Thursday, January 1st.

``Are you ready to go?'' [Nathan]

``Yeah..'' [Sarah]

``Then let's go. You can hold my hand if you want to.'' [Nathan]

``Okay..'' [Sarah]

I take her hand and walk her to the academy.

She livened up a lot the last few days, but she still cries every now and again. She's like a faded shadow of her former self.

I just have to do everything I can to cheer her up.

We don't live that far from the academy, and we quickly reach the gates. Several big banners decorate the gates, and there are signs leading us into the building.

Following them, we reach the central arena, where I saw the duel almost a year ago.

Older students point us to some empty seats, giving me strange looks in the meantime.

We sit down together, near the front. The arena slowly fills with students. Three quarters of the seats are clearly reserved for the older students, as they fill up with students wearing red, green, and blue robes respectively. The last area, where we are sitting, is a myriad of colors, clearly reserved for new students.

As we sit down, teachers start pouring out from the entrances to the arena. A podium is positioned in the center.

New students keep sitting down around us.

After a while, Shawn steps out from the crowd of teachers, and takes the podium.

``Can I have your attention?'' [Shawn]

He says into a wand, making his voice reverberate throughout the arena.

Silence descends on the arena.

``The new year has arrived. The year ahead will be full of challenge and hardship, but remember that we can all find solace in camaraderie and fellowship. So reach out to one another, cherish your friends and try to make new ones. Invite those you don't know into your groups, take care of your underclassmen and respect your upperclassmen. Do not alienate someone because you don't understand them, do not wash your hands of others before you put in the time and effort of trying to know them.'' [Shawn]

He pauses briefly, and look in the direction of me and Sarah.

``People will surprise you. Let them.'' [Shawn]

He takes a short break, drinking from a glass in front of him.

``And to the new children, welcome to Bightkeep Academy. This will be your home for the next nine years, and we shall treat you as family. Those of you that have just moved into the dorm, your group of rooms are each assigned a teacher who is responsible for you, who you can come to for advice and help. Each dorm also have a dorm mother or farther, who you are all free to ask for help, even if you don't live in the dorms. Now, each of you go to the dorm area of your primary elements, where your class teacher will be waiting for you. Older students have this day off, so enjoy the last day before the semester begins in earnest. That will be all.'' [Shawn]

A short round of applause is replaced with the rush of students trying to get out and back to their dorms. Each of the exists are marked with a large colored banner, so it's very clear where we should go.

``We need to go to our classes, so we'll meet up at the gate we came in through when the school day is over, alright Sarah?'' [Nathan]

``Okay, see you Nathan.'' [Sarah]

She says, looking dejected.

We walk to each of our exists, following the stream of students.

Several older students stare at me as I walk through the gates.

A male birdkin teacher is standing on the snow-covered lawn, shouting out for new students to gather around him.

About twenty children are already standing in front of him, and I place myself at the back of them.

In a few minutes the dorm quiets down, and the stragglers come out from the main building.

``Alright children, my name is Icefeather Nicolas. I will be your class teacher for your first year of school. It will be my job to teach you how to spell and read, how to add numbers, and how to channel your aura, among other things. Almost all of you should be able to learn how to channel your aura within the semester, and some may even have learned this from their parent. Now who here have attempted to channel their aura?'' [Nicolas]

About ten to fifteen hands shoot up. The students that have their hands up all seem very excited.

``Now, have any of you succeeded?'' [Nicolas]

Three hands stay up.

I'm not one of them. I don't really want that kind of attention.

``Very good! Three of you, that's unusual. Now the rest of you who haven't tried yet. Don't worry, you will learn it soon enough.'' [Nicolas]

He continues to talk about the coming semester, about how reading, addition and history is important and why we need it to become good students. I'm not really listening to him. Nor are a lot of the other students.

One of them had started staring at me. Soon, a few others began to as well, and when they started whispering the others turned around to see what was going on.

``-and then around fall you should all- What is going on here? What are you all staring a-'' [Nicolas]

His gaze caught sight of me, and is briefly taken aback.

``Ah, yes. Headmaster Twinpeak did tell me that a black-haired child would be joining my class, though I hardly believed it myself. So there you are then. Nate, was it?'' [Nicolas]

``Nathan, sir. Nightblue Nathan.'' [Nathan]

``Nightblue, is it. Though perhaps Jetblack would be more fitting? Can you be sure that you even belong in this class?'' [Nicolas]

``People usually don't pick their names-'' [Nathan]

I did though, but no need to tell him..

``- nor do they pick the color of their hair. And I assure you, I belong in the air class.'' [Nathan]

``Yes, well, we'll see about that. Where was I, ah yes, in the fall - ``[Nicolas]

Pompous bastard. As if it wasn't enough that they thought I looked weird, now they even think I don't belong..

Ugh, and I have to endure this moron for a whole year.