-So, here is chapter two of my Nova Tempest story. I will be posting chapters up to chapter 4 on here today since I am not finished with chapter 5 as of yet. Thank you, and enjoy reading.- SpiffyPixie1
Nova Tempest
Chapter 2
"Why would the Heart of All Worlds not call out a protector?
Does it not fear the approaching darkness?
Does it not fear all of creation being eaten away?
A Heart calls out for a champion when it needs it most.
A champion is called Healer of the Light.
A champion is called Bane of the Dark." –Demichy
I remembered looking at the clock, bored out of my mind because I had finished my exams and I wasn't allowed to read, pull out my laptop and browse the net, or even play solitaire by myself.
Glancing at Mrs. Donnelly, I noticed that she had finally turned her back, typing something furiously into her phone. No doubt she was still angry (she had been fuming loudly about it to us earlier) that her husband forgot to go to the store or that he forgot to make an appointment with the doctor because their 4-year-old son Brian had chicken-pox, but the point was that she was distracted.
And if she was distracted, I could possibly sneak out of the already open doorway and sit outside so I could feel the sun. Strange thing was that, unlike other kids who had pale skin like mine, I never sunburnt or tanned, just stayed this pale tone that Sora would jokingly tell me glowed in the darkness.
Watching her carefully, I started to inch out of my seat, and I felt my brother look at me like, "Nova, don't. Please don't leave me here."
And he knew I wouldn't. I sat back down in my seat and smiled at Sora, who smiled back in relief. He wasn't done with his exams, and he hated being the last or near last one to finish his test.
As it was, there were six others in the class who hadn't finished their exams yet. I glanced to my left and saw Kairi walking up to Mrs. Donnelly's desk, a look of triumph on her face that she was done and as soon as we were out of here, it would be summer break.
Five then.
Sora slumped down lower in his seat but continued on with his test. Kairi and I gave him a sympathetic look.
"Mrs. Donnelly?"
We all looked up at once and saw Riku standing at the door. He had a look of indifference on his face, even though he was only one grade above us. I could hear the girls hold their breath as they looked at him, swooning like a bunch of weirdoes, and the guys grin because Riku was considered one of the cool guys that was just awesome to hang out with.
I ignored him after this observation and focused my eyes on Sora's test, willing him to choose answer four instead of one, because it was the correct one, and answer one was only close to it.
Miraculously he chose four, and I made a motion of triumph with my arm that caused everyone to look at me strangely, and I just smiled and stuck my tongue out like it was normal for me to wave my arms around for no reason.
Kairi stifled a laugh and Sora just looked at me in confusion, while Riku just rolled his eyes and finally spoke. "Principal Ryans would like to see Nova in her office, if you wouldn't mind. There are people here to see her."
I immediately dreaded this information. Not because I thought I was in trouble, but because as soon as I stood up, I just knew that almost everyone with a cellphone in the room took them out and started texting wild rumors.
I imagined them ranging from I was wanted by the police to my grandparents were secretly a part of the FBI and wanted me to be their newest junior agent to I was a part of a drug war going on somewhere on another island. How anyone could possibly come up with rumors so strange, I had no idea.
I ruffled Sora's hair like dad did and kissed him on the head like mom, knowing it would bug him, but letting him know that I was sorry. I waved at Kairi on my way out and walked to the principal's office with Riku.
Neither of us said much at that moment, and it unnerved me. It's not like Riku was normally super excited and talkative like my brother, but he was one of my best friends. He at least usually talked
And him not talking, a grim and almost pained look, at least for him, on his face indicated that the principal and whoever else was there wanted to talk to me about something that Riku was not at all happy about.
We stopped outside the principal's office, and I had to grab his arm to make him look at me. "What's wrong? What's going on?"
Riku sighed and looked at the tiny window on the door, away from my eyes. He seemed never able to look me in the eyes. "There's a couple of people from the University here to speak with you. They're real excited to meet you."
Truthfully, I was a little excited, too. "From the university?" I knew that was wholly a possibility, since I was offered multiple times to skip ahead of my grade, ever since I was in elementary school, but I always refused.
I knew the excitement was practically oozing out of my voice, and I knew Riku could hear it. He jerked his hand away from me. "You know that the University of the Islands is on another island, right? You'd have to go live there in order to attend, stay in a dorm with so many people you don't know, and what if you got hurt?"
I was confused, and a more than a little annoyed, but I forced it down. Something was wrong with my friend and I needed to comfort him. "What's going on, Riku?"
