Hi! I've been thinking about posting this story to Scratch for a while now, but I couldn't figure out how. Scratch projects are too hard to edit, which I'm constantly doing, so here this is: VI, my WIP novel. Enjoy and please give me feedback!

1. Tyler
Up and down. Up and down. The constant bouncing of my father’s tiny mustache is almost hypnotizing. “Thank you for allowing us to take some of your time this afternoon, Principal Lorenz,” he says. The principal nods. Of the many times I've come into this office over the years, this is the first time that I genuinely don't know what I did wrong. I mean, I've said I didn't know, but come on, who really believes that?
My mother clears her throat when she sees me looking at some award on the wall. I draw my attention back to the conversation. “I just don't think that this environment is right for Tyler. I mean, look what happened to all his friends! One moment they're wonderful, respectful boys, and the next they're all so morbid and everything. Black clothes, piercings, and that awful makeup.” She shudders and looks at me scathingly. Like I had anything to do with it. Well, maybe I did. I thought it would be funny to see Will as a goth, but how could that affect what happened?
This time the principal coughs, and I jolt back to reality. “As I was saying, I think the best course of action would be to send him to a certain military academy that I have seen excellent results from. I have a brochure for it here.” He pulls a dark grey pamphlet from a desk drawer. My parents look at it for a while before handing it to me. I flip through it, and find another boring reform school. I haven’t seen many, but it fits in with those I have looked at. Snore.
My mother looks at me expectantly. “Well? What do you think?” I try to put up the happy front she wants.
“It’s great, Mom. I think I’ll really like it there.” She smiles at me, and turns to the principal.
“When can he start?” The man across the desk from us pauses for a moment.
“Viamra Institute gets a late start this year due to some renovations. They resume school next week. I’ve spoken to the secretary already about removing you from your classes starting Monday the 26th so you can leave as soon as possible. I’ll send you an email with more details. Dismissed.” With that, the meeting is over and my fate is sealed.

2. Astra
I stare into the full-length mirror on the inside of my closet door. My long, black hair is somewhat tangled with the day’s events, and my dark eyes are small and weary at this hour. A small smile lies on my lips, or at least, until I look at the lower half of my body. Rage fills me as I stare at my braced ankles and thin legs, supported by my crutches. Bethlem myopathy, how I hate you. I think to myself as I turn away from the hated mirror. I can almost forget about my weakness unless I see myself as others do.
I’m just about to get all the way into bed when my phone beeps. I’m still not used to it being around. Sure I’ve had it for almost a year, but I spend most of my time at school where phones aren’t allowed. The message is from one of the four people it recognizes, my friend Gani. It’s a short text, and well written. I mean, how suspicious is a message saying, “Astra, let’s hang out Sunday. River of Time festival sound good? I’ll come pick you up around noon. -RR”
The tag at the end of the message makes me start. -RR means ‘Real Retrieval’. Most of the messages I’ve gotten end in “-RD” for ‘Retrieval Drill’. The board must trust my friends and I enough that they will let us bring something back to school. Something serious. What could it be?
I set the phone back on my nightstand and pull the covers over myself. It’s warm, but it’s not like school. I feel like that’s more of my home than this is. Oh well. I’ve got a retrieval in the morning and a need for sleep. I shut my eyes and let a wave of dreams take me over.

3. Conrad
My cane scans the sidewalk in front of me, checking for anything that might be in my way. I can hear the bustling streets around me, and yet not a single person is in my way. One of the perks of being blind. No one is rude to you. Unless you count Astra. Which I don’t.
I find the bumpy surface of the mat in front of a crosswalk and I quickly have the button beneath my hand. It tells me to wait several times, and then tells me that the walk sign is on. Cars stop on either side of me, and I make my way to the other side.
This is Washington Avenue, and I told Astra I’d meet her at the park, which is on 10th. I move down the street, which is substantially quieter than the one I just left, until I find something in front of me. I probe its edges with my cane and before I finish, someone speaks.
“Oh, I’m in your way. Terribly sorry about that.” The person moves away, and I continue. It’s not often I run into someone at all. I shrug off the memory of the encounter and continue on.

4. Aysel
I’m engrossed in my book when I hear Conrad coming. I don’t even have to look up to know it’s him. The soft tapping of his cane and the shush shush of his shoes are enough. I adjust my reading glasses and look up in time to see a pigeon flap out of his path. I open my mouth to say hello, but he beats me to it.
“Hello there, Aysel. What are you reading now?” I blush, and even though he can’t see it, I brush my hair out of my face.
“The next book in that series I told you about. You know, the one with the assassin and everything?” He smiles and nods. In an effort to change the subject to something other than what I’m doing or reading, I ask him another question. “How was it getting over here?”
His face goes blank. “It was all right. I ran into someone a couple streets over.” My jaw drops.
“Ran into, as in ran into? Not just heard or something, but ran into?” He nods, and I let out a low whistle. It’s not every day that someone doesn’t get out of Conrad’s way. Most people steer clear of him like he’s got some infectious disease and he might contaminate them.
Just as I begin mentally shaming those people I would never have the courage to blame face to face, a car pulls up, and out climb my two other best friends, Astra and Gani, already bickering.

5. Ganizani
Astra’s complaints leave my ears as I exit the car. I give a nod of thanks to my mother, and she drives off the instant Astra is outside.
“Why do I have to be picked up? I’m the same age as Conrad and I’ve had two more years of practice than him!” She falls into step beside me, crutches clicking on the stone-tiled ground.
I sigh and begin to walk towards the fountain in the middle of the park. “Astra, we’ve been through this a thousand times. Your powers may have manifested themselves earlier than Conrad’s, but he’s in sixth form and you’re still on third.” That shuts her up for a while.
The two of us reach the fountain and Aysel halts her conversation with Conrad. “Hi guys,” she says in her soft, nervous voice, “Conrad and I were just talking about the retrieval. What is it anyways, Gani?” Conrad turns towards me.
I clear my throat. “It’s a Nevalite. An eleven-year old boy named Tyler Bokori. We’re to pick him up as the last stop on the bus to school tomorrow. He thinks he’s going to reform school.”
Astra throws back her head and laughs. “Isn’t that what they all think? I mean, that’s Viamra’s cover, isn’t it? But, wow. A real person and not a drill or anything.”
Everyone shushes her at once. Luckily, there’s no one else in the park but an old man feeding the pigeons down by the far side of the jungle gym.
I lower my voice considerably. “All I’m saying is that I need everyone here to wear their school things for the first bit of the bus ride. After that, feel free to do whatever the heck you want, got it?” They all nod their assent, and I turn to go. The River of Time festival sounds good.

6. Tyler
Mom knocks on my bedroom door as I finish stuffing the last of my socks into the duffel bag I’m taking to the military academy. “Honey, the bus is arriving in fifteen minutes. Are you packed?”
“Yeah, I’m done,” I call back and she shuffles away downstairs. I steal one last glance at my phone before I leave my room. It’s too bad that this Viamra place has a no cell phones rule. How am I going to keep in touch with my friends? Life really hates me.
At the bottom of the stairs, I can see into the kitchen. Dad’s reading his newspaper, and Mom’s doing the dishes, glancing out the window every few seconds. I ditch my bag by the front door and enter the cheerily painted room which does nothing to improve my mood.
Dad looks up as I sit down and Mom puts a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. “Well Ty, this is your last breakfast at home. How do you feel? Nervous? Excited?” His tiny moustache quivers as he speaks. I give a noncommittal shrug and dig in.
Three eggs, seven strips of bacon and fifteen minutes later, Mom lets out a tiny squeak. “The bus is here!” I hurry to the front door and glance out the window. A gray charter bus sits outside, doors open. I give my parents a quick hug each and a promise to write every day which I won’t keep before I’m outside.

7. Astra
“He’s smaller than I thought,” I mutter to myself. Gani shushes me from the seat in front of me and stares out the window at the sandy-haired boy hauling his bag into the compartment on the underside of the bus. I can hear Aysel describing the new kid to Conrad in the seats behind me. All conversation stops the instant he gets in and takes the seat opposite me. The only sound is the soft whoosh of the doors closing. The boy breaks the silence first.
“Um. Hi. I’m Tyler.” His voice is high and nervous.
Gani nods. “We know. I’m Ganizani. These are Astra, Conrad, and Aysel, my friends.” The freckled boy waves at each of us in turn, but pauses on Conrad’s sunglasses.
“Uh, dude. You know you don’t need those in here, right? It’s not that bright.”
Conrad sighs and turns towards the button near his window. “Everyone good with switching?” he asks, and everyone but Tyler nods. I hear the button click, and all the seats turn to form two long benches stretching the length of the bus. Tyler’s eyes are wide as Conrad turns towards him. “I use these to avoid this.” My friend removes his glasses, revealing his pale blue, unfocused eyes. Tyler’s jaw drops.
“It’s rude to stare,” I say pointedly. The boy’s gaze rips back to me.
“Can he… Is he… blind?” Tyler’s faltering words elicit another sigh from Conrad.
“Just because I can’t see you doesn’t mean I can’t hear you. And yes, I am blind. I also happen to be a sixth form Talekessi, so I’d be careful of your words.”

8. Conrad
Tyler’s voice is confused. “What the heck is that?” I open my mouth to answer, but Gani beats me to it.
“Tyler, it’s time you found out what’s going on. You aren’t going to reform school.”
The boy’s voice is ecstatic, drawing out the ‘s’ at the end of the word.“Yes!”
Gani butts in again. “Viamra is a school for people with… certain abilities. There are five orders at the school, each dealing with a different part of the mind. You are a Nevalite, from the order of Nevalis, which means you can alter what people want. I am an Alimai, from the order of Alimat, which means I can change how you react to things. Conrad here, as he told you, is a Talekessi, from the order of Talekei, so he can mess with your memory. Aysel is a Sorconiot, from Sorcon, which deals in emotions, and Astra is a Banyxian, from the order of Banyx. She can control your perceptions.”
Tyler’s voice is low and I can almost hear the realization coming to him. “So that’s why they did that. Wow.”
As Gani asks Tyler about his first manifestation, I turn to Aysel. “Could you show me the way to the bathroom? I feel like they change it every year.” She takes my arm and leads me down the aisle until I reach the tiny door. “Thanks,” I tell her, “I really appreciate it.”
“Any time,” she replies, and hurries back to her seat to hear Tyler’s story.

