(Author's Note: I'll start making the chapters shorter, because, well, quality over quantity. Also, the updates won't be this often. Sorry for the inconvenience-)
Jovie's eyes shot open, gasping for air. She took a step, entering the great hall. The surge of cold air was still there, surrounding her, suffocating her. She looked up–on the ceiling hung a chandelier glowing purple. The checkered marble floors were clean, without blood. It looked empty–no, hollow. A statue of an angel stood guard in front of the door, its pupil-less eyes gazing at the halls. A gold plaque sat beneath the statue, with the words "Gnōthi Sauton" (Know thyself!) engraved on it with big, bold letters.
"Weird." winced Jovie as she walked on.
In contrast to the blood spilled, this was a serene sight in comparison, but also a lonely one. "Hello? Anyone?" she cried out.
"Order in the Hall!" yelled a voice that pierced the silence. All of a sudden, people appeared. Big and small, thin and fat. But they all had that glint in their eyes that symbolized that this was definitely not a good place to be in.
"Stop messing with her, being invisible is not a privilege!"
A red-haired girl stood before her in a blue uniform that reminded her of her own school uniform. Her mossy green eyes cut deep into hers as her delicate hands wrung around the corners of the doorknob. Jovie had least expected the girl to look like some Disney princess.
"Welcome to Metanoia Center." The girl looked down, softening her tone to as if she was talking to a baby. Gosh, I'm short.
Jovie looked around at the people who came out to the halls, each of them displaying the same bleak and hollow expressions on their faces. She gulped down her fear before looking up at the girl in the blue uniform, attempting to find some shred of comfort or sense in this nightmarish place. "H-hello, um..." she trailed off, her mind cleaned of any self-introductory phrases. Not even a hello.
"Oh, hey," the girl said. "Guess I forgot to properly introduce myself...where are my manners? What's your name?"
Jovie recoiled. She didn't like her attitude much more than Ezra. "Jovie." she squeaked. The girl nodded. "Jovanna Everhart, I see." I'm Isis–one of the prefects here."
Jovie stayed silent. Okay, now this girl really reminded her of her own schoolmates.
Isis The Prefect leaned against the wall and looked down at her. "I assume you're new?"
"Yeah..." she muttered, looking down at the checkered black-and-white floor. "New. To here." All of a sudden, her grammar went poof.
"Ah. So let me just try and guide you around for a bit, huh?" she said swiftly, like she had done this over a thousand times. She probably had. A prefect's work was always hard.
"The documents have already been filled out for you. Mr Garcia can be a bit vague when mentioning details–" she muttered, seemingly to herself.
"You know Mr. Garcia?"
"Business partners."
Jovie blinked.
"Anyways, welcome to Metanoia! The place we're currently standing in is the Hall of The Marks." Isis sprang to her feet.
"What?"
"I know. Weird name." Jovie shrank back. "So I'll guide you along the way. You've been assigned to Room 890–remember the number–and here are the keys."
Jovie hesitantly took the keys, which jangled and dangled in Isis's hand as if she was toying with a cat. Admiring its meticulous design, she flipped the keys. For a second, the light gleamed in the keys. Red lights. It was the same crimson red she'd seen in the windows.
She stopped.
"Is everything okay?" It reminded her of how Alina had shown so much concern for her. And yet Jovie was alone here. "Here, have a cup of water."
"Where–"
A cup manifested in Jovie's hand. She gripped it tightly, frowning at it. Isis...had magic?
"I-I don't understand. Doesn't this place hate magic? Is materializing your, you know, power?"
"That's a lot of questions." She looked uncomfortable. Jovie decided not to push her further. She could even find a friend in these Magicians, even if they were dangerous. But did she have any other choice. "They tell us to discipline ourselves. And oh no, I have many powers."
She had many powers. Meanwhile, Jovie couldn't change a thing, because she was only a Climatic. This was indoors, not outdoors. "'They?'" she echoed.
"The Authority–the higher-ups who tell us to do stuff. But this place is a lawless place. That's why I manage the whole place." she coughed. "Along with other prefects. I'm not a one-man show. But they do check on us."
"Precisely when?" Could they exterminate them? Jovie suddenly feared for her life.
We...don't know. They don't exactly tell us."
Jovie stayed silent.
"Adds to the mystery layer." Isis let out a forced chuckle. "Drink it."
Jovie took a sip. The water flowed through her throat, and she realized how raspy she must have sounded, being dehydrated and soaked in the rain. "Thanks." she croaked.
"You're welcome." Isis sighed. "By the way, you look as pale as a ghost. Just try to calm down. It's only natural that you're terrified."
"I'm not terrified." she puffed up.
Yes she was. Terrified as fuck, too.
"Okay, okay." she snapped her fingers. But instead of an item, another girl appeared. She had silky red hair neatly tied into a small ponytail. She did have pimples, but they actually made her look prettier. "Whatever."
"Sora, meet the newest arrival, Jovie Everhart."
"Jovie, huh?" Actually Pretty Girl raised an eyebrow. "Vaguely similar to Anchovie."
(Author's Note: Jovie's nickname, everybody.)
Oh come on, I hate fish! Jovie screamed internally. She reduced her initial frustration to a small scowl.
"Anyways, I'm Sora, Sora P. Chard, but you know that already. We're sharing the same room–" Sora winked, giving out that bad boy/washed-up vegan zealot attitude, but at least she was better than Isis, Alina and (obviously) Ezra.
So she took another step backwards. They probably were far stronger magicians than her.
"What's your power?" asked Sora, noticing her fear. Nonononono. Were they taking advantage of her?
"M-my power? Climatic." she replied, hoping they don't know the term.
Sora tilted her head in confusion. So did Isis, which made her relieved at their confusion.
"Climatic... as in someone who has the ability of weather bending." Isis explained, which made Jovie hate her even more. "Cool beans."
"Then I don't see why they sent you here." Sora said bluntly, seeming to think Jovie was a harmless little fishie. "But magic is magic, and everyone hates magic."
"Everyone", it echoed in her mind.
Jovie nodded while Sora just stared. There was an awkward silence between them, but being sociable and annoying, Isis decided to break it.
"Let's just show her the kinky stuff first." Isis nudged Sora, and Sora stared back at her with beady eyes. "I'm not sure if kinky is the right word to describe–"
"Oh, shut up!" she frowned. Sora muttered something that was vaguely similar to duckety falls.
"The what?" Kinky. Now that piqued her interest.
"The stuff you'll like. Just come along."
Jovie walked on, finding it hard to catch up in their striding. Sora and Isis were both definitely older than her.
Word count: 1206