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"Clair....the screamer."

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I CLOSED MY EYES feeling the cold currents, stream down my back. I wasn't used to bathing in cold water, and yet here I was enjoying it more than anything else. There was a certain amount of peace in the little things. My imagination was always my greatest asset, and that is why I preferred reading to watching Television.

However, at this moment, my imagination failed to whisk me away to a place of bliss, instead of abandoning all peace, reminding me of exactly where I was. In reality, in Kingsland.

"When I see your face! There's not a thing that I would change! Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are!"

A sad smile made its way into my features as Clair's voice filled up the bathing area. She had first started with a subtle hum, then increased to a noticeable moan, before blasting out like the shower was her stage.

Truth be told, she had a great voice, needed a tweak here and there but all in all, the girl could sing. I comfortably bobbed along to the version of the song in my head, the words going through my mind even before she sang them out loud.

Flashes of the fall suddenly filled my head again. The sound of my voice burst through me as I reached for Mom, the sensation of it tickling my throat. I suddenly opened my eyes gasping frantically. Reaching out, I turned off the shower trying to keep my breathing calm at the sudden flashback.

I had spoken.

I know I had.

My fingers trailed down my throat as I tried to remember the feeling, yes. There was a feeling I felt ooze through me in that genuine moment. Opening my mouth slowly, I closed my eyes reassuring myself I could say it, I know I could say it.

Mama.

It was that easy. I formed the word with my lips before pushing out the air. Waiting for the sensation to come, for that feeling to travel up my throat again, for the sound to reach my tingling ears.

Nothing.

Nothing but air.

I closed my mouth in disappointment, lowered my head, and opened my eyes, taking in the sight of the shower.

What if it was just all in my head?

It probably had been. Maybe the greatest thing you covet pops into your mind before you die or when you're close to death like in my case. But the fact remains.

What if I had never spoken?

But my mom had heard me. I distinctly remember the look of surprise on her face as she spiraled out of sight. I might have done nothing, said nothing, but... if I did, only she could confirm it. I had only to wait, wait for her to wake up, Gravis said it wouldn't take long. And if it did?

No, Gravis was trustworthy. I could trust him.

Reassuring myself of this a couple more times, I reached for my towel, wrapped it around me, collecting my stuff. Stepping out of the shower, I was surprised to find Clair waiting. Her singing trailed off when she saw me, offering me a bright smile, yet behind her eyes, I saw a familiar emotion echoing in my own eyes.

"You're new here too, right?"

I nodded, as she pushed her wet hair to the side, her hands clasped tightly behind her back, her pink sponge swinging from them.

"Well, I've been here since Tuesday," she replied, tilting her head slightly. I took that as a gesture following her lead out of the showers, "haven't begun any classes yet because apparently, I missed the cycle," she hummed, her eyes enlarging as she pursed her lips.

Throwing her a questioning look, she surprisingly easily caught on, her eyebrows furrowing.

"You've been through orientation, right?"

If by orientation she meant being shown around properly then no. I shook my head in reply, telling her just that.

"When did you arrive? Yesterday?" I shook my head, pointing to the floor. Her eyes widened,

"Today?"

I nodded, actually impressed she could somewhat understand my baby hints for her.

Many have failed before her.

"Oh, that explains it. Well, basically according to my roommate, Lira, I'm supposed to go through Origins Class."

My eyes lit up at the mention of Origins class because it showed on my schedule too. I realized it would be wise to have her as an ally for tomorrow. Something told me Daya was a little bit too busy. She glanced at me nodding slightly, having caught onto my expression.

"Yeah, it's mandatory for every new Convert. It's a weeklong class I'm told, and begins every Monday. So, if you come in on Tuesday or any other day of the week, you'll have to wait for Monday again. Basically, for practically a whole week, I've been cramped up in my room since I have no idea how to socialize in this huge place."

Grinning slightly at that statement, I acknowledged fully what she meant by Kingsland being huge. I mean there must be thousands of students. My memories flooded back to the various number of eyes that were on me, as I hobbled after Daya. Plus, my room number was literally in the two-hundred and there were plenty more rooms after that. Speaking of room, I motioned my hand before my door,

"Here?" she asked.

I nodded in reply having enjoyed our little talk.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Talanda," she said turning back to me with a small smile. She pursed her lips, hands going back behind her back, rocking back slightly on her heels. I gave her a bright smile, my one, and only attempt, hoping she could take the hint since I couldn't possibly say anything else. My heart thudded knowing this was the time to do something if I wanted her to be around more often but after a rather awkward moment of silence, she turned away.

My shoulders sagged softly, disappointed at my failure as I watched her leaven not that I expected more from myself, I just hoped that I would at least have come off interesting enough to be around and maybe in the process ...maybe... make a friend?

It was foolish. I was awkward, inexperienced in many ways, and a fraud. Still, I wanted to have a shot, a proper shot at being regular. The best part about being regular would be having a friend.

A friend.

My eyes dropped from her retreating figure turning back around as I walked toward the door, a thought lingering in my mind.

If only I could speak. I could have asked her

If I could speak a universal language. In Barotse, everyone I socialized with knew sign language. From Zali to Gravis, they all knew but this wasn't home. People didn't go out of their way to make me feel comfortable and like Daya so effortlessly put it,

Nobody freaking cares.

"By the way," Claire called out. My eyes immediately shot up to her, filled with new hope. Spotting her a little way away. Her expression mirrored mine and in that second, I thought maybe she too was nervous.

She cleared her throat, taking a step forward, then a few more stuff steps as if she was about to make a business proposal.

