Sunlight filtered into the room through the poorly pulled aside curtains. It was a quaint space, well lived in, and surprisingly warm on this chilly winter morning. This light chased away shadows and brought life to the interior. Three bookshelves were lined up along one wall. At another sat a desk with a computer and some open notebooks, some of which had crumpled pages torn and scattered around it, and one having a still uncapped pen resting in between the pages against the spiral spine. Clothes were scattered along the floor, some skirts, a few shirts, and a couple of hoodies. The light colored walls were bare of any decoration, and the hardwood floors were left plain as well, meaning no carpets or rugs were in sight. There was a door for a small closet, and a bed with blue sheets was placed right next to the window, almost under it. As the sunlight slowly continued its takeover of the room, an open letter was highlighted on the desk.
“Ferain Hirigaya, you have been accepted into Olirian Academy as part of our scholarship program. The ship that will take you to the school will disembark on January 5th. You will be required to send in your information sheet before December 20th in order for us to have everything ready for you upon your arrival. Welcome to the next step in your education. Signed, Headmaster Guji Hakamura.”
This letter sat in a pile of papers and forms that were not necessary to return, but instead listed information about the academy and informed the recipient of what school supplies they would need to bring, which wasn’t much. Some pens, a few notebooks, and whatever clothes they wished to pack along for the year-long stay at the school. An alarm started beeping from a phone that was on the floor beside the bed, but there was nobody in the room to dismiss the constant beeping. It was several minutes before anybody returned. The door swung open and a young girl came rushing in towards the phone, her brown hair a mess around her head and her yellow and black eyes glistening in the sunlight that threatened to blind them. She shielded her weary eyes from the sun as she bent down and scooped up her phone.
The alarm was dismissed and she stuffed the device into a back pocket of her baggy jeans. Some tears were on her left knee and on her right thigh, showing a bit of her pale complexion. As she rose, the long sleeves of her shirt fell around her hands, hiding them from sight, as they always did. She was a small girl, not even five feet tall, and had a lithe figure that caused some people to mistake her for a boy whenever she decided to go out in public. She then collected a jacket off of her computer chair, a white pull-over that stopped near her thighs, and had even larger sleeves than her shirt did. She walked over to her desk and picked up the letter and other papers that were scattered around it, and stuffed them back into the black envelope that they came in. It was a thick envelope that had a gold crest of a phoenix on the face of it.
She then grabbed a silver chain that was hanging on a hook near her door, one that had a bright blue, teardrop shaped crystal on the end of it. The girl pulled it over her head, let it fall over her chest, and then pulled her tangles of hair out from under the metal. Next, she moved to a mirror that was hanging on a wall beside the hook for the necklace. Most of her right eye was hidden behind her fringe, and pretty much all of her head was hidden as well. Her hair was always uncontrollable, but this morning, it seemed to be especially wild. It was sticking up everywhere, making her resemble a porcupine more than anything. Just before she could attempt to fix it, a horn blared outside that caused her to jump. Hurriedly, she ran from her room, skipped down the steps two at a time, and grabbed a duffel bag off of a chair on her way to the entryway.
After sliding her feet into a pair of ankle-high boots, she left, locked the door behind her, and hurried out to the car waiting in the road. Inside it was an older woman, with tied up gray hair, a stern expression on her face, and an old dress of blue that she always favored. The girl reached for the back door and climbed inside. After, the car swiftly took off and she was started on her mostly silent journey to the city docks. About halfway there, the old woman looked in her mirror and saw the girl keeping herself as still as possible. Her head was looking out the back window, but she did not dare move her body. Her legs were close together, her hands were in her lap, and her face was mostly expressionless.
“Do you have everything you need, Ferain?” asked the old woman.
“Yes, Grandmother.” Ferain replied, her voice soft and barely loud enough to be heard in the front seat. As a child, her voice, while never energetic, was louder. As she got older, however, it had become this low, quiet thing. She suspected it was from a lack of use, seeing as she hardly ever spoke to other people.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” the woman asked.
“Yes.” Ferain replied. “I feel like I need to do it.” she then added.
“Even if I warn you against it?”
“Even so.” Ferain said, not changing the look on her face or moving even an inch to see her grandmother’s face in the mirror.
She heard the old woman sigh, and that was the last they spoke before arriving at the harbor. There were hundreds of ships, or what felt like hundreds. Some of them were cruise ships, some were cargo ships that were full of colored metal containers, and some were fishing vessels. The one they were heading to was a much larger ship, one that resided at the end of the harbor. The point of this ship was to accommodate new and existing students that were heading to Olirian Academy, which sat in the middle of the ocean, somewhere off the eastern coast of the Sakura Nation. The ship itself was named after the school it belonged to, and even now, students would be filing up the staircase in order to be assigned to their temporary dorms. These would be their rooms until they arrived at the school, which would take two days to get to by ship.
