Chandra- Chapter one, Part one

Chapter 1
Part 1:
       The Lunis kids were new. They'd inundated Sherman High like a flood, causing more uproar than my arrival. Ilana, Newton and Lance, or "The Hippie," "The Nerd," and "Angry boy" as they were soon known as around school, arrived that morning after the presumably Galalunian Space Craft slipped into the atmosphere unnoticed by the mundane rabble of Sherman. Information spread like wild fire that morning, messages bouncing from phone to phone inducing a rumour filled buzz about the newcomers. It wasn't so much that they were new kids, but the odd mix of the bunch was what struck Chandra funny. Ilana, the petite blonde, was such a stark contrast to her raven-haired brother, Lance who loomed above her at six foot three. Their moods were also very different. Ilana carried herself with regality and tried to bring cheeriness wherever she went. Lance, however, scowled and sulked, casting his dark brooding eyes over many a hallway. Then, there was Newton, their square shaped friend who seemingly lived with the two opposite siblings and knew more knowledge than that which was contained in Solomon's extensive library. These three were such an odd trio that no one, not even Chandra could help to stare intently.

       Newton was the first of the trio she'd become acquainted with. That morning during her first block Math class, he'd stood up in front of the class and introduced himself, seemingly mechanically. Now, Chandra had seen some of the smaller, skinnier boys who seemed to be less in touch with reality and much more preoccupied with their whirring, simple machines, however, Newton was different. He gave Chandra a feeling of unease like he wasn't a being of the Earth. As he walked back to his assigned seat, he suddenly slowed his pace and said in a mechanical voice, "the answer to your equation is 'Y= 3-x'." The whole class, including the teacher, looked at him in awe. A quick calculation, and Chandra deduced that Newton was indeed correct.  How on Earth could he have known that, thought Chandra. There was definitely something odd about this individual.

     Ilana was the second of the Lunis gang she met that dreary Thursday. She began her speech with some sort of nonsense about the unity of the Heart, Body and Mind in herself. She seemed like she'd fit in with the New Age bunch that hung out around the courtyards before school, meditating and snacking on orange carrots that Chandra hadn't really enjoyed the first time she was introduced to them by Solomon. This girl was so petite it was stunning how much energy and enthusiasm she contained. She was dressed like an over-sized seven year-old in colours that made Chandra's dark, liquid brown eyes smart at the sight. That morning in their English class, Silvia, their care-free English Teacher, had everyone write a short fiction story. Chandra just happened to be paired up with Ilana. Her story was very erratically fabricated, yet something made Chandra pause, and re-read it several times. Underneath the seemingly fictional storyline, the girl's story was in fact a brief history of the struggle of an early civilization and a brutal, violent invading force. Discreetly, Chandra snapped photos of the lined paper filled with loopy handwriting and saved them onto her cellphone that Solomon gave to her so they could keep in contact at any time.  She then made a mental note to talk to her uncle later, though the pictures were soon forgotten.

       It wasn't until the end of the day that Chandra caught a closer glimpse at Lance Lunis. Chandra didn't have any classes with Lance, though she got an impression of them as he walked through the hall. He strode militaristically across the flagstone steps, and caused many a girl to inwardly swoon. She even saw Kristin, a solitary girl, cast a lingering look at him. The "bad boy" archetype had such a disgusting effect on these weak surface dwellers. She rolled her eyes and brushed past the boy, her white hair swishing behind her in complete indifference of the raven-haired boy.

       This obsession over the Lunis kids lasted for a few days until it turned nasty. The rumours were no longer centered upon Chandra, but around Ilana and Newton particularly. They were known as "Doofuses", an insult that was commonly used in Sherman High to describe the unwanted, or the undesired by their ruthless social hierarchy.  Kimmy, a name that by sheer mention made Chandra's skin crawl with repulsion, made sure that Ilana remained at the bottom of the food chain. It was horrendous, the compulsive need of the females to destroy the happiness of other females, just for the sake of securing their spot on the insignificant popularity scale.

        This particular day was slightly out of character for Chandra. The normal cool fall weather, full of rain and wind, seemed particularly dry and it made Chandra uncomfortable in her own skin. She also woke up with a dull headache, which was an unusual occurrence. The last time she'd had a pain quite like this was when the Galalunian spacecraft crashed into the planet. Solomon was sitting down in the main dining hall at the end of the meters long mahogany table, indulging in a steaming cup of coffee. He looked up at Chandra through slightly fogged red goggles, and grimaced.

"Do you have a headache too Chandra?"

She nodded silently.

"You know what that means."

Another nod from the girl.

"We're already tracking the skies, G3 will surely be able to handle anything that may be too difficult for the surface dwellers to deal with."