First Day

Ember exited the large black limousine, bags in hand. She promptly dropped them as she stared in awe at the castle-like school before her. She had almost not gotten into this school, but her mother had talked to the headmaster. Ember did not know what her mother had said, but she didn't care. She was finally here!

This school was different than most others. It accepted all high schoolers of every race. Demons, elves, dwarves, and angels were only a few of them.

Ember, however, was human. Humans were looked down upon, seen as low class, awful to be around. That was why the headmaster had hesitated to let Ember attend. But here she was. Sixteen years old, in the land of Ophelia, at the very school she had wanted to attend for years.

Ember picked up her bags and entered the school, passing through large metal doors. As soon as she entered the school, a man in his mid-thirties took her bags, assuring her that they would be taken to her dorm room. She smiled at him, then continued onward. Class hadn't started yet, so she wandered over to a wall to lean against.

As she was leaning against the wall, looking around, a young man of about seventeen approached her. He appeared to be a demon, with the large black wings folded behind him.

She had been told that those of his race could hide their horns and tails if they wanted, and it appeared this one did so. He was good looking, with pitch black hair. He wore a red hoodie and dark blue jeans with black sneakers. "Hey," he said, stopping in front of her. "I'm Blade. You new here?"

"Yeah," Ember replied. "I'm Ember."

"What race are you?" He asked. "I haven't seen anyone like you here before."

"I'm a human," she said. Blade stepped back, startled.

"Oh, um," he said, stepping back again. "Erm, I have to go to class now, bye!" He ran off. Ember watched him run away, then hung her head. The bell rang, so Ember glanced at the schedule on the wall, everyone had the same classes, and walked off to class, arms folded, head down.

She should have known it would be this way. She was the only low class human in a school full of people better than her. She sighed as she entered her classroom, English, and sat down in a far corner in the auditorium.

There was a long series of steps, each with a row of desks starched, that ended at the bottom, where the teacher's desk was. There was also a bunch of whiteboards. In total this room could probably fit about 300 students.

There were four years here, 300 people in each year. So that meant they didn't have to spend much on teachers, as there were only four classes going at a time. She sighed, resting her head on her hand. A girl sat down next to her. "Hi, I'm Jen," she said.

"Ember," Ember replied.

"I'm an elf. What race are you?"

"You don't want to know."

"No really," she pressed.

"I'm a…" Ember hesitated. "human." Jen blanched.

"Erm, I think I see my friends over there," she said, standing. "Bye!" She scurried away. Ember pulled her knees up onto the chair and close to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them, tears sparkling in her eyes. She did not notice the young black haired, black winged boy watching her from the other side of the room.

..........

Blade watched the girl run away from Ember, then saw her pull her knees to her chest. She looked so sad. He felt guilty for treating her the way he did earlier. It wasn't her fault she was born human.

He continued watching her for the rest of the morning. He watched her as she was pushed away by person after person, and he began to anger. She shouldn't be treated this way!

Once lunch rolled around, Blade continued watching the girl. She bought lunch and sat down at an empty table. Another girl approached her. Ember looked up hopefully, and they exchanged a few words. The girl got angry and shouted something, then walked away. Ember watched her go for a few moments, then buried her head in her arms, shoulders shaking.

That was it. He intercepted the girl as she walked past. "What did you say to her?" He asked.

"Pfft. It doesn't matter," the girl said, tossing her hair. "She's human. She shouldn't even be here." With that, she walked away. Blade sighed, then walked over to the counter and bought a hot chocolate. Then he approached Ember's empty table.

"Hey," he said. Ember didn't look up.

"If you're gonna ask me what race I am, don't. I'm a freakin' human. A stupid, low class, awful human." Blade placed the cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

"I didn't come to berate you because you're human." Ember looked up, her face tear stained. "Here, drink this," he said, indicating the hot chocolate. "It'll make you feel better."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked, sipping the cocoa. Blade sat down.

"I saw how the others were treating you," he said. "It's not right." Ember humphed into her cup. "Look," Blade said, sighing. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you this morning. It was wrong and I feel bad about it. I'll leave now." He stood up to leave.

"Wait," he stopped. "You don't have to leave. It'd.. it would be kinda nice to have someone to talk to." She looked at him hopefully. Blade sat back down, smiling softly. She was really pretty. Her pale blonde hair fell just beneath her shoulders, contemplating her beautiful golden eyes. In fact, those eyes were remarkably similar to the eyes of angels…

No, it was probably just a coincidence. Humans could have golden eyes, couldn't they? He resolved to look it up later. "So," he said. "The headmaster let you in here?"

"He almost didn't let me in," Ember replied. "But then my mother talked to him."

"What'd she say to convince him?" Blade asked. "He is very hard to persuade."

"I don't know." Ember's long eyelashes fluttered as she took another sip of her drink.

"Hmm." Blade thought for a moment, then jumped slightly as the bell rang. "Class time."

"What year are you in?" Ember asked. "I'm in my third year, I joined late."

"I'm in my fourth year," he said. Yes, he had been in the same class as her, but he had needed to retake English. He was never good at it.

"Well, I'll see you around," Ember said, standing.

"Yeah, see you." With that, they headed off to their classes.