Innocent Sin: Actress Again
I: Asgard
Aisha
The spacious corridor throbbed with the hum of conversation as I weaved my way through the chaotic sea of people at a harried pace. Sunlight streamed in from the outside via the cavernous windows, achingly bright, stabbing my tired eyes with daggers of light. "Urk…" Groaning, I rubbed my forehead as I took a step on the sweeping grand staircase, the heels of my white boots clacking against the glistening marble.
"Dammit Ara…" I muttered under my breath, my mind fuzzy from lack of sleep. It was insane; how could she possibly do so well in school, look so incredible, and spark with a dynamic energy when she spent half of her nights up past one in the morning, swearing vehemently at the TV screen when a zombie popped out of a random hole in the wall and killed her character? All it took me was one of those marathon gaming sessions with her to put me out for a couple of days.
I fast walked down the hall, clutching my textbooks close to my chest. Visible through the window that practically made up the wall at the divide at the end of the hallway, was a sprawling sea of gleaming ivory and glittering glass spirals past the latticed glass and steel gates of the school, reaching out hopefully to the rainbow streaked heavens. A perfect utopia, and a place I was proud to call home. Living in Asgard was to be the strongest, the richest, and the most intelligent. It was a symbol that you were blessed, meant for something greater than the drudgery of Midgard and the darkness and waste of Niffleheim.
Stifling a yawn, I shifted my books around and entered the classroom to the right.
"There you are! Why are you so late? Did you get lost on the way up?" Ara- my friend, rushed towards me, her long ebon tresses flowing out from behind her as she slammed into me, sending us crashing into the door. "Oof!" I grunted as my head slammed into the door with a painful thwam!
"Geroff me!" Grumbling, I pushed Ara off me, liberally massaging my throbbing skull. She pushed herself off the ground, bristling as she straightened the gold and silver hairpin that nestled in the braided bun on the back of her head. "Rude…" she huffed, to which I just stuck my tongue out at her playfully as a response.
"Children… Children," a soothing but mildly monotonic voice droned. Craning my neck, I saw Eve Rainsworth- my other friend and one of the Royal Class Nasods and the heiress to one of the Noble Houses of Asgard. She looked ethereal as per norm in the snow-white uniform of Asgard Academy with her porcelain skin, and her alabaster tresses done up in an elaborately braided coiffure offset by a delicate platinum tiara.
"Ah, hello Eve," I greeted politely and stood up, dusting the dust off my pleated skirt. She dipped into a brief curtsy and motioned towards the teacher who was gathering papers together on her desk for today's lesson. "Let's take a seat," she stated and strolled over to her seat in the middle row with Ara and I in tow.
"Did you people here about the new Special Program student who is joining this class?" Eve inquired as I took a seat in one of the velvet-lined chairs. Unsurprisingly, Ara grimaced, forming a distasteful expression. "Uh… Really? That sucks, they're so annoying. Hanging all over the place and acting so arrogant, trying to be all cool and blend in with us, the real deal. I get the burning desire to throttle one of them and scream in their faces that they will never be one of us and that they should just stay in Midgard where they are supposed to be."
"But then all that wasted talent. If we could hone it into something resembling civility, then is it not worth just a little aggravation? After all, it's our job to show them the way to act and to educate them, lest their gifts would collect dust or worse, be used against us in some paltry rebellion that would shed unnecessary blood." Eve smiled thinly as she clasped her hands together, cool, calm, and elegant.
I sucked in my cheeks, rolling my eyes as I did so. "Ok, you make a good point there Eve, but still… Why our school? Start up a separate academy with some tutors or people who are crazy enough to mingle with them in order to get them to attempt to act classy. Obviously, black uniforms aren't enough to remind them that they're not us, Take Raven for example, hanging out with Rena Tyrell and getting all cozy with her, completely disregarding the unwritten rules here. You don't associate with someone that's a higher class than you unless you want trouble."
Ara snorted, her nostrils flaring. "Rena probably enjoys it. She's a whore and she looks like one too. No guy with class is going to go after that. That's why she's left scraping the bottom of the social barrel."
