Angel Academy

Chapter Eleven

"What?"

"I'm leaving," I declare.

Diana's face goes white and she stares at me in shock. "How the hell do you plan on doing that?"

"I don't know," I mutter in realization.

"Well that makes things a little difficult don't you think?" She snarks.

"I'm turning eighteen in a week," I mutter in sudden remembrance.

"Uh, so?"

"So that gives me an idea, what if I do the one thing the Council told me to never do under any circumstances?" I say and Diana grins.

"What did you have in mind exactly?"

***

I look around nervously, taking deep breaths to calm myself. My eyes catch onto Diana standing by the edge of the cafeteria and I walk over to her. "Did you get everything cleaned up in the room?" I ask.

She nods. "Yeah, I did a terrible job with the bathroom though, all the dye that washed out kinda stained the tile and the shower," she chuckles.

"Well it's their fault for making me color it in the first place, I'm just glad we managed to get most of it out," I murmur. "How exactly am I doing this again?"

"I managed to convince a few geeks to rewire the microphone so they won't be able to shut it off or turn the volume down and it will go through the entire academy so just get up there and start talking. Keep them busy as long as you can and don't let them kill you just yet," she tells me and I nod.

I blow out a big breath. "Okay, well, here goes nothing," I mutter and move towards the stage at the end of the cafeteria.

Diana grabs my arm and yanks me backwards into a tight hug. "See you soon," she says quietly.

"See you soon," I murmur, offering her a reassuring smile.

I walk up the stairs onto the stage and go up to the microphone. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" I ask loudly and a hush falls over the cafeteria. Hundreds of faces turn to me but then many simply roll their eyes and continue on with their conversations.

"My name is Luciana Morgenstern and I know there are dozens of rumors as to why I have no wings but today I'm going to tell you what actually happened," I say and this gets everyone's attention.

"The Council took my wings when I was a child, not because I am a criminal, but because I'm something they do not understand. You all wonder why I wear baggy clothes all the time, well, it's for the same reason they took my wings. It's the same reason they make me dye my hair and wear colored contacts."

"Take off the hood!" Someone yells and I look over to see Diana grinning at me.

My fingers find the edge of my sweatshirt and I take a deep breath before pulling it over my head. I toss it onto the floor beside me and gasps erupt from the angels below.

"What the hell are you?" Someone yells.

"I'm a hybrid angel, my father was a dark angel and my mother was a light. The Council killed them for having me and they took my wings for being born."

The doors to the cafeteria suddenly burst open and I see Mr. Woodrow and Julie.

"Now they're going to put me in prison just for telling all of you this, but you all deserve to know who lives among you. Hybrids are everywhere. The Council told you that mixing breeds is an offense punishable by death, but the truth is we are everywhere. They are afraid of us so they keep us hidden, they want nothing more than to control you—" I let out a sharp yelp just as Mr. Woodrow grabs my arm and drags me off the stage.