Chapter 10: The New Kids
Ashal awoke near dawn and yawned before standing to stretch, removing a crick in his back from the uncomfortable bench.
Dusk raised her head and meowed loudly before stretching herself, her spine arching and tail twitching as she took in their surroundings.
'Finally lived through a day…' Demon muttered, back in his fog form now as he swirled down to rejoin them.
Ashal made no comment, still exhausted from the events of the previous day, and scanned the street for the first bus of the morning.
More people joined him at the bus stop as the sun slowly began to peek over the horizon and the bus finally arrived to take them somewhere.
Kadic was the last stop on the route and Ashal dozed as the bus rolled through Paris and its suburbs, Dusk curled under his arm guarding him while Demon hovered nearby.
An elderly lady in the seat next to him droned on and on about the different areas they passed, the simple normalcy of it soothing before the chaos he knew he would find at the school.
Demon also seemed to enjoy listening to her, watching the window and trying to place names with places.
She was still on the bus when it pulled up outside Kadic Academy and she gently tapped Ashal's shoulder to wake him.
He thanked her for her stories, though he had only half listened, and picked up his bag and Dusk before exiting the bus.
He paused under the archway, setting Dusk down to walk beside him while he examined the school. 'So this is Kadic? I guess it's better than the back bedroom.'
Dusk arched against his leg, snapping him out of his thoughts as a lady approached him with graying hair and narrowed eyes. She reminded him of Aunt Elna and he suddenly understood why they were friends.
"You're the new student Ashal Rider?" her voice was sharp and to the point, betraying her impatient nature.
He nodded, shushing a hiss from Dusk, and kept his own voice neutral "Yes and you must be Ms. Delcrata."
She nodded and turned back the way she had come, expecting to be followed "Classes have already started today but you will be expected to attend them starting tomorrow. Today you will be shown your room and have time to settle in. Lunch begins at noon and dinner at eight, the staff in the cafeteria will have a special tray for your 'cat'." Here she cast at glare at Dusk, apparently disgusted to have to accommodate such an animal, before continuing "The cat is, however, not allowed to attend classes with you and must be kept in your room or with you at all times. Understood?"
Ashal had only been half listening, Dusk in his arms now to keep her out of trouble, but he nodded anyway "Yes Ms. Delcrata, when will my other belongings be shipped?"
She cast a glare at him as she opened her office door and ushered him in "We expect them within the week, now if you would go over and sign these papers I'll have someone show you to your room."
"We have a new student joining us today, come here Ms. Rives."
Cathy paused in her note-taking and glanced up to study the red-head hovering by the doorway.
"Where's she from?"
"Doesn't she live just down the street?"
"I heard she got a dorm anyway, strange if you ask me."
"Why is she starting now? Where did she go before?"
"They said she was homeschooled."
Cathy ignored the chatter behind her as she watched the girl walk across and sit in the empty desk beside her.
"They sure are talkative." The girl grumbled as she pulled out her notebook. Then she turned to Cathy and smiled "I'm Zilla by the way, do you have the notes where I can catch up?"
"Yeah sure" Cathy replied and finished what she was writing before handing Zilla the notebook "I'm Cathy."
"You picked the right person to get notes from." Devin smirked behind them then was silenced by a playful punch from his sister.
Cathy smirked "And those two are the twins Devin and Lucy."
Zilla smirked and began copying the notes.
Cathy shrugged and glanced over at Ryan "You're quiet today."
Ryan shrugged slightly and glanced over at her, worry tinging his expression "We should talk after class."
Cathy nodded, still exhausted but she knew they had work to get done. "We'll meet up in the park," her words had dropped to a whisper to make sure her new friend didn't hear "I have a few more things to get set up on my laptop so we can keep an eye on things."
Ryan leaned back in his seat, making no further comment as he thought about what they had gotten themselves into.
A young white-headed boy sat outside the cafeteria, his bright blue eyes unreadable as he scanned the passing students. Around his neck was a simple rope necklace, a soft blue stone dangling at the end with a silver dragon hanging in front.
The other students left a wide space around the boy, wary of him and his strange aura. Many even avoided looking in his direction and the air tingled with an uncomfortable and electric tension.
The boy rose to his hands and knees as the crowd disappeared towards classes and dorms, his eyes following the disappearing students a moment before he finally rose to his feet and padded after them.