9. Aysel
I take my seat and catch the tail end of Tyler’s tale of his first manifestation. I’m a little lost, but with some work I piece together something that seems possible, maybe even likely. Satisfied with my discovery, I prepare to delve back into my book when I catch sight of a leaf plastered to the window with our speed as we push onwards toward Colorado. I get up and grab my backpack from an overhead compartment, whipping out drawing supplies as fast as possible for the leaf may fly away at any moment.
I sink into my chair, pressing myself against the window for a better view. My pencil flies across the paper, sketching the leaf’s delicate edges and graceful veins that taper to nothing in merely a centimeter. When I’ve drawn the first pinpoint blemish, I look up to find that my subject has dropped away, probably almost a quarter mile behind the bus. I sigh, staring at the unfinished drawing.
I can’t keep going, because then my depiction wouldn’t be true to the leaf in all its imperfect glory. Recognizing defeat, I reach up to the overhead once more to put away my drawing supplies. As I fumble with the zipper, the sketchbook falls from my arms and lies on the floor, open to my most recent picture. Tyler picks it up and examines it, saying, “Wow Aysel. That’s really good,” as he hands it back to me. I blush at the praise, not wanting to say anything to this person I don’t know, and take my seat as Gani pulls a bag of chips out of his own bag.

10. Ganizani
I tear open the bag of potato chips with such force that they rocket across the bus. One lands on Astra’s lap, which she ignores, although I can tell she really wants to eat it. We share the liking of spicy foods, and the snack I brought with me is the extra spicy version.
Tyler picks up the one that landed next to him and asks, “Hey, what flavor are these?”
I grin. “Extra spicy.”
He pops it into his mouth, smiles, then his eyes widen. Tyler swallows hastily and says, “Extra spicy is right. How can you stand these?”
Astra butts in, still chewing on the chip she must’ve decided to eat. “How can you not stand them? They’re great!” I might not be Aysel with her mystical ability to know what other people feel and why they do things, but I know Astra wants to prove that she’s stronger than Tyler in as many ways as possible, even spice tolerance.
She stands up, swallows, and heads off to the miniscule bathroom at the back of the bus. By the time she returns, I’ve polished off the bag of chips and tied it in a knot to reduce the space it takes up. Tyler is staring at her openmouthed. I wince. This can’t be good.

11. Tyler
The words are out of my mouth before I can think about how they might make her feel. “What’s wrong with you?” Astra looks up, face scarlet. I put my hands up, trying to apologize. “I mean… Um… Well… Sorry?”
She glares at me. “Apology accepted.” We both know it isn’t. I wait until she’s begun fiddling with something in her bag before I try again.
“Look,” I say, taking a deep breath, “I’m really sorry about that. I guess it just all… I dunno, came out at once.”
Her gaze shifts upwards to me. “It’s fine. It happens a lot.”
“Really though, what happened?” I try a little harder to make the words sound nice.
She sighs and looks down. “Life happened.”
I shoot her a confused look. “No, seriously. I want to know.”
“I’m not kidding. Life happened.” Her words make me pause for a moment, wondering what on Earth she means.

12. Astra
Tyler’s face is blank. I take that as a sign I should continue. “It’s a genetic thing.”
“What?”
I sigh. “Bethlem myopathy. It is genetic, but it takes a long time before it gets serious. Mine started declining when I was nine. Mostly it makes my muscles, especially my legs, weaker and causes random contractions.”
“Contractions?” He looks curious.
“My muscles all bunch up and I can’t move them. It’s pretty random and annoying. However, it can be useful if one happens during a duel. I can’t step outside the circle, so that’s nice.”
Tyler’s curiosity seems to get the better of him. “Duel? What’s that?”
This time I grin. “Dueling is the most common sports at Viamra. It’s no fun to watch, but it pretty much determines rankings in terms of power and such.”
“So dueling, like with swords and stuff?”
I throw back my head and laugh. “No, silly! What kind of school do you think you’re going to, a sports academy? No, this kind of dueling is so much more fun. I’ll show you. Conrad, up for a duel?”

13. Conrad
At the sound of my name I turn my head towards Astra. “What’s that?” I ask, not really wanting to know.
Her voice is excited. “I was asking if you could duel with me, you know, to show Tyler.”
“What, right here?” It’s a terrible idea.
“Yeah, right here. Did you think I was going to stop the bus and go outside?”
I wouldn’t put it past her. “Do we have to do it right now? We’ve got about nineteen hours to do it.”
Her hand is already on my arm. “Aw, c’mon Conrad, don’t be such a party-pooper.” I sigh and reluctantly stand up.
“What are the boundaries?” I ask, wondering how on earth we are going to do this.
Gani interrupts the conversation. “I’ve got you covered. I know Astra loves to duel, so I brought this.” I hear the click of plastic sliding into place. Astra gasps.
“You bought your own? But Gani, how did you find that?” Instantly, I know what my oldest friend is holding. It’s a collapsible dueling hoop, folds up into a tiny block.
“Never mind how I got it, let’s do this!” He’s excited, and I wonder why. It’s not like this will be a huge match or something. There’s no doubt I’ll beat Astra. She’s only third form and has barely started non-visual perceptions. I smile faintly. Sometimes being blind isn’t so bad after all.
Gani sets up the hoop, and a soft hand on my elbow tells me that Aysel is guiding me to my place, as usual. I set my feet and prepare. “Three, two, one, go!” Gani’s voice brings me to the present.
I throw up my shield the second he says the word. I can feel Astra on the other side, trying in vain to get past it. It’s like she’s pressing herself against a chain link fence, trying to squeeze something through to the other side. I notice a faint burning smell and I can barely hear someone calling my name. I know she’s not in her area of comfort, visual perceptions, but she’s doing fairly well anyways. Astra starts to get tired, and the smells and sounds get weaker and weaker until they fade to nothing. I seize my advantage and thrust a memory of weakness and pain at her with all the strength I possess. She gasps and gives up entirely. I have won the duel.

14. Aysel
Astra staggers backwards into her seat with a gasp. Her crutches slide out several feet, hitting Conrad. He seems a little confused, so I put my hand on his to guide him down. The prolonged contact makes me flush.
My friend across the bus is furious at her loss. She’s muttering something, which I guess is similar to, “I’ll win next time. I am strong,” repeated over and over again. I feel a little bad for her since she’s always trying to prove that she is strong enough to be independent and Conrad pretty much wiped the floor with her.
Then, as if to prove she can be her own person, Astra stands up and reaches for her bag. She’s straining, and is nowhere near the navy blue duffel bag. She tries everything from jumping up and leaning on her crutches one-handed to swatting it down with a crutch. The latter only pushes it deeper into the compartment.
I bury myself behind my book, trying to ignore the scene in front of me like I know Astra would want me to. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Tyler staring at her. I squeeze my eyes shut as if bracing for the inevitable eruption of Mt. Astra.

15. Ganizani
“Need any help?” Tyler’s voice is like a knife through the silence. Astra has stopped trying. She hobbles over to him, lifting her feet from the floor by straightening her arms, which still grip the forearm crutches.
“What. Did. You. Say.” Her voice is doubly sharp and cold.
Tyler backs into the seat, hands in front of his face in a sign of surrender. “I only asked if you wanted help with that since…” He trails off.
“Well don’t. I don’t need help from you.” It’s as if she injects venom into the pronoun. With that, she whirls around, long hair nearly whipping his exposed face. Astra takes her place by the overhead compartment and resumes her attempts to reach it. This time, I show Tyler how it’s done.
I cross the narrow bus to her side and unlatch the compartment for her, then sit down. She ignores the gesture and continues her attempt to reach something within. I pull out a piece of paper. Within seconds, a note in my handwriting is upon it and flying across the bus towards Tyler.
The paper airplane zooms towards his face, and he snatches it out of the air. He unfolds it, reads what I’ve written, and smiles at me. I give him an encouraging nod.
He walks over and places the blue backpack in her arms before backing off slowly, hands in front of his face as if to deflect a blow. A good idea on his part what with the look Astra’s giving him.
I cross the bus and sit down next to him. “What’d I do wrong?” he asks innocently.
“Oh, you asked earlier, so she doesn’t like accepting it now. She holds grudges, watch out for that.” I reply.
A sigh of relief falls from his lips. “Okay. Adding that to my list of things I know about Astra. Goes along with ‘Never ask her for help’ and ‘Has a muscle thingy, forgot the name of that’.”
From the bench opposite us, Astra calls out, “It’s called Bethlem myopathy.”
Tyler nods. “Right. adding another thing. ‘Likes to correct people’.”
“I do not!” she says indignantly, “I just can’t stand it when people screw up their grammar or pronunciation!” Tyler laughs out loud, sees Astra’s death glare, and turns beet red.

16. Tyler
The bus is quiet. Everyone’s doing something except for Conrad and I. He’s just sitting there, and I’m looking out the window, trying to find something interesting to occupy myself. Clouds do get boring after a while. I press my face to the glass, straining my eyes to see something other than the same scenery that’s been flashing by for the entire trip.
I catch sight of my face and the rest of the bus reflected in the glass. When I look a bit closer, it seems like Conrad is staring right at me. Of course, I know he can’t see me or anything, but still, maybe he would be up to answering the bazillion questions flying around my head like pinballs.
“Hey, Conrad.” No one flinches, Conrad included. I try again, louder this time. “Conrad.” Still nothing. “Conrad? You awake?” This time he jerks his head a little bit.
“What’s that Tyler?” He seems completely unfazed by the fact that just called his name three times before he responded.
“I was wondering, could you answer a few questions I have about school? They’re bouncing around my head right now and it’s driving me nuts.”
He smiles serenely. “Of course. Ask away.”
“All right. Umm…” I pause, trying to think what to ask first. Eventually, I settle on one that keeps coming back, no matter what I do. “What were you doing just now?”
His smile widens. “Homework.”
“How is that homework? You were just sitting there. Did you fall asleep or something?”
“No, I was awake the entire time. Just concentrating hard. At Viamra, none of your classes will be normal for your first term. I mean it. No math, no English, no science, none of that. Just honing your powers. Homework over vacation is always to practice using your powers, within the limits of course.”
I grin back at him. No regular classes! This place was epic! “Sweet!” I say, more to myself than to him.
He nods. “Yes, I suppose you could say that. Anything else? I thought you said you had a lot of questions.”
“Right. Okay. Umm…” I pause again, searching my head for the next most pressing question. “How’s the food?”