"She's still a Tyrell"- I argued- "One of the five Noble Families of Asgard, even if she is a ho. I'm sure despite having the cleavage of a prostitute from Mid"-
"No, Niffleheim," Ara interjected, cutting off my retort with a laugh. "Rumor has it that their whores don't even wear outer garments."
"Have you ever been to Niffleheim, Ara?" Eve queried, tilting her head to the side. Ara shot eye daggers at Eve, baring her teeth into a beastly scowl. "And why does it concern you?" she snarled. Eve shrugged and crossed her legs. "You may be my friend Ara, but I hate it when people act ignorant. Even if it is about trash. After all, learning about the trash can's contents may prove invaluable," she replied drily. Ara's scowl deepened, "Why you"-
"Attention class!" Our magical theory teacher- Noah, barked, her ice blue eyes sparkling like the frost on a steel pole in Midgard's winter. Seeing the flinty look in her eyes, the murmuring of the class subsided, earning a curt nod from the teacher. "Now, as you may know of already, we have a Special Program student joining us today for the rest of the year."
A chorus of groans broke out from the class. "Silence," Noah snapped, folding her arms. "You are to set a model example for this student and show him how he is supposed to act. Teach him if you may, ignore him, I don't care but don't give him reason to criticize us once he goes back to Midgard for the summer."
"They're going to complain anyways…" Ara griped in an undertone, narrowing her amber eyes into little slits. I frowned and buried my head in my hands. Just my luck…
"Els Hwajae, you may come in now," Noah declared, gesturing at the door. The hinges whined as the door swung open, and a young male around my age entered the classroom. He was clad in the Special Program black version of the school uniform and had sharp crimson eyes that sparkled with a rakish light; his natty scarlet locks were artfully tousled, lazily covering his right eye.
"Hwajae, what kind of name is that?" Ara whispered, sniggering unpleasantly. Eve smirked, leaning back ever-so-slightly. "Why I don't know the exact meaning, but it's in the language that the Haans- your family originally spoke before the collapse of Elrios three hundred years ago I bet. It certainly doesn't sound Latin, Gaelic, or Nipponese."
Ara blazed more brilliantly than Els's hair. "Shut up!" she spat angrily.
"Girls, did you hear anything I said?" Noah scolded, placing a hand on her hip. A green vein pulsed in Ara's neck as her face turned beet-purple, but she kept her mouth shut and slid down in her chair until only her eggplant shaded forehead was visible. "I apologize for that Els. That is a perfect example of how not to act in our class," Noah pressed her lips into a thin line, giving Ara a look that screamed "I'm so talking to you after class missy". Els nodded, his thin side tails swaying forward as he dipped his head. "Ok, now where do I sit?" he questioned, the corners of his lips curled faintly upwards in a barely visible smirk.
Arrogant ass, you better drop that smirk… I mentally screamed at him, his casual air and confidence grating on me. Sure, he was cute and if he wasn't some lowly commoner from Midgard, I might've gone for him, but since he was from Midgard, well… Just looking at that simpering grin on his face made me want to rake his face with my fingernails, except he wasn't worth ruining my nails over.
Noah pointed towards the seat directly behind me, much to my chagrin.
Lovely, I bit my bottom lip, unable to keep the sour expression off my face. Ara gave me a kind look and Eve clucked her tongue sympathetically upon seeing my chafed face. Els leaned forward, lightly tapping me on the shoulder. "Hello"-
"Don't talk to me," I snapped at Els, suppressing the urge to strangle him for touching me so easily. He sighed and slumped back in his chair, not even having the decency to look shamefaced. Steaming, my face flushing red, I diverted my gaze back to the front of the class to Noah who was writing instructions on the flickering, holographic screen that hovered in the front of the room.
"Now class, would you please open your books and turn to page two hundred and thirty."
Storming out of class once the period had ended, I was fuming so much that it was a miracle that there was no steam pouring out of my ears. "Wow… You mad?" Ara snickered, effortlessly keeping up with my breakneck walking pace. "Of course," I shot back, livid heat prickling my face. I could still feel Els's hand tapping my shoulder and it bugged me. I felt violated. How dare he touch me so casually!
