Stop the fight!

"Hey, hey!" I clumsily pushed myself between them, not even completely sure of what I was doing myself.

"Who do you think you are?" The catty girl arguing with Nyx spat at me.

"We shouldn't be arguing!" I sputtered. Onyx was blinking in disbelief at what I had just done. Still, somehow her delight in the fact that I was there seemed to shove aside anything else she might have been feeling at that moment.

"Kailyn! You're in my group!" She slapped my back a bit too forcefully.

"Oww!" I whined, trying to rub my shoulder.

"Look here, Rah-lee-lee," Onyx was apparently mocking this girl's name, "Kailyn here is my friend and she will back me up on anything. So, you just stay out of our way." Nyx folded her arms over her chest and stood in a smug sort of way, looking down her nose at the girl who clenched her teeth. I felt uneasy, not pleased with being thrown onto either side of this argument, whatever it had been about.

"Ugh, of course this loser would be your friend," She rolled her eyes. "Get it, girl!" She looked at me. "My name is Raleigh, not 'Rah-lee-lee' or whatever this witch wants to call me. You had better never do the same thing!" Then she stomped a few paces away from us.

"Kay-lee-lee~" Nyx playfully called me as she draped one arm around me. "I'm so glad you're in this group, too! If I'd been stuck with only Rah-lee-lee over there, then I don't know what I'd do." She playfully made gagging noises.

"You know her?" I inquired. "What did she ever do to you?"

"Ugh, what hasn't she done?" Onyx sighed. "I've known her since I was like five, and she has always just been the worst!"

"But it's kind of amazing that you both ended up at this academy, isn't it? Maybe it's time to start a new leaf with each other," I suggested. Onyx only sighed again, shaking her head as though it could never happen.

After our group gathered, our representative led us to our hall. The walk from the main academy building to the dormitory building was an insanely long one. This place was just way too massive. The dormitory building had at its center a huge atrium-like glass dome that loomed over a large hallway which broke into smaller hallways at different intervals. At either side of this large hallway were study areas with walls lined with bookshelves, and there seemed to be some sort of indoor garden there on either side as well.

Eventually, our trek broke off into one of the smaller hallways and then into our common room, fully decorated with comfortable furniture, a snack bar, a gaming area, and even a more secluded and quiet reading area. The common room had a large desk that sat before a glass elevator which appeared to lead up to the dormitories themselves. Our representative went behind the desk and called for our attention.

"As you know, I am Suzie, or Miss Suzie if you like. I'll be your representative and your 'hall mom,' as it were, during the day." She pointed across the common room to another large desk where a man stood speaking to a group of boys I didn't recognize. "That is Mister Grover. He will also be here during the day to help support you, as that group of boys over there and you girls here will share this common area. This evening when you are called down for dinner, you will meet your evening representatives, alright?"

Miss Suzie was young and softspoken. She was pretty small for an adult, but still looked like she could easily have a temper, so I needlessly felt a bit intimidated by her. She went over a few of the basic rules, like no boys in our dormitory hall and no sneaking out after curfew, the kinds of things you would expect. Then, she led us up to the third floor on the glass elevator, pointing out the staircases along the way. Once we reached the third floor, she told us to go and choose our rooms.

Choose our own rooms? Really? The idea was strange to me, but the other girls hurriedly ran to have a look at the rooms. Onyx rushed off quickly on her long, thin legs and was down at the very end of the hall before I knew it. I was at the same pace with another girl who seemed quite sweet. She went by Jade, though her name in her native language was a bit different.

Jade had a soft cyan color to her hair that went just past her shoulders in a gentle wave. Her bluish-green eyes were vibrant and inviting, though her shyness and mine probably would not have made much for conversation. She chose a room right at the middle of the hall and smiled at me as she came back out.

"You should choose the one next to mine," her grin was cute and endearing. But at nearly the same time, Onyx was waving at me and calling.

"Come choose the room across from me!" She said.

Which room should I choose, I wondered...

>>> The room next to Jade's.

>>> The room across from Onyx's.