17. Astra
I didn’t even realize I was listening to Conrad and Tyler’s conversation until I answered the question. “It’s great, provided that you don’t mind trying new things. What was the last dinner, Gani?”
Gani’s looking up along with Aysel. “I think it was some kind of Russian stew, forgot what it’s called.”
Conrad nods before interjecting. “Borscht, I think. And Astra’s right. You have to be open to trying all sorts of stuff. Each day, the food is from a different country. Of course, you get to a specific country about once every 200 days, so you’d have to wait a while if you really like something.”
“There’s generally something in every meal that’s really good.” . Aysel’s talking. That’s surprising. She doesn’t even know Tyler yet.
Tyler nods thoughtfully. “Okay. Cool. Hey, I thought I was talking to Conrad, not all you guys.”
A laugh ripples around the bus. “Just roll with it,” I tell him, “Nothing is exclusive with us. That includes conversations.”

18. Conrad
“Astra’s right. Nothing’s private.” The words fall from my lips like rain. “Not just within our group. Don’t bother trying to lie to half our teachers. Got any other questions?”
Cloth rustles as he shifts in his seat. “Umm… Sure. If we don’t have regular classes, what classes are there?”
Once again, Astra steals my answer. “Lots. It depends on what form you’re in and your order.” I clear my throat in an attempt to take the question back. It does nothing, of course. “I mean, there’s only a few classes that everyone takes. Shielding is the only one I can think of. I know there’s more. Also, you get a few normal classes after your first term. Kinda annoying.”
“Retrieval is for everyone in an area,” Gani adds in his strangely deep voice.
“Retrieval?” Tyler’s curiosity jumps out at me. “What’s that?”
“It’s how we got you, Tyler. Retrieval is assigned to all the students who live in the same general area. You go through about a year of drills before the board lets you pick up someone for real.” It’s clear that Gani’s trying to simplify this as much as possible. Tyler however, still doesn’t get it.
“So you guys came to get me. Why all the classes and drills? Not the machine things, you get my point. Seems simple enough.”
I let out a sigh. “Tyler, we need the classes and drills so you are the only one who has any idea what Viamra really is. What would your parents do if they knew you weren’t going to military school but attending a magic academy?”
“Um… Flip out and tell the police? Oh, right. That’s not good, is it.”
I nod. “Exactly. Trust me, it took a long time for the board to deem us good enough to get you. One tiny mistake, and it’s over. I’d appreciate it if question time ended. It’s rather hard to practice shielding with distractions.” With that, the bus falls silent and I can finally have some peace.

19. Aysel
“Don’t you think that might have been a little harsh?” I ask Conrad.
He shrugs. “I did what I had to. It’s hard to concentrate with all that noise.” With that, our discussion is over. I turn my attention from Conrad to the other people on our bus.
Tyler’s fidgeting so much I think he might be about to fall out of his seat. I can tell he’s practically burning with questions he wants answers to. He sits on the other side of Conrad, the side I’m not occupying and is slightly farther away from my good friend than I am. I wonder why that is. Perhaps he is intimidated by Conrad, who can certainly come off that way to someone who doesn’t know him, or maybe he is like most other people who think blindness is contagious. I had hoped not, but if this is true, I may have to deal with another bigot. His gaze meets mine, and I blush while trying to look away as quickly as I can.
My eyes rest on Gani, who has moved back across the bus from his place next to Tyler. He is calm as usual, gazing out the window in the way he does whenever he’s deep in thought. I’d have thought he’d be talking with Astra in an attempt to get her to make up with Tyler, but no. I bet he’s busy trying to come up with a different way to solve the problem instead.
I look at Astra, massaging her hand. She stops when she sees me watching her and scowls. I know she doesn’t like it when anyone sees her trying to get stronger since she thinks we’ll judge her for it. Of course, I don’t, but others might, so her concern may be valid. Astra’s somewhat of an enigma to me, what with her constant fear of seeming weak and conflicting reliance on others for everything. All of this put together makes a puzzle that I’m still missing half the pieces to. I sigh. Perhaps I’m not meant to understand her.

20. Ganizani
The rest of the trip flies by. Not too much talking, and Tyler gets excited when Conrad pushes the button to fold the seats around into beds. The curtain dividing the bus in two is drawn and the rumbling bus lulls me to sleep. By the time I wake up, the sun is rising over the Colorado foothills. I glance at my watch. Only about an hour until we arrive at Viamra.
I look around my side of the bus to see if everyone’s awake. Conrad’s sitting up, not doing anything, as normal. Tyler’s fidgeting and looking out the window nervously. “Hey Tyler. What’s up?” He whips around and puts a finger to his lips.
Astra’s annoyed voice issues from behind the billowing curtain. “Look who’s finally up.” She rips back the curtain with one hand, steadying herself against the seats with the other. “I’ve been up for hours, and Aysel was awake when I got up. Dunno how long Conrad’s been sitting there, he never makes noise. Mr. Nosypants over here started firing off questions fifteen minutes ago, that’s how I knew you were still sleeping.”
Tyler blushes. “All I did was ask who was awake.”
“Yeah, well you were super loud and stuff. Dunno how you slept through it, Gani.”
I grin. “My mother says I sleep like a log. I suppose that’s true.”
Astra barely smiles as she mutters, “And snores like one being cut open with a chainsaw.”

21. Tyler
The rest of the bus ride is a blur. Until we get to Black Hawk, that is. The large, black hawk decoration above the entrance makes me smile, and I’m not sure why. The bus slows down considerably for pedestrians, and I get a chance to see that the town is really tiny. Seriously, there’s fewer buildings in the place than I can see from the river back home.
Home. The thought strikes my gut with a pang of longing. Before I can slip into a montage of nostalgia, a gentle hand is on my shoulder.
“Relax. You’ll be fine.” Gani’s soothing voice washes over me, erasing all nerves I might have worked up. “I’m sure your Robert guy will be okay.” I turn around and smile at him.
“Thanks man.” He smiles, then his eyes go wide at something out the window.
I follow his gaze and see the coolest castle ever around the bend. I look back at the city, nothing more than a collection of rainwashed lights now. A low whistle escapes my lips at the sight of soaring towers and archways. The large gate at the entrance is probably the only modern thing in the entire building, practically new in comparison with the ancient, jet black stone.
“Welcome to Viamra Institute,” Astra says from across the bus. I turn to look at her, and see that her eyes are fixed to the Hogwarts-ish school as mine will be in the next five seconds.

22. Astra
The bus stops outside Viamra’s inky walls, and Tyler’s jaw drops. I don’t blame him. It’s pretty impressive, with five turrets that soar ov black ramparts. The sky is just beginning to lose its dark veil of night, wreathing the castle in an aura of light. I’m home. I think to myself. The still-wet pavement is slick, and I can’t quite reach my bag while staying upright. I struggle for a moment before Gani pulls it out so he can get to his stuff in the back.
By the time I get to the massive front doors, Aysel’s already called up to be buzzed in and the secretary’s voice is crackling over the intercom. “All right, I’m letting you in. You’ll have plenty of time before the welcoming dinner.” I scoff. Understatement. We’ve got almost the entire day. The doors creak open, revealing a small courtyard paved in iridescent stones. Five plum trees stand at each corner, the last blossoms still clinging to their branches.
We make our way to the building directly across from the entrance where our rooms are. Tyler stops midway to our destination. “Wait, where are we going?”
Gani laughs and pats him on the back. “Sorry, should have gotten you a map. The dorms are this way. Come on.” Tyler follows, still staring at everything in sight.
“You’ll be living here most of the time now, you’ll have plenty of time to stare at stuff. Now come on!” I beckon to Tyler, and he hurries over, duffle bag dragging along behind.

23. Conrad
The halls of Viamra’s dormitories are as familiar to me as my own home back in Michigan, over a thousand miles away from this place. I ascend the stairs quickly in an effort to reach the comfort of my room. Counting the steps from the top of the stairs, I walk along the halls, dodging the occasional package already waiting for one of my classmates. After the forty-first step, I stretch out my right hand to feel for a wall and transfer my cane to my left palm. I feel along the wall for the plaque that marks room number 334 with the numerals in standard and braille writing. I hit a doorframe and feel for the cardlike slip of plastic. Sure enough, I have reached my room. I shove my hand into the back pocket of my pants and pull out a key, unlocking the door in what feels like no time at all. It swings open, and I inhale the scent of drying peonies by the window.
Ten steps forward, three to the left, then two more in the opposite direction I came in take me to my bed. I sit down and remove my sunglasses, placing them on the nightstand exactly a fifteen inches to my left. Then I lay back, cool pillow on the exposed back of my neck, thinking of more ways to reinforce my mental walls. Astra was able to slip a few sounds and smells into my head before I defeated her, and that is a serious issue. Perhaps if I… my train of thought vanishes into the sunrise, leaving me behind in a cloud of sleepy smoke. My eyes close, and I drift into a dreamless sleep.

24. Aysel
I open the door to my Viamra room and inhale deeply. The yellow poppies on my nightstand have wilted slightly in the week I’ve been gone, pale petals strewn across the light wooden tabletop. Astra is already seated on her bed, removing her crutches and braces. She flops back with a sigh.
“You know, this place is starting to feel more like home than my house!”
I nod and respond, “I agree. It’s almost,” I pause for a moment and think about the way everything is. “Sad.”
She sits up and looks at me inquisitively. “What? How is it sad?”
I plop down on the bed opposite hers. “Well, it’s like we’re leaving our old lives behind.”
Astra shrugs. “Meh, my old life sucked anyways. Besides, this place is way better. Remember that joke day last year when we totally got Gani? That was epic!”
I nod with a sigh, knowing that at this rate, the conversation won’t switch back to my topic for another century.

