Chapter 5 5

I had the feeling of being energized. My eyes wandered back and forth eagerly, taking in every little detail.

Tyler had headed for a plain, brown back door that I wouldn't have noticed on its own. He furtively looked around in all directions, but the other people rushed past and didn't pay any attention to us.

The examiner placed his right hand in an indentation in the wood and with his left pulled some sort of identification card out of his pocket.

With a jerky movement he swiped the card through the door slot, where the latch would normally be. A quiet clack sounded.

Tyler quickly pushed me through the open door that led us onto another platform.

From here the hustle and bustle started again.

People with suitcases, holdalls and backpacks were busy running back and forth.

There was shouting and laughter.

The smell of leather, rust, cigarettes and oil was in the air.

I looked around in amazement.

Two boys ran past me with swords and shields. I looked after them, puzzled.

A girl ran after a cat and shouted: "Cheese, come here!"

She made strange movements with her fingers.

Cheese ?

And what is the name of your mouse then?

Meat pie?

I turned away with a smile and walked on in amazement.

I saw parents saying goodbye to their children (some with more emotion than I would have liked), probably other examiners (since Tyler seemed to know them and waved or nodded to some of them) rushing to the train cars with their charges, and Girls who stumbled out of the car several times to grab their millions of suitcases and get back into the car, only to come back out again and get more bags.

I almost crashed into Tyler's back.

"So," he said and turned to me, "the train leaves in 10 minutes. Here's your ticket." he held out the ticket to me. I took it and carefully placed it in my bag.

"I have to go. To the teachers." he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"It's best to get in now."

With that he turned and ran in the direction of the first carriage.

I carefully climbed onto the train, dragging my luggage behind me.

Apparently most of the students had already decided to secure a place in a compartment. Because as I wound my way through the narrow hallway trying not to step on anyone's feet, I didn't find a single one that was empty.

The crowd of students increased and I had to squeeze into the nearest compartment to avoid falling into the claws of a horde of giant barbies.

I sighed with relief.

The compartment was empty.

No, almost empty.

Sitting at the window, leaning his head against the window pane, was a boy with his eyes closed, most likely trying to ignore me. He was maybe a year or two older than me and had golden blonde hair that fell slightly wavy over his neck and forehead.

I felt that tremendous power was coming from him.

And that made me a little nervous.

The boy sleepily opened one eye and blinked tiredly at me through a lock of hair.

His eyes were a strong emerald green.

"Hi, can I sit here?" I asked him.

He closed his eyes again.

"If you want?" he replied with a counter question.

His voice made me shiver.

Without an answer, I heaved my bags into the luggage rack.

Then I collapsed onto the opposite bench, as far away from him as possible.

Now I was sitting at the door.

I furtively blinked once in the boy's direction.

But he was still leaning motionless against the window.

I lifted my head a little and took a closer look at the stranger.

He was extremely good looking.

He sighed.

"Take a photo. It will last longer."

I stared at him in shock.

He sat up and looked me over carefully.

I became uneasy under his piercing gaze.

He pointed to the seat across from him.

"Just sit with me."

There was a soft tone in his voice that gave me goosebumps.

It sounded like a seduction.

I stood up and sat opposite him.

He held out his right hand to me.

She was tanned and her fingers were long and slender.

"I'm Len." he introduced himself. I felt like he was trying not to scare me.

I stared at his hand like an idiot.

So that was Len.

The alpha.

I wondered if I should be afraid now.

But somehow I wasn't able to do it at all. The only thing I felt was curiosity and... fascination?

So I decided against it.

Nothing with horn-rimmed glasses and faded clothes.

Len, who was still holding out his hand to me waiting, was damn hot.

"Sarina." I replied, shaking his hand. She was warm.

When I looked at him, his face was impenetrable.

A mask.

Like with me.

"First time at the academy?" he asked dismissively and looked out the window again.

His tone was neutral, as if he didn't care at all and was just asking out of politeness.

What was he actually thinking?

Either he wants to know or he doesn't!

I didn't force him to talk to me.

"Look, you don't have to act like you care. Just leave it alone, okay?" I said coldly.

He turned his head and looked at me emotionlessly.

Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"How you mean." he replied and turned his attention back to the activity on the platform.

I looked contritely at the luggage rack above the Alpha's head.

He was just trying to be nice, I remembered.

I suddenly regretted my outburst.

"Len -" I couldn't get any further.

The compartment door was thrown open and two boys stood in the frame.

Both probably Len's age.

I slid back to the door to make room for the two of them who were now pushing their way into the compartment and plopping down on the benches.

They didn't even look at me.

Maybe they didn't even see me.

They greeted their friend loudly and patted him on the shoulder.

The first person to come in was sitting to Len's right.

The second, opposite him, on the bench I was sitting on.

The person next to Mr. Sleepyhead, i.e. Len, saw something, well let's say... dangerous? out of.

A scar divided his right eyebrow and another ran diagonally from his left temple to his chin.

He had black hair and a muscular build.

The eyes were the strangest thing about him.

His pupils were narrow and his irises were a strange shade of yellow.

Like that of a cat or a crocodile.

He now stared motionless out the window while the other man talked animatedly with Len.

He seemed to be waiting for something.

Or to be wary of something.

Motionless and as quiet as a mouse.

The other seemed to be the exact opposite.

As already mentioned, he was currently talking to Len, where he was actually just talking and not letting the person he was talking to have a say at all.

His russet hair was disheveled, as if he had just fallen out of bed.

He had dark brown eyes that were about to explode with energy. He looked strangely lanky next to his two friends.

I had to suppress a smile at his charged personality.

I liked this guy from the start.

If I had looked at this situation from an outsider's perspective, I might have noticed that I was sitting in a train compartment with one of the Phoenix Academy's most popular cliques.

But I just looked at the three carefully and tried unsuccessfully to guess which animals they were.

The train slowly started moving.

I took a book out of my bag and hid behind it.

I tried as best I could to ignore the boys' laughter and concentrated on my reading material.

It was going well... until I heard my name.

I slowly lowered the book and looked into three different pairs of eyes.

Yellow, green and brown.

"Is what?" I asked.

The one with the messy hair grinned at me.

"Hi, this is my first time seeing you. You're new, right?" he said lightheartedly.

I had to smile.

"Yes, I am. I'm in the tenth." I replied.

"Cool. I'm Seth and I'm in the eleventh year." With these words he scooted closer to me and held out his hand.

I took hold of it warmly.

But hallelujah, I bet this guy has all the girls at his feet.

Same with the other two.

From the looks of these guys, tons of girls would have to faint just standing a few feet away from them.

Good thing I 'm immune to it.

Len narrowed his eyes at me.

"You probably already know Len," Seth said, pointing to him, "and that's Cody." He pointed at the black-haired man.

He looked at his friend, unsure whether he also intended to shake my hand.

He hadn't.

Cody just nodded at me briefly and then fell back into his rigidity.

Seth was just about to start talking again when the door was thrown open.

When I saw her, I knew it was time for me to leave.

I was wondering how long it would be before they showed up here.

Seth made a pained face as the first one sat on his lap.

The other two girls gave me death stares and sat on the other two's laps.

"Sorry." I mumbled and quickly left the compartment.