Icy Inferno (Troyler AU)

⋙ Chapter Five

 Did I
See you
See me
In a new light

Reunion ~ The XX

Troye

Why was it that every time I got my hopes up, they came crashing down?

Just before the river scenario, I’d told Caspar about how my opinion of the turquoise haired boy was changing. I explained what happened in Powergy, and how Mr Lester had said we clearly didn’t hate each other. Caspar was dumbfounded by the situation. At the same time he said it made sense. He advised me to wait for the perfect opportunity to amend my friendship with Tyler. Tyler falling into the river seemed like the perfect way to reveal I didn’t hate him.

What I hadn’t anticpated was for him to set in his ways.

Despite everything, Tyler couldn’t help but mock Waters. I didn’t know why he was so defensive about his ancestry, or why he was determined not to have an ambulance called up. I wondered whether the two were linked, whether someone in his family ran the local hospital, and he didn’t want to be associated with it. Something told me that he had far darker reasons.

I left the thoughts at bay, and set out to get on with life. Hannah came into school on the next Monday, her heart evidently healing. We were speaking quietly to one another in the common room. She told me how her therapist wasn’t going to see her anymore because of her elemental powers, but on the upside she’d seen a cute girl in the waiting room. I was quizzing her about it all, until Caspar came in. We stopped then because he smelt so strongly of cologne.

I fake gagged. “How much cologne are you wearing? Are you trying to suffocate us?”

“Who are you trying to impress today, Cas?” Hannah asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“I don’t know what you two are going on about,” he said, shooting a venomous glance at us that seemed to warn us to drop the subject. Me and Hannah shrunk back into the beanbags, giggling.

A teacher stormed into the room, slamming the door behind her. It was Ms Hart, her face flaming as much as her hair. She slammed her books down on the table. It was then that she acknowledged the rest of us. Whereas some teachers would have apologised for that kind of behaviour, Ms Hart’s approach was to explain herself.

“All members of staff have been told to tell you lot about today’s changes in the law. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last month, you’ll know that there’s been pressure on the government to create more laws against us. President Kahnye-Knot has finally caved. They’ve finally released the new legislations, and it gives me great honour to tell you all today about it.”

She studied her hands, which were written over with various notes. She cleared her throat dramtically. “All elementals aged four to ninety shall be systematically checked. They shall be questioned and have their power strength recorded. This will be done in their school by local police officers, who are considered unbiased and known to uphold the law. There shall be five levels of power: low, moderate, substantial, severe and critical. Each elemental shall be put into one of the five categories. If the person is labelled as substantial or severe, they shall be taken in for further questioning. If deemed critical, they shall be sent to the Confinement of Elementals. These checks shall be done bimonthly.”

Ms Hart ended by eyeing every one of us and saying “Basically, we’ve got no hope.”

*

The last lesson of the day was politics, which was taught by Ms Hart. I wasn’t surprised when I found her still fuming over the new laws. I was suprised when, although everyone had settled down in their chairs, she was still ranting and raving about it. Five minutes into the lesson she stopped, and finally brought up what we were doing that day.