4: Sapphire Second
Lysander handed her a book, its pages sewn together with thick thread. The glossy cardboard cover was marked ‘Lysander and Angelo’s Guide to Torsten Upper School’. She flipped through pages of scrawled notes, comical caricatures and scrap photos. Lysander was beaming with pride.
“It’s a gift, to get you started in this comedy of tragics,”
“Now if you wouldn’t mind,” said Angelo, as the two parted like a curtain of a play, “Please allow us to acquaint you with the fine fellows you shall be spending your illustrious educational career with,”
“Now that guy is John,” said Lysander, motioning towards the boy still tapping away at his laptop, “He’s a bit of an encyclopaedia, so you ever need to know something about anything, this is who you ask,”
“Moving on,” said Angelo, indicating Joel and Kaori, who were sitting next to the window, “As you’re already aware, here we have Joel, who’s a bit on the scary side, and the lovely, lovely Kaori, who is also scary, but has very nice eyes,”
Joel grinned over at them, while Kaori managed an elegant wave.
“Now over at the back we have Dante. He’s a bit strange,” said Lysander in a hushed whisper, “He keeps to himself, but he can be a laugh if he feels like it. Just don’t-”
The door slammed open, and a boy with long blonde hair dragged himself into the room, slamming his bag on a desk in the process. When he noticed the rest of the class, his face dropped.
“You’re late,” said Ms Thorburn, giving him a stern glare from behind her desk, “Guess you thought there was still an assembly and you’d cleverly miss it by arriving late. Well, sadly for you, it was cancelled because of the arrival of our new student, Phantasia,”
Upon seeing Phantasia, Doyle’s distraught body language changed in an instant and he glided over to her, smiling.
“Cute name,” he said, taking her hand and gazing into her eyes. “I’ve not seen anyone like you around before. Show-white hair, such pale, delicate skin. Your eyes, like stars-”
“That’s enough with the flirting, Doyle,” said Ms Thorburn, “The last thing any new student needs is you trying to worm your way into their affections. Besides, she’s not your type,”
Doyle pulled away from Phantasia, grimacing. “Bloody Thorburn and her zodiacs,” he said under his breath, unaware of Phantasia’s inhuman senses. She was bemused at his behaviour, and the greedy tint of his aura made her shy away further. She crossed her arms and glared at his back for a second, but let the moment pass. Humans and their emotions were such unpredictable things!
At that point the bell sounded and everyone began gathering their possessions, whilst Ms Thorburn appeared to have slipped off into a morning snooze on her desk.
***
