Today was the day.

Today was the day when I, Lana Pennington, would get my own dragon egg.

In the last nine days, every single student who had been permitted into Starsky had shown up. Not a single person had been unable to come or refused to. By now I knew almost everyone who would be in my classes.

I fiddled with the schedule, which I had gotten enchanted by one of the sorcerers at SAEDR (a lame spell, I know) so that it would never tear, weather, or be stained or ruined in any other way. It was a Day 1, which meant that my first class was Dragon Bonding. Since I didn't have a dragon yet, this class would be dedicated to finding a dragon egg of our own.

A big smile was stretched on my face. I was so excited.

"Let's go, let's go!" Amber squealed, nearly hopping up and down. 

I quickly checked the time. "Okay!" I grinned, standing up. 

Together, we hurried out of the dorm room and into the hallway. We were speed-walking down the marbled floors when I heard a voice.

"Wait up!"

I turned to see a short girl with long, curly red-amber hair jogging up to meet us. She had green eyes, fair skin, and lots of freckles. She eventually caught up to us, panting.

"Hey," the girl breathed, "Can I walk down with you guys?"

"Sure!" Amber replied sweetly.

"My name's Shana." She flipped her hair back as we walked down the long, winding hallways, towards Room 18. "Shana Fiorina," She added.

"Fiorina," Amber murmured. "I've heard that name before somewhere..."

"Um, about that," Shana seemed a little hesitant to talk about it, but she continued. 

"For as long as I can remember, I've lived with dragons. My dragon parents told me they found me in the forest and couldn't bear to leave me alone. The Fiorina Dragon Clan is a well-known Clan of wild dragons. I'm assuming that's where you've heard the name before," She explained.

"You lived with dragons?" I exclaimed, floored.

Her voice was sheepish as she replied, "Yeah."

"Anyways, what's your name?" Shana changed the subject.

"My name's Lana," I smiled. "And I'm Amber," Amber added.

"Pleased to meet you!" Shana nodded to each of us in turn. 

"You as well," Amber and I responded in sync. We laughed quickly.

"We're here!" I pointed out as we came to a large wooden door with a brass label on it - ROOM 18.

"Let's go get our dragons!" Shana yipped.

---------------------------

"My name is Professor Nunda. For this year, I will be your instructor on bonding with and training your dragon."

There was a chorus of greetings from the excited class of 20 students.

Professor Nunda was a very short man, with a dragon of his own that was a shade of violet. He had a white beard nearly as tall as himself - I wondered briefly if he was even a human, because I had learned that fairies hair grew very, very fast - unlike their bodies.

"As you all know, you don't have your own dragons yet. In this first class of Dragon Bonding you will receive your egg, and your first mission will be to keep it warm, safe, and comfortable." Professor Nunda explained.

"Well," the short man continued, "Why delay it? Everyone, follow me. We're going down to the Nursery for you all to find and connect with your eggs."

The few minutes of walking up to the Nursery seemed like hours. 

But we were finally there.

"How this is going to work will be like this - one by one, students will walk into the room. The telepathic connection you feel with your dragon will be instantaneous. You will know within seconds, or less, which egg belongs to you." Professor Nunda's voice croaked.

"Who wants to go first?"

Every single person raised their hand.

"Alright, alright. Dylan Octavius, you can go first." Professor Nunda waved at him. Dylan cheered quietly and then turned towards the closed wooden doors. Slowly he approached them, and swung them open by the golden handle.

There was a moment of held breaths as everyone tried to peer inside the room. I didn't manage to see inside because of everyone else crowding in front of me, but I heard some awed gasps and oohs from in front of me.

Dylan closed the doors behind him, hiding his pearly white head, and there was a long silence as everyone waited for him to come out. It didn't take long. After less than half a minute the doors creaked back open and everyone stretched to look at the egg in his hands.

It was beautiful.

The egg was a beautiful sky blue with intricate, swirling white patterns on it. The egg seemed to shine under the sunlight stretching down from a window at the end of the hallway. Dylan was cradling it, holding it close to his heart, nuzzling it with his chin, looking like he would never let go of it.

"Shana Fiorina, you next." Professor Nunda called out our new friend's name.

"Me?" She exclaimed, and jogged away from me and Amber to find her dragon egg. I smiled as I imagined how excited she must be.

"Dylan," Professor Nunda closed the silence as he addressed Dylan. The white-haired boy was murmuring to the egg, his eyes closed, but when he heard his name he looked at the Professor.

