'My head hurts.'
Constant ringing filled Miya's ears as she awoke, her vision hazy, but she could make out the outlines of the few people who surrounded her.
"You're finally awake, sleepyhead."
She was finally able to focus. Sarah was sitting in a seat next to her, a worried look on her face as Miya rose her head, her eyes shining more dimly than before.
"W-What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
A voice resonated within her, the image of a man standing before her filling her head, but she couldn't remember who.
< "Goodnight" >
Instant, shooting pain followed, bringing Miya's hand to her head.
"My head…"
Sarah supported Miya's head.
"I can get you some ice; I'm going to get you some ice."
She quickly went out of the combat room and into the hall. Kem and Chance were sparring, and Kem seemed to be getting irate as Chance was on the defensive. Nifla and Bo sat across the ring from her, Bo intently watching Kem and Chance's sparring session.
'Bo.'
For some reason it irritated her. Just the thought of Bo made her feel angry, but she didn't know why. Minutes later, Sarah returned to the room, dragging a boy with spiky hair, a tight, black one-piece, and a bandana tied around his neck.
"Why'd you drag me here?!"
He was clearly agitated by Sarah as she yanked him by the collar, not letting up. She made no response other than a presenting gesture toward Miya. The boy reacted, confused and angry that he was confused.
"What about her? If you brought me here for no reason, I'm leaving!"
"Ice."
…
That one word made him extremely angry, a chilling white mist leaving his body and making the air around them feel colder.
"What am I, some kind of ice dispenser to you?! I've had enough of your shit! First, I have to give you ice for your 'poor whittle coffee', and now I have to give ice to some random person just because you want me to?!"
"There's a reward involved."
"Deal."
He didn't hesitate for a second. He made the decision to give Miya ice for a reward he didn't know the details of. He walked toward Miya with the most forced smile she'd seen in her life.
"Here you go, ma'am. I hope you feel better soon."
He handed Miya the ice and stormed out of the door. Sarah picked the ice up and placed it on Miya's head.
"Who was that?"
"Oh him? That's Preacher. He's in a different class, but his ability comes in handy sometimes."
"Don't you think that's a little…"
"A little what?"
"Nevermind..."
As Miya looked upward, she noticed Bo walking toward them; she couldn't read his face nor body language.
'Why am I so angry at him?'
"Because I knocked you out."
Everyone turned toward Bo with a surprised look, and Kem pushed his palm to his face. Miya looked dumbfounded.
'Did he just read my mind?'
Bo responded seconds later.
"No. I can tell what you're thinking by your expression."
She focused and realized the face she made. She tried to fix it, and Bo continued to talk to them.
"That was the only way to draw out your power."
"What power?"
"When you are asleep, you gain the power of the Sleep clan."
Miya raised her eyebrow, clearly confused.
"What do you mean? I've always had that power."
Bo sat down next to her.
"Yes, but you never knew how to actually use that power. Passively putting people to sleep by touch is something an infant from your clan could do."
"Well--But how do you know this?"
He paused for a second.
"Because a very good friend of mine told me about it a long time ago."
That statement peaked her curiosity.
Kem and Chance had stopped fighting completely. It seemed as if they were intently waiting for Bo's next words, but Miya had a question she needed to ask.
"Were they from the Sleep Clan?"
"Yes. A woman. She was very nice to me."
"What were they like?"
"They were the strongest person I'd ever known. Almost on the level of the Headmaster, in a way, but she died 7 years ago."
Kem left the ring as Miya continued to question him.
"Did she die in the incident?"
"Yes. She was killed by-"
Kem gave Bo a light smack on the back of the head. He had a very sad look on his face.
"I know you better than anyone. Don't say things that make you sad."
Bo turned his head toward Kem.
"I'm not sad."
"Stop being so stubborn, man. I know that you can feel emotions in your heart even if you can't express them."
Bo was silent. Miya'd never seen Kem this serious before, and it surprised her. He had a completely different air about him compared to earlier and seemed to truly care about Bo's feelings, feelings that Bo may have even forgotten himself due to his curse.
Bo turned away from Kem.
"Ok."
Bo rose from his seat and began walking toward the door.
"Wait! Where are you going?!"
"I want to talk to the headmaster."
He walked through the door, and nobody made a single movement. They all just looked at the door until it completely shut by itself. Nifla was the first to react, vanishing without a trace.
"What did she just do?"
Chance got up and began walking toward the door in pursuit of Bo.
"We can explain that later. For now, I think we need to go apologize to Bo. He seemed like he really wanted to tell you."
Kem remained standing by Bo's previous seat. He made no sound for a while, and Sarah and Miya didn't either. Tip had been watching and continued to do so for a while until he asked them to get up, taking away the projection of the combat room. He began walking toward the door as well.
"Come on guys. Class is over. Let's go check on Bo. He's set to bring you home as well, Miya, so it would be wise of us to follow."
They walked through the door and made their way toward the headmaster's office. Sarah spoke with Tip while Kem and Miya walked silently, a few paces behind the two of them. Few students roamed the halls, indicating that either school ended a while ago or they'd left out earlier than everyone else.
Kem finally spoke.
"I should apologize."
He said no more, and Miya couldn't shake the feeling that there was another reason for Kem stopping Bo's speech. His actions made it seem like he may have had connections with the woman Bo spoke of as well.
Tip stopped in front of a door with a golden plaque attached.
"We're here."
No sounds came from the room. Miya walked toward the door, peering through the rectangular window upon it, but the room was completely empty with the dean's desk and chair facing the door.
Tip knocked on the door.