He wouldn't look at me, wouldn't look into my eyes, and it was infuriating. "Go on inside before you get in trouble for not being punctual."
"Riku . . ."
He turned his back to me and walked away, and I felt like there was something I should've said, something that he needed to hear from me.
But whatever it was, the moment was lost and I turned and opened the door, putting a smile on my face.
"Hello, Principal Ryans. You wanted to see me?"
She looked up at me, looking more than delighted. "Nova! Come in, now. I was just telling Mr. Peters and Ms. Franklin about you."
Two people I had never seen before stood up and extended their hands to me as one, pleased looks upon their faces. "Nice to meet you dear."
Mr. Peters was a tall middle-aged man with graying brown hair and normal brown eyes. He was nice enough and shook my hand gently, and I immediately got the feeling that he was a professor of some sort.
Ms. Franklin was a young looking woman with curly, shiny waves of auburn hair and bright, leaf green eyes. But when I shook her hand, she had a vice-like grip, and something happened that shocked me and left me shaken.
When I touched her hand, her whole being seemed to change, if only for a second. Her hair mostly disappeared and what was left of it was like brittle, rank straw, her skin drooped and blackened to an almost charred appearance, and her eyes. . . . Her eyes were black holes, looking like they'd been clawed out long ago, the scars were so old and looked infected around her empty lids. At my touch, she looked enraged.
I jerked my hand away and she was once again was this beautiful young woman, so vibrant looking and pleasant. Smiling.
I wanted to vomit.
"Ms. Tempest, what is wrong with you?" Principal Ryans looked shocked and immediately went to apologize to Ms. Franklin, but she was interrupted.
"No no, it was my fault," the woman said with a smile. She waggled her fingers. "I find I often accidentally shock people."
The meeting went on after multiple disapproving looks from the principal. The professor and 'she-witch', I called her in my mind, came to speak about moving me to the university because the principal had called and told them I was an "oh so exceptional student."
And the whole time I couldn't take my eyes away from 'Ms. Franklin', expecting for her to turn back into that horrible monstrosity any second to claw my eyes out so I'd look like her. She just smiled at me pleasantly, if a bit creepily, and when it was time for them to go, I bowed my head instead of shaking her hand and she winked at me as if we shared a secret.
Which I suppose we did.
I ran back to my classroom and found Sora there, done with his test and looking pleased with himself.
He smiled at me and waved, and I waved back weakly, still shaken and not able to get the picture of that woman's mangled face out of my head.
The bell rang loudly and signaled that school was out, and summer had begun.
Usually I would be happily walking along with Sora and Kairi toward home, and we'd meet up with Riku somewhere and talk about what to do for the summer, what 'adventures' to have, and Riku and Sora would start fighting with their wooden swords, one of them winning more than the other.
I sighed and walked a little bit behind Sora and Kairi, and they sensed my unease.
"Nova?" I found that all I could do was hug my brother and say I'd talk to them later about it, and I hurried on home.
I worried my mother when she told me a woman from the university called about scheduling a trip sometime in the summer for my family and me to come down to the university and talk about enrolling me there, and I almost started crying.
It should've been exciting, right? I should've been excited to be the first possible member of my family to go to college. But I wasn't. Something didn't feel right about that woman, aside from the gross vision of her that I had. I was just . . . scared. And I didn't get scared of anything.
At home, here on the island, there wasn't much to be scared of. But I had a feeling that something was about to change, something drastic and strange, and that I was going to be a part of it.
Sora came home straight away to ask me what was wrong, dragging Riku along, and Kairi got away as soon as her grandma would let her.
I didn't know what to say to them, really. What if I had just imagined that whole thing with the woman changing into that gross monster-whatever-it-was? But my friends and my brother listened regardless, even Riku though he had been in a pissy mood earlier.
And they didn't mock me. They just listened, wide-eyed and silent until I was finished.
Sora hugged me and told me that maybe I was just tired and I nodded, wanting to believe that I had imagined it.
The only one who didn't seem to believe that was Riku. He had an expression on his face, one that I had never seen from him before, something that I couldn't place. But as soon as he noticed me looking, the look disappeared and he smiled in his normal cocky way.
And so, for the moment, everything seemed back to normal.
-For this story, I tend to make the chapters a bit long. I'm not sure why, but it happens. Hope you enjoyed reading. Please leave a review.- SpiffyPixie1
