Emotionless (The Emotionless Book 1) Read online

  There’s one that I am working on now at home, but I am still indecisive if I want to sell it or keep it to myself. It’s an exciting rune and one that will be very exhilarating, I hope. If there’s any way that it would make my heart jump out of my chest and express emotion, I was very much intrigued by the concept.

  By the time the bell rang, I had my phone in my pocket, and I was ready for another dull and uninteresting day of school. There wasn’t anything that I wanted to learn. No runes, no spells, no potions, not even crystal work – And I very much dislike crystal work.

  The thought that there is no control on what to create bothers me the most. Silas teaches me and always praises me. Says that I will become a master at crystal work if I keep practising daily, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I enjoy runes because of their structure. I don’t like doing crystals, so thinking about doing that than being here says a lot about how much I don’t like Ordinary – Human schools.

  By the time lunch came around, I had drawn swirls behind the cover of my mathematics book. When the bell rang loud and clear, I grabbed the paper bag that was inside of my bag and walked out amongst my classmates.

  The school was small. I lived in a small village. This school was the only one that accepted us. Hopper applied for schools that were more mainstream, even considered having our own class specifically so that we weren’t around Ordinary-Humans. My family has been declined by almost all the Ordinary-Human schools in our country – Wasn’t really a surprise. I got used to rejection after my letter to Mage Academy was dropped. Soon after, every other school I wanted to go to was rejected as well.

  I disgraced my family.

  Not bothering with going to the cafeteria, I went outside and sat on one of the steel benches underneath the cover. It was cold, but it was also quiet. I enjoyed the silence. I could then concentrate on drawing runes without being bothered or distracted.

  There was a cold bite when I sat down on the steel seat. When I tried to open my paper bag to take out my food, my fingertips were stiff and hard to move from the cold. Everything felt strained and awkward.

  Inside my paper bag was a hot container filled with soup. I didn’t want to eat what was inside. I was content enough to place my hands on either side of the bowl to warm my hands up further. Frosted breath escaped parted lips, delighted to feel any sense of heat out here in the dead of winter.

  After my hands were warmed up enough, I took out the drink bottle that was also inside of the bag. I inhaled the cocoa scent and knew it was delicious hot chocolate. I hope the kitchen placed a lot more sugar in mine compared to my brothers. I then took a sip and nodded the slightest and confirmed they put three extra tablespoons in there to quench my needs.

  “Hey, Freak.”

  There was a reason I don’t sit in the cafeteria nor do I like going in there. There’s a group of girls that usually bullies me. They call me names and spread rumours and lies behind my back. Even knowing what they say is farfetched and unbelievable, because I am a mage living in an Ordinary-Human world, to them, it doesn’t sound so crazy. I could be casting a spell in my mind, for all they know, and that fear can become paranoia to the extent that it can transform into cruelty. They know I cannot touch them. They know mages are peaceful, and with our rules, we are not allowed to harm an Ordinary-Human for they are considerately weaker.

  Yasmine glared down at me from above. Her pose’ of friends behind her had their arms folded and smug looks on their faces. They were the girls who picked on other girls when they felt threatened by their existence. If another girl’s name were mentioned in her circle of guy friends, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she bullied that girl into asserting what she believes is dominance. I find it to be rather pathetic and try to keep myself away from interacting with any of the four, to the extent that I have hidden in the girl’s bathroom to avoid any attention. Unfortunately, today, that was where the girls were located. Now I know the reason was that they were looking for me.

  How bothersome.

  I put the hot bottle filled with chocolate on the table and then placed my hands on my lap. I tugged on the sleeves of my dress to hide the distressed veins from appearing. It was hard to do, considering the veins could be seen on my face as well. The girls looked at me with disgust, and Yasmine stepped further back and away from me.

  For so long and written in books, I thought our veins were portrayed as beautiful. It wasn’t until I came to the Ordinary-Human world that I knew it wasn’t compared to beauty. We were disgusting, and we were hated. We were everything they wanted to be, and therefore we were an enemy that they couldn’t defeat. We are undeniably better than them with everything humanly possible, it’s no surprise they mistreat us.

