The next week passes by in a blur. I continue my life as if I'd never gotten a letter or saw someone outside my window. Just because I had continued my normal life doesn't mean I forgot. I keep the second letter inside the drawer of my night stand next to the picture of my parents, and I look out my window every chance I get. The conversation I overheard is stuck on repeat in my head, yet it makes no more since then it did the night I heard it.
Aunt Mary and Uncle Dave told Stephanie and Billy that I would be leaving for a few months to a boarding school the night after I received the letter. They had question after question, but they never received an answer and was told to drop it. I got interrogated by Stephanie for the next few days after the announcement, but soon she learned her mission was a lost cause.
Then, finally, July 31st came.
I wake up as early as always, the sun peering over the horizon. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as I anticipate what the day is bringing. I climb out of bed and pull a black duffel bag out from under it. I brush off the dust and cobwebs and hurry over to my closet to start packing. I grab a few shirts, all hand-me downs from Stephanie and a few pairs of jeans, also Stephanie's. I throw my bag on the bed and begin the search for my shoes, when I realized what I'm forgetting. I pull the picture of my mom and dad from the drawer and plac in safely in my bag along with the letter.
Afterwards, I jump in a fastest shower of my life and throw on Stephanie's old grey and black shirt and a pair of faded skinny jeans with a hole in the knee. I brush my hair and teeth as quickly as possible before throwing both brushes into my bag with everything else. I find my converse under my bed and I am putting them on when Aunt Mary walks through my opened doorway.
"Eat some breakfast before we leave." She demands.
I throw my bag over my shoulder, its weight throwing me off balance, and make my way downstairs and into the kitchen, where I am surprised to find a sleepy looking Stephanie and wired Billy. I make some toast and eat it with haste, ready to depart. We step out into the humid summer morning and pile into my Uncle's S.U.V. I don't bother to glance back and say goodbye to the place I've called both home and prison for fourteen years.
The drive to Relm Train Station is an hour and a half long. By the time we arrive it's 11:30 and Stephanie has fallen asleep on Billy, who hasn't sat still the entire car ride. The car comes to a stop in the parking lot and Billy reads the giant, white sign: Realm Train Station.
"Train! Train! Train!" He starts to chant, waking Stephanie.
"Am I - supposed to buy a ticket or something?" I wonder. I've seen it in movies a million times, but I've never been on a train myself.
"You'll find out when you get in there." Aunt Mary replies.
"Bye Bell!" Billy yells as if I were 100 feet away when I'm not even three. He resumes saying bye bell over and over in a sing song tone.
"Don't accidentally board the wrong train. We don't want you back any sooner than you have to be." Stephanie tells me.
"The feeling is mutual then." I say.
"Look for a train that arrives at twelve o'clock that is headed to.... Uh... Elementum Academy." Aunt Mary instructes.
"And if there isn't one?"
"Then, I wish you luck." Uncle Dave say.
"Thanks." I replied coldly. As cold as their hearts, I think.
I get out of the car, the summer heat suffocating, and slam the door behind me.
"See you May 31st." Aunt Mary calls, before the car speeds away.
"See ya." I mumble, before pulling my bag higher up on my shoulders.
Fifteen years, I think, staring at the train station ahead, and now I'm free. I make my way to the train station entrance, almost ready to start skipping. When I reach the inside there's a giant electronic sign with white text next to a window with an elderly lady sitting on the other side. I read the white print over and over, searching for a twelve o'clock to Elementum Academy. There isn't a single one.
"Can I help you with something, sweetie?" The woman on the other side of the window asks.
"Is there a twelve o'clock train?" I question, my eyes still locked on the electronic sign.
The lady types something in on the computer, her nails clicking against the keys.
"Sorry, there isn't." She answers. "Are you sure you have the right place? I've never heard of such a place."
"Nevermind." I reply hastily wander into the crowd.
A large clock sits overhead, the second hand counting away the seconds.
11:45.
I have to get onto the platform.
There's no way to get past the gates without a ticket, and there is no way to get a ticket without money. My eyes dart around the train station as I begin to panic. What if I don't make it? What if I have to go back and live with them, forever?
