Iridescent

20| We're Criminals

I woke the next morning next to Vel. I offered to let Vel sleep on the bed, but she settled with sleeping bags, feeling extremely guilty knowing I was going to spend the night on the floor. 

Once we were ready to head to class, Tracy approached us with a look of displeasure.

"The maximum capacity is one," she eyed Vel down, "not two."

"We were having a sleepover," I simply explained.

"I don't care what you two are doing, but as the co-leader, I need to warn you for health and safety reasons."

"And what are those, may I ask?" I tilted my head, a challenging stare. She replied with the same gaze back.

"I don't make the rules, Cassandra. Don't blame me for not warning you." She spun on her heels and walked off, while I stood there crossing my arms and huffing.

"Ignore her," I said to Vel, but I already see her change in expression.

"This is no long term plan. We both know that. I have to move back to my dorm."

"We'll figure something out," I reassured. 

"Yo, Cassie!" 

I turned to see Ted and Will making their way to me. I let out a smile, but at the back of my mind, Jaxton's warning was ringing clear. 

"Hey Ted! Hey Will!" I greeted, pretending nothing has changed. And it did seem like nothing has changed. Ted and Will looked both bright and happy, ready to start the day fresh. "We're heading to class."

"Oh, same here," Ted gestured, giving a gingerly wave at Vel. "Hey!"

"Hi," Vel replied with a soft voice.

"Have you heard of the championships?" Will butt in. "Sign-ups are today."

"Oh, what's that?" Vel and I were both the newbies here, so we didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

"Championships happen before the ball every semester," Ted explained, "people who sign up get to compete with one another. The winner of each round has to beat every single opponent till their defeat or till the end of the comp."

"Sounds tiring, absolutely not going," I eyed Vel and Vel nodding, affirming what I said. 

"Right, Will and I are signing up for fun." 

Who fights for fun? I guess in our world we do.

"Well, all the best to you two," I grinned. "If we get the chance, we might come and watch."

"Yeah, it's usually pretty epic!" Will's eyes lit up when he mentioned it.

Weird vibes? He's such a sunshine boy. 

Once we bid our goodbyes, I walked Vel to her art class. 

"Vel, if they come back again..."

"They probably will."

"If anything goes wrong," I swallowed and I think I didn't need to mention more for her to know what I meant, "you have two choices. Either you leave this school or you make yourself as seen as possible. Go to class, go to parties and pubs, go to comps... make everyone remember that you exist, so that when you disappear, people will know. They won't be able to hide it."

Vel gulped and scanned her surroundings. The chatter and happy laughter of students didn't seem to fit our mood. 

"Make sure you walk with someone after class," I warned, "always, always walk with someone. Don't go anywhere alone. If you can't find anyone, call me. I'll leave class if I have to."