"'Mare Molly Barrow,'" my older brother, Shade, read to me, as I did up my hair. It's the first day of this new High School, and I am volatile. I can't help it. "'You've been accepted to Norta High School,' God. How boring is this letter?" He teased and I rolled my eyes. He's always been my favourite brother. "'We expect your attendance on the Third of February. See you soon, Miss Barrow.' Then there is the signature from the principal. Awesome, right?" I laugh at his sarcasm and he feigns hurtfulness. He puts a rare grin on my face, which quickly disappears. Gisa arrives, slightly annoyed she didn't get into our school, and passes by us.
I walk into the student office and look around. I walk up to the desk woman, receptionist, whatever it's called, and ask her about my administration. "Name?" She replies coldly back and I feel anger, sparks almost, rise in me. "Mare Barrow," I state formally and look at her nametag. Bess Blonos, it reads and I avert my eyes. "Go visit Ms Skonos," and she points in a different direction. I thank her, with a fraudulent smile, and head off in Ms Skonos' direction.
Ms Skonos stands, over a boy in her desk, and talks to him. "Annual sales (in millions of units) of a certain brand of tablet computers are expected to grow under the function. f(t) = 0.18t2 + 0.16t + 2.64 (0 ≤ t ≤ 8) . Per year, where t is measured in years, with t = 0 corresponding to 1997. How many tablet computers will be sold over the 8 year period between the beginning of 1997 and the end of 2004? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)" The boy reads aloud, and Skonos helps solve the answer. "Thank you, Sara," he says, and I notice the softness in his voice. I knock on the door lightly. The pair both jump, and I am met with astonished eyes. Sara clears her throat, and I stare at the boy. He's got gelled black hair, and pale skin. What catches my eye is his. They are a bronze colour, and I find myself marvelling over them. Sara's got grey eyes that shine, and pale skin. Her hair is white blonde, with grey streaks throughout it. She would've looked pretty, when she was younger. "How may I help you?" She asks, and the boy shoves past me. "Hi, my name's Mare. I'm new here?" I say, softly, ending my sentence with a question. "Oh, yes. Miss Barrow," she says, and sits at her computer screen. She searches my name with agile typing. She smiles. "You're Shade's sister, correct?" The grin on her face makes me assume she likes him, as a student. I nod, and she looks at me. "You're a girl of many words, shall I say that," she turns back to her laptop, and asks me about powers. "I'm sorry, but what?" I raise my eyebrows, in shock. Sara lightly chuckles. "The same reaction as your brother, his is teleportation." So, that's how he always when the races we have. "We can experiment with yours, Mare." I nod, sighing, and she takes me to a clean white room. She grabs a torch, and I put my hands out, nothing happens. "Not a burner. Cross out Calore," she says to a camera, and I raise an eyebrow. Sara cuts herself lightly, and asks me to heal her. I can't use first aid, and I place my hands on her. All that does is get my hands covered in blood. She gets first aid, and I sigh. "I don't think I have an ability, Sara," I say, stubbornly. She shakes her head. "Mind control, can you do it?" I shake my head, and she sighs. She grabs a taser. "Sorry, Mare, last resort." She tazes me, but there is no effect. "Try to control the electricity, Mare," the taser's electricity bends, facing towards Sara, and flickers off. "You're in House Titanos. Like Shade," she gives me a timetable.
Shade shows me the way to my maths class, H14, and I see the bronze-eyed boy. I sit beside him, and look at the teacher. "I never introduced myself," Bronze says, and I look at him. "Yeah, you kinda shoved past me," he scratches the back of his neck. By the blush on his cheeks, he's not proud of that fact. "I apologize for that… anyways, my name's Cal." Cal… have I heard that name? I think, and smile. "House Calore," oh. He puts his hand out to shake. "Mare," I say, and shake his hand. "House Titanos," my tone suggests finality, and Cal focuses on the class.