Elements

Chapter 4

"How'd you get that apple, freak?" It was the girl who had laughed at me from the bus. She wore a sickly sweet smile on her face, but her eyes promised violence. What did this girl have against me?

"That's none of your concern," I replied hotly. Her eyes flashed, and her lying smile crumpled into a malicious sneer.

"Let her be, May," came a familiar voice. Anita walked up from behind me, only to get pushed away by an invisible force. I felt sick as I suddenly recalled her powers.

I remembered watching May up on the stage, moving huge items across the rooms with flicks of her wrist, like a giant, overly strong, telepathic extension of her hand.

"I'll leave her alone. Just as soon as she uses whatever power she just used to save me some time in that lunch line. A sandwich would be great." She never took her eyes off of me. I realized the previously chaotic noise level in the cafeteria had been dampened, and several surrounding students had dropped their conversations to watch the three of us.

"It doesn't work like that," I said and turned away. Suddenly, I felt her hand on my shoulder, finger nails digging in to my flesh. A quick glance at my shoulder told me that she was using her powers. I knew she would hurt me if I didn't do something. I pilfered my mind for a way out of the situation, but was left frustrated. My brain was a blank slate.

"Like hell it doesn't," I could hear the threat in her voice, and my blood boiled with anger. Bullies were so... cliché.

I took a few steps closer to her, anger pulsing through my veins as I stared her down. "I think its time for you to leave us alone," I told her, fighting to stay civil.

May barked a short laugh. "That's cute, freak," she crooned, then shoved me to the ground.

She laughed as I slowly pushed myself up, and turned around towards the door. Rage crackled through me like flames.

"That's right. Run away. You know you can't win," she taunted. I curled my hand into a fist...

Then turned and swung as hard as I could.

My fist made contact right on her jaw, leaving a bruise and a burn from the fire I had unknowingly ignited in my palm. May stumbled backwards, clutching her jaw where I had hit her. Her cheek began to blister. My lack of memory was more frustrating than ever. Had it been at my disposal in that moment, I would've been able to prevent my powers from activating themselves.

I heard her screech"You'll pay for that one, freak!" before I went flying across the room, flung by an invisible force. Instinctively, I summoned a wind to slow myself and soften my landing. I landed gracefully on one of the many tables scattered around the room. hurried over to the doors to the hallway, that May had been so kind to boost me over to.

I ran to the office, knowing that May would have to push through the busy cafeteria to reach the doors. I pushed into the office as fast as I could, knowing that May couldn't do a thing to me I front of the teachers and staff of the school. I thanked the heavens that the woman from the courtyard was standing in that office, or there would be no one to keep May from pushing me through a few hundred walls.

The room I had burst into was roughly the size of a master bedroom. The wall containing the door to the hallway I had entered from was lined with wooden chairs for people who were waiting to speak to a staff member. In the center of the room was a large wooden desk, complete with a laptop and pencil holder. the wall behind the desk was one large window overlooking the courtyard we had arrived in on the busses. The other two walls were covered with pictures and newspaper articles of their most famous and successful students. on the wall to my left was a door that, according to the sign on the door, led to the principal's office.

"Ms..." I stopped to read her name tag,"Ms. Wren, I need to get my name changed to-" I was cut off as May burst in to the room, glaring and out of breath. The second she saw Ms. Wren, however, her expression changed to a sickly sweet smile.

"Oh! And you are...?"

Ms. Wren took one look at her and said, "Unless you have business here, return to the cafeteria. I will not have random students running around this school while I am in charge of their discipline!" May's eyes widened and she turned and left the room. Ms. Wren directed her attention back to me. " You were saying child?"

As I explained the situation regarding my name, I surveyed the woman standing in front of me. She was on the shorter side, and her black hair was cropped short. She had a necklace with a Chinese symbol on it, so I assumed that was where she was from. She wore a black pantsuit, and had an overall no nonsense look to her. Her name tag stated that she was the vice principal.

Ten minutes, a somewhat familiar argument (Mr. Estel), and an explanation later, I walked back to the cafeteria.My name was now officially Ella. I sat down at an empty table to eat my apple, only to be joined by Anita a few seconds later.

At first she had questioned me on how I had landed so well after taking May's hit, and how I had managed to leave a burn on her jawline. After asking these questions and not getting any answers, she had settled on asking what dorm building I was in.

"Building sixteen, room twenty eight," I read off my slip of paper.

Her face lit up as she squealed and replied,"No way! We're roommates!" At this I was shocked. Maybe the universe wasn't out to get me!

"Well, at least I'll have one decent person in my dorm building," I joked, smiling at her. Maybe this school wouldn't be all terrible!

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