25. Ganizani
After I show Tyler to his room, I enter my own to find Conrad dozing on his bed. He’s a heavy sleeper, so it takes a little prodding to wake him.
“Conrad?” I ask tentatively, “Are you awake?”
My friend rolls over. “I am now. What time is it?”
“Six-ten. You were only out for about three minutes or so.”
Conrad sits up and puts on his sunglasses again, but not before I catch a glimpse of his eerily blank eyes. A shiver runs down my spine. No matter how many times I see him like that, it still gives me the creeps. “Good,” he says, “It hasn’t been too long. I should probably…” he trails off into silence.
I let him sit that way for a while before posing a question. “Want to go help Tyler get settled in?”
He shrugs. “In a bit. I need to figure out how Astra got through my wards. It just isn’t right. There must be something… No, it couldn’t be that. Gani, do you think Astra’s fear of losing helped her infiltrate my mind?”
I pause to think about it before responding, “It’s possible. Ms. Dhala said that emotions can make it easier or harder to get through someone’s barriers, but it’d have to have been really strong emotions to provide any significant advantage.”
He nods, pensive. “I’d wager her emotions were riding higher at that moment than usual. She really wanted to win. Even I knew that, which is saying something. You go on over to Tyler’s, I’ll join you in a bit.”
I nod and reply, “Sounds good. I’ll have him leave the door unlocked. It’s roughly six steps across the hall.” With that, I let myself out and into the room just across the way.

26. Tyler
Someone knocks on the door, and I open it up to find Gani. “Hey!” he says, “I thought I’d help you get settled in and whatnot. Is that okay? Conrad will be over in a bit.”
“Yeah, sure,” I reply, “It’s fine by me. I don’t want to unpack until Robert shows up since I’m not sure what he wants to do.” Gani nods and begins looking around the room as I stare out the window. After five minutes or so of awkward silence, someone opens the door and walks in, hand on the wall as a sort of guide. Gani hurries over and helps his roommate navigate the small hallway.
Conrad leans his cane against the wall and sits on my bed. Or at least I think it’s mine. Not sure until Robert shows up. “Hello there, Tyler,” he says without looking at me, “I’m glad you like your room.” A puzzled expression crosses my face.
“How did you…” is all I get out before he butts in with an explanation.
“The rules say we aren’t allowed to use our powers at school unless our friends have given their consent, or it’s joke day. They also say not to use them outside of school. While school may not have started yet, we’re technically within the school boundaries, making the consent rule effective. Therefore what I found in Tyler’s mind was legal, since he said it was okay sometime before school let out.”
Gani bursts out laughing and drops to the floor, still shouting with mirth. “Okay… Conrad,” he says between breaths, “I… think… you’ve just become my favorite person ever! That’s an excellent loophole!”
I spring up, with an enraged look I know is ridiculous. “Hey! What about me?” Gani stops and takes one look at me before dissolving into laughter again. I grin.
Then I see Conrad, who probably is really confused about everything by now. He’s still sitting on the bed, gazing at nothing in particular like on the bus. Gani’s stopped laughing by now, and he notices what I’m looking at. He puts a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. When he does that, he’s just practicing. He probably knows what just happened.”
Conrad turns to face us. “That I do. Sorry if I seem like I’m not paying attention. I can hear you very well, I assure you. Now, Gani, could you show me the bathroom?” My new friend nods and takes Conrad’s hand, leaving me pretty much alone in my new room.

27. Astra
I’m dwelling in the land of memories when the seven a.m. breakfast bells start ringing. My stomach rumbles; I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night. Aysel’s already off down the staircase without me. Again. I let out a not-entirely-self-pitying sigh and begin redoing my braces.
A minute and a half later, I’m in the iridescent courtyard, light bouncing off the puddles and into my eyes. I catch sight of a lone, faded plum blossom sitting in a small pool and consequently don’t pay attention to the placement of my crutches. One step in and bam. I’m on the ground, semi-covered in water.
I struggle to get up for a moment, then redouble my efforts as Tyler leaves the dorms. I can’t let him see me like this. I can’t be vulnerable. I have to be strong and independant. I can do this. The mantra repeats in my head and I try with every fiber of my being, but to no avail. I’m still stuck when at last he reaches me. He opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, then shuts it abruptly and pushes one of my crutches upright. He tried to help me. I knew it. I’m stronger than this, and I don’t need his help. I give him my patented Astra death-glare and he backs off, hands in front of his face.
“What’d I do? Never mind, I know the answer to that.” Tyler rushes off towards the dining hall like I’m chasing him. I wish I could.

28. Conrad
The doors to the dining hall open, and someone walks in, breathing hard. No, not someone, Tyler. He plops down into the open seat next to me and starts talking. “Astra… puddle… helped… ran…”
“Slow down,” I say, “No one can understand you if you talk like that.”
He takes a few deep breaths before responding, “Astra fell in a puddle and got stuck. So I helped her and then she got mad at me, so I ran here.”
On the other side of Tyler, Gani laughs. “Of course she got mad at you! You helped her! Anyways, you didn’t ask this time, did you?”
“No,” Tyler says indignantly, “I just pushed one of her crutches up.”
Gani is back to being serious. “Next time, just kick it like you don’t care. That works better. Trust me.”
“Okay,” Tyler replies, almost defiantly, “I can do that.”
In the same instant he finishes his sentence, the dining hall doors open again, this time pulled by the automatic system. The room is silent apart from footsteps approaching the table, the slow dripping of water, and soft clicks of rubber-coated metal on stone tiles.

29. Aysel
Astra makes her way towards our table, determination sparkling in her eyes. She glares at Tyler as she slides into the seat next to me. The few other people in the dining hall resume their conversations. Most people know to stay out of Astra’s way when she’s mad. My friend grabs her fork and begins stabbing pieces of bacon like they’ve all murdered her family. Or maybe she’s just imagining they all have Tyler’s face. Knowing her, it’s probably the second option.
Gani and Conrad have started up a conversation across Tyler, but he likely doesn’t notice as it’s Astra he’s watching. She keeps her attention resolutely on the bacon, deliberately not to acknowledging his presence. Astra does that quite a lot when she’s angry, although I can’t think why.
I break from my reverie as Conrad says my name. “…Aysel’s the only one who knows. I have no idea whatsoever.”
I lean over and place a hand on the small of his back. “What do I know that you don’t?”
Gani shrugs, “Ask Conrad. He’s the one who came up with the idea in the first place.”
I turn to my friend. “What is it?” I ask, trying to keep calm as he turns to face me.
“It’s simple. You know how everyone feels no matter how hard they try to hide it. I have a theory that it’s us quiet people who notice stuff like this, but I’m at a severe disadvantage where emotions are concerned.” He gestures casually to his sunglasses as if he doesn’t mind, but the way his eyebrows move slightly off to the side tells me he really does.

30. Ganizani
Astra leaves the dining hall the instant she finishes her bacon, Aysel following as soon as she won’t seem too concerned.
When the doors close, Tyler blurts a question. “Why does she hate me so much?” No one has to ask to know who he’s talking about. Conrad shrugs, and I place a hand on his back.
“It’s not that she hates you, she hates that she needed you.” I try to make the sentence as clear as possible, but it doesn’t work.
“What? That makes no sense. Kinda like how my Aunt Emmy keeps wearing makeup even though it does nothing to hide her age. Sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I.”
Conrad lets a sigh. “Astra wants to be completely independent.”
Tyler snorts rather rudely. “Gee, I’ve never would have guessed.”
“Let me explain. She wants to be independent, like I said. She wants it so much that she tries to discourage people from helping her by being rude when they do. It’s fairly normal for her. Astra’s a complicated person, and the only one who gets her best is Aysel,” With that, Conrad’s explanation is complete, and all there is left to do is hope Tyler understands at least a little more than he did.

31. Tyler
After Conrad’s explanation, which really doesn’t help me at all, I reach the point in my meal where I would usually whip out my phone and check my texts. My hand goes instinctively to my back pocket, but finds nothing but empty air. That’s when I remember I don’t have my phone. Well, I don’t have it with me. It’s technically still mine, but it’s about a thousand miles away. Lot of good that does me. Then it dawns on me to ask about the crux of the matter.
“Gani?” I ask, prodding him slightly, “Why aren’t we allowed to have phones?”
He looks over at me quizzically, “Sorry, what did you say? I missed that.”
“I asked why we can’t have phones here. Do you know?”
Understanding creeps into his smile. “Ah, that’s a good question. I’m guessing it’s because lots of power in one place tends to short that kind of stuff out. In the kitchens, it’s fine since no one’s using a lot of power, but everywhere else isn’t as devoid of it. Also, I think the kitchens have some kind of wards that keep everything from blowing up.”
That makes no sense whatsoever. “Wait,” I say, “if that’s true why didn’t my phone die when I made all my friends be weird and stuff?”
“It takes a lot of energy to do something like that. For your first manifestation, you’d have to be insanely strong to get any response like that. Usually they die when at least three people are working together or in close proximity, or if there’s one person but they’re really strong.”
I still don’t quite get it, but what the heck. “Okay, I guess that makes sense. But why make it a rule instead of just letting people figure it out themselves?”
Gani laughs. “Would you like it if your phone spontaneously died for a reason no one told you about but they knew all along?” When I shake my head he adds, “Exactly. The board would get in a lot of legal trouble if they didn’t warn people about it.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I reply, “they just don’t want us keep-in-tech!” Gani is utterly confused until I say, “It’s a pun. Keeping tech/keep in touch. Get it?”
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry Tyler, but that’s really, really bad.” I do see a small hole in his façade, however. Beneath his mournful frown is the hint of a barely suppressed giggle.

32. Astra
I stand at the elevator in the dorms, pressing the button for up furiously when Aysel shows up. She looks around a bit before making a beeline for me. “Hi Astra.” I only grunt in response, focusing on the plastic circle that refuses to light up. “The elevators aren’t working since school hasn’t really started yet.”
Her words confirm my almost-fears and I let out a sigh. “Stairs are the worst.”
She steps closer and puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be fine. I have to use the bathroom. Meet you upstairs?” I nod and start toward the dreaded steps. It’s a relief that she didn’t offer to help me when she knows perfectly well I can manage. Sort of.
Five minutes later, I’m standing at the top of the stairs, cursing whoever decided to deactivate the elevator. A door opens a tiny bit down the hallway. A door with the handpainted number 361 on it. Of course, that means Aysel’s opened the window which I don’t understand seeing as it’s about 40 degrees outside. I hurry over to see why.
From the doorway, it’s pretty hard to tell why Aysel’s staring at the open window, but as I move closer, it’s pretty obvious. She’s reaching out for the plum trees a foot away from the windowsill, straining for the tiny blossoms. The swaying branches make that pretty darn hard. I plop down on my bed, not really caring about where my crutches land as I toss them aside. She looks over and smiles, then goes back to her flower-catching attempts.