  “Hello,” I murmured. “I’m going to go now.”

  There was no use talking to them. All four of them are equivalent to one brain, they’re that thick. Whatever I say wouldn’t matter. Therefore I’d instead leave. A brick wall would be easier to talk to and come to think of it, I think I had back when I lived in Sorcerer City. They sound like two bricks rubbing against each other, but they are rather lovely and sweet. They enjoy talking about the beginning of when they were built.

  “Hey. I am talking to you,” Yasmine snapped.

  “I am aware of that,” I replied.

  I placed my food and drink in the paper bag and went to go inside of the cafeteria when she suddenly grabbed my arm. She squeezed tightly, and I could feel every individual finger of hers tighten uncomfortably around the fabric of my dress. As much as I wanted to shove her off or even activate my three-point defence, a memory of three years ago when I did the exact same thing came back to me. They deserved that, but to the mages and the Ordinary-Human world, I didn’t place myself or my family in such a great light. I degraded us further, and I don’t want to do that now. Dishonouring my family is the last thing that I ever want to do again.

  “You think that you are too good for us all? Sitting out here or in the bathrooms? Aren’t we worthy enough for your presence, Freak?”

  There was no right answer. If I tell her the truth and say that they spoke too loudly and were nauseating to my ears, I would offend them. If I lie and say that I liked sitting out in the freezing cold or in the bathroom, that would generally sound like a lie. Which, if she were smart enough to figure out, would be offended that I lied to her. People like her bother me, and that’s the reason I try to avoid them. They came here with the determination of what she wanted to do in her mind. No ounce of talking would make her change her mind.

  Her bright red lipstick curled up into a smirk. Those dark brown eyes smiled sadistically at me. Yasmine’s pencil-thin eyebrows raised up, nearly to her hairline. She released her grip on my arm and suddenly laughed. Whenever she laughs, cries or shouts, her pose’ of friends does precisely the same. They remind me of puppets or copycats. I find them more frightening than Yasmine herself. At least that is her real personality, the girls that surround her try to mould into Yasmine and come off fake and rather pathetic.

  I turned my back on her and was suddenly shoved into the snow. On my hands and knees, I stared down at the clumps of white snow and a curtain of long golden-brown hair. I felt the pulse of magic throb, as tattoos imprinted onto my skin desperately tried to activate without me saying the words. The words of defence wanted to push their way out of my mouth so that I could protect myself – But I can’t do that. I can’t do that without another incident happening, and I don’t want to hurt my family further than I already have.

  “Get up, Stony, or else I will make you get up.”

  “I don’t understand,” I murmured. “Both of them will result in me getting up.”

  “Wha – you damn freak!” She shrieked.

  She went to kick me. I have seen Yasmine countless of times kick girls she pushes onto the ground. While she kicks them and spouts nonsense, her group of friends cheer her on and encourage her.

  “Hey!” Yasmine lowered her heeled leather shoe back into the snow that
crunched under its weight. “Eileen, are you okay?”

  Donte took hold of my arm and placed me back on my feet. Embarrassed that my brothers had to drag me out of trouble once again, I averted my gaze and puffed my cheeks. With still having a hold of my arm, he took me into the cafeteria and Nixon followed after with a hold of my lunch bag. They both looked angry.

  “Why didn’t you use magic?” Donte demanded.

  “Yeah. Pulled a prank of something, Sis,” Nixon piped in.

  They don’t get it. They will never get it. Donte and Nixon can use magic without being in trouble and without being plastered over all the magazines and newspapers in the Ordinary-Human world and the Mage world. I can’t do magic without harming my family further because of what I had done five years ago. I wanted to tell them that. I tried to explain, but they’re too thick to understand.

  I shrugged instead.

  “Maybe we should pull a prank on them?” They both said at the same time. Their brains were wired as one. I have always known it. “Perhaps put a slime monster inside of the girls’ toilets. Or put wart cream in the make-up that they always shove on whenever they go into the bathrooms.”

