• O N E •

"There's an anger inside all of us. Some hidden rage that you keep at bay."

・ ・ ・

Striding into the classroom, I fling the door open and startle the teacher inside. She jumps at the interruption drops her papers that were clutched in her hands. They scatter and litter the cracked tile flooring.

Regaining her composure remarkably fast, she cries in an accusatory manner, "Who are you and what are you doing in my classroom?!"

I roll my lemon eyes and answer boredly, "My name is Rage Falls. I'm your new student. Look it up."

The students begin to snicker at my name, something that I am very much used to. My name is unusual, a "gift" from my parents. The teacher leans over her computer and begins clacking away at the keys.

"Is that really your name?" A boy with carefully styled messy hair calls. He is leaned back in his chair, a perfect picture of casualness.

"No. I'm lying through my teeth," I answer flatly.

"Are your eyes really that color? Yellow?" A girl with green hair asks, leaning forward eagerly.

I lean closer and ask in a mocking tone, "Is your hair really that green?"

Not an answer, but I am not a fan of lying, nor am I a fan of people calling me a freak for having naturally yellow eyes. I didn't ask to have yellow eyes, I was just born with them. Don't get me wrong, I love my eyes, but there are certainly cons to having bright yellow eyes.

The teacher, Mrs. Valdez, straightens and sighs, "Take a seat Rage. Welcome to Rivers High. Don't make a habit of showing up late."

Giving her a smug smile, I flounce to the back of the class and plop into an empty desk. Mrs. Valdez resumes her lesson on imaginary numbers. With a small groan, I tune her out, already have taken this class. I asked for the advanced classes, but the counselor made me retake the same classes since he couldn't find my transcripts from my old school. Annoying, but I am trying to work on not losing my cool.

A poke to my side rips me out of my thoughts.

Whirling around, I hiss, "What the hell do you want?!"

Can you shout a whisper? Because I think I just did...

The boy raises his hand in defense and whispers back, "You never did answer the question. Is that your real name? Rage Falls?"

"Yes," I answer, bored by the common question that I get all the time. "What is your name?"

"Kolton Skye," He responds with a kind smile.

He has golden hair that has a slight wave to it and his eyes are a clear blue. His skin is a warm and golden tan. Even though he is sitting, I can tell that he is tall.

I nod and slump in my chair, getting lost in my thoughts as the teacher drones on in a monotonous voice that makes me want to go back to sleep.

Right as I am about to doze off, another poke comes from Kolton. I try to ignore it, but he only pokes me again.

Sitting up instantly, I turn to him, trying to control my anger.

"Boy, you are playing with fire. What is so important that you need to keep me from my sleep?" I grit out, pushing back the anger that flames inside of me.

Amusement lights his handsome features and Kolton replies, "Actually, I don't think I am playing with fire. He has a different class right now. Are you understanding any of the lesson?"

I look to the ceiling and curse him out in my mind. Somewhat calmer, I look back at him and nod.

"Would you mind helping me out?" Kolton asks with an easy grin.

I sigh and look at his paper.

"What... is this?" I ask, completely confused.

"My notes," Kolton responds as if it is completely obvious.

"In what language?" I snort. "Because it ain't English, that's for sure."

"Sure it is," Kolton frowns, looking back at his paper.

He has to squint his eyes and turn the paper around a bit, but he remarks, "I can read it practically perfectly."

"Then you can figure it out on your own," I reply, facing forward again.

Kolton pokes me again. And again.

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five...

I am calm. I am rational. I am not going to kill anybody and I am not going to display any powers, I remind myself. I am calm. I am rational. I am not going to kill anybody and I am not going to display any powers.

"What do you want?" I hiss venomously.

"I just need someone to explain it to me," He whines.

I spit, "Then ask someone else."

Kolton sags and mutters, "I think I know why your name is Rage..."

That wasn't rage! That was me being nice! Extremely nice! Somebody needs to teach that boy a lesson on what rage really is...

Ignoring the teacher again, my thoughts wander to somewhere they don't belong. My brothers. Inwardly, I laugh wryly. Oh, how I hated them when they were there. Now, I would do anything for just ten minutes with them. I guess it's true that you never know what you got until you got it gone.

Shaking my head to clear it of unwanted thoughts, I try to focus on the lesson, but it is pointless. I already know the material and the teacher is just droning on and on. Really, there is no motivation at all to pay attention. Soon I am drifting off to sleep again.

