WOKEN UP!

That evening, Lexine sat in her room as she went through the parchment of paper that was her schedule.

None of the classes on earth could have prepared her for the classes here. The subjects that were on her schedule were Melody Manipulation Class (MMC), Strength Enhancement Class (SEC), History, Alchemy One, and Elemental Manipulation Class. There were five classes in total. There was no Calculus, Literature, or Chemistry. Lexine was not a genius in any sort of way. The only reason she had even been awarded the title of school president was that Ceeret had placed her name as a contestant for class president. Through some luck or the other, she had been chosen as class president. Since she was in her last year of school, that made her the school president as well.

She worked hard to keep her grades high. Her plan was to ensure she got into a good university, do a good course, get a good job, and buy a house for herself and her mother. That plan got flushed down the drain when she was kidnapped into a weird new world though. Lexine groaned. Life was seriously so unfair.

Her first lesson of the next day began at half-past eight in the morning and ended at half-past four in the evening. That would mean that she had an hour with Christana, Adley, and Aurinda to teach her the history of their lands. After that, she had half an hour to herself. That was definitely going to be nap time for her. Her last agenda of the day would be two hours for magic affinity with Desire and Quira. She definitely did not need the last one as she was sure she had no affinity for magic. She was human after all.

If she followed the schedule they had made for her, that would mean that she would be free from eight in the evening to four in the morning. Only eight hours to eat, shower, sleep. She groaned and hit her head with the notebook. She was very tempted to leave everything behind and go back home. Her plan to be completely lazy was flushed down the drain for her. Anyway, her roommates were not asking for any money in exchange for helping her. It was nice of them despite the fact that they knew nothing about her. This brought a small smile to her face. Maybe one day she would play them an instrument for entertainment. Her housemates seemed to like food though, so maybe she could make them something like pizza?

That night, she slept soundly, with a small rare smile on her face.

The smile was wiped from her face first thing the next morning when someone banged on her bedroom door. She was half awake when she heard a voice speaking from the other side of the door. "Lexine, you should wake up else you will be late. Cardial has a terrible temper when someone is late." In her dazed state, Lexine could make out that the voice belonged to Aurinda. Half awake, Lexine poked her head from under the covers and glared at the door. Who was it who dared to wake her up before the sun shone?

Aurinda kept silent on the other side when she heard the rustling of sheets, thinking that Lexine was waking up. However, this gave Lexine the opportunity to drift back to sleep. She sighed, happy that the racket had died down.

Aurinda who learned how Lexine took the longest time to wake up the previous morning, banged on the door once more, louder this time. "Lexine? Are you in there?"

Lexine groaned but did not get out of bed. "The person you are searching for is not present. Please come back later."

Aurinda rolled her eyes. Were all humans this aggravating? She knocked on the door again. This time Lexine dragged her body out of the bed, with the blanket wrapped around her body. She opened the door and glared at Aurinda. Aurinda glared back and pushed herself into the room.

"I am sorry for barging in like this, but it is ten minutes to four, Cardial will be waiting for you at the doors at precisely four. If you are not downstairs by then, he will work you even harder."

Lexine shut the door and jumped back into the bed. "Let him do what he wants. I couldn't care less. I am going back to sleep."

Aurinda tugged at the blanket covering Lexine. "You should care because if he sends my sister to wake you, you will be dragged downstairs in your nightwear."

Lexine yanked the blanket and lay on a quarter of it gripping it in a bunch in her enclosed fist. She mumbled, her face smooshed into her pillows. "Let her come. No one is separating me and this bed."

Aurinda yanked the blanket back. This resulted in a tug of war between the two girls over the blanket. Aurinda was using her very obvious strength to win while Lexine was working with her desire to remain sleeping.

In such a situation, it was very obvious that the strong would win. In this situation, Aurinda was the most obvious winner. However, contrary to expectations, none of them won. Lexine had such a firm hold on the blanket that as Aurinda tugged, she inadvertently pulled too hard, causing the blanket to tear into two.

The sound of her blanket tearing, coupled with the cold air that hit her bare legs, threw all the sleep out of Lexine's body. She sat up and stared at her blanket before turning her icy gaze at Aurinda. She detested being woken up early in the morning. Even her own mother knew better than to wake her up early in the morning. She became more grumpy than usual and would direct her anger at the one who was waking her.

At that precise moment, while Lexine was angry at Aurinda, she unknowingly forced her energy into Aurinda's. Like a snake, it coiled itself around Aurinda's energy, suppressing and choking it.

