1
The sun is shining in the sky. It casts a warm yellow glow that reminds me of the scattered blood scenes in horror movies. The birds are cursing in my ear loudly. The screech foreshadows how awful this day is going to be. I am not sure how worse it could get at this point.
I am officially late for my placement exam.
The placement exam.
The one that will decide the rest of my life about being dae and what type of leader I am going to be. I will not even think about being placed as a warrior. I have dark thoughts, but I never want those chopped-up body parts to be me. I would rather not test my unlucky fate and keep those thoughts to myself. I would rather be a human with no special meaning or role in life than a warrior.
I hustle quickly across the smiling green grass. A little dark chuckle bubbles out of me when I think of all the mud puddles that will slowly start to form. I wonder if I will be able to convince my roommate Stella to jump in one.
Stella is a sweet girl, nice, innocent, and sweet. I have no idea how she has managed to share a room with me and our old roommate Lucy for almost an entire year. To be truthful, we were probably the worst roommates ever given to a single person.
Stella would be better off with friends who cry during sad movies while I laugh and Lucy snuggles with her boyfriend. Disgusting. Why someone even interacts with the other gender is beyond me. They are all dirty or weirder than a purple frog. Lucy is the one who would easily curl up in her blankets with a good wad of tissue paper and let the waterworks stream. How she can even do that is beyond me.
With the girls' huge cabin to my right and the boys' huge cabin to my left, I make my way into the center cabin. This cabin is where all the teachers, classrooms, and boring things reside. It is also within these dark dingy wooden halls where I am to be tested.
The test does not clearly outline what kind of dae you will be, but it will give you decent information. It will also tell me if I am meant to be dae like all the relatives on my Dad's side or all the humans on my Mom's side. There is no way I can become a warrior dae like my Uncle Horrison. He still picks his nose and eats it. I shudder at the thought.
My fingers curl around the door's handle and tug the wooden mass open. I march inside with my head held high even though the headmistress might skin me alive for being late. She might even have my parent's hides for being tardy on a test day. Luckily Ms. Tolbin has decided to take on the task of placement tests this year.
I hurry up the huge staircase and down one long wooden hall. Everything in the center cabin is wooden. The floors, walls, little end tables, and even some of the vases piled high full of freshly picked flowers. The flowers are placed every twenty feet or so. I would feel dreadful if someone with a flower allergy came walking down this hall. Only if they sneezed on me that is.
My steps take me into the small waiting room. I perch on one of the couches and wait for Ms. Tolbin to come get me. She knows I am here. She somehow knows everything. Even the things you do not want to know yourself. It is creepy, to be honest.
I bounce my foot impatiently on the floor. One of my many faults is that I either can't sit still or just want to lie still like a corpse. It sucks in physical education class when you are supposed to be rowing a kayak, but instead just want to stretch out in the sun and sleep.
The door to Ms. Tolbin's office opens. I freeze in my movements as someone huge exits her door. He has to bend down to fit through the door's frame and that is saying something since all of the schools' doors were modified to be extra tall. The dae have extremely gifted genes. That means we are all naturally tall. It seems especially this guy.
He stands up on the other side of the door and looks around with a calm pleased look. His lips are curved into a half smile as if he just heard that the boys' dining hall was serving mashed potatoes. His bleached blonde hair hangs down in front of his eyes. The sides and back of his head have been shaved down almost to his scalp while his top remains free and messy. The straight strands fall directly into his sparkly green eyes. Those emeralds hold so much mirth in them.
His shoulders are wide and fill out his dark red t-shirt to perfection. The outlines of his pec muscles are visible through the fabric. I cast my eyes down and find his long lean legs encased in jeans that hug his powerful thighs with the tender grace of a lost lover. My cheeks threaten to flame, forcing me to cast my eyes lower and find his feet in flip flops... without socks? What kind of monster is this? His toes are out in the open. They might be nice toes that look newly pedicured, but that does not mean you keep your feet out.
"Gabby," Ms. Tolbin's voice causes me to jerk my head up. She sounds extremely pleased but exhausted. Her eyes look at me in heavy disappointment. "You are late."
The giant beside Ms. Tolbin laughs warm-heartedly. "That's okay. We didn't finish until just now anyway." His smile quirks up on the one side. The indent of a dimple slowly appears on his cheek.
Ms. Tolbin melts under his smile. "You are right, Mr. Brandt." Ms. Tolbin turns her sunny disposition on me. "Please come right in Ms. Paritier." She waves me into her office. Her eyes warm as she peers at Brandt's looming frame. "You should have your test results in your mailbox tomorrow morning."
Brandt nods at her. "I shall wait with bated breath." He peers at me with a curious expression on his face. I send him a lethal glare that has sent lesser men crumbling to their knees. For some reason, he only gets a bigger grin on his face. "It was nice to meet you Gabby." He holds out a hand.
I narrow my eyes at him. "I almost wish I could say the same." I scowl at him. Guys are not to be trusted. They are lethal, dirty, and weird. It is best to stay away from them with a ten-foot pole. Especially if they would fit in with warriors without any problems.
Brandt lowers his hand but never loses his smile. His huge hand falls to rest on his jean-covered thigh. My eyes jerk away from the sight that I was blatantly staring at. Gross. "I will take that as a compliment." His lips curl back into his smile. He casts his eyes on Ms. Tolbin before departing from the waiting area.
Ms. Tolbin gives him a wave and balances on the tips of her toes. He made her melt and act like a silly schoolgirl. Dark sickly realization hits me. He is dangerous. His deceit is through his good actions.
Brandt is dangerous.
