"Will you ever wake up? You're going to be late on your first day!"
It was probably the annoying voice off my brother that actually woke me up, not the 20 alarms that I had set the night before. Though after processing what he had said, I jumped out of my cot and scavenged around my tiny room for the clothes that I had set out the night before. Geez, what happened to my poor room overnight?
"Cora, did you hear me?" He called again.
"Shut up, Clay. I'm up!" I found my light blue skirt, white blouse, navy blue jacket and red ribbon, which I then tied into a thin, loose bow around my neck. Rummaging through my drawers, I found some dark knee high socks and tugged them over my small feet.
"I made breakfast 10 minutes ago, if you still want it." Clay yelled up to me.
"If it was cereal, then no!" I replied back.
Swearing I could hear him saying something, I rushed down the stairs, trying very hard not to fall. As I reached the bottom, Clay handed me a cereal bowl as he started upstairs, beginning our new daily routine.
After I filled my bowl, ate, and made sure my bag had everything I needed in it, stuffed my shoes in the side pocket of the bag.
"Are you ready to leave, Clay? I called up to him.
"I have been for the past 20 minutes!" He called back.
I slipped on my roller blades and strapped them on tight. Ever since I was about 5 years old, I had been riding skates all around our cramped neighborhood, so you could say I've become a master at this. Opening the door, I jumped off the steps and pushed of in the direction of the DWMA, dodging the often piece of trash or small animal. Far behind me, I could hear Clay closing the door behind him. I sped up, eager to beat him.
The academy wasn't far from our house, so as I reached the steps, I jumped up and glided up the concrete sides and passed multiple students on the way, waving every so often at a student that I knew.
I made it to the top and flipped off the side and skidded to a halt in front of two of my friends.
"What an entrance you made there, Cora," Teressa smiled at me as a greeting.
"Hey Teressa, how are you and Shawn doing?"
"What, no greeting?" Shawn raked his hand through his messy black hair.
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, hello to you to."
He made some growling sound in his throat out of annoyance and followed me and his partner towards the building.
"So, you're going to demonstrate for the NOT students later this week, right?" Asked Teressa.
Riding slowly next to her, I answered, "Well, more like sometime this month. Since Jackie found a partner, they asked me to help out with the solo. Of course, Maka and Soul are still going to do a demo."
"Sounds like fun." We stopped in front of the big doors that lead into the school. Looking up to the top of the massive building, we let old memories wash over us.
It's been almost 3 months since he DWMA had defeated Arachnophobia. Three months since the Kishin was defeated.
"Man, the school really got a good clean up after that battle." Shawn rested his hands behind his head.
"Yeah, the city sure got a beating. Especially my part of town." Sitting down, I took my black flats out of my bag and switched them out for my skates. Me and half of the others in my class were sent out to one of the madness amplifiers out in Europe, then me and my two companions had to help out over in Asia.
"I'm just glad nothing happened over by our place, then I would have actually had to clean more than I already had over the summer," sighing, Shawn lead the way into the building.
Standing up, I retorted "Lazy ass."
He turned, his face steaming "What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing," me and Teressa laughed together.
"Your still just jealous that I found a partner before you."
"Yeah, It's more like concern for Teressa."
"Hey, guys! Could we get off this topic for now? You guys can duel later. Did you guys see we still have Mrs. Klein this year?"
I put a hand on my chin, "Yeah, your right! Arent we lucky!"
"Yeah, you guys are, she hated me."
"Stop being so grouchy, Shawn. She definatly did NOT hate you, you were just... really bad at tests..." I saw Teressa hide a smirk.
"Whatever..." Shawn never really fought with his partner much. I guess he had already figured out that she is way stronger than him when it comes to arguments. I wish I had a partner.
"Say, Cora, how is your brother?" Asked Teressa trying to change the subject.
"Oh, as annoying as usual. Just because he's older by a couple years doesn't make our power levels different."
Shawn nodded, "I have to actually agree with her on that. Stealing Cora's food ends in a really bad ass kicking."
