All of the students rushed past her going to class. Eko was walking a lot slower than everyone else. A lot was on her mind. She had to study Elemental history and practice for another math quiz that she was pretty sure she flunked the first time.
Suddenly while she was walking, hands fell on her shoulder. "Boo!"
Eko jumped and whirled around, only to face her best friend who was laughing. "Murdock, you know how I don't like that," she chided him. "Sorry," he replied chuckling, his navy blue eyes glittering with humor. "You just seemed like you were really deep in thought."
"That's exactly why you shouldn't," Eko said aggravated. "Actually, it's exactly why I should. You gotta be careful Eko. Just because I exist, doesn't mean no one will mess with you."
"I can handle myself." Murdock just rolled his eyes. "How did you do on that test," he asked. "What test?"
"The math one."
"Oh… I don't know. I can hardly understand what language the teacher is talking in. I don't think I did well. I'm gonna retake it after school."
"You know, if you need any help, you can always ask me."
"I would've but it always makes me feel like I'm cheating," Eko sighed. Murdock smirked. "How would you think that? You're allowed to ask a friend you know." Eko just shrugged. The warning bell rang, shaking all the students. Eko shuddered. "I don't want to be late to chem, you know how the professor is." Murdock nodded. "Alright, see you later then." Eko turned to walk away through the nearly empty halls. "And Eko," he said, calling to her one last time. "Be a little more careful next time okay."
"Okay, okay," she promised emptily.
Eko wanted to fall asleep. This lecture is even less indulging than yesterday, she thought gloomily to herself and she glanced down at her paper, sketching. She looked up and stared hard at the board before sighing and raising her hand. "Yes Eko," the professor called her. "Would you like to answer the question." Eko shrunk back. "Uh actually I was just going to ask to go use the bathroom." The teacher glared at her before dismissing her with a wave of her hand. Eko stood up and left the classroom.
She took a deep breath in. Oh I needed that.
She walked around a corner to where the water fountain was and spotted two other girls talking in hushed tones. Eko froze when she heard a familiar name come from their mouths. "I can't believe that Linda almost yielded yesterday in the field," one whispered incredulously. "She's such a disappointment. I never should have put so much trust in her, she's just a basic. That hybrid almost got her. How come she gets to be on the team, she only has one element."
"I know, the coach never picks the good guys. Like I'm standing over here, hello!"
Without thinking, Eko stepped out from the corner. "Hey," she called out unsteadily. The two girls' faces turned to look at her, seeming frightened for a moment. "Don't talk about Linda like that. She works hard to get to her position. You're just jealous that an earth type surpasses you." There was a long pause of silence before the girls burst into laughter.
"Look, it's that weakling. The one who is practically powerless," the ravenette said. The other girl who had fossil grey colored eyes squinted at Eko like she was a bug. She took a couple of steps toward her. "What are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be in class?" She shoved Eko back harshly. "What I'm doing is none of your business," she replied. The girl with grey eyes made a face. "If that's none of our concern then why are you trying to pop into our conversation," she demanded. Eko was about to answer when she shut her mouth and stared at her, unsure. The girl in front of her rolled her eyes. "What a nuisance." A pale yellow aura, the same color as her hair surrounded her as she balled one of her hands into a fist. Electricity cackled in it. Eko stepped back. "Get her Adyla," the other girl called out standing back, crossing her arms and smirking. Adyla advanced on Eko. "Next time, mind your own business you freak." She swiped her arm across Eko's chest swiftly. She didn't make contact, but she didn't need to. The small arcs of electricity jumped from her hand to Eko's body and shocked her so violently she fell to the ground. "Augh!" It felt like a million volts had just run through her body. She gritted her teeth in pain.
"Stay away from us you loser." Her aura disappeared and she began to leave, but not after she made a last attempt to kick the fallen brunette. Eko coughed as the two girls departed from the scene. She finally made an effort to stand after they were long gone, holding her side where the girl had kicked her. "Ugh," she groaned. Even though the shock from the swipe was gone, her body still felt like it had been fried from sitting in the scorching heat for too long. She took a drink of water from the fountain then looked down at her chest to see burn marks on her uniform.
