Nixie

Chapter 8

The dress was neatly ironed, thanks to Orodes. My make-up was minimal, but it really accentuated my eyes. My hair was in very soft curls around my head. My mind... it was a mess.

I checked my room to see if something would trigger my mind in case I saw something I had forgotten to take care of. The bed was made. The photos were pinned up. In the last two days, I had been busy making my room a more homie and it finally began to look cozy, but neat.

I turned around and in my doorframe was Macsen, leaning casually. He had been a pain in the ass ever since. It didn't show much, but the way he would do something little, that easily made me annoyed by something, started to stress me out. Now he was there, in MY doorframe. I sighed and pushed past him. He just smirked and sighed, before turning around and following me to the living room. There my brother stood, together with Kiana and Luna. They decided my house was the roomiest and nicest. They all stood there in their grey dresses. Dylan was, of course, in a grey shirt and black tight jeans, like, I know, he liked it.

"Oh, come on!" Orodes sighed. She pushed us quickly out of the door, Macsen and Chaton following her. Together we walked up to the Formation towers. Today was integration day. I was nervous. Very nervous. I didn't know much about the crews and formations, so yeah I was shaking. The two semi-circles were filled with people. On the right, the solar crew was dressed in white and gold. On the left, the lunar crew was chanting some cheers. In the line in between a bench was setup in a circle. Estelle explained that each new student would have to hold two balls in each hand. One for the Solar. One for the Lunar. Those would decide to which crew I belonged. I guess it was a better option than having to decide on your own, because I knew I wouldn't be able to choose. Kiana and Luna knew. They were practically opposites of each other and they didn't mind showing that.

I looked at Dylan as we took our seats. He didn't look at me. In fact, he was looking to someone at the other side of the circle. I followed his gaze and a smile crept up to my lips. Oh, he was doomed. I smiled and turned my head back.

The crews were both chanting their cheers and it was an organized chaos, right here. Principal Ioreth stood up and took her position on the small stage next to us.

"Bem-vindos!" Her voice echoed and the whole arena became silent. "Let us welcome our new students." A wave of applause went up, but as soon as Mrs. Ioreth raised her arms, the crowd shut up.

"These young fae are about to enter their most important part of their life. Their path into adulthood is about to begin. They have traveled from all over the world to begin training to protect this world. These twenty talented people are part of the future. Our future. Let's embrace them." Again, the crowd cheered.

"To integrate them into our academy, we will let the moon and sun drop decide." She held up the two orbs. "Elena Aleksova, please step forward," she called out and a girl with soft features and a small figure walked up to the principal. Mrs. Ioreth then gave her the solar drop in her right hand and the solar drop in the left. After a second or two, the drops both started to light up until the lunar drop dimmed its light and the solar drop turned a shade of green. The solar crew started clapping and one part on the left started shouting her name too. With a smile on her face, Elena stepped to that part of the crew and joined them.

"Elena Aleksova, Peacock!" Principal Ioreth announced. I assumed that was what the group was called. The green solar group.

Three more went up. One went to the Solar Griffins, one to the Minotaurs and one to the Lunar Hunters. Then Dylan was called to the front. Before he went, he squeezed my hand and went to the drops. They began to shine and slowly the lunar drop began to dim. The solar turned a deep blue color and the Solar crowd began cheering.

"Dylan Evergreen, Karura!"

I was up next and I was shaking. I thought this would be easy, but now I realized, this was probably going to decide a part of my future and I was scared. What if I won't fit in? What if I am an outcast?

My name was called, but I barely heard it. The cheers were sounding far away and the orbs were placed in my hands, but I barely noticed. Until they began to shine. I didn't know what happened for the next few seconds, because I was blinded, but the Lunar drop was shining a bright blue. Principal Ioreth took the drops out of my hand and I walked to the crowd that was cheering the most. The Susulu.

"Nixie Evergreen, Susulu!" I heard the principal say. Suddenly an arm wrapped around me, hugging me. A voice squealed into my ear, "Welcome, Nixie!"

I took a seat and the sounds subdued. I was actually here. Again, my body filled with the feeling of belonging. I was finally able to try to start over and make friends.

Then I saw Luna. The Lunar drop turned a bright yellow color and everyone around be jumped up again, including me. She smiled lovely. She turned and I followed her gaze. Her sister was beaming and waving. Then I looked past Estelle and saw Dylan. I was sad that we were separated, but maybe it was good. He didn't look at me. He looked at Luna and I couldn't help smile a little. I, too, looked at Luna and she was blushing.

A few others that I didn't know got integrated before it was Kiana's turn. She was as radiant as ever and I could feel she was excited for this. Confidently, she took the drops and held them up. The Solar drop turned a bright shade of red and the opposite crowd erupted, again, into cheers. She almost ran to her formation and they embraced her. When it became quiet again, she looked at me and waved. I smiled and waved back.

Only three people were left and the atmosphere was amazing. People were hoping that their group would have an extra member, especially the Solar Griffins, since they had only gotten one new member.

The last three were all boys. Each dark haired, although you could see they were not related. The first two got into the same formation as me. As they joined me on the bleachers, they each said their name. The first was called Greyson. He took the seat next to me. When the next guy also go into Sununu, he started cheering next to me. The other guy ran up to us and greeted Greyson with a hug. Then he turned to me and shook my hand. "I'm Ec," he said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nixie," I shouted over the sound around us.