Starstream Academy (The Navigators Book 1)
Page 11
Kitty,” she said simply. I raised an eyebrow and her eyes widened before she began coughing, a red flush appearing on her face. Panic appeared on Silver’s features and she smacked Mrs. Hill in the back, clearing her airway easily. Mrs. Hill coughed a few more times before waving her hand and giggling weakly, her hand waving frantically. “Oh crap she’s gonna be mad at me,” Mrs. Hill groaned before rubbing her head and shifting in her seat.
“Who?” I asked feeling more confused than anything else. Mrs. Hill rubbed her head before shrugging helplessly.
“Me,” I heard growled. I looked up and swallowed nervously when I found Madam Matron standing near the elevators and glaring at Mrs. Hill. Mrs. Hill coughed into her blue hand before looking back and laughing weakly.
“Hey Kitty,” she said with a relaxed tone. Madam Matron glared at her before walking over and looking down at me then Silver.
“What are the two of you doing up? Its three in the morning,” she growled.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said weakly. Madam Matron shot me a look before focusing on Mrs. Hill and nodding her head to the elevator.
“Go to bed. I’ll talk to the girls,” she said, taking one of the empty seats and leaning forward. Mrs. Hill pouted before leaning forward and laying across the bar table, shooting Madam Matron looks every once in a while.
“Can’t I just stay for once?” she asked, well more like whined. Madam Matron shot her a look before rolling her eyes and reluctantly nodding, her eyes rolling to me after a moment.
“Have the dreams returned?” she asked in concern. I nodded before grabbing one of the cookies and sighing tiredly.
“They’re not nightmares, but now just…memories. They seemed to be focused on the original Neutral Navigator. Betty Joe,” I said before leaning on the bar and biting into the cookie. Madam Matron frowned and did as I did, biting into her cookie before making a face and passing it to Mrs. Hill.
“I hate raisins,” she grumbled around the food in her mouth. I almost giggled, but held it in and grinned slightly as Mrs. Hill laughed at her. Madam Matron gave her a glare before swallowing the cookie and looking to me with a frown. “So the dreams are focused on Betty Joe? Anything specific?” she asked curiously. I hummed in thought while chewing on the end of my own cookie then nodded slowly.
“She was some kind of space biker….” I said before making a face in confusion. I had never really thought about my dreams before and this made Betty Joe sound weird. I noticed their confused faces as well and shrugged helplessly. “I didn’t live her life so I’m not sure what exactly led to that,” I said before grabbing my glass of milk and drinking some.
Madam Matron looked to Mrs. Hill and I looked to Silver, who was shoving another cookie into her mouth. I looked away from her and at Madam Matron, who as now tapping out a rhythm on the bar. After a moment, she looked to me seriously before getting up.
“We should talk to the headmaster,” she began, but Mrs. Hill scoffed. Madam Matron shot her a glare, but the other woman ignored her.
“You know Gregory is very selective with what he deals with Kitty,” she asked. Madam Matron colored before crossing her arms over her chest and waving her hand towards me.
“What do you suggest we do? Gregory is the only one who has dealt with a Neutral Navigator before,” she snapped. Mrs. Hill scowled and I didn’t want to cause a fight between the two so I moved to say something, but the scene before me reminded me of something. A memory that wasn’t supposed to be mine. My head suddenly began to hurt and I dropped my glass, grabbing my head and leaning forward to hopefully calm the pain. I heard the fighting die down, but kept my head bowed and near the table. “Rose Mary? Are you alright?” I heard. I lifted my head and the three recoiled, their eyes going wide.
“Wh-What’s wrong?” I asked gritting my teeth in pain as another spike of agony lanced through my head.
“Your eyes are changing colors. White to grey then black,” Silver said quietly. I swallowed and slowly slid to the ground, placing my head against a cabinet door before relaxing when the pain faded. I heard quiet foot fall before a gentle hand touched my shoulder and I looked up tiredly. Madam Matron was looking at me in worry and Mrs. Hill was standing behind her with an arm around Silver to keep her still.
