Brief.

"C'mon, new girl, wake up," a girl's voice was saying. Something was shaking me. I opened my eyes. "Took you long enough." A girl wearing all black (to match her long, black hair) was standing next to me, shaking my shoulder with her foot. I saw Eric sitting on the ground a few feet away, rubbing the sides of his head and wincing. "Up," the girl commanded, grabbing my arm and pulling me up.

"See, Luna? Mind powers are very powerful," the blonde woman said again. Eric snorted. "Jeff, would you like to demonstrate your power too?" The boy who had gasped my name earlier jumped up eagerly. Before I could process what he was doing, his hands were on the sides of my head, and the room faded.

I was reliving old memories. The day I met Emma. One day when one of my classmates pushed me down the stairs, and the pain went away when I was with Emma. All the time Emma and I had spent together as kids. Watching Emma leave me. Emma saving me. And the night Emma flew. That last memory lingered longer than the others. I could feel my heart rate speeding---

And then the room suddenly reappeared. Eric was pulling Jeff away from me. "Not every memory is yours to see!" he spat at the boy. I was suddenly amazed by Eric. Why was he so concerned with protecting me and my privacy?

"Mr. Hain! Jeff was helping teach. Are you trying to hinder Miss Zane's learning?" the blonde woman asked Eric.

"You're mental." Eric seemed to be listening to her thoughts for a moment. "What? No. I won't do it." Pause. "Stop trying to blackmail me, Notting." Pause. "No, that's not possible." Pause. "That's none of your business!" A longer pause. "I'm done with all of that." Long pause again. Eric sighed. "It's just not right any more." Pause. "Maybe I just grew a heart finally." The two just looked at each other for awhile longer. It was silent.

"If that's your choice, Eric, I can't stop you," the woman sighed finally.

"It is. Try to see it through my eyes, Notting." Their conversation was over. Notting, the woman, turned to the other students.

"Pen. Paper. Take notes." And then she launched into a long lecture about how mind powers work, and whatnot. It was all way too confusing for me to take in, so I just wrote down as much as a possibly could for the rest of the day.

Scream.

Eric winced as he walked in behind me. "Dammit, Shout, stop thinking at me!" What??

"Sorry, Probe. Can't control this thing, ya know?" A girl's voice laughed sarcastically from a dark corner.

"Yeah right."

"Marissa, please refrain from using your power maliciously without permission," a young, blonde woman said as she walked in the room. "Hello, Miss Zane. Send your mother my regards."

"Zane?!" a boy, probably only 12, gasped to my left. "You're Zane?" A murmur flew through the room. My face burned.

"Please, Jeff, do not gawk. She is just as human as you are." Why was everyone staring at me now? My name was important somehow?

"Your mother is a bit famous in our world," Eric said quietly to me. "Research and whatnot. They'll get over it soon."

"What's your name, dear?" the blonde woman asked.

"Luna," Eric and I said simultaneously. She smiled.

"Are you taking her as your charge then, Mr. Hain? Perhaps you'd like to be the first to help with her initiation?" Eric glowered at her.

"I'm not mind-raping anyone without their consent." He pulled me back and stepped in between the woman and me, practically growling. She rolled her eyes.

"Luna, would you kindly tell Mr. Hain that he has the right to use his power which he happily uses all the time anyway?" Eric was obviously trying to protect me from something, but I had no idea what or why.

"He can do whatever he wants," I said.

"And I don't want to force my way into anyone's mind," Eric growled.

"Oh well. Marissa?" The blonde woman smiled calmly at the dark corner she had scolded earlier. "Miss Zane needs to learn why we are superior. Why mind powers are the strongest and most powerful. Go ahead." The dark corner laughed darkly.

"Sure thing, Notting." And then I saw a glint of eyes in the corner light up at the same moment the screaming started. I covered my ears instinctively, and the sound was just as loud and clear. My head started spinning and pulsating painfully.

"Stop!" Eric roared suddenly. The screaming stopped just as suddenly. I was dizzy and fell over. I couldn't focus on anything. My head was still ringing. Then I blacked out.

Zip and Probe.

"Okay, okay," Seamus said once we were out of the hall. "We could walk and go all slow and stuff and blah blah blah boring, or you can let me show you what fast really is." He flashed a wide grin, clearly hoping I'd choose the latter.

"Whatever," I muttered. Before a full second had even passed, Seamus picked me up in his arms, and was smiling down at me, looking extremely victorious. "What the hell???"

"Hold on tight!" I barely had a chance to react as we suddenly rocketed forward, up the staircase, down a hallway, up another, left here, right there . . . I couldn't keep track. It only lasted a few seconds, and then we suddenly stopped outside a room that I Alejandro had tried to point out to me the day before.

"Holy crap," I managed to say, clinging onto Seamus's neck for dear life. I knew if he set me down, I'd fall. I was just too dizzy. Everything was spinning all around me. I could tell that he was grinning like crazy though. Clearly, my reaction had been what he was hoping for.

"Have fun?" he asked, sitting down with me now on his lap. The spinning had slowed considerably, and I loosened my grip on him slightly.

