The Ultimate Sacrifice

  I wasn’t sure what to do. Stay there and stare back? Hide? Mira made a sound and I glanced over at her, but she was still sleeping. When I looked back, he was gone. I did a quick sweep of the courtyard and the boys’ dorm one more time, but couldn’t find any more eyes watching me. Had he been looking for me? Or was this whole thing a coincidence? As I sat there longer, I started to wonder if he had been there at all. Maybe I had imagined him?

  I crawled back into bed earlier than usual that night. My body was tired and my mind was full of questions. I tried some deep breathing and was able to fall asleep.

  Chapter Four

  I didn’t stir again until I felt someone shaking me. “Kassia, it’s almost noon, get up!”

  Noon? I yawned and stretched my arms. “I’m awake.”

  “Good.”

  “It’s Saturday.”

  “Yes, that’s my point. You wanted to go into town for lunch.”

  “Oh, right.” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and pushed up. “See, I’m up. Give me a few minutes to get ready.”

  “Few minutes?” She rolled her eyes.

  I hurried down to the bathroom and quickly got ready. I decided not to dry my hair today. I brought it up into a clip and then pulled out a few strands. I touched my eyelids with the violet eye shadow. I brushed them both with a few sparkles too. Mira didn’t like it when I got too flashy, but she could deal with it for the day. After I pulled on my jeans and purple tank top, I spritzed my body with a spray called “Lilac Blossoms”.

  “Done,” I said, turning towards her.

  She looked me up and down and sighed. “You look like a faerie.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  “Nope. Just draws attention.”

  “I like attention.” I smiled.

  “I know.”

  Mira wore jeans with a green and brown shirt. She had braided her hair and only put on a touch of make-up. I grabbed the keys real quick. “I’m driving today.”

  “Kassia,” Mira whined, “you drive too erratic.”

  I didn’t listen. I was in a good mood and practically skipped to the car we shared. Every pair of roommates at the institute was assigned a car to share. Ours was a Honda CRV. Driving it made me feel free and spontaneous. We drove down to a little deli in town and had lunch outside. I liked feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. “Sometimes I wish we could just take off, the two of us, and never look back.”

  “Is this the fantasy where we marry each other?”

  I opened one eye and shot her a look. “Noooo. It’s the one where it’s just us. We don’t have to worry about anything or anybody else.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think it would be that easy.”

  After lunch, we did a little shopping before heading back to school. As we turned onto the road that would eventually bring us back to Glendale, another car veered into our lane. I was going way too fast and had to slam on the breaks. The cars clipped each other putting us into a spin.

  When the spinning stopped, I looked over at Mira and asked, “You okay?”

  “Yeah, you?”

  “Fine.” Both of our cell phones started ringing.

  I looked at mine. “Noe,” I said at the same time Mira said, “Auralee.” We both answered the phones, promised we were okay, and would be home soon.

  I looked out the window at the other car on the side of the road. “Think they’re okay?”

  “We should find out.”

  We both got out and walked over to the other car, a small sports car. The front end was badly damaged. A man with grey hair and a beard sat in the driver’s seat. He looked over and saw us coming. Quickly, he seemed to get his wits about him and jumped out of the car. “Look at my car!” he yelled.

  “Sir, are you okay?” Mira asked him.

  “My car isn’t!”

  “Sir, do you feel okay?” Mira tried again.

  “I’m fine. But, look what you did to my car!” He raised his voice.

  “What we did?” I asked surprised. “You came into our lane.”

  “I most certainly did NOT!” he yelled more. “You two don’t even look old enough to be driving.”

  “You swerved into our lane!” I yelled back.

  He was taken aback for a second. “Where are your parents? Let’s call them.”

  “There’s no need to do that,” Mira said, calmly.

  “You are irresponsible! You are going to have to pay for this!”

