7 Ruby District (6)

"Mm, that's what you think?"

Addie gasps. We spin around and find Jonas standing there, hands in pockets, raising his eyebrows at me and smirking. "Aloysia, I need to talk to you."

Uh-oh. Heat starts to creep up my face. Maeve and Addie look at me worriedly. "Well," Maeve says, "we'll see you at school soon! Nice to meet you, Aloysia."

"And you better not lay a finger on her," Addie threatens Jonas. Then they leave.

I look down to my feet, rubbing my toe against the side of my foot. We stand there awkwardly until Jonas sighs. "C'mon." Jonas grabs my wrist. "Follow me."

"W-wait," I stammer. "What are you doing…" My voice falters as I give in and follow him up a grassy hill, and then he plops down onto the grass under the shade of a tree. Not a palm tree, just a normal tree. I sit beside him, careful to keep a distance between us.

He doesn't talk for a while, just stares at the ocean with that silly grin on his face. I fumble with the three bags of chips in my arms. "Uh, Jonas, do you want one?" I offer a bag of chips to him.

"Nah." He glances at me. "I said they were gross, didn't I?"

I huff and set them down. "Right." I open one and eat a chip. It's really good.

I start munching on the chips when Jonas starts to talk. "I want to apologize."

"Oh." Again with the 'oh'.

"I was rude to you when we just first met. That was bad of me." He scratches the back of his neck. "I was just… startled, a little scared. I've never seen something as beautiful as you before."

I jump. "Woah, wait—"

"Wait! I mean," he blushes slightly, "not that you're not beautiful, but your aura. I was talking about your aura. It's so pure."

"Here. You can have these." I scoot the two unopened bags of chips to him and jump up, my heart beating too fast. I start to walk stiffly towards the apartment I'm staying at, my insides swirling nervously. The light suddenly seems way too bright, overflowing my senses, and I walk numbly towards what I think is my apartment. My head feels light, confused, dizzy...

"Hey!" Soon after, a hand grabs my elbow and yanks me out of my daze like cold water was splashed on me. I yelp and goosebumps rise on my arms, and I freeze when I sense the boy's presence close to me. I slowly look up and meet his dark gaze. The sunlight forms a slight silhouette around his face, and it relaxes my eyes a bit.

Jonas smiles, biting his lip slightly. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

A weird sound escapes my throat, and I have a strong urge to run and hide from this boy. He makes me feel so weird. I'm not sure what to do or say.

"I was rude to you earlier. Now I'm scaring you." Jonas sucks in a long breath. "Will you ... give me another chance? I know I'm not the best person, but I want to know you better and be your friend."

I can't help it. A laugh bubbles out from the bottom of my stomach and I start stammering. "Yea, yeah, sure, we can be friends..."

Jonas's face explodes with happiness. "That's great! Well, I'll see you at school then!"

Then he's gone.

I stare at his retreating back, dumbfounded. Wow. I've just made three friends in the last half hour.

