I open my groggy eyes and wipe away the last traces of sleep. Today will be just like every other day at Wilkinson's Boarding School. I will get ready, go through my classes, come back to my dorm, and wallow in my own misery. Only difference is, today is the first day of school after a long summer vacation for everyone else. I, however, almost never leave. You don’t exactly have any other choice when you have no home to return to. I stare up at the ceiling for a few minutes before sitting up and rolling out of bed.
I shiver when a cold breeze hits my bare legs. All I slept in was a pair of short shorts and a baggy sweater. The baggy sweater is so my wings aren’t so restricted but are still hidden just in case anyone walks in unannounced. I can retract my wings into my back but I prefer to let them out at night. While I’m around humans I will keep them hidden, even more now that there are more people here. I stifle a yawn and make a cup of hot chocolate. Everyone else drinks coffee but I think hot chocolate tastes better while still serving the purpose of waking me up. The hot drink burns my tongue and throat when I take a small sip.
Perfect, just the way I like it. There’s a loud knock on the door. My eyes dart to the clock, 4:30. Nobody else wakes up this early. The knock comes again. I growl in frustration and pad over to the door. I look through the peephole and see a young man’s angry face. His honey colored eyes are blazing and his fists are clenched at his sides. The man’s disheveled sandy blonde hair quivers when he bangs on the door yet again. I really hate people.
Groaning I crack the door open. “I don’t know who you are but there are two things I know for sure.” I snap at the surprised guy. “One, you have the wrong room. Two, there are people trying to sleep. Now leave me alone and for god’s sake be quiet!” I close and lock the door before he can respond. Moments later I hear him walking away. Thankfully he tries to be as quiet as possible. “People.” I mutter indignantly and take another sip of my hot chocolate which has cooled off a bit. I open my closet and rummage through it’s contents. Most people try and dress up for the first day.
Trying to make a good impression on people of the opposite sex and all that. I would rather blend in and go unnoticed. My wardrobe consists of mainly black outfits but the one and only friend I have, Nat, decided I needed some variety. So she bought me some solid white outfits claiming that the color made my raven black hair stand out dramatically. Nat is a teenage model and nobody understands why she hangs out with me, myself included. I really don’t like dressing up but she will kill me if I don’t. Of course she can’t actually kill me, supernatural strength and all, but she has a mean temper.
I turn away from the closet unable to face the day just yet and decide on a shower. In the bathroom I slip out of my clothes and turn on the water. It’s cold, I always turn it on cold. Not to wake me up but because it reminds me of rain. I step in and close the glass door behind me. The cold is shocking against my bare skin at first but I quickly adjust. I tilt my head down and the water streams down my face. I watch the water swirl down the drain and imagine my freedom following it. From now until the last day of school I will have to be on high alert. Nobody can know what I really am.
I quickly wash my hair and body then rinse. My hand hovers over the knob to shut the water off. If I turn the knob then I flip the switch on my freedom which will immediately take me from 1% to -28% freedom. Let the chaos begin, I groan and shut off the water. I step out of the shower and wrap myself in a black towel. I hear someone moving around on the other side of the door. What the heck. I tuck my raven wings against my back tightly and crack the door open. Peeking out I see Nat sitting crosslegged on my bed sipping her own cup of hot chocolate. She sees me and smiles brightly. “Morning Tiamat. First day of senior year!”
“The door was locked.” I accuse narrowing my eyes.
“I am a teenager Ti. I can pick a simple lock.” She sounds offended. “We’re both girls anyway it’s not like I’d be seeing anything new if I did walk in on you.” I shake my head.
“Normal people knock and if no one answers they come back later.” I lecture her. “Besides you know how important privacy is to me. Next time text me or something first please.” She looks down as she realizes she is in the wrong.
“Sorry Ti,” She whispers, “You’re right I shouldn’t just barge in.” I sigh inwardly. Now I’ve offended her.