“Are you alright?” Madam Matron asked. I sluggishly nodded and she mirrored it before slowly moving to her feet, pulling me up along with her. My knees felt weak and they almost buckled underneath me, but after a moment I felt steadier. I leaned against the bar and sighed tiredly before rubbing my face while Madam Matron looked to Mrs. Hill. “She needs to see Headmaster Rockefeller Deb,” Madam Matron said.
Mrs. Hill made a sound of anger before reluctantly nodding and looking to Silver. “Go wake your teammates,” she ordered. Silver nodded and ran for the stairs instead of the elevator, leaving the three of us alone.
“I’m okay. I’m just tired,” I said before rubbing my head again.
“That’s why you almost collapsed from pain right now. Follow me,” Madam Matron said, leading me from the kitchen area and to some couches off to the side. Mrs. Hill followed, helping me sit while Madam Matron looked to her. “I’m going to go get Gregory,” she said. Mrs. Hill nodded before sitting at my side while Madam Matron ran off.
“You okay kid?” she asked. I nodded before sighing tiredly and leaning back in my seat. I was really getting tired of these headaches and stuff. I was about to begin dozing, but the elevator opened and Gypsy ran out with Eagalia and Lollipop on her shoulders. Leatre and Silver bouncing out of the elevator after her and I couldn’t help but laugh. Mrs. Hall snickered before standing and walking over, holding her hands up when Gypsy growled at her. “Calm down Miss Crystal. Rose Mary is sitting on the couches,” she said, nodding to me.
Gypsy’s head snapped in my direction and she rushed over, dropping Lollipop and Eagalia on another couch before sitting and beginning to look me over. Lollipop and Eagalia shot her a glare before looking to me in concern while Leatre and Silver sat on the remaining couches. “Gypsy, I’m okay,” I said, gently grabbing her hands to calm her down. She had gotten more protective of us and while I thought it was cute sometimes, I wasn’t in the mood to be fussed over. She paused, her eyes searching my face before her ears flicked back and she looked away.
“Sorry,” she said lowly. I grimaced at her downtrodden look and released her hands before leaning into her. She wrapped me in a hug and I sighed again before tiredly closing my eyes.
“So what happened to Rosie?” I heard. I opened my eyes slowly and looked to Eagalia, who was now standing and shooting me looks every once in a while.
“Something about her ability,” Mrs. Hill reported, looking up when a door opened. I wanted to look up, but Gypsy was really comfortable and I didn’t want to move. I kept my head resting on her chest as the headmaster moved around the couches and kneeled in front of me. He looked tired and his pajamas were messy. He blinked a few times before narrowing his eyes at me and blinking in shock.
“You shouldn’t be that advanced yet,” he mumbled. I looked to him in confusion and he quickly stood before looking to Gypsy. “I’m going to have to take Rosie to my office,” he said. Gypsy let out a low growl and I patted her knee before pulling myself from her embrace.
“I’ll be okay. I need to go,” I said, looking to her and finding that she was frowning deeply. I gave her and the others a weak smile before following the headmaster out of the dorms and down the dimly lit path to the main offices building. We walked in silence and I was thankful when we got into the building and began our climb to his office. When we got inside, he led me over to Henny and turned her on.
“Gregory? Its four in the morning. What’s going on?” Henny asked in confusion.
“I need you to scan Rosie’s eyes. Something’s wrong with them,” he said. He waved me over and I shuffled to Henny’s side before leaning forward and allowing her sensors to hit my eyes. It took a moment before Henny stopped and she gasped lightly.
“Hyper sensing?” I said lightly, looking to Headmaster Rockefeller. He was pacing so I took a seat and leaned back, watching as he stopped before looking to me.
“All Navigators have a precognitive sense of probable future. The better they know their target the easier it is to predict what they will do and how they will do it. It gives us the illusion of being able to predict the future. All Neutrals get this sense and it jumps. Imagine being able to see every probable outcome to something, all at once,” he said.
I swallowed in horror, but he was back to pacing. “Neutrals have this sense, but it filters out the more outrageous outcomes and the top three are presented to the Navigator before they know it. It’s a Hyper sense,” he finished.
