Camp Dynasties

Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Alana
"ALANA!" Mom yelled.
"What is it?" I asked back, loud enough so she could hear me.
"SCHOOL!" We had just finished winter break and today was the first day back at school. I groggily got out of bed and got dressed. Today I wore a holographic pink top, with a silver strap around my neck, holding it up. I also wore some cute vintage ripped jeans from the 2020s. They are, like, 200 years old, but still in good condition.
I walked downstairs and grabbed my school bag and lunchbox. It was empty, but at lunch, it'd be full. I quickly packed my computer and glasses in my backpack, with my lunchbox.
"Alana!" My mom said excitedly,
"What?" I asked with a laugh.
"Are you excited for school?"
"No!"
"Why?"
"Cause it's boring!" I said, "Oh!" I checked my watch and saw that the other kids were about to leave in the teleportation machine. We all decided to leave at 7:00 sharp, so we'd be at school at a good time, nice and early.
"Bye, Mom! Gotta go to the booth" I said as I pushed open the door.
"Bye! Have a good Dynasty day! Remember, tomorrow, since you're almost 13, you get tested!" She yelled as I slammed the door shut. I forgotâ€"Dy-NASTY day. We must learn all about the 'nasty Dynasties' which are people who can control elements. I personally like them a lot. I walked over to the teleporting machine and entered the school's location on the podium. With the other kids in my neighborhood in the pod with me, my body disintegrated and came back together at school.
As soon as the light turned green I pushed the door open and walked into school. I swiftly walked to my locker. The code is 12-35-10 I thought as I turned and pushed buttons. My locker then opened and I put my stuff away. We had to be proficient in this because of the government. They said we had to be fast, to learn more so that we wouldn't be chaotic like the past 100 years ago.
I slammed my locker shut and started to my class. I walked down the glass hallways and went to my classroom, where my teacher, Mrs. Ono, taught. As I sat down at my desk, the teacher walked in.
"Welcome, everyone! Today we are learning about Dy-NASTIES!" She said, with a lot of emphasis on the 'nasty'. Sure, they're so 'nasty'.
"The Dynasties," She continued, "Were created in the mid 2000s by 8 women, each who experimented with one element. Ireane, who the country was named after, had all the powers that I am about to list. Lila was the original light Dynasty line, Darna was darkness, earth for Fir, Ash had fire, Opal used water, but her bloodline died off-" The teacher was cut short when my best friend, Anne, laughed.
Mrs. Ono practically glared daggers at her. "What's so funny Anne?" She asked, giving her a major death stare.
"Uh… nothing Mrs. Ono!" Anne said frantically, "I just thought it was humorous that someone so powerful could die off like that so quickly!"
"Why don't you teach the class then, if there's something funny about my teaching."
"I-I- Okay…" Anne said, unsure.
"Anne!" I hissed, "Don't give you-know-what away!"
"I know, Alana," She replied. Good. No one can know.
"Once…" Anne started, "There were 8 very smart women who made a serum. One for each power. They injected it to themselves. They thought it would only give them powers, but were they wrong. Some of you in the class may be a Dynasty and not know it." Anne was staring at me when she said that, probably because of our pact and because she's generally nervous when she has to present in front of the class.
"Every few generations in their families there is a 'Dynasty' who is born. However, the Water Dynasty was believed to have died off and no one has held the power since the first few heirs. And one of the other ladies, Ireane, held all of the powers rather than just one. But Ireane was thought to have been overambitious since she had never had an heir who held the same power. However, in her honor, we officially named our country after her."
"Biggest mistake, naming our country after a Dynasty," I hear Mrs. Ono grumble. But then she quickly raised her voice. "OKAY! BACK TO YOUR SEAT, ANNE!" She spat, but Anne still walked proudly back to her seat, a grin on her face.
"Anne!" I whispered.
"What? I showed that teacher who's boss!"
"But she is the boss!"
"Says who?"
"Says common sense?"
"You think I car-"
"NO TALKING! DO YOU WANT DETENTION?" The teacher yelled. We were all silent after that. She continued.
"Shanti made the shapeshifting Dynasty and Rena the mind-reading." My friend Vivian shifted in her seat, looking more uncomfortable than everyone else in the room with our teacher's ranting after the shapeshifting. I wonder why.
"The Dynasties are dangerous. We used to like them until the second Great Depression, and then we had zero understanding of how they work. That scares us. Maybe eventually we'll be able to understand, but for now… they're monsters. We were rebuilt by the government, and we are now better than before. If you happen to be a Dynasty, you go to Camp Dynasty, a wonderful and magical camp used to train Dynasties and help them discover and practice their powers." She rolled her eyes at the 'wonderful and magical part' seeing that she completely hated Dynasties, like everyone else.
"And in later classes, you'll do different activities that relate to the different Dynasties." She groaned, probably still as eager to get her paycheck and leave as she was every day.
