Ravensong

Chapter One

"Ouch!" I yelp, dropping my backpack and rubbing my forearm. My classmate and best friend, Angelica, looks at me quizzically.

"What?" she mouths at me. I shake my head, massaging my arm.

"Later," I whisper.

"Miss Evans? Is there something you'd like to contribute?" my teacher, Mrs. Wedstein, asks. The entire class turns around to stare at Angelica and me. Mrs. Wedstein glares at us, clearly angry that we interrupted her boring lecture.

I stand up, cradling my arm. "Um...can I go to the bathroom?"

The entire class snickers. Angelica blushes. Mrs. Wedstein frowns, but nods. "Yes. Make it quick." I stand up and hurriedly leave the classroom. I speed walk down the hall. I yank open the door of the bathroom and stand  in front of the sinks. I pull up the sleeve of my forearm and splash cold water on it, sighing with relief. I give my arm a quick once-over. It looks fine, if not a little red. I push my sleeve back into place and head back to the classroom.

I slide back into my seat and focus on Wedstein's lecture, letting my long black hair hide my face. I find myself absentmindedly rubbing my arm as she drones on.

Finally, the bell signaling the end of English buzzes. I swing my bag over my shoulder and lean against my desk, drumming my fingers on the metal surface as I wait for Angelica.

"Miss Evans. Briar." My teacher's voice sounds from behind, making spin around in surprise. "Are you all right?" she asks me, glancing at my arm. I nod, confused. "Good. Glad to hear you're okay," she says, briskly this time. I thank her, and she walks back to her desk after another glance at my arm. Mystified, I stand dreamily at my desk until Angelica tells me she's ready to leave.

"What was that about?" Ang asks me a few minutes later as we sit down in the cafeteria. Lunch looks better than usual today, which immediately makes me suspect it tastes terrible. Grilled chicken Caesar salad- also just happens to be one of my favorite foods. I take a bite and chew slowly as I try to decide how to answer her question.

"I think I hit my arm on something earlier today. It hurt, so I went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on it." There. That sounded good, right? Apparently it did, because Ang didn't look suspicious. 

Around us, the cafeteria buzzed with conversation. Everyone was talking about the Spirit Ceremony, where one person was selected by the Goldstone to become the next person to have a spirit animal. The Goldstone would be shipped to our district of the city and would arrive in a matter of days. Everybody hoped to be the chosen one.

I'm knocked out of my thoughts when my other best friend, Terrence, slams his tray down on the table and sits next to me. "Hey, you two. How's life going for ya?"

I roll my eyes at Terrence. He's my best friend, but he's an idiot. Ang punches him in the shoulder. He winces.

"Jeez! How is it possible for such a pretty little girl to hit that hard?" he demands, kneading his shoulder. Ang smiles sweetly and returns to her food. Terrence makes a face at me. For a minute, I'm completely confused at whatever the hell just happened. Then I shrug and burst out laughing at the two's antics.

Terrence fakes a bow. "Why, thank you, my dear lady!" he cries. Ang snorts and pokes him between the shoulder blades, making him wince again.

"Crud! Why must you injure me so?" he demands, doing his best to sound like a medieval poet, but failing extravagantly.

Ang snickers, and Terrence cracks up. All three of us fall over laughing at their stupidity. Finally, I wipe the tears from my eye and pop a strawberry into my mouth like nothing happened. Ang and Terrence start arguing-or, as they prefer it to be called, having a friendly disagreement-about whether chocolate milk from the cafeteria is better than regular milk. I smile inwardly. All is right with the world. For now...