Chapter Two: Making Friends and Eating Ice-Cream

The roof was held up by several wooden beams with skylights that allowed the sun to illuminate the students below. The Cafeteria itself was built with two split levels. There were three entries and exits. In the middle of the Cafeteria the doors seemed to lead to an outdoor sitting area. The food lines were at the back from the doorway that Siobhan and her friends had entered. The Cafeteria, according to what Siobhan had overheard, had recently been remodeled.

"This place is huge" remarked Donald as the five Irish youths surveyed the battleground for food.

"Let's go eat outside" suggested Casey

"Yeah, we can tackle making new friends…later?" questioned Colin

Siobhan had read her introductory papers and her schedule. She knew there was three lunches and that this wasn't even half the students.

"Ok, sounds good" said Siobhan

The group of five maneuvered toward the doors leading to the outdoors. Siobhan knew that elementals felt more comfortable outside. Her element which was spirit or mind was a more social element and did well in most environments. However, even she felt intimidated at the huge number of students that had flooded the cafeteria.

"The fresh air feels so good after that stuffy gym" said Colin as he let out tentacles of wind from his outstretched palms.

"I utterly agree! I couldn't wait to get away from that annoying coach" said Casey

"He was very loud" said Ashling

"I remember he had to use his powers twice on 'Sio-be' to get her to respond, Why is that?" Casey asked Siobhan

The group had converged on a green picnic table and had just taken their seats when Casey popped the question. She wasn't sure how to respond. The vision was not very clear and she didn't want to scare her friends.

"Well…I … had a vision" Siobhan spat out. She didn't want to lie or cover up but surely this was the weirdest vision she had ever had.

"What did you see?" asked Casey

"I saw myself in a ball of fire. I didn't seem to be burning or in any pain. My facial expression was full of surprise. Then I saw Bruce. He was running toward me and he was upset. His eyes were white. Totally white without any pupils. It was creepy." Said Siobhan

"Is that all you saw?" asked Ashling

"Yeah, Coach Boomer's voice jolted me back to reality." Said Siobhan

"Maybe you will see more later." Suggested Colin

"And if you do try to see if Bruce was convolution in a spasm because that might explain the white eyes" said Donald

"Creepy" said Casey as she patted her friends back in comfort

"Just another reason I don't want to be mated to Bruce" said Siobhan

"Um…excuse me…" a small voice squeaked

The whole group turned their head as one unit and saw a skinny girl with dark brown hair. Her skin was the color of caramel and she looked like a freshman, like them. She was carrying a black bag with rhinestones on it and a platter of food in her hand.

"Hi, do you want to have a seat?" asked Siobhan

"Yes, thank you" she replied as she sat down next to Siobhan

"Hello, my name is Casey. The girl who asked you to have a seat is Siobhan. The brown haired girl is Ashling, this lug is Colin and his brother Daniel is over there" said Casey

"Nice to meet you guys. My name is Blanche and I saw you guys getting placed. I am a freshman, too." Said Blanche

"Cool and where did you get placed?" asked Colin

"I was placed into Hero Gold. I am an empath" said Blanche

"I was placed into Hero Gold, too! The rest of the group here is in Hero Blue" said Siobhan

"I remember you" said Blanche to Siobhan, "You have such a wide range of powers, and how do you control them all?"

"um, I guess with practice. My grandma has the same set of powers and she helps me out a lot" said Siobhan. She didn't mention that she actually had a few more powers and that this was common for the shaman of the Spirit clan or shaman in training as she was.

"That is still just amazing" said Blanche

Siobhan didn't really know what to do with that and so she just shrugged. How could she explain that what was abnormal in their society was normal in hers?

"The only other person who has more than one power, which I can think of, is Will Stronghold. He has super strength and he can fly" continued Blanche

"Isn't that the guy who saved the school?" asked Casey

"The school needed saving?" asked Ashling

"Yeah! I heard all about it from my parents last year! It was epic. Will Stronghold and a bunch of his friends saved the whole school from a super villain named Royal Pain. She had turned his Dad and all the teachers into babies! It was pretty cool. Too bad he is dating Layla." Blanche sighed with a starry look in her eyes.