"I'm dizzy." He laughed at that.

"But was it fun?" I groaned my protest, and pushed my self off of him. I definitely couldn't stand, but sitting by him was better than being on him, holding on like I'd die if I let go. "Aw, c'mon, Luna. Admit it! It was at least a little fun."

"If I wasn't so dizzy, maybe," I grumbled. Honestly, it was at least a little cool . . . Okay, so it was seriously just freakin' awesome. And I didn't really mind Seamus carrying me . . .

"New girl liked it, Zip. In more ways than one." A guy I thought I had met the day before winked at Seamus as he walked up.

"Hiya, Probe!" Seamus said brightly, standing up.

"'Sup, Zip? You walking your girl to class?" He paused, then rolled his eyes. "Running her to class. Same difference." He paused again, and this time following the pause with a huge laugh. "That's the cutest little thing I've heard all morning, Zip. Congrats." I was starting to think he was talking to himself. "Oh, she's wondering why the hell I'm talking to myself." He looked at me and smirked. "Now she's wondering who I'm talking about. Isn't that right, Luna?" I gaped at him. Was he . . . reading my thoughts?

"Yep. That's my power. Name's Eric, by the way. We met yesterday, but you were a bit busy contemplating murder and Emma. By the way, she doesn't like him like that, so you can quit worrying." I gaped at him. He had been reading not only my thoughts, but Emma's too? What about Alejandro? Obviously, he--

"Chillax. He's just a dick who has the hots for some grandma. His powers are lame anyway. You don't need to get all worked up over him. Zip, you're gonna be late."

"Oh, right," Seamus said. "Yeah, I'll just be going now. Have fun, Luna! See ya, Probe!" A split second later, Seamus had vanished.

"C'mon, new girl, class time." Eric smirked and held open the door to our class.

Breakfast.

"EMMA!" I screamed. ABC. Airway, breathing, circulation. Her airway looked clear, she had circulation, but she wasn't breathing. My mind was racing. CPR! What was it? 3 breaths and 20 pumps, right? Mouth-to-mouth. The words echoed weirdly in my head as I hurriedly tried to breathe air into her lungs. Still not breathing. Pump her chest. No breathing still. I breathed more air into her lungs, this time, causing her to start coughing and then finally breathe again. She looked at me for a moment, opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it.

"Lu--" she managed to say.

"Are you okay?" Her eyes glazed over. She wasn't seeing me now. "C'mon, Emma! Stay with me!" She was breathing at least. Weakly, but she was breathing. Emma coughed suddenly, and her eyes returned to normal. "Emma?" She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Sorry," she muttered, sitting up. "I need to sleep." I helped her get up, and then she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. Her skin felt cold.


Emma was just as bubbly as ever when she woke up the next morning, as if nothing had ever happened. She was going on and on about how she wondered what classes were going to be like today, while I tried to get ready, when there was a knock on our door. I let out a growl of irritation, thinking it must be Alejandro once again. Emma quickly finished putting her clothes on and then opened the door in her way-too-cheerful way.

"Alice!" Emma gasped. A happy surprise though. Happy for me too. At least it wasn't Alejandro.

"Er, hi," Alice said nervously. "I, uh, figured since, you know, it was your first day today and all, I'd help you, you know, show you where you're supposed to be. I know Alejandro gave you that tour and stuff, but he did that for me too, and I couldn't remember any of it." Emma grinned even more.

"That would be great! Thanks, Alice!" she said cheerfully. Alice grinned back happily too. I tried to smile, but I was worried about Emma. It didn't seem right that she would be this happy after last night. Oh well.

"So it's about time for breakfast right now. Are you guys ready to go? I can wait."

"I'm all ready. Luna?"

"Give me a minute," I grumbled, stalking off into the bathroom as the two of them started talking about trivial things. It took me only a few minutes to finish getting ready though, and we were on our was to breakfast in no time.


"There's always food in the dining hall," Alice said as she led the way downstairs. "Clayton - he sleepwalks - said he woke up in the dining hall eating strawberries at 3 in the morning once. Oh, by the way, if someone comes to your room in the middle of the night, it's probably Clayton. Apparently, he has prophetic dreams, which is why he sleep walks."

"Prophetic dreams?" Emma asked, as we stepped into the the massive dining hall.

"Yeah, it's weird. Sees the future and stuff. Get whatever you like," Alice nodded to a long counter along the side of the room. "It's all free and you can have as much as you like." She quickly piled food on a plate and sat down at one of the round tables behind us. Emma and I got our food and then joined her at the table. "Anyway, Clayton has to go to the people in his dreams, I guess. Like if he was going to have one with you in it, he has to go to you while he's sleeping. His last roommate got so fed up with the sleepwalking thing though, that he just up and left."

"Hey, Alice!" A boy, probably the same age as Emma and I, waved at our table as he walked in. A minute later, he sat down across from me. "So you gonna introduce me to your new friends, Alice, or do I have to do it myself?"