Traffic on the two lane road leading down the harbor was pretty bad, since this was the disembarking date of the ship, and it took nearly fifteen minutes for them to finally reach the end of the dock. Her grandmother’s green sedan pulled up at the unloading area and she turned in her seat to see Ferain grabbing the bag she had tossed beside her.
“This is your last chance, Ferain. You know what happens when you’re around people.”
“I won’t touch anyone. I won’t get close to anyone. I won’t use my powers at all. I know the rules, but I want to go to school. Everyone here is a wielder, it’ll be better than–”
“Than the last time we tried this.” her grandmother interrupted. “You nearly ki–”
“It will be different.” Ferain said, cutting her off. “I’ll be careful.” Ferain added, grabbing the bag and pushing the car door open. She went to close the door again once she was out, and when her hand neared the metal door, a small blue spark cracked, making her jump. Instead of using her hand, she kicked it shut with her foot and watched as her grandmother drove away. That was the last of her family, and the woman was hardly ever around to begin with. Even her showing up to take Ferain to school was a surprise, though not as much after finding out that it was her grandmother’s way of getting one final chance to talk her out of leaving. “She just worries.” Ferain thought. “As if I’m not worried too.” she then mumbled, turning and watching as a bunch of other teenagers around her age were walking up a flight of stairs.
These steps led from the dock to the ship’s deck, and there was a woman dressed in a black suit standing at the base of it. She had a tablet in her hand and a black box sitting next to her on a pedestal. As every student approached the woman, they would converse, and she would hand them something before allowing them to ascend. Ferain tugged her bag onto her shoulder, clasped her hands together in front of her waist, and began walking towards the woman with her head down. She knew she would have to talk to the person, but she still had the instinct to keep herself as small as possible. She could, by no means, touch somebody. Bad things happened when she touched people. After a while, the line eventually dwindled down to her, and she was at the base of the stairs.
“Your acceptance letter.” the sharply dressed woman said.
Ferain pulled the letter from her bag and then handed it over, trying to keep her fingers as far back on the corner as possible. While the woman was examining her letter, Ferain looked up and saw the massive hull of the ship looming overhead. From bottom to top, it was about the size of a typical cruise ship, but she had never seen anything like this in person before. While most people would see it as normal, she saw it as a hundred foot tall machine that shadowed over everything in the vicinity. It was not that large, of course, but she still felt intimidated by it.
“Ferain Hirigaya, fifteen years old, lightning user.” the woman said, and Ferain looked over at the blue haired figure. She was in her thirties, or looked close enough to that, and still looked beautiful. Her skin was nearly flawless, except for a few rings under her eyes, and her narrow blue eyes had a sternness to them that made a shiver run up Ferain’s spine. “This band will be your lifeline aboard the ship and at the academy when you arrive. Keep it on you at all times. It has been specially designed to not fry out when you use your abilities. If it is lost or broken, it will come out of your allowance to replace it. Your room will be B-24, which is room 24 on Deck-B, the second lowest level. The guides along the way will help you find your room if needed. Enjoy the trip.” she said, handing over something that looked like a black sports band.
The band was made of some elastic material, like the ones used on certain brands of watches, and on the top was a sleek, reflective black square that looked almost like a screen or a sensor of some kind. Ferain accepted it and then took back her letter before heading up the staircase. Above deck, it looked like any ordinary cruise ship. The floor was light brown, polished hardwood, and people were walking around in groups or alone. Some seemed to be lost, while others appeared to be right at home, as if they had been aboard this thing a dozen times before. Ferain knew that the more comfortable kids indeed had been aboard this ship before. Students attended four years at Olirian Academy, so this would be the fourth trip some of these students were making. Ferain found a door that led inside the ship and followed the signs that led her down to Deck-B. She was careful as she navigated around other people, keeping her body as tucked in as she could to avoid any accidental brushes or collisions.
Soon enough, she descended the last flight of polished white stairs and was in a long corridor that had a turn right next to her, and a turn all the way at the end. There were two staircases for each floor, and they were all laid out in the shape of a rectangle that ran most of the length of the ship. It didn’t take her long to find her door, a mahogany stained one that had golden numbers on a black plaque beside it, which of course read ‘24’. Over the door handle was a black box that had a similar screen or sensor to the top of her band. She waved the top of the band in front of the door’s sensor and a green light flickered to life on the face. There was a click and she was able to turn the handle, finally gaining entry to her place of solitude for the duration of the journey.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
That was what this place was supposed to be anyway. She closed the door behind her and saw another pair of boots in the entryway. They were a light brown and seemed glazed with some sort of polish. Some buckles were near the tops of them, and they had the dolphin shaped logo of a famous designer brand stamped near the heel. Ferain figured that nobody would just leave these boots lying around, seeing as they probably cost thousands. Using just this evidence alone, she didn’t like the conclusion she was coming to. She kicked off her own boots, which looked drab and dirty by comparison, and then slowly creeped into the living area. Besides the small entryway, they had a mostly open floor plan. There was no kitchen, just a small island countertop that had a mini-fridge installed into the bottom of it. The living area had an entertainment center, with all of the usual things that came with it, a couch, and a couple of chairs. There were three doors along the right wall, which would most likely be the bedrooms and the bathroom.
