Rejecting Arabella

Rejecting Arabella

Credits to Joss Stirling’s Savant-Benedict series which inspired me to write my own addition to the series. All characters are Joss Stirling’s except Arabella, Kellia, Queen, Azzy, Susana and Damian.

Chapter 1

The sun was shining joyously onto me. It’s ironic as I’m not feeling the slightest bit joyous this morning. I thought back to when I was five: a small, quiet child that had the courage to flee away from home. I’m still quite small, not that I haven’t grown but my body was defying my wishes of a growth spurt. And I’m still quite courageous. Got that from my late father. People always say I looked like Father: black, straight hair, with small, brown eyes that twinkled under the light. I loved Father, I used to love Mother and I wish I still enjoyed time with Azzy. But I guess that once happy family could never be as perfect now. Father died when I was three and my mother never got over it. She changed completely from a once generous lady into a self-centered person.

My family were savants. It meant that each of us had a special power plus the fact that we all can do telepathy and telekinesis. My mum, Queen, have ice powers, like Elsa. She can freeze anything she touches and can give ice burns; I have quite a lot of them on my arms, some disappeared but some turned into scars overtime. Azzy, my older sister, have the power to know anyone’s secret from skin-to-skin contact. The good thing was that she doesn’t leave her room often, partly because of Mum and partly because she just hates people and company. Dad’s power was to give courage. That can sometimes go wrong as he can’t control how much courage he gave to someone. He can either give someone enough courage to catch a small spider, all the way to jumping off an airplane without a parachute, which can unfortunately lead to death. My powers were unknown… I tried all the powers that exist, from healing to teleportation, but none of them worked for me.

I laid on my mattress, staring out of the window and a terrifying wave of the past suddenly came splashing into my brain, drowning out the little amount of happy memories I could remember.

I cried. I tried to run away but she held me. I don’t want to see them suffer. But she forced me to.

Her fingernails dug into my skin, a thin layer of ice slowly spreading on my arm. I wiggled away and obediently followed her. She made me watch as she tortured people for information. After she was done, she left them there, in the brink of death. My mother floated away on a powerful wind, and I hid under the table, curling up on my side and hugging my toy rabbit close to me…

I got ready into my work attire, consisting of a green t-shirt paired with some yellow trousers. Some people said that my taste in fashion was questionable, but I disagreed: I thought they looked pretty cool.

While walking to the supermarket, I met Kellia. She was one of my frequent costumers when I worked on the till, and she helped me pursue my love for music.

“Hey Ariella!”

“Well, hello there, my favourite costumer!” I said with a wink. I went over to hug her, but she pulled away quickly. I frowned at her, and she gave me a knowing smile. She knew something I don’t.

“I got big new! And by big news, I meant huge news!” Kellia exclaimed and used her hands to show how big the news was. She took out an envelope and waved it in front of my face before handing it to me. “Here, read it!”

“Alright, calm down!” I laughed as I opened the letter. I raised my eyebrow after reading the first three words as I was confused to why Kellia would let me read a letter directed to her. My curiosity soon laid over my doubt as I continued to read…

Dear Miss Kellia,

I hope you are well. Thank you for your letter regarding about Arabella’s musical abilities and we are absolutely delighted for her to attend the University of Silvian. Please tell her that her first day would be tomorrow. Most of the students would be there by then so she would have time to get to know them. Her first lesson would be in two weeks and please make sure she have all her equipments ready. I’ve enclosed a list of items she would need. We would make sure Arabella’s greeted with open arms.

Have a good afternoon!

Best regards,

Mr Holloway

I stood there in shock. I’m being accepted to the top university for music, drama, fashion and languages in Denver, Colorado!

“Well? What do you think?”

“YOU’RE THE BEST, KELLIA! I can’t believe it! I’m going to the University of Silvian!” I cried out in joy while dancing around, making a fool out of myself.

“Of course, you are! Now go home and get packing, I talked to your manager, and he said that you can start working again when you’re free. Oh, and here’s your ticket for the train leaving tomorrow at noon.”

“Wow, thank you for all your help!”

“Alright, alright, go!” Kellia laughed as I raced down the street to my house, grinning stupidly.

I didn’t pack a lot as I only have a small luggage. I looked at my checklist, frowning as I double-checked if I packed all the essentials: toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, an extra change of clothes, stationery, notebooks, my phone, a backpack and my laggy laptop.

“Where are you going?” a tired voice, which was Azzy’s, inquired. She leaned against the door frame, massaging her head.

“School,” I answered vaguely while still packing my belongings, “Tell mum, won’t you?”

“Sure."