New Life in Rianate 1

Hello. This is my first story, I don’t know how many people will enjoy it. Before you get to reading, just know that I didn’t put the story under FANTASY because I didn’t feel it would be a big part to change the tags. The series will be fantasy, but not a strong, super, duper, over, extra fantasy (what the fuck).

The first part has no sexual activity, just buildup and characterization. If you’re looking for a series that just revolves around sex, THIS IS NOT THE PLACE.

Now, you may read, criticism is highly recommended because I want to satisfy you all and you know what you want.

Sorry for rambling, enjoy.
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15 years ago
“Noooooooo!”

The little girl screamed for her mother as her throat was slit in front of her young eyes. Her father was no where to be found but she knew. She knew that he could feel it. Feel his heart being shattered into a million little pieces.

Her mother fell to her knees and collapsed on the ground. The men carried her frail body away and disappeared into the foggy night.
Mom……
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I had my headphones jammed in while I finished my homework. Nothing in this world would make me as happy as a nap right now. Finished, done.

My textbook was soon forgotten about as I stripped down for a nap. Damn, I deserved it, too. Fifteen minutes into my nap, my father called my name from downstairs.
“Ughhhh,” I groaned.

I hopped out of bed then stomped downstairs. Dad kissed my forehead and patted my shoulder.
“How ya doin, kiddo?”

I tightened my jaw and blew a strand of dark blonde hair out of my eye. Dad nodded his head and turned around to the front foyer. I followed then ran to the kitchen for some brown pop.
“Dad? Guess what?”

“What?” Dad replied.

“You woke me up from a well-needed nap, then I find there’s no more brown pop?! C’mon,” I cried. I wiped a fake tear from my cheek.

“Eris, there’s more in the pantry.”

“Kay!”

I ran to the back pantry, grabbed my pop and some Goldfish then headed back upstairs. Dad was laughing to himself as he walked around the kitchen. Eh. I decided I needed some fresh air so I threw my jeans back on. My nikes were downstairs so I grabbed my hoodie and ran down. Dad was already outside so I didn’t worry about that. That’s the thing: Dad loved being outside. When I say love, I mean he would die if he didn’t have some time in the great outdoors. Same here.

Hell, mom was the same. Mom. My mother “died” when I was two and I barely got to know her. When I say “died” I mean I know that two sick bastards killed her. Dad didn’t find out until I was 8 that I saw the whole thing. Shit, he wasn’t even there! My mind swarmed with thoughts of he and my mother. I mean, how many people see their mom get murdered right before their eyes? Keep it to themselves for 15 years? Hmm.

The path in the trees behind our house sloped down to a cliff. Make a right, remember that if you don’t wanna fall to your death. I made the right and walked deeper into the woods. My phone buzzed with text messages from Chelsea. Chelsea was the Stank Bitch I befriended to make my er… Best Friend For Life. I didn’t really like Chelsea, she’s just…. a Stank Bitch. She was on some b.s. so I didn’t feel like talking. As I walked deeper into the tall trees, Chelsea went crazy and called me four times. Jesus girl, damn! I decided to pick my phone up so I entered the passcode into my iPhone and texted her. Chelsea called me again, I had no choice but to pick up.
“Yes, Chelsea?” I calmly said.

“Listen, Sam just hooked up with Alex! Do you know how pissed I am? That boy shouldn’t be talking with that hoe! She’ll give him AIDS!” Chelsea screamed into the speaker so loud that I had to pull back.

“Chelsea, just calm…”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Do you know how annoying this is? Some bitch comes along, sucks his dick and now he just fuckin forgets about me?! Hell NAH!”

While listening to Chelsea ramble, I must’ve turned the wrong way because the trees were decreasing in size. I know, it sounds stupid, but I’ve been back here over 800 times. It’s like my family just lived outside. Dad stayed outside most of the time and when mom was alive, I remember she was always around something warm. Huh. Like, when I was…

“ARE YOU LISTENING?”

Ooops. I forgot I was talking with Chelsea. “Yes, Chelsea, I’m listening.”

“What did I just say?” Chelsea asked.

“You said today in math, your purse broke.” I knew that wasn’t it but, oh well.

“NO! I said Sam just texted me. He wants me to come over so he can fuck and then go to Alex. That hoe.”

“Well, just say something. Maybe ask does he have feeling for—”

“No, you idiot. I know he has feelings for her. The bitch has fucked him more times than I can count.”
Chelsea sighed into the phone and I mentally cussed her out. Don’t ever call me stupid because I will kill you. All through middle school, kids made fun of me because I didn’t have a mom. They said “Eris-Cris doesn’t have a mom.” I admit, it pissed me off but what could I do? I was a 4’9, petite blonde with a small voice and glasses. Big and tough, alright.

Now, I’m a 5’11 blonde with glasses. I had this sick growth spurt when I was 14. Before I knew it, I was slipping on a rock as Chelsea rambled about her purse in math.

I hit my arm on a wide rock. A sharp pain made my arm numb up to my shoulder. Out of nowhere, something tripped me. Not a rock, though. I was sitting in the middle of the dirt path, holding my arm and rolling my ankle in counter-clockwise circles. My phone was right next to me and I could hear Chelsea screaming, but she was the least of my concerns.

Bits of strength returned into my body and I pushed myself up. There was a small branch that cracked. Couldn’t be a bear, not a deer. What the fuck is over there? Chelsea was still screaming so I turned my phone off to shut her up. The leaves above my head rustled.

I heard a small grunt. Girl-like grunt. My head whirled around and I saw her. She had this small scar that ran under her eye and her big blue eyes shone out at me like the sky. Her hair draped over her shoulders and down to her waistline…. but it a soft, pastel blue. Almost like ice.

She looked like one of those anime chicks but just… cooler.
“Eris.” She cracked a half smile.

“How do you know my name?” I nervously replied.

“Because I’m connected to you. If you think hard enough, you’ll find my name.”

I opened my mouth to say more but then it came to me. What the hell? How do I know this girl’s name?
“Tao,” I whispered.

“Hi,” she smiled at me.

“Who are you?”

“I’m you. You’re me. We’re just discrete. I can feel your fright. Don’t be scared.”

I automatically felt calm and relaxed. Like I’d known her all my life.

“What’re are you doing here?” I asked with peace in my voice.

“To find your father,” Tao warmly replied.

In two steps, she was right in front of me. I felt a chill run up my spine when she touched my arm. Who the hell… She pulled back then her blue eyes cut through my body like steel. Tao was scanning me over, almost like she was looking for something to question.
“Go back. But remember who I am. Your father will answer any of your questions,” she said.

Before I could even speak, she spoke words I didn’t recognize. It felt amazingly weird. Like…. like when you jump into the pool and go under water but it kinda stings. My mind was blank for the quickest second before I was standing in the front yard of my house. What?! Everything looked the same but…. felt different. I hurried inside and saw my father stepping inside of the kitchen sliding doors.
“Dad?”

“Yes, Eris?” He smiled at me.

“What’s wrong with me?” I asked with tears swelling in my eyes.

“What do you mean, honey?”

Dad rushed over to me and I fell into his strong arms. For the next two minutes, I cried into his shirt. How did Tao find me? WHO IS TAO? What does she want with my father? Why did this strike me so…. so…. emotionally? All of these questions drew my mind back to my mother. If she was here, this would be twice as better. Dad was my number one before anything, yeh, but, who doesn’t want their mother?

I was walking with my dad to the couch and we plopped down. His hand rested on my thigh as I blew my nose.
“Honey what happened? Weren’t you upstairs napping?”

“No,” I said. “I needed some fresh air so I went down into Ria.”

Ria was the name my father and mother created for the path in the back woods.

“And…. you saw someone?” Dad sighed.

I nodded my head. It was like he could always read what I was thinking if I gave him a hint. Dad let out a curse under his breath and I looked up at him. My dad had the same hair as me and was like, 6’7. Dad had bright green eyes but I had this greenish-blue-teal thing. (We just called it Bleeal.) Mom’s eyes were this bright brown that made them look orange. Like fire. Dad’s voice cut me out of my thoughts.
“Have you ever wondered where the name Ria comes from?”

“I….. sorta. But, I just thought it was something you and mom made up,” I replied.

“No. Not one bit. Ria come from the place Rianate. And Rian, are the people who grew up there. And….. that would be me and your mother,” dad softly said.

“Okay. So, it’s just a name. So what?”

“Not so what. It means you’re unique. Follow me.”

Dad rose from the couch and I followed him to our backyard. Our yard was well over 2 acres with a pool directly in the middle of the land. We were standing on the deck, which was close to 15 feet raised into the air with a curved staircase. Dad’s eyes quickly looked over the yard then locked on some of the gravel by the patio.
“See that gravel?” he asked.

“yeh. Why?” I replied.

“Bring it over here.”

I started to walk toward the steps but he grabbed my arm.
“As in, stay here and bring them here.”

“Dad, that’s not—”

“Yes it is,” dad said.

I got back next to him and he looked down at me. His eyes were locked on mine while he kept his hand in the air. It was kinda awkward but, not really. Dad turned his eyes to the right so did I. I may’ve pissed myself right there. The gravel was floating in the air to form a long string of…. like, gravityless pebbles. My eyes trailed down and I could see how the small pebbles just rose from the ground at his command. How the fuck?

“Dad, what is—”

“Now, do it,” dad said.

“Do I look like Bill Nye?! I can’t fuck with science!” I exclaimed.

Dad’s laugh caused the pebbles to rumble in midair. He dropped his hand and like rain, the pebbles went back to the patio. I looked at him like he was crazy.
“Earth. I control Earth. Ever wonder why I’m always outside? Why my eyes are so fucking green? Earth will do that to ya.” Dad said it like he was telling me about something as bland as the news.

“How in the shit—”

“Remember how mom never got cold? Her affinity is Fire. You should’ve seen her when she was your age. Layla had this bright red hair that made her eyes shine bright,” dad smiled.

“Wait—is your hair….” I trailed off as he nodded.

Dad took his hand and waved it over his head. The thick, blonde looks were replaced with a grassy green color with brown highlights. This bitch has…. green hair?!

“Dad!” I laughed. “Your hair! Is that dye?”

“No. I developed it when I was 5. Did you ever wonder why your eyes are that color?” Dad smiled at me.

“yeh. It’s not blue, it’s not green. And it isn’t teal. What is it?”

“That’s for you to find out. Rianate is in those woods. That path will take you there.”

“Dad…. I wanna go. The girl said she has to find you…. Are you okay?”

Dad creased his brow. “Did she have a Japanese name? Tao?”

“yeh,” I smiled at the sound of her name. For some reason, I felt a connection to her.

“Her mother, Sumiko, was your mother’s best friend. Sumiko has an affinity for Children, any kid who meets her falls in love.”

“Tao…. what’s her affinity? She has icy blue hair and ice—Oh. Ice.”

Dad laughed at me and I chuckled. He turned his head to me and said, “Don’t worry. Your affinity will be stronger if you go to Rianate.”

“Okay. How do we get there? I’ll drive down the path,” I dumbly said.

“I’ll show you. No vehicles are needed, just you.”

“Wait, dad. I can’t just leave school! Or… well, can I?”

Dad’s green eyes looked at mine and I swear I saw earth in his gaze. He actually looked really handsome with the green hair and eyes, it fit him (obviously, his affinity).
“If you wanna leave, I’ll talk with Brice on changing you. Brice is like… like the principle of Rianate,” dad said.

“Okay. I’’ll… do I need a bag?” I asked.

“Few clothes, personal items. You’ll really change there, trust me.”

I nodded then kissed his cheek. As I walked up to my room, questions swarmed around my head. Will they accept me? How did the place come along? Did mom have like, fire arms like lavagirl? What if my affinity doesn’t come in? What if I have a terrible affinity?

