The summer vacations have ended. The school has reopened.  The morning of 5 October 2008, a monday, is filled with noises and excitement in the town of EUFILIA. The students gather and enter their school, EUFILA HIGH. They share their vacation stories, laugh, joke around or walk to their classrooms searching for their friends.  Walking admist this exited crowd is a girl named Christina who is currently in her second year of high school. She is a beautiful girl with straight raven coloured hair reaching till her waist. She is a tall, fair and slender girl. She is walking towards her classroom when she is called by a guy. Mark-" Hey, Christina! Whats up babygirl". He waves at her with a smirk on his face. Christina looks at him and smiles. She lifts her hand making him and others watching her think that shes about to wave back, but no. She instead shows her middle finger , still smiling, and continues walking to her destination. Derek-"Woah! I literally thought she was gonna wave back. She had me there. But really, if she had done that, i would have nightmares" he says having a horrified look on his face. Mark-" hahaha! Thats sooooo Christina ". He laughs and places his hand on his friends shoulder and walks away speaking and laughing and fighting playfully with each other while, others looked at them weirdly. After about 10 minutes passes, the school bell rings. The students are inside their respective classes. Christina had chosen a window seat. She was always interested in observing people, especially the students in her school. They would act like idiots and it was always fun to watch them mess things up and see them all frightened thinking about the consequences. She used to refer to them as-' dum dums'. Adele was Christinas friend who was sitting next to her. Adele was a brown haired girl with green dark eyes which made her look like a doll. She was tall, but not as tall as Christina. Maybe a few inches shorter. Adele-" Heard Mark called you a babygirl inthe hallways". Christina-" Hi to you too Adele, and yeah, he did". Adele-" Hey, dont be angry because of that. He just likes to joke around". Christina-" He can go to hell for all i care". And that was when Mark takes a seat behind Christina. Mark-" Hell? Isn't that your home? Wouldn't i be bothering you?". Adele-" Can you shut up Mark? Chris is not interested in you. So you can stop flirting with her". Mark-" Who says iam flirting with her? I just love irritating her darling ". He winks at Adele. Adele rolls her eyes and turns front. Just then the class teacher enters. He settles his books on the table and looks at the class. All of them were least bit bothered. James-" Good morning class. I was actually preparing for a good introduction for the past few weeks. It starts with-'Good morning class, please be seated'. But, it looks like i dont have to say that to you guys who never stood in the first place." He laughs. He then clears his throat-" Ok! Guys, my name is James Reginald and i will be your science teacher for this year. Now then, can i hear some cheers for me?". Some of the students say a lifeless-" oooooohh". James-" Haha! Ok zombies, lets start with the lesson. Open page 55 in your text book". They all do as told. James takes a chalk and writes on the board-'CELLS'. He begins his explanation.  After about 10 minutes, there is a knock on the classroom door. James-" Yes, come in." A tall, fair, handsome,  black haired boy, with a fit figure walks in. His bag is hanging on one side of his shoulder. James-" And you are?". Austin-" I'm Austin and I'm late for class". James-" Yes, we can all see that. So why are you late?". Austin-" Well, since it was the first day of school, i just wanted to disappoint my teachers". He says this proudly as though he did something as great as defeat a Dark Mage. Silence fills the classroom for a few seconds. Then the students start laughing. James-" Ok.....you have indeed succeeded in disappointing me. Bravo!." Austin proudly nods his head with a smile on his face. James-" So as a punishment,  why dont you answer a question about the lesson for me, and then you can take your seat?". Austin-" Sure. Anything for you". James-" Alright...so tell me, why is mitochondria called the powerhouse of the cell? Now dont tell me its coz it has powers and all". Austin-" Haha! Thats a nice one. But yeah, its coz it helps in ATP production. The inner membrane has stalked particles called Claudes particles or ATP synthase complex. The mitochondrial cavity is filled with a homogenous granular mitochondrial matrix. Hence, it is also called the power house of the cell. They can store calcium and release it into cystol and yeah, the Krebs cycle takes place in the matrix of mitochondria." The whole class is