After all, sleep is far more welcome than reality.

・ ・ ・

The ring of the bell and the din of the class change wakes me up from my cat nap. Groaning softly, I run a hand through my hair to get it out of my face and grab my backpack that is black with yellow trim. I pull out my schedule and look over it. Being a schedule oriented person, I find it incredibly helpful to have structure, even if I need to be flexible with my schedule.

Math | Mrs. Valdez | Room 2 East

Elemental History | Mr. Tulle | Room 114 West

Science | Ms. Greene | Room 19 West

English | Mrs. Heaton | Room 73 East

Lunch

Physical Education | Coach Max | East Gym

Free Period

Government | Mr. Harlow | Room 32 East

Elemental Testing | Ms. Garcia

With a sigh, I look around at the classrooms around me. Where the hell am I supposed to find room 114 West? Quickly, I stride through the halls, keeping track of what numbers I pass, but it feels pointless. It seems as if the people who designed this school just scattered the classes and numbers where they felt. There is no rhyme or reason, at least that I can see.

The bell splits through the air and the halls clear remarkably fast of students. Muttering curses, I jog down the hall, trying to find my way to elemental history. Turning around the corner, I slam into someone who is also turning the corner. We tumble to the ground getting so tangled that it is almost impressive.

Leaping up, I reach a hand down to the person on the ground and help him to his feet. He has the palest blue eyes that I have ever seen and skin that is so pale it is almost pure white. His hair is straight and could be called platinum blond or even white, it is so pale. When he is standing, I see that he is about a head taller than me.

"Thank you," He says, his face clear of emotion. "My name is Nekoda. Where were you going so quickly?"

"My name is Rage. I am trying to find room 114 West," I answer with a sigh, annoyed that I can't figure it out on my own.

His only response to my name is a raised eyebrow, a pleasant surprise.

"You are probably as far away as possible," Nekoda remarks, the corners of his lips twitching before he smooths out his face, clearing it of emotion in an impressive manner.

I sigh, "Do you know where I can find it?"

"Sure, follow me. I have a free period anyway."

I follow him as he moves quickly and silently through the quiet halls.

"The halls are arranged by East and West," Nekoda explains to me. "You are in the East wing. From there, they are arranged by subject. They used to be arranged by numbers, but then all the classes got moved. For some reason, they had the teachers keep their numbers, probably so it's easier for them to make the schedules. You just have to know what class subject you are looking for."

"Well, I need to find my elemental history class," I inform him.

"I know, I have a friend in that class," He responds.

Shrugging, I continue following him, my footsteps echoing in the halls. Lockers and classrooms line the tan walls.

Nekoda tugs the ends of his pale hair and stops, announcing, "Here is your stop."

"Thank you," I say, giving him a rare smile.

Quickly, I enter the classroom.

"Are you my new student, then?" The teacher up front asks, pausing his lesson.

Wincing slightly, I nod.

"Take a seat then. Be late again and it will be detention."

Seriously? After the first day? I shove back the anger that is rising in me. No. I said I wasn't going to lose my cool and I won't. Not going to happen. Nope.

I take the only open seat, a seat in the middle of the class. I hate sitting in the middle of the room, but it is my only option. Feeling exposed and everyone staring at me, I pull out a notebook and pencil as he continues his lesson.

Although my old school had a crappy teacher for this subject, I know all the material already. A student in the back of the class begins to get on my nerves as I feel his eyes on me. I turn to see who is staring at me quickly. It is a hulking mass cramped into the desk. He has dark skin and black hair that is curly and cut short. His eyes are black and suspicious.

Shaking my head, I do my best to ignore him, focusing on the teacher, Mr. Tulle.

"Remember, when those with elemental powers first came about, they were hailed as heroes. This was the Glory era for the powerful. Then came the second Dark ages when the people with elemental powers rebelled. They sought world domination, to make the average person their slave," Mr. Tulle recaps, flipping through a presentation on the projector. "The governments fought back and eventually won. This brings us to where we are today. Those with powers in the first degree are left alone. Second degree are watched carefully. Third degree are locked up immediately."

I have to force myself to calm down. I already know all this, most of us do, but it still makes me furious every time I hear it. They shouldn't be allowed to lock us up just because of our powers, a genetic anomaly. It isn't our choice to have powers and we definitely don't control how powerful we are.