To clear my head, I took a steamy shower. The water felt amazing, dropping down my body, cleaning the scratches on my arms and legs. yeh, those rocks massacred me. I finished the shower then toweled myself off.

Packing was one of my least favorite things to do: I always forgot something. I had a Victoria’s Secret bag big enough for me to curl up in, so I stuffed all of my shit in there. Jeans, tee shirts, sweaters, favorite hoodie, shorts pajamas, shoes, iPod, iPhone, Laptop and my chargers. I alway wore the necklace my mom gave me when I was first born. It had an EF carved into it—my initials. (Eris Faye, so weird sounding but really cool.)

My bag was in front of my door and I laid down. Now that I knew about dad’s affinity, he was outside and cleaning the yard. Like, literally just flicking his wrist and pushing the stuff around. New life in Rianate…. might be good, might be bad. Just different….

Those were my last thoughts before sleep took over my body.
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I woke up the next morning with a relaxed feeling washed over my body. Dad told me that we’d leave whenever I felt like it and I really wanted to go. After breakfast, I quickly dressed then looked at my room. He said I’d be there until I was 18 or how long I wanted to stay after that. Before I left, I grabbed my favorite book—Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov. I’m not sure why this was my favorite book, I just enjoyed the deepness of it.

Dad was leaving his room right when I stepped out and I smiled at him. His hair had a streak of green in the blonde, he must’ve been changing it back.
“Ready?” he asked.

“yeh. And uh, you’re green,” I said, pointing to his head.

Dad’s eyes went up and he noticed the green. He changed back then we went down the stairs. I stepped into my shoes and looked around the house one last time. Well, not really. Last time for a year.

We walked out of the backyard and into the woods. Dad knew it like he knew how to explain sports to someone: he knew his shit. Dad took easy turns and as he walked through the trees, they moved out of his way, like he was some King walking into his castle. They moved for me, too and I glanced at the branches as we walked away. Dad took me to a secluded area where the path circled inside of some trees. There was open dirt and it was circled by plant life.
“Okay,” dad said, “before you go, take this.”

Dad handed me a small wooden box with a lock on the clasp. It had our last name carved in a cool, swirly cursive writing on the top. As I examined the box, he told me what to do with it.
“Don’t even open that if you’re bored. Open that only if you feel like nothing will help. And I mean nothing. If you think I can help, then don’t open it. Only if you feel like you’re in your own little world, where nothing helps and that’s the only way. Some people have to wait years until they actually open it. So don’t rush yourself. And uh, your hair?”

I was about to say something but dad said some words I didn’t understand. A white pain shot down my spine and through my entire body.
“Aghhh!”

My eyes closed and I fell to the ground. Dad didn’t help. He just…. oh fuck. It was over. Ten seconds and it was over. I looked up and saw my dad hovering over me with a grin on his face.
“You look beautiful,” he said.

“What?” I was sorta foggy.

He helped me up and I grabbed my phone. I gawked at myself as I scanned myself in my iPhone camera. Holy shit!
“DAD!” I smiled like a little girl.

My hair was naturally long but it draped down past my butt and brushed the back of my legs. The coolest thing was it was teal! A bit darker than my eyes but they matched! My eyes looked even brighter against the long tresses that draped down my back. Dad looked over my body then made a grunt.
“Check your belly button,” he said.

“What….”

I lifted my shirt and saw my navel. There was teal ink that swirled around in an intricate design and made it look so cool. Dad laughed at me as I made my last few gawks.
“Cool. Wait, do you have one?” I asked.

Dad lifted his arm then waved his hand over his shoulder all the way down to his wrist. A rough green design appeared down his arms and he looked so cool.
“They grow as you get older and progress more with your affinity. Don’t be surprised when there’s more on you,” Dad explained.

“Oh. Alright. Thank you, I wanna go now,” I smiled.

“Of course. I may see you there, I’m kinda important.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

“Just think of me as…. one of your teachers. Ready?”

I nodded and he cleared his throat while stepping back.
“Ru si wer di opho nof.”

I blinked and he was gone. Everything was. It’s like when you first turn off the light and your eyes have to adjust. When my eyes adjusted, I blinked to see a large building. Really large. The sky looked like sherbet and the fence was tall and iron. The building was probably twice as big as my school—which was pretty huge.

Like someone cued them, two men walked out from behind the fence.
“Welcome, Eris Faye,” the first one said.

“Idri on de,” the second said.

What the fuck is up with this language?! They signaled for me to follow and I hesitated before traipsing after them. We walked into the front foyer of the first building…. nice. From what I saw outside, I saw there were three buildings: two on either side of one larger one. But, there had to be more stuff because there was so much open land and I caught a glimpse of another building.

Pretty damn cool if you ask me. The men led me toward cool, double glass doors and slowly opened them. The man standing inside of the room reminded me of General Zod in Man Of Steel. Ya know, graying hair with a small beard with gray hairs in it. Only, his hair (the non graying strands) was a fading royal blue that made him look somewhat handsome.
“Hello, Eris,” his voice was rough but soothing, “welcome to Rianate.”

I’m pretty sure I was gonna say something stupid but then I heard it. In my own mind. Telling me that this man was Brice. I smiled and changed what I was gonna say.
“Hello, mister Brice. It’s a pleasure to be here.”

“Ah, young lady with manners. Or, is that when you see an old guy?” Brice joked.

“I—” I cut myself off before anything thing moronic came out.

Brice gestured to one of the puffy leather chairs in front of his gigantic desk.
“Please, make yourself feel welcome and at home.”

I softly smiled then sat in the left chair. That’s a rule: when you’re nervous, pick your dominant hand. Now, it may not always be relevant but, still helps me. Brice said a few thing to the men in the language and they silently left. He closed the glass doors then made his way behind to his desk.
“So, Eris Faye.” He smiled. “I haven’t had a Faye attending the facility for quite some time.”

“Heh. My father said that he comes back from time to time,” I said.

“Yes. Your father is an instructor, or what we call sambs. I’m truly sorry if the native language is overwhelming for you. I know for some it is still a mouthful.”

“Oh. Yeh, I kinda freaked when dad said something.”

“How is Jeff doing? Hasn’t been here in a while.”

“Oh! Dad’s fine. He showed me his affinity and explained being Rian.” I nodded my head like an idiot. This guy—ahem, sorry. Brice, was intimidating but so kind. He may be a bit older, but he knew his stuff.
“That’s great,” he continued. “Amazing, actually. Now, I understand Tao Keyton has seen you and I know how close your families are.”

“Yes,” I replied and smiled to myself.

“Good. You two are both of age 17, so this year, you’ll be a Rio. Just know that’s our seniors.”

“Okay.”

“And, you two are planned to room together so I can have Lena take you through the girls’ dorm. Lena is Rianate’s female version of me, also my sister,” Brice smiled.

“Okay. Thank you. I plan to receive education in a way that I’ve never experienced before and learn more about myself.” It took all of me to say that smoothly.

“Hmm. Well, it was a pleasure getting to know you.”

Brice crossed a fist over his chest and gave me a small bow. Uhm…

“Sign of respect here in Rianate. Don’t worry, everything will come to you,” he smiled.

I nodded then awkwardly crossed my fist over my chest and bowed. Lena stepped into the room seconds later and I think my jaw dropped down to hell. Her hair flowed down to the ground and was the same royal blue as Brice. Her white dress made her hair seem even brighter and her dark eyes looked so cold. Dad explained that Lena and Brice were siblings with the same affinities and roles and. They were both like the principal and ran the school, probably no older than 60.
“Hello, Eris. Welcome to Rianate,” she smiled.

“Hello, Lena.” I showed her the sign of respect and Brice gave me a nod.

“Wow. Quick learner. For the next few hours, I’ll be showing you around the girls’ dorm and around campus.”

Lena gave Brice a sweet look then guided me out of the room. Holy poop….
=====
“And this,” Lena continued, “will be your room with Tao Keyton.”

Lena was showing me the girls’ dorm which was way cooler than I expected.
The living room had four flat screens aligned in a diamond facing three gigantic couches with the other living room stuff. The kitchen had four stoves, two ovens, three microwaves, five fridges and a large island and table. The other rooms were the library, bonus room and an extra bathroom on the first floor.

Upstairs was phenomenal. There were three hallways, all lined with doors that had one to three girls living there. Tao and I were in the middle hall and our room was down by the end. Lena opened the door and I saw the spacious dorm.

Tao’s side had a double bed with a desk at the end. The small nightstand had a lamp with icicles hanging from it and the dresser had…… OH. MY. GOD. She had a fucking penguin! Cool. There were ice posters on her side (one of them being Frozen with Olaf) and she was really neat. My side had a matching bed, desk, nightstand and dresser. It just needed me. There were double closets that looked expansive and another door—bathroom.

“Wow. This is cool,” I gawked.

“Tao is an amazing peer so she shouldn’t cause you any trouble. Classes will end in about 20 minutes so get yourself comfy in here,” Lena smiled.

She crossed her fist and so did I. Lena left the room so I could get myself situated and home. The school was actually really amazing, though I expected it. The middle building was the largest with all of the classes and cafes and other stuff. Turns out this place is the size of an actual college, for real. No, the high school was the size of a college campus. This place is like a fucking city.
There’s another building for the kids who were born here or younger and they attended their own classes. There were other buildings that I didn’t get to see but, I’d be here for a while, so….

There was so much open space because of the different affinities. Bruh, fucking dragons and gremlins and gargoyles are real! Well, I knew about gargoyles but these are actually alive! The dragons have their own facility where they’re kept and groomed. Rianate is like a zoo, college, hotel, town in one with over 2,000 students and close to 900 teachers/professors. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

School was dismissed for high school and they got back to their dorms. Tao walked into the room and a big smile broke over her face.
“HEY!”

“Hi, Tao.” We shared a hug like we’d known each other for years.
“Your hair! DId your affinity come in?” she asked.

“No. No, my dad just… gave me hair and a tattoo.”

I lifted my shirt to show her my navel. Tao frowned in approval then turned her back to me. She tugged the sleeves of her shirt and I could see her upper back. An icicle like design ran over her shoulders in a soft blue color.
“Wow. Cool.”

“yeh,” Tao smiled. She turned back around and looked at my side of the room. Since I didn’t have an affinity yet, my side looked like a regular teenager’s. Tao glanced back at me then sweetly said, “Do you have any idea what it could be?”

“Nah, I just know teal will be incorporated with it,” I sighed.

“Oh. Well, you wanna go explore? You’ll have same schedule as me so we can go find your teachers.”

I nodded and paused. “Let me change my clothes.”

“Okay.”

I noticed Tao had on a crocheted sweater and skinny jeans with light blue Uggs. She just looked cold. I changed to a pair of denim shorts and a teal tee shirt. I slipped on my white nikes then stood up.
“Okay,” I smiled.

Tao rose after me and we walked out. Some of the girls eyeballed us; we actually looked very similar but different. Tao and I were both 5’11 and taller than the majority of the girls. But, Tao had Japenese features and I have minor Italian from my grandparents. We made it downstairs and saw some more girls getting back from classes. Tao stole me into the kitchen and we started talking.
“You see any cute boys? There’s a lot, ya know,” she smirked.

“No. I’ve barely seen anyone except you, Lena, Brice and the girls,” I chuckled.

“Hmm. Too bad. My boyfriend, Maz, hooooooot.”

“Wow, Tao.”

“I’m just saying!”

We were laughing when a girl walked up to us. She was around 5’11 with pastel pink hair and a cute headband on.
“Hey,” Tao snickered.

“Hey. I’m Aya,” she said holding her hand out to me.

“Hi,” I smiled, “I’m Eris.”

“Nice. Who’s your parent?”

“Jeff Faye.”

She heard the last name and apologetically smiled. “Sorry about your mom. I know it was a while ago but, hey.”