"I...uh. .I'm kind of stuck in my room till classes begin tomorrow, " she began, her eyes lingering on me, "s-so if you'd like.." she motioned her hands peaking with her, " I mean that's if you're not too tired," she trailed off, breathing out as her shoulder sagged in defeat murmuring something under her breath along the lines, "don't be so awkward Claire" pushing herself to finally blurt.

" I can show you around?"

I couldn't believe she was asking me that in all honesty. I immediately nodded, faster than I promised myself, my cheeks heating when she chuckled, seemingly in relief

"Good! I mean Okay then. I'll come by in thirty?" she asked, balancing on her toes before rocking back to her heels.

Grinning, I decided to play it as cool, sealing it off with a gentle nod. She smiled widely.

"Okay! Uhm, I'll see you then!" she turned, walking away, glancing back one more time with a skip in her step.

That did not just happen! A large smile was on my face as I looked at the floor, watching her disappear around the curve, I did it. I was bearable.

I also felt like I completely understood her. She looked like a wild soul, and Wild souls like her didn't like to be crammed up in one small little space, and trapped souls like mine wanted to be free. Not too free though. I opened the door to my room, closing it behind me.

"Good, you're back," Daya began walking up to me, it seemed she had been waiting for me diligently because she had spoken a second after I walked in. "I still have training to get to and I forgot to give you the other key," she stated, dropping the key into space before me. I had to catch it before it could fall completely unaware of the motion as she spun. She turned back, checking her lip gloss in the wardrobe mirror.

"I may be back after a few hours, so just..." She trailed off glancing at the half-empty room, "Make yourself comfortable or whatever." I moved into the room as she headed for the door, "oh, and as for your orientation, do you mind if we do it early tomorrow morning?" she pouted.

I moved toward my notebook jotting something down.

She tapped the side of the door impatiently as I did. I wrote as fast I could, knowing that she was probably going to be late for training and that's why she was quick to leave. She glanced over the words when I was finished.

"Clair....the screamer," she trailed off, "sure, go ahead," she replied spinning around super-fast, the door slamming shut in my face.

I hoped she'll arrive in time. I sighed; at least happy I had that privacy I wanted when I was first asked to undress.

Applying my cocoa butter lotion and moisturizing my face with Zali's formula, something I'm surprised Gravis was able to remember, I slipped into some jeans and a strapless t-shit. I grinned at my look, very happy with the results.

I looked normal. Like really normal. Like, walk down to the mall without bodyguards normal. Like I could be at a public high school normal. Like I could have a normal friend. Normal.

No jewelry, no royal beads, just jeans, and a shirt.

My hair on the other hand was a no-go area, with its tangles and knots. I brushed it down, pulling and tugging it up into a fuzzy bun. Opening the other suitcase, I was greeted with normal no brand-name shoes. Slipping into some flat pumps, I proceeded to pack my clothes.

I was a little surprised that they were so little, but I was never the type to change clothing 3 times a day, no matter how full my wardrobe back home was. More so it's more than likely this was all that could fit in the suitcases.

A knock came on the door, just as I finished packing the last of my shoes which were surprisingly all pumps and running shoes.

I frowned at the prospect of running. I wasn't one for athletics. My body was just not built for outdoor activities. My mother once took me horse riding. I can summarise it by answering two questions. Do I like horses? I like ponies. Can I ride horses? NO.

Making sure I looked decent enough, I opened the door, coming face to face with Claire. Her eyes trailed my figure before looking up again, raising an eyebrow.

"You look great, really, but unless you want everybody's eyes on you it's best to wear the uniform," she hummed inviting herself in.

Welcome

My mouth dropped at the information a little frustrated Daya didn't say anything even when she watched me pick out the clothes. She must have been a tad bit occupied.

"Wow this room is..." she trailed off looking at me as I gave her a blank look, "exactly like every other room," She chuckled and I followed suit, knowing I would rather be surprised if she said it was beautiful. I proceeded to take my uniform out of the wardrobe. She sat down in Daya's seat, facing me.

"I made the same mistake when I first got here, my roommate couldn't even correct me."

I nodded showing her we were in the same boat.

"Apparently Lira thought it prank worthy, " She added with a slight scoff.

Claire turned away, hands touching everything on the desk, perusing the ouch the books as she talked. I took this opportunity to quickly undress, in a quite unladylike fashion.

Top out first, white uniform shirt back on. The red skirt on, slide the jeans off. Then the jacket and the bow tie as she continued talking.

"The system is actually kind of strange here. It seems classes lag on till 4:30 pm, every day, except Saturdays. However, I was surprised that today, a Sunday, everyone was back in their uniforms again."

It was admittedly a little strange. It was a universally known fact that weekends consisted of Friday evenings to Sundays. A proper week begins Monday morning.

"I'm a red too, by the way," she said casually turning back to face me. Her eyes widened, releasing a soft chuckle, "whoa, " she whistled, raising an eyebrow, "that was fast," she grinned leaning back, looking at me mischievously, "Is that your superpower? Getting undressed and dressed quickly?"

I chuckled at her joke, as she got up, unbeknownst to her, I wished I did have that superpower.

"You ready?"

I nodded, grabbing my notebook, and jotting something down. I handed it over to her and she smiled, grabbing my arm.

"Let's go T!" she yelled excitedly.

T.

My first nickname. Well, I mean there was Tala, a shortened version of my name my parents use at times, but this was different. I was T now. Why give someone a nickname if you don't plan to be around them often? I mean I did know she couldn't continue to say Talanda forever. Even I admit it's a whole mouth full.

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