New Zion

Aria squirmed in her seat. She had ended up sitting next to the windows, one seat from the front. The class was doing their self-introductions for the new teacher. She didn’t like standing in front of people, but currently that wasn’t what was making her so uncomfortable. Hunter was standing at the front of the class, gesturing with a piece of chalk.

He was taking over for a teacher that had hurt himself. When she learned that he would be a teacher at Central High on the plane, she didn’t expect him to end up being her teacher. Aria sighed. There wasn’t much she could do about it anyways. Because of her name, Amarante, she had to speak first, so she was already done. The last person just finished introducing themselves when the door at the back of the class slammed open.

“Would you like to tell us all why you’re late along with a self-introduction, young man” Hunter inquired from the front of the class. The boy looked around the room, and finding the only empty seat was directly in front of Aria, walked forward and put his books down.

“Hello everyone! I’m sure that most of you know who I am, but for those who don’t, my name is Cole Avalon. I like eating, sleeping, and long walks on the beach at sunset, and before you ask yes, my father is Ryan Avalon and yes, I was the kid in the Rift,” Cole Avalon turned to Hunter. “I was late because I had to drop my sister off at school, and I was stopped by some… unsavory types along the way here. Also, I may end up having to leave the classroom sometime during the day for, um, legal reasons. That’s all, and I look forward to a good year with all of you,” Cole placed one arm at his stomach, the other on his lower back, and bowed.

“Anyways, continuing on with class. We need to decide who we want to be the class representatives, one boy and one girl. I need to get some papers from the faculty office, so please talk amongst yourselves and figure out who you want to represent you. Also Mr. Avalon, would you please come with me. I need to talk to you,” Cole sighed, and stood up.

“Yeesh. In trouble already, Cole? You need to start being more responsible,” a student chastised from next to Cole. It was a Berg Leute with blonde hair and blue eyes, Peter. A male Feline Terra sitting next to him tisked at Cole. He had somewhat long, dark curly hair and brown eyes. It was Simon, Coles other friend. Simon and Peter had been friends for as long as they could remember.

“I don’t want to hear that coming from you of all people, Peter. All you do is laze about all day. My problem is that I am responsible, specifically for getting my sister to school on time,” Cole responded to his friend. Peter shrugged, smiling.

“I’m working on that. I’ll have a job soon, so you won’t be able to call me lazy anymore,”

“Naw, I’ll still call you lazy,” Cole laughed. Shaking his head he walked after the teacher. Once they were in the hallway, Mr. Hunter spoke up.

Cole shook his head and walked after the teacher. Aria started looking through her books at the material that they would be covering this year. The class was abuzz with laughter and talking, but none of it was related to picking a representative. Aria began listening to what the other students were saying. She could hear all kinds of things about their summers, what they did. Aria’s ears twitched as the door opened again. Cole walked back in, closing the door behind him.

“Cole, you’re such a terrible student, late on the first day,” one student joked.

“Well, at least I didn’t pull a bunch of pranks that ended in a few hundred credits worth in damages and clean-up, and has to worry about his fellow students maybe giving him up,” Cole countered, smiling. The student laughed nervously.

“So, what did he do? Did you get detention?” another student asked. Cole laughed.

“Just cause he’s a new teacher, doesn’t mean he’s gonna be a stiff-neck. He’s cool, you guys can trust him. There’s nothing to worry about,” Cole reassured them. He mumbled something that only a Terra could hear. “Stop talking. Leave me alone for now, ok? We can talk later,” He began talking with numerous other students, as he entered a circle of people. Aria pretended to read as she pondered on his words. Why would he be saying that to his fellow students, and then continue talking with them as if he didn’t say it?

“Hey, you ok?” Aria was snapped back to reality. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a blue-haired feline Terra was standing next to her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You’re name’s Skyla, right?” Aria asked. Skyla nodded.

“And you’re Aria. I’m guessing that you just came over from the Terra lands?” Aria looked up at Skyla sharply.

“How did you…” Skyla chuckled.

“You’re new here and are a wolf and fox hybrid Terra,” Skyla replied. Aria let out a slow, shallow breath before speaking.

“Oh. I suppose it’s kinda obvious when you put it that way, isn’t it?” Aria admitted. Skyla looked out the window.

“Yeah, it is. So, do you wanna be friends?” She asked. Aria blinked.

“Um, well, I…” Aria fell silent as a wolf terra walked past. Skyla glanced at the wolf terra before looking back at Aria with a kind smile.

“Don’t worry too much about them. Out here they’re ordinary people; just like the rest of us,” Skyla comforted.

“Well, I can be your friend. What ties do you have to the Feline Clan?” Aria asked. Skyla shook her head.

“You just don’t listen, do you? The clan’s don’t exist out here. The only ties that anybody has with them is by blood, and that’s all. Like I said, we’re all the same here. Especially with the Avalon Family in charge,” Aria looked down at her book.

“So…” she was cut off by the door opening. Mr. Hunter strode in and set his book down on the podium at the front.