"Why are Dynasties bad?" Anne asked.
"ARE YOU BEGGING ME FOR DETENTION OR SOMETHING? WE ARE SIMPLY LEARNING ABOUT THEM NOTHING MORE!" We were all silent and wide-eyed staring at Mrs. Ono since she was usually a quiet, calm, and very old lady. After an eternity of silence, she continued her speech, but honestly, I'd rather she stayed silent.
"Back to the topic at hand," she sighed. "The Dynasties will then be at camp for 5 years, or if they excel, less. After camp is completed they go to Dynasty City." I knew what it probably looked like: destroyed, breaking, terrible, and practically bursting at the seams. Based on how much people hate them, I can't imagine them making the place look good.
After another long hour of Mrs. Ono being super dramatic about how disgusting Dynasties are the bell rang. Great. Another long class about how bad Dynasties are. I rolled my eyes in disgust at my teacher rather than the Dynasties. The mob of kids behind me pushed me out of the classroom. I started the next class and as I looked around I noticed that the glass panels were all tinted a different color of the rainbow, plus black, white, and pink for the extra elements. Funny how we decorated our school to represent the Dynasties even though they are truly despised by all the staff here. I was naturally drawn to the pink panels since it's my favorite color.
Finally, after wandering through the never-ending halls of my school, I eventually found myself in Mr. Ramochilli's class.
He's the science teacher, so I assumed we'd do an earth thing. I was correct. We did a super fun assignment where we had to say if something was rock or metal. Yes, I am being sarcastic. This was about as fun as watching paint dry. It was a worksheet and he showed the rock or metal at the front of the classroom. I thought we'd be doing fun things, like play in water, or explode things. But this was the direct opposite.
"Anne," I whispered.
"What?"
"I'm so bored!"
"I know, right?"
"Worse than the 'National Day of Standing!'"
"I didn't know that was even possible…" she grumbled.
"I don't think anyone did."
"So class, is this a rock or metal?" Mr. Ramochilli asked us. He was holding a rock from outside that he probably grabbed from the parking lot on his way inside. Wow. Such a hard question. We had a few more of those until our pages were full of the easiest answers to the easiest questions to ever exist on planet Earth. Literally. Even easier than 1+1. You could ask a 2-year-old if it's a rock or metal and they'd get it right. We still had an hour of class left.
"Alright, kids. I know we have another hour of class, BUT we will still do something!" We all groaned. All we wanted to do was play games and chat. Of course, Mr. Ramochilli would have us do something. He's not a strict teacher. But you always are doing something each day, never a free day.
The class continued to talk and stuff, and eventually, I couldn't hear myself! "CLASS!" Mr. Ramochilli screamed, "WERE GOING OUTSIDE!" Everyone cheered. There was a park right near our school, and surely we were going to go there. Why would I assume that? We went outside, in the parking lot, and got a lecture. "When you're in my class you do not TALK you do not CHEER or anything unless INSTRUCTED! UNDERSTAND?" We all stood in silence. I had no idea why our teachers were so harsh today! First, Mrs. Ono, now Mr. Ramonchilli? Something's up…
Dynasties. Today is going to be long with teachers yelling and being afraid of us. Some of the kids I'd known all my life may be a Dynasty, and not know it. The teachers are SCARED of US! This'll be fun…
Our teacher led us inside and we did another worksheet. We just sat in silence when we were done, afraid. As soon as I turned my paper in, the bell rang, signaling that I had to weave my way through the webs of children in the halls again. I managed to make my way to Mrs. Lani's class just in time, and I ran over to sit next to Anne, who had somehow made it here before me.
"C-c-las-ss' ' Mrs. Lani said fearfully. Anne and I were giving her our usual death stare with our very strange bright, electric blue and hot pink eyes. "In this c-class, usually we re-ead. Now we're learning about the wW-wind Dynasty and my own experience with a sibling who is indeed a Dynasty." I had ZERO clue that my own teacher's sibling was a Dynasty! I bet she was a little jealous…
Anne and I exchanged looks and the convo went like this…
"What?!" I said.
"I know!" she replied.
"Sibling a Dynasty?"
"What?"
"SIBLING A Dynasty!?"
"Ooh yeah!"
"I wonder what power?"
"Same!" After that, we both looked up at the teacher, as she explained her story…
"My sister always had fits, and when that happened it'd happen it'd get strangely cold. We always thought it was a coincidence, but as she grew older the cold got even worse, and when we were in her presence we could feel chills run down our spines, like fingers. Any guesses on her power?" Of course, Mrs. Lani would make us 'use context clues to answer questions!'"
"WIND!" One kid yelled,
"NO, ICE!" Another commented,
"FIRE! SHE TAKES HEAT AWAY!"
"NO, THE FIRE'D GET BIGGER DOOFUS!" This went on for a while till…
"ICE! ICE! ICE! ICE!" was a chant echoing throughout the classroom.
