The Incorruptible Bond

Chapter 4

Ember was mad. No, mad wasn't a strong enough word. Furious. She could feel the flames of hatred eating away at her carefree nature. She did have a bit of an anger issue, but this was worse than before.

Em couldn't believe that Ms. Grant would punish her in such a way. No, not the lunch detention. She could deal with lunch detention, she had had it before. It was the punishment of sitting next to that girl.

The shy girl. The loner. The one nobody talked to, probably for a good reason. But she couldn't understand what her feelings were towards the situation. After sitting in that chair and making eye contact, she felt a pull in her heart. She felt oddly content, and that wasn't okay with her. Her father had taught her to not talk to the shy ones and she was forced to sit right next to one. She avoided talking to her and the girl with white hair minded her the same.

It was odd from that moment on in the day when Em realized she had all classes with this girl. Though she never spoke, the role call from a substitute assigned her as Aurora Borealis. Like the northern lights, Ember thought. How peculiar.

It was right before lunch and Ember felt a new mission boil up. That platinum haired girl made her feel things deep inside, yet no emotion had ever been seen on her face. Fierce determination overtook her, and Em knew she had to see something crack in the girl's mask. So she happened upon Aurora at her locker, she couldn't miss an opportunity.

Peeking to see that no one was near, and slammed the old locker closed.

A goofy grin bubbled up to her face, a phony one at that, and she made to a fake apology. "Whoops. Sorry." She was waiting. Waiting for Aurora to say something, to make a move, to do anything out of her cool, collected nature. But she merely opened the locker again with a, "Please watch where you're going next time."

"What? Why aren't you mad?" Ember questioned.

Em watched as Aurora simply took her lunchbox out of her locker, not once looking back to her. "Anger leads to violence and violence is never the way to deal with a situation."

Fury shot through her. How could she saw things so calmly? There has to be some reaction! Ember thought. Then did the first thing that came to her mind. She slapped the lunchbox out of Aurora's hands.

"Really?" Ember asked. Aurora picked it up and responded shortly.

"Really."

She knew what happened next was quite juvenile of her, but Ember couldn't contain herself. She stuck her foot out to trip Aurora as she tried to leave.

Ember bounced in the balls of her feet. She didn't want to hurt the girl, but she had to get something. Maybe there would finally be the reaction, any reaction. As Aurora stood up, she knew there was. Aurora eyes turned stone cold in rage as she stood up and despite this, Em smiled. It was a bright, wicked grin.

"If you truly want violence, perhaps I can make an exception!" Ember barely recognized the words before she felt herself thrown against the wall. Em hissed as her head snapped backwards on the brick, yet felt something odd from touching Aurora (even if it was Aurora's arm against her throat). She felt heat in her body like she had never known and just as she moved to shove back, a teachers voice called out.

"Break it up you two!" They moved apart, but while they awaited discipline the girls continued to stare at each other. "That's detention after school for the whole week!" Ember smirked, she knew those people well, though Aurora immediately shut down. Her eyes found the floor and it seemed as if her steps were slightly more wobbly.

Ember went through her lunch detention just fine and when time came for after school detention, neither girl went near each other. Aurora, for once, sat in the very back doing schoolwork while Ember sat with her usual crowd-right in the front and constantly being reprimanded.

Though both girls knew that something had been pushed down the hill, neither dreamt of how fast things would go spiraling.