“Thanks,” I returned the smile.

“Aya, ya wanna come with me and Eris to look around? Aya has the dorm right across from us,” Tao said.

“Sure! Let me put my bag up,” Aya smiled.

She quickly ran upstairs and Tao turned to me. “Aya Rinah: my best friend and you’ll warm up to her. Her hair is pink because of her visions. Her affinity is Future.”

“Oh. Cool,” I replied.

Aya came back down then threw a thumbs-up. “Lego!”

We hopped off the counter then went to the other building. As we walked, Tao and Aya explained to me the different places to go to. I kinda wanted to check out the Dragon Yard, sounded fun. They explained how we had different classes for different affinities but we mostly had to focus on our own.
“Like, we have Affinity Hour last period so that’s the best! We have to practice our affinities at least two hours a week—not including school hours. I just have to touch stuff to try and produce a vision,” Aya said.

“She’s like Phoebe from Charmed. And, I just have to practice with different animals and work on ice shots. Just think of me as Elsa from Frozen,” Tao said.

“And I don’t have an affinity yet…. so think of me as Alfred from Batman: sorta important, but not really,” I giggled.

“Oh. Wow.” Aya shook her head at me.

“C’mon, you have to meet Caine and Chris,” Tao exclaimed.
They practically dragged me to another courtyard where Life and Death were practiced. (Yes, they had like, a courtyard for all affinities. Even Future!)

We saw two guys, obviously twins, bickering back and forth.
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you!”

“And I’ll just heal myself, fucker.”

Tao blew some air and the chill made them turn to us. The one in black jeans, black tee shirt was obviously Death. He had coal black hair and I couldn’t even see his pupils.
“This must be Eris. Well, I’m Caine. Everyone calls me Bear. Affinity for Death. Do you know anyone who needs to die?”

I tried to hold back my smile when he asked my about killing someone. The other twin stepped up and shook my hand. He had on a white tee shirt, light blue jeans. His hair was angel white and he had light gray eyes.
“And, I’m Chris. Nickname is Bull. I can bring that dead person back to life. Who’s the lucky contestant?”

Tao and Aya looked at me and I knew they were serious.
“Uhm, can you kill my old bio teacher? Then, like, bring him back to life,” I awkwardly said.

“Name and number, we’ll have it done,” they said at once.

“Don’t kill anyone, Bear. You already have two,” Tao scoffed.

“Cuz, more the better. Right?” That was Bull. We gave him confused looks and he put up a hand. “As in for me to heal. I’m not as dark like this idiot.”

“And if you wake up in a puddle of blood, don’t say anything,” Aya muttered.

Bear smiled at her and Bull rolled his eyes. Bull said he could heal and I had this big cut on my arm from yesterday. Hmm.
“Bull?” I blurted.

“Alive and well,” he responded.

I lifted my arm to him and said, “Can you help? It feels like shit.”

“Sure. What’s the magic word, hun?”

“Death,” Bear evilly smiled.

Bull rolled his eyes then held his hand over my cut. I felt like someone put a bunch of doves in my stomach and they were soothing my insides. He pulled back then I saw my cut was gone.
“Thanks!” I gawked.

“Anytime.” Bull winked at me.

“Now can I cut you?” Bear said.

“Uhm….”

“Let him,” Tao scoffed.

“It feels like poop for the quickest second,” Aya said.

I shrugged then held my other arm out to Bear. He put his hand on my clear skin and it felt like someone put crows in my stomach. Damn! Bear pulled back and there was a scarlet line on my skin. Bull gave him a look then healed me.
“Should I say thanks?” I chuckled.

“Anytime, babe,” Bear bragged.

“Okay,” Tao interrupted, “Eris gotta get her schedule so, bye!”

Bear and Bull contrasted each other as they waved to us. We walked to one of the main doors and went in. Aya led us to another office and we stood before the first desk. A short woman with bright yellow hair looked up at us.
“Hi, girls! Are you here for—Eris’ schedule?” she smiled.

We nodded in agreement. She handed us a piece of paper then we left the office. Tao’s hand was freezing when she grabbed the paper from me. Our schedules were the same but she was still looking, huh. Aya glanced at my schedule then nodded. We got back to the dorms and went up to our room.
====
Aya was sitting on the beanbag chair while I looked around for something to wear tomorrow morning.
“I think you should wear something super sexy so every guy drools over you,” Tao smirked.

“yeh,” Aya giggled, “and show off dat booty.” Aya got up and looked at my stuff.

I shot them a look and they did an impromptu bump and grind for me. I laughed under my breath but shook my head.
“Hell no. I will not be newbie-slut,” I said.

“True.” Tao gave a single nod.

“And just to think, you haven’t even gotten your affinity yet but everyone is talking about you,” Aya added
I whirled my head around to Aya. She looked nonchalant as she continued looking through my stuff but they didn’t know I didn’t like people talking about me.
“Wait—really?” I sighed.

“yeh. Even some of the guys were loving on teal-girl,” Tao said.

I flopped back on my bed and made a fake pout. “Poop.”

“What? C’mon! If you’re gossip, everyone will know you wayyy before your affinity can even kick in!” Aya scoffed.

“Well,” Tao said, “at least boys will be talking about you.”

Tao loved boys as much as I loved brown pop. This girl was always rambling about some cute boy she saw or something. Aya was in love with gossip and shoes. So, we’re typical 17 year-old girls.
“This sucks dick,” I stressed.

“Eris, people will love you anyway! You’re supa chill and supa cool! So,” Tao shrugged.

“yeh! If there ain’t someone talking about you, I’ll cut their throat,” Aya smiled.

I shook my head as I laughed at them. Aya didn’t have a roommate so she was always chillen in our room, talking up a storm. After Tao finished her shower, I got ready. The bathroom was freezing—so was the water.
“Tao!”

“I’m sorry! I don’t like warmth,” Tao called back.

I gave her a finger before closing the door. I took a warm shower—unlike Tao—and stepped out. Aya ran in next then showered.
“Hey, what’s your penguin’s name?” I asked Tao.

“Mumble. I know, I know, super corny,” she laughed as she pulled him out.

He was no more than two pounds and so cute and fluffy! Tao and Aya had explained to me that you get a pet based on your affinity. (Ice; penguins, Earth; lizards or something earthy, Dragons; dragons.) And if you don’t have an animal related affinity, dogs choose you. Told ya, it’s a fucking zoo. Dogs were the only ones allowed around campus because some animals didn’t like each other and Lena didn’t like to see dead animals. We all had our pajamas on and were getting ready for bed.

Aya put some blankets on the floor between our beds and laid down.
“Aye, yo, Tao. Can I have a pillow?” she whispered.

Tao threw an icy pillow at Aya and she took it between the chin and neck. We laughed as she adjusted on her chilly pillow.
“Thank you and goodnight!”

“Sleepy time!”

“G-double O-D-N-I-T, good night, good night!” Aya sang.

“You cannot spell,” Tao scoffed.

“It still rhymed!” I laughed.

We laughed then got to sleep.
====
“RISE AND SHINE, BITCHES!” Aya cheered.

It was two minutes before our alarms went off and Tao chucked some ice at her. Aya hit her with a pillow and Tao groaned.
“I’ll get up, mother,” she said.

“Thank you! At least Eris is…..up.”

Aya looked at me and saw my pillow covering my face. Our alarms finally went off then we shared our disapproval. Tao and I got out of the bed and we started our morning routines. Tao was first done, dressed in a white tee shirt, light blue jeans and white Uggs. This girl had 25 pairs of Uggs. Aya had on some black shorts with a floral tee shirt and sandals.
“Okay, lego,” I said.

We grabbed our phones then walked downstairs. Bags weren’t necessary, only if you had something to bring or were a girl. Breakfast hour was always funny to them because most girls were grumpy and still sorta sleep. Tao passed some Captain Crunch and we got to eating.

Breakfast was done then we were out the door. I didn’t have to bring my schedule since the two had the exact same classes with me. We got to Ria. History then sat in three seats. School just gave all the classes the subject name and focused on, pretty much everything. If you were in this school, your parents went here or grandparents, etc. So your name was probably in history somewhere.

Dad always told me that history was called history because its his story. I thought it was cool we learned about our actual ancestors, not just the ancestors of some weird guy in Mississippi. (I don’t know.)

Our professor for this class was Nanaya, a slender woman with short, straight, deep purple hair and bright hazel eyes. Her tattoo—called Maxi—wrapped around her neck in a matching purple of her hair. (I found it weird that our tattoos were named after a type of skirt. Like, uh?) With an affinity for flowers, she always had on a flower headband that contrasted her hair and Maxi. The Maxi was a swirl of flowers, reminding you of a natural garden growing on her.

Class started and Tao grabbed me a textbook.
“It’s yours. I’ll show you where to put it after class,” she softly said.

“Thank you,” I replied.

After Nanaya explained what we were reading, she came over to my desk and smiled at me. She smelt like roses mixed with cosmos.
“Hello, Eris. If you’re ever confused, you’re welcome to ask Tao or Aya. You three seem to be great friends,” Nanaya smiled.

“Okay. Thank you,” I replied.

As Nanaya walked away, Aya and Tao gave me evil smiles. They helped me with what the unit was on and I caught on pretty quick. Bell for second period rang super quick and I was kinda disappointed. I had been reading about a young adult named Elania who controlled light. She used her powers to help so many people across the world and I fell in love with that.

We got to Ria. Body Science and sat in similar seats. Body Science just showed us the different things that could happen to our body as we progressed with our affinity and powers. The professor was Sahmi and he was outright hilarious. Really nice, too. He didn’t make us read or write anything, he called that day a visual day. Body Science taught me that my dad could potentially heal himself with earth (I have no idea how that works but uh, yeh).

Third period was Riate, the native language we spoke. Riate was a lot like Greek because of the sounds and pronunciations. I told Aya I’d help her after school with reading it.

Right after that was lunch. Lunch was held in the gigantic cafe and courtyard in the back of the main building. The windows rose out from the floor and right before the ceiling. There were tables and booths and benches any way I turned. Today, was salad buffet so, yay! Tao, Aya and I grabbed our food then sat at a booth toward the back of the cafeteria. There were eight chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and illuminated the large room. Rio (senior class) had close to 200 students so the chatter was pretty loud but the walls mushed it to sound like one big conversation. Tao broke her tomato open then squirted it at Aya.
“Heyyy!”

“Hahaha!” I laughed my head off when she grabbed another tomato.

“Tao! I’ll fucking punch you,” Aya irritably chuckled.

“Mad or nah?” Tao smiled her devil smile.

Aya scooched her chair back in then got back to her own salad. I had my mouth full of lettuce when Tao asked, “If you could have one affinity, what would it be?”

I swallowed my food then replied, “Not sure. I love animals, so, something animal related.”

“Hmm. There’s always dogs, too, if you don’t get the affinity,” says Aya. “”my dog’s name is Mikey. He’s a swaggtastic Great Dane.”

“Wow,” I said.

“Yeh. He loves food,” Tao giggled.

“Just like me.” I stuffed some more salad into my mouth then moaned.

We finished up lunch then went to our next classes. After Art and Math, it was our Affinity Hour: the time we get to practice our powers. Aya went to the Yard where she practiced and so did Tao. Brice told me to come down to his office so we could talk.

When I got in there, my father was talking and laughing with him. They noticed me walk in and he smiled.
“Hello, Eris,” dad said.
I hugged him tight while whispering, “Hi dad.”

“Jeff, you must be teaching this girl well because she surely knows her stuff. Eris, your professors have been saying good things about you,” Brice smiled.

“Good. How are you? Any hints about your powers?” Dad looked down at me and I sadly shook my head.

“No. And I’m really looking forward to one.”

“Eris, the longer you wait, the better it is. Have you met new people?” Dad asked with a smile.

