[Elliot]
When Elliot strode past the gate, he didn’t even jump at the change in scene. He didn’t care at all. What mattered was the fact that he was away from the bullies and the negativity of his household-- his mother had tearfully begged him to stay and take care of her, but he couldn’t deal with it all any longer. It took too much out of him. But he had promised her that him going to Skyline was for the better, that after he graduated, they’d both have a better life. Only after some lengthy persuasion did he finally convince her. He went up to one of the staff sitting at the tables stationed on the track field.
“Hello, what’s your name?” greeted the well-dressed man.
“Elliot Zhang,” he replied curtly, not wanting to prolong human interaction if he could help it.
The man rifled through various envelopes and handed him one marked with a ‘1’ on the outside.
“The number indicates your class, so you’re in Class 1, which is in that building over there,” the man gestured, “Class won’t start in a bit since it’s at 10 a.m. today, but getting there early won’t hurt. Room key and information are also in the envelope.”
Elliot silently nodded and headed towards the building. When he got to the classroom, he made his way to a desk in the corner and willed himself to sleep.
[Eliisa]
Well, she was finally here, standing before the decorative gates of the school. Guards stood on each side of the gate, shooting everyone intimidating looks. Eliisa winced at the memory of last night, of her rush to pack everything dear to her in the suitcase, her frantic goodbyes to the friends she made, and the nightmares that plagued her mind on the flight here. She gazed at the school, far in the distance. Why is the school gate here when the main building is so far away? Eliisa strolled past the gate while in thought and stopped suddenly, blinking several times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.
“What?! How am I at the school’s track field when it was so far away?” she exclaimed.
Eliisa whipped her head around to see an endless field, but no gate. She started walking back towards where she thought the gate was and smacked her head against an invisible barrier.
“Owwwww,” she complained.
Eliisa rubbed her forehead gingerly and reached out with her hand until it touched the barrier. It seemed very solid, and didn’t budge a bit when she applied all of her strength against it.
“You should probably stop worrying about that and figure out what class you’re assigned to,” a voice said cheerfully behind her.
Eliisa turned around and gazed at the women who spoke to her, “But…”
The women beamed her a smile, “It’s very crucial that you go to your first class on time, or who knows what will happen? Maybe monsters will appear and gobble you up.”
Eliisa was at a loss for words, Seeing as I most likely won’t be able to leave, I might as well go with this madness for now. What in the world did my parents get me into??
She numbly sauntered over to the table propped out on the track field and faced the women.
“Good… now what is your name?” the women prodded.
“Eliisa Gerhardt,” she replied stiffly.
“Eliisa…. Here it is!” the women hands her an envelope and explains, “Inside is your room key and room information. On the front there should be a number from one to eight. That indicates your class assignment. Class will start at 10 a.m. for today only. You should head to your classroom as soon as possible.”
“Thanks,” Eliisa mumbled and glanced at the large ‘5’ scrawled on the outside of the envelope, “Where is Class 5 located?”
“It’s in the rightmost building over there,” the lady pointed.
“Thanks again,” Eliisa said as she began walking towards the building the woman indicated.
“No problem, hope you live to see the end of the school year!” the women wished her.
Live…? What? I get that this school is really weird but...what?
Eliisa sighed and opened the door to the building. Casting a glance both ways, she finds a sign with ‘Class 5’ on it and goes to open the door. It creaks slightly and Eliisa quietly slipped inside and sat down on an unoccupied desk. Eliisa closed her eyes and thought, I’ve always wished that life was a bit more magical but this is getting really, really weird. People around her were bantering excitedly about their future prospects while others remain silent, anxious for class to begin. Some even looked grim. Around 10 a.m., the teacher arrived and introduced himself as Mr. Magorian. He handed each person a blank piece of paper and stated, “That piece of paper is the second most important thing next to your life.” The classroom became quiet and faint panicked whispers could be heard. The teacher then instructed, “Now in the center of the paper, write a single word. This word should match how each of you will fight in an upcoming battle. The one and only word that you believe you will need.”
A word...with which I’ll fight with? A word that I’ll need? Jeez. Can things get any stranger? Well, since adapting is important and I don’t know what kind of situation I’ll be getting into...
Eliisa carefully transcribed a word onto the paper.
Change.
