Infinity Academy

Chapter Two

*Knock, Knock*

“EM!”

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

“EMMY!”

I groaned and slowly rolled over, opening my left eye to look at the time. The bright red numbers told me that it was only six o’clock in the morning. 

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

“EMERALD!!!”

“I’m coming, hold your horses!” I yelled back, grunting as I forced myself to get out of bed. “This better be good, Liam, or I’m going to kick your ass,” I say as I pull the door open. Liam’s panicked face pulls me out of my sleepy haze. “What’s wrong,” I asked hesitantly, looking down the hallway anxiously. “They’re sending us to Infinity College, Emmy. I can’t go there; do you know what happens to people like me in a place like that?” he rushes, pulling at his hair before running his hands down his face. I knew that we were to be sent off to the college, it was normal for any Effigy over the age of eight to be sent there, and I was honestly surprised that the headmaster, Frederick Stevens, hadn’t called on us sooner. Liam and I were sent away on a mission right before my eighth birthday, we were tasked to search for Effigy like us, all over the world. We returned about a week ago, only having found a few dozen after eight and a half years of searching, and were sent straight into quarantine for testing to ensure that our minds hadn’t been tampered with by others of our kind. 

Liam and I had been friends pretty much since birth. My parents were killed in the battle of Poseidon when I was only six and Liam’s family took me under their wing. When we were sent on our mission, it only made our friendship stronger, although I sometimes have this feeling that Liam saw it a completely different way than I did. He had an uncanny ability to over-dramatize even the smallest of things so I knew that this was just another one of those times. “Honestly Liam, you woke me up at this ungodly hour, make me worry that something serious has happened, just to tell me that we are being sent to Infinity? What exactly did you think would happen when we came back from our mission? That we would receive a medal for our service- which we failed at, in case you forgot- and be able to live a normal life?” His face dropped and he lowered his eyes to the ground, “No, I just know that once we get there, you’re not going to want to hang around a loser like me.” I didn’t even have a chance to reply when he turned and rushed off down the hallway. I slowly closed my door and rested my head on it, “I’m such an i***t,” I hissed. How stupid can I be that I didn’t understand his stress. Liam was a low-level Effigy, unlike me, and a lot of higher levelled Effigy refused to associate with those who can barely even call themselves an Effigy. Those on lower levels generally have little to no powers and aren’t useful for much if a battle was to arise. 

I had never been one of those people that could go back to sleep after being woken, so I went to the bathroom and took a shower. I closed my eyes as I scrubbed the apple-scented shampoo through my strawberry blonde curls. Internally I was cursing myself for being so abrupt with Liam and was trying to figure out a way to make it up to him. When I was seven, I remembered going to the bathroom at Liam’s house because my back felt strange. When I removed my shirt, I noticed small white buds protruding through the skin around my shoulder blades. My scream was barely audible but somehow Liam had heard me and came running to see what was wrong. He convinced me that we had to tell an adult and that it was probably my powers coming through. That’s how I found out I had wings. When I was eleven, we were searching Rome for Effigy when we came across a teenage boy. His power was extraordinary, but he didn’t want anything to do with us, or anyone like us. He attacked Liam with his lightning speed and I saw red, he was hurting someone who I cared deeply for, even though we had been nothing but peaceful with him. I held up my arm and screamed out at him, causing his attention to fall on me. As he approached, two large golden whips protruded from my wrists and wrapped around his body; within seconds he was dead, strangled by my powers. Liam, even bruised and bleeding, held me and assured me that I was alright. He had been there for me each and every time I needed someone, and the one time he needed me to reassure him, I didn’t.

I stepped out of the shower and quickly got dried. My green eyes were glowing again, like they did every time I had the dream. I looked away quickly, not wanting to think of the nightmare that has been plaguing me ever since we returned. Once I was dressed, I decided to see if Liam was ready to talk. I had to tell him that he would never lose me, that he meant more to me than falling in with the crowd. I searched the whole house, but he wasn’t here. I pulled the curtain open and saw that his car was gone. “He said he would be back later, and not to wait up for him,” his mother said quietly as she entered the room. “Did he say where he was headed?” I asked, still staring at the spot where his car should be. “No, just that he needed some time alone.” She walked over and grasped my hand in her tiny one, “What happened, Emerald? You two never fight.” Her gentle blue eyes looked concerned and I felt my heart tense in my chest. “He was worried about being sent to Infinity College. I thought he was just being dramatic and kind of told him off. I didn’t know he was scared of losing me.” Mrs. Green sighed loudly and took a seat on the couch, signalling for me to join her. “Liam is such a good boy, Emerald. He has done more for you than you could ever imagine and I think he’s scared that when you finally get to be around others like you, you will choose them over him.”

“But he is like me,” I said sadly. “No, he’s not,” she whispers, resting her hand on my knee. “Emerald, you are different than any other Effigy I’ve ever met, and when those other kids see you, they’re going to want to get as close to you as they can, to be able to say that they’re friends with an elite, or they’ll push you to submit to them. You’ve spent so long away from your kind; you don’t know what it’s like out there.” Her words tumble around in my head, confusing me, “What do you mean by elite?”

“The Elites are Effigy whose powers are the least tainted by human blood. For example, Liam is low level because his father is human and I am a low level. Most of the kids at that school are medium level, meaning they’ve got enough power to be somewhat useful, but they’re still not considered strong. The high levels have small traces of human blood throughout their genetics, but they generally only have one power that is usually quite potent.”