“Yeh. Aya and of course, Tao. They introduced me to the Twins and a few other people. During class, I met two other girls,” I smiled.

“That’s great. I have to go and talk with someone, okay?”

I nodded as he kissed my forehead. Dad bowed to Brice and out the door he was. Brice motioned for me to sit.
“Eris,” he commenced, “how do you like classes? Tell me anything you want.”

“I really like them. Especially Math because… it’s different. My favorite professor is Nanaya because she warms me with her flower scents. Lunch was really good. And…. Body Science taught me some stuff about my dad,” I said.

“Wow. You’ve had a pretty good day?”

I nodded.

“Good. Lena and I know that you’ll be a bit different here. Did the girls explain curfew to you?”

“Yes,” I said. “9pm on weeknights, no later than 11pm on weekends.”

“Excellent. If you want, you can explore the different Yards and watch different affinities. Maybe get an idea on what to expect. I hope all is well.”

I stood up then bowed to Brice, leaving the room afterwards. He was hoping for the best and I was feeling the best. As I neared the Life and Death courtyard, the Twins stopped me.
“Hola. Anyone in need of dying?” Bear waggled his eyebrows at me.

“Ignore Satan and listen to God,” Bull sweetly said.

“No and okay,” I giggled.

“Where are you off to? Sex with a dragon?” Bear asked.

I looked at them and they said, “Yes. It’s possible.”

“Huh. No, Brice gave me permission to do affinity looking,” I answered.

“Hmm. Want some company and guidance?” Bull asked.

“Life and Death?” Bear added.

“Sure.”
They walked with me to the next courtyard where the affinity was Earth. The courtyards were pretty far spread since most were really dangerous. I saw a boy and a girl—no older than 14—tossing rocks at each other. The girl used her hand to flick eight potato-sized rocks at him but the boy put his hand up to redirect them. The girl got hit with one.
“Anna, use the boulder!” Bull yelled out.

Anna brought a boulder over then hit the boy in his stomach. Bear and Bull threw up their arms and yelled, “GOAL!” Anna jogged over to the little fence and smacked their hands. She saw me and crossed her fist.
“Anna. Affinity for Earth. And you are…”

“Eris. Affinity for nothing. Nice to meet ya,” I replied.

“Huh. I hope your affinity finds it way to you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish beating Aaron’s ass.”

Anna ran back to Aaron and he hit her with a plant. Bull and Bear guided me over to the next courtyard for Horses. There were hundreds of different affinities, some not as physical but they had rooms, Yards or buildings for them. The boy on the horse rode him like he was a professional. The boy noticed us then stopped by the fence.
“Hello, Twins. You must be new because I ain’t never seen a cutie like you,” he winked at me.

Typical 14 year-old who thinks he cute enough to touch me.
“I think she’s a bit too old for you, kid,” Bear deeply said.

“Nice poetry,” Bull flatly replied.

“Call me when you find your dick,” I ended.

We waved to the boy and continued walking.
“Who is that?” I laughed.

“Lane Halloran. Don’t be fooled by his cockiness, that boy can talk to horses,” Bull answered.

“True. But, don’t fuck with him either. He’s a bit tooooo cocky,” Bear added.

“Hmm. I’ll uh, keep that in mind,” I said.

We made it to the next courtyard which was Ice. Tao looked like Elsa, twirling around and shooting ice everywhere. She noticed us then drew an ice heart.
“Hii! What brings you three here?” she happily asked.

“To see an Ice Queen,” I smiled.

“Well, honey,” Tao said in a southern belle accent, “I am so touched.

“Can you make us snowcones?” Bear blurted.

Tao rolled her eyes then whirled her hands around. When she stopped moving, she had three snowcones in her hands. She handed us each one and we smiled at her.
“Thanks!” Bull said.

We left Tao then explored a few more courtyards. We only saw about 15 but there was more than 200 over campus. Bull and Bear were bickering over my head while we walked back. Though they were identical twins, they did nothing the same. Bear was dark, Bull was light; one was sweet, one was evil. There were so many things to contrast them with. They got on the topic of me then glanced down. I smiled up at them like a little kid.
“Hi!” I chirped.

“Hi…” they answered at once.

Bull and Bear were 21, really attractive, super funny and had, what I thought were the coolest Maxis. (The plural was just Maxis.) Bull had a white ink that laced around his right eye, Bear had black ink on his left eye. Now that I was thinking about it, they were thinking about mine.
“Hey,” Bear said, “where’s your Maxi?”

“My navel. Pretty weird but cool,” I replied.

We stopped and I lifted my shirt just enough for them to see. Bull reached out to touch but Bear swatted his hand.
“Christopher, don’t touch her,” Bear growled.

“Caine, she didn’t get mad! I’ll even ask. Eris, can I touch it?” Bull replied.

“I guess….”

Bull gave Bear the bird then traced my Maxi. I lowered my shirt and we continued walking back. School was dismissed about 10 minutes ago so there weren’t too many kids out. Bear tapped me on my right shoulder when he was on my left side so I looked at Bull.
“What?” I asked.

“What do ya mean?” Bull dumbly replied.

I shrugged it off then continued looking forward. This time, Bull tapped my left shoulder and I looked at Bear.
“What?” I was getting kinda angry.

“What?” Bear replied.

I sighed then looked forward. They both tapped me on my shoulder and I whirled around on them.
“Does someone need to get stabbed?!” I snapped.

“He did it.” Bear and Bull pointed to each other and I rolled my eyes.

They walked me to the entrance of the girls’ dorm then left me. I walked upstairs to our dorm room then saw Tao’s boyfriend, Maz, making out with her. She had her hand on the lump in the front of his jeans and saw me.
“Agh! I’m sorry, Eris!” she gasped.

“It’s fine. You two have fun, I’m gonna leave,” I chuckled.

Maz waved at me and laughed under his breath. He had chocolate brown hair with matching eyes and an affinity for fencing. It was kinda funny but kinda awkward as I left the room. I heard the lock click then Tao giggling. Oh boy.

I was walking downstairs when I saw Aya.
“Hey! I gotta tell Tao something!” she said.

“Don’t! Maz is here,” I quietly said.

“What does that….. Oooh, damn. Alright.”

Aya and I went back downstairs then grabbed brown pops. We sat on the couch and joined some of the girls who were watching Girl Code. My head started to hurt so I decided to take a walk for a while.
“Hey, want me to come?” Aya asked.

“No. But, thanks,” I softly smiled.

I headed outside and to the secluded woods surrounding the school.
====
I was walking along a small wall and keeping my balance by grabbing the long branches overhead. It was well past 7pm so the sky was borderline completely black with very few stars hanging around. That’s the thing I hated about fall: it got super dark by like, 4pm and there was barely any light time.

Well, I read in the History textbook that the Rian could see twice as better at night. No one knew why. But it was really helping because if I didn’t have the vision, I’d be dead off the wall. I pushed myself around the wall for a bit more before I heard a tree branch snap. I ducked down and swung my legs over the wall. Something was traveling through the air. Small, but powerful.

Growing up outside taught me about my inner animal. (Yes, I know. Sounds corny.) I could determine how close or far something was, I could tell time by the sky, and my ears worked so much better. The small object was getting louder so the person was getting closer. I jumped down from the wall like an idiot and some leaves crackled.

Whatever, person or animal heard me because the object stopped moving. There was a test one and it hit the tree right next to me. RUN. I barely gave myself time to blink before I started running the other way. The night was kinda chilly but no fucking way would that stop me. Wind whipped through my ears and in my hair and my feet took me as fast as I could manage. (Good thing I ran track throughout school.)

I completely missed a turn and it took me deeper the other way in the woods. The person circled around the trees and stopped in front of me. My idiot-self ran smack-dab into a hard chest. I flung back and fell on my ass. As my eyes went higher up, I saw a guy. He had platinum blonde hair with glowing blue eyes. I could see the crossbow in his left hand. Oh! They were quarrels!
“Hi,” he smiled.

“Dick. Hi.” This was the second time I ran into someone in the woods. I roughly picked myself up and brushed the hair out of my face.

“Well, now I know you’re not a dragon. Kinda figured,” he said.

“Well, now I know that you were chasing me,” I countered.

“Yeh. You shouldn’t be a smartass. It triggers others to be an even smarter ass.”

“Maybe you should keep your quarrels to yourself. Twice you almost killed me.”

“It’d be a pretty good kill, too.” He smiled but I kept my jaw set.

“So, are we done playing kill-the-girl-tag?” I said it with a big tone of sarcasm.

“No. There’s three rounds.”

“Ugh.”

I turned around and started walking back but, the guy was right on my heels. He was right next to me as I turned left. He saw one of his quarrels stuck in the bark of an oak and pulled it out. He stuck it out to me.
“A prize for being such an amazing runner,” he said.

“Take it out of my face,” I roughly said.

“Hey, don’t take it harsh. It’s my way of saying I didn’t get to kill you.”

I grabbed the quarrel and broke it in half. I handed it back to him but he just glanced at it.
“Okay. So you obviously don’t like shooting.”

“Now,” I looked at his piercing eyes, “will you leave?”

“Well, I have to go back… and… you’re taking the same…..path as me.” He broke it up to try and make a point.

“Fine. But no talking to me. I don’t wanna be bothered.”

I continued walking and he hesitated before following me. He whistled a tune as we walked down a small slope and it was really pushing my buttons. He must’ve noticed how pissed I was because he got even louder. I decided to play along so I hummed twice as loud.
“Hey, you know that song too?!” he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes as the wall I was walking on came to view. He got up to my side and looked down at me.
“Sorry. Honestly. I wasn’t meaning to kill you or anything, I was practicing. I’m Dallas.”

“Well, Dallas, I accept your apology. I’m Eris.”

He shook my hand and I felt that his pulse was racing. Huh.

“Oh. You’re Jeff Faye’s kid?” Dallas said.

“Yeh,” I replied.

“So…. how does it feel to be new girl? Sucky or lucky?”

“Hmm, lucky. It kinda sucks that my affinity hasn’t kicked in yet.”

“Ah, you’re one of those.”

I looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. “One of those? What are those and why am I one?”

“It means you’re anxious to get your powers. What if you get a shitty strength? Then that sucks nuts because you’re stuck with the affinity until you’re stripped of them or ask Brice and Lena,” Dallas replied.
I didn’t think of that. I did read in History that you keep the affinity until you misuse it or ask Brice and Lena to take it, and, it’s pretty hard for them to agree. Dallas and I jumped over the small puddle of water and saw the dorms.
“I never thought of that. I’ll keep that in mind,” I huffed.

“Cool. Well, you know where to find me,” Dallas said.

“No, I—I don’t.”

“Ask the Twins where they stay. That’s where I am.”

Dallas winked at me then walked behind the dorms. I heard something flying in the air and jumped back. This bitch shot a quarrel to hit me. I grabbed quarrel then walked inside, smiling a bit. I got upstairs to our dorm and saw Tao sitting on the bed with her headphones in. She looked up then smiled.
“Hey,” she said.

“Hey. How was Maz?” I smirked.

“Great like always. And uh, I’m sorry you had to see that. I was gonna text you but…”

“Your tongue got busy?”

Tao nodded. The guys had a separate dorm for a few reasons: they had different powers, wayyyy too many of them, and no one was to get pregnant. They were allowed over but they also had a curfew, vice versa for girls. I thought it was cute when Maz would surprise her after class with a big kiss.

Anyway, I got changed for bed and felt a cut on my calve. I checked in the mirror and hissed at myself.
“What’s wrong, hun?” Tao asked.

“Cut. I’ll talk with Bull tomorrow afternoon,” I said.

It was Friday night so we got to sleep in and forget about school for a few days. Tao looked at the cut then frowned.
“That sucks,” she said.

