High School of the Zodiacs

Chapter One: Erin

I stand in front of the large, barbed wire fence, and the small, white building that lies beyond it. It looks more like a prison than a boarding high school. I swallow as I walk through the gates, not wanting to show any fear.
I read the name of the school that is engraved deep into the Quartz of the school:
Zodiac High School
What kind of name is that? Zodiac? As in, the twelve signs? I think about my own sign. November 7... Scorpio. I am a Scorpio. I've never given my sign much thought, but this ridiculous school causes me to think solely about it.
Suddenly, I feel a presence beside me. I turn my head and see a tall, reddish-brown haired boy with deep blue eyes staring at me. My face remains blank and expressionless.
"Yes?" I say. He swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. He scratches the back of his neck.
"H-hi... I'm Alex. Uh, do you know the deal with this place? My parents told me this is a 'special school for special kids'," he says sheepishly, as if I were going to sting him with a scorpion's venom. I laugh a little at the thought.
"My parents told me the same thing," I say as quietly as possible. "And I'm as clueless as you." I sigh.
"The name of the school... Zodiac High. It got me thinking about my sign. I'm an Aries; what're you?" he asks.
"Scorpio," I say flatly yet proudly. I hold eye contact with him. I must intimidate Alex; he looks away after a while.
I gesture for him to follow me inside the building, where at least a dozen other people sit in a circle around a tall, cloaked man.
I quickly join the others, and the man begins.
"All twenty-four of you are here now. I am sure you all have your questions about this school, and I am here to answer them. Each and every one of you have abilities that other humans don't have. They were given to you by the constellation under which you were born, but in exchange for you receiving these abilities, the universe has been thrown off-balance. Of course, you would not notice the difference since you have lived like this all your life. That is why your parents have sent you here, so you can help restore the balance of the universe," the man says.
I don't even "tch" in response like I usually do. What he says sounds so ridiculous as to be a fairy tale. His words play through my mind but I still can't comprehend it.
"I can tell you want proof... You, there," the man points to a blue-haired boy chewing gum, "come up here."
The boy stops chewing, and hesitantly rises from his seated position. He walks next to the man.
"You are a Pisces, correct?" the man asks. The boy nods in response.
The man whispers something into the boy's ear, and he goes completely rigid. His eyes close, and he takes a deep inhale. When he exhales, he spreads his arms apart and water is suspended in the area between his spread arms.
I gasp. Is this really happening? No, no, it must be a dream. I dig my nails into my thigh until I bite my lip to hold in a cry. I'm not dreaming, I'm not dreaming, then how is this happening?
The boy looks just as stunned as the rest of us, and in his eyes I see fear. Fear of himself.
The boy releases and the water falls onto the floor, seeping towards us. The people in the front back away as though the water will burn them, like acid. The boy bites his lip, embarrassed.
He returns to sit, but the kids move away from him. A wave of anger surges through me. I understand how the boy must feel. I've been there myself.
I stand up. "Can someone tell me why we're ignoring this kid? Just because he's different?"
With that I go and sit next to him without another word. He stares at me but I don't even look at him in response. I simply return my attention to the cloaked man, who looks as shocked as everyone else.
"You," he says, "I can tell you're a Scorpio."
"So what if I am?" I say.
I can hear the smile in his voice. How is he so nonchalant? And I still don't understand any of this.
"Please, come here," he says, beckoning me. Slowly, just to annoy Him, I rise from my sitting position. Then I slowly stride over to him, reaching him after about two minutes. He seems unfazed. I scowl, and he chuckles.
"Let's see what you're capable of," he says lowly. He leans into my ear and whispers, "Alright, Scorpio. Let's start by clearing your mind of all your anger."
He touches his index and middle finger to my forehead and I inhale sharply. I feel as though a weight has been lifted, but that I didn't even realize the weight until now. I feel... Calm. Pure, even.
"Good. Now, imagine that you're dividing your body, mind, and soul apart from each other."
I imagine this, and suddenly, I see. I see everything there is to see, I can't even explain it. Like I'm seeing through the eyes of a god, or something, I see everything at once and comprehend it. Men and women dancing at a party, a child whining about school, two high school Boys struggling to reveal their feelings for each other. And then, the bad things. A girl cutting her wrist open until blood pours from it, a man tying a woman's hands together and pushing her to the ground, two thirteen year olds already wasted away by drugs and alcohol. And I feel, too. Anger and fear and happiness and lust all colliding together until I can't contain these things in my small body, and shadows burst from me, lashing out. I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand, and sink to the ground. The shadows return to my body. Now I feel impure. I shudder and try getting them out in any way possible, trying to vomit, trying to bleed just to get them out.
Finally I hear a voice through my haze.
"Erin!" a man screams, concerned. My eyes open to see a young man, perhaps 22, with deep brown eyes and black hair. It's the cloaked man, only now he's uncloaked.
"Maybe it was too much, too soon..." he says to himself. Next to him I see Alex and the blue-haired boy who I sat next to. Both of them look worried.
I scowl. "I'm fine."
Then I black out.