Aru Shah Random!

Daughter of Lightning

Aru Shah was not a morning person.

Her mornings consisted of yawns, falling asleep on her feet, yawning, eating pop-tarts, and did I mention yawning?

This morning, Aru woke up relatively excited. She'd taken a math test last week and decided that she had done very well. Her teacher was going to post the scores this morning, and Aru needed to get there early.

"Bye Mom!" she yelled, hoping her voice would awaken her slumbering mother. Krithika Shah was one of those people who could sleep 23 of the 24 hours of the day and still be tired. Aru had hoped she would get that trait but nope.

Mini and Brynne walked through the portal and stepped out of Greg, looking way more prepared for school than Aru was. Mini had on an oversized purple sweater, a black pleated skirt, and black combat boots. Dee Dee, her celestial weapon, was disguised as a compact in her backpack pocket.

Brynne wore a white shirt that said 'Kiss the Cook', a pair of blue overalls, and black hi-tops. Gogo, her wind mace, was a choker at her throat, and it glowed softly.

"Come on! We're going to be late if you don't hurry up!" Mini said, halfway out the door. Brynne was already across the street, and Aiden stepped out of his front door looking very tired. Aru's heart still skipped a beat even though she willed it with all her might not to.

"Okay, I'm coming!" Aru said, looking down at her feet to make sure that she was wearing the same shoes on both feet (It happened ONCE!) and made sure that she brushed the crumbs off her clothes. She wore a yellow short that read 'SHOCKING' and a pair of jeans.

She raced outside after Mini, locking the door behind her. Ever since they had defeated the Sleeper, Aru always made sure that her mother was safe and sound inside the museum while she was at school. His defeat had made her wary, since Urvashi had said that she "had felt ripples in the cosmic pool of evil".

Whatever that means.

"Race you guys! She said, grabbing Aiden's arm and turning Vajra into a hoverboard. Both of them leapt on, and Vajra zoomed off, followed closely by Brynne in cheetah form and Mini running very slowly behind them.

"You're bizarre, Shah." Aiden said, so softly that Aru barely heard him over the rushing wind. Ever since Kara had lost her trident, he'd seemed more subdued and often came up with the flimsiest excuses to not attend movie nights at Aru's place.

"We get off here right?" Aru yelled back, completely ignoring his comment on her bizarreness. Augustus Day High School loomed in the distance, the chattering of students audible from where Aru and Aiden were gliding. Aru commanded Vajra to put them down, and her lightning bolt obeyed, decreasing altitude until they were just above the ground. Aru leapt off first, jokingly extending her hand to Aiden, who ignored it with a smile. They walked into the school forgetting all about the race they had with Mini and Brynne.

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Poppy watched Aru walk in with her Aiden. It wasn't fair! She'd known Aiden longer, but somehow that nobody Indian girl had gotten to be his friend! It was infuriating, and she wanted to prank Aru badly.

Arielle watched Poppy from a distance, smoldering with anger. Was it Aru's fault that Aiden liked her better than Poppy? It was sad, but she had to play the part. She walked over to Poppy, masking her features into a 'I don't care' face and tapped Poppy on the shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Arielle asked, to Poppy's surprise. Aru and Aiden were now standing outside, like they were waiting for someone. Poppy turned back to the window, glaring at Aru's back.