Catching Shadows by Jillian Cline (chromebook ebook reader .TXT) 📖

a yin-yang sign and an Emerald charm. Markus also noted there was no trace of makeup on her face but a faint hint of Chap Stick on her lips.
"Her names Mavon Langushtiva. She is the whole odd ball out of this whole school, though she knows this place at the back of her hand." Markus turned around to see who was talking. It was a woman who seemed to blend right in with the crowd with a skirt, low cut shirt, and to much makeup. The woman gave him a beaming smile. "You must be the new kid." She stated flatly and held out her hand that wasn't occupied with bundles of paper. "I'm Myka. And you are...?" Markus shook her hand.
"Markus. Markus Kress."
She nodded towards the girl Markus was looking at earlier. "Well if you want to get to know this school you should ask Mavon. She knows every place in the school and knows the do's-and-don'ts. Here I will even introduce you to her." taking his elbow by the hand the strange girl leads him through the crowd till they were blocking the way of the entrance to the school for the girl.
"Hey Mavon. It looks like we got a new student. Can you show him around a bit?" Mavon shifted her gaze to Myka’s to Markus's. She looked him up and down as if to rank him. "New kid you say? Looked like one of Amelia's strays to me." The girl who calls herself Myka looked him over, too, and chuckled. The other girl, who Markus supposedly thought was Mavon, sighed. She looked worn out up close and a little stressed. Must be from the first day of school I guess.

Markus thought. "Fine I'll show him around. Come on pretty boy." Mavon said while reaching out and taking his arm and leading him towards the school.
Once inside Mavon released her grip on his arm and began to talk. "So. Your name is Markus?" she stole a glance at him. The halls were abandoned to bright florescent lights and the open empty arms of the orange lockers.
"How do you know my name?" Markus asked suspiciously. When you lived in the poor part of town, people knowing your name isn't a good thing. Her eyebrow shot up.
"Wow, you’re a feisty one."
Mavon stretched her arms and yond. Shaking her head as if to wake herself up she rolled her shoulders and neck. Markus found himself watching her every move but came out of it when she started speaking. “It’s a small town and word gets around fast.” He was surprised. He hadn’t told anyone his name only the girl he had just met a few minutes ago. No one should know his name. Not even the girls he gave himself to. “Dude, if you really want to keep a low profile the first step is not put you and your moms name just above your shop door.” She then looked at him to see his frustration. “I’m just saying. And trust me I know all about keeping a profile.” A piece of her hair fell into her face and she brushed it away with a flick of her fingers. They now came into a new hall filled with doors and the light was replaced with windows, letting in the light. Mavon motioned to the first doors to her left. “These doors are the fifth grade classes while over there,” she flicked her wrist to the right, “are the sixth grade classes.”
Mavon gave him little time to look over the doors before she moved on. “Why are we all separated from other grades? And why do we have middle school kids here when it should just be us high school teens?” Markus asked catching up to her. Mavon shrugged nonchalantly as she rummaged through her bag and came out with mint chocolate chip flavored gum. Popping it into her mouth she responded.
“We have sponsors that we call ‘Stars’ because instead of making us shine they take whatever and whoever they need to make themselves shine. Their job is to take anyone with a special ‘Talent’ and use them for their own use. The thing is, though, no one knows what happens once you are chosen to leave. So to make things easier they gather kids from all grade groups, separate them, and chose who is the best and who has shown the most potential and who they think would condemned them as useful or non-useful. In other words they are judgmental to the talent of the kids whose parents have thought they had a special Talent.” She made air quotes every time she spoke the words Star or Talent. She glanced at him. “Does that answer your question?”
Markus took a minute to digest this. “Um yeah. I think it does.” She nodded like she just solved every ones problems.
“Anymore questions?”
“You said that you know about keeping a profile. What did you mean by that?” She stopped walking then and turned to face him.
“Listen. I’m here to tell you and show you everything about this school. We are not to become friends, speak, or even look at each other again after this. I don’t make friends and I don’t socialize with anyone but on Sundays. So there is no point in us getting to know each other because we will not be speaking nor doing anything together. If you want to know things about me ask someone else because your not going to get it from me. Got it?” The flash of anger that randomly splashed on her face shocked him. Is this how the school is? You ask one question and you set a time bomb off?
He held up his hands in mocking surrender. “Hey calm down. It was just one question. No need to blow your top off.” The anger was still lingering on her face.
“Hey is for horses. I’m not a horse.” She turned on her heal and walked ahead leaving him behind.
Shaking his head he chased after her. “I wasn’t calling you a horse. I was just trying to figure out what your problem is.”
"I don't have a problem. I'm just telling you the facts. Now do you want to know where you're going when school starts or are you just going to stand there and mock me?"
Markus shook his head. What is her problem?