“So I can kind of predict the future of a fight if I research my enemy?” I said. He nodded slowly before looking to me.
“More or less. I’m just trying to figure out why it’s happening to you so soon. The others were well into their twenties when they first developed it,” he said with a dark frown.
“What about Betty Joe?” I asked. He stopped and looked to me before rubbing his chin.
“She was about your age, maybe a year older. Seventeen if I remember correctly from the files,” he said thoughtfully before he walked over to his chair and took a seat. “Your mind is changing and evolving Rosie. You’ve become so much more than before and yet you still don’t have all the tools. I promise you that I will take every available moment to help you grow into your new role,” he said. I frowned deeply, but remained silent as something rang on his desk.
He quickly got up and headed over, grabbing a red phone and answering it smoothly before he waved his hand in my direction to dismiss me. Nodding, I slowly stood and headed out of the room, feeling worried about my newest ability and wondering if it was ever going to stop growing.
Chapter 14
Holiday
I stood in the snow, watching as Gypsy and Leatre lobbed snowballs at one another, growling in anger. Eagalia and Lollipop were laughing while Silver made a snow man. Some other students were doing the same as us while others hurried from outside to inside. The holiday month was a welcome distraction and I ducked when another snowball almost nailed me in the head.
Gypsy shot me an apologetic look, but I waved her off before grinning when Leatre hit her in the back of the head. She growled and shifted into her wolf form before scooping up a large mound of snow and running at her. I shook my head at their playfulness before turning back to Lollipop and Eagalia. Both of them were drinking from two different colored thermoses and talking about something I couldn’t hear. Silver was still in the middle of building a snow man so I took a seat then flopped back to make a snow angel.
Christmas was coming up and I was excited because we were actually going to celebrate it. Leatre, Eagalia and Gypsy had been curious about the holiday so Silver, Lollipop and I had promised to show them everything about it. I had spoken to Tulip and Daisy and they were going to come down soon and spend the next three weeks of their break to hang out with me. Mom and pop weren’t talking to me, but that was alright, don’t get me wrong I was still upset, but since I could do nothing about it, I was just going to ignore it.
I grinned as more snow fell from the sky and relaxed, continuing to make my snow angel while listening to the others. My dreams had calmed again so I was getting rest, but I did have the odd night where I would go bake to calm down. Usually someone woke up and followed me down. Silver, Gypsy and Lollipop were the top contenders when it came to keeping me company. I think it was because of the sweets I made though.
I was drawn from my musing when Lollipop thrusted a thermos near my face and raised an eyebrow. I sat up and looked at her in confusion while she rolled her eyes before opening the top and placing it under my nose. I inhaled deeply and relaxed when I realized it was hot chocolate, taking the thermos and beginning to drink. Lollipop grinned before taking a seat at my side and drinking from her own, looking at me from the corner of her eye. “How is it?” she asked offhandedly. I finished the liquid in my mouth and gave her a smile before raising the thermos.
“It’s really good. Did you make it?” I asked curiously. She grinned, a light red dusting her cheeks, while she nodded. Her grin became cocky and she jerked her thumb towards her chest while looking at me.
“Yeah. Totally made it from scratch too. For a wolf, Gypsy has some kind of weird obsession with chocolate,” she said with a snort. I snicker before looking up as Gypsy and Leatre hit the ground, wresting in the snow playfully. I grinned a little wider before looking to Lollipop, who was frowning a bit. I frowned as well before gently grabbing her shoulder, watching as her eyes snapped towards me before softening. “Sorry boss. I was thinking about something,” she said lowly before her smile returned. It wasn’t as bright, but it was genuine so I gave her a smile back before looking over and watching as Gypsy made Leatre tap out before she bounced to her feet. She helped Leatre up then bounded over, sitting in front of Lollipop and I before cocking her head to the side.
“Is that hot chocolate?” she asked, her eyes lighting up while her tail began to swish behind her. I nodded and extending my thermos out to her, laughing when she eagerly took it and drank some.