“Yeh. Whatever,” I sighed.

Aya had been sleeping in her dorm for a while so we didn’t have an extra body sprawled out on the floor. I sat on my bed facing Tao and she smiled.
“I can’t wait until you’re affinitized. It’ll be so fun to have another power in this room! Imagine if you had Fire or something. Fire and Ice room!”

“Tao, I highly doubt I’ll get Fire. My textbook said that it’s very rare for a child to develop the same affinity as one of their parents,” I said.

“Who cares? What if you got Ice?! Our room would be freezing,” Tao giggled.

I threw a pillow at her and she flung back on the bed. Tao froze the pillow then threw it back. I ducked out of the way so I didn’t die and it shattered against the wall.
“Tao!”

“I’m sorry,” she chuckled, “didn’t know that’d happen.”

“Right,” I scoffed.

Tao cleared the ice and I crawled back onto the bed. Mumble was out and waddling around the room like a lil cutie. I didn’t know if I should tell Tao about Dallas yet…. he wasn’t even like, someone I’d drool over. Well…. I mean…. C’mon! We bonded over him trying to shoot me! Does it look like I’d fall over a guy I barely know and who tried to kill me?! I needed to tell her, ASAP.
“Tao,” I blurted.

“Yes?” she warmly replied.

“I was on a walk, right? There was this whipping through the air and turns out, some guy is shooting quarrels at me! I started running, he chased me. His name is Dallas and he wants to talk again. He told me to ask the Twins where they stay and that’s my answer for where he is.”

Tao’s mouth dropped open. Was that a bad thing?

“First,” she said, “Dallas is a smart ass so ignore how he tried to kill you. Second, the Twins stay at the building where the non-professor-but-old-enough-to-be-one people stay. That’s like, 19 to 25 year-olds! After that, you have the choice to become an instructor or prof. Most leave after they finish Rio year. Eris, you got an older guy!”

“But, he didn’t look any older than 21.”

“19. Dallas is 19.”

I widened my eyes in surprise. Explains why he stayed out so late and why he didn’t go to the guys’ dorm. Well than….
“Oh,” I huffed.

“Oh? Do you know how hot Dallas is?! He’s been here since he was 10. Crossbows are hot. He doesn’t miss anything he shoots at. If you have any type of bow, he can use it. Seriously. He mentors some of the younger kids with their affinities,” Tao beamed.

“Now that you mention it, why don’t we have mentors? Or at least have our parents sorta guide us through our changes?”

Tao shook her head. “Chances are that your parents will be able to help. I mean, my mom doesn’t have my affinity but she still helped me with body and mental changes. We don’t have mentors because they think we’re old enough and mature enough to go through most things by ourselves. I think our parents automatically had mentors. But that was freshman year and freshman year only.”

“Hmm. I guess I can see reasoning behind that. Can you still get help from adults who have your affinity?” I asked.

“Of course! Deja is the Dio through Rio counselor. She doesn’t have all affinities but her power is to help people. She’s not like some regular school counselor, Deja actually helps. So, if you have questions I can’t answer, either her or ya boy, Dallas.” Tao waggled her eyebrows at me.

“Get over yourself. Nothing is going on with us!”

“But you want there to be,” she quickly said, “right? C’mon, it’s Dallas!”

I gave her a finger and she fake gasped. We deserved some sleep so we laid down in our beds. Even though it was mid-November, Tao liked the room to be freezing. I didn’t mind because I liked to go to bed a bit chilly. She blew into the air and it automatically cooled down to a comfortable cold. We closed our eyes then slept smoothly through the night.
====
The next morning was one of those fall, dark, drizzly days. I was first up and it was hilarious to watch Tao sleep. When she exhaled, her breath would come out like the little air you see in winter when you talk outside. Her icy hair was sprawled over her eyes and she hung her mouth open.

I took a quick pic on my phone then stifled my giggles. After a quick face wash and teeth brushing, I made my way downstairs for some breakfast. It was tradition for a girl named Tessa to cook breakfast on Friday mornings—as her affinity was Cooking. There was enough bacon, waffles, eggs, oatmeal, fruit, drinks and veggies to feed a family of 104. Girls grabbed their food and thanked Tessa.
“Thanks, Tessa. Looks delicious,” I smiled at her.

“You’re welcome. I hope you get your affinity soon,” she replied.

Tessa winked at me as I made my way over to Aya. She bumped her hip with mine and cheered her morning cheers. We ate together then Tao finally came downstairs in her icy fashion. She plopped down between us and yawned.
“Damn,” I laughed.

“You have an eye booger,” Aya joked.

Tao gave her a finger as she took a bite of her bacon. We finished our breakfast then went back to our dorm. Aya practically lived with us because she was always in with us and using our stuff. I slipped into my jeans and hoodie then stepped into my boots. Dad had told me that he’d be on campus and in the third Earth Yard so I decided to visit him.

I left the dorm and started walking back to the courtyards. Dad was in the courtyard and talking with another professor I knew as Snell. They both had an affinity for Earth so they were very similar in looks. Dad saw me walking over and waved to me.
“Hey, dad. Hello, Snell.” I stuck my hand out to Snell and he shook it.

“Manners, eh? I’m surprised with your father being Jeff,” he smirked.

“Oh, please, Snell. I had, er, minor manners when I was young,” dad chuckled

“Hard to believe,” I smiled.

Dad gave me a playful punch and Snell left us. I had dad’s arm around my waist as we walked into the first building to just explore. Dad explained to me that the main building wasn’t even down here. It was on the other side of Rianate with the car garage and other stuff.
“So, it’s pretty much like a smaller version of Mesopotamia?” I snickered.

“Actually, that’s the best comparison I’ve heard. Yes, like a modern and small Mesopotamia,” dad smiled.

The high school main building was called Ria. 42. The main, main building was called Ria. 84. My father and I both had an obsession for cars so we made our way toward the car garage. I think I had a heart attack when we stepped in. Only the profs and some others were allowed to drive them on and off every once in a while. I completely drooled over the silver Shelby Cobra gt500 1968. The bright green Lambo had me silent.
“Dad, have you ever—”

“Driven one? Yes. Very fun,” dad chuckled.

“Cool because I want one,” I smiled.

“Maybe when you turn 20.”

“Oh, now would perfect. Like, just perf.” I batted my eyelashes at him and he groaned.

“I’ll give it some thought.”
Dad wrapped his arm around my shoulders and we left the garage. He decided we should get some lunch and we headed toward Ria. 84.
“Dad? Can Sumiko and Tao come?” I blurted.

“That’s a great idea! Go get Tao, I’ll search for Sumiko,” dad smiled.

We split up then found them. Tao gave my dad a hug and I hugged Sumiko. She had hair that was a mink with ombre at the bottom. I kid ya not, her ombre was rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and purple were the tips of her hair. Her eyes were a welcoming honey brown and her Maxi was on her wrists.
“I haven’t seen you since you were a baby. Hello, Eris,” she smiled.

“Hi, Sumiko.”

Tao and I looped arms and led the way to the cafe. The adult cafe was twice as nice and much more orderly. If the profs or instructors had kids, they could bring us to grab a quick bite in the adult cafe instead of the regular one. (It didn’t really make sense because there was already a cafe but, eh.)

We sat at a round table on the outside balcony and one of the servers came over. There were no menus—anything you wanted, you got it. We ordered then got to talking and ate good.
====
I was in the school library and finishing up some stuff for Math. Though it was Saturday evening, the school was up and kinda chatty. None of the doors were locked or anything because the adults could easily find who did something sneaky and punish them. I’m not sure how they found out who did it but they sure did.

Math was fairly easy but I wanted to do some extra stuff to raise my grade. Not that I was doing bad, I just wanted to start off good this year. Professor Kirsi was so crazily strict but so crazily nice when he wanted. I was finishing up some problems from my textbook when I heard him.
“You actually do work?”

I looked up and saw Dallas standing over me. He raised an eyebrow then cracked a laugh.
“Dallas, you’re an idiot,” I scoffed but laughed a bit.

“Mind if I sit?” Dallas smiled.

“It is fine.”

Dallas sat in the chair across from me and watched my pen move. I looked at him but he kept his eyes locked on my utensil. I moved my hand to the side, his eyes followed. Great way to tease. He kept his eyes locked as I wrote something. I turned the paper around to him and he grunted.
“You’re so mean to me,” Dallas pouted.

“Don’t do that, it’s not cute,” I said.

“To most people, it is. I’m surprised you’re not at Jack’s party.”

“Who?”

“Jack Murn. He’s a Sio (junior) but all girls drool over him. You seem like a drooler.”

I sneered at him. “And you seem like you suck dick for money, but, I don’t say anything.”

“Oh, toshé,” Dallas laughed.

“Hmm. So, are you gonna actually do work or just sit there?”

“Actually doing work is too much work. I halfass do work. ‘member that.”

Dallas grabbed my textbook and pen. He filled in three of the answers then handed it back to me.

“Uhm, you’re actually right,” I gawked.

“I know. But, you have to show the work.” Dallas blinked his blue eyes at me.

I gave him a melodramatic eyeroll then did the work. My phone started to buzz on the table and he grabbed it before me.
“It’s nudes from Professor Nige,” Dallas said.

“You just told a bold-faced lie. Give me my fucking phone,” I chuckled.

Dallas shrugged then handed me my phone. It was a text from Tao saying she was at the party. I tapped in a quick reply then set the cell back down. Dallas grabbed it again and looked through my stuff.
“Hmm, Twitter,” he said.

“Go through my shit, I’ll cut your throat,” I calmly replied without looking up from my work.

“Slide in ya DM’s like..”
Dallas started scrolling through my twitter and laughed at some of the tweets. I closed my textbook then saw him on my Instagram. In his pupils, I could see he was looking at my account. I opened my Body Science book then got to reading.
“Why are you doing work when you could be piggin out? It’s Saturday,” Dallas said.

“Is it a sin to be smart and not be a whore who twerks on drunk dudes?” I muttered.

“Glad to know that not every Rio is a slut.”

“Not all of them are.”

Dallas nodded as he typed something into my phone. I checked my watch and realized it was 10:45. As I gathered my stuff, Dallas scrolled through my music.
“So… When are your ears gonna blow out?”

I had over 2,000 songs so I knew what he meant.
“When my music starts to die out,” I chuckled.

Dallas handed my phone back and I cracked a smile while I turned away. He was following behind as I opened the library doors.
“Dallas,” I said over my shoulder.

“Eris,” Dallas replied.

“Why are you following?”

“Because it’s called I’m gonna be nice and make sure you get back okay. Is that a problem? ‘Cause frankly, I don’t care.”

Dallas walked closer behind me and I rolled my eyes. He was trying to race me by catching up and walking ahead but I would pass him. I was two steps ahead and he laughed.
“If you wanna race, just say so.”

“If you wanna stop being a smartass, tell me when,” I snarled.

“Can’t do the impossible,” Dallas stressed.

I stepped on his toe and he jumped. Dallas stepped on my toe and I hissed. We played around for a bit then heard footsteps. Lena walked up behind us and smiled.
“Eris, don’t you have a curfew?”

“Uhm, sorry, Lena, I—”

“My fault, Lena,” Dallas interjected, “I forgot about her having curfew. I was helping her on different affinities.”

“Oh. Well, I guess since it was for a good cause. Just, remember next time, Dallas. Have a good night,” Lena smiled.

She bowed and walked away. I hit Dallas on his chest.
“Ow! Hey, I just saved your ass!”

“Well, don’t. I can take missing curfew once,” I hissed.

“No you can’t. When I was Rio, I missed curfew nine times. Got my bow taken away for three months. You may not know what you control but, they’ll punish you,” Dallas said.

“Okay, yeh, but I haven’t missed curfew nine times!”