"How do you feel right now? You can tell the class."

"I feel," Dylan cocked his head, scanning the crowd of kids waiting for his answer. 

"I feel complete." He finished, looking back down at the beautiful egg in his gentle hands.

Then the doors opened once more and Shana stepped out. Her steps were slow and soft as she held an unusually small green egg in her hands. Veins stretched across it, like a leaf's. Shana slowly made her way back to us. I watched the egg in awe, placing my hand on it, feeling how textured it was.

A girl named Abigail Lovell went next. She came out with a bright pink egg that ombréd to purple. Little white polka dots covered it as well. She couldn't stop smiling. 

Then a boy named Zachary Goldner went. He came back out with a pearly white egg and a pearly white smile.

Lucinda. A smooth, lavender colored egg. 

Savannah. A beautiful emerald green egg with faded black spots.

Chaddick. A dark purple egg with swirling black waves.

Dhara. A shocking, glossy, rainbow colored egg.

A kid named Sean, with an egg that appeared to be made of solid gold.

"Lana Pennington."

I gasped. 

"Good luck, Lana!" Amber grinned at me. I turned to her with a genuine smile. "I don't think I'll need it." We laughed briefly and then I turned, nearly running towards the Nursery doors.

I rested my hand on the handle for just a moment, my heart fluttering, before I swung it open.

In front of me was a surprisingly small room. The floor was hay, probably for insulation or something like that. All around the room were pedestals, with concave tops to support the cushioning nests that I saw. Some of the pedestals were empty. I let the doors shut behind me.

I turned around, taking in all the eggs.

And then I stopped.

As if it had an aura of golden light surrounding it, I could not look away from the egg. I stumbled forward, my eyes never leaving it, until I was standing right over it. The egg itself was primarily a shade of royal blue, with scattered, lighter patterns. Rivers of indigo and black made their way around the egg.

"You," I whispered to nobody. I leaned down, crouching, and rested my hand on the perfect, perfect egg. 

"You." I repeated, feeling my eyes tear up. The sensible part of me, which was confused at why my emotions were so dramatic, was not in control. Raw love surged through me at the thought of this egg. I understood why everyone else had been so affected by this room.

"I will never leave you." I murmured to the egg, scooping it up very carefully and cushioning it with my arms. I rested my forehead on it for a brief second before slowly making my way to the door. 

I used my back to open the door, never moving my hands from supporting the egg, and kept my gaze on it every step of the way back towards Shana and Amber, who were waiting expectantly.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Amber reached out and patted the egg gently.

I smiled. "Isn't it?" I felt ready to burst into tears; happy tears. 

A girl named Morgan Sparrow was called next. She came out with a cerulean blue egg with patches of beige. I was not paying attention to anyone else, though. Somehow, even after mere minutes with the dragon egg I was holding, I would give my life for it. I would bleed out to save it.

"Amber Starseer."

Amber gasped, her sky blue eyes lighting up. "Me! it's my turn!" She said giddily, and I watched as she headed through the doors. Once again, it didn't take long for her to step back out.

Amber's egg was gorgeous. It's shape was slightly more defined than my egg's, with beautiful, intricate patterning all around it. Her egg reminded me of the ocean - all kinds of blue shades splattered on it to create a beautiful array of color.

Amber herself looked as if she was sleep walking. She was definitely in a trance, like I and all the other students were and had been; walking slowly, focusing on nothing but the pure emotion she felt for the dragon inside the egg.

The last few people went, and by the time every student had a dragon egg, it had been nearly the whole hour of class. I could barely believe it was still the morning - and first class period at that.

"Alright," Professor Nunda rasped.

Everyone looked up at him briefly before once again peering down at their new dragon eggs.

"As we all know, it's impossible to focus on anything but your dragon at first - even when it's still an egg. Until the eggs hatch you are all off classes in order to make sure your egg is healthy, warm, safe, and comfortable, as we discussed before. The eggs will all hatch within three days, so on the fourth day classes will begin." the professor explained. 

"Obviously, you will need to make your egg a nest. Pedestals are already in your dorm rooms. Nesting material for your dragon egg can be collected in the Supply Room. Make sure your dragon nest is soft and warm. Now, class dismissed. Good luck!"

Amber, Shana, and I all began the walk back upstairs dowards our dorm rooms. It was a silent walk, as each of us were focused on our eggs. I had my ear pressed down onto mine to try and listen inside - to no avail, though.

I was happy.

I would give my life for the egg I held now.