Breathing very hard, a young, tan-skinned girl rushed up the grand stairway of the huge and majestic school, sweat pouring down her face. She tried to be polite and excuse herself through the crowd of students trying to make their way to their first period class, but it was as if she was saying "excuse me!" a hundred times on deaf ears. Finally, she pushed through the crowd of students going through the immense double doors, and rushed down the grand hallways to find her way to the Head Mistress's office.
Many of the students passing by her gave her strange looks, but she ignored them. Most likely they were looking at the large, yellow feather that was braided into her long, dark brown hair. Well, let them look, she was used to it...especially since coming to this strange country of England. Her main concern now was trying to find the office, and give her explanation as to why she was three days late to school. Man, she'll NEVER believe me, I bet I'll be thrown out before even attending any classes! the girl thought sadly to herself.
A few minutes later, she came in front of the door to the Head Mistress's office, and rushed right inside, nearly tumbling to the floor. The large, red-haired woman was sitting at her desk just about to write something, and when she looked up and saw the girl, she narrowed her eyes. "What's this? Who are you, what's this all about?"
"Oh! Please...excuse me!" the girl panted. "I'm...I'm Angeni Thomas! I'm the one who's parents called about being late. You see, my flight here was delayed, and we couldn't find another flight coming out here until last night..." She swallowed nervously and tried to fix her clothes, hoping to look at least presentable.
"Thomas, eh?" Mrs. Butterfield looked Angeni up and down, then picked up a file of papers and began rustling through them. Finally, she came to what she was looking for, and began to read quickly. When she was done, she nodded. "Ah yes, Angeni Thomas. Your parents and I talked, and they explained everything. There's no need for you to go babbling off an excuse now."
The woman smirked at the girl's nervous look and folded her hands across the table. "Just to let you know, this is the ONLY valid time I will excuse your lateness. From now on, you WILL come to class on time, follow our rules here, and don't give any trouble, you hear?" She picked up the schedule that was besides her and handed it to Angeni. "You'd better get going, you have alot of work to catch up on. Three days is a long time to miss very important school work."
"Yes m'aam, I'll try my best." With a sigh, Angeni took the schedule and turned to leave to office to go pick up her books.
"Just one more thing...." the woman called out before Angeni could leave.
Angeni rolled her eyes upward and turned back to the woman. "Yes, m'aam?"
"I've heard about you kids from America. I know all about how you act in your own schools and all other sorts of rubbish. I won't have any of that here in my school, do I make myself clear?" She watched Angeni with cold, harsh blue eyes.
"But I'm not like..." Angeni was about to explain that in her culture, where she grew up, the younger generation were taught to be respectful to their elders, to appreciate the wisdom they could pass down to them. She was about to explain that unlike any of the other kids in America, her culture wasn't entirely based on the European-styled societies. She wanted to shout at the woman that she was Native American through and through, from the Sioux tribe, and not like the other children in America. But looking into the Head Mistress's unwavering eyes, Angeni knew her words would just fall on deaf ears, so she closed her mouth, sighed, and nodded her head in defeat. She turned to leave, but was stopped once more by the woman's stern voice.
"And the next time I see you, I do NOT want to see that ridiculous yellow feather in your hair. It is a violation of our dress code..."
"What?" Angeni's dark eyes widened. "But you don't understand! It was given to me by my grandfather before he died! It's part of my name, it's...it's.."
"It's something I do not want to see again the next time I see you." Mrs. Butterfield repeated, dismissing her with a wave of her hand.
Tears filling her eyes, Angeni quickly turned away and hurried down the hall. Not even paying attention to the crowd of students, she rushed out the doors and practically ran downstairs, her heart pounding with loneliness. It's not fair! It's NOT fair! I hate it here already, I want to go home! Having already gotten a map and familiarized herself with the school grounds, Angeni found her way easily to the school's bookstore and quickly picked up the books she would be needing, all the while trying her hardest not to let the tears fall down her cheeks.