Dallas sneered as we stopped in front of the girls’ dorm. He pulled the pen from his belt loop and I cocked my head to the side.
“Don’t ask. It’s like, a pen fetish,” he muttered.

“Pen fetish? That’s worse than a foot fetish,” I huffed.

“Say sorry.”

“Why?”

“You made fun of me, so, apologize.”

Dallas gave me a look and I shook my head no. He shrugged then broke the pen in half.
“Now we’re even,” Dallas smiled.

I took the pen and he blew me a little kiss. Dallas walked away to the apartments and I walked inside of the dorm. Did he just break my pen because I broke his quarrel? Anyway… I went upstairs then saw Tao and Aya knocked out. Tiredness took over and I laid in the bed and drifted off.

There was a continuous buzzing by my pillow. I reached up and grabbed phone to see I had 10 texts from…. Chelsea. What the hell does she want?
Chelsea: Where are you? Omg, respond!

I texted back and she automatically read the text. Chelsea pretty much explained her day to me when I didn’t ask and how she was failing biology.
Chelsea: Hey, let’s hang next weekend
Me: Can’t. On vacation.
Chelsea: OH! Is that why you’ve been gone?
Me: yes. I’m in Tennessee, the time zone is different. I’m really tired. Bye.

Chelsea sent me a kissy emoji and I groaned. She really needs to learn how to zip it. It was 3am, typically when I was asleep and chillen in my dreams. I checked my iPhone history then saw Dallas had added his number into my contacts. This boy…
Me: Dallas.

It took him a while to respond. Probably sleep.
Dallas: Do u not knoe wat slp is?
Me: I do. Stfu.
Dallas: U txted meh.
Me: K. Nd, yes, I was slp like a normal persn but Stank Bitch woke meh up.
Dallas: Stank Bitch?
Me: ex-not-so-BFFL
Dallas: wtf?
Me: Nvm.
Dallas: Tell meh.
Me: R u dat thirsty?
Dallas: U rlly do wnt meh to shoot U.

I sent him a smiling emoji and he laughed back. We talked for a bit more then I saw the time. It was dawn and Dallas had me up.
Me: BRUH. I’m goin 2 bed.
Dallas: Thank godddddd!
Me: stfuwtgouflol.
Dallas: U lost me wen u started txting bck
Me: Bye, Dallas.
Dallas: Bye.

We hung up then got to sleep.
====
Sunday, oh Sunday. Ya know how everyone is super lazy on Sunday? Like, no one is alive at all. I was eating some Special K in the kitchen and it may’ve been thee funniest thing to watch.

The girls barely spoke, sulking around in their pajamas and hair all messy. Some of their affinities started radiating off of them. Tao walked downstairs and her hair was letting off ice fog as she walked.
“Morning, Elsa,” I smiled.

“Don’t. Unless you wanna be frozen,” she yawned.

Aya walked downstairs and she was tired. Surprising since she was a morning person and was always first up. Well, compared to them, I felt amazing! Sorta….. I had to go back to the library since Dallas distracted me from working last night.
“Here,” I handed my bowl to Tao, “you’ll need it.”

“Thanks,” she said. Tao raised her hand and the little cereal flakes froze. She just started munching away.

Aya got busy in the strawberries we always had in the fridge. A girl named Hattie had an affinity for Strawberries and fruit in general. As I questioned how cool it’d be to have strawberries all the time, I ran upstairs to our dorm so I could get going.

I grabbed my phone then headed to the library. It’s not so easy to study in the dorm when there are 103 other girls running around and talking and being loud.

On my way over, I glanced at the Life and Death courtyard then saw Bear and Bull bickering about something. They just honestly never shut up.

I stepped into the library then grabbed a table secluded by tall bookshelves and illuminated by a small chandelier. I had my Body Science, Math and History textbooks—my favorite classes. History was by far the best because I didn’t know my grandfather had an affinity for Music. Probably explains me. It also told me that I couldn’t leave campus unless I knew the portal words. Which were in Riate. During high school I took Greek and this was just an advanced version of it. The sounds were mostly the same and putting together words was a piece of cake.

20 minutes into my studies, I heard footsteps approaching the bookshelves. The shelves were arranged in a circle with a small entry way directly ahead of me. It wasn’t that hard to guess this place could (and probably has been) be used to make out or a quickie. I laughed to myself at the thought of that.
“What are you laughing for?”

I looked up and saw Dallas two feet away from me. He had his bow in his left hand so he probably just came back from a courtyard or hunting.
“Laughing at myself because I’m so hilarious,” I said.

“Ha ha ha.” There was no emotion in his voice whatsoever.

“Shut up.”

“Make me. Oh, wait, I’m the one with a weapon,” Dallas smirked.

“Hmm. And I’m the one with a pen,” I said, waving my pen up.

“Okay. Can I sit?”

I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “And halfass do work?”

“Wrong,” he said as he sat down, “some idiot broke one of my quarrels and I’m low. I wonder who that idiot was.”

“Maybe the poor squirrel you shot,” I nonchalantly said.

“I wouldn’t call her a poor squirrel. More like a fejeebled Gremlin.”

Dallas looked at me and I scoffed. He cracked a smile then looked at what I was working on. I noticed his eye were…. hazel?
“Aren’t your eyes blue?” My mouth spoke before my brain could catch up.

“Awh, you stare at me,” Dallas teased.

“No. When you tried to kill me, I noticed.” Nice save, Eris.

“Huh. Well, they’re eight different colors.”

My eyes widened at him. Dallas held up a hand then forced himself to blink. His eyes changed to a sea green and I laughed.
“Damn,” I gawked.

“It is not cool. Try impressing a girl with blue eyes but they decide to turn poop,” Dallas sighed.

“Oh, so sad.”

“Very. So, Miss I-don’t-have-an-affinity, what are you doing?” Dallas smiled at me.

“Ugh, you’re so…. ew. I’m studying. Oh, I’m sorry, is that not in your vocab?” I sneered.

“Smart, smart. But I know what studying is.”

“Huh. So, Mister I-cry-over-my-broken-quarrel, what are you doing?”

Dallas gave me a finger and I laughed.

“You know what I’m doing. Fixing my bolts since some gremlin decided to break it,” he deeply said.

I gave an innocent smile and put my hand under my chin.
“Cute but not innocent,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, you love it,” I giggled.

“Have you heard of professor Verc?”

“I have her for Art, you idiot.”

“You remind me of her. Smartass, intelligent, but sometimes a pest.” He gave a sweet smile.

“You ever heard of Dallas? You remind me of him. Stupid, smartass, crybaby.” I smiled back.

“He sounds like an amazing guy that everyone should work towards being.”

“Hm.”
The table was kinda small so when I moved my foot, I kicked his. Dallas kicked me back. We were kicking back and forth until he pinched me under the table.
“Ah!”

“Now, stop,” Dallas growled.

I pinched him back. He put his head on the table and let out a guttural sound.
“I thought you could take the pain,” I snickered.

“Eris, you almost pinched my dick….” Dallas muttered.

I broke out laughing and he sat up. Dallas grabbed my pen then snapped it in half.
“Dallas! That’s my good one!” I laughed.

“Then shut the fuck up. My dick is sensitive, how would you like it if I hit your boob?”

“Uhm, that’d be weird.”

“Exactly,” Dallas said.

He threw the pen across the floor and I scoffed. I grabbed one of his bolts then teased him.
“If you break that, I will punch you,” Dallas said.

“That’s not nice! Since you broke my pen, I can get you back,” I smiled.

“Okay! I’ll buy you a new pen, but please don’t break that.”

“Say please.” I was really having fun with this.

“Eris. Break my bolt, I break you. And that’ll be fairly easy.”

He was right. Dallas was almost 6’4 with a muscular body. His hair made him look kinda boyish but he still looked mature.
“Say please. Please is the only way,” I was trying hard not laugh.

Dallas closed his eyes like he was really debating this. I watched his eyes flutter open and saw they were a deep blue.
“Can I please have it back?” Dallas asked.

“Sure!” I gave the bolt back and he scoffed.

“Girl, you had me on the verge of crying and it’s just ‘sure?’ Damn, I hate you.”

“Oh, shit, I should’ve made you cry!” I laughed.

Dallas rolled his eyes then checked his bolt. I finished my Body Science and Riante then moved on to Math. Dallas had shoved his headphones in and was blaring his music. I could barely concentrate on my own stuff because he had the music louder than necessary. Dallas had his nose in a book but was still listening to the loud, obnoxious shit. After he turned it up louder, I was beyond shocked.

How in the hell is he listening so loud and keeping his place in the book?! He changed the song to a loud dubstep and I was just done. Done. I reached over the table then yanked his headphones out.
“Ow! What was that for?!”

“You’re too fucking loud! Pick one or the other,” I roughly said.

“Why not both? If I can do it, let me do it,” Dallas smirked.

Our faces were centimeters apart and I was literally on the table. Dallas gently took his phone back then looked up at me.
“Let me listen to music in peace please.”

“Let me finish studying in peace please.” I replied with an evil smile.

He hooked his hand behind my neck then pulled me closer. “No.”

“You listen, I study. But, please, please, be quiet,” I said.
Dallas let me go and I got back in my chair. This time, he turned his music up higher and when I looked at him, he flipped me off. Bitch.

I finished my Math then sighed in relief. Dallas had his head down on the table and was snoozing away in wonderland. I decided to wake him up so I slid my phone by his ear and turned on the alarm.
“But….” Dallas muttered. He turned the alarm off then sat up.

His platinum hair was kinda messy and I laughed at him. Dallas blew a strand out of his eye then sighed.
“Thank God for alarms, huh,” I smirked.

“They’re so beautiful and intriguing,” Dallas flatly replied.

“I know. God, I’m hungry. Food is calling my name.”

I rose from the table after Dallas and we walked out of the library. He stayed close to my side as we headed toward the cafe on the other side of campus. Dallas and I didn’t really plan to hang out… it just, happened… but I kinda expected it. Huh. After we ordered our food, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. Chelsea.
Chelsea: Hey, r u back from vacation?

I laid my head down on the table then started to bang my forehead. Dallas noticed and asked, “Boy troubles?”

“More like lesbian troubles,” I sighed.

“Wait—what?” Dallas laughed.

I slid my phone over to him and he read the text messages and started laughing his face off.

“Not funny. For three years, I’ve had to be this girl’s ear slave and listen to her rant on about how skanky someone looked, how her boyfriend cheated on her, how she lost her V-card, why her shoes are pink instead of yellow and why Michael Kors makes sportswear! Try talking to her and you might just blow up,” I huffed.

“She’s really annoying. Who cries over their purse?” Dallas snickered.

My phone buzzed in his hand and he laughed again. I took it back then saw how stupid Chelsea is.
Chelsea: Did u know that houses r built on stilts because people r afraid of rats?!
Me: Who tld u dat?
Chelsea: Myself.
Me: g2g, bai.
Chelsea: Wait! What r u doing?
Me: Uh.. at lunch with a friend. Bai.

I put my phone back in my pocket and saw Dallas banging his head on the table while laughing. He sat up then wiped his eye.
“Rats? Ahaha.”

“I told you, stupid. Stank Bitch doesn’t know when to shut up either,” I snickered.

“She seems like a hoe. No wonder her boyfriend cheated on her,” Dallas smiled.

“No, it was probably because the girl he cheated with slept with every guy at school. Like, twice.”

Dallas held up two fingers and I nodded. He laughed again while I stole some of his fries.
“Hey!”

He reached over and took some of mine.
“Hey! I was gonna eat those!” I chuckled.

“Well,” Dallas shrugged, “sucks to suck.”

“Are you talking about dick because I’m pretty sure you’ve got that covered.”

“You ever been shot in the leg?”

I tried to hold back my laughs as I ate the fries. We finished eating then started walking by the car garage—which I completely am in love with.
“Have you been in the garage?” Dallas asked.