“Well since you’re here.” I groan. “You can dress me up today.” Her eyes light up. Very, very, very rarely do I let her or anyone else dress me up. It just makes me feel like a barbie doll and I don’t like it. I close the door as she runs over to my dresser and starts going through it’s contents. I sigh and stroke my wings. “See you tonight.” I whisper and will them to meld into my body. When I say they retract into me I don’t mean they get really small then disappear into my back. What they actually do is sink into my skin until they become a really elaborate tattoo. The people that have been going here for several years know about the tattoo from P.E. where we sometimes do swimming.
Once they are finished I stay wrapped in my towel and walk into my bedroom. Nat smiles and bounces on her toes. I smile back and my eyes travel down to the pile in her hands, clothes. I walk over and grab the stack. I then dry off not made uncomfortable by Nat’s presence. As I slip into the outfit I admire Nat’s beauty. She has platinum blonde hair, a perfect smile, and emerald green eyes. She has her hair down in it’s natural curl and is wearing a striped yellow summer dress and white stilettos. The only makeup she has on is clear lip gloss, a little mascara, and a small dusting of tan eyeshadow. Once dressed I look at my own outfit.
I’m wearing white skinny jeans with black wings on the back pockets and a matching shirt with black wings on the back and Xtreme Couture written across my chest. Instead of wearing a tank top underneath I am in a plain white bra that blends with the shirt. Nat returns from the bathroom with my makeup bag and a curling iron. She plugs in the iron and makes me sit on the bed so she can do my makeup. I close my eyes and try not to laugh as the brush tickles my eyelids. Once done with that she takes black eyeliner and traces my eyes drawing a black tear leaking out of the corner of my right eye. Then she puts on the mascara. My skin is clear and an extremely pale color so she doesn’t have to do any foundation.
My lips are full and naturally a vibrant red but you would never know their true color because I’m always wearing black lipstick. Nat puts some of that lipstick on now completely coating my lips in a charcoal black. Over that she puts a layer of her own clear gloss to make my lips shine. She steps back and admires her work. Then she makes quick work of putting my hair in perfect loose ringlets. Satisfied that I look perfect she allows me to look in the mirror. My eyelids are covered in a charcoal black dust that matches the color of my lipstick while the eyeliner and mascara are much darker shades of black. This makes my gold colored eyes look darker. The mascara has small sparkles in it that catch the light when I blink. The pure white of my clothes against the impenetrable black of my hair and makeup creates a devastating contrast.
I look dangerous and beautiful like some ethereal being from another world. Now I am supernatural but I’m also from this world, sort of. I gasp and give Nat a hug. “Thank you” I say, “Everything looks amazing.” She simply smiles and hands me the lipstick tube so I can reapply throughout the day. It’s 7 in the morning now and the cafeteria will be open in a few minutes. Nat clips my black locket around my neck and I smile in gratitude as I clutch the locket. We decide on simple black studs in my ears which are pierced from top to bottom. I also have a black hoop in the right corner of my lip. I then have my newest piercing which I can’t take out yet, a black spike in my left eyebrow.
Lastly I slip a plain black band on the middle finger of my left hand. Completely accessorized I pull on my white combat boots with black laces that come to just under my knee. I lace them up then grab my black, over the shoulder backpack and my dorm key. “You ready?” I ask and Nat grabs her own bag. I make sure everything is shut off, double check that I have my sketchpad, and we walk out the door. I stop and lock the door behind me and stick the bundle of keys in my pocket so only the plain black lanyard is sticking out. My phone and wallet are in the opposite pocket.
One of the first things you learn at this school, don’t put anything important in your back pockets. Nat has solved the problem by putting everything in her bra. We went to a theater once and you wouldn’t believe the stuff she fit in there, I didn’t eat anything that night. She loops her arm through mine and we walk to the cafeteria. Her heels click on the hardwood floor as we open the cafeteria door and walk inside. Nat is vegetarian and grabs a fruit salad for breakfast while I load my tray up with blueberry pancakes and sausage. We both grab one of the small cartons of chocolate milk and sit at our usual table in the back.
As the cafeteria fills up the noise level triples. Freshmen look around uncomfortably while the members of the student council and teachers try to help. All of the older kids quickly claim tables with their friends. All the nerds have pulled a couple tables together and are eating while reading textbooks and notes from last year to refresh their brains. The jocks are talking loudly to each other, each with a cheerleader under their arms. The foreign exchange students sit at another table with their laptops open. While everybody else huddles in their own respective groups. I turn my attention back to my food and try to listen to Nat droning on about all the gigs she’d done over the summer. She particularly gushed over how she had met Ian Somerhalder.