"CAN I FINISH MY STORY!?" Mrs. Lani yelled over us. Outburst #3 of the day! Couldn't get any worse! Again, our whole class immediately got silent and nervously glanced at each other but didn't seem to blink. "THANK YOU." She sighed loudly, and we stayed silent.
"Now, as I was saying, My sister was a WIND Dynasty, not ice. When her results came in my parents were devastated. I didn't have the powers, only she did. I will miss her terribly, but that was years ago. I wish I could see her again, but I can't. After the results, she left. I haven't seen her since that day." Mrs. Lani had tears in her eyes after that, "Now if you would please excuse me, you can chat if you'd like just don't tell my boss."
"FINALLY!" Anne burst.
"Well... if you think that, Anne, maybe you will have to do a worksheet-" She was cut off when the sprinkler systems went off, and my ears rang from the sound of the fire alarm. We were all fearful as we ran out of the building. I looked over at Anne and she was furious! "STUDENTS! PLEASE FORM A LINE AS WE EVACUATE!" We all, very unquietly, formed a blob and walked down the hallways. Anne and I locked our arms together, so we wouldn't get separated and walked through the glass halls. In the chaos, we were pushed through halls and away from our classes. We pushed away from the mob and were alone in the hallway.
"What the heck?" I said.
"I know…" Anne replied unsurely.
"Why did they go off?" I commented and looked at my friend suspiciously.
"I don't know, but we need to go outside!"
We ran around and found our class. We walked with them and pretended that we never got separated. We walked a little more and our class eventually made it outside and got in a better line. After a while of standing there the teacher said: "If there was a fire, it was probably a DISGUSTING fire Dynasty!" After that, Anne gave me a sideways glance. I did the same back to her. We all looked at each other, each suspecting someone else to have started the fire.
Another million years later we were updated. "ATTENTION STUDENTS AND STAFF," the PA boomed, "THERE IS NO FIRE, THE SPRINKLERS HAVE ACCIDENTALLY GONE OFF! WE ARE CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING THE SOURCE OF THE ACCIDENT, MOST LIKELY A DYNASTY, BUT SINCE THE SCHOOL IS SO WET, YOU ALL ARE PERMITTED TO GO HOME EARLY. PLEASE FORM A LINE BEHIND THE DESTINATION BOOTH AND USE IT 4 PEOPLE AT A TIME TO RETURN HOME. FIRST COLLECT ALL YOUR BELONGINGS."
I was excited to go home sooner, especially since Anne was coming. She usually took the monorail home, but not today. I didn't know how she'd react to the destination booth though.
We all flowed back inside to collect our items from our lockers.
"Meet at the girls bathroom by Mrs. Ono's class." I told Anne.
"Okay, then we'll leave." She replied. We split our separate ways and got our stuff. I punched in my locker code and grabbed my bag. I slammed my locker shut, and caught a glance at my crush, Jaxon Hart. He was the hottest boy in our school, but didn't seem to notice me, but sometimes i'd see him stealing glances. I practically melted into a puddle right then and there.
'Alana!" I heard anne yell as I snapped my head to her. She beckoned for me to follow, and I did. We walked the halls in little conversation about the day, but I started ranting about how amazing Jaxon was.
Eventually we stepped outside and got in the line for the destination booth.
"Anne." I said, ending our previous conversation.
"What?" Anne replied.
"The booth gives you a strange feeling, just so you know, like you're falling apart and getting back together, like you and Kaleb last year."
"Haha, real funny."
"I know. I'm SO funny!"
"You're not."
"NEXT!" The teacher called. Even though I did this every day, I was afraid. It was scary watching the people before me turn into atoms and then disappear. I knew that happened to me every day. But still, that's freaky!
Anne and I walked over to the booth, which looked like a science-fiction movie pod, but much shorter, about 7 feet tall. There was a green light that turned red when people were teleporting. There were also 4 faded footprints. Anne and I stepped in and Shayla and Jason stepped in too. They've been dating since 4th grade.
"Destination?" The robotic voice asked. Shayla was by the podium and put in my neighborhood. Every school and neighborhood has one, so getting around is easy. We can also take the monorail as Anne does. She's scared of the teleportation booth, but she'd never admit it. She was going to but then saw how it worked and… she never tried it again. Now she has to because the monorail doesn't go to my house. I looked over at Anne, and she looked green, whether from the current green light around us or if she felt sick.
"Closing your eyes is helpful," I said to Anne.
"WHY?" She said frantically.
"It'll make it easier. I tried it with my eyes open and it was terrifying."
"O-ok-okay." She stuttered.
I saw the light turn green to red and felt like I was falling apart. Not like you've felt, different. Like I was turning into pieces. I closed my eyes as I disintegrated, letting the machine do its work. Then I was nothing.

I'll try to post a lot, and update, but comment what you think!! This is a longer chapter as well, don't t worry!