“Yes. I found the car I want to marry,” I laughed.

“Huh. Well, you’re allowed to start driving when you turn 19. And, there’s a Lamborghini Asterion lpi 910-4 and I think you’d like it.”

“Don’t make me cry, please.”

Dallas gave me a playful punch on the arm and I laughed. He said he needed to get back to the apartments so he could put his bow back and I offered to come.
“Are you sure? I mean, like, seriously?”

“Why wouldn’t I want to come?” I laughed.

“Because clean is not me,” Dallas smiled.

I shrugged as we started toward the apartments. The apartments were called Ria.24, Ria. 99 and Ria. 37 and they were damn nice.

Three tall buildings aligned horizontally and there were lots of plant life surrounding it. The building were close enough to be connected but for some reason they weren’t, no one knew why. Dallas said he stayed in the middle so we entered the glass double doors. The place didn’t look like your typical lobby, it was more “Rian-ified” and cooler. We got to his place—which was right between the Twins’—and he opened his door.

Dallas was nowhere close to messy, he was neat! Everything was in place except for a few loose clothes on the bed. There were six rooms: a kitchen, bedroom, dining room, living room, bathroom and a small closet in the hallway. The last room was where he kept his bows so I followed him in. Dallas cut on the light and I almost died.

There were somewhere around fifty bows lined up on the wall on nice shelves. (They looked like some shit Batman would have, ya know, nicely stored in the Batcave. I wondered if he had an Alfred…) The bows were cool but the number of bolts and arrows he had were beyond amazing. There were ones with green tips, blue tips, red tips and much more. I walked over to a type with a weird yellow and teal tip. I reached out to touch it but he quickly grabbed my arm.
“That’s poison. Don’t touch it,” Dallas said.

“Oh. Okay,” I chuckled.

He rolled his eyes then let me go. I looked at the different crossbows and regular bows he had and they were quite impressive. Some looked like the ones used in medieval times, others looked modern with lots of parts and a difficult concept. There was a pistol crossbow that really caught my attention. It was really beautiful. Some of them had—

“Are you done snooping?” Dallas’s deep voice made me whirl around.

“Sure, smartass,” I snickered.

I followed him out of the room and back out to the living room. I rubbed my palms together and they felt wet. Was I sweating? No, I was fine. I rubbed them again and they felt like I had dirt or sand in them. What… I rubbed them again and they felt really warm. What the hell is this? I rubbed them again and it felt like winter when the wind whipped on your skin. I let out a sigh then shook it off.
“You okay? You look nervous,” Dallas said.

“Fine,” I said. Did I feel fine? I mean, it’s not like it harmed me or anything, I just felt it. “Just a heat flash.”

“Huh.”

Dallas looked at me one last time and I rolled my eyes. He laughed then checked his watch.
“Oh. It’s 7. Do you wanna go, er, I know you have class so…”

“Yeh,” I quickly said.

“Okay—Noooooo.” Dallas made a fake gasp and laughed. “Did we just have a date?”

“Dallas, you’re an—”

“I may be an idiot but I’m not stupid. Think about it: I met with you in the library, got you food and you came back to my house. It was a date.”

“Dallas, it wasn’t…. Ya know, this would be highly considered a date but I choose not to call it that,” I snickered.

“You want it to be a date!”

Dallas threw his head back and laughed heavenward. I punched his shoulder then he stopped. He poked my shoulder and I made a face. We poked and punched back and forth until I pushed him on the couch. Before I knew it, I was in his lap and poking his stomach while he poked my shoulders. Dallas took up on what he said earlier and lightly hit me in the boob.
“Ow! What the hell?” I laughed.

“Eris, I said I’d hit you,” Dallas smiled.

“Ugh.”

We noticed how we were sitting and our eyes got wide. I had my arms snaked around his neck and my legs outside of his with his hands on my hips. Dallas snickered then said, “Now it’d really be considered a date.”

“Hush,” I giggled.

He blew me a kiss and I got out of his lap. I grabbed my bag then Dallas let me out and told me to text him. I quickly made it back to the dorms then went straight to bed; I was tired and confused. Does this mean he has feelings back at me? That we good potentially be something?

All these questions trailed me off to sex and I had even more questions. I was still a virgin and I hated that. The only sexual things I’d ever done were intense make outs. My last thoughts were about how it would feel to have Dallas take my virginity. I thought he would be gentle and caring but, we weren’t even a thing so that didn’t really make sense. I was out seconds after.
====
Tao and Aya jumped up and down on the bed, being big alarm clocks.
“Wake up, it’s Monday!”

“I’ll make you breakfast!”

I opened my eyes to see them standing over me with big smiles. Tao’s frosty hair was dangling down and Aya had her pink locks pulled into a bun. I sat up then made my way to the bathroom. The girls were already dressed so I quickly pulled on my sweatshirt and skinny jeans. Tao threw a pair of teal Uggs at me.
“It’s Ugg-day where we all have to have on Uggs. Kinda corny, we know,” Aya smiled.

“And, we’re matching our hair!” Tao cheered like a little kid on Christmas.

“Oh. Cool,” I chuckled.

I stepped into the boots and we headed down for a quick breakfast. After breakfast, we started walking to the main building and to History. Prof Nanaya told me that I could share anything I learned with her and she’d explain it to me. Tao passed us our books and we opened to the assigned chapter. Class was cool then we had Body Science and Riate afterwards.

Tao was telling us about something she read in Body Science as we walked to the cafeteria for lunch. That day was pizza day and I never knew so many pizzas existed. Aya sat us at a booth then pulled something from her pocket.
“Okay, Eris, I made a prophecy on your affinity. Since you like the outdoors, it’s gonna involve animals or Earth. You like running, so maybe Track and Field related. Anddd, you find the dragons cool so, Drago! You may have a pretty cool one,” Aya smiled.

“Cool. Really cool, actually. But, what if I don’t get any of those?” I asked.

“Then make your affinity better,” Tao added.

I nodded and took another bite of my pizza. We finished lunch then headed off to Art. Art was another story. Prof Verc was really strict but she was so honest and straightforward. We usually had to paint something that describes our strengths and us or she’d focus on a specific topic.

Tao was making an Ice Dream and there was a small painting of her surrounded by cool ice things. Aya was painting one of her visions and how she prevented bad things from happening. Verc said that because I didn’t know what I was yet, I could paint something about me.

I painted my mother and father as their Fire and Earth selves. Then me between them with a questionable fog around me. It was to represent that two different things could make something extraordinary. Ever since I was young, I always loved to draw and paint. My hands were natural and knew what they wanted to do or make.

Verc looked at my painting and gasped.
“Eris, this is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I smiled.

“Would you like for me to display it in the next YAC? This would be great to compete,” she offered.

The YAC stood for Young Arts Competition and whoever won, they got a big prize or deal. I agreed and she took it for me. Was it really that good? We headed off to Math and I was damn happy when Prof Kirsi said he liked how much enrichment I did and he’d add it to my grade. Tao and Aya gave me looks of surprise.
“Damn.”

“You work.”

I quietly laughed as class progressed and Kirsi blabbed on about Rian Math. When the bell rung, I got kinda nervous because it was our Affinity Hour, which meant I’d be bored again. Not having my affinity got super annoying because it was like being a weirdo all the time. Whatever, it’d come soon enough.

Tao and Aya walked off to their own courtyards and I went to the Dragon Yard. Professor Govea had an affinity for dragons so he stayed in the Dragon Yard during the day. I called out for him and he popped out from the door.
“Eris, hello! Are you for dragons?” Govea smiled.

“I like them but it’s not my strength. Just wanted to visit,” I replied.

Govea nodded as he walked toward me. He was kinda lankier but was strong as hell, controlling and training dragons got him pretty tough-looking. His hair was a golden color with streaks of orange and his eyes were a dark brown. His Maxi was wrapped around his face and down to his neck in a soft red color, rough lines and streaks.
“So,” Govea said, “what do ya need?”

“I just wanted to look around. Dragons are cool,” I laughed.

“Hmm. Follow me.”

Govea turned the large steel door and I followed him inside to hear loud dragon calls and roars. It was absolutely amazing how crazy it was in here.
“Govea? How many are in here?” I gapped at the beautiful water dragon on our right.

“63 not including the 5 babies born last night,” Govea chuckled.

“They’re so beautiful! Which have you trained?”

“All but three. They’re triplets and far too aggressive for anyone to ride them.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“You seem like you’d be interested in Jau. Let me show him to you,” he said.

Govea led me far down the walkway and in a few turns. The floors were cement and the walls were cemented brick with large kennel-like areas for each dragon. Some were gigantic, some were small as rabbits but they were all so amazing. Govea took me to Jau and the dragon was the size of a horse, with teal and orange scales over his body and soft blue eyes.
“Wa squ na,” he said.

Jau perked up as Govea stepped into his area. He grabbed his large jaw and Jau huffed through his nostrils.
“Come in, Eris,” Govea said.

I slowly entered the kennel and Jau looked down at me. Govea motioned me over and I traced my hand over the creature’s strong body. Jau huffed through his nostrils again and his scales poofed up and the girl came out me. I jumped back but Govea grabbed my arm.
“That means he likes you,” he explained.

“Oh. Hi,” I nervously chuckled as I reached up to his head.

Jau let out a dragon purr as I touched his smooth and slick scales. Govea must’ve thought I was okay because he left the kennel. I walked around with Jau in the expansive space and he gently played around with me. An hour later, I bowed to Jau.
“It only feels right. Goodbye,” I softly said.

He laid down as I left the kennel to go back to my dorm. Govea saw me when I walked out of the steel door and raised an eyebrow.
“Done already?”

“Yeh. I have homework,” I smiled.

“Okay. Since you acted so kindly with him, you’re allowed to visit him whenever. Don’t just interact with him, get to know the others,” Govea said.

“Okay. Goodbye.”

The last bell had rung about 20 minutes ago so the walk back was easy without hundreds of students. As I was walking back, I decided to go on a walk in the woods. I walked through the tons of trees and got to a small trail on the inner circle of a few oaks. I was just walking, thinking about Jau and how great he was.

I’d been walking for a good half an hour when my phone buzzed with a text. Tao.
Tao: wher R u?
Me: walkn. Sry I ddnt txt
Tao: O itz fine. Maz is ovr.
Me: lol, hve fun.

I put my phone back in my pocket then continued walking. I came to the wall and hopped up like I was last time. Straddling the wall, I reached up and grabbed a pretty sassafras off of the branch overhead. Smelling a sassafras was like smelling a bowl fruit loops in the morning.

The sky was getting dark with grey clouds and a small wind coming from the east. I didn’t care because I loved the rain and it was harder to get sick being Rian. I was in the middle of enjoying the small droplets of rain when a deep, masculine, sexy voice flitted my ears.
“Taking a rain bath?” Dallas said.

I looked at him and saw his boyish smile. Dallas pushed himself onto the wall and sat across from me.
“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Hunting, stupid. What, is this your part of the woods?” he scoffed.

“Could be. But I don’t enjoy running into you every time I go for a walk.”

“Well, too bad. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get sick out here? It’s about to storm.”

“I don’t care. Rain is my favorite precipitation.” I sighed as the rain fell harder.

“Oh,” Dallas huffed. “You must really like being out here. You don’t mind getting your precious hair and clothes wet.”

I felt my wet hair sticking to my neck and clinging down onto my head. Dallas’s hair looked a bit darker from the rain but his almost white hair matted to his forehead.
“No. I don’t care because they’re just things,” I said.

“Okay,” he flatly said.

I heard the leaves rustling overhead and looked straight up. There was a squirrel just three feet over us.
“Shoot it,” I said.

“Thank you.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

Dallas locked a bolt in his bow then aimed up at the squirrel. He let it fly and there was a small thump and squeak. The squirrel fell down to the ground.
“Poor baby,” I chuckled.