Well there's no way I'm hiding this, she thought. She headed back down the hallway, slightly limping because of the soreness in her side, but instead of going toward her class, she went to the infirmary.
When she got there, she had her wounds bandaged and sat down on the bed against the wall. It wouldn't be another hour before she was allowed to go back to class. She couldn't help but to think about how much make up work she'd have to take for skipping all this time.
Her mind wandered back over to Linda. The girl the other students were gossiping about.
Linda, a student that attended the most prestigious high school in all of the continent.
Linda, one of the strongest students that attended Hale High.
Linda, someone she had grown up with and cared about dearly.
Her sister.
For Eko, it was complicated. See, she knew Linda had arrived at this highschool almost a year ago as a sophomore. Eko could hardly recognize her when she did. They both had changed a lot since they last saw each other, but because of that, Linda had no idea that her own sister had been attending the same school as her all this time. Which was fine with her. She didn't want her younger sister to see how pathetic she was in this state. Always getting picked on for being the weakest in the school. Always being that one person everyone despised and called a freak. It was kind of ironic. Her sister, the strongest, and her, the weakest. Eko didn't mind though. She could handle the beatings. All of it was bearable because she knew that not everyone hated her. Murdock was willing to be her friend. Even though he was in the same league as Linda. He still didn't mind the fact that Eko didn't have an element. As long as he was around, she would be fine. As long as--
"Eko!" Someone shook her from her thoughts. "Huh? What?"
"The bell just rang, you are dismissed," the nurse said. "Oh, sorry," Eko apologized. "Remember to check the wound before you go to bed. Don't move around too much or it might reopen." Eko nodded as she stood up. "Thanks Aukla. See you tomorrow then," she said out the door, eager to leave. "The fact that you're coming back isn't helping my mood," she muttered under her breath, but Eko left too soon to hear. She wanted to grab her stuff and go lock herself in her dorm before Murdock found her and saw what happened. She looked back to make sure he wasn't at the end of the hallway but then ran into something. "Ouf…!" She looked up into the deep blue eyes of her friend. "Murdock!"
"Whoa slow down there, what's the rush," he asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Uh--" Eko put her arms over her chest, hoping it would cover the burns from her uniform but all it did was get him to look at it. "What happened? Did you get into another fight?" Eko looked away. He sighed. "It's not that big of a deal, Murdock. I'm fine," she muttered. "I know you are, but you really gotta be more careful." She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't my fault, I was just trying to defend myself." Murdock scoffed. "Whatever you say." A moment passed as they walked. A couple of students glanced in Murdocks direction but made a face as if they were disgusted but everyone seemed to move out of their way nonetheless. "Ugh, I can't wait until I get back to my dorm and crash. I'm so tired," Eko complained. "Don't you have that retake after school," he asked. Eko went silent for a moment, then she lightly punched him on the shoulder. "Darn it Murdock, why did you have to go and remind me," she protested. "Ack, hey! Don't you want better grades though?" Eko sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I just wish it wasn't so hard to get them…" Murdock scoffed. "If only you had studied harder."
"Shaddap, only I'm allowed to degrade myself!" She pounded on his shoulder repetitively this time. "Ack, sheesh! You really don't hold back do you," he winced. "No I don't." She faced away crossing her arms. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth though.
Suddenly, the final bell for the day had rung. "I guess that's my queue to leave," Murdock said. "Can we hang out later? It's been so long since we were able to do something outside of school," Eko begged. "Maybe, if you pass your test then I'll think about it," he teased. "Argh, you're so annoying." She crossed her arms again. "I'm just kidding, of course we can, but you seriously need to go before they start the testing without you." Eko shook her head. "Alright then, see you later," she waved before dashing off.