For the first seventeen years of my life, I never had to say goodbye to anyone.

I couldn’t say that it was an easy, or always enjoyable, life, but it had a few things–a few people–that I knew I would always have with me. Those of course being my parents and Iraklis.

Iraklis had gone to North America in order to be a hero. We still talked, but it wasn’t that frequent, and it was quite different from our regular conversations. It was painful and more emotional than I thought, and the lead up to it was even worse.

Standing alongside a crowd of people in the airport, I realised that saying goodbye to my parents, even if I would still be able to see them on a monthly basis, was somehow even more difficult. I felt like I was a child again, barely holding back my tears as I looked at my mother’s crying face and my father’s melancholic look, even though he tried to keep his face neutral.

This was a good thing. It was Atlantis. I’d dreamed of going there. But for that briefest second, I felt as if it was the worst thing in my life.

After we’d all hugged it out and said our goodbyes, I saw Birgit was coming up to us. She wasn’t holding any luggage, just a small sac voyage. “My mom will have someone send the rest of my things over,” she’d said casually, somehow managing to mention Lady Flame without losing her cool.

She was all alone, I noticed. Neither her father or her mother were there, which honestly made me lose a little respect for Lady Flame and whoever her husband was. The fact that it actually looked like it was normal made me want to show them what my powers could really do.

I clenched my hands around the suitcases I was holding.

I wouldn’t do that. Of course not.

I couldn’t break down. Not here. Not now.

“I’m glad we’ll be going together,” I told Birgit, trying to make sure she didn’t forget she wouldn’t be alone.

She didn’t smile, not even slightly, but she was no longer frowning, which was a plus. “Me too, kæreste. It’s just…you know.”

“Yeah, I do,” I sighed. “You have to tell me what ‘kæreste’ means,” I added in an attempt to be lighthearted. “It’s not fun if I just look it up.”

Stolen story; please report.

“How would you even look it up? Your pronunciation is worse than a Danish toddler’s.”

“This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight A1, Atlantis Academy. Please have your boarding pass, Examination Certificate and identification ready. Regular boarding will now begin. Thank you.”

And just like that, any amount of lightness I felt in the past few seconds vanished. It was all suddenly so real. I hugged my parents’ goodbye and made off with Birgit.

“Window seat?” I said while we were waiting in line.

“What?”

“Will you take the window seat or will I?”

“Of course I’ll take it.” She scoffed like it was obvious. “What kind of boyfriend would you be if you didn’t give it to me, I wonder?”

“If I wasn’t sure you were kidding I would be scared for my life.”

The boarding situation was as much of a mess as you would expect, multiplied a hundred times over. It wasn’t enough that they put us and our stuff through a billion different scanners and machines, they also brought in powered people that checked us five more times.

By the time we actually got inside the plane, it seemed like a small miracle. It evidently wasn’t an Atlantis only flight, as there were quite a few passengers that didn’t fit the student mould, from older people to full families. We found a free row, Birgit sitting on the window seat and me next to her.

“Is this seat taken?” came a deep voice next to me. I turned around and was met by a..by a guy I could only describe large and scaly.

He looked to be even taller than me and as broad as that villain that attacked us in the beginning of summer. He was wearing a white tanktop and jeans which revealed golden scales travelling up his body and jaw, contrasted with the very dark skin tone of his face–darker than my tan skin. He was frowning and looked quite threatening.

It was at that point that I realised that I hadn’t actually responded to his question. “Uh, no, feel free to take a seat.” He did just that, squeezing against me and I almost regretted asking him. I pushed my body against hers to make room for the massive guy.

“Atlantis?” he asked after a few moments of silence.

“Yeah,” grunted Birgit. I could feel the temperature begin to drop. I squeezed her hand in an attempt to calm her down. It seemed like it worked and the temperature slowly went back to normal.

“Me too,” he said, nodding at us. There was something off about him, something I couldn’t quite place. “Call me Azam. I’m from Morocco, but had to come here to meet some rep or whatever. Came in twelfth. What about you?”

“Seventh,” said Birgit and I could practically feel the smugness radiating off of her. The new guy–Azam–looked at me, as if expecting me to respond too. Suddenly I felt very insecure, sitting next to the seventh and twelfth placed candidates.

“Alex, and I-I came in eighty sixth,” I said quietly. He stared at me like he was trying to see if I was lying, an almost condescending look on his face.

“Is there an issue?” asked Birgit with a dangerous edge to her voice.

“No, no.” He chuckled quietly. “None at all. It’s not like it matters. Our true mettle will be tested in the academy after all.”