silent. James-" Wow, we got a whole lot of information about Mitochondria. Does anyone have any questions to ask? Austin will answer it for us. Right Austin?". Austin-" Of course sir. Anything for you." Christina-" Why dont you tell us about the Krebs cycle then?". Austin looks at Christina for a few seconds before smirking -" Why dont you come to my house after school and I'll tell you ALL about it.." he then looks at Mark before saying-" Babygirl". Austin and Mark air high five each other, obviously because they were far from each other. James looks at Austin weirdly. Christina-" Well, obviously ill come to your house. Coz we live together you noob." Austin glares at her, while Mark laughs. James-" Ok, ok. Austin, go to your place. Everyone, back to the lesson." The class then goes on for another 30-35 minutes. Then the bell rings. James-" Class, your ex-science teacher had told you to write a holiday assignment on scientific inventions. I will be collecting it tomorrow . I would like all of you to get it and you'll be given credit points for it. So dont forget. Ok, class dismissed." They all move out and head to their lockers. Christina and Adele are in front of their lockers which are next to each other getting their books for the next class. Austin comes to Christina and says-" Its sad how Michael is absent today, right babygirl?". He and Mark high five. Christina-" Yup, very sad." Adele-" Where's Charles,  Derek and Catherine? I didnt see them today. Mark-" Well, they signed up for different classes this year. So, according to theirs and our timetable,  its kinda difficult to meet them. You just have to wait till school ends." Adele-" I was thinking ". Austin-" What should i do if your thinking?". Adele-" Shut up. Anyways,  why dont all of us go out to the 'Ranchers' after school today ? Ill text it inthe group. Hopefully they'll all come." Austin looking at Christina-" Expect Michael." Christina takes her huge book which is stiff binded with hard cardboard out of the locker and hits Austins face real hard with it. Everyone near them are completely shocked. Some laugh. Christina pulls Adele by her hand and walks to their next class without sparing a glance at Austin. Austins face is all red, with tears in his eyes because of how hard she hit him. Austin-" THE HELL CHRISTINA!!!!". Mark touches his nose. Austin-" Ow. Dude, stop! It hurts". Austin then feels something come out of his nose. Yup, blood. Austin touches it and cannot control his anger. He yells inthe hallway-" I WILL TAKE YOU TO COURT FOR THIS CHRIS!!! YOU CAN JUST ROTT!!!". He yells and yells. Mark-" Dude, stop yelling. The more you yell, the more blood comes out of your nose." Austin wipes the blood off. Austin-" I swear I'll kill her one day." After about a few more hours ,the school ends. Christina and Adele walk towards the parking lot where,  they all agreed to gather before going to the Ranchers. They are met by Charles and Derek who are bickering over whose hair is the softest and Catherine using her phone. Derek was a tall handsome guy, with brown hair. He had dark black eyes and was fair. Charles was the shortest among the boys in the group, but not shorter than the girls. Catherine was a beautiful girl with brown eyes, which looked like cat eyes. She had long blond hair reaching till her hips. She had a slender body and was filled with grace. Her character was such that, one would say, that she was the 'mother' of the group. Austin and Mark come after a while. Austin-" Lets go then, *looking at Christina * babygirl ". They all laugh. Catherine-" Enough Austin. Stop teasing her." Mark-" But isnt it fun to see her all annoyed and speechless?. " They laugh again. Christina looks at Austin and smiles. Christina-" ohh, we will see whose gonna be more annoyed and speechless, Mr.Noosebleed." Austin-" Hey! You hit me with your big fat book. Dont think i forgave you. Catherine-" You did what?". Derek-" Woah! So it was true. I did hear people talking about it in school." Charles-" Me too. But again, im not suprised. Austin really had it coming." Austin walks towards Charles and puts him in a head lock. Adele-"*proudly* Well, i saw it all happening." Mark-" Me too." Austin-" The hell are you both so proud about, huh?!". He chases Mark who is running for his life. Charles-" Adele,  tell us everything in detail....wait, *takes out his pager* let me record it all." Austin from afar chasing Mark-" YOU ARE NEXT ON MY HIT LIST CHARLES!!". Derek laughs. They all head to the Ranchers. The Ranchers was a hangout place. It was a restaurant, a bar, a cafe. (It was a small town). They sit at a table a little far from the counter. They order their drinks as the waitress arrives at their table. Austin-" Ok....7 mango drinks for the 7 of us, 3 plates french fries and.....one special burger." Waitress-" You mean 6 mango drinks, 3 plates french fries and one special burger." She smiles as she writes it down. Austin-" No woman! 