"Is that why the cafeteria was remodeled?" asked Siobhan

"Yeah and it is also why Power placement is so different than it used to be." Said Blanche

"How did it used to be?" asked Colin

"Well my parents said you used only get grouped as either Hero or Sidekick. I have also heard that Coach Boomer used to ridicule students with weak powers and he is not allowed to do that anymore." Said Blanche

"It sounds like it changed for the better" said Siobhan

Blanche nodded her head and munched on her chicken sandwich. Siobhan noticed the conversation waned and for her, she could finally enjoy being outside. She liked watching the clouds since they were so high up. They looked close enough to touch.

The bell rang and startled Siobhan from her fluffy cloud watching. She quickly gathered her trash and disposed of it. Then she grabbed her green backpack and turned to find Casey.

"Casey, what class do you have next?" asked Siobhan

Casey quickly glanced at her schedule, "I have Mad Science"

"Crap, I have Math. See ya later" said Siobhan as she turned to go

"See you by your locker after class, OK?" asked Casey as she turned to go in the opposite direction

"Sure" Siobhan called over her shoulder

Siobhan hated navigating a new place. She tried to remind herself that she had agreed with Jacob. That this was a good move for their people and that if they didn't come out of hiding that their race would die off. Still, as she walked into a room of strangers, she wished she was safely home with her Maimeo. She quickly took a seat by a girl who was wearing a baseball cap.

"Hi, my name is Siobhan" she said as she introduced herself

"That is an unusual name. My name is Crystal" the girl in the baseball cap replied

"It is an Irish name. It means, 'God is gracious'" said Siobhan

"Well, it is pretty" said Crystal

"Thanks. What is your power?" asked Siobhan

"I can talk to animals" said Crystal

"That is an awesome power!" said Siobhan

"Yeah, I think so too. What is yours?" asked Crystal

"I have more than one. I can read minds, move stuff with my mind, and control how people feel" said Siobhan

"More than one power? That is rare." Said Crystal

"Yeah, everyone keeps saying that" said Siobhan

She tried not to sound annoyed but it was kind of starting to bug her. She wasn't weird or rare among her people. She was expected and welcomed and cherished. Yep, this being the "odd" one was annoying.

"Sorry, didn't mean to upset you. "Said Crystal

"No, it's OK." Siobhan said

Siobhan was about to ask Crystal another question when the teacher walked in. He was tall with brown hair and thick black glasses. He immediately jumped into a short set of problems for the students to work out. As they toiled forward in the land of numbers, the teacher handed out the dreaded syllabus. Siobhan didn't like math and she felt like this was going to be a long class. She sighed and plowed on.

As the day wore on, Siobhan felt she was indeed "plowing on". The fields of High School seemed to want numerous seeds.

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"We are finally home" said Colin with a deep rooted relief

There were ten Irish youths standing and staring at the Silver Hand Terrace Park. Siobhan knew that everyone felt they could now have their guard down. She noticed that even Bruce seemed relieved to be so close to home. She could feel her Maimeo's power buzzing around the park. In the olden day her Maimeo had explained that the Tuatha De Danann had been driven to live underground in giant Sidhes. The same power then that kept people out of their Sidhes was also keeping unwanted people out of "their" trailer park.

"I can't believe Jacob would have us mingle with these others who don't worship our gods or live as we live" muttered Sasha as she shoved past the others into the park.

Siobhan knew how she felt but she rather pitied the other kids at Sky High instead of feeling superior.

"Don't worry about her. " Said Bruce as he walked with Siobhan and Casey into the park

"I wasn't worried about her. I know her older brother will keep her in line. It was his idea after all." Said Siobhan

"Sure. So, how was your day?" asked Bruce as he subtly tried to hold her hand

Siobhan twisted her arm away as she replied "It was fine thanks"

"Hey 'Sio-be' I think I heard Keeva calling for you. You had better hurry" Casey said as she turned down Lugh Lane

Siobhan tossed Casey a grateful expression and quickly ran away from Bruce. She couldn't understand why he didn't seem to care that she was not into him. She often wondered if she should just brainwash him to forget her, though her Maimeo often reminded her that this was an abuse of her powers.

