon was only in it's first quarter, so it wasn't bright enough to be comfortable.
I looked around warily as I stopped under the large arch leading to the grounds. Where was Aura? She was supposed to be here before me...
Going forward a few paces more, I stepped into a puddle, which was just deep enough to slosh some water in my shoe. Withdrawing my foot and shaking it a couple times, I stared at the water until it settled and looked at my reflection gazing back at me. My naturally red hair looked drained of it's vibrant colour in the moonlight, and my gray eyes kept fluttering in the direction of any small sounds, whether they were caused by animals or sounds from the school.
I looked away from my reflection to the uniform that rested in my hands. I hadn't had the time to see what it looked like, but it was mostly black. It wasn't in my duffel bag with my other stuff, I would need to have it on before I met the Headmaster.
"Jayden?"
The voice seemed ear-piercing in the dead silence, and when I spun around reflexively to see who was there, I recognize who it was instantly.
"God, Aura! You scared the crap outta me!" I complained.
"Sorry! And sorry I'm late. I couldn't get the teacher to let me out of class!"
"Class? But it's almost midnight!" It was then that I noticed she was wearing the supposed Night Class uniform, which was white, except for some black trim. "Oh, you're in the Night Class?"
"Uh, sort of."
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, Headmaster Cross will explain."
"Oh, okay...?"
Aura led my to a bathroom where I could change into my uniform, which was the exact opposite colours as Aura's, black with white trim. I also was wearing thin, black, thigh-high socks and dark brown, mid-shin lengthed boots.
When I was sporting my uniform, we headed to the Headmaster's office. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. If being in this Disciplinary Committee meant I had to talk to the Headmaster all the time, it was probably a pretty big deal.
The doors to his office were very large, a little too big... Was everything here going to be intimidating?
Aura knocked on the door. "Headmaster? Are you there?"
"Yes, yes, come in." A voice answered her.
She opened the door slowly, and the light from inside illuminated the hall.
"Aura, how many times do I have to tell you that you don't need to knock?" the voice said when Aura walked in.
"Sorry, it just seems rude not to." She motioned for me to come in. I took a self-assuring breath, and stepped in.
The first thing I noticed was that it was actually really warm inside. Not just the temperature, but the light, and atmosphere. The room was quite large, and the walls and floor were wood. There was an intricate rug covering some of the floor, and a desk was on the far-ish end of it. That was were the Headmaster was sitting. I could tell he was tall, even sitting down. He had long blonde hair which he pulled back into a pony tail, and a pair of thin, wiry glasses rested on his nose. As for his attire, it looked like he grabbed whatever the most comfortable clothes in his closet were and piled them all on.
When his eyes rested on me, the brightened more than they already had been. He seemed like the over-enthusiastic type, but I wasn't one to judge.
"Oh! You must be the girl just admitted! Jayden, am I right, I'm right, right?" He enthused. Definitely over-enthusiastic.
"Yes'sir." I nodded.
"Well we have much to go over, yes, much indeed. Aura asked me if you could be put into the Disciplinary Committee, giving me enough good reasons to agree. You are aware of this, yes?"
"Yes'sir." I said again.
"And you know nothing of what that entitles, correct?"
I simply nodded my head.
"Good. Aura wasn't supposed to say anything. So, as a member, you are to go straight to the entrance of the Moon Dorm, where the Night Class comes out at twilight to go to class. The Day Class girls may or may not be there already, hopefully you'll usually beat them. It is up to you to keep the girls off the Night Class as they pass. And don't underestimate them. They would shove you off a cliff to get to those boys." He laughed at my expression, which was something of a mix of terror and confusion. "Don't worry, you won't be any cliffs. The other part of your responsibilities is to patrol the campus after the Night Class is in session. Chances are, there will be a few Day Class girls sneaking around to get some pictures of the Night Class. If you see any, get their names and class numbers. Be sure to tell me when you do!"
He rummaged through his desk for a minute. "Ah! Here you are!" He handed me a white band of cloth with a gorgeous red symbol on it. "It's proof of being on the Committee. Have it on whenever you aren't in class."
I pulled the band onto my right arm to make sure it'd stay.
"Oh, and Jayden," The Headmaster continued. I looked up. "I forgot to tell you something very important."
"Yes?"
"The reason it's so crucial to keep those girls away from the Night Class is because the Night Class is all vampires." I froze, but he continued speaking. "How silly of me. I should've told you that first."
"Wait," I said, "Vampires? Like Aura?" I pointed my thumb at her, standing behind me.
He nodded. "She told me that she'd told you. Except she's a-"
"Pureblood? She told me that too. The whole bit."