"I'm not-"
"Shh!" She said, stopping and holding out and arm and stopping him. Markus studied her curiously. She had cocked her head to the side her eyebrows frowned in concentration. "Do you hear that?" she asked pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned his ear to get a better hearing of what she was un-discovering.
"I don't hear anything." Markus remarked when coming up with nothing. Mavon took a step forward and inhaled in a sharp breath. She reminded Markus of a reptile tasting the air with it's toungue. There is something strange aboutthis girl. But why does that make her so fasinating?

Mavon's head jerked to the side as the sound of a door closing with a BANG!

They both froze. Slowly Markus came to his sences. "What was that?" He asked in a whisper. Without and answer Mavon began spead walking down the hall. "Crap." He murmured to himself before breaking out into a jog. "Hey! Wait up!"


Mavon stood in a big room of a theater. Red chairs spred out orderly about the room in front of a big stage that held fold up chairs and music stands. The band room. The room was cold as ice, like someone had turned on the air conditioner in the winter. Knowing Mavon's school, that's would probably happen if it wasn't summer. Mavon took a step onto the top step of the stairs and shivered. Eyes raking the room, she felt like something was out of place.This is not right. Something's wrong. But what?

"Why are we in here?" Markus's voice came behind her, pulling her out of her reverie of thoughts and worries. Mavon took a step down the first two steps with caution. "Are you ever going to answer me?" Mavon's face flushed with anger and frustration but she didn't dare answer. Taking a few more steps till she was at the base of the stage she looked up and over. No change in scenery. She was about to take another step when the sound of a door creaking open caught her off guard for a moment. The strange thing was, instead of foot falls was the sound of fluttering wings and nails on stone, like a dog was let in the school and was chasing a bird out of its nest. "What is that?" Markus asked in a whisper in her ear. Drawing back in surprise and disgust, Mavon made a face at him.
"I don't know. It sounds like it is coming from the East of the stage." Without hesitation Mavon jumped the stage, dropped her bag, and darted in the direction of the noise. Dimly aware of Markus calling her back.


Markus gave into Mavon's stubbornness and tailed after her since she was still his guide and he didn't want to get lost in the school on the first day. At least that's what he told himself. When he finally caught up to her, she was standing in front of a wooden door. There was nothing on either side of them but only a full white wall on the left side of him and a small portion of a wall on the right. The only thing of use to them was the door a head. Markus glanced at the door to the girl standing in front of him, confused.
"Why are you staring at the door?" He asked
"I thought the sound was coming from here." Was all she said.
Markus watched her for a moment. When she finally took her eyes off of it the door a low humming sound filled the air. Markus cocked his head to the side in question. "What was that?"
Mavon rolled her eyes and sighed, turning her back to him and walking away. "That's our bell. Remember when I mentioned the 'Talents' people have here? Some kids have sensitive hearing and the sharp sound of the bell hurts them." Mavon dropped to a crouch at the edge of the stage planted one hand on the ground and using it to jump down. Dusting off her hands on her pants she bent down once again to pick up her bag. "You better hurry up or you'll get caught in traffic. Oh and ignore what people might say to you. We might be rich people but we are no ignorant like regular teens." With that she walked out, leaving Markus flustered and lost.
Glaring at the empty door way, Markus grabbed his things, jumped down from the stage, and walked up the aisle to the door. Mean ignorant jerk. Crabby mouth. Roman silk toucher.

Names pounded his head even as he left the room and into a wave of swarming people. "Woe, there." Markus was jerked back on the side lines of the swarm. "You can't go into there without a guide." Markus spun around to find Mavon eyeing the crowd. His face heated in anger or embarrassment, he didn't know.
"I thought you left me." He stated, noting her hand was still on his wrist.