Together we fall

03 | Ace

Ace ran down the hall of the level three wing, his footsteps echoing behind him as his feet lapped atop the glossy floor. He'd placed a muskog in Sienna Heks's thinking cap, and now he was running for his life.

Sienna Heks was Ace's least favorite prodigy in the whole school. She was bratty, annoying, and worst of all, two inches taller than him. She was the daughter of Stina Heks, her even more annoying mother, who was also a regent and worked with Ace's mother.

"ACE FOSTER!" She yelled from down the hall, "I'm going to kill you!"

Ace rolled his eyes and kept on running, heading towards his own locker a few feet ahead of him. When he arrived out of breath, his best friend, Avaline Endal, gave him the side eye.

Her locker was three down from his, and she was leaning against it, her sapphire dress flowing around her lithe frame.

Avaline was pretty, with dark skin and black dreadlocks. Her silver tipped hair complimented her eyes, which were sharp and silvery blue. Her mother—Linh Endal—had the same hairstyle, and her daughter had followed in her footsteps.

"Hey Ava," He said, leaning over to catch his breath, rasping for air.

Avaline raised an arched eyebrow at him as she picked up her thinking cap from her locker. "What'd you do this time?"

A piercing scream answered her question as Sienna ran down the hall, a stench radiating from her body that could only be described as wet frog.

Avaline snickered as Sienna's beanpole figure came into view. Her dark, frizzy hair was a rats nest, and her green tunic was wrinkled. Sienna was carrying a muskog in her outstretched hands, and her face was absolutely infuriated to say the least.

Ace could feel her anger vibrating in the air like a tsunami about to drown him.

"You didn't," Avaline whispered to Ace, covering her mouth to hide a laugh.

Ace grinned. "Yeah, I did."

Sienna ran up to Ace, her dark blue eyes narrowed. She looked like she was about to shove the frog-like creature at him, but a figure came between them before she could.

Magnate Leto.

Ace knew the principal's real identity was Mr. Forkle, a wrinkly old man that had tweaked his mother's genetics, but he preferred not to think about that disturbing fact—at least when he was trying to have a good day.

"What's going on?" The principal demanded, glancing between the two of them.

"He put this in my locker!" Sienna shrieked.

Magnate Leto eyed them both. "Just like your parents," he muttered under his breath, then turned to Sienna. "Please dispose of that, Miss Heks."

Sienna stormed off down the hall after giving Ace a you-are-so-dead glare.

Magnate Leto turned back to Ace, a grimace apparent on his face. "You really are just like your father, aren't you?"

"Yep," Ace agreed with a grin.

The principal shook his head, the overly gelled dark strands glistening. "How are your parents doing?"

Ace shrugged. "Fine."

Magnate Leto nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and took off down the hall.

He was a strange man, Ace thought. It was weird to think that his principal was the very reason he had brown eyes.

"Hey, let's go," Avaline said, handing Ace's thinking cap to him, which was full of colorful wrapped packages of varying sizes. "The others are waiting."

Ace nodded, taking his cap from his friend. With that, they took of down the hall, towards the cafeteria.

The midterm tests were all over; now all the students had to do was wait to see if they had passed. Ace wasn't worried in the slightest, as he had always passed with flying colors. He was more worried for Ember . . .

Ace and Avaline entered the cafeteria, heading toward their group of friends.

They were seated at a table in the middle of the bustling cafeteria, chattering noisily and exchanging midterm gifts.

First, there was Clove. She was a level one with dark locks of hair and mischievous periwinkle eyes that sparkled when the sun hit them just right. She was also the daughter of two regents—Lady Biana and Lord Dex. She was toying with a small charm bracelet one of her secret admirers must have given her. Having been descended from the famous Vacker family, Clove was very popular; her thinking cap was overflowing with presents.

Next to her sat her brother Emerson, a tall, handsome boy with dimples and strawberry blond hair. He was a couple years older than Ace—a level five. His striking teal eyes made nearly every girl in the whole school fall at his feet.

Across the table sat Ember, her head resting in her hands and long blond hair cascading down her back. The tension radiating off his sister was enough to make Ace double over in pain.

Beside Ember sat a girl named Daisy, who was the same age as Ace, Ember, and Avaline. Her pixie blond hair was pulled into an intricate bun with light blue flowers scattered throughout, matching her striking blue eyes. She was Avaline's cousin, but the two didn't look anything alike. Daisy had also recently manifested as a shade, the same ability as her father, Tam Song. Her mother was Marella, one of Ace's mom's old friends.

Despite Daisy's dark ability, she was a happy, cheerful girl whose name matched her personality perfectly.

At the moment, she was rubbing Ember's back, trying to get her to cheer up. When she saw Ace, she motioned him over, clearly exhausted at trying to calm down his sister. He couldn't blame her—calming down Ember was a near-to-impossible task.

Ace grumbled as he slid on the bench next to his sister. She looked up, her ice blue eyes damp. Her eyes had always startled him, as they were the exact color of their father's. She was basically a female clone of their dad, minus all the snark and confidence.

Ace took her hand and sent a colorful breeze through her mind—a trick his dad had taught him a couple months ago. "You're gonna be fine," he promised his sister, setting his thinking cap down on the table, and hoping the words were truthful.

"I heard about Sienna," Clove said with a bright smile, tossing her long locks of hair over her shoulder.

"You should have seen her face!" Avaline squealed as she plopped down next to Ace. "Ace got her really good this time."

"Hey," Ace argued, "I get her good every time."

"What about that time Sienna put a glitter bomb in your locker?" Emerson jumped in with a twisted grin, his hands fingering a small box wrapped in lavender dusted paper.

Ember perked up at the mention. "Oh, yeah," she said laughing, "he was covered in it for days!"

Ace glared at his sister.

Daisy giggled. "You guys are so weird."

"Look what mom taught me to do!" Clove said with a cheery grin as she disappeared into thin air. The eleven year old had manifested as a vanisher only a week ago, and she was still mastering her new ability. She reappeared behind Ace and shouted, "Boo!"

Ace flinched, much to his dismay.

Everyone laughed, except Ember, who was staring at her thinking cap. "I still haven't manifested," she mumbled, sadness apparent in her vibrating emotions and her scrunched features.

"You're making me depressed," Ace complained to his sister, sending another breeze through her mind to calm her down.

"I bet you'll manifest soon," Emerson told her, shooting her a warm smile. "I didn't manifest as a technopath until I was about your age."

Ember tried to smile back, but it looked more like a grimace. Her emotions suddenly plummeted to record breaking lows as parents started streaming into the room.

It was time to see if they had passed.