The Headmaster smiled. "Good. Saves me a speech. She's in the Night Class on Mondays, and lives in the Moon Dorm. Which means she won't be there to help on Mondays. It's a bit precarious sometimes... But we need a Pureblood there to keep the others under control. We keep her in the Day Class so she can be on the Committee. As I said, precarious, but she makes it work. Does a darn good job too, considering she only started this routine this year." He smiled at Aura proudly, who looked down, embarrassed.
"What about the whole... sensitive-to-the-sun thing?" I wondered.
"Oh, she has a kind of immunity to it." When I raised an eyebrow, he added, "Don't ask me, that's just what she said.
I decided to drop it. It probably wasn't more than that anyway. "Um, I have one more question..." I trailed off. "It's not very important though..."
"Yes?"
"Um, I was just wondering... Is it just me and Aura, or is there anyone else on the Committee?"
Aura jumped in. "Well, there's Zero, but he doesn't do shit."
The acid in her voice made me flinch.
"Ahem..." Headmaster Cross put in, "My adopted daughter Yuuki used to be in the Committee, but she... doesn't go to this school anymore." He coughed awkwardly.
"Um... What are you guys-"
Aura interrupted me. "C'mon Jayden, I'll show you to your dorm." She grabbed my wrist and started towing me away.
"Both of you get some sleep! Tomorrow will be a big day!" The Headmaster called after us.
When we turned the first corner and started downstairs, I spoke. "Aura, what are you guys hiding from me?"
"Nothing really. It's just some weird shit that went down last year." Her voice was a bit strained.
"I can tell you're lying. I can also tell you're pissed, you never cuss this much. What's wrong?"
She dropped my arm, allowing me to follow instead of being dragged. "Nothing. I just don't really like Zero all that much."
I rolled my eyes. "That much I can tell. I wish I could help, but I've never met him."
"Can I just complain a bit?"
"Sure."
She sighed. "Well first, he's an unfeeling jerk. No emotions but anger, I swear it. Second, he's supposed to be on the Disciplinary Committee with me, but he doesn't do anything!" She threw he hands up, exasperated. "I don't even know where he goes, so I can't pester him to help. And he hates me just because I'm a vampire. I caught him yelling at the Headmaster about me! Saying it was ridiculous to have a Pureblood keeping the girls away from the vampires, that I would expose everything. For the longest time, he would just watch me during the switch over. When he gave up on that, he decided to disappear. I never see him except in class, and during Committee meetings. Even then, he only shows up half the time."
When I decided she'd stop talking long enough for me to know she was done, I sighed. "You know what I wanna say, but I don't want to upset you."
She nodded. "You want to say that there's probably a reason for it all. The problem is, there is a reason, I even know what it is! But that doesn't help a goddamned thing."
"I'm sorry Aura..."
She sighed. "S'all right I guess. Now at least I won't be doing everything myself. Before, I used to have to do switch-overs on Mondays too. Used to have to sneak to class after all the girls left. Then there was no one to patrol. This will be a much better situation."
I smiled. "Good. I'm glad to help."
We stopped in front of a door on the second level of the girls' dorm. It was only three doors away from the staircase.
"Here we are!" Aura handed me a key. "Your key. This'll be your dorm for the whole year. I managed to get you your own."
"Aw thanks Aura! Ya know, this is kind of exciting."
She pushed me towards the door, grinning. "Don't get too excited, or you won't sleep."
I unlocked the door and pushed it open. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow in class?"
"Yup. Bright and early." She grimaced.
"Can't wait!" I laughed, and closed the door behind me.
As I got ready for bed, my mind was spinning. What was it that Aura and the Headmaster were keeping from me? And I couldn't help but think it was tied to the whole thing Aura was explaining to me about that Zero guy, considering she didn't tell me what she knew the reason was for his reclusive behavior. If I was going to be such a big part of keeping the school safe, I feel like I should know as much as I can.
When I climbed into bed, a new thought popped into my head. If Aura had only just been doing the whole Pureblood-by-night-normal-teen-by-day thing just this year, that meant there had to have been another Pureblood here last year, right? I didn't know if I was reading way too far into this, but if the Headmaster's adopted daughter had just left last year, and this other Pureblood did too... No, the events could've been way too random. They couldn't be connected...
But they kept so much information from about both of them; they didn't even mention this other Pureblood...
The thoughts kept whirling through my head until I was too exhausted to think anymore.
I've always been somewhat of a conspiracy theorist.
Yes! Chapter UNO! Tell me about typos if you catch em... I'm kinda bad about that. And thanks for reading, PLEASE review, I hate not knowing if there are readers or not. Even just add it to your watch list or something, I dunno but let me know you're reading it! Grazie!
Update: 2-22-2012
Okay, I got sick of using the same name over and over. Haylie is now Jayden. Thanks for reading!