  As he kept yelling, I could feel the power rising in me. A tingling feeling shot through my body getting more and more intense as the seconds passed. The man’s yelling slowed and he started rubbing his head. “Irresponsible and immature!” He started back up again. I didn’t like liars or people who called us names. I focused my energy at him. He stumbled.

  Mira stepped in between the man and me; she looked directly into my eyes, grabbed my wrists, and told me to stop.

  I tried to peer around her at the man, who was still complaining about his car.

  “Kassia,” Mira said again, “calm down. Take a few deep breaths and reel it in.”

  I mashed my lips, but gave in, and started to breathe. I closed my eyes and told the powers growing in me to relax.

  “What the hell is she doing?” the man started yelling loudly again.

  “Sir, I need you to listen to me.” Mira’s comforting voice took over and he grew quiet. “You hit a tree with your car, it was all your fault, there is no need to call the police,” she continued on.

  When she finished, she grabbed my hand, and led me back to the car. She pushed me into the passenger’s seat and took off. “You okay?” she asked.

  “Mmhmmm,” I responded, my eyes still closed.

  “I thought you were going to do better.”

  I opened my eyes and glared over at her. “I am trying!”

  She raced back to the institute and hurried me upstairs. She sat me on my bed. “Don’t move.” She ran out of the room. I heard her banging on the door down the hall. Then I heard hushed voices and finally she came back in looking relieved. “Noe said it would all be fine.”

  I nodded. “Sorry.” The worst part was it wasn’t something we could hide. Even if we got the car fixed secretly and told no one, they would still find out. Heck, they probably already knew.

  My suspicions were confirmed about an hour later when there was a knock at the door. Mira opened it. Ms. Meadows, one of the school staff, stood there. She nodded at Mira. “Mr. Eaton would like to see both of you.”

  I stood up and mumbled another apology. We followed Ms. Meadows to Mr. Eaton’s office. Dr. Frost was there too. “Hello girls, please have a seat.”

  Mr. Eaton was the headmaster of the school. We sat in the navy blue chairs in front of his desk. The office was a typical office, dark wood and not a lot of color in the room. An area rug was under the desk; the rest of the room was floored with dark wood. Dr. Frost sat on the couch on the side of the room and Mr. Eaton sat down at his desk.

  “I hear there was an incident in town.” His brows came together and his forehead wrinkled up.

  “Yes Sir,” Mira answered.

  “Care to enlighten us?”

  “It was my fault, Sir,” I spoke up. “I got mad.” I tried to take responsibility.

  “What made you get so angry, Miss Lagos?”

  “There was an accident,” I started and then quickly added, “It wasn’t our fault. He swerved into our lane and our cars crashed. He blamed it on us and started going off.” I looked over at Dr. Frost. “I tried not to get mad, I tried to keep my emotions under control, but eventually I couldn’t any more.” I looked down ashamed.

  “Did you hurt the man?”

  “I…” I tried to remember.

  “She didn’t get that far. I stopped her,” Mira chimed in.

  “Good. What does the man think happened?” Mr. Eaton asked.

  “He thinks he hit a tree.”

  Mr. Eaton rubbed his temples. “Miss La
gos, you need to try harder to keep your emotions under control. I know you already see Dr. Frost five days a week. I can only ask you to work harder with her. I’m restricting you to school grounds until I see more improvement.”

  I looked up, shocked. I have never been punished for using my power before. “That’s not fair!” I raised my voice.

  “I understand you feel this way, Miss Lagos. But, I must, for your safety as well others.”

  I mashed my lips together. Mr. Eaton looked surprised for a minute, “I know you will be able to control your emotions in here, right, Miss Lagos?”

  “Yes Sir,” I said under my breath.

  “Very good. Dr. Frost has agreed to talk with you now in her office. Please remember, I’m not restricting you to your room or classes, just the campus.” He nodded to Dr. Frost. “You are dismissed.” Mira and I stood up to leave. “Miss Trakas,” Mr. Eaton said to Mira, “I need to talk with you further.”

