Fortnight Field Academy

Chapter 2

Thanks to Mom's extremely slow driving (or "cautious" as she called it), we managed to arrive forty minutes late to our appointment.

Waiting outside the main building, the school, was Headmistress Lilith Goodman. She was an old witch and fit the stereotype to a T. She had long, pitch- black hair with a few hints of silver. Although she was over seventy years old, middle age by witch standards, she had a wrinkle- free face and could easily pass for forty among humans. Despite the permanent scowl she wore, her high cheekbones almost made it look as though she smiled twenty- four hours a day. Her most stunning trait was her bright blue eyes. They were piercing as she glared at us.

"Ms. Saephan," she greeted in a sharp tone, displaying a slight British accent. "Welcome back. Why don't you unload your stuff while I speak with your parents? Building 2, room 107. The Repertum Ceremony is at four- thirty." With that, she stalked out toward the huge red- bricked building.

My parents gave me an apologetic glance and followed after her, leaving me alone in the middle of the woods.

The trees stood tall and strong, blocking the sun and creating the illusion that it was later than it actually was. Besides the seclusion, one of the main reasons the Alii chose to put the school here was the limited exposure to the sun. Almost one out of every ten Alii identified as a vampire. This allowed them to get from class to class without cringing in pain. There were areas of sunlight nearby, so those who needed the sun could easily access it.

It was mid- August and I could spot a trees showing signs of changing color. The dirt was a dark brown; it had probably rained recently.

I grabbed the two lightest boxes from the minivan's trunk, spun around, and bumped right into a short girl with curly blonde hair and wide brown eyes.

I was so surprised, I nearly dropped my load. "Uh h- hi," I stammered.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I heard you were here and I couldn't wait to meet you!" She was practically bouncing with excitement. Her grin stretched from ear to ear, exposing two little dimples on each cheek. "Let me help you with those," she said while grabbing a box twice her size from the car.

"Thanks," I spoke uneasily. "Um... who are you?" I asked in the politest way possible.

"I'm so sorry!" she shrieked again. "I'm Maggie Monroe- light Marylyn but not quite as awesome. I'm one of your roommates. Gosh, how we've been looking forward to meeting you!"

We began walking east down the man- made trail toward the girls' dorm. If you took the west path, it would lead to an identical set of dorms for the boys.

"I'm Phoenix Saephan, but I guess you already knew that," I announced a little sheepish. "You can call me Nix, though."

"That's so pretty!" she exclaimed. Without giving me a chance to respond, she launched into a stream of incessant babbling. "I'm so nervous about the Ceremony! I really hope I get something good. Not that one species is better than the other," she added quickly." I just want something that suits me personally. Both of my parents are Oracles and I know that has nothing to do with what I'll be, but I keep hoping it will. My older brother is a werewolf, so obviously not..."

I tuned her out as we arrived at the intersection of dorm buildings. There were four of them, all pointing in different directions. Their corners touched to create a giant open square in the center. From this angle, I could see ten windows on both stories. Altogether, there were forty apartments, each with two rooms. Two people would share one room so basically, we had to shove three hundred and twenty people in one building. Three elongated steps lead to a key activated door in the middle of each building.

We made our way to the south dwelling. A large metal two hung above the door, representing the year of the tenants. Freshmen began in the east dorm, moved clockwise every year, and eventually ended in the north as seniors.

Before we could reach the third step, the door swung open with a wailing screech. I automatically felt a strange wave of jealousy. The girl on the other side couldn't be more than eighteen, but she could easily be in the running for most beautiful person on Earth. She was a little taller than me- maybe 5'8 or 5'9- with an athletic figure that wasn't overly muscular and had curves that most people would kill for. Her dark brown wavy hair had reddish tint and fell just below her chest. Her massive eyes, the same color as her hair, held a witty confidence.

Her pink rosy lips were pressed together in a smirk. "I can't tell if you're carrying the box, or the box is carrying you." She grabbed the container from Maggie's hands.

"Thanks."

The girl turned to me. "You must be Phoenix. I'm Drew Morales; your girl for all things wrong, nasty, and illegal."

I just stared. Finally, I lamely muttered "My name is Nix."

"Nix," she repeated. "Don't worry. I'm a pretty kick- ass roommate. My parents are loaded so we're gonna have the best looking place in this joint."

Roommate? She couldn't possibly be a sophomore. She just looked so... mature. And I'd have to live with her? That didn't look to promising. Girls like her always turned out to be complete bitches. The last thing I needed right now was relentless torment from my own home.