Free Fractured Soul by Rachel McClellan

Jackson to me. “What are you talking about?”
    Jackson laughed. “One day Llona will tell you. Come on. Let’s go.” He started walking away. Christian turned to me. He looked torn, like he didn’t want to go. I decided to help him out since girls were starting to look at us strangely.
    I glanced down at my watch. “I better get going too. Those twelve-year-old girls in my history class get mean if I’m late. See you in PE, May.” I held my hand out to Christian. “Good seeing you again.”
    He took hold of it firmly, securely. I wondered if anyone else could feel the heat passing between us. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” he said.
    I reluctantly let go and walked away, feeling both happy and sad. Before I stepped out of the dining room, Sophie caught my eye, and I almost stumbled. It was her expression that did it. She was watching me leave and smiling, or smirking, as if she knew something I didn’t. I raised my hand to wave, but the second our eyes met, she turned away. I shook my head. I would never understand that woman.
    I went straight to Denelle Hall and into my classroom, sitting in the back. If I sat anywhere else, one of the girls would complain that they couldn’t see over my freaky head. Their words not mine.
    I pushed Christian from my mind and opened my history book to page fifty-nine. I had found something in it over the weekend that didn’t make sense, and I wanted to ask Ms. Ravitz about it. As soon as she came in, I raised my hand.
    “Yes, Llona?”
    “I have a question.”
    Ms. Ravitz erased the whiteboard from a previous lecture. “What is it?”
    “Um, well, I was wondering if there are any other Auran history books?”
    “Of course. There are many.”
    “I mean, any before this one.” I held it up. “The earliest date I can find is 1909. What about our history before that?”
    “They’re in storage to keep them safe.”
    “Can I see them?”
    Ms. Ravitz tilted her head and smiled at me sympathetically. “They are too fragile for your fingers.”
    The other girls giggled.
    Ms. Ravitz waved them silent. “If you really want to, you can see them, but you have to have special permission from Cyrus. We treasure our past, but really all you need to know is our history after P-Day. Can someone tell me when that was?
    A girl with a long brown ponytail raised her hand.
    “Yes, Emily?”
    “P-Day was on April 13, 1939.”
    I leaned over and whispered to another girl. “What’s P-Day?”
    “Preservation Day,” she whispered back.
    “And why is that date important?” Ms. Ravitz asked.
    Emily smiled. “Because that’s the day the Council decided to preserve the Auran race. They restructured all the Auran schools and organized the Guardian watch program.”
    “Good, Emily. And it’s important to note that our very own Cyrus was a part of that great event.”
    That name again. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard it before. I raised my hand again and said, “Who’s Cyrus?”
    Ms. Ravitz shook her head. I could tell I was really starting to irk her. “Cyrus is the President of Lucent Academy and the head of the Council,” she said.
    I nodded, remembering how Sophie had mentioned his name on the first night.
    Ms. Ravitz continued, “You haven’t met him yet because he’s visiting Ellie Academy in Ireland.”
    I’d heard of Ellie. It was one of the three Auran schools. In addition to Lucent there was also Ruddy Academy in Australia. Three council members resided at each one, making up the traditional nine members. I wondered how often Cyrus visited them. Another thought came to mind. I raised my hand again. Ms. Ravitz sighed and said, “Yes, Llona?”
    “If Cyrus was around for P-Day, wouldn’t he be like a hundred years old?”
    Emily blurted, “How do you not know any of this?”
    “Be kind, Emily,” Ms. Ravitz said. “Llona wasn’t raised like the rest of you. Her parents didn’t teach her our history.”
    I wanted to