Aurinda felt her innate energy being pressed down and her knees buckled because of the pressure. Her eyes teared up and she began trembling. This was the first time she had felt so choked up that she could not breathe. With hands placed upon her stomach, she gagged, feeling the apple she had taken a few minutes before being forced up her throat. She wanted to call her sister, but her voice seemed to have evaded her, and she couldn't utter a word, only managing to bare an inaudible whimper. Black spots swam in her vision as she felt her conscious mind being pushed back.

Lexine seemed to notice Aurinda being in pain and her anger dissipated and was replaced with worry. This made her energy to swirl back into her, releasing Aurinda's energy with a resounding snap audible to none of them. Immediately after being released, Aurinda crumpled to her knees and chucked up the contents of her stomach onto Lexine's floor.

Lexine jumped out of the bed in shock. "Oh my goodness. Aurinda are you okay?"

Aurinda looked up at Lexine with terrified eyes before hanging her head low and wiping her lips with the hem of her shirt. Lexine helped the limp Aurinda back to her feet and helped her to sit on her bed. Aurinda's face was blank and she shrunk back from Lexine's touch after she was seated. Lexine was fussing over her. Of all her housemates, Aurinda had been the most welcoming. Seeing her feeling unwell tugged at a string in Lexine's emotions.

She fussed over her housemate, using the shirt off of her discarded uniform to clean Aurinda's lips and hands. She felt Aurinda's forehead with the back of her palm. Her temperature was a bit high. Lexine ran to her bathroom and came with a wet cloth. She came back to find Aurinda seated at the same spot, her hands clasped on her lap and her eyes facing the floor.

She made Aurinda lie on the bed and placed the cool cloth on her forehead. She turned to look at the vomit that stained her floors and sighed. It was going to be a pain to clean it if she let it dry.

Aurinda followed Lexine's gaze to the floor. She immediately sat up, making the wet cloth fall to her lap. "I have made a mess of your floor, I will clean it up immediately."

Lexine threw her a glance and sighed. She pushed Aurinda back onto the bed and returned the cloth back to her forehead. "Stay here. You have a fever, I will clean it myself." Aurinda shook her head, disagreeing with Lexine, and tried to sit up. Lexine frowned, pushing her back down. "Aurinda, please."

When she was sure Aurinda was not going to leave the bed, she got a mop and bucket from the bathroom and cleaned the mess. Aurinda did not move from her spot on the bed. Lexine noticed that her hands were trembling despite being clasped together on her lap.

Lexine removed a pair of yoga pants, a tank top, and a light running jacket from her wardrobe and changed into them.

Aurinda had not moved from her spot making Lexine think for a moment that she was asleep. Her eyes were wide open though. "Are you feeling better now?"

Aurinda nodded and Lexine removed the cloth from her forehead. She felt Aurinda's forehead once more and realized it was still a bit warm. She helped her sit up. Her eyes were red and watery. "Do you still feel nauseated?"

Aurinda shook her head, not looking at Lexine. She was trying to collect her thoughts. Reminding herself that Lexine would not hurt her. Lexine was her housemate. Lexine promised to make them tea. Lexine was always frowning but in reality, she was kind. Aurinda reminded herself that over and over again. There was no need to ask for her sister this time. She could control her emotions on her own. She could take care of herself without disturbing her sister.

"What just happened to you?"

Aurinda's calm gaze finally fell on Lexine. Could it be that Lexine did not know what she had just done to her? Aurinda understood what it is Lexine was doing. She knew the feeling that came with elemental control. To create Gates and Doors, she had to manipulate the energy that shadows emitted as that was the element she was born to control. In Lexine's case, however, it was different. Her energy signature wound itself around Aurinda's. Maybe it was because Aurinda was the only living thing in the room. Would that make Lexine able to manipulate plant life? Or maybe she was a beast tamer. What breed of human was their housemate exactly? Was she even human? This last question shocked Aurinda. As quickly as the absurd thought came, she pushed it aside. Lexine was born on the other side of the gate, of course she was human. Perhaps she was mutated?

Aurinda forced a smile on her face and bowed at the waist. "I just felt dizzy suddenly. I apologize if I frightened you. I was not born as strong as my sister, therefore, I react strongly to fluctuations of energy in the air." This was half of the truth. "If you are ready now, let us leave. You are already late. Cardial will be angry."

Lexine nodded and helped her stand as they left her room.