7 drinks. There are 7 of us!" She looks around the table at everyone and at Austin. She looks very confused. But still, she nods her head without asking any further questions and leaves. After she goes, Derek and Mark went to the juke box to play some songs. Christina, Adele and Charles were sitting opposite to Austin, Catherine and the other 2 boys who had gone to the juke box. They were drinking cool drinks and eating fries. Austin was immersed in eating his special burger. It was a large sized burger which was available only on Mondays and Thursdays.  Adele and Charles were speaking about some game stuff. Catherine-" Oh! Michael just texted inthe group. He said he has reached home. He'll be coming to school tomorrow. " She says this with a smile, clearly very exited to see him. Christina on the other hand, has the opposite feelings. Christina-" Why is he back? Why cant he just stay there?". Catherine-" What on earth will he dk staying there? He only went to visit grandma. I wonder why grandma prefers to live in the village. I wish she could come live with us." Christina-" Michael can just stay there and becomea shepherd or something. Why bother coming back?". Catherine-" Ok, now that is very rude. Why are you not happy that he is coming back. You both used to be the closest among us." Austin munching on his burger-" Jont do gow *munch* de wad dedekted *munch*." Adele-" Either speak or eat". Christina-" I would prefer if he became mute forever." Austin glares at Christina and chews and swallows the burger down his throat. Austin-" I said, dont you know? She was rejected." Charles-" By?" Austin -" By-". He was cut off by Christina.  Christina-" I know Michael told you everything before he went to meet granny. You better keep your mouth shut!". Austin-" Hahaha! This is revenge for hurting me with your big fat book. Ill tell them everything." Charles-" Tell us what?! Who rejected her??". Catherine-" You both should stop fighting like kids already and, Austin, stop prying into peoples personal lifes." Austin-" Hey! I didnot! Michael told me. I never forced anyone to say anything." Christina-" You can shut up. Dont speak anymore!". Charles-" about what?!" Austin and Christina in union-" Shut up Charles!!". Austin-" You should have thought before hitting my handsome face." Christina-" You mean shit face". They start bickering. Charles pouting-" i just wanna know what is happening.....". He says it in a low voice. Adele-" Ok, Can you guys atleast tell us who Chris was rejected by?". Austin-" At last! I was wondering why noone was asking this question." Charles is dumbstruck. Charles-" But i was -" Catherine-" Shut up Charles. Austin continue." Charles glares at everyone and sips his drink pouting. Derek and Mark have come back. Austin-" Chris was rejected byyyyy * mimicking drum sound* Antony." Everyone gasps. Charles chokes on his drink. Everyone to Christina-" YOU HAD A CRUSH ON ANTONY??!!". Christina is very embarrassed now. Mark-" I had no idea you liked him." Catherine-" But what does this have to do with Michael?". Christina-" Michael was the only person who knew about my feelings. He was the one who persuaded me to confess before it was too late. But turns out that Antony saw me only as his little sister." Adele-" Sooo??". Christina-" Michael made him say that." Derek-" What are you saying? Why would he do that?". Christina-" It was so obvious that Antony returned my feelings. But after i wws rejected by him, i overheard him and Michael talking. Michael told Antony how he wanted him to leave the town and never come back again. Or else, he would reveal his secret." Charles-" What secret?". Christina-" I dont know. When i confronted Michael about this, he said i wouldn't understand anything.....for now." Christina slumps onto the table feeling all depressed. Catherine-" I wonder what Michael's hiding from us. Austin, didnt he say anything to you?". Austin-" No. When i saw Christina all angry on Michael, i asked him what happened. He only told me that she was rejected by Antony and since he was the one who persuaded her to confess, she blames him for gettimg rejected." Christina-" Why on earth would i blame him for that? Do you think im that petty?" Adele-" Its fine now. When Michael comes tomorrow we'll talk to him." Austin-" Yeah, me and Mark will beat him into a pulp and tie him into a chair and make him tell why he hurt princess Christina.". Mark-" Why me?". Austin in a husky voice-" Because , we are one." Everyone-" Ewwww". Mark hits Austin. Everyone laugh. They hangout for some more time and then head home.

