Andromeda

Chapter Two, Eyes to Make Any Woman Rave

Wake.

I put on my uniform, a corset as the first layer, the standard garment for all women and mandatory for students between sixteen and nineteen. This was followed by a white shirt with a ruffled collar and an emerald pendant. The skirt was high waisted and dark blue.

After putting on the shoes Mom had gotten me, I made my way downstairs. Suddenly, I noticed that the bright walls and extravagant windows allowed light to filter through, giving the room a fuzzy and warm feeling. Despite the comfort I felt here, I couldn't help but think how cold it must be in the winter.

One by one, my roommates woke up. They took time to go through the routine I had already completed.

"Classes are to start in thirty minutes!" A voice called from the hall; it got more distant as it moved down.

"Charlotte, Charlotte!" I rushed over to her bed. "Thirty minutes is not a lot for us, alright? This place is colossal!" The rest of our roommates took their time. Could they have already learned the campus? I continued to rush Charlotte.

Her eyes opened, I glared into them.

"Hurry!" I yelled. She groaned as she groggily emerged from the sheets. In my haste, I ran into one of my roommates as she was exiting. She was much taller than I, older too possibly.

"Apologies!" My eyes were at her chest, where her ruby pendant lied. I stared long enough to observe the other necklace resting around her neck. A constellation, the water serpent.

"Could you stop looking at my chest?" Her voice trembled.

"Oh goodness, oh dear, oh my! I'm so sorry! I was just admiring the constellation of your necklace. It's the water serpent, if you weren't already aware." She took a look at the pendant.

"I didn't actually know that. I can now see the resemblance." She looked back up at me. "How did you know that?"

"I've done quite a bit of stargazing! A passion of mine, really."

A guard of the school opens the door we were unknowingly standing right next to. He eyes the girl.

"Mallory Addaway for testing. Follow me." Without another word, without a goodbye, Mallory took off with the guard.

I peeked out the doorway, watching them walk. The guard's hand gripped her wrist as he pulled her through the halls. For testing? Her grades could be inadequate. I must not let my grades slip in that case. I turned around to see Charlotte waiting.

"I'm the one that needs to hurry?"

"Come on, come on! Let's go!" We walked through the school as much as we could with Charlotte's limp. Our first class separates us from each other. We split up and I went to find my class. I was in the second row, where my assigned seat was.

"Good morning, students," one of the teachers began, "Welcome to your first official day of class. These are elixirs that you must drink every other day. This is a prerequisite to begin your classes."

He began handing out the elixirs that went with each emblem, I guessed. I wondered what was in the elixirs, but my wonderment immediately evaporated when I took a sip. It tasted sweet and relaxed my nerves.

"Excuse me," a tall boy raised his hand.

"Yes?" The teacher said in an annoyed tone.

"What's in those elixirs anyway?"

I looked at the boy, worried that he might get in trouble. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment, but when the teacher answered, he suddenly looked away.