About halfway through the school day, our teacher's face distorted into a look of pure horror. She went from talking to silent as she froze in place. She stood almost like an awkward statue, only moving to close her mouth. I instantly realize what is happening, someone is directly telling her the news. They went in here head to do so.
A few minutes later a voice spoke, echoing in the quiet room. "It is heartbreaking to inform you of this information, but Emperor Braxson has passed away. We will be letting it out early in honor of this information. Please stay calm, you're teacher will let you know you know when your class lets out school will be closed for the remainder of the week, but you will still be responsible for any assignments."
A kid in my class screams. Panicked screaming and talking break out across the room, as the teacher tries to calm all of the students down. One student throws their desk, or well what I'm hoping was their desk, across the room. The bang echoed over all the screams. The desk falls to the ground, and the wall where it hit has a huge hole in it.
By this point, an extreme headache had been born from my stress and exhaustion. The screaming and bang hurt so severely it made me want to cry. I watch my teacher patiently for a moment hoping she would manage to get the class calm. It never happened. Silently I grabbed my books and stood up on my desk. The teacher's eyes flicker to me in curiosity. Why would the best student in the class stand on the desk? I could see the question written on her face. The other students rioting in chaos seemed to be unsurprising to her, but her favorite student?
I slam my books to the ground and scream at the top of my lungs, "Be quiet!" Suddenly the whole class turns to stare right at me in silence. Fighting the anxiety buzzing inside of me I slowly sit back down. "Thank you," the words slip out of my mouth blandly. Everyone was staring at me, but for the first time, I enjoyed the attention because it meant that everyone was at least silent.
Mrs. Applewhite cleared her throat, "Thank you Aura." I silently nodded in response, as the students turn their attention back to her like lost children. "You guys are grown, some of you are already adults. I would expect better out of you than that. Please sit back down, we will be letting out in ten minutes. At that point, I expect you will calmly exit and go straight home to your parents afterward.
Some of my classmates listened and sat, while others remained standing. "I swear if you guys don't sit your a-"
Lyland cuts me off, "sit down guys." Everyone seems to listen to him as they reluctantly sit down.
I mouth, "thank you," at him. He had just stopped me from absolutely losing it at my classmates. He nodded back to me solemnly, the first time I ever saw him without his signature smile plastered to his face.
Our class remains silent, besides the occasional sniffle from some of the students crying. After an eternity, Mrs. Applewhite spoke up, "Alright class, it is time to calmly go home. I will see you all next week." As soon as she opened the door most of my classmates were already piling out of it as fast as they could. A few though, like Lyland, the crying kids, and I stayed back not quite ready to move. Of the ones who stayed behind, I was the first to leave. Passing by I gave a small nod to my teacher.
I had been pleasantly surprised that no one in my class had cheered at the news, as our Emperor had grown to be disliked by many. His murder, while traumatizing did not come as a complete shock. Hundreds wanted him out of leadership though I am curious who would have wanted him gone enough to kill him.
Putting in as much effort as I could to keep the memories from playing in my head, I called my mom. She had heard the news about the Emperors death herself and besides worrying about his girls she seemed completely indifferent. That was a good thing when I asked if I could go to the Lupine's house. she had no problem with it.
Perfect timing too because I spotted Cleo right after I ended the call with my mom. Her annoyingly long blond hair slapped me in the face and got into my mouth as she walked by. "Is it okay if I come to yours?" I ask as I swat frustratedly at her hair.
"Of course," she laughs. Her laughter gets louder and louder as my fight with her hair persists. While we gain uncomfortable looks from the other students. I take two quick steps back. She lets out a snort, just as I let out a relieved sigh happy to have the last pieces of her hair fall away from my face. I guess the scrunched-up face I made during my fight must have been hilarious. To her. Not to me.
"Attractive," I mumbled at her snort. At least the perfect girl has one downfall, after her initial soft girly laugh, she turns into a hyena. That laugh would put those poor animals to shame. I mean to tell you a troll would not even let out such a horrendous sound. It wasn't even really a snort, I have no clue how to describe it.
The Lupine' house was just as dramatic as the school. Her two older brothers were in the middle of what seemed to be a serious fistfight. I watch in silence as we walk past them. I clear my throat, "Do your brothers fight like that often?"
Her face is indifferent as she shrugs."They're too alike for their good sometimes. They'll be over it in ten minutes." She opens the door and stops, "Hey guys! Grow up!" She hollers at them as she walks into her house. I follow her quietly.
As soon as the door closes behind us, it opens again. "Hey, uh, Cleo's friend," Cash says as he catches up to me. He does not remember my name. "How are you?" His hand slowly caresses his sleek black hair, as his intimidating, hooded, green eyes pierce into me. He almost looked like a villain. It creeps me out. His eyes looked heavy, tired, but the rest of his features screamed energy. With the two slits in his brow, tribal tattoos, and not to mention the blood dripping off of his swollen lip onto his piercing, he screamed terrifying.
I creep back away from him, as he opens his mouth to say something else. Raiden cuts in. "Her name, dimwhit is Aura. You don't even know the name of our sister's best friend?" My gaze shifted to Ray, who was far less intimidating than his siblings. While younger and smaller than Cash, he seemed to have gotten out of the fight better off. His brown hair was tousled and messy, but not a mark was left on him.
I have to admit out of all the Lupine's his features were the softest, the most welcoming. Other than his piercing grey eyes and the scar running across his cheek that is. The closest one out of all of them to average, strikingly so. Don't get me wrong he was still more attractive than your everyday person had the right to be, just not in the same way as his sibling. He gave me a small smile and nod as a greeting.
