The Numbers on Our Arms

Chapter 31

She drew up to her feet and drew her blinds down to stop the sun and eyes streaming into her room. Her eyes glanced to her alarm clock, a black block with curved edges and red digital numbers.

Only eight o'clock.

She sighed and went to her wardrobe and pulled up some of her more formal clothes by her parents' taste. Would she have to meet her fiancé again today? The last time had been at her parents New Year's Eve party, but he had ignored her to instead spend time with his friends. Not that she didn't want him to ignore her at that point in her life, though a few years before now she would have been insulted by that.

After she put on a light mint dress with a layered hem that fell down to her knees and that came down from the waistline that had two strips of fabric from the waistline that formed a bow at the back. There was a ruffle detail at the bust area that was a sweetheart neckline and it had bell sleeves. She clipped on her necklace of a diamond hourglass from her sixteenth birthday and a few other bracelets that her mother liked on her. Then she put on her heirloom hoop earrings before she took a look in the mirror. Her heart grasped at her. She hated it. The colour she hated, the dress style wasn't something she would usually wear, but the necklace was great. Unfortunately, too expensive to take to school, but that didn't matter right now.

She reached over to her bed and took out her flip phone that Leilah had brought her. She sent the text 'They put locks on the outside windows' to her before she hid the phone beneath her bed. It may not be laundry day today, but she could see them finding an excuse to move it anyway.

The morning went by before the bell rang for ten o'clock and she now sat in the reception room, a handbag in front of her knees. The door clicked open and she looked up to see a woman with azure hair, a few strands framing her face hilst the rest of her hair was pulled up into a braiding bun. She wore a pale blazer with a stiff collar and sleeves that came down to her wrists, a black blouse underneath, and a chequered skirt.

She stood up to her feet and shook her hand. "Good morning, Elodie."

"Good morning." She looked around. "Is your mother here yet?"

She shook her head. "She went somewhere and hasn't come back yet."

"In the house?"

She nodded. She took her seat on the sofa and continued to fiddle with her fingers.

"So how is school going?" she asked.

"It's going well."

"You're the Queen there, right?"

"No," she replied, her heart thumping loudly in her ears. "I'm currently the school Ace."

"Ah, I thought that was only a position in single sex schools. What does that mean you do?"

"It just means that I don't participate in Turf Wars."

"Don't you still need to train your ability?"

"Aren't I a higher level than your son?"

"There is no point in giving up now."

Before she could reply, her mother walked through the archway, carrying a notebook in hand, and she slammed it down onto the coffee table in front of them. She took a seat next to Elodie on the other sofa and opened the notebook to flick through the pages. "I've started a notebook for possible themes. It's not heavily done yet as I just done it in my free time. Have you been able to get the booking for the venue yet?"

"Yes." She smiled. "It's the one my family has been using for decades."

"Okay." She opened up the page. "I was thinking of these colour themes for it. Will that be going with the venue?"