When she left the store, the girl's heart felt just as lonely as it did the night she came to the school. Being in the school's dormitory all alone, she was at first frightened at being in such a strange place, with people that had such strange accents and clothing. She had barely seen anyone that that even closely resembled her, making her feel more isolated than ever. This is just great...I bet I'll never end up making friends here, she sadly thought. Just then, a memory flashed through her mind. Wait...she did see one girl, but it was only for just a second or two. She was slightly darker than she was, and obviously from overseas with a red dot in the middle of her forehead. Angeni didn't get a very good look, nor could she follow her, as it seemed she disappeared after she turned a corner in the dormitory's many halls. I bet I'll be alone here for the whole time I'm in this stupid school! Angeni rolled her eyes as she trudged back towards the school. Oh Great Spirit, what am I supposed to do now? I told Mother and Father I didn't really have to come, but they insisted. Now I wish I hadn't come! She sighed once more. I really wanted to have the time to talk to them about the dreams I've been having, but they wouldn't listen....
So engrossed was she in her thoughts, that she didn't realized she was headed for a collision course with a tall figure, as he was not paying attention himself. A second later, Angeni slammed right into that figure, and fell down painfully on her behind on the hard concrete ground.
"Hey!" growled out a gravelly voice, sounding very annoyed. Bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the glaring, morning sun, Angeni could only just make out a very angry looking face. In his hand was a cup, and the contents that were in it was now splashed all over his school uniform shirt.
"You clumsy lil' wench! Look what you did!" the tall student shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "Now how am I supposed to go to class?"
"What?" Angeni blinked in confusion as she got up, dusting herself off. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I was just trying to head to class before I was late! I didn't see you, and I.."
"Sorry ain't gonna to fix this!" growled out the large young man, balling his fists. "I'm going to teach you a lesson, foreigner!"
"Now wait a minute! I said I was sorry, and it was an accident. There's no need for this!" Angeni narrowed her eyes, trying desperately to avoid fighting. But it looked like this student here wasn't interested in avoiding a fight. All her life, Angeni was taught through storytelling that a true warrior always leaves fighting as a last resort, that a warrior should only hurt or kill with a heavy heart. But if a fight was what he wanted, then she had no choice. Angeni balled up her fists, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. Although she as the kind of person to try and see goodness in everyone, Angeni knew a bad seed when she saw one. She might not have a chance against this big bully, but she'd go down fighting.
The large student just raised his hand to get ready to strike, when a loud voice shouted out over the small crowd of students circling them. "Back at it again, huh Harry? Picking on helpless girls instead of finding a REAL opponent?"
Pushing through the crowd, Jeneta walked up to them and crossed her arms over her chest. "You really need to change your strategy. People might start to wonder if it's only girls you can fight....or if it's the only way you can get girls to pay attention to you," Jeneta lifted her brow and smirked at him, drawing soft chuckles from the circling crowd.
"You again!" Harry narrowed his eyes, anger making his body nearly shake uncontrollably. "You stay out of this, it ain't your business! I'm not afraid of you!"
"When you go around bullying everyone, especially girls, I make it my business!" Jeneta stepped forward, her balled fists at her side.
The large boy was just about to yell off obscenities and rush her, when the loud second bell signaling the start of the first period rang off. Knowing the consequences of being late, the students all rushed off, already forgetting the small fight that was almost started.
"This isn't over yet!" growled out Harry. "I WILL get you, you freak, and all your other freaky friends too!" With that, he rushed off, his sidekicks already at his side. When everyone else had gone, Jeneta turned to the girl picking up her books and book bag.
"Hey, are you alright?" Jeneta stepped forward to try and help, but was stopped by the icy glare the girl gave her.
"I'm fine! Just...just leave me alone!" She slung her book bag over her shoulder and turned to hurry off, choking back pent up tears.
"Gee, you're WELCOME! Next time someone else wants to bash your head in, maybe I'll reconsider saving your BUTT!" Jeneta yelled out, feeling a rush of anger entering her. She turned to leave with an offended snort.