“Like the boy who attacked us in Rome,” I say. I noticed her eyes glaze over momentarily before nodding her head, “But you, Emerald, you have three powers that we know of and I’m sure that it’s just the beginning. I feel your power each time you step into the room and I can see the glow beneath your skin when you are upset. If you’re not an elite then I don’t know what you are.” I shook my head, “No, I don’t believe that, I’m just lucky to have gotten three powers instead of one. Even if I had a thousand powers, I would never turn my back on the one person who has always had my back. He means more to me than that.” Mrs. Green smiled half-heartedly and stood up to leave the room, “I truly hope you mean that.” A smile graced her lips and she took a few steps towards the door, “Anyway, I came in to tell you that Headmaster Stevens called not too long ago and he expects both you and Liam to be in his office first thing in the morning. Maybe while you wait for Liam to get back, you can start packing to help pass the time.” “Thank you, Mrs. Green,” I said as she walked out. 

I trudged slowly back to my room, deciding to take her advice and get packed so that I wouldn’t have to do it in the morning. I went to my closet and collected all of my clothes, piling them on the end of the bed, before going to the bathroom to grab my toiletries. I wasn’t one of those prim and proper girls who had an outfit for every day of the month, so once I’d folded everything and put it in my suitcase, it was still only half full. “Well, I guess that’s me then,” I say to myself. “Since you’re in the mood for packing, do you want to come and give me a hand with mine?” Liam’s voice answered. I spun around in surprise with a smile on my face, “Where have you been, Liam, I was worried.” I ran over and jumped into his arms. “I just needed some time to think about stuff,” he whispered nuzzling into my hair. “Well, I wanted to say sorry for the way I treated you earlier, it was really crappy of me to talk to you like that. You’re my best friend, Liam, and I’ll never choose anyone over you.” Tears were starting to form in my eyes as I spoke and my voice cracked on the last words. He gently let me down and put his finger under my chin, tilting my head so that I was looking at him. His swirling hazel eyes were always one of my favourite things about him, and I could spend hours looking into his eyes and not get bored. “Emmy, there are things that you don’t even know about the past, but if you did you would know just how much you mean to me. We have been best friends since we were little and I can’t ever lose you; I think I’d die if I did. You mean too much.” I pulled his hand away from my face, “You won’t ever lose me, Liam. And I love you so much, but I…,” I didn’t get a chance to finish what I was saying as his lips crashed into mine, his hand coming up to tangle in my hair as his tongue pressed against my lips, trying to gain access to my mouth. My mind was going a million miles a minute but I knew that this wasn’t right; that as much as I wanted to show him how much he means to me, this wasn’t the right way to do it. I loved him, yes, but more like a brother than a romantic lover, and I didn’t want to ruin the friendship that we had by letting him believe that our connection was more than that. 

I put my hands on his chest and pushed back, putting some distance between our bodies, “I was going to say, I love you so much, but I’m afraid that the way you love me is different.” I lowered my eyes again, afraid to see the hurt in his. “Oh,” he whispered, his breathing still accelerated. I watched him turn around and then close the door quietly as he left. I let out the breath that I had been holding in, and dreaded the aftermath of what I had just said. 

The next morning, I woke up to my alarm blaring beside me. I was definitely not a morning person, and I knew I was going to struggle with getting to classes on time when I started at Infinity. I crawled out of bed and got myself ready to leave, making sure to dress nicely for my first day. By nine o’clock I was sitting outside the headmaster’s office, waiting to be called in. Liam was sitting quietly beside me; he hadn’t said a word the whole ride here, and I was beginning to think that I had already ruined our friendship. The door to the headmaster’s office swung open and a tall, gorgeous, muscular boy sauntered out, a devastating grin gracing his lips as his auburn eyes landed on me. His stark black hair was pushed back strategically so that on first glance one would think he had woken up looking like that, but his light grey jeans and perfectly-pressed black dress shirt told a very different story. I swallowed the saliva that had begun to build in my mouth and looked away from his penetrating gaze. What the hell was that, Emerald? Pull yourself together.

“The headmaster will see you now,” the plump, brunette haired woman behind the desk said, not even looking up from her computer. I stood up quickly, Liam doing the same, as I  walked into the headmaster’s office. I felt nervousness settle in the pit of my stomach as I entered the room first. “Ah, Miss Rose, Mr Greene, it’s wonderful to see you both again,” he said, standing up from his chair and extending his hand to shake each of ours. “I wish I could say the same, sir, but I’m afraid I don’t have any memory of you,” I say, shaking his hand. “Well of course the last time I saw you, you were only a baby, it was only a short time before that disgusting human family too-,” his sentence was cut off by Liam’s loud throat clearing. “It’s nice to see you again Headmaster Stevens,” he said, reaching out to take the man’s hand. The man’s eyes grew wide as Liam gave him a serious glare. “Yes, well, I guess we should get you kids ready for your first day of classes. FRANCIS!” he bellows making me jump. The woman from the desk poked her head in the door, a lack-lustre smile planted on her bright pink lips, “Yes sir.” “Please get Miss Rose and Mr Green their schedules and have Serenity Fort take them up to their dormitories.” “Of course, sir, anything else?” she grins, showing her chipped front tooth. “No that will be all.” He immediately turned his attention back to Liam and I. “I hope you both enjoy your time here with us, and please don’t hesitate to come to me if there is anything you need.” I know he said it to both of us but his eyes never left mine as he spoke. Was this what Mrs Green meant when she said that lower-level Effigy weren’t treated the same as the ones who were a higher level?