Eternity (4 page)

The sound that
came out of the instrument as I played was as beautiful as the
instrument itself, and I quickly became absorbed by it. I let my
feelings flow through my fingers, pouring out my joy into the
song.

I sat playing
for what felt like an eternity before I realized that I was no
longer alone. I stopped playing immediately and looked around, but
I didn’t see anyone at first.

“Wow,” I heard
from the wings of the stage. A figure stepped out from behind the
curtain that revealed itself to be that of a young man, clearly
another student. He was surprisingly handsome, with neat brown hair
and bright blue eyes. He was wearing black pants and a black
sweater that had a dark green pattern knitted in.

“Sorry, I
didn’t realize that anyone was here,” I said, standing to leave. I
hit my knee on the piano in my haste, and it hurt, but I ignored
the pain.

“Don’t
apologize. I’ve never heard anyone play like that before,” he said.
He had a strong English accent.

“Well, it’s not
something I do very often,” I said, silently cursing my own
clumsiness. “When I saw the piano I couldn’t resist. It’s the
nicest one I’ve ever seen.”

“You must be
new here then. Do you like it so far?” He came and sat casually on
the piano bench that I had just vacated. He looked like a model
posing for an ad, though I knew he wasn’t consciously trying to
appear that way.

“I’ve been here
less than two hours, but the place is certainly beautiful. I’ve
never seen anywhere quite like it before.”

“Don’t worry,
you’ll get used to it. I hope you don’t think me rude for asking,
but is music your ability? I mean, are you a hero?”

“Oh, no it
isn’t. To be honest I don’t know what I am.”

“That’s
unusual. Most people know because we’re like our parents. Do your
parents have different abilities?”

“I don’t know,”
I told him. “They died in a car accident when I was three. I was at
home with a babysitter at the time. I still remember them
perfectly, but I don’t remember them ever doing anything
unusual.”

He looked away,
and I could see his sympathy in his aura. “I’m sorry to hear that,”
he said softly. “I don’t know what I would have done without my
parents. They helped me a lot with understanding what I was when I
was growing up.”

“You’re a
wizard, aren’t you?”

“Yes, how did
you know?” He seemed quite surprised.

“I can see your
aura,” I told him.

“Ah. And I
don’t even know your name,” he said, laughing to cover his
discomfort. He knew what an aura was, so he knew what my ability
meant.

“I’m Juliet,” I
said, smiling. He relaxed.

“That name
suits you well. I’m sure you break hearts every day,” he joked. “My
name is Michael. This is my third year here, so if you ever need
help finding anything, feel free to ask me.”

“Sure. I’ll see
you around,” I said, and I jumped off the stage. I could feel his
eyes on me as I walked toward the door. I was a little eager to get
away because I could tell he was attracted to me. I had to deal
with that enough as it was, though at least he was the polite
type.

“Wait!” he
shouted, and I heard him jog toward me. I turned, inwardly
sighing.

“It’s time for
lunch,” he said when he stopped in front of me. “Care to join
me?”

“Yeah, I
guess,” I answered. He was a nice guy, so I figured it couldn’t
hurt to get to know him better. I wouldn’t mind being his friend, I
thought.

Chapter 5

We went
downstairs to the cafeteria. There were already a few people
sitting down, and there was hot food in serving dishes on the
tables and empty plates in front of the chairs. I looked around for
Jack but didn’t see him. I saw Sydney and waved to her. She was
sitting with a tall dark girl with black hair who looked annoyed at
something.

We sat at an
empty table and filled our plates with food, which looked healthy
but good. I noticed a lot of people looking at us, and many waved
or said hello to Michael. He smiled and waved back, always
friendly.

“You seem to
know a lot of people here,” I commented before taking a bite of
salad.

“I guess I do.
I know almost everyone in my year, and quite a few in other years.
I’ve been involved in a lot of school activities.”

“Like what?” I
asked.

“We have a play
here every year and I’ve been in it both years I’ve been here, and
I’m on the swim team. I also started a band here with a couple of
friends last year, though we only played a show once.”