A cool breeze blows through the station, sending a chill down my spine. I see something moving on the ground below me. At first, it looks like a piece of trash that's been tossed to the ground, but when I look again I see I'm mistaken. I bend down and pick it up the small object, turning it over in my hand. It's square, the color the same as the wax on the back of the mysterious letter. Now the wind is upgrading to giving me train tickets? What the hell?
I make my way over to the gate and scan the ticket. I make it through to the other side with no problem. Now I only have to find the train, which shouldn't be hard.
I walk around the platform, empty railroads on each side of me. The clock reads 11:50. I sit down at an empty bench in the middle of the cluster of people, on the verge of giving up. No, demand my doubtful conscious, you've made it this far, you can't give up now. I observe all the unfamiliar faces that pass by me as the clock nears noon. I start to tap my foot impatiently when the clock reads 11:59. I count every second that isn't passing by fast enough. 55, 56, 57, 58, 59...
...12:00.
I stand, looking to each side of the platform, but there is no train to be seen. What if it's just late? Please let it just be late. I spun in a circle, looking at both sides to see if there was a train. I stop and glare at the empty spot in front of me, as if that would make it appear out of thin air. Don't give up. Don't give up.
There's suddenly a huge gust of wind that nearly knocks me over. I spin around to the other side of the platform to see a giant, black steam train, a blue sign reading Elementum Academy on the front. I stare at it in utter shock. Where did it come from? I don't linger on the question. I race over to the other side, and throw open one of the small black doors. I make my way up a set of three steps, the door slamming shut behind me. I look out the small window on the door, watching the platform, where people are walking by the train as if it doesn't even exist. All of a sudden, the people are gone. The train doesn't slowly move forward like a normal one, but instead it moves fast enough for the outside world to become nothing but a mixture of colors, making it impossible to see anything.
At least, I think that's what I'm seeing. I'm not to sure of anything at the moment.I move away from the door, the act slow, and look down a blue carpeted aisle, glass compartment doors set on each side. I start off, walking down the aisle in search of an empty compartment. In most are groups of kids, older than me, laughing and talking together, as if the train isn't moving faster than an airplane. In a few sit at least two people, some talking, some in silence. Towards the end of the train I finally find an empty compartment. I slid open the transparent door and shut it behind me, taking a seat in the cobalt bench and placing my bag on the floor next to me.
I look from the carpet then to the seats. Why is everything so blue?
I watch as the world speeds by in nothing but a blur of colors. A few minutes later the train comes to a sudden halt. With the speed the train is moving, I expected to go flying into the seat in front of me, but instead, there is not jolt, just the outside world speeding by one second then frozen the next. Another platform comes into view with more people walking by, completely oblivious that there's a train only feet from them.
Three people, a girl with dark hair and two older boys, all bearing similar features, do take notice of the train and make their way aboard. The train starts to move again, throwing everything back into a blur. I watch as the colors pass by, thinking of all the different possibilities that lay ahead and what this could all mean.A knock at the door interrupts my thoughts and I turn to see one of the new arrivals on the train. It's the girl with long, wavy, chestnut brown hair.
"Can I join?" She asks politely, sticking her head in.
"Sure." I reply, awkwardly.
She makes her way in carrying a red bag about the size as mine and sits across from me.
"I don't think we've met. I thought I knew everyone like us." She states.
"Uh....well...I'm Bella." I say, a bit thrown off with the "everyone like us" part.
"I'm Cora." She says, extending her hand out in front of her, I lean forward and shake it, feeling uncomfortable with the stiff exchange. I have no idea what to say or how to act. "So, do you know what element you might specialize in?" She wonders.
"Element?" Once again, I'm bewildered. I have to be setting a record for the amount of confusion I've dealt with since I received the letter.
"Yeah, you know. Earth, air, fire, and water." She answers, looking a bit confused herself.
"I know what the elements are. What I don't understand is... what do you mean by specialize?"
