Winter, Mandy, and Layla trotted through the lushly carpeted hallways of Golden Academy High arm in arm. Mandy whispered, "I hope Mrs. Scrimen is absent more often. I love getting to watch all of Star's potential juicy gossip unfold firsthand." They reached the audio visual room and Winter's eyes met dark blue ones. She tipped her head at him in greeting and Layla nudged her in the ribs, "Let's go sit over there." Rows of seats faced an enormous screen that reached from the ceiling to the ground and spanned to the far corners of the room. Winter scoffed at the room's understated name. Once they sat down, Winter turned to see Jax reveling in all his arrogant glory, "Today must be your lucky day." She sighed loudly.
Cornell stood at the front of the room and clapped his hands, "We're having a joint class for the rest of the day. Which means we'll watch movies until class is over so I don't have to hear any of your nasally, underdeveloped voices whining at me." Winter yawned and Jax rested his chin in his hand, "What I wouldn't give to know the thoughts running around in that pretty little head of yours." Winter laughed sarcastically, "What I wouldn't give to keep from knowing yours." The movie started and the boisterous conversation filling the room morphed into a dull whisper. Winter studied the characters, their roles, attitudes and behaviors. She mumbled, "She finds her sister and gives back the money." Jax raised his eyebrows and Winter shrugged before getting up and whispering, "Bathroom." She left and rounded the corner into Sam. "Again? At least one of us needs to improve our spatial awareness at this point." He nearly bore a hole in her forehead with his glaring, still not deigning to speak to her. Then his eyes looked through her and he walked away.
Finally finding herself with the undisturbed freedom to explore, Winter put her hands in her pockets and strolled around campus. She managed to stumble upon the library and she immediately knew it was going to be her new favorite place. The walls were bordered with endless columns of books all dusted and well maintained. Exquisitely designed crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and arches riddled with painstakingly detailed patterns encompassed the library. The drapes were an eye catching scarlet silk that allowed only whispers of light through, as if to protect every word on the pages of the books from fading. It was undeniably the most gorgeous room in the entire building, which meant that the headmaster must share Winter's soft spot for literature.
Winter wandered aimlessly through the breadth layout when she noticed someone further down the isle. Instinctually, she hid to observe him. Winter could finally detail all of his qualities and physical attributes thoroughly, unnoticed and uninterrupted. Her eyes roamed over his dark brown curls, muscled figure, commanding posture, and towering height. She recalled his vermilion eyes, struck by the memory of their impact. She understood the charisma others found in his appearance, making sense of his magnetism. Everything about him seemed to issue a command that refuse to be ignored. What she didn't get was how he ended up beating her to the library when just moments ago they had walked in opposite directions. Sam placed the book back on the shelf before leaving. When Winter was sure he was gone, she walked to where he was standing and picked up his discarded book. Winter read its title "Stories Untold" and turned it over in her hands. She examined the cover, curiously tracing her fingers over the golden lettering.