The bell rings and Nat and I retreat to our first hour class. It’s Geometry with Mr.Nelson, an older, balding man with a serious beer gut and breath that reeks of alcohol which he unsuccessfully tries to cover up with gum. We sit in the back as far away from his stench as possible. The nerds walk in armed with excessive amounts of perfume/cologne and almost invisible balls of napkins shoved up their noses. All of that just so that they can sit in the front row. As if that will help them learn more. Nat reapplies her lip gloss and I do the same with my lipstick. Guys stare in open, unashamed amazement at Nat while everyone cowers away from me.
Well, everyone except Nat who curls into me in an unsuccessful attempt to get away from the stares. Particularly ones with a hunger in their gaze. That’s how Nat and I became friends. In the summer before Sophomore year I took one of my rare trips into town to get my snake bite. I was on my way back to the school when I heard a muffled scream. I looked down a dark alley and could only see the whites of Nat’s eyes. I had yelled out asking if everything was okay. Nat tried to scream again and the other person completely ignored me. As I got closer I realized that the other person was a male our age, he was trying to rape her.
I ran up and knocked the guy unconscious. Nat had passed out so I looked around to make sure no one was looking. Sure that nobody could see us I took off my jacket and unfurled my wings. As they came out they ripped my shirt. I wrapped my jacket around Nat and carefully picked her up. Then I took off and flew to the hospital. I landed in the trees and slipped my jacket on to cover my wings and carried her in through the emergency doors. I told the doctors what had happened and refused to leave her side. I sat in a chair in the corner of the room while they examined her and got her all cleaned up. Luckily I got their before she got anything more than a few bruises but she’s still traumatized from it.
I grab her hand and squeeze it. She immediately develops a death grip on my hand. Kids slowly file into the class and take their seats. The teacher, however, hasn’t shown up. One guy makes a move to come talk to Nat but I fix my unflinching glare on him and growl. He freezes and looks from me to Nat. He then decides to keep coming. Nat whimpers and shrinks into me any further. “What’s your problem sweetheart?” He asks Nat. She doesn’t respond. “What’re you deaf or something?”
“Shut up and leave before I rearrange your face.” I growl quietly. He glares at me.
“What makes you think you can speak goth freak?” He snarls. I wrinkle my nose at his foul breath.
“The constitution.” I reply with a straight face. He narrows his eyes and lunges for me. I smoothly dodge his hands and tighten my hand around his throat. He chokes and claws at my hand but my grip is like iron. “Keep your filthy hands to yourself and stay...” I lean forward so we are face to face and growl, “Away.” I shove him back into his seat. He coughs and rubs at his throat.
“Freak!” He spits vehemently at me.
“Yes I am.” I mutter and squeeze Nat’s hand. Mr. Nelson waddles in then with a kid behind him. It’s a guy our age with black hair spiked up in a fohawk, an athletic build, and ice blue, nearly colorless eyes. He’s wearing a tight black t-shirt, black jeans with a chain hanging from his side, and black combat boots. Nat elbows me and I avert my eyes from the handsome stranger. Mr. Nelson clears his throat and motions for the kid to step forward. He does so with absolutely no trace of shyness.
“Class,” The teacher slurs, “I know this is the start of a new year but you all have been here before. This year we have a new student, Colby uh Paxton.” Colby nods at the class and Mr. Nelson continues. “Miss Archer since you know the place so well you have been assigned to be Colby’s mentor.” Some of the other kids chuckle.
One very bold kid says loud enough for everyone to hear. “I’d say she knows the place, she never leaves.” Even Mr.Nelson laughs. I smirk and shake my head then turn a poisonous glare on the kid who spoke.
“It’s kinda hard to talk with your jaw wired shut don’t you think?” I growl icily. The kid heeds my warning and slams his mouth shut. I then turn to Mr.Nelson and Colby. I look Colby up and down and scoff. “I’m not a babysitter.” I snarl. Nat glares at me. I meet her gaze evenly. “I don’t care if he’s the presidents son I AM NOT a babysitter.” She gives her head a hopeless shake.