That was
certainly interesting, I thought. I didn’t know too many other
people who played music. “What’s it called?”

“Light’s
Kingdom. Don’t ask me why; I didn’t come up with it,” he said
smiling. “It was Pat’s idea. He’s the drummer. He’s good at what he
does, so I couldn’t argue too much with his choice. Have to keep
the talent happy.” He laughed.

“Oy, are you
bragging about our band to this beautiful young lady?” asked a tall
gangly blond guy who had come up behind Michael. “Just because
you’re the lead singer doesn’t mean you get all the credit, you
know.” He winked in my direction and sat down beside me and
immediately began piling his plate with enough food to feed a
family of four.

“I’m trying to
bulk up a bit,” he explained when he saw me staring.

Another guy,
who had just sat down beside Michal, laughed. “You’ve been trying
to bulk up for years. Don’t you think it’s time you gave up?”

“Hey, I’ll have
you know I’ve gained a whole kilogram in the past two months,” he
said indignantly. He turned to Michael. “Aren’t you going to
introduce us to your new friend?”

“Sure. This is
Juliet. Juliet, that’s Leon and this is Patrick, both my band
mates.” Leon was the gangly guy sitting beside me, and Patrick was
the guy sitting beside Michael. He looked Native American, but I
couldn’t be sure.

“Pleasure to
meet you,” Leon said, sticking out his hand. I put my hand in his
thinking he’d shake it, but instead he brought it to his lips and
kissed it. I pulled my hand away, embarrassed.

“Leon, behave
yourself,” Patrick scolded, but he was grinning.

“Hey, I was
just being a gentleman,” was his reply. He winked at me again and
then started devouring his plate of food.

“Do you play
any instruments?” Patrick asked me.

“She’s a
musical genius. She can play the piano in a way I’ve never heard
before,” Michael answered for me before I had a chance to
respond.

“You should try
out for our band, then. We need a new keyboard player. Our last one
graduated last year, and we’re planning on holding auditions next
week.”

“No thanks,” I
answered. “I don’t really enjoy playing other people’s music.”

“Why not?” Leon
asked between bites.

“I play to
express my own feelings,” I explained. “I have a hard time doing
that when I’m playing a song that’s about someone else, or in some
cases about nothing at all. I find it kind of boring.”

“Well, just
think about it,” Michael said. “We really could use you.”

“Do you ever
write music?” Patrick asked.

“Not really. I
only ever did once, and when I finished writing the song I gave it
to my piano teacher to play, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t
play it fast enough to get all the notes in, so it ended up
sounding pretty bad. I never bothered to do it again.”

Jack walked
into the cafeteria then. He looked much calmer than he had before,
though his anxiety hadn’t disappeared completely. He saw me at a
table with a bunch of guys and frowned, and then he sat down next
to Kyle, who had been sitting alone. He looked quite determined to
ignore me.

I quickly
finished my meal and excused myself. I walked over to Jack, who
didn’t see me approach since he had been determinately not looking
in my direction.

“Jack, we need
to talk,” I said when he noticed me.

“I’m eating,”
he said. “Maybe later.” He turned back to his food and commented on
it to Kyle. I sighed and left. He was right; there was always
later.

“Juliet!” I
heard from behind me once I was in the hallway. I turned, hoping it
was Jack, but it was Michael.

“Um, I was
wondering if you had a date for the ball? I know we just met and
all, but I’m not going with anybody and I was wondering if you
would go with me?” He was talking fast and was clearly nervous. He
looked kind of cute, but I wasn’t really interested. I didn’t feel
anything special when I was around him.

“If you don’t
mind I think I’ll go by myself,” I answered, as politely as I
could. “I haven’t really had a chance to meet very many people
yet.”

“Oh, okay,” he
said. He looked disappointed, but not offended. “Well, I’ll see you
there then. Save a dance for me?”

I smiled. “I
can do that.”