At those words, Angeni stopped in her tracks, suddenly feeling very guilty. She took a deep breath, then turned back around and ran towards her. "Wait! Hey, wait!" When she reached Jeneta, she lowered her head. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I've had a very bad morning, and it wasn't getting any better with that lowlife," Tears once again misted her eyes, and she sighed. "It's just that...it's just...I..I miss my home, and..and.."
"Hey, it's okay. A lot of students at this school miss their homes too. There's a lot of international students here this year I heard." Jeneta nodded and gave the girl a reassuring smile. "My name's Jeneta. I don't live on campus here, but I have some friends that do. Maybe I can get you to meet them during lunch or something."
Angeni's eyes brightened up a little "Really? That would be nice! Oh, and my name's Angeni....Angeni Thomas. I was supposed to be here on the first day, but my flight from America got delayed and I had to change airports and deal with more delays, and I didn't come until last night. And the Head Mistress, she said...she said I had to get rid of my feather, and..and," Angeni swallowed a lump in her throat, feeling the frustration of the last couple of days taking it's toll on her. Just then, the last warning bell sounded, and Jeneta laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.
"Listen, we'd better get going, or else we'll be in big trouble. The school here has a strict lateness policy. We'll talk when I get you to meet my other friends." At those words, Angeni let out a breath of relief, and with a nod, followed Jeneta up to the school with the other students.
"By the way, where in America are you from?" Jeneta asked curiously as she looked over Angeni's schedule while walking down the hall.
"Oh, South Dakota...from a small reservation. I grew up there my whole life," Angeni replied, playing with the end of her braid absently.
"Reservation?" Jeneta gave her a curious look, not really understanding what the word meant.
"It's a long story...a very long story." Angeni said, rolling her eyes. Jeneta shrugged, then looked up at the numbers on the door.
"Oh, World Literature. This is your stop." She handed the tan girl back her schedule, then waved a friendly goodbye as she walked on. "See you at lunchtime!"
"Okay!" Angeni waved back. She watched as Jeneta was met by a blonde-haired girl with glasses, and a girl that she thought resembled herself, but a bit darker.
Oh, that's the girl I saw before, in the dormitory! Maybe those are her friends she told me about, she thought, feeling a little better. Well, maybe this place won't be so bad after all. I hope so. With a nervous look, Angeni entered the classroom, where the teacher gave her a stern look after Angeni explained her absence for the past couple of days. The teacher then pointed to a seat near the front of the class.
"You DO know that you have much work to make up, don't you?" he said, his small beady eyes squinting behind his large glasses.
"Yes, I do," Angeni answered, gulping as the other class snickered.
"Fine then, see me after class, and I will be sure to give you the work so you can catch up. Now then, if we can begin..." The teacher walked to the board and began scribbling dates, names and quotes so fast that it nearly made Angeni's head spin.
Sighing, she opened her book and did her best to follow. But for the rest of the class time, she couldn't help but still feel the loneliness in her heart. But hopefully it won't last for long. I just hope I can make friends...good friends. But I also can't help but feel like all this is the beginning of something. I just don't know what yet.
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Later that day,
After paying for her lunch, Angeni went over to the right to an empty table in the large and crowded school cafeteria. When she sat down, she looked at her lunch cautiously. The lunch looked okay, but she didn't know half of what was in her plate. Well, at least it looks half edible. And I'm starving now, so... Taking up her fork, she put a little bit of the strange food on it, and tasted it. After a few chews, Angeni swallowed. Hey, not too bad! She was about to take another bite when a friendly hand laid on her shoulder.
"Hey, there you are!" Jeneta smiled down at her, her own tray of lunch balancing on her free hand. "Mind if we join you?"
"Oh, sure, no problem!" Angeni smiled at the two other girls with her, and moved over to make room for them.
"Angeni, this is Xiang Ling Zheng...everyone calls her Ling, and Prya Namrata. Prya, Ling, this is Angeni. She's from America!" Jeneta smiled.
"Really? Cool!" Ling said. "I'm from China, and Prya's from India!"
Angeni couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I'm from America, but it's not what you think. My culture is entirely different from what you know about Americans. You see, I'm Native American....from the Sioux tribe."