33. Conrad
After we finish breakfast, Gani, Tyler, and I return to my room to wait for lunch and Robert’s hopefully prompt arrival. I slip off my shoes inside the threshold and put away my cane. I know this room well enough by now. The soft carpeting brushes my feet as I cross to my bed. Gani passes me and opens the curtains, metal on metal sending a rasping, rising sound through the room.
Everything is quiet for a while, then Tyler breaks the blessed silence as easily as he would snap a toothpick. “Hey, when do we go back? I feel kinda homesick already.”
“That will be explained at dinner tonight,” I respond, “The head does a better job of explaining it than we can.”
“Uh… sure. I can wait.” Tyler’s happiness seems almost forced. “So you said dueling is like rankings. How exactly does that work?”
I can almost hear Gani smiling. “Well, let’s check out the standings.”

34. Aysel
Once I finish catching and then sketching the single plum blossom, Astra and I make our way towards the monitors holding duelling standings at the midpoint of the boys and girls dormitories. By now, people have started to arrive, and we pass a few of them on our way. I don’t recognize everyone, mostly because Astra whisks us along so quickly.
By the time we’re at the monitors themselves, I’m a little short of breath and so is Astra, but I know she wouldn’t like me pointing it out. I take a look at the triple screens and scan the columns for my name, or that of anyone I know. Conrad’s number six, not surprising. I blush at the very thought. Gani’s thirty-first, and I’m one place above Astra in two hundred seventy-nine. Out of curiosity, I glance at the lowest places, and my suspicions are confirmed. Tyler, along with the twenty or so other new students, are all tied for five hundred and sixth place.
Just as I’m wondering what Astra will do to beat me and take my spot, a voice floats towards me. “Ah, speak of the devil! Astra!”

35. Ganizani
Astra spins around faster than I thought possible. The burning anger in her eyes scares me a little as she advances on Tyler. “Devil?” Her sneer is the opposite of the fire in her gaze.
Tyler backs off, hands raised in front of his face. “It’s just an expression, calm down. Sheesh, it’s not like I did something bad or anything.” She grimaces and whirls around again, taking extra care to whip the offender’s face with her mane of black hair. Astra hurries off down the hall without a backwards glance, and Aysel follows, shooting an apologetic look behind her.
I’m watching their retreating backs when Tyler sighs from behind me. “Wow. She really hates me.”
I pat him on the back. “It’s fine. She gets mad really fast anyways. Don’t sweat it. I promise I won’t let her kill you.”
His eyes go wide. “She would do that?”
Conrad nods. “Yes, she would. Actually, she probably wouldn’t, but she would love to at times.”
Tyler starts to say something, but stops as a pair of girls approach, stare at the standings for a bit, then leave.

36. Tyler
My heart is pounding in my chest. Oh shoot. Oh shoot. Oh shoot. That girl was seriously… Oh shoot. Oh shoot. I can feel my face reddening at the thought. I know people who’ve felt like this about a girl before, but I’d always assumed I was kinda immune to all that stuff. Until now.
Gani’s stifled laughter breaks me from my reverie. “Another one’s fallen prey to her charms.” He pats me on the back. “Nice one.”
I turn to look at him. “Who was that?”
He grins. “Serena Li, fourth form Sorconiot. And before you ask, she is going out with someone.”
I can’t stop myself now. “Who?”
My tall friend shrugs. “Some girl at a normal school. Before you ask again, I did mean to say girl.”
My mind freezes. “So she’s…”
Conrad turns to me. “Yes, she is. If you have a problem with that, feel free to tell her so.”

37. Astra
It’s nice not being the last one to the dining hall, and an especially nice way to end my first day back at Viamra. The doors are still open and people are still entering when I get there. It takes me a little longer to scan the room for my friends, but I find them eventually. As I push through the crowds, I can’t help but glance at Viamra’s motto engraved in the wall. Mens lux frangit noctis. The words are as familiar to me as- I stop thinking about that for a moment as Gani hails me from the table.
There’s another person sitting next to Tyler across the way. I slide onto the end of the bench, and my sandy-haired nemesis whispers to the new kid. I nudge Aysel. “Who’s that?”
She turns from her conversation with Conrad. “Tyler’s roommate. Robert, except he likes to be called Rob. That’s all I know.”
I give her a nod of thanks and look at the two boys. The kid- Rob, notices my gaze and sticks out his hand. “Hi. I’m Rob. Tyler’s roommate.”
Well, his timing sucks. Not very easy to shake hands when you’re trying to fix your shoe. I give him a nod instead. “Astra.”
He shoots Tyler a glance, who shrugs. “She’s weird like that.”
That does it. “I am not weird!” I say loudly, “You just can’t expect me to shake hands while I’m fixing my shoe!” Gani snickers, and I glare at him before resuming the fixing of my stubborn shoe.

38. Conrad
Only minutes after Astra’s outburst, the dining hall falls silent. The only sounds are small coughs or rustles. “Thank you,” says the headmaster, Mr. Hawkins, “Welcome to our new students and welcome back to those who are returning. For those of you who don’t know me or have managed to forget who I am, my name is Mr. Hawkins, your head of school.” Little waves of laughter roll around the room.
“Now, the new students will spend tomorrow as an orientation, and those who know how it works here will have an extra day to catch up with their friends.” At this, the room is filled with joyous noises peppered with little groans from the new people, Tyler and Rob included.
Everything goes quiet again. “Moving on to slightly more interesting subjects. Your schedules will be handed out tomorrow at lunch as well as new editions of the student handbook so there can be no mistaking rules for rumors. The duelling standings have already been posted, and the first duels will begin tomorrow as our new ranking software isn’t quite what it needs to be. I encourage you all to continue Viamra’s best and only organized sport.” More laughter fans out.

39. Aysel
Everything is quiet in the dining hall as we start another meal. It seems strange that we’re all silent when usually I can’t find room to hear myself think. Although this is a fairly regular occurrence, I still feel rather odd. Tyler and Rob are still piling their plates with food I’m pretty sure they won’t be able to eat, and Gani’s helping out Conrad. Astra… well… She’s just glaring at the insanely hungry boys across the table.
As my tongue is hit with strange spices, I wonder what could make her hate the two of them so much. Tyler offered to help, so I can understand her logic with him, but Rob’s attempted handshake couldn’t have done that much, could it? Maybe it’s the fact that he seems so close to Tyler, but even the two of those combined seems like it wouldn’t be enough for her wrath.
My teeth connect with something hard that is definitely not their opposite. I raise the napkin from my lap to my mouth and spit out the tiny flat bone. I guess that’s what happens when I’m thinking about my friends rather than my food.

40. Ganizani
After dinner, my small cluster of friends walks back to our dormitories amid the torrent of cold students. The wind whips my face, and I shiver a bit. Going from summer in Michigan to fall in Colorado is a big adjustment. Tyler’s face is screwed up as we walk directly into the breeze, and it looks like he might be constipated or something.
“Um, Tyler?” I say, tapping him on the shoulder, “Is something up?”
He opens his eyes and nods. “Yeah. I know I can change what people want and stuff, but I can’t do it for some reason. Do you think that maybe it was just a one time incident and maybe I’m not a Nevalite?”
I smile, doing my best to reassure him. “Tyler, I’m sure you still have your power. You just don’t know how to call on it is all.”
Tyler still looks worried. “Yeah, but what if I never had power in the first place? What if you made a mistake? What if you picked the wrong person?”
I pat him on the shoulder, hoping it will help. “Tyler, there’s no way we could’ve gotten the wrong person. Trust me, Conrad’s mom felt you, not someone else. She’s never wrong.”
His worry turns to confusion. “What? Conrad’s mom? What does she have to do with anything?”
“Conrad’s mom is a very powerful Banyxian. She can detect power, like most really strong people. She’s the way Viamra finds a lot of the people with powers since she can sense things almost fifty miles away. It’s really impressive, but she did graduate after all.”
“So,” he says as we enter the hall, “are all people who graduate that strong?”
I nod and steer him away from the girls’ staircase. “Most people graduate in time to go to college, and they range from sixth form to… I think one person was in twelfth at some point. Anyways, most people are super strong, so yeah, I guess they are.”
Tyler nods and falls back to talk with his roommate, leaving me alone, or as alone as anyone can be while surrounded by fellow students.

41. Tyler
The instant Rob and I get back to our room, I claim the first shower. I know I don’t really need it since I didn’t do too much active stuff today, but I still like the feeling of warm water drumming on my back. Once I’m in said shower, I mull over the day’s events, including my first, awkward meeting with Rob. If I remember correctly, it went something like this:
I enter to find him sitting on the bed closest to the door and farthest from the little balcony. He’s a little taller than I am, and his reddish-brown hair is messy. I can’t see his eyes because of the glare on his glasses.
“Hey,” he says, leaning back a bit, “I’m Rob. You’re Tyler, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. So, you want this bed?”
He shrugs. “If it’s cool with you.”
I look at him in mock amazement. “Cool? I’m freezing!”
“That was an awful pun,” Rob says through shouts of laughter.
I grin. “Sure was,” I point at his shirt. “What team is that?”
Rob puffs up his chest proudly. “Wyoming State Cowboys. Best team there is.”
I shake my head. “Wolverines are better.”
He nods in comprehension. “Ah. You’re from Michigan, then?”
“You bet,” I say, “and you came from Wyoming. Never met someone from there. Until now, that is.”
Patting me on the back with almost enough force to knock me over, he says, “Well, you’ve just met your first Wyomingite.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Is that really what I’m supposed to say? Sounds kinda weird.”
He shrugs. “It’s the official thing or whatever. Honestly, I couldn’t care less.” I laugh at this.
Yeah, Rob and I are going to be good friends. I know that for certain by the time I’m wrapped in a towel, waiting for Rob to finish using the bathroom so I can grab my clothes again.