“Bedrooms?” Ferain thought, looking back at the three doors.
She moved towards the couch and put her bag down. As she looked around more she heard a sudden click that caused her to jump. It sounded like a door opening, and for some reason, she felt like she was about to be caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing, like breaking and entering, or trespassing. She turned to the front door in the entryway, but that was not where the sound came from. A gasp filled her ears and when she turned back towards the three doors, she saw a girl standing in the doorway of one of them. Steam was escaping around her, meaning she must have just taken a shower. She was several inches taller than Ferain, probably being about 5’2” or 5’3” if she had to guess. Her figure was thicker as well, something she knew because pretty much all of the girl was on display. Her skin was pale, though she was a bit darker than Ferain’s own complexion. Her body still glistened from the dampness that remained behind after her shower. Ferain’s eyes started at her bare feet, which had blue painted toenails, and rose up her long legs to see the pair of light blue panties she wore. There was a small bow just under her navel, and then her eyes continued upwards.
The girl’s stomach was smooth but not completely flat. She had some meat on her, but not near enough to be considered heavy. Her chest was mostly exposed, and the only reason Ferain couldn’t see everything was because the girl’s wet silver hair was clinging to her skin, hiding some of her breasts from sight. Next was the girl’s face. It was perfect, like an angel had descended to Earth and graced Fera with her presence. Her eyes were gray, almost resembling the color of storm clouds during the rainy season. The expression she wore was not horror, but simply surprise. She didn’t seem upset at all for Ferain being there, or for seeing her like that, it just seemed like she was an unexpected guest that arrived a bit too early. In the girl’s left hand was a pink towel that had a phoenix sewn in the corners, but she had stopped using it midway through her drying process. They both stared for several seconds in silence, and Ferain was the first to break.
“Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.” she said repeatedly, feeling her face growing red and hot as she turned and covered her eyes.
To her shock, she heard a girly giggle behind her. “It’s no big deal.” the girl said, and Ferain could practically hear the smile she must have had. “I wanted to wash up, since I didn’t really have the time before leaving home. I’m Anita Caswell, it’s nice to meet you.” the girl said, holding out the hand that wasn’t holding the towel. Fera glanced back and then covered her eyes again. Anita laughed before covering her torso with the towel. “You’re pretty timid, huh?”
“You could say that.” Ferain said. “Can you get dressed?”
“I can. I’ll be right back. Hope you don’t mind, I already picked a room.” Anita said, walking to the left-most door and stepping inside.
When Ferain heard the door click shut, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Anita had truly left. She wasn’t used to seeing people, let alone half-naked people. She waited on the couch while Anita got dressed. The silver haired girl came out wearing some tight fitting black pants and a blue sweater with long sleeves.
“Okay, let’s try this again.” said Anita. “Anita Caswell, fifteen years old, and soon-to-be student of Olirian Academy, just like you.” she said, holding out her right hand again.
Ferain refused to take her hand but still managed a smile. “Ferain Hirigaya, also fifteen.” she said, softly.
“I like your voice, it’s cute.” Anita suddenly stated, making Ferain blush all over again. Anita sat on the couch beside her, which made Ferain slide closer to the opposite end of it, trying her hardest to do it slyly. She didn’t want to come off as rude, but she didn’t have much of a choice. Being near people was too dangerous, but she also didn’t want to divulge enough of her secret to explain why that was the case. Anita seemed to notice though, which Ferain figured was only natural. “Are you trying to avoid me?” the girl asked.
“I… I don’t like being close to people.” Ferain reluctantly answered. “I, uhhh… I can’t get close to people.”
“Is it because of your abilities?” Anita inquired.
Fera raised her hand and let her sleeve fall down. Around her fingers, webs of static were arcing in between them and crackling with sporadic fits of power. “I can’t control it very well. It won’t do much, but I don’t want to take the chance.” she explained, leaving out some of the truth. She didn’t want the girl to be frightened of her, she simply wanted her to understand. The last thing she needed was to have more people treating her like a monster, so she hoped that Anita would accept what she said and let it go.