"Seamus, this is Emma and Luna. Emma, Luna, this is Seamus." Seamus stuck out his hand, which Emma shook and I just ignored. "Today's their first day here. I was going to show them around to where they're supposed to be. You know Alejandro's tours are always horrible." Seamus and Alice both laughed.

"So what class are you guys in?" Seamus asked.

"Uh, I'm with Alice," Emma said. "I think Luna's in the same class as that Eric or whatever his name was guy."

"Eric? Woah. Wait, what am I thinking?" Seamus stared at me intensely, like he was trying to burn into my skull.

"Seamus!" Alice gave him a dark look.

"What?"

"Even if she was a mind reader, that's rude. And she probably isn't one, right Luna?"

"What? No. I just move stuff," I blurted.

"Woah! Sweet! Like with your mind? That's awesome!" Seamus was practically bouncing in his seat. "Alice, can I take her? Pleeeease? I have to go over that way anyway and you and Emma are on the other side, so it'd just be logical to do it that way. And---"

"Ask her, not me," Alice said. Seamus looked at me expectantly. I shrugged, and he nearly flew out of his seat bouncing.

"Are you ready? I'm ready!" Seamus squealed. I shrugged again. He stood up, and I followed suit. "Bye Emma! Bye Alice! See you later!" Emma and Alice waved back at us, and Seamus grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the dining hall.

Tension.

My cheery mood had vanished very quickly and I was so busy wanting to break something, particularly Alejandro's face or maybe his stupid face, that I paid absolutely no attention to the tour. I couldn't explain my sudden change of mood, but that didn't stop me from feeling it. I utterly hated Alejandro for irrational reasons. I hated the sickening sound of his voice, so clearly fake. Every word he spoke felt like a lie. And Emma just stood there, stupidly taking in his words like they were the friggen Bible or something. And that stupid smile of his! Stupid fake smile. He kept looking at her and smiling that stupid fake smile. He was practically staring at her nonstop. And his stupid, stupid, stupid hand! I wanted to break it off. He wouldn't stop touching her shoulders, her back, her hair.

As if him being a complete fake wasn't enough, Emma looked like she was totally buying all of it. She kept smiling up at him and nodding and getting closer to him and ARGH! I wanted to break his face in. It would be so easy too. I could just throw him right into one of the big, fancy chandeliers he was telling Emma allllll about. Who cares about some stupid chandelier? I would have thought Emma wouldn't, but she just seemed totally mesmerized by his every word that no matter what he talked about, she probably would have listened.

I was at the very limit of my self control by the time the tour was over. Once Alejandro was out of our room, I quickly shut the door.

"Wow. This place is amazing, isn't it, Luna?" Emma was grinning like crazy, which softened my rage slightly. I was in no mood to be chipper and bouncy like she was though, so I just smiled and then threw myself onto the massive bed and buried my face in the pillows. My mood must have caught Emma off guard as she was silent for a few minutes. Good. She wouldn't be bugging me with her annoying bubblyness.

"Hey, Luna?" she said quietly after a few minutes.

"What?" I grumbled into the pillows.

"POUNCE!" She landed on my back with a thud, knocking the wind out of me for a moment.

"Ow! Ah! What the hell, Emma?" I pushed her off of me and sat up. She had some stupid grin on her face, once again weakening my bad mood.

"I'm a ninja!" she announced cheerfully.

"Uh, I don't think real ninjas tell other people they're ninjas."

"Exactly! See, now you don't believe I'm a ninja just because I told you! So that means I AM a ninja!" I couldn't possibly stay grumpy at that arguement. I just started laughing. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!"

"Rawr!" I pinned her down and started tickling her. "Take that, you ninja!"

"Aaaahhh! Nooooooo! Not the tickling! It's my weakness!" Emma laughed melodramatically. She squirmed around for a few minutes, acting as if I was killing her or something, and I could feel her body heat going up quickly. If I wasn't used to her always being exceptionally warm, I would have thought she had a fever. I had to admit she made a very good heater, better than using those stupid electric blankets too . . .

"Superninja catches the Tickle Monster off guard!" Emma giggled, pushing me off of her and jumping back on top of me.

And then my heart started pounding like crazy and I couldn't explain why. I felt weird. My mind seemed to have shut off. I was just a crazy mess of emotion with no logic left. Emma's laughter stopped, and she sat up, looking at me curiously. I thought I should say something, but it was almost as if language had never existed. I shifted my weight around and managed to sit awkwardly next to Emma. Neither of us said anything. Emma looked away from me and started at a painting on the wall. Her hand twitched next to me, and I impulsively grabbed it. She looked back at me, and I let go.

"Sorry," I muttered. This time, I stared at the painting, hugging my knees to my chest. She pulled my arm away from my legs and took my hand in hers awkwardly. I didn't want to look at her. She squeezed my hand, let go, and then stood up.

I don't remember how long she stood there, just staring off into space while I watched her carefully, but I do remember seeing her knees buckle in slow motion. I remember my body instantly springing up and catching her before she hit the ground. I remember seeing how empty and dead her eyes looked. And I remember hearing her breathing suddenly stop.