42. Astra
After dinner, I find the elevators fully operational. There’s a bit of a line, but I make my way to the front and hop in the instant the doors open. In what feels like no time in comparison with the tedious, pain-filled climb up the stairs, I’m outside my room and unlocking the door.
Once inside, I go to set the room key down on my desk when I drop it. I bend to pick it up. Halfway through standing up, I realize I can’t move. I strain, pushing on the arms of my crutches, but to no avail. I am stuck. Totally and completely immobilized. All I can see is the tan carpeting less than a foot from my face. Every second feels like a minute, and every minute feels like an hour. Each sound and sight and smell and feeling seems like it’s been magnified. After a stretch of time, I begin to worry that I’ll never get back up. I worry that someone might walk into my room and see me here, stuck upside down. It feels like I’ve been in the same position for at least an hour when a gentle pair of hands push down on my tailbone and raise my chest. The pressure disappears as quickly as it came, and I am now able to move freely once more.
I place the key on the desk and drop my crutches as I fall over onto my bed, sighing as I meet the soft covers. My braces follow the hated pieces of metal within seconds. I close my eyes and drift off into dreamless sleep.

43. Conrad
I am in the middle of adding another layer to my mental shields when someone knocks on the door. Hearing the soft snores of a sleeping Gani, I realize that I must face this task on my own. I stand up from my chair, take three steps to the right, then twelve forward until the doorknob is in my hands. I place my hand on the handle and call softly, “Who’s there?”
A frantic whisper answers. “It’s me, Tyler. Open the door!” I do so, and he enters, shutting it behind him. I am about to ask why he’s here, when he says, “Rob has a serious snoring problem. I mean it. Listen, you can almost hear it from here!”
I nod. “I thought that was the buses leaving for fuel.” I respond, trying to gauge his position.
Tyler sighs. “Well, it’s not. It’s crazy. Can I sleep here tonight? I have my pillow and I can just sleep in a chair if that’s fine with you.”
That’s when I realize why he seemed to be moving more than normal. I thought he had been shifting restlessly, but it was just the pillow case being compressed. “Of course. I’ll be up a little longer, but by all means, go ahead.”
“Thanks,” he breathes. Our footsteps are almost in sync for a while, and then his stop as he reaches the chair. I can hear him settling in, moving around to get comfortable. Then Tyler’s breathing becomes regular, and I know he’s asleep.

44. Aysel
Rob is already at breakfast when Astra and I show up. We would’ve been there sooner, but Astra’s drawers got stuck and it took the two of us (mostly me, but she insisted on ‘doing it herself’) to get it open. Tyler’s not with him, which seems odd seeing as they’re roommates. If my memory serves me correctly, Tyler was the one who woke just about everyone up on the bus ride here. Maybe he was up early because it was his first night sleeping in a new place, I know I have that issue, but his room is also new, so that makes no sense. I decide to ask Rob.
“Hey, Rob,” I say, leaning across the table, “Where’s Tyler?”
He looks up from his waffles. “Dunno. He wasn’t in the room when I woke up. I thought he might be in the bathroom.”
“Okay, thanks,” I say, disguising my lean as a grab for some eggs. Maybe he went to the bathroom, Rob went out, and he went back to sleep? This is all so confusing.
When I’m halfway through with breakfast, Tyler, Conrad, and Gani show up. Gani’s cheerful as always, and it’s hard to tell with Conrad. Tyler on the other hand has dark circles under his eyes and seems to be not quite awake yet. I stand and hail them over.
Tyler yawns. “Gani says it’s six-thirty. I don’t believe him. Aysel, is it really six thirty?”
I laugh. “Well Tyler, it isn’t six thirty.” He whirls to face Gani, triumphant, and I continue. “It’s six thirty-two.”
He sticks his tongue out at me as he joins Rob. “You guys have a cruel sense of humor.”
Gani pats his shoulder affectionately. “That we do, my Nevalite friend, that we do.”

45. Ganizani
The hall’s full when a woman with light brown hair stands up and clears her throat. Everything falls silent, kind of like when Mr. Hawkins talks to us. “Thank you,” she says in a curt tone, “I am Michelle Altimari, your new assistant head of school. You may call me Ms. Altimari. Older students, your advisors will be coming by with your schedule for this next year. We have decided to include chore shifts on this schedule as it was the second most suggested thing in our suggestion box last year.”
“We all know what the first one was!” someone calls out, and the room breaks out in giggles.
“Excuse me,” she says in her cold way, “but, as I was saying, chore shifts have been included on the main schedule. New students, please report to the courtyard at first bell for your orientation. That is all. Thank you.” People clap politely as she sits down, though we all know it’s out of habit rather than genuine appreciation.
As we resume our meal, Tyler nudges my foot under the table. “What are advisors?”
I set down my fork and respond, “We’re divided up into groups based on year and order, and then one of the teachers becomes the advisor for that group. It’s not all that exciting.”
“Oh,” he says, “I guess that makes sense.”
I open my mouth to respond when someone places a hand on my shoulder. I look around to see my advisor, Mr. Ueda with a packet of papers in hand. “Your schedule,” he says, “and I would like to talk to you in my office at third bell about moving up to fifth form.”
I bow my head as I respond. “Thank you Mr. Ueda. I’ll be there.”
Conrad smiles at me. “Congratulations, Gani. Fifth form is more difficult than fourth for sure. You deserve it for sure.”
I laugh. “And just how long did you spend in fifth form? Two months?”
His pale cheeks darken slightly. “Something like that.”
I clap him on the shoulder. “Exactly, Conrad. Exactly.”

46. Tyler
Gani’s grinning after whatever his advisor told him, and I can’t help but ask why. “Hey Gani, what’d he say to you?”
His grin intensifies. “I’m moving up to fifth form.”
My eyebrows knit. “Is that a big deal or something?”
Astra sighs. “It’s always a big deal when someone moves forms. They’re kind of like grades at school, not letters, but like first grade, second grade, that stuff. I hope I move up soon.”
Aysel rubs her shoulder. “I’m sure you will. I don’t know why they haven’t yet since you seem so much better than the rest of us in third form.”
Astra smiles. “Yeah.”
“Modest much?” Rob mutters from next to me, and I elbow him.
“Ah!” Gani exclaims, staring at his schedule in disbelief, “Why do they have to do this!”
“What?” I ask, “What’s up?”
“I don’t believe this,” he says, looking at Conrad, “Was it like this for you too?”
His silent friend nods. “If you’re talking about the free period, then yes. It was like that. Rather annoying, don’t you think?”
“What?” I repeat, “What free period?”
This time Conrad explains. “Everyone has a free period in their day at some point. But in fifth form, they take that period away for an extra class on shielding. You get it back once you’ve passed the exam, but those only happen once a month or so.”
Gani groans. “I stink at shielding. This is gonna be a long form.”
I snicker. “No you don’t, you smell like roses.”

47. Astra
My advisor, Ms. Halle, comes and gives me my schedule as I’m about to get more bacon. Once I’ve got my food, I scan it quickly. One class jumps out at me.
“Aysel, do you have History of Viamra Institute as one of your classes?” I ask between bites of bacon.
She looks at her paper. “Yes, I do. I’ve never had it before, and I don’t think anyone else has. Is it a new class maybe?”
I shrug and nudge Gani, who’s bemoaning the fact that he has extra shielding classes instead of his free period. “Hey, Gani,” I say, elbowing him harder, “Is History of Viamra Institute a new class?”
He furrows his brow. “Never heard of it before. It might be. I’d ask Conrad.”
I nod and turn to my other friend, but Aysel’s already asking him. After a moment or so, she looks at me once more. “Conrad’s never heard of it either. Who’s teaching it?” She holds up her schedule.
I’ve already seen. “Some guy named Leander Durand. He must be new. Wonder what it’ll be like.”
Gani squints at his schedule. “The same person is teaching Alimat Through the Ages. Must be really into history.”
Conrad pauses. “That’s odd. I’ve never had a history class. I thought the electives were the only ones.”
Gani shrugs. “Well, things change. This Leander must be really good if they dropped theory classes for his history things.”
My eyes light up. “They dropped theory? Yes! I hated that class!” All traces of any bad mood I may or may not have had part like clouds before the sun, letting joy at the removal of my least favorite class wash over me.

48. Conrad
Even though I know it’s not technically allowed, I push myself at the minds of my friends, just to look at their shielding strategies. It’s research, I tell myself. Gani’s walls are strong and tall, as he is. Tyler has nothing guarding his memories, and I am assailed by them the instant I reach out to look at his defenses. I retreat quickly, pushing them back into his own head before I get a chance to see what they are. Astra has a barbed shield, which causes me to lose sight of my mission for a moment before proceeding to Aysel. Her walls are intricately carved, and I find myself wishing, not for the first time, that I could see what the picture made. If Gani and everyone else are right, her drawings are beautiful.
Then I move on to Rob, the newest addition to our little group. I brace myself for the torrent of memories I will undoubtedly find, but nothing comes. I open my sense up a little and feel around for something. A hard, solid concrete wall is the only thing I find.
That’s odd, I think to myself, He’s new, and yet his shields are so strong. It’s just the first day! How could he have learned to guard himself so well? Where would he have learned?
I break my train of thought as footsteps approach. It’s one of the teachers, but I don’t recognize the slightly irregular footfalls. At any rate, I can’t be caught exploring the way I am. I should know better than this. I finish mentally chastising myself in time to hear the person walk off into the distance.

