The dining hall, like the rest of the school, was painted in white and orange themes. A line of serving stands faced an outdoor patio of round dinner-tables. In the evening light, the whole setup reminded Minerva of an Italian sidewalk cafe.
"The view is great isn't it?" A voice spoke beside her. Minerva whirled around, surprised by the astonishing deep voice, like a low cello note. Beside her, Virgil, in his orange polo shirt, stood, a hand casually inserted in his short pocket. The translucent ring was still on finger.
Minerva silently cursed and darted her eyes across the room, searching for Catherine. She found her talking to another girl with purple dyed hair in a far corner. She caught Minerva's gaze and gave a mischievous smile.
She glared at Catherine. I need help here.
Catherine, still smiling gave a thumbs up with both hands.
She sent a panicked look. What do I do?!
Talk to him!, Catherine mouthed.
She turned to speak to him and found herself alone on the paved walkway. Virgil was gone.
Fuming with rage, she hurried over to where Catherine was still talking to the strange girl. Noticing her approach, she beamed a smile. "Hey Minnie! I'd like you to meet Amelia. She's my good friend, and a member of the council.
Amelia shook the bangs out of her eyes and gave her a cool smile. "Hey Minnie." "Hello Amelia. So sorry to interrupt, but could you excuse Catherine for a moment?" She shrugged. "Take your time. I'll save us a table." She walked off to the serving stands. Minerva faced Catherine and bared a furious smile. "So, you abandoned me, then left me with a guy I barely know." She spoke through clenched teeth. Catherine feigned insult. "You know Virgil, he read your letter remember?"
Minerva gave her a silent stare.
Finally, she cracked and burst into laughter. "Okay, I swear it wasn't my plan for you two to meet, but you looked so funny I couldn't bring myself to stop the conversation! Luckily he walked away before anything embarrassing happened, or I would have keeled over laughing!"
Minerva pouted and tapped her foot, irritated. "Well I'm sure he thinks I'm crazy now, or deaf, thanks to your little comedy skit."
"Relax, Minnie. The way I see it, Virgil finds you interesting. He barely stops to talk to people in general, even his own council members. He must be really interested in you to talk to you a second time."
"He didn't really talk to me the first time, but not that it matters."
"Consider yourself lucky to be spoken to by that Adonis." She gestured over to where he stood on the food line a few paces away. "Everyone wants to talk to him. Look around." A few paces away a trio of girls watched him get his food and sighed longingly. Another girl, dark skinned with gold rimmed glasses, listened as he ordered his food, mesmerized by his voice. "He's probably going to sit with us tonight; there aren't any free tables where he can sit alone." he walked purposefully towards the line and beckoned Minerva to follow. "Come on! I've got people you need to meet."
Minerva, Catherine and Amelia sat at a large round table. On the other side sat Klaus, A dark skinned teen with dread-locked hair, and two twin boys. The twins wore the exact same clothing, and ate each bite of their food at the same time, staring at their food with murderous intent. And Virgil, glasses set neatly beside him on the table, absentmindedly sipped from a juice box. Catherine introduced the twins as "Phobos and Deimos, although they prefer to be called Phoby and Damon, if you don't mind. Klaus is a fourth year, and then there's Malik, a second year. Amelia and I are sixth years, and Phoby and Damon are newcomers, just like you. You'll be seeing them a lot over the term, so it's best to get to know them now."
"Hi Phoby, hi Damon," Minerva said shyly.
The two boys nodded once, neither saying a word.
"Virgil's a sixth year too, but I'm pretty sure you already figured that out. I'll leave everyone to introduce themselves further."
Amelia spoke first. "I'm in the transitioning metals house, which is the most popular house by the way, not that it matters. I kept on wondering why I kept snapping my guitars strings before I came here, then I got robbed and accidentally made the gun explode. I have an affinity for steel and nickel."
Malik spoke in low tones, briefly pausing to take bites of food. "I have an affinity for quartz and marble, although i don't know their chemical make up yet. Since we're talking about manifestations, I kind of turned my uncle's floor into sand during mine. He's still pretty mad at me, and a major part of the reason I'm here. I'm in M.N.M.G house, and I like pottery."
Phoby and Damon spoke turn by turn. "We have an affinity for Alkali metals. Mine is sodium." Phoby started.
"And mine is potassium."Damon finished. Due to the extremely reactive natures of our affinities, during our manifesting we caused serious damage."
"Although we'd like not to talk about it, if that's alright." Phoby continued.
The other friends nodded, understanding. Not all manifests were funny or comical. Some claimed serious mutilations... and even lives.
Klaus spoke next. "I have an affinity for oxygen and hydrogen. I'm in M.N.M.G house, although I'm sure most of you know that from my incident earlier today. I'd just like to point out that I'm actually good at controlling my temper. I just hate cocky brats who stroll in here thinking they're hot stuff. Trust me, if Cathy hadn't stepped in, I would have blown that guy all the way to Alkali house."
Everyone giggled. Klaus had a comical temperament, like an Irish brawler. But then Minerva watched Catherine look pointedly at Virgil, who sighed and put down his juice box. "I'm Virgil. I have an affinity for Neon and oxygen. I'm in M.N.M.G house, and a member of the student council."
"What's with the ring?" Minerva blurted before she even knew she was speaking.
"Believe it or not, I have severe difficulty holding back the intensity of my power. This ring is actually made out of compressed oxygen that i constantly will to take this shape." He took off the ring and Minerva watched with awe as it expanded rapidly into nothing. Immediately the air around them moved with new energy, seeming to attract around Virgil like an invisible shroud. It was only three seconds after he had willed the ring away and she had already found it difficult to breathe.
"Okay Virgil, will it back now," Catherine spoke through labored breaths. Virgil furrowed his brows in concentration, and the air around his pinkie condensed into a circular shape. "The energy I use to maintain the ring shape keeps my power at a certain limit, so I'm not a danger to others. When I first manifested, I almost asphyxiated my dog."
Nobody spoke except Catherine, who stifled a laugh. Minerva rolled her eyes and began to think. Someone with Virgil's amount of power would be incredibly dangerous if agitated. She now understood why most of the students avoided him, and the others adored him. What sort of job would this individual have? He could easily stroll through the campus, immediately suffocating anyone who came within ten meters of him. The air condensed around his body would deflect any missiles or projectiles. A simple minute of concentration could crush your body in a field of incredibly pressurized air.
Sitting opposite her, sipping a juice box, a bored expression on his face, was the most powerful and dangerous student in this whole school.