"Oh right, I've read a little bit about that from the American kids at my old school." Ling said. "Something about the America being "stolen" from the Indians.."
"Yeah, you can say something like that." Angeni laughed a little, feeling a bit better at actually making friends now.
"I'd love to learn more about your culture. It sounds intriguing." Prya said, smiling softly at her.
"Sure, it'll be my pleasure!" Angeni smiled back.
Just then, the blonde girl Angeni had seen earlier with Jeneta came up, smiling shyly. "Hey everyone,"
"Hi Heather!" Jeneta jumped up and gave Heather a quick hug, almost making her drop her tray, and sat her down with everyone. "Everyone, you remember Heather, right? Oh, Heather, this is Angeni. She started school today,"
Heather smiled, about to say how nice it was to meet everyone, when suddenly, a strong sense of recognition she had no explanation for entered her. It was so strong, she gasped softly, putting her hand to her chest. Looking at the girls, she saw that they had the same feeling too.....as if they knew each other, but didn't know how to explain it. It was as if it was....natural for them to be together like this, as if they had done it hundreds of times before. Then, as quickly as the feeling came, it disappeared, leaving the girls slightly confused.
"Wow, that was weird," Angeni said, swallowing nervously. "For a second there, I thought.. I mean, it felt like..."
"I know..." Heather said, taking a deep breath. "I...I think I've read something like this before, but...it's still very strange..."
"You know what, I say we forget about it, it's just too darn weird what just happened." Jeneta said, clearly wanting to disregard the whole thing. With a sneaky look, she reached inside her backpack and took out her small CD player. "I just snuck this from home. I couldn't resist listening to one of my favorite bands in the whole world, BBMak!"
"No way! You like them too?" Angeni said joyously. "I was beginning to feel like I was their only fan!" She blushed a little, seeing how the other girls looked at her. "I...errr...I don't get to listen to a lot of music like that where I come from."
"Well, you can listen now," smiled Jeneta, handing her the CD player. "But mum's the word, I had to be really sneaky getting this out!"
"I heard they're on tour in the States right now. They're pretty big over there too!" Heather chuckled, clearly a fan of theirs too.
"Are they really that good?" Prya asked, looking at the CD player curiously. Not having much time to listen to music herself, she was open to any kinds of sounds.
"They sure are!" Angeni replied, listening to the catchy tune of "Back Here" from the popular English boy band with Jeneta.
"Boy bands...big whoop!" Ling rolled her eyes in annoyance and began eating her lunch.
But none of the other girls really heard her, as they continued to listen to popular song with glee as they ate lunch.
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In a dark and imposing castle on a faraway world, lightening flashing all around it and thunder rumbling through its foundations, a tall and dark figure turned from the window, his grey-colored face a mask of fury and frustration. The room he stood in was very dark, with what seemed to be thousands of candles burning brightly in a large circle on top an altar. Around the candles and altar, many figures stood, covered in black robs and chanting a soft prayer.
The figure, wearing full black armor complete with dark, silver under linings, growled deep in his throat again with frustration. This was taking too damn long! Where the hell were those damn sorcerers! They should have found the prince's location on Earth days ago.
His long, black cape blew wildly in the wind, giving him a very intimidating presence. His cape was hung on silvery hooks to his shoulders, making them look much more broader and higher than it really was. In all, even the look of the man made anyone think twice before crossing his path.
Suddenly, the door to the Incantations Room opened, and a group of black-robed men walked in. One of them stepped forward when they stopped, an old scroll clutched in his hands. "It is done, Lord Zain. We have found the Prince. All we await is your orders..."
"Good, we begin our search immediately!" He waved a dismissive hand, and when the group of sorcerers were gone, an evil, dark grin spread across his face. "Soon, soon Prince Djoser, you will find out the wrath of our Master, Kumraa, and regret the day you DARED try to oppose his rule. Your silly chase of a useless legend will be for nothing. This, I swear!"
Almost as if in answer to these words, a flash of lightening flashed once more, and thunder drowned out all other sounds as the man continued to look out the window to the land below.
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