Chapter 2

~~ New Faces ~~

The big black tires of a black jeep, momentarily receded their spin as the vehicle came to a halt. The black jeep was parked in front of two tall buildings. There was a space of about seven meters between the jeep and buildings. The space was floored with concrete, although it was lined with beautiful ornamental plants.

The first building, that was grey in color, had a red stone situated by its side. It had an engraving that read 'HUNTSVILLE HIGH'.

Click!

The backdoors to the black jeep opened simultaneously and Ian and Avery hopped down. They clung casually to their backpacks as they stared directly at the school. Other students roamed about the entrance and into the buildings.

“You guys enjoy your day!” Peter half-shouted from within the jeep. “And don't cause any trouble.”

He bid them goodbye and drove off. Avery turned and waved as she mouthed, “Bye, dad.”

Ian couldn't care less; he continued walking. Avery ran and caught up to him and they walked side by side in silence, till they reached the red stone with engravings on it.

Little Avery turned left towards the other building. That building had different colors splashed on its walls; not in a frenzy, but more of in a childish and artistic manner. The building was meant for the juniors; from 9th grade downwards.

After taking a few steps, Avery stopped and turned to see her half-brother sauntering towards the high school's entrance, with an indifferent expression.

‘Didn't he notice?... But, but he's supposed to...’ she frowned, taking brisk steps towards him.

“Ian!” she shouted.

“Huh?” Ian stopped in his tracks and half-turned towards Avery. “Uh... Did you forget something?” he couldn't help but ask, noticing her cute frown.

“You're the one that's forgetting something,” she said as she got close to him.

“And that is?” Ian was completely blank.

She pouted her lips, “You're supposed to escort me to my school”

‘Seriously? We've been doing this ever since you started first grade. And it's just like twenty steps away from here!’ he retorted inwardly before deciding to reply.

“Avery, look, you're not a kid anymore. Besides, I could just stand here and watch till you've gotten inside.”

He ruffled her brown hair, feigning a smile. They were late already, missing the first period meant visiting the principal's office. No one wanted that. No one, especially him, who's had constant visits to the office last semester. And they weren't visits that warranted appraises or awards, but visits that almost resulted in him getting suspended. His saving grace had always been his bright mind and impeccable grades.

“But mum said --” Avery was about to reply, but Ian cut her off.

“Mum worries too much. I have to go now,” he said with smile.

Avery shook her head in a negative manner and folded her arms, her lips shaking as she stood on a spot.

“Oh, come on!” Ian threw his hands in exasperation.

“Please...” Avery mouthed with her lips curved down.

Ian stared at her for a second or two, his lips twitching, before he finally gave up and said, “Fine. Let's be quick.”

“Yay!” Avery jubilated with a wide smile.

No matter how hard Ian tried, he couldn't help but smile too; her smile was very contagious. He held her hand and they strolled to the building.

“So... Mind telling me why you can't go to school without me?” Ian asked. Even though she was eight, she's always acted far above her age. He felt something was off.

“Are you scared?” he added.

“I'm not scared of anything,” she replied sharply like she always did.

“Err... Okay,” he shrugged.

“Well, except for Ms. Selene,” she said with a reduced pitch.

“Uh? Who's that?” Ian took a glance at his sister. She looked worried. “What's so scary about her?”

Avery exhaled, “She started teaching us last week... She keeps saying all these weird stuff to me when we're alone. And standing close to her makes me feel really frightened.”

Ian's brows furrowed, “Oh... Words like?”

“She once called me ‘magia saka’, an half-Aeon, something like that,” she said nervously.

“Wow...” Ian muttered. He'd never seen her in such a frightened state before.

She sighed again, “I know it sounds stupid, but --”

“No. I believe you,” Ian smiled. “Have you told mum... Or Peter?”

“Nah. Mum could panic, and dad is too busy.”

“Fair point. But don't worry, you have me,” he smiled as they stopped at the building's entrance.

“I know,” she smiled back and hugged him by the waist.

She disengaged and ran into the building. But, just before she entered, she froze as she saw a red haired woman at the door, smiling at her like she'd been expecting her. The lady gently opened the glass partitioned door for her. The flustered Avery smiled sheepishly before rushing in.

