Perfect School

"I need eyes outside ofmy rooms. I have to be an Oracle. In ancient Greek mythology Oracle's are beings who see the future. Girls who guide heroes through their trials. When they listen, their journey is safe. When they didn't it led to ruin.". Zero spoke softly her gaze never leaving the screens. "I can't forsee the future. But I can predict it as best as I can. But I have to have eyes everywhere, ears everywhere. And i have to compile it all and make results happen from it."

She gave him a brief smile before beginning to point out things on her screens, little things. I moved over to the bed and sat down among the stuffed animals before chiming in. "Zero is good at this, very nearly a natural at it."

At the comment Zero looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her tanktop for s moment. "If I was like Allie I would be better. But the outside...it's scares me. When I look at it through a screen it makes sense, the world can be controlled through a button. But away from the screen it's just me. And I am not very big in the world."

Andrew:

I looked over all the little things she pointed to on the screens. This was something I could never do, but I recognized the appeal. It would be nice not to have to deal with people, to be able to hide away from everything.

"It's not that scary when you're around people you trust," I said quietly with a glance to Kira. If I was alone in the world, maybe I would be scared of it too.

"Everyone is so far away..." The complaint was soft, delivered with drooping shoulders. Just as quick as her mood fell it was back and she was on her feet, digging through the piles of things on the floor until she sat atop a mound with a metal tin in her lap. Prying open the lid the smell of crackers and cookies filled the air. Taking a nibble from a cracker she carried it back to the desk to offer it to Andrew.

Andrew:

I took one from the package then looked up to meet her eyes. "Everyone is here, they're just a short walk away," I told her. I knew they would want to meet her, especially since we had all come here specifically to ensure her safety.

It took some convincing on my part to get her even open to the idea of meeting the others, and after that it took more coaxing for her to leave the boundaries of her room.

Kira:

I didn't help or hinder in having Zero come out of her room. It was interesting to watch Zero leave her shell in brief moments with Andrew. His first attempts at having her meet the others had been shut down even though she'd immediately filled her screens with camera feeds from around the temple until she located the rest of them. After he'd gotten her to consider meeting them he actually managed to get her to leave her room.

Zero I knew had five rooms, for varying uses and reasons. Her bedroom was the one she spent most of her time in, but she also had a small almost unused library full of books, a tech room where she had built our phones, and two I'd never been in.

Zero:

Leaving my room was hard. Harder still was leaving my hallway. Except for brief times where I needed Allie for something and she made me come out, I never left. Meals came to me, I had everything I needed to survive otherwise, so I didn't ever have to venture far. But Andrew pulled me out of that. I liked him. He was different but kind. It was a shame Mr. Tiger didn't like him very much. But he didn't like anyone.

After we crossed the boundary out of my room I hid behind Andrew, taking hold of his shirt with both hands while looking around. Once more the strap of my tanktop had fallen off my shoulder and I looked more tired than ever. But I wanted to meet everyone. I liked it when Kira visited. She was quiet, but said smart things and didn't seem to mind that I was...weird. She was weird too and that was good.

I wondered if Kyra's body was as squishy all over to the touch as it looked like. And if she'd let me squeeze her to find out. I wondered if Paublo would be able to give me a piggy back ride and how fast he could run doing it. But I didn't want to do that, it would be very high up on his back. And Jonah....Jonah was scary. I didn't know if I wanted to meet him. Maybe he wouldn't be so scary? He was really smart. Smarter than me, but I knew how to do more things. Sometimes. Meeting my friends, or people who might be my friends was scary. But I had Andrew and Kira with me. It couldn't be bad could it?

Andrew:

Her tugging on my shirt was a bit awkward, every now and then it cause my midriff show and I didn't like that but I wasn't going to say anything. I walked slower so it wouldn't happen as much, and also because I didn't want to rush her.

I had to reassure her once we got to the bedroom where we had left everyone. We had seen on the screens that they had done a bit of exploring, but they were all back now since I had texted them. Kyra hopped up immediately and came over to hug Zero.

Zero:

Everyone was in one room, there was so many of them. And then Kyra came and hugged me. My eyes widened and I was stiff and awkward. But it did let me find out if Kyra was squishy. I managed to get a hand up and squeezed a boob for a moment. "You are squishy." I murmured in awe. With her hug and my grope I'd been forced to let go of Andrew.

Jonah:

Kyra gave a quiet squeak of surprise and broke apart from Zero and promptly crossed her arms over her chest. I hadn't seen the action, but I could assume. My lips curled up slightly in amusement.

"Uh, well it's nice to meet you," She said. I walked over and offered my hand out to the girl, smile still going.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," I said, cordially. She was a wide open book, and I appreciated that. I could tell so much just by simply looking at her, the way she held her body, the way her hands moved, the lines her eyes followed.

