The first day of school was the worst day of the whole year, especially for someone like me. An introvert. There was nothing I hated more than talking to strangers, and it wasn't them, It was me. I clam up and forget my own name because of the crippling anxiety I get. It usually got better after a couple of days but those in-between days ... I wanted to die.
It didn't help that the only thing on my mind was that boy from two days ago, I had wanted to ask Nyan about him but I was too afraid. Plus she had changed from how she was since we first met. She wasn't all positive and filled with an overbearing amount of joy like before. She was distant. Avoiding me. Maybe it was an act before? Maybe she was just like the other rich kids?
Nyan had already left a couple of hours ago, I was disappointed how things ended up with us, it would've been nice to have at least one friend before classes started.
I mean I was never really good at the whole making friends thing but I really thought I could change that with her. I've always kept to myself, I've had one friend my whole life, West, and I practically met him before I was born so he doesn't count. Speaking of, I needed to call him soon.
I looked at myself in the mirror not recognizing the girl in front of me. I wore knee-high black socks with lace on the bands, a blue and red plaid school skirt, and a brownish-tan sweater with the Crestwood logo on the front. It was an open book with a raven on the front of it, symbolizing intelligence. I let my hair out from being tied in a bun, flowing down in golden locks, normally I hated my hair down but mom loved it and this was about her.
I never wanted Crestwood, this was all my mother's dream, not mine, but after everything she's been through I felt obligated to do this for her.
My father was never a good man, he was cruel and heartless and most of the time abusive and he was also downright crazy but that never stopped my mom from loving him. I didn't remember him but Ace did and he used to tell me stories, stories that our father thought were real, about demons and witches. They were fun when I was a kid but as I got older I realized my father was actually a lunatic.
And over time that had become my worst fear.
It didn't help that kids at school knew the horrific tales of my crazed father and laughed at me for it. I had promised myself I would never be like him. I would never be crazy. Ever.
The school kind of reminded me of a college, well, if college was in Hogwarts. I was seriously getting major harry potter vibes from this place.
It was lunch and I was sitting by myself, awkwardly. The room was as immaculate as the rest of the building, I didn't think I would ever get used to how prestigious this school was. The walls were a mix of stained wood and pure stone. Rows and rows of twenty feet tall windows overflowed one entire wall of the dining hall, letting cloudy sunlight gleam through.
"Hey, You must be the new girl, I'm Tandy," A girl introduced as she sat down across from me, setting her lunch down. She had dirty blonde hair and soft brown eyes.
"I'm Avaryn." I hadn't realized I was the 'new girl'. Wasn't this a school of over one thousand people? How could I be the only new kid? Oh god, I really hoped people weren't talking about me. Back at my old school, I was invisible and that's how I liked it, I despised being the center of attention. Just thinking about it made me feel sick.
"I heard you're sharing a room with Nyan Crestwood, is that true?" another girl asked, sitting down next to Tandy. She was the opposite of Tandy; she had dark hair and light eyes. She was gorgeous.
What was it with this school and people looking like they walked straight out of an unrealistic teen drama?
"You can't just ask her that Mo!" Tandy scolded the brunette.
"Why not? It's not like it's offensive," She growled back, then turned to me. "Is it true? Are you sharing a room with Nyan Crestwood?"
My eyes widened. "Wait, Crestwood? As in-"
"Yup, Crestwood as in her family owns the school."
Oh my god! An overbearing amount of shock rushed through my stomach. How-? How was that even-? Nyan's family owned this school? That put so much more pressure on me, I practically shared a room with a freaking princess. "Uh, yeah, she's my roommate."
"Wow I didn't really believe it until you said it," Mo replied, something like amazement in her gaze.
"Why?"
"The Crestwood's have their own private mansion on the grounds of the academy, they never stay in the dorms, like ever, it's above them," Tandy explained, her voice lowering as if we were sharing some top secrets.
"That's ... insane."
Suddenly it seemed as if the whole room had gotten quiet, I looked up realizing it had. Everyone was paying attention to the front of the room. "What's going on?"
"The Devara," Tandy whispered to me.
"The what?"
"You really don't know anything, do you?" Mo bluntly asked me.