Hey guys, this is the first time I'm publishing a story i wrote. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Stay tuned to what happens next.

It was the next day. The students were all coming to school just like any other day. The bell had rung. Everyone were seated inside their respective classes. Austin was panicking. He was going through his stuff and searching the whole place as though he was searching for some precious stone which would grant the owner infinite powers. Adele-" Whats wrong?". Austin-" I can't find my assignment!! I was so sure i kept it in my locker yesterday." James enters the class soon enough. James-" Ok class. Take your seats." He looks at Austin who is all worried and frustrated. James-" Is something wrong Austin? You dont look so good." Austin-" Mr. Reginald, the assignment we are supposed to submit today,.....i cant find it. I swear i had kept it in my locker yesterday." A classmate, named Mary who was head over heels for Austin-" Dont worry. You can have mine Austin." Austin-" But darling, what about you? Your credit scores, and your HARDWORK!!". Mary-" i would even die for you Austin. Who cares about credit scores?". Her eyes had literally turned into hearts. Austin-" Well then, if you dont mind." He winks at her. But James interrupts. James-" Wait a second! First of all, i cant believe i witnessed this. Second of all, noone is sacrificing for anyone. Austin, you are responsible for your own assignment. How could you be so careless?". Austin-" I wasnt careless. I swear!! I-". He was cut off by Christina. Christina-" Hes right. It wasnt his fault Mr. Reginald. What could he have done if someone, without his knowledge burns his assignment?". Austin-" Right?! What could i-,....wait! What?!!". Christina smirks. Austin-" What the hell did you do Corvus?( Christina's surname)." Christina-" Yesterday, after school before i met with you guys, i so happened to walk by your locker. And i also happened to know your lockers code and, i also happened to know that your assignment was inthe locker. And the best part! I also happened to have a lighter with me. So i thought, if i have a lighter and a few papers......why not burn it! *smiling* which is exactly what i did." Adele-" So this is what you said earlier about who would be more annoyed and speechless." Adele starts laughing and so does the rest of the class. Austin is so angry, his face has turned red and it was true, he was both annoyed and speechless. Austin-" If this was about me and Mark insulting you, didnt you already take your revenge by hitting me with your BIG FAT BOOK!!?". Christina-" Nope". She then turns to Mark before saying-" Dont worry, your next Mark." Mark stops laughing and looks at Christina with pleading eyes. Austin laughing-" Serves you right Mark." James-" Who on earth-". Before he could finish his sentence,  Austin cuts him off. Austin-" Mr. Reginald, now you know the truth. So please dont deduct my score." James-" Ok. Fine. Since your assignment died in a very horrible way, your punishment is to write a 1000 words essay on the importance of modern technology and submit it to me by the end of this week." Austin-" Thank you, Mr. Reginald." He then goes back to his seat glaring at Christina. Just then, someone stands near the classroom door. James-" Yes?". It was a girl with curly black hair which reached till her shoulders. She was tall and pretty and fair. She enters the class and gives a piece of paper to James. Christina, Adele,  Mark and Austin, looks at the girl confused, as though they had seen her before,but dont remember." James reads the piece of paper and then speaks. James-" Oh! Class, we have got a new student. She is from a different town inthe west called Mage. And her name is Anna Mage." Christina's eyes widens. She is shocked. She looks at the others,but they seem to not remember. The students are all looking at her. Some speaking about how her last name is the same as the towns name, some speaking about how pretty she looked, etc. Anna-" Nice to meet you all." She smiles and greets the entire class. James-" Ok Anna, you can go sit behind Christina. Christina, raise your hand." Adele-" What do you mean, Mark is sitting there." James looks very confused and annoyed. James-" What are you saying?". Anna-" No worries, ill sit in front of Christina. Theres place there too." James rubbing his temples-" Ok. As you wish. Class lets continue. Open page 74." And the classes resume.