Teressa crossed her arms, "That's just because you're dumb enough to try it."
We continued to catch up over lost time until we reached our classroom. Mrs. Klein jumped up from where she was and came over to greet us.
"Oh, look at my favorite students! How are you holding up? Any problems?"
"No, but thank you Miss" we said in unison.
We walked around the room to find ourselves un-assigned assigned seats. I heard Teressa hiss an 'I told you' under her breath toward her partner. Shawn stuck his tongue out at her.
We found a seat in the far right of the classroom, near the middle. As soon as we got settled, Shawn set his black boots on the long desk in front of him.
"Uh, Shawn? Where is your stuff?" I asked him.
"Huh? Oh, I didn't bring anything," replied Shawn.
"What a surprise, he never brings anything," Sighing, Teressa and I took out our notebooks and pens.
More students began filing into the room. Mrs. Klein organized and shuffled through the papers on her desk, greeting students on their way through the door.
Right as the bell rang, the teacher closed the door and started with her greetings.
"Hello to you all! Most of you have been in my class before, or you have been in a EAT class before. Nevertheless, I am Mrs. Klein, your new teacher for this year!"
She started by giving some updates about the school, what's going to be happening in this class, and her expectations in this class. Then she told us to check our schedules to make sure we had the correct ones. Mrs. Klein also gave us some time to compare our schedules with our friends.
"Looks like we all have P.E. together again," Teressa noted.
I looked over, "Great, looks like me and Shawn have our weapons class together. Again."
He scoffed, "Are you kidding, this is great! I needed someone smart to copy off of."
He grunted as I hit him on the top of the head with my bag, "There won't be any copying this year. Besides, you're a part of the Spartoi. Could you at least try this year?"
Rubbing his head, he replied, "Yeah, sure. Just don't do that again."
Mrs. Klein continued, "As you all hopefully know, the DWMA was created to keep a more or less even balance against the order of witches. Not only that, but to also train young weapons and meisters like yourselves.
"Now, my classroom procedures are very simple, much the same as last years. But due to all of the, events from last year, there have been minor changes. If anything were to ever happen like that again, I would appreciate it if you would remember all of these procedures..."
As she continued, my train of thought decided to wander out of the classroom and into the DWMA's recent battles. Me, Shawn, and Teressa were all sent out to the amplifiers in Europe, like I had mentioned before. Though because of our exceptional skills, and that the other group needed help, my team was sent out to give Asia a boost.
I guess me and my teammates must have proven our worth when we were told that we were a part of Spartoi, a group of elite, two-star meisters. Two stars! That's a big accomplishment to any student here at the academy. But now that were in, we had to change our uniforms, more of a light blue and white kind of look. I only changed my skirt light blue, and stitched the logo of Spartoi onto the back of my jacket. This jacket was my mother's, so there was no way I would stop wearing it.
Shawn was stubborn in changing from wearing black, but he wore a white collar shirt with a loose blue tie, a little Shinigami at the bottom. Teressa wore the whole outfit, I white blouse, sleeveless blue sweater, and a light blue skirt matched with white socks.
I didn't like the clothing change much either, but at least the rule was that we just had to wear some white and blue. That worked out for me.
My mind went back to our battles that we fought a couple months ago. They were fairly easy, but fighting two battles is exhausting.
Flashbacks slipped through my vision, filling me with a sudden rush of adrenaline. My fingers twitched. I needed to get out, to do something. I didn't even care what it was. Looking over at Shawn, I could see that same feeling in his eyes. He needed to get out as well, to let his energy out.
Teressa stayed calm and collected, doodling in her notebook as she listened. She never seemed out of control of her nerves, always focused.
This was my team. The greatest team, and nothing could beat us.
We were small, but we were powerful.
...
When the last bell finally rang, I leaped for joy. What could beat getting out of school?
Teressa groaned, "I can't believe we already have homework on the first week of school."
Sliding on my skates, I replied "Especially on a Friday."