Zero:

I couldn't look at any of them directly. They were so bright, the room was bright. It was almost too much. And then Jonah came up. I searched around for a moment before shrinking slightly. Slowly I reached out to touch his hand. Not a hand shake, I curled a finger around his and did a shake that way before pulling my hand back.

"I...um....hi." I said awkwardly, looking around. "Didn't know if I'd meet you. Any of you." She briefly looked over everyone then away again. "You aren't mad at me?"

Jonah:

"Why do you think we would be mad?" I asked her. What an interesting creature. It was like she just sprouted legs and crawled out of the ocean for the first time. She was testing to see what worked for her. I flexed my hand and shook it slightly as if I had not liked the way she touched it, it was for her benefit.

"I...I am not good at...this. I like...I like screens. I dont have to be scared. I can." She stopped speaking, gazing off to the side for a moment. Biting at my lower lip I rocked side to side for a moment before looking at Jonah. "Sorry."

Paublo:

I had joined the little gathering around Zero, offering her a smile. She looked so frail. She was taller than Kira, but even though Kira was the shortest among us, she sometimes loomed over all of us. Zero however seemed pitifully small. Small, thin, nervous. An introvert dragged to people. I pitied her.

Jonah:

I could have easily intimidated her into doing what I wanted, but that would only last as long as I was near her. I had to make her feel like I wasn't a threat to her. "Come sit down," I motioned for her to come more into the room. I brought up some of the things she and I had been working on training wise to give her a topic to be distracted with.

Zero:

I tried to relax, but being away from my room made me more anxious as time wore on. Still as I sat with everyone my bare toes wiggling into the carpet or the chair, I switched often, I was able to fend of my anxiety by talking with them. Towards the end I even managed to smile. I even got to touch each of them, Paublo letting me touch his hair, Kira with my foot. I was happy about that. I'd been able to touch my friends.

Kira:

I kept a close eye on Zero. I knew this was hard on her, and I could see the strain it was putting her through just being away from her room let alone being near people. Eventually as the conversation went on Zero blurted out asking if we had done the test. Everyone's input on the test gave her a confused look and it was paublo who finally asked what if she had taken the test and what answer she had done.

Her confused look only deepened as everyone waited for her answer. "I didn't push the button...I still have it...." She looked down at her toes, digging into the chair as she frowned. "I figured....if my button kills my targets...I can keep it...make my targets help me....That my target can change at anytime...so why not keep it."

"That is what makes you an oracle Zero." I chimed in then. "Three of us didn't hesitate to push the button. Two of us wrote our answers. But you had the foresight to know what kind of power you could wield with the button."

The answer brightened her up but as I kept watch on her eventually I leaned over to Andrew, "Take her back to her room. I'm sure she would be happier once she is back safely in her room. She's pushing herself to make us happy."

Kyra:

Andrew started to get up to walk Zero back to her room and I chimed in that I would go with them. If my brother had been an average guy perhaps he would have been annoyed that his sister wanted to tag along with him and female friend. But Andrew wasn't like that. I wondered if Zero knew what he was like, and if she was okay with it. Probably, that girl was an oddball herself.

Upon reaching her room I stopped dead at the doorway and didn't step a toe into the disaster zone. I explained my plan to the two of them, enlisting Zero's help in getting us all there. Together the three of us hammered out the details, even though Andrew didn't entirely approve of the plan.

The next evening we were on an all night plane. We had worked it out that we were running an errand for Zero and the rest of the group went along with it because we would be able to have a couple days of vacation on the beach in New Zealand. On our layover in the morning Jonah confronted me about the plan. There had been only a slim chance that he would have believed the plan, and it turned out that he didn't.

Jonah:

Kyra pleaded with me not to alter the plans, and not to give her away to Kira. I was conflicted at first, but in the end, I wanted to see how Kira would respond to the situation. I doubted that she would magically become a family person, therefore, I had nothing to worry about from the trip. It was merely an experiment.

Kira:

I slept for most of the flight, mostly uncaring about the whole adventure. Everyone was excited about going to the beach, but mostly I wanted to return home and resume normal training. But I was out voted and we were on our way. Meeting Zero had been refreshing on it's own, and in all I was glad we had gone to see her. It was a good experience for the introvert. And it had been enlightening to see Andrew and Zero together for the first time. For him she'd left her room not once but twice. Giving him a hug before we left down the mountain. I dozed against the window, oblivious to the slow descent we were making down into the country.