Before she can answer, the compartment door slides open. Both Cora and I turn to look at who has interrupted our conversation. A boy with dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes stands in the doorway, smiling down at us. I go stiff with the new arrival, realizing the full extent of how socially awkward I am. I only went to school for a few years, my Aunt and Uncle pulling me out to homeschool me, and so it's been years since I've had a conversation with a boy my age. Yet here I am.
"Hey Cora. What's up?" He asks, sitting down next to Cora.
"Hey Levi."She replies with a small smile.
Levi looks away from Cora and to me."Who are you?" He wonders cheerfully.
"Bella." I answer, hoping I don't sound or look as awkward as I fell.
"So." Cora begins addressing me. "You have no clue what I am talking about? Or what Elementum Academy is? Or what we are?"
"Sorry, no." I thought that was already obvious.
"Wait...is she -" Levi pauses and turns to Cora.
"She doesn't know." Cora tells him.
"So she is?"
"She has to be. But I didn't know there were anymore. She's probably the youngest."
"Still lost here." I point out, jumping into the conversation.
"Here's the short version." Levi begins. "We are Elementals, we can control all the elements, weakly, until we specialize in one. Elementum Academy is like our version of Hogwarts, where we learn to control our powers. We all have Elemental parents, except those who lost theirs and were raised in the mundane world. Sorry for your loss by the way."
"What's Hogwarts?" I inquire, because that was really the only thing I could make heads or tails of.
"You don't know what Hogwarts is?" Cora asks in puzzlement, raising a sharp eyebrow.
"I apparently don't know much of anything." I tell her.
"Where have you been all your life. Trapped under a rock?" Levi asks.
"Pretty much." I pause as they stared at me in silence.
"So out of all that you got... Hogwarts?" Cora wonders.
"Because the rest is impossible." I say.
Levi holds out his left hand and suddenly a small flame ignites in his palm. I jump back, startled and afraid that the flame might grow and engulf the whole compartment. All my life I've been afraid of fire, and when I was younger, I was haunted by nightmares of being trapped in a burning house with no escape. He closes his hand and the flame disappears.
"Nothing is impossible." Levi says.
"But-" I'm lost for words as my brain tries to wrap around what I've just seen. "How?"
"Magic." Cora counters. "Well, kinda. There's this whole complicated, deeper meaning thing that most Professor's love to drone on about."
The train has come to a stop again at another station, I glance out of the window and see a sign reading: New York, New York.
"New York? How fast does this thing move?" I wonder.
"Pretty damn fast." Levi replies.
"Where is Elementum Academy anyways?" I ask.
"No one knows." Cora says, as if it was no big deal. "All you do is get on the train and sooner or later you're stopping at Air Station."
The compartment door slides open for the third time, this time a girl with caramel skin and short, curly brown hair stands with her hand on the handle.
"Hey guys." She greets, sitting next to me and adding "And new girl."
"Hey Soph." Cora returns the smile as Levi waves.
"I'm Sophia." She introduces herself, holding out her hand to me.
"Bella." I say, shaking her hand. I have a feeling I might end up losing count on how many times I say my name this train ride."I have another question." I admit, turning back to Cora and Levi. "You said some people lost their parents. How?"
Sophia gasps and says before anyone else. "You don't know?"
"Well, I know more now."
"Your one of them. The ones who lost their parents. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude." She says.
"I've dealt with worse."
"Wait" Sophia demands, though none of us are speaking. "I think I've heard about you somewhere. Is Bella short for Isabella Cooper?"
"Um..yeah." I answer, a little startled that someone has heard about me. What could they have possibly heard?
"Anyways." Cora cuts in "To answer your question. Years ago powerful Elementals and Dark Elemental Hunters were killed, because they were seen as a threat."
"Threat? Who were they a threat to?" I question.
"Somebody who wanted power." Cora pauses, giving her words a dramatic effect. "So, some of the Elementals had children and the children grew up not knowing all this."
I sit in silence, not knowing what to say, absorbing her words.
"Have you told her all about the elements?" Sophia inquires.
"Not yet." Levi tells her.