“Well class, take your seats. Just cause it’s the first day doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to do anything,” the class let out a collective sigh as they took their seats.

“Let’s sit together for lunch. I know a great spot. Meet me by the main entrance,” Skyla said in a hushed voice and hurried back to her seat. Cole scrambled forward and dropped into his chair.

“That’ll be all for now. Enjoy your lunch. When you get back, we’ll start going over the basics of rift energy and how we’re currently using it to power everything,” Aria stretched as Hunter packed up his books. She began doing the same. Peter and Simon walked over and started chatting with Cole. Aria tuned them out and stood up, her bag packed. She took one step out the door and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Aria quickly spun around in time to see a wolf Terra sprinting in her direction. The wolf Terra’s eyes went wide and he quickly jumped to the side, sliding past her, as she started falling back. His tail swung up, the end of it hitting Aria in the face, sealing her fate. The wolf Terra disappeared into the crowd before Aria even hit the floor. Aria blinked away tears as she tried to get up. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hunter pushing his way through the students.

“Hey, you ok?” Aria looked up to see Cole standing above her, looking down. Aria quickly looked down and swiped at her eyes.

“I’m fine,” she replied. Cole moved in front of her and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her up.

“This happens a lot here. Don’t let it get to ya,” Aria looked up at Cole. He smiled, looking straight into her eyes. “You sure you’re not hurt?” he asked. Aria nodded.

“Ok, well I’ll see you ’round then,” He walked off, Peter and Simon following close behind. Aria saw a Police officer and a tall man that looked like a Berg Leute wearing a suit at the other end of the hallway. A quick glance around revealed that Hunter was no longer anywhere to be seen. She continued through the hallway, and finally made it to the main entrance.

“Hey Aria, what took you so long?” Skyla asked when Aria got there.

“Well, I had to make my way through the crowded halls where I almost got run over,” Aria answered.

“Oh, right. I should have stayed behind to get you through it. Sorry, I had to meet up with my club for a few minutes to tell them where to meet,” Skyla replied apologetically. Aria shook her head.

“No, it’s ok,” Skyla looked closely at her.

“Now that I think about it, your cheeks are the same color as your hair,” Skyla noted, leaning in. Aria blinked.

“Well, I ended up falling because a wolf Terra surprised me, and his tail hit me in the face,” Skyla raised an eyebrow.

“That hardly warrants a blush this red,” Aria smiled.

“Well, after that, Cole helped me up and made sure I was ok,” Skyla sighed.

“He does stuff like that a lot,” Aria looked up at Skyla.

“Then why isn’t he more popular?” Skyla placed a hand on her shoulder.

“That’s because he’s the son of the man that owns this town, and to put it simply, that man is kind of scary,” Aria looked down.

“But the way he looked at me, it was as though he already knew me,” Skyla thought a moment.

“I have never heard that one before. Maybe you two met when you were children or something. Stranger things have happened,” Skyla offered.

“I suppose,”

The bell went off, informing the students that they had a small break between fifth and sixth block. The headmaster’s voice crackled through the speakers.

“Cole Avalon, please come to the headmasters office. Cole Avalon, please come to my office,” Cole sighed, standing up.

“The Headmaster seems to like you a lot,” Simon stated, chuckling. Cole shook his head.

“I have no idea. Some days he’s congratulating me on good grades, or exemplary sports abilities, and before I know it we get into a conversation about business or punishment,” Cole responded. The human that had perpetrated the pranks spoke up.

“Maybe he’s bipolar?” Aria looked at the boy closely.

“I don’t know, Callum, maybe. Well, I better get going,” Cole walked out the door. A few moments later someone sat down in Cole’s seat, sitting backwards. Aria kept looking through her book.

“Aria right?” the person asked. She presumed it was Peter. She ignored him. “I just want to tell you something,” Aria continued to look through her book. Peter sighed, scratching his head. “Well, you’re going to hear a lot about Cole. Please, just don’t listen to any of it,” Aria kept reading her book. Peter stood up, shaking his head, and walked back to his chair. Aria continued reading. A few minutes later Cole had returned. He stepped over to his desk and dropped into his chair with a long sigh.

“What’d he want, Cole?” Callum asked after walking over with Peter and Simon.

“He told me that the next time a police officer shows up on the property to drag me away he’s going to give me a suspension and write a letter to my parents,” Cole didn’t raise his head as he replied with a lazy wave of his hand.

“Huh. I hope that your father never reads that letter,” Peter chuckled. Cole slightly raised his head.

“Are you worried for the Headmaster or me?” Peter shrugged.

“Perhaps both,” He responded. Cole shook his head.

“My mom’s in the Rift wastes right now, so I just have to stay outta trouble for a couple more days,” Simon laughed.

“You, stay out of trouble? If you don’t find trouble yourself, it always finds you. Good luck,” Cole laid his head back on his desk.