Kyra:

It was the next morning when we got there. Everyone was a little subdued by the long trip. We loaded into the SUV Zero had ordered for and I drove. It was another hour and a half before we got there. We had a cottage on the sea side for a couple nights. Just so happened that it was a short two mile hike from Krissy, and Michael's farm. After everyone had a chance to rest up a bit I rallied them into going on a walk.

Andrew wasn't pleased with how I was handling things, and when we got to the small hill overlooking the farm, he stopped us.

"We can't just ambush her, or them for that matter," He murmured to me before going over to Kira. "See that Farm? That's where Krissy and Michael live." He said bluntly. I couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed.

Kyra:

It was the next morning when we got there.  Everyone was a little subdued by the long trip.  We loaded into the SUV Zero had ordered for and I drove.  It was another hour and a half before we got there.  We had a cottage on the sea side for a couple nights.  Just so happened that it was a short two mile hike from Krissy, and Michael's farm.  After everyone had a chance to rest up a bit I rallied them into going on a walk.  

Andrew wasn't pleased with how I was handling things, and when we got to the small hill overlooking the farm, he stopped us.  

"We can't just ambush her, or them for that matter," He murmured to me before going over to Kira.  "See that Farm?  That's where Krissy and Michael live." He said bluntly.  I couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed.

The hike actually improved my mood, the countryside drawing my eye as the sun and exercise warmed my muscles. Rolling my shoulders I turned to Andrew after he stopped us on a small hill. I gazed down at the farm beyond him for a moment then was about to look at him when he admitted just who owned the farm.

I froze, staring first at him then down at the farm. Laughter drew my gaze to a patch of flowers at the edge of the farm. A woman knelt among them, and coming up to her was a man with dark hair. Sweeping the woman up into a hug they kissed and though their words couldn't be made out, their laughter echoed up to us.

The mix of their laughter made me pause, and it was only then that I had realized I had taken a few steps towards the farm. I stopped then as I watched the happy couple, eyes slowly closing as I sucked in a shaky breath. Without a word I turned around, turning my back on the couple and heading back the way we'd come.

Jonah:

I followed Kira with my eyes, studying her every move and expression. It was a little surprising to see her move toward them, I hadn't expected that. Then she stopped and turned. Kyra huffed and got in her way.

"Wait a minute. Just give them a shot. Don't just shut down, Kira. They're right there, it would take no effort to go down and talk to them. They're you're parents, Kira!" Kyra pleaded with her, a strain of desperation in her voice.

I looked down to her parents for a moment. So that was Kira's mother and father. They seemed so ordinary, so careless and full of joy. They were nothing like Kira.

"Kyra...they are happy. Listen to them, look at them. Why would I shatter that? This isn't s fairytale. This is just the world we live in." I searched her face for a moment. "What happened to your words about family? About love? How we had to be a part of each other's lives and follow through with each others wishes?". I shook my head. "It was all lies. My opinion doesn't matter. I am just as much a tool and weapon for you go play with just as I am to everyone else." Frost practically dripped from my words. "I am done listening. Once I was willing to listen, now I know i was better off without giving in at all. Perhaps then my wishes would have been respected."

Kyra:

My shoulders sank. "You're not a tool, you're our family. That's what matters most. They may be happy now but they would be so much more so to find out about you. You're not doing anyone any favors by walking away, you're just being selfish," I told her with a deep crease down the center of my forehead.

I barked out a laugh. "Selfish? You didn't know I was family. But you had no plans to bring me home before then. And now that you know, im the selfish one?".

Kyra:

"You don't know that. I brought Paublo back with us and he's not blood. You're just hard to get at, that you're my cousin simply gave me an edge. I love you Kira. I would love you even if you weren't my family." Tears were forming in my eyes as they had last time I got in an argument with her. I blinked them away, determined not to cry in front of all of them.

I stared at her then gave another dry laugh. "Have you even asked them? Do they know about me? Or are you assuming that they will happily shoulder the burden of taking care of me Kyra? Are family nothing but play things for you? Do their desires and happiness matter to you?"

I leaned in close to whisper in her ear in a cold growl, "You once viewed yourself better than Jonah. Turns out you are just as manipulative. Much like everyone else in my life." Settling back onto my feet I moved around her, the emotionless mask slamming down while my eyes blazed angrily.

Kyra:

A tremor ran down my spine at her words. I had to bite down on my lip to keep from crying. I tasted blood in my mouth. my bury vision found my twin in a wordless plea for help.


Andrew:

I moved over and put my arm over Kyra's shoulder's but I looked after Kira. I shouldn't have gone along with this plan, it was only ever going to end this way.

"Well lets enjoy the ocean," I said dryly, motioning for Jonah and Paublo to go their own way. Jonah started to follow after Kira.