[Kylie]

Kylie hurried off toward the girls’ dormitories; she did not want to be late to the only class she would be showing up for. Most people who knew her could attest that it wasn’t like her to be punctual, but first impressions were everything. Using the key and information she found in the envelope from earlier, she arrived at her assigned room and opened up the door. There wasn’t enough time to explore the room—she was more worried about getting her belongings. Kylie made a beeline to the first bedroom that she saw and discovered her luggage and duffel bag had been placed neatly on the bed inside, seemingly untouched. But Kylie was positive they had invaded her privacy either through X-rays or physically rummaging through everything. Whatever, at least she had her stuff back now.

Slowly, she reached down and began to unzip her suitcase to unpack her plethora of clothes. But on a whim, she glanced at the time on a digital clock in the room and saw it was 9:50. Jeez, where had the time gone? There was absolutely no way she could unpack everything in time. With an exasperated sigh, she left her luggage half-open and stormed out of her room muttering something about stupid required classes.

Kylie rushed over to where the academic buildings were located after asking a passerby for directions. No matter how late she’d be, however, she simply had to check out her reflection in a window that she was going past. Arriving on time was a good first impression and all, but being on time [i]and[/i] looking good was a thousand times better.

Her hair with its brand-new blonde highlights looked great. She had it down, and since she had straightened it earlier that day, not a single lock was out of place. She was wearing the same outfit she had on when she left; there was no point in getting changed, especially when—oh shoot, she had to get to that stupid class!

Now jogging, but being very careful not to work up a sweat, Kylie arrived at Class 4 with two minutes to spare. The teacher, a well-built man in a dress shirt and tie, glared at her, but she smiled at him as if to say “I’m still on time though.” Or perhaps her smile said something along the lines of, “You’ll only be dealing with me for today.” She found an empty seat toward the back of the class and sat down.

“Since we’re all here,” the man said in a deep and booming voice. “We can now begin. My name is Mr. West and I will be instructing Class 4. Here at the Skyline Institute the most important thing is one, single word. What word, you may ask? Well, that’s up to you. In a moment I will be handing out a slip of paper. On it you will write down one word, and one word only. I don’t want any pranksters on the first day, you hear? Don’t just write down any word either, like a preposition or a pronoun. This word must have actual meaning and will be your sole source of strength and protection, because as you may know, at Skyline, the only requirement for graduation is survival. Your word will be what grants you this survival, if pick one you can work with. What can you rely on for this? What word can you entrust your very life with?”

Kylie gulped. So that’s why this class was required. Maybe… Maybe she had bitten off a little more than she could chew. But it was too late to turn back now, and she knew it. She was well aware her life was on the line, but what possible dangerous obstacles could the faculty throw at their students? Didn’t that lady from earlier mention something about monsters? Well, this certainly wasn’t a normal school, so… It could happen. Kylie supposed she’d find out in due time…

“Remember, you must also be creative with your words,” Mr. West added. “Apply it using any form of its definition that you can think of. That may be an important key for some of you.”

Mr. West then handed out the papers and writing utensils and waited patiently for everyone to write their words down. Kylie stared down at her little slip of paper and wracked her brain for something useful. Not knowing what she’d be going up against, Kylie thought of some words that could work. Fire? Invisible? Courage? Knowledge? …Bomb?

No, no… Nothing seemed to be a good fit, at least not for Kylie. She gazed out the window in frustration and saw, way in the distance, the endless fields that surrounded the campus. Then she remembered seeing the track field on her way in and how she considered being a cheerleader. What is the number one thing you need to have if you’re a cheerleader? Spirit!

Kylie excitedly recorded the word in neat cursive and stared at it, content. Yes, it was an excellent word with multiple meanings she could work with.

Mr. West noticed that most of the students had finished and he swiftly walked around all the desks, checking the papers. He nodded at each one, and no one seemed to have written down more than one word or any meaningless ones.

“Good job, everyone,” he said as he returned to the front of the class. “No pranksters this year. Now, all you have to do is say the word out loud. Don’t be shy, now.”

Kylie bit her lip and looked at her paper. All the other students began saying their words.

“Spirit,” she whispered quietly.

Immediately after she said this, the paper disintegrated, as did every other paper in the room as soon as its owner pronounced their respective word.

“Wh—“ Kylie gasped. She immediately felt a tingling sensation in her left hand. She flipped her hand over and gazed into her palm with a start. There, written in fancy font just like she had done on her paper, her skin was emblazoned with the word “SPIRIT”.

“Now, students… Make your teacher proud and use your words to fight!”