The Gift

Chapter Seven-Settling In

When my stomach had finally healed, and I was able to go outside and be calm, I expected to find Dani and Olivia there waiting for me. I knew I wasn't allowed to have visitors--or at least that's what the guy said, that still haven't given me his name--but I thought I would find them. But instead I saw no one I knew. Dani and Olivia were nowhere to be seen. The No Named guy hadn't visited me again since I blew up on him. I had no one, and I wasn't used to no one. I always had someone there with me. There was so many people, crowding together in different cliques but I just stood there like a dummy watching everyone.

"Nichole, right?" an old man grabbed my arm gently and I looked at him. He was in a black and purple striped tux, with a black bow, and he was balding. He had icy cold eyes that made you get the chills when he looked at you. He was definitely old.

"Um, yes, sir, it's Nichole. Where are my friends, Dani and Olivia?" I asked curiously. He smiled warmly at me.

"Well, you see here, Nichole, we have so many people here when we get new people we must transfer them somewhere else. Wherever they go is up to their power rating. How strong they are, you could say. Your friends both went different ways, leaving you here, because this is where your rating is--with everyone here," he made a long arm gesture at all the people, that made me feel sick.

"Wait, so what you're saying is Dani and Olivia are no longer here? Will I see them again?" I asked him.

"You get to see them on breaks, but every other day you are here training to get better. You get breaks one day out of the month, of your choosing. But this month we must keep you here, placing you in your dorm, settling you in with the new people. Obviously you are going to need a bit of training to understand your power. Your dorm mates will help you with that. There are five to a dorm. We are all friendly, and I will make sure to set you in a dorm that is closest to your personality and rating. It is all about being comfortable and achieving goals here, Nichole." He told me. I frowned.

"But I don't want to be here, sir. I want to be back home. My family will be worried sick--"

"Last I checked, you had a foster family, correct? Kim is your foster mother?" He asked me. I sighed and nodded, and he kept talking. "We have informed them that you have been accepted into a great school of a once in a lifetime opportunity, and that when you get the chance you will call them and say how it is going. I said the first month will be a bit busy, and that they shouldn't expect any calls for this month." He told me calmly. I sighed in defeat.

"Where am I going to sleep tonight?" I asked, but then another question came up, "And more importantly, what kind of rating do I have?"

"You are already placed in the highest rating dorm. This building has all the most talented, strongest, nicest people. And the door with the star on it will be yours. Of course it is golden. Right now you will be sharing a dorm with all guys, because the only girl in your dorm is out on a Quest. And onto the next thing, when you have your abilities figured out, and we have figured out how to keep your powers under control, you will be able to pick a partner and protect them from Rufus. You will learn more about him later, all you must know now is that he is our ultra enemy and we do not ever let him win." He told me. And then he smiled again. "I am Joseph Cooper, I will be your leader in this building. I make the rules here, and I run this place, so any issues or any other things you have you may come and work it out with me. You will learn more and more about this place as you go." He explained all too quick. All I did was nod at everything he said.

"Now, right now we are at lunch. Does not look like it, but some of these kids eat in their dorms rather then at lunch, so that they can hang out in this time rather than spend their time eating. I should probably make this break a little longer, but I'd have to work it out..." His brow furrowed in thought, and he shook his head. "I must go back to my office and work a few things out. If you need me, ask someone to escort you to my office. Too-da-loo!" He waved and quickly walked off. A few minutes after he left, a bell rang loudly, and I saw all the kids start standing up to go inside the school, and my eyes bulged. Like I wanted to be run over by these people!