It was 6:00 PM on my sixteenth birthday.

And, of course, in less than ten minutes I would be going to a social at a magical Academy for dragon riders to harness power over the mythical beasts that would becomes their best friends. Nothing unusual.

"Almost ready?" I shouted to Amber, who was applying makeup in the bathroom. Over the last two days we had become pretty good friends, and, knowing us, we would cling to each other like burrs (Aaron ones - HAMILTON REFERENCE) because neither of us were very extroverted.

"Yep! I'll be just a minute!" Came the muffled reply.

I sighed, looking down at the letter I would be sending to my mother tomorrow morning. I read it over once more.

Dear Mom,

I've settled into my dorm room at Starsky Academy. My roomie is a really nice girl named Amber Starseer, and we get along well. Tonight is a social, where I'll meet the other students that have arrived so far. A nice fairy named Mabel told me about half of the invited students have arrived so far.

There's not much for me to say about the school. It's beautiful, really. It's gorgeous. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to be here. But of course I miss you. How are you? Write me back soon. In 9 days, classes start. I'm so excited!

Love,

Lana

Finally Amber came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a black and white dress - very simplistic yet stylish. Her hair was curled so it sat on her shoulder in thick waves. She was wearing black heels, and had shiny hoop earrings on as well.

As for me, my dress was a shade of azure, with what I called crystal teardrops running down the shoulder strap down to my hip. I also had on a sparkly crystal bracelet and sparking crystal hoop earrings, like Amber's. I wore flats, not heels, that were white to match the dress's accents.

Our wardrobes had provided us with both outfits.

"Now are you ready?" I tucked the letter into an envelope as she nodded yes.

"Let's go." I stood, and we walked out the door, Amber's heels clacking, as we made our way through the winding hallways, down to the Academy's ballroom where the Social would be held.

I ran my hand across the intricate golden loops on the Academy's walls as I carefully made my way down a set of marble stairs, covered with a sheet of soft grey velvet. I wasn't used to such lavish areas - I could practically smell the money put into this place.

Finally, after rounding a couple corners, Amber and I saw in front of us a huge entryway to the beautiful ballroom. Even though we had seen it when touring the school, nothing compared to it being all prepared for guests, and the soft glow of the lights in the evening.

Beautiful arches stretched around the walls of the room. The dancing floor was some kind of sleek stone, but tables were set out upon hardwood and carpet, not stone. The lights were dim and golden. A few tables were set up with snacks. On one side of the ballroom, a jazz band was playing sweet tunes.

Some kids were already there. I'd say about five or six. Some adults were around the room as well, looking comfortable and enjoying talking to each other.

"Let's go introduce ourselves," I suggest, though Amber looked nervous. I remembered how she told me about her shyness. "Don't worry," I gave her a small smile, "We're in this together."

Together we made our way across the room, until a darker-skinned girl with curly black hair, wearing a pastel golden dress stepped in front of us. A huge smile was plastered on her face.

"Hello," the girl chirped. Another girl, this one with straight brown hair and green-grey eyes, had jogged after her. She waved at us and I waved back.

"My name's Lucinda York," Smiled the first girl. "Nice to meet you," she stretched out her hand and I took it.

"And I'm Dhara Angevin." The second girl added. She had full lips and her skin was a pasty, light shade.

"My name's Lana Pennington. It's a joy to meet you all." I said with a sweet smile. Amber gave a nervous smile to them and introduced herself as well.

"Aren't you guys so excited?" Lucinda hummed. "I just can't wait to meet my dragon."

"I've been saying that a lot too!" Amber found her voice. "Me too!" I joined them.

"I know," Dhara looked up at the ceiling before glancing back down at us. "I just want classes to start already!"

"Well," I said, "I hate to interrupt this but I want to meet some other people! Want to come with us or will we see you around?"

Lucinda nodded towards the food tables, where a massive cake awaited everyone. "I've already met most people here," She explained, "So I'm going to eat something now. I'll see ya around!" She nodded towards me and then Lucinda and Dhara walked off.

"I could go for some cake soon, too," Amber laughed. I agreed.

Next we made our way over to a group of four boys. One had subdued red-orange hair, was tall but very thin, and had lots of freckles. The second was tall and broad-shouldered, with curly brown hair and defined cheekbones. The third had curly blond hair and ocean blue eyes, and the fourth was short and skinny with nearly black eyes, snow white hair, and multiple piercings.

"Hello," I smiled as we walked over to them.

"Why hello there," winked the one with reddish hair. I somehow restrained from rolling my eyes at his tone. His shadowed blue eyes made contact with mine.

"My name's Lana," I spoke to the other boys, who were now watching us. "I'm Amber," my new friend said as well.

"My name's Alexander. Call me Alex." The redhead nodded.

"I'm Dylan," spoke the short boy with white hair. His dark eyes were bright.

"The name's Julian. Pleasure to meet you all." The second boy said quietly, reaching out his hand for us to shake. I took it. Of all the boys here he seemed the most mature, from what I'd seen.

"And I'm Cameron." The last boy spoke, the one with blond hair and blue eyes.

"It's very nice to meet you all," I said, a little awkwardly. Julian nodded to me, Cameron smiled, Dylan barely acknowledged us, and Alex chuckled.

"We'll see you around," Amber waved and stepped away. I turned and quickly followed her.

"That Alex seems a little bit..." Amber couldn't seem to find the words.

"Flirtatious?" I filled in for her, rolling my eyes.

"Hey," She laughed. "I guess it's just how some boys our age act. It wouldn't be normal if nobody was like that, even if it can be annoying sometimes."

"You're right." I smiled, "Now how about some cake?"

"I'm down." Amber grinned, and we made our way over to the food tables.

As the night continued we met some more people, including a girl named Savannah Westerberg (where have I heard that name before? Maybe the local candy store?) and a guy named Chaddick Chandler. Chaddick asked us to just call him Chad.

"I hope these next 9 days go by fast," my voice was quiet and subdued by the end of the night.

"Same," Amber replied sleepily, and then we clicked off the light.

I sure hope they go by quickly... Because then it will be time to get my dragon!