Strangers (ON HOLD)

Chapter Five: Emi

The class bell rang, and I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder and hurrying out of the classroom. I walked with Alix to the cafeteria, and bought a small fruit salad. She got two chocolate chip cookies, a can of soda, and a bag of chips.

"What's with all the junk food?" I asked.

"I trade it for stuff from the kids who bring lunch from home," she smiled. "The school food is gross."

I shrugged, and watched as she approached several students, coming back with exactly the same amount of food that she had started with, except they were now healthy and looked delicious. We walked outside, sitting on the steps that were on the north side of the cafeteria.

"Has school been good so far, Emi?" Alix asked.

"Good, I guess," I pursed my lips. "I've seen worse."

"What did Miss Dupont want with you yesterday?"

"She told me that she wanted me to stay in her class," I shrugged. "And she gave me a recommendation for a... tutor."

"Who?"

"He said his name was Altair," I shrugged. "He gave me a grimoire to read."

"I wonder if I've read it."

"Maybe. It looks super old, and it apparently has a ton of beginner spells."

"Well, hopefully you can learn from it," Alix smiled, then her gaze landed on something. "Oh, it's him."

"Him?" I raised an eyebrow, following her gaze.

"Ren Curran," Alix frowned. "He thinks he's so great, just because he's got a lot of lousy fire spells, and he comes from the Currans."

My supposed fiance sat on the other side of the clearing, talking with five girls who I assumed were Fire mages. The blood left my face, and my fork shook in my hands. Alix said something, but I didn't hear it. All I heard was what he had told me the night before.

"Look at her! She's so weak-looking!" he had said, and later, "I don't understand why they think you'd suit me. Come on!"

My father had said that he could consider me as a sort of pet, to be looked after. A failure in the Griffins' eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if I was locked up in a gilded cage for the rest of my life.

"Hello! Earth to Emi!" Alix waved a hand in front of my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I snapped out of it, placing my full attention back at my new friend.

"He's looking at you," Alix raised an eyebrow. "Did he do something?"

"What do you mean?"

"Around here, everyone knows what Curran's expressions mean," Alix said. "In fact, he's sort of an open book."

I glanced over her shoulder, meeting Ren's gaze. A chill ran over my body, and I quickly turned away, keeping my back to him. The expression on his face was something I was used to, but for some reason it felt worse than usual, like someone had stabbed me.

The expression on his face was one of complete and utter malice, comparable to what it would probably be if I killed someone dear to him. His eyes were burning, boring holes into the back of my head.