Chapter 12-
1st Person POV-
My eyes fly open, looking around the room. My racing heart slowly returns to its normal beat. I'm in my room. At Raven Academy. I'm home. I smile, breathing out in relief. That was a horrible nightmare. I'll tell Josh about it at breakfast.
I get up, yelling "What time is it, Sera?". I didn't hear Sera's alarm go off to start getting ready. I must have been sleeping pretty deeply. When I look in the bathroom, though, Sera's not in there. My heart freezes. Where's Sera?
It's okay, she probably just already left. But my heart won't slow as I get ready. And when I go to put on my clothes, they're not there. Red sweaters and plaid skirts have replaced my clothes.
"You've got to be kidding me..." I mutter. I put the stuff on, hating every second of it. I hate skirts more than anything. When I turn around, I realize that Sera's stuff has all been cleared out, leaving the room empty.
Where am I?
I run out of the room, leaving my stuff. I pass students in the hall that I've never seen before. All of them look at me strangely as I run past. All of them have the same uniform as I do. I run all the way to the boys' rooms. I catch myself at room 22A.
"Josh?!" I scream, banging on the door as hard as I can. I can't breathe. My heart is frozen in my chest. "JOSH?!"
The door is thrown open but instead of Josh standing there, it's Nalin.
"Nalin! Thank God! What's going on?"
Nalin looks confused around the hall and then inside his room. "I don't know. I just woke up earlier here. I don't know where Josh is. Everything is strange." His eyes glance up and down the hall suspiciously.
"Sera isn't in our room either. There are people I've never seen before. And look at these clothes!" I exclaim, holding out the ugly skirt.
Nalin leans closer suddenly. I automatically take a step back, thinking about the forest... My brain struggles to remember. But, that was just a dream, right?
"What if... What if we're still trapped. Like in the forest... Whoever's doing this is messing with us..."
The little hope that I'd been holding that it was just a dream was crushed. The memories of the forest that I'd desperately been trying to forget, resurfaced.
"Maybe..." I whisper.
"Hey!" Someone behind me calls. I jump, almost knocking Nalin over. I look behind me. This dude stands there in the same uniform as me, just with black pants. He looks angry.
"Um... Hi..." I say nervously.
"No girls allowed on the boys' hall." He says, pushing me away from the door.
When he touches me, instead of backing down, I get annoyed. "Um. Excuse me, are you 5? 'No girls allowed!'" I say in a mocking voice. "What? Are you afraid I have cooties?"
The guy's face turns red. If it's possible, he looks angrier than before.
"Okay, look. I know you're new so I'm going to go easy on you this time. But if I see you down here again, I'll have to report you to the Headmaster."
I snort. "The Headmaster? Sure. Take me to my grandfather. See what he has to say about this."
"I don't know who your grandfather is, but Headmaster Raven is pretty strict about the hall rules."
"My grandfather is the Headmaster, stupid."
The guy rolls his eyes. "Sure. The Headmaster's son, who is about the same age as you, has a daughter. Right. Well, come on. He'll find this very humorous."
"What are you talking about?" My say, my annoyance rising. Suddenly, a girl steps between me and the other guy. She has long red hair that flows down her back.
"Calm down, Trevor. She's just one of the new kids. She doesn't know all the rules. I'll take her back to her room."
Turning around, she grabs my hand and pulls me along behind her.
"Sorry, Trevor has a temper. You'll learn to get used to it. So, which one are you?"
"Wait... Which what?" I say, extremely confused who this girl pulling me towards the girls' rooms is.
"Which one of the new students. Claire, Lexi, or Isabel?" She asks, glancing back at me. Her eyes catch mine. Jade green.
"Izzy. Not Isabel."
"Pity. You should go by your first name. I've always thought Isabel was a beautiful name."
"Also, I'm not a new student. I've been going here for months." I say, trying to remember how long I've been here. I'm horrible with time.
"Well, your name is on the list of new students that came in today. Do you know the others?"
"Yeah. They're my friends."
"Hm. Maybe there was a mistake. I'll ask the Headmaster."
"My grandfather would know what's going on..." I mutter.
The girl laughs. "Yeah, I heard you trying to pull that back there. It probably would've worked if the Headmaster's only son didn't go to the school."
I start getting annoyed again. "Listen, chick. I don't know who you are-"
"Top girl. The Headmaster picks one boy and one girl every year to help run the school. I pretty much own this place. Me and Alex Raven, the Headmaster's son."
I freeze, jerking her to a stop. That's impossible.
"Who are you?" I whisper, my voice shaking. She gives me a weird look.
She holds out her hand for me to shake. "Sorry, I never really introduced myself. Luna Rowan."
I feel as if I might faint. Alex and Luna Raven. The names of my parents. I really look at the girl. Sure enough, she looks like a younger version of my mother with her bright red hair and jade green eyes. My eyes.
A second later, I do faint, my head spinning.