“Nonetheless Mr. Paxton will be sitting next to you. And he’s been assigned to the same classes as you.” Mr. Nelson sniffs and Colby comes and sits in the seat in front of me. I growl and Nat kicks me hard in the shin. I grit my teeth in pain. She gives me her innocent smile. I decide to ignore her and pull out my sketchpad. Mr. Nelson starts to drone on but I focus on my sketch. It’s a young girl sitting on her knees with her face in her hands. She’s wearing lace gloves and a black dress with pearly white wings. Her hair is blown in her face by the wind and even the feathers on her wings are ruffled. The whole thing is black and white like most of my drawings.
Nat leans over and looks at my drawing. I’ve finished with the girl herself and am starting on the ground. Laying in front of the girl is a sword, abandoned in the dead grass she’s kneeling on. “That’s depressing.” Nat comments and I nod.
“It’s supposed to be.” I respond and start on the sky. Gray clouds and a growing storm. She continues to watch me as the scene takes place.
“You still haven’t drawn me one. You promised you would.” She reminds me. “Your angels are my favorite.” I try not to flinch at the word angel.
“Fallen Angels.” I correct her.
“Could you do one of an angel still in heaven?” She asks and I see Colby flinch with me. What the heck? “Please for me?” I sigh.
“There’s more than one kind of Angel.” I tell her.
“Then draw me one of each!” She pleads. “How do you know all this stuff anyways?”
“Angels are a fascination of mine.” I explain and see Colby look back at me out of the corner of his eye. The bell rings and we pack up our stuff. Nat has a different class so I give her hug and walk off with Colby who's rushing to keep up with my quick strides. People veer out of my way so we reach English in record time. I claim my seat in the corner and Colby sits next to me. He hasn’t even said anything but I’m already irritated. I flip the page in my sketchpad.
“What’re you drawing?” Colby asks scooting his seat closer so he can see. He reaches out to turn the paper so he can see and our hands brush. The moment our skin touches my back burns where my wings are. My vision blurs for a second and I see two crossed swords. One made of ice, the other of fire. The sign of the Avenging Angel. The police of Angels. They mainly keep tabs on the Fallen Angels but every once in a while one of us is born with a gift. Their other purpose is to hunt those Angels down. I just happen to be at the top of that list because I have not one but six gifts. Before me, nobody had ever gotten more than one.
I yank my hand back and am silently grateful that he won’t be able to tell what I am. One of my gifts is seeing other Angels emblems when we touch. Luckily it’s a one way connection. He raises and eyebrow but pulls his hand back shyly. “Sorry.” He whispers. I focus on calming my breathing. If he’s here, at this school, that means that they found out I was here. They don’t know what I look like though so I’m safe for now. I once again can’t focus on the class. We have  P.E next which troubles me. We always swim on the first day. If Colby sees my wings on my back he will know they aren’t tattoos. I tap my fingers impatiently on my leg. We have lunch first. I can run up and put some of that waterproof foundation stuff I bought over my wings.
Colby watches me with a confused expression. I notice and glare at him. “What?” I snarl. He snaps his gaze to his desk top.
“Nothing,” he mumbles, “Sorry.” Irritation tightens my lips into a thin line but Ms. Killigan walks in before I can reprimand him more. Shaking my head I ignore the teacher as she introduces Colby to the class. Instead I worry about how Nat is doing, hopefully my reputation is enough to keep perverted d*****bags away from her. I hate not being with her. In the seat next to me Colby is furiously writing down notes. Avenging Angels, all brawn and no brain. Of course this is all new to him, he hasn’t studied Earth or Humans. He’s here to do his job, I cringe when I remember he’s more than likely here to kill me. I slouch in my seat, “Tiamat?” I look up at the teacher who has stopped her lecture. The rest of the class watches me warily out of the corner of their eyes.
Ms. Killigan is a new teacher this year. She doesn’t know my habits just yet. “You need to write down notes,” She scolds and I suppress an eye roll, “You need to know all this and there’s no way you’re going to remember anything without notes.”