Guys, who do you think Anna Mage is?

After about some hours, it was finally break time. Christina, Adele, Mark,Austin,Derek,Catherine and Charles sit at their table and eat their lunch. Catherine-" Michael said he was coming today, why isnt he here?". Christina-" Guess he got eaten by a wild boar in the village." Mark-" Maybe he went on an adventure to search for a precious stone or something." Christina-" Or, he fell off a cliff, got badly injured, then encountered a wild boar and got eaten." Adele-" He must have been tired from the journey and over slept." Christina-" Yeah, and was dreaming about his village where, he encountered a wild boar and got eaten." Catherine-" Ok! Enough Christina! Stop that!". Austin-" Hahaha!! Let her continue. Its fun." He laughs till his eyes are filled with tears. Mark-" By the way guys, about the new girl....doesnt she seem like, really familiar?". Charles-" What new girl?". Adele-" Well, there is a new student in our class. Shes from the town in the west called Mage and her name is Anna Mage." Derek-" Anna Mage?!". Charles-" Mage? Was she named after the town or is she a really important person or something?". Derek-" Guys! Are you for real?!". Christina-" Dont bother Derek. These dum dums wont remember anything." Austin-" Oh comeon Chris. We told you , we remember seeing her somewhere before,....but we dont remember. Humans tend to forget things you know." Christina-" Yeah. Dumb humans." Before Christina and Austin starts fighting again, Derek starts to speak. Derek-" Guys, Anna Mage! Remember the night 8 years ago?". Catherine-" Wait!! The lady in a black cloak! Wait!! Anna Mage!!!! Shes here?!". Christina-" Yup. But she seems different than before. You know how she was all silent and cooped up in a corner all day. She was more like a shadow. But now she seems all confident and cheerful you know." Charles-" Guys, i dont understand. Can you please explain." Austin, Mark and adele nod their heads supporting Charles. Catherine-" Seriously guys? Wait. You guys weren't there when that happened. No wonder you guys don't remember. So what happened was......"