  My brothers disturb me.

  The bell rang without another word from me. I took hold of my lunch bag from Nixon and turned and walked away from them. I ignored their goodbyes and ignored them, telling me to eat with our older brother in his classroom. There’s no point hiding from them in the first place. I have the same class as Yasmine. She will find me and think of another way to irritate me.

  I wasn’t the first in my class after lunch. I was surprised to see Yasmine inside of the classroom. I was, however, not surprised that she stole the seat of the boy that sat behind me. His belongings were tossed in the row of tables and chairs, and her belongings were set up neatly on the table behind me. She smirked at me while she played with her red feather pen.

  When I went to sit down, my stomach lurched when I fell onto the ground. My bottom throbbed and sparked slight pain. Yasmine snickered and kicked the leg of the chair back into my direction. I then pushed the table forward enough that I felt a little more at ease that Yasmine wasn’t directly behind me. Once I sat down, other students filed in.

  The boy that sat behind me was a nervous loner of a boy that doesn’t really have a voice. The reason he sat behind me was that everyone was too afraid to do so until now. Without a word, he took his bag and pencil case that was carelessly tossed onto the ground and found another seat. That made Yasmine pleased. She giggled to herself.

  Mr Reeks came through after the students. He was our history teacher and was the dullest man I have met. He talks with a drawl. He looks like he wants to fall asleep himself. Those eyes of his always droop. There also has been the talk around the school that in that briefcase, there wasn’t papers or books but a blanket so that he could sleep in the teachers' lounge.

  Mr Reeks never writes on the chalkboard. He always drags out the projector that was stuffed in the small closet inside of the classroom. Lights switched off until darkness plummeted, he turned on the projector and placed a sheet that we have to copy off into the light of the projector.

  Every lesson I have with Mr Reek, I knew my book would be filled with words that I don’t really read or soak in. I enjoy history. However, Ordinary-Human history doesn’t appeal to me. I want to learn more about how runes were birthed and who was the very first mage to create a rune. I want to learn about the very first crystal that was found in the depths of the darkest part of the ocean that no human has ever ventured before. I want to know who created the first healing potion and how. Did they throw anything in the pot and stir, or did they have a feeling that they knew exactly what they were doing? That’s what I want to learn. Not about the very first pirate that stumbled onto this land and claimed and named it. To me, that’s boring enough for me to take a nap in the classroom. Mr Reek won’t care, he was sleeping right now.

  I thought of doing that and even started to write quickly enough to rest when I heard a clipping sound from behind me. I felt strands of my hair snip away from my head. Confused, I touched my hair and dragged it down the back of my head. Strands of loose hair entwined within my fingertips. A bunch of them.

  Yasmine snickered from behind me.

  I felt the end of this blade touch my hair this time. My veins lit immediately, and the words pushed their way out of my mouth without my doing. “Level one defence, activate.”

  Brilliant white light pulsed to life. Cries filled the room and students were up in their seat. Mr Reeks fell from his. They were acting like a murderer broke into the classroom with a chainsaw, about ready to kill them all. It was only a defensive rune that protects me. The circle shape rune was like a bubble that surrounds me. Anyone that is a threat to me gets this forceful push, and that’s what happened to Yasmine. Her table dragged away from the bubble and the seat that she was on toppled backwards and she landed on the ground. She looked angry. Her brows were knitted inwards, and she glared up at me. Her dark red hair wasn’t in its position. The weird poof bump that was her signature look looked like a bird’s nest. Her tie was loose, and her short dress was up above her hips, revealing her red thong.

  “You witch bitch!” She screeched. Yasmine raised her hand that had a fist filled with my golden-brown hair. “You are a bloody psycho! Mr Reeks, Eileen used magic!”

  “Eileen!” Mr Reek didn’t sound tired anymore when he snapped my name. Puffing my cheeks, I looked away from my cut hair and back at Mr Reeks. “You are dismissed. Report to the principal’s office now!” He demanded.