"It's pretty simple." Sophia begins. I'm thankful for the quick change in topic. I'm not sure I want to think about how my parents died. "Earth can make plants grow, earthquakes, make vines appear out of nowhere and wrap around people, and control rocks. Fire can make fire, control it, and burn people by touch. Water can control water and actually drown people from the inside, they can also make it rain because clouds are mainly water based. Air can make strong gust of wind, which can be used to move objects, lightning, suffocation, though I doubt that last one is encouraged. All Elements have the ability to travel by their element as well."
"Cool." I reply distantly, letting all of her words sink in and thinking of the trashcan that got blown away in the park. Had I done that?
"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Levi says.
"Just- give me a minute." I insist.
So Elementum Academy is school for Elementals, who can control the elements and my parents were powerful Elementals or Dark Elemental Hunters- whatever those were- and that got them killed. Now I understand more of Uncle Dave's and Aunt Mary's conversation. Uncle Dave was afraid I would lose control of my powers and kill them. Aunt Mary was afraid I would be like my parents and get killed. I think...
"Are you good yet?" Levi asks.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Well, look what the wind has dragged in." Says an amused female's voice from the door.
All four of us turn to see a girl with shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes glaring at us.
"Hello Victoria." Cora says in an oddly dark tone.
"Hello Cora." Victoria returns the coldness. "And Sophia" she adds more cheerfully. "And Levi." She says smiling down at him. She turns to see who the fourth person is, trying to go unnoticed by the window."Who are you?"
"Bella." I say, again, before addressing Cora, "Is there like some kind of Elemental elementary school I didn't know about?"
"Yes, there is." She answers.
"How come we've never met?" Victoria asks me, and I have no polite answer as to why. Something about her, the way she stands, they way she speaks, reminds me of Stephanie. "Wait, are you one of them? One of the children hidden from our world." When I don't reply she takes my silence as confirmation. "This is very fascinating. Well, I have work to do." She quickly turns and shut the door behind her.
"Work?" I question.
"Rumors to spread, people to annoy." Levi tells me.
"Great." I answer sarcastically. Now everyone on the train is going to know I was "one of them".
"God, I hate her." Cora says through clenched teeth, staring at the spot where Victoria once stood.
"Why?" I inquire.
"She's always spreading rumors, she flirts with every boy, she's bossy, self -centered, and-"
"She stole Cora's boyfriend." Levi cuts in.
"Shut up." Cora demands, whacking the back of his head. "It's not as if it matters anymore. And if you don't stop dwelling on the past I'll tell her what happened to you last year."
"What happened?" I ask, suddenly interested.
"Ok..all right..I'll shut up." Levi says, throwing his hands up in defeat.
"It's too late, I'm interested now." I protest.
"Last year he got his ass kicked by Tommy Myers." Cora tells me.
"Who?" I wonder.
"He's in our year, you'll meet him" Sophia says.
"Sadly." Levi mutters.
"Are we going to sit here all day or go to the café? I could kill for some food." Sophia wonders.
"There's food?" I demand, realizing how hungry I am.
We all stand and exit the compartment, making our way to the front of the train. On the way we pass a few compartments with people doing "magic". In one, someone has lost control of their water ability and has flooded the compartment, the people inside standing on their seats. In another, vines are growing up the walls and glass door, the people inside sitting on their now green seats looking frightened.
"Power can be dangerous in some hands." Cora tells me.
"Got it. Magic + idiots= dangerous." I reply.
We continue down the aisle of the long train, and I keep my eyes on the ground as we walk by the compartment with Victoria in it, who doesn't fail to point at me as we pass. When we finally make it to the front, a group of teens leaving the café is headed in our direction. I notice, as we pass by them, Levi gave one of the boys a dark look. The boy is too busy returning the cold stare and I don't have time or the space to move over when his shoulder hits hard against mine.
I turn to look behind me to see who I'm guessing is Tommy Myers. I watch him under his intense stare, and I find that I can't look away. Different thoughts race through my mind and one that seems a little amusing stands out. And you thought Levi was hot. Levi was good looking, but no where compared to the boy who had just vanished from sight. I turn my attention back in front of me, following my friends. The word "friends" seems like such a foreign word. But here I stand, feeling like I'm no longer alone in the world. I have three new friends and I've discovered magic exist! For once, I am happy.