Flashback <<8 years ago>>

Catherine's POV

I was sleeping so peacefully when i heard noises from downstairs. I opened my eyes and sat upon my bed. I look around and see the others sleeping soundly. I could still hear the noises, so its not a dream. As a curious 10 year old , i wanted to know what was happening downstairs. But I'm too scared to go alone and check. So i go to Michael and wake him up. He looks at me confused. Michael-" Whats wrong? Why did you wake me up?". Me-" Michael, i heard some noises from downstairs, i think somethings wrong. Lets go and check." Because of the whispers, Derek who was sleeping next to Michael wakes up. Derek-" What are you guys doing? Its 2 in the morning. Dont you guys sleep?" Michael-" It wasnt me. Catherine woke me up." I tell Derek the same thing i told Michael. Derek-" Granny Hellen sleeps downstairs. It must be her." Me-" Yeah, but i wanna check, just in case. And moreover,  what would she be doing at 2 in the morning?". Derek and Michael both agree with me and get up from their beds and the 3 of us walk to the door. But we are stopped by a voice behind us. Christina-" I wanna come too." Michael-" We are just gonna check whats downstairs and come back real soon." But Christina was a very stubborn kid and wouldn't listen. So the 4 of us went downstairs. As we reached downstairs, we heard voices. We quickly hid behind the wall. I slowly lifted my head and peeped out, trying to look at the people. I guess the others tried to do that too. I saw granny Hellen and standing next to her was Anna Mage. Anna was brought here about a week back by her mom. We were all orphans. Granny was the one who rescued us and gave shelter and food to us. But what were they doing now? Granny cared for Anna more than anyone of us. Anna used to sleep with granny too. I then look at the person in front of them. The person was wearing a black cloak. By the looks of it, i guess it was a 'she'. And then she turned , and we could see half of her face.Someone i have never seen before. We have been living here for the past one month, but i have never seen someone like that, nor that kind of clothing too. Granny-" I will not give Anna to you. Why cant you understand? Its too dangerous out there." The woman-" I know. But if they ever find out that there is another Mage, they wont stop until they find her and kill her." Granny-" I told you. You dont have to worry at all. I will take really good care of her. I will never let her go away from my sight. Until the situation is cleared, please dont come back here. You being here is dangerous for the kids sleeping upstairs too. They all know your a Mage." The person-" I know. Im on the run. Its just, i dont know if this place is safe for my daughter. I know that your already taking a huge risk and taking care of the other kids. But, the Ruby has been sealed. There is no way the others will know who those kids even are." Granny-" I know. I know. Thats why im telling you, leave Anna to me. Noone will ever find out about her as long as shes with me. You only worry about yourself. But what i dont get is, why on earth are they hunting the Mages down when you guys are the actual leaders. It's because of all of you that the Ruby was sealed in the first place." The woman-" They dont want the seal to be broken. And the only ones who can do it, are those from the Mage blood line. And they are also very angry about the Phoenix's." Granny -" I get it. Now go away, before they track you down. You witches have really strong abilities and spells. As i said, ill take care of Anna until the danger has passed. And when the time comes, you can take her with you. Right now its not safe out there for a 10 year old." The woman nods her head. She hugs Anna Mage and kisses her forehead. The woman-" Mom will be back very soon. So until then stay here and make new friends alright?" Anna nods her head. The woman walks out of the door and closes it. We all  quickly run upstairs,close the door and stand there all confused. Michael-" Guys, donot tell anyone what happened today. Got it? Not evn a single soul." Christina-" Michael , do you know something?" Michael-" Just listen to me guys. Dont tell anyone. If you can ,then forget it. This is the last we speak of it. Now go to bed." Me-" But, Michael..!". The 3 of us didnt know wht to say. What is it that Michael knows and we dont?. But then, we listen to Michael and go to bed. We act like none of that ever happened.

End of POV.

Present time

Austin-" And you guys are telling this to us now?!". Charles-" Sounds like some fairy tale." Adele-" Really? Fairy tale? Out of all the words you could use...". Mark-" So Michael seems to know something we dont." Catherine-" Guys! How about we invite Anna to the ranchers after school and find out. Im sure we'll find out something." Adele-" Thats a great idea." Austin-" I agree. And shes cute too." Mark-" For gods sake Austin!". Christina-" Nono! No! We are not inviting her nor will we ever hang out with her. Guys! Danger is written all over her. We already saw what happened that night. We cannot get caught up in her mess. Which involves witches and shit." Charles-" Christina's actually right. Lets just wait for Michael and get the answers from him." Adele-" And when on earth will he even come? Lets just speak to her. She used to live with us guys. Even though it wasn't for long, she was once our friend too." Christina gets angry and leaves. Catherine-" Hey! Chris!...oh god..". Austin-" She'll be fine. She'll just throw a tantrum for a while and it'll be alright." Derek-" Hope it will be." And then the bell rings. They walk back to their respective classrooms to attend the remaining classes.

Guys, what do you think Michael is hiding? 🤔