After he had
walked away I walked back to the cafeteria. Instead of trying to
talk to Jack again I went to the staircase at the side of the room
and went down to the basement, if it could be called such. I wanted
to see the pool, since I liked to swim, though I hardly ever had
the chance to do so. The stairs led directly to the pool, which
appeared to be the average size and depth, though the atmosphere
made it look more like a decoration than an actual swimming pool.
Everything seemed to be covered in patterned tiles that were mostly
turquoise and gold in color, and there were statues of mermaids
frolicking along the side of the pool. The water was exactly level
to the floor around it, which gave the impression that one could
step off the side and onto the water instead of into it, like it
was made of glass. There were doors that led to showers and
changing rooms on one side, and a door at the back that led to the
gym and weight room.

There were two
people swimming laps in the water, so I didn’t linger. I went back
upstairs and to the north wing common room. There were a couple of
vampires there watching television. They both looked a lot older
than most of the other students, and they sat very still. One of
them looked up at me as I walked by. She was beautiful, and I felt
like her bright blue eyes were looking directly into my soul,
though the blank expression on her face didn’t change. It was
unsettling, so I hurried by and went to my room.

Vampires were
the exception to the rule at Winterwood Academy. While everyone
else got letters, the vampires had to apply to get into the school.
This wasn’t because they were dangerous, because they really
weren’t. They were more closely regulated within their own ranks
than any other type of people. The reason was because they weren’t
born; they were made, so they didn’t age. The rest of us went to
the school at the age of sixteen, but vampires were all sorts of
ages, and only came to the school to further their education and
learn things about the magical world that they couldn’t learn
anywhere else. They made up the smallest portion of students at the
school, which was why a lot of the new students were staying in
their wing before we were sorted into our appropriate groups.

The rest of the
day passed by rather uneventfully. I met no one else and spent most
of the time by myself exploring the school and the grounds, trying
to become familiar with the layout. With my memory it wasn’t very
difficult. I tried to find Jack but I didn’t see him anywhere. I
ended up eating dinner with Sydney, who had been sitting alone when
I entered the cafeteria.

I woke up the
next morning in an unfamiliar bed to the sound of other people
breathing around me. It took me a moment to realize where I was,
and that the past day was not a dream, though it still felt like it
was. I had been in Pembrook for so long, it felt unreal to be
living somewhere else.

I was quite
accustomed to having roommates, so I was careful to be quiet as I
got up and showered. The other people in the room, whom I hadn’t
even met, were all still asleep when I slipped out.

There were a
few people in the common room, but it seemed like most people were
still asleep. It was not yet time for breakfast, so I decided to go
for a walk outside. After debating in my mind for a minute about
whether I should go outside the building or to the courtyard, I
decided to wander around outside in the more open space. I wanted
to save going to the courtyard for some time at night when the
lights would be on.

I was surprised
to find Jack already out. He was sitting on a stone bench that was
beside a path, and he looked more calm than he had the day before.
He looked up as I approached and looked annoyed, but he didn’t try
to escape. I sat beside him.

“I’m sorry I
didn’t tell you, Jack,” I said, sincerely, breaking a stretch of
silence that had lasted for over a minute. “I honestly don’t know
why I didn’t. I guess it was partly because I was afraid to, and
partly because I was waiting for the right time. I think I waited
too long though. It would have been better for me to tell you as
soon as I found out myself so that you wouldn’t have been so
confused about what was happening to you.”

Jack looked at
me and smiled. “I don’t really blame you Jules. I don’t think it
really would have changed anything. It was just such a shock to
hear about it, and to learn that so many things I never believed in
are real. I think it’s kind of cool, actually, except for the whole
staying in a dungeon during the full moon thing.”

“Well, if
there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“You know, what
I don’t get is that you’ve had a special ability your whole life
and you knew about it and never told me. I would have told you
anything if I had any idea what was happening to me. That hurts me
more than anything else.”

I sighed and
rested my head on his shoulder, looking up at the sun that was just
making its way over the trees. “Do you know what an aura is,
Jack?”