Ch. 3 – Through the Window
Patch woke with a start. He looked at his clock. It seems like only a minute ago that Alex told him to set it. It was 8:19.
8:19!
He'd been asleep since one o' clock, yesterday afternoon.
"Wow," he thought, "I've been asleep for nearly nineteen hours."
Then he remembered yesterday. It had happened so quickly. He got up.
"What should I wear today?"
As if he had said the magic words, his clothes seemed to dissolve and new clothes seemed to appear.
Once again, all he could say was "wow." He looked at his bed. With just a wave of his hand, the bed made itself. He liked this gift. He waved his hand at the fire place. It roared to life.
It was then he realized how dull the room was. He waved his hand at the walls. They changed from white, to dark red. It complemented the fire. It was his own cozy, little room.
He walked on the balcony. He was startled by the sudden "H" that came from his left.
It was Jordan. He looked like he'd been up for awhile. He walked over to the edge of his balcony, and Jordan did the same.
"So, how long have you been up?" Patch asked.
"Since 4:00," he replied.
"Why so early?" Patch asked.
"Because I had a nightmare about my family," he sighed.
They were both silent for a while, then Jordan asked how Patch's room was. Patch replied, and they talked more. After chatting for a little while, they returned to their rooms.
Patch waved his hand at the wall. It turned invisible and Patch called to Jordan. Then he realized that Jordan couldn't see him.
Jordan had his back turned. After a while, Patch realized he was crying. Patch started to walk over to him. That train of thought ended when he did a face plant into the wall. Jordan turned around, but still couldn't see Patch. He was still crying. He had a picture in his hand. It must have been of his family. Patch decided Jordan deserved privacy, and returned the wall to its normal colors.
He went to over to his bed. It was 8:57. He must have dosed off, because at 9:31, a raven was pecking at the glass doors, and had another message. Patch took the message, and watched the bird fly away.
Patch,
New students will be arriving at noon. Please be present in the foyer.
Alex
He was already dressed, but he needed a shower, so he got undressed and took a shower. Then he read part of the book he was assigned, and then closed the book. It was 11:55, and he needed to start walking to the foyer. He extinguished the fire, closed the blinds, cut the lights, and locked the balcony doors with just a wave of his finger, and then lit a few candles around the room.
He was walking when Dani woke up.
"Good morning, young one."
It sounded like he was right next to him. He sounded like an adult, maybe 30, and sounded confident.
"So, what are we doing today, Master?"
"Alex says some new students are arriving today. He wants us to meet them."
Dani seemed to tense up. Patch could feel it.
He met Jordan, who he winked at, remembering their conversation. He seemed to have washed his face. Jamie and Amber were there, too.
Just as they got to the doors, they flew open. Alex brought in three kids, two girls, and a boy.
The first girl was white with shoulder length, silky hair and charming brown eyes. About five-five, she was attractive, but not his type. The boy, blonde hair in his eyes, was maybe five-six. He had blue eyes, and looked sort of nervous.
But it was the other girl that caught his eye. She had short, brown hair and freckles. She had a beautiful smile. Five-five, or five-six, she was the most amazing person he had ever seen. It was love at first sight.
They all had solemn expressions, one that they all knew all too well.
Then Patch remembered the three empty rooms. This had been pre-arranged. It was obvious.
Alex interrupted his train of thought. "Patch, would you lead Miss Baily to her room?" he said, as he pointed to the girl he liked.
"Um… sure" said Patch. He walked over to her, and told her to follow him.
"So…I take it you lost your family, too," he said hen they were about half way to her room.
"Yes, I did, but I didn't have a normal family. My brother and I were very close, and he died three months ago. That Alex guy said that his love is how I got my gift." She finished, and wiped her eyes.
They stopped at her door. It was across from his.
"My room is right across the hall. If you need anything, just knock." He started to walk away when he asked. "What's your name?"
"Emily," she replied.
He smiled, she smiled, and he walked away.
He heard her door close, and then he walked back to the foyer. He noticed the other boy and girl were gone, and later found out that Jamie had walked the girl to the room next to Emily's, and Jordan had walked the boy to the only empty room left.
"What are their names?" ha asked Alex.
"You already know Miss Baily. The boy is Mr. Brady Hemp, and the other girl is Miss Darby Williams. I will tell you before you ask, yes, they are important to your goal, but no, they are not additions to your quartet." And with that he snapped his fingers, and he was gone.
"Well, he sure does like to come and go," said Amber.
They all laughed and went to Jordan's room.
As Patch touched the doorknob, he was zapped. It seemed as if fire blurred his vision, and then everything was black.
He woke up on top of Jordan's bed. Everyone was looking at him, but it seemed as if he was looking through a window. He heard his voice, but knew it wasn't him, because he wasn't talking. He panicked. "Am I dead, or hurt, or crazy?" He didn't like it, and did the only thing he could think of. He broke the window. He looked at it with his eyes, squinted, and it shattered.
In the short time it took, Dani, who had taken over Patch, told Jamie, Amber, and Jordan that they were petty, attention craving fools. Just as the words were out, Patch had broken the window.
He was back to normal. They were all looking at him. "What?" he asked.
They told him what he had said, and he said that he had passed out, that it must have been a delusion or something. They amazingly bought it. They were tricked. Dani had taken over, and it would happen again, and again. Dani had everyone fooled.
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