  I didn’t want to report to the principal’s office, I wanted to go home. But if I just went home, I could give my older brother a bad name. He was lucky to have this job in the first place. I should go there first before I decide to go home.

  The principal’s office was disconnected from the main building of the classrooms. It was joint with the office that was at the front of the school. Students have to go to the office first to sign in or out, for a large fenced area surrounded the entire school. I could easily use magic to go through the fence. Donte and Nixon, do it all the time. They sneak out and go to the supermarket that was across the road from the school. They always come back with Ordinary-Human food. They do have delicious sweets mages do not create. I like lollypops.

  Up the stairs to the main office, I pushed the door open, and the bell rung and alerted the lady at the desk. Once our eyes connected, she looked away immediately and picked up the phone. While she talked in a hushed voice to whoever was on the other end, more than likely the principal, I stared blankly at her. Her eyebrows didn’t move as she talked. They were up in a continuous look of surprise. It may be because her hair was tightly wrapped in a bun that it pulled her skin upwards with no relief.

  “Mrs Morgan will be with you in a moment, Eileen. Please, take a seat.”

  I steered towards the seating area. There were three single seats and in front of them was a small and round glass table. On the glass table were magazines that were filled with models and dramatic rumour headlines that didn’t appeal to me at all.

  While I waited, I tapped my foot against the worn-out grey carpet. The snow melted from my boots and soaked into the carpet. I rubbed my arm and at the tattoo that was on my wrist. It wasn’t lit any longer, nor was my veins throbbing with power like before.

  After about fifteen minutes of waiting, a chubby lady wearing a large white overcoat that hugged every curve waddled down the hallway. Her tiny dark blue leering eyes sought me out at the waiting area. Miss Morgan wiggled her sausage finger at me. I then stood and followed her down the hallway and into the second door on the left.

  Miss Morgan’s office was compacted and small. It reminded me of the size of a tissue box. She had two bookshelves crammed behind her desk, which blocked the window, and that made no light whatsoever seep through. On the far back of the wall was a display of awards that she was awarded over the years of becoming principal. A few were legit, but most
were awards for weird events. Like winning the hotdog eating contest, or being a bridesmaid. Not sure how you get an award for that, but there it was, on the wall of a high school.

  “Impressive, aren’t they?”

  That wasn’t necessarily the word that I was thinking of, but I nodded anyway and turned towards Miss Morgan. She was at her desk that had her boxed computer on it. The computer always makes this weird static sound whenever she turns it on. Beside the computer was a clip of papers. Atop of the documents was an assortment of coloured pens. Her favourite ones that Miss Morgan likes to use are the ones that were closest to her. I can tell that she was itching to pick up the orange one.

  I dragged out the chair that was on the opposite side of her desk. Staring down at my leather school shoes, the tips of them brushed against the carpet. When I looked back up, she fidgeted with the pens and then papers before she folded her arms across her desk and stared at me.

  “Eileen, what brings you to my office this time?” She asked.

  She says that like I have been here countless times. It has been over three years since my last incident like this unless she was counting the times that I have used little magic. But I have been cautious with using magic to the extent that no one has caught me within a few weeks.

  “I used a rune in class, I guess,” I murmured.

  “The uh, mag . . . magical drawings?” She questioned.

  Any word to do with mages that Miss Morgan has to say always makes her queasy. She wiggles uncomfortably in her seat, swallows hard and breaths out heavily. She has accepted us into her school, however hearing what every Ordinary-Human calls witches and wizards doing magic in her school makes her cringe. Miss Morgan took my family is not because she loves mages, but because my parents gave her a lump sum of cash. That was the reason I haven’t been thrown out of high school yet.

  “Look, Eileen, I know that coming to a school like this must be hard. Unable to use magic, and having students that, I hate to say this, but are frightened of you – But that doesn’t mean you are allowed to use magic, especially against another student.” Miss Morgan shook her head and leant back in her chair. I heard the strain and thought for a moment that the chair was going to break if she bent back any further. “I am very disappointed, Eileen. Why can’t you be more like your brothers? They’re fine in their class.”