Chapter 21: (December 18)

Kala looked out the window at the swirling flakes of snow. They spun around each other quickly, mixing with sheets of rain. Tonight, when the temperature dropped further, it would all turn into dangerous ice.

Picking her way through her wardrobe, she found the white dress she'd worn on her birthday. It was slightly wrinkled, and she placed it gently in her luggage bag with her other belongings. The dress reminded her of Rajan, and the party that had lead her to the other sensates. She also remembered the night he'd come to visit her so abruptly, only a three weeks before.

"Kala, I'm leaving today. I'm going to Iceland, to study in a laboratory there."

"That's wonderful. For how long?"

"Two months. Maybe three. I will see you again in the spring, I think. Goodbye."

Then he'd leaned down and kissed her, right there in her living room. She'd felt slightly mortified at the action, and guilty as well. As he left, she didn't think about him or that that had been the first time she'd been kissed. Only about what Wolfgang would think if he knew.

Leaning against the window now, she thought back to the previous months. How was it that an entire semester had already passed? She'd longed for India since arriving at the Board, but now she felt slightly uncomfortable at the thought of leaving.

Removing the last of her clothes from the wardrobe, she zipped up the bag and sat down on the edge of her bed to look at her hands. They were pale and thin, thinner than they had been at the beginning of the year. Studying herself the way she would have studied a specimen under a microscope, she noticed that she wasn't healthy in the least. Her throat hurt, and her appetite waned throughout the day.

Capheus connected with her, and sat down on the edge of the bed as well.

"You don't feel good?" he asked, looking at her in a knowing manner.

"No, I don't. I'm afraid studying has been bad for my health."

Capheus shook his head and leaned back to stare up at the bottom of the top bunk. "Kala, it is not studying that had done this to you. It is the stress. You are not taking time to be a normal adolescent."

"I'm not a normal adolescent," she reminded him, leaning back as well. The blanket was soft and confortable under her head, and she closed her eyes.

Capheus laughed heartily and clasped his hands together in his lap. "Yes, I know. We are not normal. We'll visit each other?"

Kala smiled and nodded, opening her eyes once more. "It'd be a good idea. I've never seen Africa."

Capheus was gone then, and Kala sat and looked around at her dorm mates' open luggage and suitcases. Tomorrow they would all leave and go back home. Some of the eighteen year olds that had nowhere to go had decided to stay at the hotel in Torshavn. Sun was among them, and Capheus had tried many times to encourage her to go home. Yet she still refused, and had secluded herself from the rest of them. Wolfgang too was showing some concerns about returning to his home. Kala had often wondered if these resentments had to do with his feelings of Germany.

"Hey. You awake?"

Kala looked out from her bunk. Amanita was at the entrance of the room, holding a box of her belongings.

"Yes, sorry. I was just thinking about how I'm going to miss it here."

Amanita clicked her tongue and set the box down, shuffling through its contents while speaking. "Ha, not me. But, before you know it, we'll be back here again."

"You're going to San Francisco with Nomi, correct?" Kala asked, moving to help Amanita with the contents of the box.

"Her parents kicked her out, so… it's kind of the only option."

"Well it's very nice of you. I'm sure she'll be happy."

Amanita slowed down in her work, looking off into the distance. "Mmm-hmm. I'm sure she will."

Kala looked at the girl sideways, and then lifted her eyebrows and continued. Finally packing up all her items, Amanita sighed and leaned onto the duffel bag.

"Ugh, I just want to go home."

"Same."

Kala and Amanita both turned to look at Nomi, who had entered the room. Sitting on one of the bunk beds, she shrugged and removed her glasses.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

Amanita shook her head. "Nope. But we should go to bed early if we want to catch the plane tomorrow."

The girls were silent for a minute as the thought of going home sunk in, and then Nomi stood and left for her House.

/

Riley shivered at the wind that seemed to blow through her rather than at her. Will looked down and grinned slightly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She was a pretty sight in her green parka, with her white-blonde hair tousled from the strong breeze. The early Saturday morning air was fresh and cold as usual, of course, but there was something else. It was intangible, although Will thought it was excitement, and the hope of returning to each of their countries.

The sound of crunching gravel could be heard coming down the road, and both Will and Riley looked up again. Some security guards had been tasked with driving vans to the airport, as the buses never reached beyond Torshavn.

The other teenagers were eager as the sound became louder, and a lot of them whooped and cheered through the layers of bundles they had wrapped themselves in to protect against the cold.

Riley looked around quickly, wanting to sit in a van with the others. Someone touched her elbow, and she noticed Capheus at her side.

"Should we sit?" he asked, pointing to the back of an open van that had pulled up just then.

Nodding eagerly, Riley was helped into the car by the two boys, who sat on either side of her. She noticed Kala moving through the crowd, so small against the taller students. Finally reaching them, she climbed into the van as well. Capheus patted the spot next to him, and she smiled, her cheeks a blazing red from the winter chill. She was about to take off her gloves, but Will shook his head.

"It's a long drive to Sorvagur. You might want to keep those on."

Kala nodded, but she still looked distracted. Small flakes of snow were blowing in, and she shielded her legs with her bags.

"I don't think he's coming, Kala. Maybe he's leaving later today," Riley said.

Kala frowned slightly, but sat back in her seat as Amanita, Lito, and Nomi clambered into the van as well.

"Are we all ready?" the security guard called.

"Yup," Will replied, moving aside on the bench to allow space for the others.

The dozen or so vans drove past the gates and down the road, somehow managing to stay steady on the tiny, icy path. They passed the familiar copse of winter's bark, its thin branches stripped of leaves. The wind howled outside, and most everyone was dozing off to sleep. It seemed that nearly an hour passed before the van slowed down again, and the driver sighed.

"Okay. Remember your things, and have a safe trip. See you next semester!"

Riley grabbed her bag, and cautiously jumped off onto the pavement, followed by the others.

The airport looked the same as it had five months ago, except for the thin layer of snow covering the barren hills. The flat building was not welcoming in the least, but the hundreds of students finally entered and went their separate ways.

Huddled in a small group near the entrance, they all said their temporary goodbyes.

"Are you sure you want to go back to Iceland?" Will asked, holding Riley's hand in his own.

She raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yes, of course. Don't worry. We'll be on the same plane."

Will tried to say that this wasn't why he was worried, but he hugged her instead and watched Kala over her shoulder. The girl was looking around the airport, but if Wolfgang was there, he'd hurried to his plane as soon as the vans had arrived.

"Kala," Will called to her, and Riley turned with a smile. "See you again in a few weeks, okay?"

Kala gave them a thumbs up, but the general feeling of sadness couldn't quite be shaken.

Capheus hugged all of them, his normally joyful demeanor tainted by the emotions surrounding him. "Poor Sun. We are all leaving, and she has to stay.'"

Nomi shook her head, shifting her weight to support the heavy bag hanging from her shoulder. "That was a choice. We can always visit her."

A call was sounded over the intercom for their flights, and they hurried with their bags to the planes outside, leaving behind the weight of schoolwork and classes. Even if was only for a few weeks.

A/N: Shorter in-between-specials chapter today. How is school/work going for all of you? Can't wait for christmas vacation like these characters. We reached 8k hits (Really excited because "8")! I hope all of you have a nice weekend. Next chapter coming on the 12th.

~C.o.D.