“Heaven knows I’m gonna need it,” Cole responded. He remained silent as the rest of the group continued talking, and realizing that he wasn’t going to join in, they moved off.

“How are you?” Aria blinked, glancing up at Cole. He was now sitting on his chair backwards, resting his head and arms on the backrest.

“Perfectly fine,” she stated, and quickly turned back to her book.

“You’re new here, right? I mean, this is the first year I remember seeing you here, but I suppose I haven’t seen everyone in this school… where did you transfer from?” Aria didn’t respond. “If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. It’s just that you remind me of someone I used to know,” Aria stopped. She looked up at him.

“Someone you used to know?” she asked. Cole nodded

“But I suppose it was a few years ago, and I haven’t seen them since,” Aria scanned Cole’s face. He was being genuine.

“What do you want from me?” Cole blinked. Aria stopped herself.

Oh no. I shouldn’t have said that. He isn’t like the people back home. How could I be so stup… Cole interrupted Aria’s thoughts with a response.

“Information, I think. I could be wrong on that, though. You’ll be the first to know when I figure it out,” Cole responded with a smile. Aria regained her composure.

Well, there’s no turning back now, she thought to herself.

“You haven’t answered the question,” Aria stated. Cole continued smiling.

“I just want to get to know a bit about you. Plus, you were sitting alone here, so I figured you might want someone to talk to. I thought maybe you were just shy,” Cole responded. Aria decided to test him.

“I don’t believe you,” Cole raised an eyebrow.

“Fine, you caught me. I wanted to have a conversation with a pretty girl who seemed to be alone in order to get a head start on the rest of the guys,” Cole stated, gesturing with one hand. He then flinched, as though he was just hit by something, but didn’t move. Aria thought a moment.

How am I supposed to respond to that? she pondered.

“Skyla is my friend. The only reason I’m not with her right now is because she’s meeting with the girls’ swim team,” Aria replied. Cole’s eyes went wide. He sat up straight and looked over to Peter.

“Hey Peter, don’t you have a swim meet today?” Aria looked over her shoulder to see Peter shrug.

“No. I told you five minutes ago to remind me at the end of the day that it was next week,” Peter replied, sighing. “What is with your memory, man? It’s like you selectively remember things,” Cole chuckled.

“Eh. I remember what’s important,” Peter shrugged and turned back to Simon. Aria looked back at Cole.

“So you don’t have any other ulterior motives?” Cole blinked a couple of times, then looked slightly annoyed. He quickly changed to a smile.

“Ulterior motive? You make me sound like some gang member. Sure, my dad is head of the Mafia, but that doesn’t suddenly make us bad people. Heck, the only reason some people dislike us is because we own a lot of restaurants and such, and are the main producer of many types of wines. Plus, the gangs are being hunted down by the police. In fact, Mafia’s are supposed to help out there too… wait a second, are you completely new to the Central Country?” Cole looked at her, a little surprised.

“W-What of it,” Cole looked thoughtful.

“Well, out here the Mafia works with the government and Police. The Mafias are used for many things, from managing certain districts, to running security. Of course, different Mafia Families will brush up against each other, and some fights do break out. But the police don’t get involved unless if the damage or people aren’t Mafia-related get hurt. I was sure that you’d been here for a while, for some reason...” Aria gave Cole a strange look as he just changed the subject. Does he have a mental illness? He flinched again.

“Have you ever hurt anybody?” Cole looked at her. “Well, you’re the son of the… the head of a mafia. Doesn’t that mean that you’ve been attacked?” Cole’s facial expression slowly changed. He was silent for a moment, but Aria could see his lips slightly moving. After a moment that stopped and he nodded. “Should I be scared of you?” Aria almost whispered. She stopped herself from saying anything more. Why did I just say that? She looked at Cole. The expression he had hurt to see. Cole sighed and got up. Walking over to Peter he began whispering, but Aria could easily hear it.

“What were you doing, telling her stuff like that?” Cole whispered sharply.

“All I told her to do is not believe what others say about you. It’s better than figuring it out the hard way. I was trying to be nice! I didn’t think she was listening to me. She didn’t even respond! Besides, she’d find out anyways,” Peter whispered back. Simon face-palmed upon hearing what Peter said.

“I understand that you were trying to be nice,” Cole replied. “But now she’s asking me if I’ve ever hurt people, and she just asked me if she should be scared of me,” Peter’s shoulders slumped.

“Sorry man,” Cole hung his head with a sigh.

“Ok. I accept your apology. Well, I’ll see what I can do to salvage the situation,” Cole finally stated and walked back to his desk. “So, I see that you and Peter have met,” he said. Aria nodded.

“So you heard what I’d said?” Aria asked. Cole nodded.

“My hearing is better than the average human,” he responded.

“So, what’s the answer?” Cole looked her square in the eye.

“I’ll let you decide,” Cole replied, standing up. He smiled in a way that Aria had never seen before. He walked over to Peter and Simon and started talking with them. Once again, he flinched. But this time, it seemed to be from more pain than the other times.

©2017