49. Aysel
Once I’ve got my schedule, Astra and I leave the dining hall together. The elevators are on, so I figure I might as well take it instead of the stairs. The halls are empty as we walk down to our rooms. The instant we get inside, Astra hurries over and flops on her bed.
“Those Tyler and Rob people are insufferable!” She cries in exasperation.
I pretend I haven’t heard as I ask, “Astra, can I have your schedule? I want to update the chart.” I gesture at the inside of our door, where a large, whiteboard with several markers sitting on top is hung up.
She rolls over and pulls it out of her back pocket, already wrinkled. “But seriously,” my friend says as she undoes her braces, “they’re super annoying, don’t you think?”
I shrug noncommittally as I walk into our bathroom and pull a tissue from the box. “Rob’s not that bad.” The instant the words are out of my mouth, I regret them. I’ve forgotten the first rule of getting along with Astra. Never contradict her.
The reason I made that rule soon follows. “He is not ‘not that bad’, Aysel. Did you see what he did down there?”
I begin to erase the whiteboard as my mind races for an answer that will satisfy her rage. “Yeah, I did,” I reply, scrubbing the tissue over the board.
“Then you know what an idiot he is!” she fumes, “I mean, trying to shake my hand like that…” There Astra trails off, and the only sound for about a minute is the squeak of the marker writing in classes and times. Then the calm passes and the storm begins anew. “It’s like he didn’t notice I was busy… No, he must have noticed. That’s why he did it. I’m sure.” I nod my half-hearted agreement as I return her schedule to her and start filling in my own classes. She continues to mutter darkly to herself as she throws her second brace down. Once I’ve finished filling in our schedules, I sit down at my desk and pull up my sketchbook. Without thinking, I begin to draw.
My mind whirrs as the pencil skips across the page, not paying attention to the marks it makes. Astra is a complex person. I’ve begun to understand her desire for independence in the three years we’ve known each other, but her hatred of Rob brings out a new, unexplored level. It’s clear that she dislikes him because he’s Tyler’s friend, but she seems to be more upset about his attempted handshake. Of course, Astra may be more put off by his friendship and simply hiding it, but…
I stop and look down at my paper, where I have drawn a simple sketch of a pond that looks like the one near my house back in Michigan. I look at a moment, before tucking it away in a folder marked, “Sketches” in turquoise colored pencil.

50. Ganizani
Tyler came into our room again around midnight. I asked him if he’d told Rob about the snores, but he just shook his head and flopped into the desk chair. After that, I couldn’t get to sleep. I’m still just sitting on my bed, staring out the window. The clouds are bright with moonlight. I must say, I worry about the two of them. Rob and Tyler, I mean. They seem to get along so well together, yet Tyler just can’t seem to bring himself to tell Rob what’s wrong. I can’t help wondering how long it will last before he loses his temper and brings it up. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I honestly can’t think of anything. I let out a sigh, and hear motion behind me. Conrad’s sitting up, empty eyes looking straight at me.
“You can’t sleep either, Gani?” He says as he walks towards me, not bothering to put on his glasses.
I nod. Then I blurt something out that’s been on my mind for a while. “How do you do it?”
He furrows his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
I take a deep breath. “How do you deal with… you know… it? What’s it like? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want, but…”
Conrad shrugs. “I’m not actually sure how to answer that question. I suppose you think I’ll say it’s difficult, but I don’t think of it that way. Imagine people can’t see you, but they know you’re there. I guess that’s the best way I can put it. People know I’m there, but they try not to pay attention to me. Only a few people actually acknowledge me, people like you and Astra and Aysel and our teachers, some of whom do it because they have to, not because they want to. It’s odd.”
A breeze comes in through the window I’ve opened and I shiver a bit as I respond, “But, do you mind?”
He laughs a little. “Not really. You know me, Gani. You know I like the quiet, even if I have to be different to get it. Try thinking about it like the way you look. You have dark skin, and Tyler has light skin. Astra can see, and I can’t. It’s as simple as that.”
I put an arm around him. “Thanks, Conrad. I really mean it. I can’t believe I’ve known you a year and still haven’t asked that. I guess I just didn’t want to be intruding,” I stifle a yawn and remove my hand, “I’m going back to bed. Would you like a guide?” He nods in his careful way, and I take him to our adjacent beds before laying down on mine. I am asleep before my head hits the pillow.

51. Tyler
I wake up before Gani or Conrad, at about five-thirty, and blink several times to clear the sleep from my eyes. I open the curtains just a crack, and sunlight streams in. I shut them hurriedly, not wanting to wake up my friends. Taking care to make as little noise as possible, I stand up and tiptoe over to Gani’s desk. I pull out a piece of paper and pen and scribble a hasty note before leaving their room for mine. The hall is deserted, and my bare feet sink into the thick carpeting. I enter my room, where Rob’s still asleep. Again, I slink over to my bed and flop down. I hope this will do the trick and he won’t realize I’ve been gone. His snores are quieter, but still audible and driving me nuts.
At six, I’ve had enough and I leave for the dining hall. I eat a quick breakfast, and finish as Astra and Aysel are coming down. Aysel waves at me, and Astra just glares. I put my hands up in self defense and back out slowly, hitting the wall in the process. At this, she doubles over laughing and almost falls on her face before her friend catches her.
I wait around at the place they told us to last night for a long while before someone else shows up. I guess that’s what I get for being so early. At long last, everyone (including the annoying teacher lady from last night) is here and the lady clears her throat. “Thank you for being here so early this morning. Now, I don’t want to waste any time, so let’s get going. I assume most of you have been filled in about your orders, correct?” I nod, and so does everyone else, “Good. Now, you’ll be sorted into advisories based on these orders. Let’s form groups. Nevalites, here, Sorconiots, there.” I walked over to the plum tree she pointed at and stand with four other people.
“So,” she says once we’ve grouped up, “I’d say it’s time you all get to know each other. Why don’t you go around and say names, where you’re from, and your favorite ice cream flavor.” I roll my eyes. Not this again. “Your advisors will be joining you shortly. Go on.” Talk breaks out among the twenty-odd students on the quad.
“Hi,” a girl with long black hair says quietly, “I’m Olivia Jang. I’m from San Francisco.” She waves, and the rest of us respond.
“Uh… I guess I’ll go next,” a tall boy with dark brown hair mutters. “I’m Dominic Jeva, from Tucson, in Arizona.” We continue like that for a while, and I find out that blonde Ava MacMullins is from New Jersey, and Daniel Everett is from Minnesota. Slowly, our advisory begins to open up to one another, and soon we’re all laughing at the fact that we’re still expected to name ice cream flavors when introducing ourselves.

52. Astra
I slam the windows shut, catching a piece of my long hair in the process. I bite my tongue, trying not to show that it hurts. It’s not fair, I think to myself, Why do they get treated and accepted like an equal, a friend when all I’ve ever gotten were awkward stares and questions? It’s not my fault I… I can’t make myself say it. I can’t acknowledge the weakness that dwells at my core.
It disgusts me. I disgust me. If the fire within me dies, so then does my reason for being. My quest for vengeance, to prove everyone wrong. To show them that I am capable and strong. Of course, it's hard to convince people of things you don't even believe yourself but….
I lean over to my bed, using it as a support to get me to where I want. I know it was stupid to drop my braces and crutches so far from my little island, but there's nothing I can do about that now. My ankle twists, and I think to myself, Why do I have this… thing? Why can't other people be cursed like me? Even if they aren't why- I falter as my right knee buckles and I tumble to the (luckily) carpeted floor.
As I lay there in a heap, unable to muster the strength to pull myself up, a tear squeezes its way out of the corner of my eye. I try to stem what I know will become a torrent in time, but to no avail. Within seconds, all my confidence and anger has melted into a crumpled heap of sadness. Although, maybe I'm mistaking the normal emotion for my own, hated weakness. The thought brings more tears, and soon it's all I can do to keep from making a sound, let alone stop my out of control feelings.

53. Conrad
Gani and I are walking around the courtyard when someone calls my name. “Conrad!” they yell, walking closer, “It’s me, Ashlynn. Let’s duel!”
My eyebrows rise. “Now?”
She nods enthusiastically. “When else? There’s nothing else to do until classes start. Here, I’ll make a circle.” Cloth wrinkles and chalk scrapes the courtyard stones. Typical Ashlynn, always wanting to know if her spot in fifth for dueling is secure, which it of course it is. She has almost a year of experience on me.
“Ashlynn,” Gani says in exasperation, “You know Conrad can’t see it.”
“Meh,” my rival responds jovially, “You’ll tell him if he goes out, right? Cool, let’s go.”
Gani sighs and guides me to a place some two feet in front of my previous position. “Three, two, one, go!” he cries, and Ashlynn’s attacks hit me almost before he says the last word.
I hear my mother screaming my name, and I do my best to tell myself that she isn’t really there. But she seems so real, so close and panicked that I almost step backwards. The cries stop, and I realize Ashlynn’s paused for a moment, likely to catch her breath. Something powerful like that takes a lot of energy. I seize my advantage and push outwards with the memory of wanting to ask an urgent question about schedules, but her barrier slams into mine. Thinking quickly, I raise my own blocks to parry her strikes of the smells of burning hair, and the sensation of scorching heat at my legs. Then someone else screams, but it’s not my mother. Gani, Aysel, and Astra are being tortured, just a foot behind me. If I only take a step back, I can save them. I try to resist, but the temptation is too strong. I fall backwards, and Gani’s solid hands catch me. The fire and shrieks stop the instant he catches me, and I know I’ve lost.

54. Aysel
The first day of school continues as normal, picking up right where we left off last year. I fall back into the rhythm of breakfast, classes, break, classes, lunch, classes, study, dinner, sleep, repeat. It’s like I never went away for the summer in the first place, or at least, it’s like that until our second day of school, where I take my first history class since fourth grade.
The entire third form files into the courtyard, where the class is listed as taking place. Astra grumbles something about the weather, but I ignore her out of excitement for what is to come. The minutes tick by, and every last person has arrived for class at five minutes past starting time. Even Alan, who’s usually at least ten minutes late for every class is here. He must be excited too.
At long last, a tall man walks out of one of the classroom buildings. His short brown hair is swept back in a ponytail that gives him a distinct hipster look, and he seems invigorated by his very existance, spring in his step and excitement in his eyes.
“Ah!” he exclaims, looking pleasantly surprised, “There you are. I got a bit lost on my way here, I do hope you’ll excuse that. Now, let’s get started right away. Follow me, please.” Mr. Durand strides off in the direction of the gates.
“Umm… Mr. Durand?” someone calls from our knot of people, “Where are we going? The classrooms are over there.”
The teacher nods. “I know. We’re going somewhere else today. Call it a field trip.”
We walk out of the school and into the lot where all the dormant buses lie. Our eccentric history teacher spreads his arms, gesturing grandly at the scene. “This is our classroom. Welcome to History of Viamra Institute. Today we’ll start by going around and saying our names so I can try to remember them. Why don’t… you start us off.” He points a long finger at Lyn, who introduces herself, then continues on around our class.
Mr. Durand claps once, and we fall silent. “Now that that’s taken care of, I’d say it’s time we got going on today’s topic, the meeting of the founders. Why don’t you, and you, and you, and you, and you come up here.” Five of my classmates step up, three girls and two boys. “Good,” he says, “Okay. So, you’ll be Eira, got it?” He assigns all of my friends names that mean pretty much nothing to us, and tells the class that they will be playing the parts of the founders. In this manner, History of Viamra Institute becomes one of my favorite classes, mostly because the lessons comprise only of reenactments. At least, it’s my favorite until I will be called upon to act.