"Well, we all know I'm not going to do it, " Shawn crossed his arms and started walking towards he and Teressa's apartment.
"Actually, you will. I'll even help you," Teressa flicked him in between the eyes.
I laughed as Shawn retorted in complaint. They went at each other, back and forth as we walked down the long steps.
"I've got to say, this week sure has gone by fast."
"You could say that again," Shawn turned towards me.
"Agh, crap. I left my book in the classroom. I'll meet you at the room."
Two boys, most likely partners, were walking close by in front of us. One of them, the taller, lightly tanned kid with messy brown hair jogged past us. Recognizing each other, we locked eyes for a split second as he passed me. I turned hot and looked back forward.
"Hey, aren't you guys in our class?"
The boy still walking in front of us looked over at Teressa, "Uh, yeah. Mrs. Klein?"
"That's right. What's the deal with your partner. I'm pretty sure that's like the third time I've seen him run back to the academy at the end of the day this week alone."
He sighed, "tell me about it. His scatterbrain causes him to forget everything. I even ended up writing him a list."
She laughed and pointed with her thumb over at me. "This girl can run at light speed with or without her skates. She'll run and get in for him."
I gave her a look, "I will?"
"Why not?"
Sighing, I slipped my skates over my feet and stood up with perfect balance.
"Hey, I've seen you in the mornings. You're that girl that skates to school at that crazy speed."
Shawn raised his arms, "wait, you've seen her while riding her skates?"
I narrowed my eyes, "Yeah, well, I do need to get here somehow."
I put my left foot behind my right and pushed off, jumping onto the sides and sped back towards the school, throwing my bag at Shawn to hold. I kept going, passing the boy, who was still jogging up the steps. We locked eyes again, but this time mine were full of annoyance, and his surprise.
I raced through the hallways, dodging the slow students still in the halls. I reached the classroom and jumped onto the desk, slid across, grabbed the book, and rolled out of the room. Mrs. Klein had just noticed me as I left and stood motionless in the doorway.
The boy was still running up the steps as I slammed the book into his chest and pushed him along with me until we reached the bottom of the steps. I pushed away and the boy went sprawling onto the cobblestone floors.
"Hey, what the hell?"
The other kid, with messy, white hair and surprisingly electrical blue eyes, ran over to his partner. I huffed and sat down to switch my shoes again.
"Er, Cora, this is Jacin. And the one you threw was, uh..."
"I'm Rin, Kuromori" he answered, rubbing his head, "A meister."
"Hey, that's funny, " said Shawn in a sarcastic tone, "Cora's been looking for a meister."
After hitting him over the head with my bag, I walked over to Rin and helped him up.
"Sorry about that," I said, lowering my head. I could hear Teressa scolding Shawn behind me.
"No, it's ok, it doesn't hurt that much anymore," He shook his head, "You are...?"
"Oh, right. I'm Cora, Cora Sizemore."
"Your Clay's sister?"
I groaned, "That's what you pick up?"
"Heh, sorry I guess. I guess you could say that were old acquaintances."
"Well, Rin," I patted the book in his arms. "Your welcome."
He grinned, "Yeah. See you Monday?"
Nodding, I couldn't help but grin back. "Sure," I responded, rolling my eyes.
He and his partner said bye and walked down the left road. We turned and left ourselves toward Teressa and Shawn's apartment. When we reached it, Teressa unlocked the door to one of the nicest rooms I have ever seen.
"It sure has been a while since I last came over. Looks much cleaner too."
"That was mainly because it was the end of the year and we were a little frazzled." She set her bag on a nearby chair.
Shawn plopped on an orange sofa and turned on the TV. The sofa's color didn't actually even look that bad. It matched the eerie blue walls and white tables. I bet Shawn had picked out the color of it too, matching his intense orange eyes.
Teressa opened their fridge, "Want anything to drink?"
I nodded, "Water's fine."
Shawn opened his hand on the edge of the couch and Teressa tossed a soda into it with perfect accuracy. "Thanks," he called to her.