"Now, now… There's no need to be so unpleasant, at least he still has both arms and a sweet face unlike Raven." Eve drawled airily. I whipped around to face her, my wavy lavender pigtails flaring violently outwards. "Did you see?!" I thundered, "He touched me! Just like that!" She sighed, shaking her head exasperatedly. "Yes, it was an impudent gesture on his part, but I'm sure he won't do it again given your reaction."
I sucked in my breath, forcing myself to count slowly to ten before daring to speak. "If you think that, then you obviously didn't see his face, he didn't even attempt to look sorry." Eve grimaced, "Some people are just better at hiding their emotions than you." Hissing, my nails dug into the palm of my hands, causing me to wince from the pain. "Like you?" I snarled acidly. She furrowed her brow, more than likely angry from her tense posture but still keeping that blasted poker face of hers. Why did she always have to be Miss reasonable? Why couldn't she just nod her head in understanding and pat me on the back like Ara?
"Well, I feel for you," Ara clapped my shoulder. "Still, just punch his lights out next time he tries to do that. If you're afraid of getting in trouble, then call me. I'll dangle him out the window by his ankles." Eve snorted, "You'll get in so much trouble and Aren will throw a fit."
Ara smiled humorlessly, rolling her eyes dismissively. "Eh, my brother is a self-righteous and stuffy prick and trouble is nothing. It's not like they'll kick me out. I'm a Haan after all! My name is worth even more than yours, Eve Rainsworth."
I beamed, embracing Ara in a bear hug. "Thank you!" I cried, "You're a true friend!" She grinned and ruffled the top of my head, mussing up my bangs but I didn't mind. Eve huffed and folded her arms, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout.
"Then what am I?" she directed the query at me. "Chopped liver?" Ara giggled and waved her hand giddily, "You're the token smart friend that allows us to copy your homework." An amused smile flashed across Eve's face, disappearing as quickly as it came. "Perhaps I should stop doing that then?" Ara pouted, feigning indignation. "If you do that, then you'll really just be chopped liver," she jested. I laughed, placing a hand on my moonstone pendant and looked outside the window, gazing down at the emerald expanse below us- the school grounds, studded with ruby roses, sapphire hydrangeas, topaz daffodils, and a whole slew of other vivid, gem-like flowers I could not name.
"Come on guys, let's get lunch," I stated, feeling a great deal more serene.
RC: Aaand cut! What do you think of the reboot of Innocent Sin? :D You can probably already name a few changes right off! Starting with Ara's class! :3 Also, the Shinigami incident prevalent within the first version of IS: DBAG is going to be handled differently, so even people who have saved the old IS: DBAG as a document or PDF (I know you people are out there) could be surprised at some things and have something to keep you around! :D
Eve: I find it unfair how my story- Sheol Gate is only like 1k words at a time including chats, but this is 2k without the chats! D:
RC: This was the story that I became famous on. ElsEve is master pairing but I won't do this story injustice!
Ara: *Sobbing in the emo corner*
Chung: *Steeling his body as tears fall down from his eyes*
Elesis: D:
Aren: *Sighing*
Eve: .-.
RC: I think a reboot is what this story needed, so much more class and maturity in the writing, no? Could almost be pro… not really… O3O But I will warn you, some character personalities will be altered a little bit, Addition will be in here, and we will occasionally glimpse a POV outside of Aisha's just to give the story some more depth. Also, the first arc up until THAT moment-
Chung: TTATT
RC: -Is going to be different… We get to see more character interactions between Rena, Raven, Elsword, Aisha, Ara, Eve, Chung, Addition, and Aren. So they'll feel more fleshed out.
Aisha: Doesn't feel too bad… but I sense something horrific behind your seemingly benevolent exterior.
RC: I already made you bitchier in this reboot, isn't that sinister enough?
Aisha: :L No, that's just typical RC.
RC: Fair point… this version is also going to be a little bloodier and more disturbing than the last…
Aisha: I KNEW IT!
Everyone else: QAQ
RC: Welp, remember to R&R if you love this reboot and hyped about IS's return (Yes, I did change the title, previous initials were… awkward to say the least… and I think "Actress Again" is fairly accurate… Also, yes… this is a reference to Melty Blood… And there is going to GoT references up the ying-yang) Ja Nee! *Flies out the window*