“That’s fine, then. I guess that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Wielders come here in order to get a normal education, but it’s also to help you learn control. After all, we can be pretty dangerous, that’s why we have our own schools in the first place. There was a girl in my second grade class that suddenly got her powers at lunch. She could only produce a little flame at the tip of her finger, but she nearly burned a bully of hers that tried grabbing her hand. After that, she was sent to a primary school for young wielders. Of course, after I got my powers, I was sent there too. See, check mine out.” Anita said, enthusiastically, holding up her own hand and letting a small whirlwind appear in her palm. The miniature twister grew faster and thinner and then slower and shorter. She controlled it easily. “I can do much more than this, obviously, but this suits for a demonstration. Well, Fera, I hope we can work well together this year.” Anita said, holding out her right hand again, before swiftly taking it back. “Oops, I forgot already. Silly me.”
“Fera?” asked Ferain, tilting her head slightly. The name caused a buzzing sound to rise up in her body. It was always there, caused by her uncontained powers, but at times of distress or heightened emotions, it could become incredibly loud.
“A nickname. Isn’t it adorable?” asked Anita.
“It’s…” started Ferain, but she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence aloud. “It’s what my mom used to call me.” she thought, recalling the last time she heard her mother say that. It was a rush of pain, a flash of noise, and a hint of something burning wafted into her nose as if it was ten years ago and she was back in that alley.
“Fera?” Anita questioned, waving a hand in front of her face. “You in there?”
Ferain briefly shook her head as she came back to her senses. “Y-yeah, I was spacing out a bit. My mom used to call me that, it took me by surprise.”
“Used to?” repeated Anita.
“She passed away ten years ago. My dad was… sick, and it spread to my mom. I’ve been living alone ever since.”
“Alone? Since you were five? I didn’t even think that was allowed.” gasped Anita.
“My grandmother is technically my guardian, my mom’s mom, but she left me alone most of the time. About once every couple of weeks she would come by to check on me or to bring some groceries and stuff.”
“Sounds kind of sucky.” Anita said.
“I got used to it.” Ferain said, before realizing what she’d been saying. Luckily, before she had to come up with anything else to say, a voice began streaming from the speakers in the upper corners of the room.
“To the new and returning students, you should have all been assigned your rooms and your roommates. We will be setting out in half an hour and we should be arriving at Olirian Academy in two day’s time. You will be permitted to walk the decks at your leisure until ten tonight, that will be your curfew. By then, it will be required of all students to remain in your cabins until six the next morning. Dinner will be at eight this evening, and breakfast will be at eight in the morning. Staff will always be available in case you have any needs to be seen to or any questions that need answering. The captain’s deck is off-limits to all students. That is all for now. We will be notifying you of what to do upon arrival on the final day of our voyage, so relax, and enjoy yourselves before taking the next steps in your educational journeys.”
The womanly voice was traded out for a bit of static before the speakers finally cut off. “
“Dinner’s at eight?” gasped Anita. “Awww, I was hoping to eat something a bit sooner than that. It’s not even noon yet.”
“They’re probably serving lunch somewhere around here.” Ferain pointed out.
“You’re right. I should go find out. I haven’t eaten since last night and I’m starving. Do you want to come?”
Ferain gave it some thought. There was a part of her, a majority actually, that was telling her to not go. Everything in her life up to this point had proven that she can’t be trusted around others, but these were wielders. That was what she told her grandmother, after all. She was like them, and they were like her. But, her parents were also wielders, and even they… Ferain blinked and then looked at Anita.
“Yeah.” she said. “I do want to go.”
“Perfect.” Anita said, grabbing Fera’s hand before she could pull it back. Fera expected her buzzing to grow louder, for her powers to start acting up, and for her to lose control like she always did. However, nothing happened. Anita looked excitedly into Fera’s eyes before realizing what she did. She quickly took her hand away and then rose from the sofa. “Come on, Fera, let’s go find something to eat. I wonder if they have some instant ramen on board.”
“Instant ramen?” asked Ferain, rubbing her hand and pondering why Anita hadn’t gotten hurt. It was true that she didn’t hurt everyone she brushed against, but Anita held her hand for multiple seconds and nothing happened. It confused her, but maybe it was because she was a wielder. Her parents were a different circumstance, a different set of conditions, but Anita just casually touched her.
“Instant ramen, yes.” Anita said. “I’ve never had it before and I really want to try it.”
“It’s not all that great. Some of it tastes good but it’s terrible for you.” Ferain said.
“I’ve lived a sheltered enough life. A little bit of salt won’t stop me from achieving my dreams.” Anita said, proudly.
“Your dream is to eat instant ramen?”
“Maybe.” Anita replied, grinning at her.
Fera shook her head and stood to join her new companion. Anita rushed over to the entryway in order to pull on her boots, and Fera did the same. She watched Anita burst out into the hallway like a pent up ball of energy, which made her smile. This feeling was something she had not felt in ten years. She felt like she finally had a friend again, despite only knowing this girl for a matter of minutes. It felt like a first step on her long journey to turn her life around, and she was actually getting excited to see how it all played out.