The Cobalt Diaries-Chapter 1

Taking a deep breath, the dark-brown haired girl stared at the door in front of her. She couldn’t believe she was here, it still felt like a dream. Dressed in a white long-sleeve polo matched with a long brown trench coat that protected her from the cold weather and blue jeans and black dress shoes. Her hair was tied into a neat ponytail and her jet black eyes glinted with excitement. Her name was Robin Atkins, a novelist who goes by the name E.K Springs. Robin had heard many stories of Cobalt Academy, about how they chose the best and suitable teenagers to enter their school and mold them into great people. She wanted to be great, she knew she could be better than she was today. The feeling of excitement washed over her as thoughts of improving appeared in her mind.

Robin exhaled a sigh. Her hand hovered above the knob, she hesitated for a moment before wrapping her hand on the knob and swinging the door open. Teenagers, all dressed in uniforms or prestigious clothes, filled the room. Some were hanging by themselves in some tables or corners  while others were chatting with each other about the latest news. They turned to Robin, their eyes staring on her. The chatter turned into silence as everyone’s gaze  fixated on the young novelist. Robin shivered, and a lump formed on her throat. A few of them began whispering to their friends, to Robin it felt like they were judging her. And teenagers were very judgy people.

Robin avoided their stares, her eyes staring at the floor below her. She gulped down the lump in her throat, ignoring the stares fixated on her.  “Hey come with me.” A hand grabbed her wrist and lead her away from the crowd. Relief washed over her, thank the heavens that some one has come to her rescue.  Robin looked up, her eyes landed on long straight light blonde hair and a smiling face. She looked to be the same age as Robin. 16 years old with brilliant steel gray eyes and fair skin. Her clothes consisted of a white long-sleeve turtle neck shirt with a black bowtie. Her lower comprised of a long black shirt that reached her knees and long white knee socks paired with black shoes. “My name’s Kaelin Chong but my friends call me Kaeli.” She introduced herself, her smile widening. “Just ignore their stares. They do that to anyone who comes in.” 

Kaeli led Robin to an empty table away from the crowd to Robin’s relief. Beside the table were two people chatting with each other, laughing as they told stories of their lives. As the two of them approached the empty table, one of the two strangers, turned to face them, their eyes following them with curiosity and interest. Robin took a seat across from Kaeli, she shuffled in her seat as she felt the stare . Kaeli wiped her head to face them and shot them a glare. “Sorry..” they muttered, turning their head back to their companion and began talking like nothing had ever happen. “Thank you for that and also from taking me far away from the crowd. I never liked being stared at.” Robin thanked Kaeli, her lips forming a soft smile. Kaeli smiled back at her, “No need to thank me. By the way, what’s your name?”  

“My name’s Robin Atkins and I’m a nove-“ Robin stopped herself. She hesitated for a moment  before nodding her head. “I’m a novelist. My pen name is E.K Springs.” Robin told Kaeli, a pinch of doubt in her voice. Kaeli sat there, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. She blinked at Robin, her eyes showing a glint of interest. No one said a word and Robin shuffled in her seat. Did she say something that offended Kaeli? She was sure she was just introducing herself. “Huh so you’re the one who wrote the Dawn Saga, my sister loves those books.” Kaeli broke the silence, snapping Robin out of her thoughts. She leaned back against the chair, her eyes glancing at Robin before she turned to face the other table beside them. The two strangers got up and left their table, not even pushing in their chairs. “To be honest I have never read any of your works but I heard it’s interesting.” Kaeli sighed, her other hand twirling a strand of her hair. She was still staring at the empty table beside them, not noticing that Robin was shuffling in her seat again. 

“Since you told me yours, I might as well tell you mine.” She turned her gaze towards Robin before giving her another smile. “I’m a fashion designer and my father owns Vénche, the coat you’re wearing and I would like to add that I designed it.”

“That’s very interesting.” Robin said, propping her elbow on the table. Resting her chin on the palm of her hand, Robin had a feeling she could trust this girl. Not because they introduced each other but because they look like they can make a great team. Robin opened her mouth to speak,”Hey Kaeli-“ Suddenly, a finger tapped on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder , and behind her was a tall man wearing a black suit with short brown hair and an emotionless face. Robin couldn’t tell the color of his eyes due to him wearing dark sunglasses that were meant for the beach. On his ears were black earpieces that are probably used for walkie-takies. “Robin Atkins please follow me to the examination room. You are to take the exam with your fellow colleagues right now.” His voice was robotic and it made Robin question if he was really human. She turned to Kaeli whose smile dropped. She never knew there was an exam, and if so then she was screwed. Robin stood up, “Well I guess I’ll see you later.” She waved at Kaeli, smiling. Kaeli smiled sadly and nodded, she waved Robin goodbye as she followed the man. “I never knew there was an exam.” She told him, her brow raising. The man shook his head, “It’s a test for the students to see if they are worthy enough to school here. Those who pass are allowed to enter the academy.”