“That was for you boss,” Lollipop grumbled. I looked to her and found she was scowling at Gypsy so I nudged her gently. Lollipop glared at me for a moment before pouting and drinking from her thermos angrily. Gypsy passed me my thermos back before looking to Lollipop and frowning.
“Are you okay? You look mad,” she said. Lollipop looked ready so say something so I interfered, moving between them and patting Lollipop’s leg. She jerked and gave me a look before sighing and running a hand through her hair.
“I’m fine,” she grumbled before taking another sip of her drink. I took a drink from my own then closed the top before leaning against Gypsy since she was like a furnace.
“So you’re going to make cookies later?” she asked excitedly. Almost like a beacon, Silver’s head popped up from her snowman and she walked over, sitting down in front of us with wide eyes.
“Cookies?” she asked with a grin. I was beginning to think she had an addiction and I was enabling her. I gave her a grin and nodded before looking to Gypsy.
“I need to go to the student store and get some cookie cutters and stuff. Can you and Lollipop come with me?” I asked, looking to Lollipop. She gave me a grin before she got up and pulled me to my feet.
“Sure boss,” she said. Gypsy bounced up and grabbed my thermos from the ground, holding it out for me to take. I grabbed it and led them through the snow covered courtyard to one of the smaller building on the left of the school. Even though town had a bigger selection, I didn’t feel like going into town until this weekend. I was going to get everyone a gift at that time. I smiled before forcing it away and walking with them into the student store.
Our trip was short, Gypsy and Lollipop snagging a lot of chocolate and marshmallows before we left. I was supposed to be making sugar cookies, but sometimes they wanted some s’mores or something. I just shook my head as we walked back to the dorms and headed over to the student kitchen area. No one was around so I began setting up to make sugar cookies, Gypsy hovering nearby. “Can you shift back into your human form?” I asked, grabbing a few measuring cups and spoons as well as some of the other ingredients.
I turned back to her and watched as she shifted back and gave me a smile. I returned it and began baking, humming lowly as I worked. The cookies were made and frosted before being packed away and put up for later, Gypsy beaming as she got to eat the remaining cookie dough.
“Enjoying the holiday?” I heard. I looked up and grinned when I found Tulip and Daisy were on the other side of the bar, students stopping to stare at them in awe. They were dressed in identical designer outfits
and I blinked in shock when I found that they both had a grey streak through their hair.
“Hey you dyed your hair,” I said with a smile, walking out of the kitchen and hugging them. Gypsy and Lollipop followed after me with smiles on their faces and their hands weighed down with containers of cookies. I moved away from them and the five of us quickly headed back up to our room then inside, where Silver and Leatre were decorating. Eagalia looked up from a paper packet before almost tearing it, her eyes widening.
“G-Galaxy Girls,” she stuttered out. Silver spun around and screamed, which caused Leatre to yelp in terror and brandish the Christmas star like a weapon. Leatre almost dropped it as she burst into tears and I noticed both Tulip and Daisy were looking to me with raised eyebrows.
“Is this always going to happen-,” Daisy began.
“When we come over?” Tulip finished. I shrugged helplessly and they mirrored it before coming in and heading over to my bed.
“So our manager loved our new hair style and we’re going to be staying in this room with you and your team,” Daisy reported before taking a seat on my bed and running a hand through her hair. Tulip was fiddling with a suitcase and I took a seat next to Daisy. Silver and Leatre were still panicking, but I ignored them and looked to Gypsy, who was trying to open one of the containers. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my sisters, who were beginning to speak about where they were going to sleep.
“You guys used to sleep in the same bed all the time. You can share mine. I don’t mind taking the ground,” I said with a shrug. The twins frowned before nodding while Gypsy’s head seemed to pick up and she looked to me.
“One of them can use my bed. I used to sleep on the ground at home anyway,” she said with a shrug. I looked to her curiously, but she shook her head before opening the container and looking at me. I nodded and she beamed, grabbing one of the cookies and shoving it into her mouth excitedly. I rolled my eyes at her before looking to Daisy and Tulip, who were now talking to Silver and Leatre. The two were still freaking out, but it was much quieter now and Eagalia seemed to be trying to join in.