‘Whoa. I guess that must be Ms. Selene...’ Ian pondered after seeing what just transpired.

His eyes scanned her from head to toe. She was tall with evident feminine curves, curves that could not be hidden by her white shirt and black trousers. She had red eyes and red lips, which matched her long scarlet hair.

Never had he seen someone with red eyes, expect when he read them in novels, and they were usually vampires.

‘Was Avery messing with me?’ he asked himself. To him, Ms. Selene was just ridiculously beautiful. Nothing seemed off about her.

While he pondered on these things, he heard a sweet light voice speak to him.

“You must be the brother,” Ms. Selene slowly said, beaming with smiles.

‘Damn!’ Ian almost screamed out of shock. She had gotten close to him and he didn't even notice.

Calming himself down, he replied, “Y-Yes, I'm Ian, Avery's elder brother.”

“Hmm...” she stared at him, her lips still curved up. “Then you must be the ONE, I presume”

‘Uh... Of course I am the ONE. I'm her brother. I literally just told you that!’ Ian retorted inwardly, resisting the urge to frown.

With silence as its partner, the stare elongated for a couple of seconds, before the red haired lady withdrew her red eyes and walked away.

Ian could have sworn to see those red eyes lit up during the stare. He felt paralyzed and couldn't move until after she left. As she left, he forced himself to inhale and exhale, staggering back a little. He sighed.

‘Avery wasn't kidding. This woman, she's... She's--’

“What the hell!” he exclaimed with wide eyes as he found himself standing right in front of Huntsville high.

But wasn't he at Avery's school just a second ago?

The flustered Ian shook his head and trotted into the building.

~

“Are you sure? Maybe it's just another one of your weird dreams,” a fair teenage boy with auburn hair whispered to Ian, who was seated right in front of his desk. They were in class and lecture was going on.

Pretending to scribble something in his note, Ian dropped his head and tilted it back a little, “I don't think so. If it was a dream, I'd have woken up in bed. And besides, this actually made sense unlike the dreams where I'm in fantasy land.”

“Hmph. Fair point,” the boy with auburn hair had his black eyes fixated on the teacher, while he whispered.

“Then there's only one possible explanation for this...” he narrowed his eyes.

“And that is?” Ian asked, still scribbling imaginary words on his note.

“That Ms. Selene is a witch,” the boy said with all seriousness.

“Pfft...” Ian subconsciously dropped his pen as he raised his hand to cover his mouth, in order to suppress his laugh.

This inevitably caught the attention of the female teacher and other students.

“Ian, did I say something funny?” the teacher asked, adjusting her glasses.

Ian shook his head with puffed cheeks, signifying a 'no'.

“Hmph...” the teacher sighed. “Use your words, please.”

Ian nodded and withdrew his hand from his mouth as he slowly exhaled. Then he looked straight at her, “Sorry about that.”

She only shook her head before continuing her class.

“Damn, Chase. What've you been watching? There's no such thing as a witch,” Ian resumed his former position, whispering to his best friend.

“Dude, trust me. Nothing is not impossible,” Chase replied.

Ian raised a brow, “That doesn't even make sense.”

“Says the guy who got eaten by a dragon,” Chase snickered with a smirk.

Ian rolled his eyes, “That was only a dream...”

Betwixt their chatter, the door to the classroom was pushed open and a young teenage girl walked in with slow steps. Her feet moved so slowly, her sneakers almost made no sound with the floor. But this sluggish stride of hers, only made her look more elegant than she already was.

Clad in a long red top and blue jeans, the teenage girl clung tightly to her backpack as she closed the door, timidly facing the floor. She had long dark hair and peculiar dark eyes. The structure of her impeccably gorgeous face made it clear that she was Asian.

Mid words, Chase's eyes went wide as he saw her walk in. He remained frozen for a few seconds before regaining himself.

“Ian, Ian,” he tapped Ian and told him to look up.

Ian reluctantly raised his head and his eyes fell on her. He couldn't move an inch afterwards as he was lost in her peculiar eyes.

The teacher stood up with a smile and introduced the new girl.

“Everyone, meet your new classmate. Kira Hashimoto”