Free Empyreal: Awaken - Book One by Christal M. Mosley Page B

The
feeling of seeing the same scene before. Why did she have the
feeling that she had already witnessed this sight before? Had she
just watched Court jump from several stories, only to land
gracefully on the ground below her? Had she seen him perform the
same act before?
    That would be ... preposterous,
absurd, ridiculous even. Wouldn't it?
    Coralie continued to look out into the
darkness that was the night. She exhaled a heavy sigh. Even though
she couldn't see him anymore, she could still feel him with her.
Not like his very presence. More like it felt that their souls were
connected. Like she could feel where he was at that very moment.
And this feeling only increased the closer she was to
him.
    Yeah, that didn't seem
crazy.
    Coralie didn't know what to think
anymore.
    Since she'd turned seventeen last
month, things in her life had seemed to have changed. She couldn't
explain it.
    The life that she had once known – her
one-dimensional, naïve, simplistic life – had changed into
something more.
    Something much more. Something much
bigger. Bigger than herself.
    Bigger than anything she had known to
exist.
    What was this? This change? Was it
something that happened to everyone her age? Did every one of her
peers experience senseless and irrational changes within their
lives?
    Something was definitely different.
Different about her. Different about her surroundings. Different
about her life.
    The more Coralie thought about the
different things going on around her, the more her thoughts ran
hastily through her mind.
    Maybe it wasn't that she was changing.
Maybe it was something else. Maybe it was her true-self coming
through.
    Not changing , just revealing her true - self through the opaqueness that
was her life.

Chapter 11
     
    Coralie sighed as she sat in the back of the
classroom, staring out of the two story window of the East Wing
classroom building. Her teacher's voice had started to taper off
into the background until it was a mere mumble.
    She sighed again.
    Private school had its perks, she
guessed. And she had been given the choice – she chose
this...
    Granted, the choice was between
Chelsea, a prestigious preparatory school and being home-schooled.
Where, surely, home school had its benefits as well, the sound of
attending Chelsea just seemed a better fit, all things
considered.
    Coralie, along with the other three
hundred members of the student body, were required to wear uniforms
– guys in khaki pants and a white, button-down, collared shirt,
accompanied by a navy blue blazer and a matching tie; girls in a
navy plaid or plain khaki skirt, and a white button-down, collared
shirt, also accompanied by a navy blue blazer. Everyone looked the
same, every day. Coralie was glad that she could blend
in.
    Esteemed, elite, and uniformed,
Chelsea was perfect for someone who had always felt as an outsider.
But Coralie thought it was a good fit for different reasons as
well. Prestige academics, pristine facilities, and exceptional
faculty ... not to mention a difference in the social
aspects.
    At Chelsea, at least, she would have
the option of having a connection to the outside, social world.
Although she had many acquaintances, there were very few
individuals that Coralie would consider as friends and even
fewer that she actually did . Besides Coralie's social life
was quite limited. It basically came down to classroom activities
and involvement – no after school curricula, other than the
occasional self-defense or weight and strength training held at the
University where her father was a Professor. Usually, she would
only attend when her parents insisted.
    Breaking her thoughts, someone slid
into the empty seat beside her. She glanced in the direction of the
sudden motion. “Court?!?!” She somehow managed to contain a scream,
jumping in surprise.
    Court leaned in, seeming somewhat
amused, and asked, “Did I scare you?”
    His light, golden hair swayed
carelessly just above his brow. His bright blue eyes were