Zodiac High

Gemini- Weapons

My heart hammers in my chest as I enter the giant auditorium. Along the ceiling are stars positioned to look like the twelve zodiac constellations. My breath gets caught in my throat when I remember what the letter said when it appeared in my room at home.

Dear Violet Gemini,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to compete for the title of the Gemini Zodiac. You and your brother, Spencer, are formally invited to attend Zodiac High, an academy to prepare you for the trials of your Zodiac. We hope to see you at orientation on the 21st of August.

Sincerely,

Headmistress Venus

My brother Spencer pats me on the back and sighs.

"Lets do this Vi." He whispers. I nod solemnly and we find the seats with our names on them.

"Welcome everyone, to Zodiac High. I am headmistress Venus. We are pleased to welcome you all to our school." A woman appears on the stage at the front of the room. Her hair is long and flowing, and she's extremely beautiful.

"Now, I would like to call out all the names of our newest recruits. When your name and sign are called, please stand up and remain standing until I tell you to be seated." Her mellifluous voice floats through the air.

"Aries- Erica and Erik." The first names are called. A boy and a girl stand up, both on opposite sides of the auditorium. They are told to sit, and we wait for the next set of names.

"Taurus- Brick and Grace." Are next.

"Gemini- Violet and Spencer, along with Lily and Derek." Our names are called. Spencer and I stand up, our eyes meet with the other set of twins. We sit back down and I look to my brother.

"Should we really be here?" I murmur. Spencer squeezes my hand.

"We can do this. We're unstoppable when together." He grins. Smiling, I turn back to watch as the Cancer students are called.

"Cancer- Carson and Callie." My heart skips a beat. Carson is my boyfriend...he's here too?

"Leo- Leon and Laura." I listen attentively to the rest of the students to clear my head.

"Virgo- Mary and Mark." The girl that stands up immediately starts showing off and she looks like she's flaunting everything she has. I roll my eyes and look to my brother. His eyes are glued to her. Sighing, I pinch my brother's hand and he flinches.

"Staring problem." I mutter.

"Sorry." He mumbles and the next several students are called.

"Next up, Capricorn- Alec and Alexa." The guy that stands up looks directly at me. His blue eyes are pretty cute...but I have to focus. The rest of the names are called and as the Pisces students sit down we are dismissed.

"For the Gemini and Pisces stidents, unfortunately you wont be able to share a dorm with your sibling. Male and Female students are not permitted to stay in a dorm of the opposite gender." Headmistress Venus announces. Anxiously I turn to my brother and he puts his hands on my shoulders.

"You'll be okay. I'm sure you'll make some friends in the Gemini dorm." Spencer tells me.

"Vi!" Carson's voice breaks the silence. My boyfriend envelops me into a bear hug and I cant help but giggle.

"I can't believe you're here too." He smiles and kisses my cheek.

"What is your first class?" Spencer asks Carson.

"Dude you dont know? We all only have one class that we are in all day. We get 10 minute breaks every hour and then 45 minutes of lunch in the middle of the day. The class all goes around the school together. The Cancer class starts out with fighting techniques." Carson explains. I quickly glance at my schedule.

"Gemini has weapons training first...." I comment.

"Wait we have to learn to fight?" Spencer exclaims.

"Well of course. You fight your counterpart to the death to advance to the next stage." A girl interjects loudly.

"I'm Justice by the way. Libra. I can tell that you twins dont like the idea but fighting, but get over it. Its either kill or be killed." She add looking pointedly at me. I just shrug, and Carson takes my hand. As we exit the auditorium, out of the corner of my eye, I see the Capricorn boy who looked at me earlier. I follow his gaze and find it resting on Carson, but the boy goes back to talking with the Taurus and Scorpio boys.

"I'll drop you off at your classroom alright?" Carson asks me.

"Yeah that sounds great. Thank you." I kiss his cheek and I depart into the weapons room. It's a sea of twins. Each pair had found a weapon they prefer. I begin going around the room and testing any weapon to see what feels good. A short sword with a shield is too bulky for me. The long swords are too heavy. Spears I cant navigate well...ugh this is hard. I pick up a set of dual swords and they feel okay, but my hand keeps slipping on one. There are four tomes sitting on pedestals and a sign beside them.

Open a tome and discover if you have a talent for magic. If the magic suits you, an amulet will appear to let you channel the energy.

I walk and open the red tome. Nothing. The blue and green ones had the same result. Finally my hand touches the silver one, and I open it. No magic matches me. Running my fingers through my hair, I pick up one of the nearby pistols. Too clunky. I dont even try with the battle axe or hammer. That's all of the weapons...none of them fit me...

"Hey Vi. I found something!" Spencer calls out to me. Anxiously making my way over to him I see him in front of a box. He pulls out a knife.

"They're throwing knives. Try them out." He hands me the knife. Something clicks in my body, and I instinctively know exactly how to stand to throw it. I position myself and bring my arm back and throw. The knife lands directly in the target. Spencer runs to check and turns back towards me.

"You are only off by an inch!" He smiles. i pick up another one and turn it over in my hands. My weapon is the throwing knife.

"Alright class! I believe everyone has discovered their preferred weapon so we shall begin. My name is Mr. Mercury." A man stands at one end of the room in front of a shimmering wall.

"I'm sure some of you know by now, but the purpose of training you to fight is so that you can battle your counterparts. I would like for each pair to meet their counterparts. First up..." I tune him out when I realize my group would be last.

"Hey Vi, pay attention to the weapons each counterpart has." Spencer whispers to me. One pair has spears while the other pair has magic amulets. The next pairings are battle axes against pistols.

"It's almost one-sided...." I breathe.

"Violet and Spencer, and their counterparts Lily and Derek." My name is called. Spencer and I trek to the front and I'm face to face with a boy that has blonde hair and dark brown eyes. The opposite of me. I glance towards their weapons. Long swords.

"Nice to meet you Violet." Derek rumbles. His voice is deep and rythmic.

"Same to you..." I reply. We separate and my mind is whirling.

How am I supposed to kill these people?