“Happy? I just wasted a bolt for nothing,” Dallas scoffed.

“Sorry. You can get it back.”

I looked at Dallas who was looking down at the dead squirrel. The rain made me feel calm and comfortable. Actually, a little more than I’ve ever felt before. Not like a little more, but a lot, lot, lot more.

The smell of burning tingled my nostrils. On instinct, I turned my head to the right and saw a blaze from deeper inside the woods. I knew that was how kids with Fire practiced their strengths. The wind was whipping through my wet hair and ears like my blow dryer. Being outside gave me that nature smell and I inhaled deeply to get more of the sensation. This actually felt way too amazing inside of me. I could feel grass under my feet, though I was suspended off of the ground. The wind soothed my body and goosebumps appeared on my arms from the chill. Warmth from a fire burned inside of me, making me feel hot and light. Small water droplets beat against my skin and soaked my clothes. It felt amazing… Like that feeling you get after laying down in the bed after a long day. My eyes were closed and my head was tilted up toward the sky.

“Eris!”

“What?” I replied without opening my eyes.

“Eris, open your eyes! Look,” Dallas said.

I slowly fluttered my eyes open and almost screamed at myself. Rocks and leaves were floating around my body, along with smoke and sparks, the water didn’t touch me but fell around me and the cool breeze gusted through my head. Oh god.
“Dallas! My affinity!” I cried.

Dallas was happy, shocked and confused in one. I could see it.
“What’s wrong? Why are you confused?”

“You have an affinity for the four elements…. That’s never happened before. Like, ever,” he said.

I knew that was odd. Most affinities never doubled up in a generation but there was always another person who’s had it before. Weird…. As I thought, the elements dropped from around me and back to their natural space. I looked up at Dallas who had an eyebrow raised and in deep thought.

“I think we need—”

“Brice,” I interjected.

Dallas nodded at me. We hopped off of the wall then made our way to Ria. 42. How did this happen? How could it happen? If no one has ever had an affinity for four elements, how did I get them? This was confusing… I’d definitely have to talk with dad after we met with Brice and Lena. I was happy that Dallas came with me because I’d be too freaked to go alone.

We made it to Brice’s office then knocked. The two men opened the glass doors and we walked in. Brice and Lena looked at us with furrowed brows.
====
“Hm. That…. That’s never happened before.” Brice folded his hands and closed his eyes.

Dallas and I had just told them about my affinity but they were really questioning how it happened. Lena looked at her brother then back to me.
“Show us,” she said.

“Lena, don’t pressure her,” Brice scoffed.
Dallas looked at me but I shook my head. We were still in our wet clothes and he had his bow behind his back.
“Eris,” Brice said, “do you know what could’ve happened to make you receive this affinity?”

“Uhm, well, Dallas and I were outside, there was water, there was wind, there was a fire and we were out in the woods. I started thinking about them then Dallas told me,” I explained.

“Okay. Well, it’d be difficult for you to practice because there is no Yard for the elements. And, there are no professors with the strength.”

“But, there are yards for Fire, Air, Earth and Water… Plus, they’re all around us. And some professors have the individual affinity,” Dallas countered.

“Right. Okay. Well, congratulations on the affinity, we’ll talk further more tomorrow.” Brice smiled.

“And please, change your attire. You two are walking around like wet dogs.” Lena gruffly says.

Dallas and I bowed to them then left the office. It was already 6:30 so I probably needed to get back to the dorm. Before I took another step, Dallas grabbed my arm.
“What?” I said.

“Good luck. It’s not all flowers, rainbow and sunshine after this. Sometimes you get confused or hurt,” he said.

“Dallas, I know. I’m kinda hoping you’d be able to help me with some stuff.”

His eyes blinked to a dark brown. It took him a while before answering, “Sure. Just… Text me.”

“Alright. Goodnight,” I smiled.

Dallas squeezed my arm then let me go. We walked out separate ways and I started sprinting to the dorm. I ran upstairs then burst into our dorm.
“Hi!” Tao beamed.

“I got it! I actually got it!” I cheered.

“Got what, a good grade?” Aya asked.

“No! My affinity!”

They gasped then started a series of girly squeals and giggles. Aya pulled me into the bed and I got to talking.
“So, I went for a walk after talking with Govea. Dallas met up with me and it started to rain. I was thinking about wind, fire, water and earth then BOOM! Dallas told me to open my eyes and I saw it. My affinity are the Elements!”

“Ohmigawd! That’s so…. wait! That’s never happened before,” Tao said.

“I KNOW!” I squealed.

“I’m so happyyyy!” Aya giggled.

We shared a group hug and they showered me with kisses. Tao asked me to show them so I stood up and cleared my mind.

I thought of how fires blazed in the winter, thought about how my mother was so warming. I thought about how the wind whipped through my teal hair when I ran through the forest. I thought of the oceans I visited as a little girl, how I loved to swim in the summer. I thought of how my father showed me his affinity, how he was so connected to the outdoors. When I opened my eyes, I saw Tao and Aya with their mouths open.

Blazing fire was running up my arms and warming me up, a cool breeze whipped through the air and my hair lifted, I felt grass under my feet and could smell the outdoors, the sound of waves crashing filled my mind and I could feel the water like I was standing in the shower. This was actually happening.

“Holy—”

“—Shit.”

“I know, right?” I whispered.

I cut the thoughts out of my head and everything disappeared. No waves, no grass, no warmth, no shower. Aya had a single tear running down her cheek and Tao was radiating icy air off of her body.
“I’m so happy for you,” Tao gasped.

“As am I,” Aya cried.

They jumped up and wrapped their arms around me. I hugged them back while they talked over each other and squeezed me tighter. Tao let me go followed by Aya.
“Great job, Hun,” they said.

“Thanks. Now, let’s start this homework,” I smiled.

We sat down then worked on our laptops and textbooks. I got a text message but I was trying to concentrate. I looked over then saw it was Dallas.
Dallas: R u ok?
Me: Fine.
Dallas: I’ve had a gf b4, nd dat dosnt mean u r
Me: lol. I am. Rlly.
Dallas: Ok.
Me: I feel diff.
Dallas: good or bad?
Me: Great. Bc im not an outsider.
Dallas: lawl. That’s good.
Me: very.
Dallas: yeh.
Me: keep it up, I will burn U.
Dallas: nd I wll shoot U.

I let out little giggles and Tao and Aya looked at me.
“Spill,” Aya said.

“Okay. Dallas,” I said.

“Dallas?” Tao waggled her eyebrows at me.

“As in Dallas Ollier?! As in, Dallas the Mio (older, 19-25)?!”

“Yeh,” I smiled at Aya.

“Oh, how?! Please tell me how,” Aya pouted.

“He tried to kill me, we were smartasses, started running into each other, bam.”

“You said he was with you in the woods, right?” Tao asked.

“Yeh,” I said, “he was there.”

“Oh! Is that who you’ve been ditching us to go see?” Aya asked.

“No. I just go to the library or woods and, he’s just there. I promise I won’t keep secrets!”

“Good,” Aya and Tao said at once.

I felt my phone buzz again and they made faces. With a melodramatic eye roll, I texted Dallas back.
Dallas: Ight, I gtg.
Me: ok. Bai. Meet me @ library tmrw @ 5.
Dallas: Can’t. Goin to NYC.
Me: oh. Dam.
Dallas: I’ll b bck nxt, nxt Fri. Library @ 5.
Me: Kay. Bai.
Dallas: bye.

I sat my phone down then looked at the girls. They had thee biggest grins on.
“You’re gonna fuck,” Tao said in a singsong voice.

“No! We’re not even dating,” I scoffed.

“Just you wait,” Aya cackled.

We got back to our work then got in our pajamas. Tao and Aya led us downstairs then we plopped down on the couch for the Seahawks versus 49ers. After the game, I grabbed a brown pop and we headed to bed. I laid on my back thinking about my affinity. I mean, it’s great that I got something completely unique but, wouldn’t that put more pressure on me as a person? Ya know, people wanting my powers or wanting to stay on top of the totem pole.

Damn. It bothered me to think about someone using their powers against me. Brice and Lena explained that we were allowed to use them to spar, but not to kill. It was the same for animals. No killing dragons, just capturing them for Govea. Dallas was only allowed to kill minor animals like deer, squirrel and birds, he could shoot dragons but he had to make sure they didn’t die.

I checked my alarm clock and saw it was 10pm, sleep was not coming my way. To hell with this. I hurried to the bathroom then splashed water on my face and wiped my eyes. I was so fucking tired but I couldn’t get to sleep. Ughh! I finished in the bathroom then went back to bed but didn’t close my eyes. I had my face buried in the pillow with the covers tossed to the side. Ya know when you can’t get to sleep and everything becomes uncomfortable?

That was me at the moment. I tossed and turned for hours, sighing and blowing teal hair out of my face. The worst thing was it was nearing 12 and I had to get up at 6 for school. I rolled out the bed and gently fell on the floor next to Aya. The last thing I remember was moving her pink hair to the side.
====
I woke up with Tao blowing cool air into my bare legs. I jumped up then hit myself in the face with the corner of the bed.
“Shit!”

“Damn, girl,” Aya said.

“Come on. Tell us why you’re on the floor as we get dressed,” Tao smiled.

We got dressed and showered while I explained how I was restless and uncomfortable all night. We were walking to Ria. 42 and were talking about what the profs would think about me finding my connection.

My phone buzzed with a text from Dallas. He told me that he drove a red Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to NYC and it made me hella jealous. I told him I was in class but I promised to text him at lunch.

The first half of the day was super cool and fun, with professors congratulating me on my newly earned affinity. Lunch was hilarious because Tao froze my fries and I had to gnaw through them. In Art, Verc was telling me about how my painting was getting good reviews and could potentially be a winner. Math was fine since Kirsi decided to give us a new project due in a week.

Affinity hour came and I had to go visit Brice and Lena in the Earth Yard.
“Hello,” I smiled.

The young girl Anna tossed a rock at me and I swiftly caught it. She nodded her greeting and I met with Brice and Lena.
“Good afternoon, Eris,” Brice said while bowing his respect.

“Merry meet,” Lena added, bowing.

I bowed back and said “Hello” like an idiot.

“Now, we’ve made a deal with your father to have another courtyard built but we’ll need your consent,” Lena said.

“Oh. Okay. That’s actually very smart,” I said.

“This is a first that there’s been an affinity for all four elements, most only get one. So, this means that you’re truly a gift,” Brice smiled.

“Thank you. I… didn’t even know that this would happen to me. I expected myself to get, animals or something.”

“About that, any pet that you desire for your strength, one shall receive it.” Lena smiled at me.

“Really?”

Brice and Lena nodded at once. Awh, cool, I get my own?! Er… what represents all four elements? Uhm, nothing really. I mean…. I always wanted a really cute…
“Can I have a chinchilla?”

“Sure,” Brice answered.

Wow. I’ll name him Boing. (Isn’t it just so cute?) Brice and Lena told me that the Yard would be mine since I was the only one in the history with Elements as my affinity. I thanked them for their time then ran to my dorm just before the bell rung.

I hadn’t even been at Rianate for an entire week and I have best friends, amazing classes, an affinity no one has ever had before, a boy I have a crush on (crush, teehee), a chinchilla and…. I feel amazing. I wonder what other fun stuff might go down….
====
END OF PART 1
By any means necessary, ask me questions if something is confusing or unclear. So, this is just a stupid comment from me. Dallas has a pen fetish because I have a pen fetish, it’s really funny to write about. (Yes, I’m weird.)

Everything has a meaning in this story. I know there has to be a mistake somewhere and if you’re smart enough to catch it, leave it down below.

PM or comment suggestions and/or constructive criticism 🙂