The Two Worlds by Alisha Howard Page A

can do our part to save the
rain forest!” Fellow classmate Tempest Nolan peered down her trendy
glasses at the rest of the class and shook her shoulder length
blonde hair from eyes as she droned on and on. I gave an inward
groan and stretched my legs underneath the desk in front of me.
Science class was about as interesting to me as watching Mince
grow. Reaching down into my book bag, I pulled out my DiGi and
flipped it open.
     
    10 p.m. Earth Time / 2
p.m. Turgor Time
    Meeting with Senior
Counsel
     
    “ What do you think they
want?” I asked Nia later on when we met for lunch.
    She shrugged, her mouth full as always.
“You talked to Senior Paul, right?”
    “ Tried to, but he was really
angry,” she said, little bits of food flying from her mouth. “Guess
he wasn’t as understanding as I thought he would be.”
    I looked at her in disbelief. “So, do
you think we’re in big trouble?”
    “ Don’t know.”
    “ You don’t seem to
worried!”
    “ Well, I’ve never been in
trouble with Senior Counsel before Kay!” she argued back. “I’ve
always played things by the book. What do you want me to
say?”
    “ I don’t know.” I shrugged
and looked back down at my DiGi. “I guess I’ll have to find out on
my own time.”
    My own time came far too quickly.
Before I knew it, I was sitting next to Rena, who had wide eyes and
kept shifting in her seat. We were in the basement of Paul’s home,
which was dimly lit and smelled like mold. I wondered why hadn’t
bothered to Awaken nicer things for the room, and a small voice in
the back of my head told me that we weren’t the first to be
interrogated in it. I looked around me, counting eight older men
and women, all who were part of the Counsel. Paul walked down the
basement stairs, his footsteps echoing with each step he took. I
gave Yolonda a nervous squeeze, and she gave a small yelp of
protest as he took a seat in front of us.
    “ Do you know why you have
been summoned here today?” he asked, his voice grave. He raised his
bushy eyebrows. I lifted my chin in defiance. I wasn’t going to be
the first to rat myself out.
    “ Yes,” Rena squeaked from
next to me. “I think so.”
    “ Would you care to share the
reason with the rest of the Counsel?”
    Rena sat silent for a moment and
glanced over at me. I looked straight ahead, hoping not to betray
how bad I was shaking fear.
    “ Well,” Rena began, “we used
magic without permission.”
    “ That’s right,” Senior Paul
agreed quietly. “You used magic without permission. Tell me,
Kathleena, how long have you been on Turgor?”
    I thought for a minute. “About...” I
croaked. My mouth had gone dry during the time I had been sitting
there. I cleared my throat and began again, “About three and a half
weeks.”
    “ And have you completed an
assignment yet, child?” This came from a woman with hair that
seemed to be clear. There was a faint outline that showed how her
hair was shaped, but other than that, there seemed to be no color
at all. She had midnight black eyes that didn’t show any pupils,
and her mouth held a deep purple lipstick.
    “ No, I haven’t. I just
received my first one a short while ago.”
    The woman stared at me, and the rest of
the Counsel broke into murmurs. Rena looked like she was about to
puke.
    Senior Paul addressed us again. “Do you
realize the consequences of your actions?” We reluctantly shook our
heads. “We are in a war, ladies. A war where any one false move can
toss the other side into defense and thousands of innocent people
could be killed in the process. Not only were your actions
irresponsible, they were completely thoughtless and dangerous. You
could have been killed in your little shenanigans !”
    I sat as still as a stone, watching
Paul quiver in front of us. I was scared out of my mind, but I
couldn’t allow myself to break in front of people so important. I’ll cry later, I thought to myself. Rena, on the other
hand, had already been broken.