55. Ganizani
It’s been hardly a week since I visited Mr. Ueda to get promoted and I’m already feeling the loss of my free period. Extra shielding lessons are difficult, but I won’t say they’re not useful. I’ve been getting a lot better, and the few duels I’ve had are proof of that. Of course, I’m still nowhere near Conrad, but it’s improvement nonetheless.
History class with Mr. Durand has been very interesting. We’re reenacting all sorts of events involving famous Alimai and then summarizing what that means about our history. Our teacher himself seems very well informed even though he’s not of our order in the first place.
Actually, Mr. Durand’s order has become a rumor that varies depending on who you talk to. Most people say he belongs to their own order since they like him alot, but those who are more intellectual tend to think he’s a Talekessi for his incredible memory. Honestly, I don’t know what to think. He doesn’t play favorites as some teachers do, so I’m blundering the dark.
The only two people in all of Viamra who don’t like our history teacher are Astra and Conrad. Astra doesn’t like him since he won’t call on her to act (for obvious reasons) and Conrad doesn’t like the fact that he can’t learn at his usual lightning-fast pace. I suppose it’s understandable, but I don’t really know why they can’t just accept that his class will be a little… different. We’ve been told that we’re having an exam on Thursday, and I’m curious to see how that turns out.
Conrad enters my room, and I’m surprised to see that Tyler’s trailing behind even though it’s almost lights out. I suppose he still hasn’t resolved his differences with Rob, and I certainly hope he does For Rob’s sake and mine. It’s rather odd having him in here every night and leaving before anyone but Conrad is awake. I sigh and return to shielding practice, trying out a new technique. I’m so tired that I almost fall asleep at my desk, but I manage to make it to my bed before flopping into the mattress and blissful oblivion.

56. Tyler
After two weeks of sneaking off to Conrad and Gani’s room, I’m starting to feel the effects of going to bed at midnight and waking up at four. Up until now, our classes have mostly been explanations of the various powers without anything happening. Today, we’ve been promised a real shielding class. We’ve spent so long learning why shields are necessary and the basics of how to make one that I’m fairly confident I’ll ace it by the time I walk into Ms. Dhala’s class.
Of course, I’m wrong. We have three minutes to try and put up a shield before our teacher comes and inspects it. I picture a wall of sandbags. Suddenly, I realize I’m not able to think of anything else when my shield is up. Major issue. I grapple with the situation for a little longer before Ms. Dhala is in front of me, hand on my shoulder.
“Tyler?” Her gentle voice pulls me away from the pile of sandbags that’s been falling over for three minutes. “I’ve checked your shield. You’ll definitely have to work on it.” I worry about that for a bit. I’m usually fairly good at school, but then I realize that I’m only the first of the class to be inspected and that everyone else is receiving similar comments. Everyone except Rob, that is. Ms. Dhala stops in front of him, then asks him to see her after class. Judging by the whispers that break out, I’m not the only one who may have “accidentally” overheard.
I twist in my seat and poke Rob. “What’s up? Why does she want to talk to you?”
My roommate shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. She said I’m not in trouble. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”
As I spin back to the front of the classroom, he mutters something that sounds like, “Better than you,” but I know Rob wouldn’t say that. We’re friends for goodness’ sake!
I spend the next hour and a half trying to keep my sandbags from falling. I don’t get them to stay up for more than a second if my mind wanders. Ms. Dhala says to use a stronger building material, so I decide to work on that for homework. It’s hard, but not as bad as the inequalities or whatever gibberish I’d be doing back in Michigan. As I think that, my pile of sandbags falls over again, leaving my thoughts open for the world to see.

57. Astra
As we make our way across the quad away from the dormitories, I notice that Aysel is fiddling with her pencil case. Suddenly, someone darts in front of us and we stop short. I almost fall over, but my friend catches me, dropping her things in the process. Pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and just about every type of drawing material someone would want fly across the ground. I catch sight of the ink pen I gave her for her birthday last week and smile at the fact that the white printing on the black pen is already faded.
She bends to pick up the fallen supplies and I am reminded once more of my inability to help. The thought of helping her makes me think of times she’s- never mind. I can’t let myself think of that. But, as always, trying not to think about things makes you unable to think of anything else. It’s like saying, “Don’t think of elephants,” and then all you can think about are elephants. By the time I’ve finished pondering that, Aysel’s popped up again beside me and we continue on to the classroom building.
My friend holds open the door and I wonder who else she’s trying to help. Inside, the heaters are on their highest setting in an attempt to warm up the place. It’s not working. The shielding classroom is down the hall, and soon Aysel and I get caught up in the stream of students heading in the same general direction. We enter the room to find almost everyone already inside and shivering. There aren’t any heaters in this room, so we’re always freezing. I grab my customary seat right next to the door and drop my crutches. They clatter to the ground and settle within reach. I’m not always this lucky.
Our teacher, Ms. Dhala, enters and beckons to someone outside. Someone wearing a jacket with the hood raised high walks in. The instant he takes it off, I glare at him. Why is Rob here?
“Class,” the teacher says, pulling me away from the land of speculation, “I want you to meet Rob. He’s two forms below all of you, but he’s so good at shielding that I’ve gotten permission for him to come and study here with you. Rob, feel free to take any open seat. Go on.”
As he sits down in the middle of the classroom, my mind races. Why is he so good at shielding if he’s just in first form? Where would he have learned? Why did he have to come here? Why is he so annoying?
Just like that, my sanctuary has been breached. I’m not great at shielding, but today I really am awful. I keep getting distracted by Rob’s presence, his seemingly effortless shields. Over and over the question beats at my brain. Why?

58. Conrad
The library is quiet as I lean back in the comfy chair, resting my mind after a particularly gruelling lesson on removing memories. Outside, the icy winds howl against Viamra’s stone walls. In here, someone has lit a fire to warm up the cold room. I can hear it crackling and the heat emanates from a hearth about five feet away.
Suddenly, the door flies open with such force that it hits the wall. A chorus of “Shhh!” accompanies the sound. Astra enters, coming toward me. Aysel’s hurried footsteps follow in an attempt to keep up with her upset friend. Two more people enter, shutting the heavy door behind them.
As soon as Astra flops down on the couch across from me and Aysel stops walking, I know that Gani and Tyler are also here, heading this way. What could have drawn all of them to our library at once? My answer comes soon enough.
“It’s not fair!” Astra says loudly, and people all through the room shush her. She tries again, whispering now. “It’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair?” I ask, clearly missing something.
“He’s just- he’s just so good! How? He only just started!” she whisper-screams. Now I understand what Astra’s talking about.
“It is rather odd, you’re right,” I reply, nodding slightly.
“Would somebody bother to fill me in on this?” Tyler inquires of the group at large. Everyone’s seated now. Gani, Astra, Tyler, and Aysel are all squished together on the couch. I know from experience that it’s not really meant for four people.
Astra speaks up again, careful to keep her voice as quiet as she can while still communicating her anger. “Rob. He’s so good at shielding! He got moved into my class. Third form. That’s skipping two. Why?”

59. Aysel
Conrad stays silent for a moment before responding. “I noticed that too. His shields are very strong. Concrete, quite literally.”
Tyler sighs. “Way better than mine. My walls just fall over. He seems to take his for granite. I’m sorry, that was terrible.” Gani snorts, and Astra tries not to laugh.
“Have you used your powers in any other classes, Tyler?” Conrad asks amid the stifled chuckles.
The new boy shakes his head, wild hair getting even messier. “Nope. Just theory this far. I think we’re due to start something next week, but I forgot what.”
Conrad nods. “Please, let me know how Rob does with using his powers. What order is he?”
Everyone is quiet before Gani speaks up. “I don’t think he ever said.”
“He’s not a Nevalite,” Tyler interjects, “otherwise he’d be in my advisory.”
Astra rolls her eyes. “That much is obvious.” I’m not sure what she means by that, but it’s clear she wants to get Tyler upset. My friends and I ignore the comment; our newest member is learning fast.
The silence that follows lasts nearly a minute before it’s punctured by the slight squeak of the library door opening. I turn around to see Rob standing on the threshold, smiling and waving at us. He glances about before coming our way. This conversation is over. I stand up, say goodbye, and head back to my room for some peace and quiet; it won’t be like that in here for long.

60. Ganizani
We’ve hit the one-month mark in this school year and it’s now that the newest students merge into the larger order-wide advising groups. In this manner, I find out that Rob is, like me, Alimai. While his powers seem to be next to nothing, Conrad seems convinced that this means something big. Of course, Conrad being Conrad, he shows no inclination of telling me just what it signifies.
I don’t really expect anything, but I still feel a little let down at not being given a little insight into what he’s thinking when he just sits, unmoving as a stone. Just like he is now. As I raise and lower my shields, trying desperately to make the arduous process more efficient, Conrad perches at the edge of his bed, unfocused eyes reflecting the moon outside. Eventually, I give up and stop trying to practice. Keeping Astra away from Tyler and Rob’s throats is exhausting.
“Conrad,” I call out, not waiting for a response, “I’m going to bed.” Glancing at the clock, I add, “Tyler will probably be coming by in ten minutes or so. You may have to let him in.” My roommate twitches a little, but that’s all I need to see to know he heard me. When he gets lost in his mind, there’s often no pulling him out but for the smallest of motions.
Right on cue, Tyler knocks almost exactly ten minutes after I’ve told Conrad of my plan, but I’m still awake, so I answer the door. “When are you going to tell Rob about this?” I ask, stepping aside to let him in, “It’s been a month.”
He just shrugs and beelines toward his usual armchair. “I dunno. I don’t want to make him upset or anything. G’night.”
With that, he’s curled up and his eyes are shut against the solitary lit lamp in the room, which I turn off as I head for my own bed, muttering “He’s got to stop doing this. There’s no way those two will ever get along perfectly otherwise,” under my breath.

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