The welcoming sight of her two brothers covered in mud made Siobhan smile.

"Mamai is going to be so mad when she sees you two" giggled Siobhan at her twin brothers

"Then help us out" said Ailbe

"I am sorry little one, I don't have Casey's element" said Siobhan

"You could make us float all the way to our room" said Ailill

"Well, just don't tell Mamai that I helped you two villains" said Siobhan

"O.K. "agreed her brothers in unison

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Siobhan was sitting on her bed and trying to mediate on the day. It hadn't been too terrible. It had been extremely awkward. The culture shock of it was still ringing in her head.

"Okay girly. Breathe in, breathe out"

So she hadn't known what a gym was or how to unlock a locker. She would learn. It was important for her race.

"That reminds me of Bruce"

In her later training session with her Maimeo, they had discussed being mated and marking since she was so close to the mating age. She could hear her Maimeo's voice now,

"In this modern world there is only marriage. The kingdoms outside our own view this as a sacred covenant between a man and a woman. A promise to be one flesh. In our kingdom we mate to further our race and often than not for love as well. This simple mating is like their marriage. But, what all Tuatha De Danann wants is not the promise of being one flesh but the reality. This is what it is to be marked. One can be mated, like your Mamai, without being marked. It is the gift given when an elemental claims another elemental as truly theirs. Do you understand?

Siobhan knew she didn't quite understand but she also knew she didn't want it. She didn't want to be one flesh without any secrets or privacy. She had seen the marked couples. Their branded arms and synchronized actions seemed scary and not romantic to her.

"Between markings and this silly math homework I am going to need a bowl of ice-cream"

With that comforting thought Siobhan stopped her thoughts and memories to hunt down some ice-cream. She found her Mamai cleaning out the fridge when she came to the kitchen.

"Hi Mamai" said Siobhan

"Hi sweetie, how is the homework coming?" asked Siobhan's Mamai

"I decided I needed ice-cream" Siobhan replied

"Is it really that tough?" teased her Mamai

"Well maybe not the homework…" trailed off Siobhan

"What is on your mind?" asked her Mamai

"Getting Marked" replied Siobhan

"Ah! Well, I really don't think it is as bad as you think it is" said Siobhan's Mamai

"How do you know?" asked Siobhan

"Your Dad and I were not marked as you know it is a privilege welcome to those who are elementals. But, my Mamai, your Maimeo and your Morai were. They did not act like twins as you fear my love. They were simply in synch. They were so utterly in love. It just rolled off of them. I think you will find happiness in your marking and not some robotic puppet strings that you imagine" said her Mamai

Siobhan was still doubtful especially if Bruce tried to mark her. Yet, she couldn't deny that her own Maimeo had found happiness in her marking.

Siobhan gave a half-hearted grin to her mother. Her emotions were too wishy-washy for her to settle on words. Yet, there was some comfort in her Mamai's words. If nothing else, she knew happiness could be found in being marked.

"It will be OK" Said her mom as she gave Siobhan a hug

"Thanks Mamai" said Siobhan

"You're Welcome"

Siobhan found the homework and the marking a little easier to digest after her ice-cream and her heart to heart with her Mamai.

"It could turn out just fine. I could find some great elemental guy and fall in love" thought Siobhan

It was that simple bit of hope that sent her to bed with a smile. Her dreams were sure to be filled with happy imagining of some handsome prince.

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Yes, I will get to Warren, Will, Layla, Magenta, Zach, and Ethan! They will come into the story…eventually. I am setting it all up.

Irish/Gaelic names:

Sidhes = A mound or hill, in Irish mythology, these were the "under land" of the Tuatha De Danann

Mamai = Mother

Maimeo = Grandmother

Morai = Grandfather

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As I said in Chapter 1, I re-wrote these first two chapters. I clarified some things, fixed mistakes, fixed research errors,

and added translation helps at the end of the chapters. I am hoping that it now proves easier to read and understand!

Please Review, Follow, and Favorite!

Signed

GottesBlume