The weekend had gone by rather quickly, but that was probably because Jaida had spent most of her time out shopping. Currently, that was what she was doing on this Sunday afternoon. She had a lot of stuff to get Arius and she was using her own money, the allowance she had gotten from her mother. She needed to get Arius some "normal" clothes, as she put it, so he had been forced to go with her. It was no surprise that he picked out all black clothing. He obviously wasn't into variety or color.
Everywhere they went, people stared at them for one reason or another. Jaida noticed that a lot of them were girls her own age. It was no surprise though. She had to admit that Arius was nice to look at. She would even say he was cute if he wasn't always scowling about something. In reality, he was one of the cutest boys she knew, but his attitude needed some serious work. He was by far the rudest person she had ever met. The more time she spent with him, the harder it was to act pleasant. He was forever referring to her as "woman" or "human" depending on how close to other people they were. He never called her by her name.
There was only perhaps one aspect of the boy she liked, something that made him bearable. Every time he saw something he didn't know about, he'd ask her, and he'd listen very intently as she explained it to him. He was almost like a child, constantly questioning people's actions or items, and then he'd hang on her every word. For someone who hated humans so much, he sure did want to learn about them.
"Why are there so many stores here?" he asked her curiously, glancing around a bit.
"Because there're too many things to buy, and they wouldn't all fit in one building," she explained, but this didn't seem to answer his question too well.
"But we've been to at least three clothing stores," he told her. "And why did you pay more here than at the other one?" Jaida was starting to get just a little annoyed. This wouldn't be easy to explain to him.
"Because these clothes are a different style and made by a different company," she told him.
"Then why not have just one company? Wouldn't that make more sense?" he questioned, but Jaida didn't respond. She couldn't think of anymore answers to give him. He just gave an irritated sigh. "You humans are so pathetic."
They were currently leaving a department store, and to Jaida's surprise, Arius had taken the bags, claiming that they were "too heavy for a weak human girl." It's not like it bothered her, but at the same time she didn't enjoy being called weak. She just couldn't read him, so she wasn't sure if that was really the reason. The gesture seemed almost nice and would have been if he hadn't had to say that about her.
"Where to now?" he asked, seeming just a little bored with the errands.
"Um," she began, going over her mental checklist. She had already bought him some clothes, shoes, a few things he had insisted he needed, and the utensils required for school. However, they still needed to get his text books. They could pick them up at the school, since the principal was probably there right now.
"Let's go get your books for school," she told him as she turned the corner. Arius only followed silently after her, not seeming to care either way. He always seemed to have an air of indifference about him, as if nothing really bothered him too much. If she told him they were going somewhere, he'd follow without question.
They walked a little while until they came to the school building. Even though it was Sunday, the lowest level of the school was open. That was because of the administrative office, where people like the principal and the vice principal remained in order to help people who were seeking information about the school. They also allowed people to take the exams on Sunday as well.
Arius followed Jaida into the building, and she brought him back to the office where he saw the same two men from the other day. There was the one in the gray suit, the assistant principal. The other was the plump man who had used the machine to correct his test. Both seemed to be working on something, filling out a few papers, but their eyes quickly went to Jaida and Arius.
"Hello again," greeted Jaida with a smile. "We're here to pick up Ariu's books."
"Ah, yes," said the principal as he ran merrily over to a stack of different class books. He grabbed the ones for Arius' classes and then walked back over. "And of course, the price has been lowered greatly. Only ten dollars for all of these books!" Jaida smiled and took out ten dollars from the small amount she had left. It was a little sad really, because she had been saving this money for a long time. Now it was nearly gone, all because the arrogant boy next to her wasn't human. If her life wasn't on the line, maybe she wouldn't be so helpful. Then again, she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. He had been torn from his world and placed on a strange planet with creatures he hated. He probably missed his home, even if he didn't show it.
"Thanks," said Jaida as she took the books from the principal. She and Arius then turned around, leaving the office. Just when they were nearly out of the building, someone called out to Jaida. Both of them turned and watched as Mr. Owens ran down the hallway towards the two of them.
"Hello Jaida," he greeted with a smile. "Fancy meeting you here." There was a bit of sarcasm in his voice, but she knew why. She spent more time at the school than she did in her own home.
"Hi Mr. Owens," she greeted, doing her best to hold onto the six books in her hands. Arius must have noticed this, because he quickly snatched them away from her. "Hey!" she yelled, turning towards him.
"They're my books," he stated. "I'll carry them." Even with the bags he was carrying, the stack of books didn't seem to bother his arms at all. This little act, however, had earned him Mr. Owens attention. The teacher quickly recognized him as the boy from the roof.
"I'm glad to see you're alright," he told Arius, receiving a raised eyebrow from the boy. He glanced to Jaida for an answer, but she seemed a little angry with him right now.
"His name's Arius," she told Mr. Owens. "He'll be starting school here on Monday. I'm helping him get ready."
"I see…" began Mr. Owens. "Do his parents have the money to send him here?" Jaida just smirked, wanting to brag a bit about Arius since she knew he wouldn't say a thing.
"Actually, he passed the test," she told her teacher. "And not only did he pass, but he didn't get a single question wrong."
"Astounding," Mr. Owens stated with a look of admiration directed towards Arius. "I never would've guessed…that's great." He smiled and then glanced down at his watch. "Well, I need to get going, but say hi to your mom for me, alright?"
"Sure thing," she said sweetly as he ran past them and out the door.
"Who was that?" Arius finally asked, watching as the blonde man ran down the street.
