We have been driving for six hours. 

Mom is on her sixth coffee. I'm on my fourth. I never knew that Veersa was this big. 

My family has never really travelled much. And when I say never much I mean practically never. 

To tell you the truth I've only been outside the city limits once and it was for a weekend camping trip. It wasn't that fun except for the time that Dad got chased by a moose, now that was funny. Oh and when, oh sorry I've been rambling. Back to the subject. 

My butt is now completely numb from the amount of time we've been in the car. 

My bladder is about to burst and my eyesight is getting blurry from the amount of time I've spent staring at the clock. 

"Mom are we almost there yet" She sighs. 

"Sweetie that is the third time you've asked that in the past three minutes"

 "Okay okay" I raise my hands up in a sign of peace.

 I grab a thing of pretzels and start munching. Another five minutes go by. I put the bag down. 

"Mom are we-" Mom interrupts me by saying. "We'll be there in precisely eight minutes" 

I smile at her thankfully. She doesn't take her eyes off the road.

 I lean back in my seat trying to get some feeling back in my butt. I doesn't work. Oh well, at least I tried. 

The eight minutes go past very very slowly. 

When I check the clock for what feels like the ninetieth time the clock shows that eight minutes have past. 

Mom drives through a bumpy gravel road. Tall trees line the road make it hard to see past their dark green branches. 

The car creaks a bit as we go through a sharp turn. 

You would think that oh because this was funded by the government that the road leading up to the academy would not look like the road that was described in books to lead up to the haunted castle that was home to ghosts that stab you in your sleep. But no that's exactly how this road looked. All I could do was cross my fingers in hopes that they're where no ghosts at the academy with stabbing urges. 

Slowly the windy path straitened out into a parking lot brimming with cars. I'm not kidding when I say that we circled the premise five times and didn't find a single parking spot.

 Finally on the sixth try we found a parking spot if you could even call it that. It was a sliver of pavement barely a meter and a half across in the far reaches of the packing lot. 

When we parked I had basically no space to open my door and we where halfway into the bushes. 

"Come on sweetie" Mom called from in front of me. I looked back at the car then grimaced. Well what can you do? I jogged up to my mom who surprisingly for her old age had already skipped to almost the front stairs.

 I look up and wow. I have no words. I mean I've seen pictures of the academy; they're all over the Internet but this is my first time seeing it up close and just wow. 

It definitely was not like the road. It has two twisted silver towers in the middle spiralling up like two giant symmetrical whirlpools. 

A little higher than halfway up the towers a glass bridge connected the two towers. The towers are apparently where the dorms are. (The students aren't allowed to share much about this place.) 

In the middle of the two towers is a giant glass pyramid. There is thousands upon thousands of glass panes glued together. It sparkles and shimmers in the sunlight. Thats where the classes are held.

 Oh how Jasper will be jealous. 

Nobody knows where the teachers sleep. 

Some say they sleep in they're classrooms, other say that there are secret bedrooms scattered across the pyramid where the teachers sleep but the most popular rumour is that the teacher live of premises with the god that claimed them and that god transports them to school everyday. But that's all legend of course.

 I shiver at all the grandness for the school was beautiful and it had and an air to it. One of gracefulness and superiority.  

Mom reached out for my hand and I except it gratefully. I needed comfort and something to remind me of home in this moment. 

Together me and Mom walked up the gilded steps of the pyramid and took our first few steps into what could be my new home.

The giant glass doors reveals a lobby. 

Every thing in the room seems to sparkle. 

In one direction theirs a hallway that leads out of the room and seems to go on forever. 

Near the endless hallway a long dark emerald desk stands. 

There are three people sitting on what looks like the three most cushioned chairs ever. There's a woman with greying hair and a tight violet dress. 

A little bejewelled name tag sits on the corner of her dress. In a curvy print it says Madame Silverine. Silver to match her hair I guess. 

The other woman sitting at the desk hurries of into the hallway of endless doom before I can get a good look at her.

 The last person sitting at the desk is a man with bright auburn hair and soft brown eyes. He looks to be about late twenties or early thirties. His name tag (which is also bejewelled) said in the same script as the one Madame Silverine used, Mister Colyron.

 I look at the other half of the room. There is a giant bookshelf taking up one wall filled to the brim with old and new novels, magazines, board games and more. 

Near the bookshelf there's a collection of sofas and love seats and cushioned chairs with enormous amounts of pillows. And instead of having little rhinestones on the furniture they had a gold lace edge that glinted whenever the sunlight hit it. That and the fact that all the furniture was a dark lavender green where the only things all the furniture shared in common. 

Everywhere in the room there where little gold or dark emerald green embellishments. 

Kids that looked to be around my age lounged on the furniture with parents and family. A few teachers milled the room talking to what could be their future students. 

Mom pulled me to the desk. She stops in front of Madame Silverine. 

"Uh excuse me Miss but me and my daughter-" She started to say before Madame Silverine interrupted us with the most loud and obnoxious sigh ever. 

She looked at us through her purple rimmed spectacles. My mom gave her a forced grin. 

I tried and failed immediately. 

So instead of being sarcastically positive I settled for the next best thing: scowling.

I scowled the fiercest scowl I could muster. Madame Silverine just gave me a distasteful look. 

"Look" Mom says, trying again "We just don't know where the claiming room is" Madame Silverine gives a undignified huff of exasperation. 

"Look here woman. I don't care who you are or why you're here but any dignified person should know not to ask the vice principal directions to a place two meters away" She said tightly teeth grinding together. Mom still being the nicest person ever tried her best to remain calm. 

Mom smiled thinly and swallowed. She took a deep breath and said "Well sorry for bothering you" 

Madame Silverine grumbled softly under her breath. I think she said something along the lines of serves you right. That was the last straw. No one treats my mother like that! 

I glared at her. 

"Well, Karen, I guess this is good bye" I say, sarcasm dripping off my speech. 

Madame Silverine slowly looked up. Her fists clenched and her face started to turn red with anger and frustration. 

"That's not my name" She slowly forced out. My eyes widened in fake surprise. 

"Oh I'm sorry" I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster "Is it Tomato face? Just judging off of... well your face" Her grip tightened on the edge of the desk. I'm pretty sure they'll be gouge marks by the end of this. 

Madame Silverine's face was starting to colour its self purple. 

She lifted one white knuckled hand. Fingers clenched, she pointed towards the hallway. "OUT NOW!" She screeched. 

Everybody was staring now. 

I wiggled my fingers in a wave goodbye and skipped off with Mom in hand. 

Alina: 1 and Madame Silverine: 0. 

In your face. 

Mom turned to look at me outside the lobby. She tried for disappointment but it was turning into a grin like my own. 

While grinning she said "Alina! You shouldn't have down that" I smirked. 

"Well sucks to suck I guess"

 Mom rolled her eyes playfully at me. 

"What!" I say innocently. She just waves my off as we open the door to the Claiming room.

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