She tossed my a water bottle and I sat on the floor next to the couch, pulling my books out of the bag in my lap.
"Why did you turn on the TV? We've got work to do."
"You know I'm not going to do it."
Sighing, Teressa and I started our work on the low, white table.
"He'll end up doing it in the middle of the night, I bet you," Teressa looked over at him teasingly. He was laughing at something on the TV.
"Probably sneak your book too," I retorted, shaking my head to hide my grin.
She just smiled and continued working. These two were made for each other, no doubt about that. It might sound like that for every meister and weapon, but these two had some sort of telepathic connection towards each other. Man, I really wish I had a partner.
"So, about that Rin guy," Shawn started. He kneeled down next to the table and sat, raising an eyebrow at me.
"What about him?"
"Seemed like you two had a connection going on."
"What? No! Besides, he already has a partner," I crossed my arms.
"That doesn't mean you still can't, you know," I didn't let him finish his sentence before a bright flash of yellow came from my arm and the sharp point of my black and silver blade was aimed at his neck.
He sucked in a breath and raised his head from my blade. "You should stop talking, like, now," I narrowed my eyes at him.
He raised his hands, "yep, got it, no more talking."
I felt a buzz in my bag and changed my arm back to grab it.
"Who's that?" Asked Teressa.
"Just Clay. He says that he's making dinner tonight, and," I threw up an arm, "and Akane is coming over!"
Teressa gave me a look, "that's what excites you?"
I rolled my eyes, "Akane is like a brother to me, another best friend. He's probably coming over to play cards and discuss some stuff with Clay."
"When do you have to leave?" Shawn risked asking.
I checked the time, "we're almost done here, so I'll leave in about 10 minutes."
Shawn got up and left his spot as we continued. Not long after, he came back with a notebook and pen.
"Wow, so you do own study material." I mocked him.
He gave me a look that seemed so annoyed I thought steam was about to come out of him.
"Very funny, Cora. Yes, I do happen to own notebooks." He opened the book and started working with Teressa on the homework.
Ten minutes later, I started to pack up again.
"Here's an idea, are you busy tomorrow, Cora?"
I stood and faced Teressa, "No, I don't think so."
"How about we spar a bit tomorrow. You know, it has been quite some time since we last fought"
"That is a good idea. I'll check with Clay and text you later."
"Ok, see you tomorrow!" Teressa nudged Shawn.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
...
The door to the Sizemore house was already unlocked as I reached the front steps. Entering the cramped hallway, I hung my bag on the coat tree and strutted over to the kitchen. Clay and his partner, Akane, we're already sitting at the small, four person table.
"Hey Cora," Akane waved, "been a while, huh?"
I smiled at him. "Yeah, it has. How's the investigating business?"
Clay groaned, "So boring! We haven't had a good case since that weird scorpion witch and the kishin."
Akane motioned to the empty chair, "dinners all ready. We got takeout."
"Sweet," I took a seat and thanked them for the meal.
As I ate, my brother continued the last conversation, "anyways, Sid said we're getting another new student." He empathized on the new.
Akane nodded, "yeah, I forget her name, but apparently she's supposed to be really powerful. Additionally," he paused, "he said she's got black blood."
I choked on a noodle, "like Crona?"
"Yeah, and she's starting in an EAT class too. Do you have any suspiciously new students in your class?" Akane raised an eyebrow.
I thought, "no, some I recognize from the NOT classes, but no."
Clay pushed back and balanced on the back two legs of his chair, "good, I don't want my little sister in any danger."
I grit my teeth, "your one to talk."
"Actually, she would be a pretty good weapon for a teammate."
Clay and I looked at Akane like he was speaking gibberish.
He laughed, "there's that infamous Sizemore face. Anyway, I think you should become friends with her."
I put a hand on my chin, "when is her first day?"
Clay fell out of his chair, "you can't be serious!"
Akane closed his eye, "I don't know if she has started or not, but she'll most likely be there on Monday."
Grinning, I stood up and clenched my fist, "alright then, I'll do it.