"That's Mr. Owens, our English teacher," she explained. "Now let's get going. There's still a few more things we have to get, and I'm running out of money." The two of them left the building, now heading back out into the city to finish the errands. This didn't even compare to all of the things they had to do when they got home. There was a lot that Jaida needed to explain about school. She only hoped that Arius was as good at learning as he was scowling.A bell rang somewhere inside the huge building, but it echoed perfectly out into the front yard. There were kids standing around everywhere, all dressed in black and white. The girls all wore white shirts and black skirts while the boys were dressed completely in black. They all seemed to be talking amongst their friends, ignoring the other groups around them.Two people stood at the front gate. One wore a smile as bright as her green eyes, but
Arius' first day of school had been interesting to say the least. He had already decided that he didn't like history of government. Math, Science, and English were alright, but gym was his favorite. They were currently doing a unit on running, and he was honestly surprised at how fast some of them could run, Jaida included. She was the best one out of them.During lunch he had sat with Jaida, Amy, and Seth. Jaida and Amy had spent most of the time talking amongst each other while Seth shot Arius small glares from time to time. It's not like it bothered him much. No matter how hard they tried, humans weren't in any way threatening to him. He knew he could easily take all of them out, so no matter how much Seth glared, Arius just didn't care. He only arrogantly ignored him.Currently Arius and Jaida were leaving the English room, their last classroom of the day. However, school had already been out for an hour. Jaida had wanted to stay back in order to finish her homework before she got
He received no answer, so he brought his arm back and then threw the glowing ball towards Jaida. She watched in fear as it grew larger the closer it got to her. It was going to hit her, she knew it, but before it could reach her, Arius swiped his arm through it, breaking the ball of light apart. It eventually dissolved away, and Arius' arm seemed completely unharmed. The light hadn't hurt him at all. He shot a dark glare at the man before him, looking a bit threatening even to Lucius. The white winged boy only snarled in disgust."Pathetic," he sneered. "Protecting a worthless human. They all have to die anyway, so why not just let me kill her now?""Just shut up and get on with it," demanded Arius as he prepared himself for a fight. However, Lucius only smiled as his body began to fade. It slowly turned a white color, and before they knew it, he looked like nothing more than a figure
It had been one full week since Arius had began going to school, and Jaida had been studying his behavior the entire time. Oddly enough, he'd participate in class by answering questions he was asked or even ones he wasn't asked. She was sure he just wanted to show off, to show that he was smarter than all of them were. She also noticed, however, that he didn't talk much otherwise. He would only offer Amy short phrases, Seth a small glare, and anyone else a cold shoulder. However, strangely enough, he spoke quite often to Jaida. He was always asking her about something, and depending on what it was, she'd offer an answer.Right now, the two of them were leaving the school at the same time everyone else was. This was one of those rare Fridays where the teachers didn't give any homework. Every kid dreamed of those workless weekends, but as the two of them stepped out onto the lawn, Jaida was beginning to wish they had had a reason to stay after. No sooner had they reached the gate when a
The crowd that had gathered around the two boys kept murmuring, some making bets about who they thought would win. Needless to say that most were against Arius. After all, Jerrod had knocked out quite a few teeth in his life and had probably broken a few noses. The students he had something against often feared for their good health. Perhaps today, though, someone would be able to teach the brute a lesson."Come on," coaxed Jerrod as he readied himself for the fight. "Let's get started." To his surprise, Arius laughed."Why should I waste my time on you?" he asked Jerrod.Pathetic humans..."What are you implying?" asked Jerrod, his face turning red. He was getting angry, and talking to Arius was like putting fuel to the fire. The Deslyan would just keep pushing Jerrod until the boy exploded.
Jaida sighed a bit when she realized that he'd hate her for even thinking something like that. He despised the human race, or so he said. He didn't seem to mind them as much anymore, but some people did tend to get on his nerves. Her friend Seth happened to be one of them. She had noticed the glares they'd exchange, though the feeling was more or less one sided. Seth seemed to have something against Arius, and Jaida was wondering if perhaps her friend really was jealous. She couldn't blame him. Half the girls in the school had already decided that Arius was by far the cutest boy they had ever seen, and she couldn't help but admit that she was one of them. Unfortunately for her, she knew what he was like. His looks were one thing, but his personality was another."Jaida!" called out a familiar voice, stopping both her and Arius. They watched as Mr. Owens ran over to them, his briefcase in one hand and a bag in the other. By the time h
Arius finally decided to move, so he spread his wings and took to the skies in hopes of escaping the choking smoke. The sky wasn't much better though. The higher he got, the worse he felt. It wasn't because of the smoke, though. He was feeling somewhat nostalgic, as if he had been here before, seen this place. The licking tendrils of fire that nipped at his limbs were so familiar that when they touched him, he felt his whole body ignite."What's going on?" he asked, wiping some sweat from his brow. He began to look around, realizing that there was no one left in the area. The strange, dome shaped houses that lined the streets were all ablaze. Whoever had been living in the town had either evacuated or been consumed by the flames. The second option was much more probable. Arius clenched his fists, suddenly finding himself angry. The more he looked around, the faster he was realizing that he
Jaida glanced across the kitchen table at her current companion. Her mother had left for work early, deciding to put in more hours. This left her alone with Arius, who was sitting at the other end of the table, playing with his food. He was just poking at it with his fork. The expression on his face gave the impression that he wasn't there, like his mind was wandering and wasn't about to return anytime soon. Jaida noticed that he looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept at all last night."Aren't you hungry?" she asked. He only shook his head and pushed his plate away. She couldn't help but notice that he didn't eat a lot. Maybe Deslyans weren't used to human food. Maybe they ate something else. She couldn't imagine what, and to be honest, she didn't really want to ask him.After breakfast, Jaida decided that it would be good for them to get out of the house for a while. Arius was being abnormally quiet, so she was hoping that by going out into the city, he'd talk a bit. He always seeme