Forcing myself to pay attention, I even raise my hand a few times when the teacher freaks out about "nobody knowing the answers." I know a lot about elemental powers, including their history. After I answer another arbitrary question to test knowledge that will never come in handy, I feel the intense gaze of the boy behind me again. Thankfully, the lesson ends quickly and I am hurrying off to science class.

・ ・ ・

With a sigh of relief, I burst out of the classroom and hurry to the cafeteria, all too ready for lunch. After an eternity in boring classes that I already know, I am more than ready for lunch and look forward to P.E. and my free period. I am grateful that I have three periods that will allow me to recover the brain cells that my new teachers just killed.

Waiting in line sucks. At my old school, there were lines, but I never had to stand in a line. Now, I have a sort of respect for all those people that patiently stand in line. I am not a patient person. Not at all.

Groaning, I look at the giant clock on the far wall and realize that I have less than half an hour left for lunch period. Finally, I get towards the front of the line. Grabbing a paper plate, I pile it full of food, not even paying attention to what I grab. Food is food. And food is good.

Taking my tray, I stride to the expansive woods behind the school.

There are trees of several kinds, from old oak trees to small saplings. Plants grow everywhere and the wildlife is surprisingly bold, probably an effect of them living so close to a school. So far, my favorite plant out here are the tiny yellow flowers that grow at the base of most of the trees. A yellow butterfly flutters by, brightening my day.

Yellow, by far, is my favorite color. It is just the happiest color to look at and allows helps me control the rage that battles for control beneath me.

I sit down at the base of a large tree and eat my food quickly. I make a note of where my plate is so I can pick it up later. Running out of time, I realize that I don't have time to explore the forest in the normal way.

I dig my feet into the ground and close my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I allow my powers to surface. Using my earth, plant, and air powers, I send out a wave of powers that tell me exactly where everything in the forest is. Without having taken a step, I know exactly how many trees are in this forest. I know where the large boulders are. I know what animals live here. I know which trees are dead and which trees are perfect for climbing.

I also know that someone is in the forest.

On silent feet, I slip forward, recalling perfectly where they are. Reaching a clearing of sorts, I stop and see that there is a boy. He is sitting calmly and whispering in a fawn's ear. He is thin and looks short with warm skin and shaggy, light brown hair. I am too far away to see what color his eyes are.

"What are you doing?" I call, alerting both him and the deer to my presence.

The fawn darts off and the boy draws to his feet. Surprisingly, he is taller than me by a few inches. He looks like he is going to bolt as well, but he stays for some reason.

"What is your name?" He whispers and I am now close enough that I can hear him but just barely.

"My name is Rage Falls," I declare boldly, daring him to mock my name.

Surprisingly, he shows no reaction and says softly, "Hello, Rage. My name is Asher."

I give a slightly forced smile in response.

"What were you doing?" I ask.

"What are you doing in the woods?" Asher asks, obviously avoiding the question.

"I was eating lunch out here," I answer honestly. "My plate is back there still, even."

Asher blinks slowly and we both know that the other is not willing to tell the whole truth. Asher dips his head in acceptance and moves closer, most likely to step away from the tree that is right behind him.

"Do you know what time it is?" He asks.

Shaking my head, I frown, realizing that I still need to buy a new phone. And maybe a watch as well. Really, I need to get a lot of things. I add going shopping to my mental checklist of things to do.

"We should probably head back, then," He decides.

I nod, not having any other plans.

"Why not?"

Asher grins widely at my response and together we head back to the school building.

With a goodbye to Asher, I head to my the gym for P.E. I stop at my locker to grab a change of clothes and quickly change in the locker room before heading into the gym. This time, I am a few minutes early, a pleasant surprise.

I begin stretching, getting warmed up when the teacher, Coach Max, comes in.

Blowing his whistle, he orders, "Line up at the blue line!"

I jog to the line in the back of the gym and he has us do several stretches and then run across the gym a few times. Used to exercise, I have no problem with it, but I notice that a few of the students are struggling by the time we are finishing our fortieth dash across the gym.

The green haired girl from my first period heaves, "How are you not tired yet?"

Shrugging, I remark, "It isn't that much running."

Especially not when you are used to running from all sorts of things, I add in my head.

The piercing blow of the whistle draws me out of my musings as the coach gathers us to inform us of our next activity.

Don't forget to vote and comment! I'm super excited to be writing this!

JadeQueen100