I sigh, “Ms. Killigan trust me, I’ll remember. I don’t need the notes.” She puts her stubby hands on her chunky hips.
“Confidence is good Miss Archer, arrogance is not.”
“I’m not being arrogant. You can ask any of my other teachers. I don’t need notes.”
She harrumphs angrily, “Well young lady I am not any of your other teachers and this is my classroom. So long as you are in my classroom you will do as I say.” Humans are oddly entertaining when they are upset. And the way her extra weight jiggles as she talks makes it even harder to not laugh. Some people need to learn how to take care of themselves.
“Are we getting graded for our notes?” I ask and she shakes her head. “Well then as long as I’m passing all the other assignments what does it matter?” Ms. Killigan narrows her eyes but gives in. She doesn’t respond and instead starts her lecture. I immediately tune her out and look out the window next to me. I focus in on a lone willow tree. It’s branches are so long they sweep the grass. Watching it I get an idea for something I can draw for Nat. I pull out my sketchpad and turn to a fresh page. Colby glances over at me as I start drawing. He’s not trying to touch it so I let him watch. I am a little uneasy as I draw the angel, I don’t want him to know who and what I am.
I work quickly and five minutes before the bell rings I stop and admire my work. An angel with pearly white wings so long they trail the ground behind her walks by the willow tree. Her finger glide against the branches and the bottom of her white dress is stained by the grass as she moves. She is barefoot and her honey blonde hair flows freely. She has a small smile on her face and she watches the ground. I grin, Nat will love it.
The bell rings for lunch and I sling my backpack over my shoulder. Colby follows me out, “I meet Natalie out on the grounds.” I explain to him, “You can come if you want but don’t touch her.” He nods and continues to walk by my side.
“Out of curiosity,” Colby begins, “Why’d you tell me not to touch her?” My mind flashes back to the day I met Natalie. I hear the man's laughter and feel her limp hand in mine as she lay in the hospital bed. My anger returns and I grit my teeth against it and walk a little faster. And humans would think I’m a monster, I should have killed that man.
I swallow hard before I respond, “She doesn’t like being touched.” I say it in a tone that clearly says that’s all I’m going to say. He pushes the door open and we walk out into the bright, California sun. Nat is sitting at our usual table and a growl rumbles out of my chest when I notice a guy sitting on the table talking to her. She’s looking down and all her muscles are bunched up, I can’t see her eyes but I know they are full of terror. Now I run. I drop my bag on the ground and shove the guy. The moment my hands come into contact with his chest I double over and scream in pain. REBEL!! My mind screams at me as a vision of smokey wings and red eyes burned into me. Rebel angels are the most dangerous. They are Fallen Angels who have gone mad and take their hatred out on everyone and everything.
I fight through the pain and force myself to focus. He’s here for Natalie. He wants to take her to draw me into some trap. Colby doesn’t know who I am but this one, this one does. I can sense Colby’s confusion. He has no idea that he’s not the only angel here. My eyes turn a wolf amber and I pin the rebel with a dagger glare. “Gifted one,” The rebel hisses at me, “My master lusts after your power. He will have it.” My growl deepens and my skin ripples. Gift number two, shape shifting. Nat gasps when suddenly instead of me there is a six and a half foot tall black wolf standing in front of her, protecting her.
Colby’s mouth drops open in shock as the rebel releases his tattered bat-like wings. The rebel hisses at me, I growl and snap my jaws together in response. "Take Natalie, get her out of here now." I watch Colby’s eyes widen in shock, gift number three. That’s two of my abilities that he knows now and he’ll probably figure out the third soon. I growl at him but the growl ends in a whine, my way of pleading with him.
My growl pulls him out of his stupor. He rushes over to Nat, picks her up, and unfurls his huge golden wings. With a mighty beat of his wings they rise into the air. The rebel hisses in rage and goes to follow but I leap on him. I catch one wing in my powerful jaws and he screams in pain as my razor teeth tear easily through his flesh and bones. His screech, however, is too much for my sensitive wolf ears. I yelp in pain and release his wing shaking my head in an attempt to halt the ringing in my ears. He takes the opportunity to draw his sword and charge me.