Snippet #2323403

Hallie

Blue duffel in hand, Hallie stood on the sidewalk where the taxi dropped her off. The town was still half-asleep, only a few bodies heading this way and that, nodding to her a good morning that she ignored. Pushing her white bangs aside, she turned up the volume of her Ipod, a random 30h!3 song blasting into her ears.

Draped over the top of her duffel bag was the laundromat plastic containing her school uniform, two sets of skirts and pants with plenty of shirts. All on hangars and all pressed to perfection. It had come that way, and Hallie refused to wear it.

One passerby noticed the uniform though and stopped at once with a smile. "You're heading to the academy?" she asked, not that Hallie could hear her that well. She was okay at reading lips though, and nodded once with a straight line mouth.

Tugging out one ear bud, she listened as the strange woman with the purple dress directed her to the bus station. "Students ride for free," she said happily. "I didn't think the semester was starting so soon. Are you excited?"

Hallie pasted on an obviously fake smile. Sarcastically she answered, "Totes!" and dragged her bag away, frown pulling her eyebrows down with it.

The bus ride was smelly. Hallie grimaced to the driver, deciding the sour BO mingled with candy canes was coming from him. He took tried to strike up a conversation, but she didn't respond, hazel eyes gazing out to the green trees while random bass beats pumped through the ear buds, the words of whatever singer lost on her as she wondered why she agreed to come here in the first place.

She knew why. She did want to control her "ability," so that she would finally have some peace. But already the area lacked the any sort of interest for her. Quaint little cafes. Friendly people. Free bus rides. It felt like a cookie cutter suburb and it disgusted her.

Reaching the front gate of the school, she inhaled deeply, held it there, glanced around the school, then exhaled. It was large, she would give them that. Probably some sort of extravagant rich man trying to compensate for his lack of personality of style with generous donations to "good cause." Wouldn't surprise her in the least.

At the gate, she dropped her bag and glanced around, seeing only one other person there. She wore a blue dress with a white coat over it. Despite the early hour, the day was already growing hot. Hallie was in a tank top with black capris. This lady was wearing a coat and probably frying.

Hallie remained a good ten feet away, taking another deep breath and focusing on her mind. Recently she had discovered a slight defense to the involuntary triggering of her ability. Even when she didn't mean to, she would absorb others' emotions and take them on as her own. They twisted her thoughts, made her do things she didn't want to do, and if she was going to be manipulated by some faculty member that she didn't know the motives of, she needed every defense she could get.

So, she imagined a wall, or a cage. It changed randomly, but the idea was the same. No one could reach her emotions and she was trapped inside herself so she couldn't reach anyone else's.

Pulling her ear buds out and draping them over her shoulder casually, she asked, "New student. Where do I go?"