"Cleo has had so many best friends. I can't be bothered to remember all of their names," Cash rebates.
"Hey!" She cuts in to try and explain herself.
"Whose fault is it that most of them don't stick around> Maybe if you learned to back off of Clementine's friends then-"
"Okay," Cleo chimes in grabbing my arm and pulling me away. "We are leaving now." She leads me to her room, as the two of them start arguing with each other.
"Your brothers must love to fight," I mumble. Once we reach her room, I let out a small sigh of relief. Cleo made me feel small and unfit enough, but being in a room with the three tall, muscular people, was too much for me to handle.
To keep me from reliving the murder or getting stuck in my head about the theories, I make sure that one of us is talking at all times. Meaning my mouth would not stop running on about random nonsense. Usually, Cleo did most of the talking, but I was talking so much I can not even keep up with what is coming from my lips. There was always a new boy or exciting story in her life, so it made sense she would have a lot to talk about. On the other hand, my family never traveled, and there was never much for me to truly talk about.
"Since you're talking, though it makes no sense. Anybody at school you are interested in?" Cleo cuts me off from my spewing ramble.
"No, I'm more focused on making it to graduation than I am about romance. Besides high school kids are too," I scrunch my face up, "immature."
Another hyena laughed, "We graduate in a few months. What is your excuse going to be then?"
"I just haven't met anyone who caught my attention."
"Never? We will have to change that." I jumped at the voice behind me. Cash somehow had opened Cleo's door without making a noise and leaned against her doorway. His piercing green eyes glistened as his face pulled up into a smirk.
"What do you want?" Clementine barked at him. It was apparent that she was quite unhappy about his uninvited presence too. Not to mention the idea of how long he could have been hovering there.
"Dinner's ready, dad's not joining again," his voice came out dryly. With some added charm he continues, now looking at me. "Are you eating with us cutie?"
"Cutie? You do not know my name, do not flirt with me."
"Who says I was flirting?" His smirk never left his ignorant face until he turned around and walked away. I glare at his ack hoping to burn a hole straight through him. "Your brother is annoying personified," I swear I have never in my life met someone who could be as infuriating as him just by merely existing.
"He is! I am glad you see it," she smiles back at me. "Imagine living with him, or worse training with him I am surprised I have not killed him yet." All the muscles in my body tighten and twist around themselves. Seeing my physical response, she looks at me with mild panic. "You okay Aura? You know I don't mean it, I wouldn't ever kill anyone."
That was all it took, one word and my soul spiraled deep inside of me. My chest tightens as my eyes close uncomfortably tight on their own accord. Shivers ran through my body, as the blood came into view. I was back standing in the blood of the Emperor. Horrendous red liquid danced across the floor with a passion holding me there at the moment. "Can we not talk about death or murder? Considering the events of today it doesn't seem the most appropriate," was all I could manage to get myself to mutter.
"yeah, you're ri-" she gasps. Her eyes widen as she processes what I said. "You think that the Emperor was murdered?" With a slight pause, she added, "I mean I detested the guy, but who would do that? They would have had to have a lot of help." While this was surprising to her, her use of a word as big as detested was a surprise to me.
"He was in good health, how else would he have suddenly died?" Never good at acting, I try my hardest to play it off as genuine suspicion.
"How would they do it? There is no way it was murder, there has got to be a million guards around the Hathway Halls." She seemed genuinely into the conversation but I wasn't. You would think there would be millions of guards, but despite my lack of stealth I had managed to get in with no problem.
My heartbeat sped up, I could hear it in my chest. If my heartbeat any faster it would blow up in my chest right in this very spot. One second everything would be normal and then my chest would burst open. My blood splattered against the walls without forewarning. Tears involuntarily well up in the corners of my eyes, as my anxiety took over me. This conversation might as well have been an interrogation for murder. Cleo was still staring at me waiting for me to answer. "How would I know?" my voice cracked giving me away.
"Oh right, you knew him. You were friends with the Braxson twins when you were younger. I'm sorry, I should have just left it." Her eyes lit up with compassion, as I realize that I was crying. Sobbing to be more accurate, My body curled into a ball of its own accord. Clementine wrapped her arms around me and held me close without saying another word.
We sit in the position for a while before a voice cut its way through the moment. "Hey brat, are you coming?" the voice was soft, playful. Must be Raiden as it lacked any signature arrogance to it. I glance towards the doorway right as he steps into view. "Oh sorry," his voice was kind and smooth, as he realized I was crying. "I didn't mean to interrupt. You okay, Aura?" His grey eyes held the same concern that his sisters did. He slowly walks towards us, sitting next to me on the bed.
"It was Cash, wasn't it?" He smiles playfully. "I know, sometimes I see his stupid face and it makes me want to cry too. I mean it's just so hideous, a troll would look better." Seeing me crack a smile, he continued. "The fates are just so cruel? Why bother to create such a horrendous creature?"
A small laugh escapes my lips as I desperately wipe away my tears. "He is a troll."
His laugh and Cleo's cackle fill the room. She lets out a snort as I meet Raiden's eye. His grey eyes glisten as if they're making fun of her without having to make a sound. We both laugh harder in response, both thinking the same thing. Cash may look like a troll, but Cleo sounds like one. It was not funny enough for that sound to have been made. Her laugh was by far the funniest thing.
"Okay, time to eat you two," Raiden cuts the laugh session off. Softly he reaches over to wipe a tear from my face. "No more tears over that troll's face, you hear me?"
A goofy smile spread across my cheeks at its own accord. "But it's just so frightening."
"I know, I know. The world was cruel to him. I mean the worst face and worst personality all in one person? Heartbreaking, truly."