And one of them... thinks my aura is beautiful. What does that mean?

~~~

The rest of the afternoon, I watch tv for the first time in eight years. I end up watching a cartoon that is pretty predictable and boring, but strangely addicting.

I used to live in the city from when I was five to eight years old, and technology in the city is way advanced. But here in Rubys, everything is old-fashioned. People here are friendly and tranquil. Even Jonas wanted to be my friend. There are plants everywhere, and the air is crisp and fresh, innocent from smoke and chemicals.

I think I like it here better. It's ... peaceful.

Just as I'm about to fall asleep, I jerk into a sitting position on the couch. Right. I need to get myself into the system.

I check the time. 21:34. I curse and rub my neck. It's already too late. I should've stayed at the main office of the school until the guy behind the desk could help me.

I sit there, thinking. I could do it in the morning. They might not let me attend school right away, but I should do it as soon as possible.

But for now, I should sleep. My eyes are droopy and warm, and I feel the heavy urge to close my eyes and drift off into unconsciousness. I lay down on the couch and stare at the bundle of papers on the table, with my fake proof that I've always lived in the city, the last thing I see before slipping into darkness.

The next morning at 6:40, I'm walking into the main office of the school. I have my hair pulled back into a French braid and I wear shorts and a light t-shirt. The wind feels nice on my warm face. Tucked in the waistband of my shorts and beneath my shirt is the papers of fake proof.

The air-conditioning is cranked up high and cold air welcomes me instantly. I walk up to the front desk, and the same man that was there before stands there still. He has dark curly hair, roundish dark glasses, and furrowed eyebrows as he stares at the computer. A smile curls his lips up, and he suddenly bursts out laughing.

I stand there awkwardly. A few students walk through behind me and go through another hallway-- school must've not started yet. I clear my throat and the man jumps, startled. He looks down at me and his mouth forms a small 'o', and he taps a few keys on the keyboard before looking at me with a warm smile. "How can I help you?"

"I want to enroll here," I say simply.

"Mmm," he mumbles, "okay. What's your name?"

I just give him the bundle of papers, with my name, an approximate height and weight Kennedy chose, 'school' I used to go to, my 'parents', where I used to live. He chuckles and looks over the papers with a sweeping glance. "You're all prepared, huh?"

I smile grimly, watching his face, my heart fluttering nervously. 'If he finds it suspicious, the first person to see it, I'm doomed--'

"I'll just put all this into the computer and it'll update your status as a student at the Rubys School of Arts."

I blink, momentarily dazed. "Wait, just like that?"

"Yep." The man glances at me, then leans close, as if to whisper something. I tilt my ear to his face. "Actually," he mutters, "this school is short on students, so anyone that comes by is very welcome."

"Ohh." I nod. We lean back and I grin at him. I start to walk away when he calls out to me.

"Hey! Wait, you need to stay here." I slowly turn around and see him frowning at the papers and the computer screen.

'Oh, shat...'

I timidly walk back up to the front desk. If he figures it out... there's no easy way for him to get around the front desk to reach me, so the best he can do at first is call for help or something. That'll give me a couple seconds to sprint to the front doors and back to my apartment. They don't know I stay there, right? I'll pack up quickly and sneak out through the back, and probably retreat back to the Lune District. That's the safest way.

"How come your profile is empty?" He squints at the computer, his face illuminated by the bluish light the screen emits. "It says... last recorded you lived in the city, just about to start primary school, and you're eight..."

"Oh! Hahah," I say brightly. I suck in a gulp of air. "It's just, my primary school had a problem logging me in, and they just kinda forgot to fix it--"

"Okay," he mumbles softly. He types some stuff for a few minutes, then sets my papers down. "Alright, which classes would you like to take? You can take up to four arts classes, and it's a district policy to take a mandatory Language and Sciences class as well." He shows me a list of the classes. I choose dance, choir, and theatre, just following Kennedy's recommendations.

"The teachers will place you in the correct levels after a small audition," the man continues, writing my selections down. He enters them in the computer and prints a paper out, and hands it to me. "And also, you're sixteen right?" I nod. "Alright, go down the hall on the right till the end and a girl named Aimee will lead you to your classes."

Oh. "I get to start classes right now?"

"Yep."

I didn't think about starting classes today. I say thank you to the man, and go down the hall to the very end. The last room looks like an office, and in a chair there's a teenage girl, 18 or 19, with fiery red hair in a messy bun and flawless pale skin.

I peek my head in. "Hi, are you Aimee?"

She looks up from her device. She has a blank expression, although her icy silvery blue eyes look cold and accusing. She shoves the device into her pocket and stands up with a forced smile. "Yeah. You must be a new kid. I'll show you around."

'Show you around' is just dump me off at my first class. She leaves stiffly right away, like being with me is the last thing she wants to do. I enter the building, a short but very long and wide circular building with a beautiful stained glass dome ceiling. I wander around until I reach the room with music blasting inside.

The sound increases ten times more once I open the door. About twenty students warm up in flexible tight clothing, but some of them have sweatpants or jackets. Some stretch on the floor, and some do a light dance in front of the huge mirror wall.

I walk numbly up to a group of people, still taking in everything. The energy and grace in the air gives me goosebumps, and seriousness with a hint of playfulness fills the room. So many great dancers doing incredible leaps casually, or stretching so far.

The group of people are pretty tall, and I tap on one of their shoulders. A tall boy turns slightly towards me, with a long muscular neck and handsome face and gray eyes that frown at me. He's so intimidating. My eyes widen and I step back. "I--uh--"

"Aloysia!" My eyes snap up and I meet Jonas's stare. He brightens up and smiles. Everyone in the group looks at me curiously. Heat creeps up my neck at the sudden attention. "You're a dancer, too?"