  We looked at each other. I sure hoped she wouldn’t get in trouble for what happened. She sat back down and I followed Dr. Frost out of the room.

  I was still fuming by the time we arrived at her office and could only pace around the room trying to control my emotions.

  “When you’re ready, we’ll start,” she said to me calmly.

  I looked more closely at her. She was dressed casual today; her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wore no make-up. I noticed she kept her hand in her pocket. I scoffed. “You’ve got the drug right there, huh?”

  “Yes. We can’t have you using your gift on one of us.”

  “Do you think I could hurt you that quickly?”

  “I know that is a possibility. However, I think I know the signs well enough. If I believe that’s the direction you are heading and there’s a chance you might hurt me, I won’t hesitate.”

  I sat down, humbled. “I hate to think of anyone I like being afraid of me.”

  “That’s why we need to work on controlling your anger.”

  I sighed heavily. “How do I do that?”

  Her hand came out of her pocket and she sat down. “We talk, we do exercises, and we’ll figure it out.”

  Dr. Frost and I talked for a couple of hours. She gave me more relaxation exercises to do. I walked back to my room slowly, thinking about everything that had happened.

  Daxton popped out in front of me. “Hey.”

  I jumped, but relaxed when I saw it was him. “Oh, hey.”

  “What’s up?”

  I looked down at the ground and kicked at the grass. “I…uh…” Then I remembered the night before. “Wait a minute. Last night…I saw you.”

  I saw a glint of recognition in his eyes. “I…Yeah.”

  “Why were you there?”

  “Just looking out the window. Same as you. Isn’t that what you were doing?”

  “Of course, what else would I be doing?”

  “Right.” He didn’t sound convinced. “Want to hang out tonight?”

  Ironic. I get asked out on the day I get grounded. “As long as it’s on campus.”

  He gave me a puzzling look. “Why?”

  “Dad grounded me.” I laughed.

  “Dad?”

  “Yeah, the headmaster.”

  “Is he really your dad?”

  “NO!” I laughed. “Just joking around.”

  “Is being grounded a joke too?”

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  “What happened?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Okay. Maybe you can tell me over dinner in the dining hall?”

  I giggled. “Sounds like a date.”

  “See you then.”

  I nodded and walked to my dorm. I went upstairs and to my room. The door was already open. Noe, Auralee, and Mira were sitting on the beds. “Hey.”

  I plopped down next to Noe. She put her arm around me. “Grounded?”

  “Yup.”

  “It’ll be fine. We’ll find stuff to do here.” Mira said.

  “I’m the one who’s grounded, not you. You guys don’t have to stick around here for me.” I looked up. “Wait, he didn’t ground you too, did he?”

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Well, what did he say?” I pried.

  She rolled her eyes. “He just lectured me on letting you go as far as you did. But, then he told me I did a good job.”

  “That’s it?” I asked.

  Her nose wrinkled a little. “Yeah.”

  “Hmmm.” Her nose only did that when she was lying. There was definitely more to the story. But, I wasn’t going to push now. Maybe it was something she couldn’t say in front of Noe and Auralee?

  “So, what are you going to wear on your date tonight?” Noe asked. Everyone looked over at me.

  I should have figured she’d know about that. “Jeans.”

  “And?”

  “Wait a minute! What date? Aren’t you grounded?” Mira shrieked.

  “Grounded to the campus.” I corrected her. “I ran into Daxton outside, he wants to have dinner…here.”

  “I don’t get it.” Mira shook her head. “You get in trouble and still manage to land a date for the night.” She flopped back on her bed and groaned.

  The rest of us laughed. “What top are you going to wear?” Before I could open my mouth, Noe said, “And don’t say purple because it matches.”

  “Don’t you already know what I’m going to wear?” I asked grinning.

  “Yes.” She handed me a green shirt. “Green.”

  “Then green it is.”

  Chapter Five

  I met Daxton in the courtyard an hour later. He smiled when he noticed me walking towards him. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Shall we go to dinner?”

