The voices got quieter and quieter until we could no longer hear them, but we sat there in silence for a few minutes longer.

Once I was sure they were gone, I gripped the branch above me, preparing to climb down.

“Cedar, what are you doing?” Alea asked. “I’m leaving, I can’t stay at this place anymore, I’m _scared,_ Alea.”

She gave me a sympathetic look as I jumped to a lower branch.

“Cedar, you c...

The lush green forest looked like something from a fairytale, but I didn’t get much time to admire it as Leo and I ran through the trees.

I didn’t ask questions, just ran.

Eventually, my lungs were screaming and I collapsed to the ground, my vision going blurry.

I freaked out, but eventually, my eyes cleared. I was still gasping for air, but at least I knew I was alive. Leo helped me up. “You oka...

“What’s happening?” I whispered to Leo. He was a few inches taller than me, so he had to lean over when he said “role.”

“Timothee Tramónd,” a voice said from above the main hall, a large, glittering, castle-like structure where the headmistress and other leaders lived.

I had been there yesterday to meet with them. “Leo Fartwinkle.”

Leo walked up to a large gray pole and held his wrist to a small ...

I woke up very early the next morning, Alea, Kai, and Leo still asleep.

I managed to slip outside, realizing I was still wearing the same clothes I had yesterday, and I had no idea where my bags were.

The sun nearly blinded me, and I suddenly felt homesick. A stabbing pain in my stomach. I sat on the wooden deck, holding my stomach.

“Homesick?” I heard someone say.

I turned and saw Leo standing be...

The room was split into three different halves.

Alea’s was in the far right corner. She dragged me over. Her bed was a circle, with a half-dome over the back of it made from the same material as the dorm, with pink covers and lightly colored pillows to match.

Her desk was against the glass wall of the building, covered in messy sketches of all different sorts of animals. The desk itself was medium...

The dormitories were _insane. _I wasn’t sure how they worked though.

Boys and girls separate?

Separated by talent?

Everyone just went where they wanted?

Turns out, none of the above. According to Leo, the room chose you. Lucky me, I didn’t have a power yet, and that was how they chose.

Each dorm was about ten feet off of the ground on something like a large tree stump. They were all in a large se...

The pavilion was huge, roughly the size of a football field. The clear, shimmering, octagon-shaped tiles sparkled in the sunlight.

A small gazebo sat near the end of the pavilion at the far left, that’s where Leonard was leading me.

A boy and a girl that looked about my age, 15-16 years old, were talking near the side.

They stopped when they saw Leo.

The girl had long wavy black hair, amber eyes...

Am I a troubled teen? Mabey. Although “troubled” doesn’t _necessarily_ apply to what I am.

My parents are the living definition of “a picture of perfection”. Top of all their classes in college, perfect teeth, perfect smile, perfect hair, perfect personality, perfect powers, perfect everything. The _only_ thing not perfect? Me.

Their not so smart, rebellious, 14-year-old, black sheep of the fam...

I wake up at 6 at the normal time as I do every day, it's an hour-long bus ride to school and school starts at 8. I roll out of bed, almost falling off, and walk downstairs to see my mom and two women. I think nothing of it; they're probably just her friends. I grab a pancake my mom made and take a seat at the dining table with the rest of them.

"Good morning," I say.

"Hello, darling. We need ...

I turned to the entrance of the camp. According to my parents, I was spending my entire summer, possibly my whole life, here.

The kids looked terrifying. I hid my hands behind my back and tried not to let my anxiety take control.

Too late.

My hands were shaking, and I knew what would happen now. I ducked as a small tree branch flew past me and landed on the cement with a loud crack.

E...