And then they came into view. They moved aimlessly as if they were angels without care, so gracefully they could've been in slow motion. Nyan was among them, along with Everson, Kaida, Octavious, and the boy I had met in the hallway. His girlfriend was there too. Each one of them looked as if they were descended from gods, the way they moved just screamed power. And they weren't even trying.
I was surprised at the sudden wave of jealousy that hit me. Who were they? Why was everyone silenced as if they were royalty?
I watched them closely as they strolled through the dining hall. They looked down on the rest of us like we were merely mice and they were ferocious cats.
Do you know that moment in the basic teen movies when the popular kids walk in? There's always wind blowing their hair dramatically and they walk in slow motion because they're just that freaking cool? Yeah, this is like that. Only it's real life and these kids looked like they had the power to bring you to your knees.
"What's the big deal?" When I had met them they had just seemed like normal teenagers now they seemed like way more than normal.
"That's the Devara. The six richest, most entitled, powerful teens in the whole school," Tandy whispered to me as if she were afraid they would hear her.
"Why the Devara?" my curiosity got the better of me. There was just something so intriguing about them.
"Nobody really knows what it means, that's just what they started calling themselves."
"Well, that's a little stupid-"
"Shh! They're walking by us!" Mo interrupted, she looked down at her plate pretending to play with her food as they walked by. Seriously? She was afraid of them? Surely they couldn't be that powerful, right?
My eyes almost instinctively looked into the green ones that belonged to the asshole Greek god. We locked gazes as he passed by, cold nothingness in his stare as if he had no emotions. I swallowed down the sudden nervousness in my throat. Something about his gaze ... I shivered and looked away. Everything in me screamed that he was dangerous. I looked over all of them. Something about them fascinated me. I couldn't explain it but they seemed ... familiar.
"Oh my God! You did not just look directly at Bash!" Tandy gasped at me, her eyes expanding.
"Who?"
"Sebastian Crestwood! Nyan and Everson's brother."
Say hi to my sister for me, Avaryn.
So that's what he had meant before? I had been thinking about it and now it made sense. I squinted. I watched as they took their seats at a table near the back. My eyes followed Bash, unintentionally. "So what's his deal?"
"Who? Bash? He's like the leader of their untouchable group. They all obey him. It's so weird. They are all weird. I think Nyan is the only one who is semi-normal."
I finally forced myself to rip my gaze from Bash and turn back to Tandy. My brows creased. "They seemed pretty normal when I met them."
"You spoke to them?" Mo's eyes widened so much I thought they would fall out of their sockets.
"What's the big deal? I don't get it." They were just teenagers. So what if they're rich? Everyone here was. High School was so overdramatic, I swear.
"They are Crestwood royalty."
I refrained from rolling my eyes at Tandy's laughable statement. "That's a bit extreme."
"Uh no, it's not," Mo explained. "Their parents paid for them to have their own private mansion on the grounds. I mean who does that?"
"Also they barely talk to anyone but each other. Last year Nyan started talking to Matthew Jackson and the others got him expelled. Expelled. Just because of his relationship with her."
I wanted to laugh but a part of me was terrified. I was Nyan's roommate! Could they really just get me expelled if they wanted? No. There had to be another reason for the boy getting expelled. "That can't be true. Students can't just get other students expelled because they feel like it."
"Did you miss the part where I said Nyan's family owned the school?" Tandy looked at me as if I were stupid and maybe I was. Or at least naive. I felt overwhelmed by all this information.
I studied them without meaning to. They were so out of place. Tandy could've been right, they really looked as if they were royalty. Even their uniforms were different from everyone else's. The girl who was with Bash was wearing all black, it was then I realized how beautiful she was. I didn't notice the other day because I was too focused on Bash but she was just as gorgeous. Long auburn hair flowed down her back and she had a fierce look in her chocolate eyes. She had golden tan skin and amazing thick eyebrows, she looked like she just walked off the runway.
Nyan was wearing all white, she looked as angelic as she did when we met. I felt some sort of pull toward them. It was strange and i didnt like it. They were so hypnotizing to watch, I stared as if in a daze. "Just a word of advice," Mo started as she noticed me observing them. "Stay away from the Devara."