Back! Thanks again to all my reviewers!
I know, this chapter is really short! And so will the next chapter, which should be up within a day or too, as I've already written it, i just have to edit it.
Oh, and sorry to disappoint, but Piper doesn't meet Aerrow untill about, chapter nine. i know, so far away! But the next few chapters will be smaller than they should, so it wont be too long! So read chapter 4 for now! Hope you like it!
Chapter 4 - Part of a Family
Starling and I left Carnival Hall and headed for the cafeteria. Thank Atmos Starling went with me. We got in the breakfast line and pilled our plates high with eggs, bacon, and toast. I scooted a couple of inches closer to Starling. I hope she didn't think I was too clingy. There was no way I could do this alone. It looked as if everyone else already had a table.
"Hey," Starling called to a table of girls across the room. They motioned her over. "Let's sit with them," She said to me. "They live in Carnival, too."
We walked across the room, passing tables of students. At my old school, I sat with all the other Crystal Mages, but we weren't really friends. All the girls would just sit around and talk, and I would study in my books. All I ever wanted to do was spend time researching about my beloved crystals.
The girls at my old school were nice, but they had a better bond with each other than with me. I was excited about my fresh start at Helix. Here, I had the chance to start over and make friends.
I looked around me. Unlike my old school, the Helix kids sat in mixed social groups. Sky Knights sat with Mages. Much to my relief, there didn't seem to be a designated table for awkward newbies.
"Guys, this is Piper," Starling said to them, motioning for me to sit in the seat next to her. "She's my roommate."
"Helix didn't scare you off yet?" said a girl with alarming aqua eyes.
"No," I said, digging into my eggs. "But I haven't started class yet, so we'll see." Starling introduced the girls.
"That's Lana, Skyla, and Becu." Lana had a megawatt smile – and I vaguely remembered seeing Becu on move-in day. The girls acted as if I'd sat at their table every day.
"You'll love it here," Skyla said, finishing her orange juice. Her aqua eyes locked on my crystal necklace. "Mage?"
"Yep, headed to the lab next," I said.
"Do you have your own crystals?" Skyla asked.
"Yes, I do! Quite a few actually, including two Firebolts," I said proudly, glad to be talking about my favourite subject.
"Like those red ones?" Lana asked.
"Yeah, they're used by lots of Sky Knight Squadrons these days." I replied.
"Me and Becu have one, too," Skyla said. "We're both on the intermediate Sky Knight team."
I began to respond but Starling interrupted, "I've got to swing by the student bookstore. Ready, Piper?"
"Yep, see you later." I said, smiling as I got up from the table.
"Bye!" The girls called after us.
Starling led my outside.
"Do you know how to get to the lab from here?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.
"I do. Thanks for everything!"
"No problem, I'll see you back at the dorm." Starling said with a smile. She pulled her sunglasses over her eyes and walked off.
I managed not to get lost and found my way to my crystal locker. I looked around to make sure nobody was around. "Hey guys," I whispered to my crystals. I peeped around at all of them, noticing how dusty they looked. I reached to the back with my hand to make sure the run-away Firebolt was still there. My fingers brushed against it, and I brought my hand back to find them slightly muddy. Definitely needed a clean.
I carefully pulled out the Firebolt and some cleaning supplies, and sat on a bench in the aisle. I scrubbed at the dried mud before rinsing it under a tap. I then swiped a cloth from my bag and wiped it slowly over the crystal, admiring the shiny gleam it left behind.
"Piper," a high-pitched voice called out.
I looked up and saw Cyclonis, flanked by two other girls, making their way over to my bench. I shoved the cloth back into the bag and stood up, brushing the hair from my eyes. The girls were identically dressed in tall black boots and black leggings. Cyclonis's lips curled into a forced smile.
"Hi," I said. I looked behind me at my crystal, to make sure it wasn't rolling anywhere.
Cyclonis and her friends squeezed together and sat on top of a supply trunk next to the bench. One girl sported a spikey, but chic, wave of hot pink hair, and the other had light blonde hair in pigtails.
"How's your arm?" I asked Cyclonis.
"Never better," she chirped.
"I want to apologize again for what happened yesterday," I said.
Cyclonis snorted. "Have you met Ravess and Lark?" Cyclonis motioned to the girls beside her. She said it like they were one person, Ravess 'N' Lark. "That's Ravess." The girl with the wild pink hair glared at me. "And Lark." Lark gave me a bright grin and played with her blonde pigtails.
"Hello," I said.
"So, anyway," Cyclonis said. "We were thinking that since you're new and you test tomorrow, we'd love to give you a few tips before the team meeting. Not that you need them," she added hastily.
"That would be great!" I said. "Lately, I've been struggling with keeping a crystal in the air for more than five seconds. I thought about using a floater crystal to help but–"
Lark shook her head and jumped in. "Ayrgyn doesn't allow us to use floaters for that kind of thing. He thinks we'll overuse them."
"Oh," I said. "Then maybe you can give me a couple of pointers for testing."
"We'll meet you at eight tomorrow morning by your crystal locker," Cyclonis said. Then without another word, they turned and headed down the aisle.
I picked up my Firebolt and placed it back in my locker. "See guys?" I whispered. "We're part of a family."
O.O
Grrr, so short. But chapter five should be up on Friday. If you can, it would be greatly appreciated if you left a review. Thanks!
~ LouiLuvr