  I giggled. “Sure. Where to?”

  He looked up at the sky. “Hmmm… I hear there’s a great place serving Italian food tonight.”

  “Perfect,” I said and we headed to the dining hall.

  The strong smell of tomatoes was in the air. It was definitely an Italian night. We got in line and I picked out a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. Realizing I forgot the rolls, I reached back over Daxton’s arm and grabbed two. Our arms touched briefly and that intense, almost electrifying feeling flew through me. I jumped and pulled my arm away, wondering if he noticed it as well. If he did, he didn’t say anything.

  He carried both our trays back to the table. “Am I allowed to sit with you at your table?” he asked very seriously.

  I laughed. “You are officially invited to sit with us from now on.”

  We sat down and ate our food. It was pretty good for cafeteria food. The chefs knew what they were doing. The sauce tasted authentic. The food tasted better than one would expect for school food.

  “What’s her name is staring again.” I informed him.

  He laughed. “Ignore her.”

  “She annoys me.”

  “Try not to let it bother you.” He wiped his mouth.

  I studied his face. His skin tone was a few shades darker than mine. He had a few freckles on his cheeks and he had that one dimple. I wondered what his gift was. It wasn’t polite to ask. Usually if the person wanted you to know, they’d let you know. Or you could guess by the tattoo on their wrist since all people with the same talent had the same tattoo.

  My tattoo resembled the sign for infinity, but it went all the way around my wrist. Mira’s tattoo was more like a long string of knots. Daxton’s looked like a string of different sized stars. I wasn’t sure what that meant. I tried remembering if anyone else I knew had a star-like tattoo. I couldn’t think of anyone.

  After dinner, we walked around campus. “Tell me more about you,” I said curiously.

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Anything you want to tell me.” I tried to leave it open.

  “Aren’t all our stories mostly the same? Son or daughter of a gifted person. Not quite human, not quite superhuman. Thrown in
to a special school to learn about the world and here we are.”

  “Yes, they do sound about the same. What about your family? Do you see them?”

  “No. My parents were killed a few years ago.”

  “Oh.” I looked down. “I’m sorry.”

  “I have an older brother who lives a normal life. He chooses not to use his gift.” He shrugged. “I haven’t seen him in while.”

  “I haven’t seen my parents in a long time. Years now. I don’t know why. I don’t even know if they’re alive.”

  “That sucks. Do you have brothers or sisters?”

  “None that I know of.”

  We sat on a bench in the courtyard. We were close to each other, but not touching. It seemed like he was purposely trying not to touch me. “Did you have a girlfriend at your old school?”

  He shook his head. “No. Have you had a lot of boyfriends here?”

  I laughed. “Other than Finn? No, definitely not.”

  He looked surprised. “Why not?”

  “They’re all scared of me.”

  “Scared of you? Why would they be scared of you?” he paused. “Oh…because of your gift?”

  I nodded. “I assume people have told you.”

  “Yeah, I heard it around.” He stuck out his legs and leaned back. “I’m not afraid.”

  “You’re not?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t plan on making you mad.”

  I laughed. “Good, that’s good.”

  “You really can’t control it?”

  “Not very well,” I admitted. “I’m working on that.”

  It was getting darker. The moon had risen in the sky and stars were beginning to appear. He looked over at me. “Kassia?”

  I met his gaze. “Yeah?”

  “Why were you really at the window?”

  With our eyes locked, it was hard to think. The passion was rising again. “I have nightmares.”

  His face softened. “I could take your nightmares away. I could take you to places you’ve only dreamed of.”

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  He leaned close to me; our lips were only inches apart. He hesitated, looking from my eyes to my lips and back again. Everything in me was screaming yes, but I stayed silent, trying to control my emotions. Then quickly, but gently, he touched his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and leaned into the kiss and my world changed. I was no longer sitting on a bench on campus. I was on a beach with the sun setting behind us.