“What if they don’t?”

“Then they’ll never enter the academy.”

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Chairs lined in perfect straight rows and columns filled the room. At the end of the room was an altar with a long white table with four empty chairs. A chandelier was placed at the top of the room, filling the room with it’s yellow light. Students stood behind the last rows of chairs just in front of the door, whispering to each other about what’s the test about. The door closed behind her without making a sound. To her, it looked like they were taking a test in a church since there was barely any noise. A bell rang, signaling the students to stop whispering. Four people stood at the altar, two were male white the other two were females. One of the females, a tall brown haired woman cleared her throat and spoke. 

“You will have 1 hour to finish the test. If you’re caught cheating then you will be escorted out of the room and your invitation to Cobalt Academy will be revoked. If you’re not yet finish with the test then, I’m sorry to say this, but you won’t be given any time to finish it. If you’re done please hand the test to me and stay in your seat. You have to wait for your results and we will be calling you to the room one by one.” She pointed at the brown door on the right side of the altar. 

“We will tell you if you passed or failed and we will tell you which class you belong to and what dorm room you’re staying.”

“Now are there any questions? If you do have a question, please raise your hand.” No one raised their hand and the room was filled with silence. The woman cleared her throat, “All right please go to the comfort rooms before we take the test. We will not allow students to use the comfort rooms while they are taking the examination. Our guards will lead you there.” Robin saw two guard behind the door, standing like statues. Two, maybe three students, approached the guards and they took them outside. As soon as the door closed, the bell rang again. “The rest please find your seats.”

Robin walked towards a seat behind the first row. Her heart pounded in her chest as she took the seat. She sat there, praying that God will let her pass this exam. Heck, she even prayed that she could finish all the items in the exam. She looked around the room, almost everyone except the three students had taken a seat.  She glanced at her table, a pen and eraser lied on the center of the table. Beside it was the test paper, it’s back facing the roof of the room. After the three students had enter the room and chosen their seats, the bell rang again and the woman clapped her hands. “Students turn over your papers, you have one hour to complete the test.”

Robin turned over the piece of paper, there were only five items in the quiz. She couldn’t help but raise a brow.  The first question was asking what pronoun is used for Anna, and Robin answered she. The second question was asking what kind of pronoun was number 1 and it was third person. Robin thought this was weird, why would they give only five items and why was number 1 and 2 easy? She reached number three, she was about to write when she stopped. Number 3 didn’t make any sense. There were numbers, letters from a different language,  symbols that looked ancient, and asterisks. One of the students read her mind and stood up. “Miss there’s something wrong on number 3!” He raised his voice. “It doesn’t make sense!” Everyone stared at him in silence, some of them even stood up and complained.

“Miss is this an error?”

“Number 4 is the same!”

“Is this bonus?”

“Should we answer it?”

“It’s probably a mistake.”

The bell rang and the students stopped complaining. The woman crossed her arms, her had shaking in disappointment. “Like I said, I won’t be entertaining your answers.” She told them, a hint of anger in her voice. “Of course it isn’t an error and you should answer it.” When she finished, the students grumbled and sat back down. The boy, stormed towards the woman, cursing as he passed through the other students. “What kind of crap is this? This is definitely an error you stupid cow!” Behind her, the two males shared a look while the other female shook her head. She stood up and strode over towards the boy, her hands clenched into fists. She gritted her teeth as she made her way over to them. Her hair was the color of the night sky and it was tied into a ponytail. Her right eye had an eyepatch while her left eye was the color of the ocean. Dressed in a black suit and a red tie, she reminded Robin of

 a mafia boss from the movie she watched.  The woman approached the two and as she plastered a forced smile, her face redden and Robin swore she could see steam coming out of her ears.

“May I see the error?” The black haired woman asked the boy calmly when she stopped beside the other woman, her smile still plastered. “It’s definitely an error.” He smirked smugly, handing his test towards the woman. “You know you should find smart people. I thought-“

Before another word escaped his mouth, a tear caught everyone’s attention. The test, which was in the boy’s hand a while ago, was now two torn pieces. Widening his eyes, the boy‘s mouth agape. The woman smirked, letting go of the town pieces. It floated towards the floor before landing in front of the boy’s shoes. Seeing the boy’s expression made the woman’s smirk widen, she glared at him as he took a step back. “How dare you! I’ll hav-“

“Your father will be disappointed to find out that you don’t have any manners. Maybe he will make your sister the heir instead of you. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to tell him. Besides, he is my employee after all.”Crossing her arms, the black haired woman glared at him. The boy opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. His face redden,  his head dropped, and he stared at the ground in shame. “I’m sorry for my actions, Ms. Theresa.” He apologized to the brown haired woman. He trodded over the door, his shoulders slumped. Everyone stared at him, some even glared as he walked past them. Soon after that the room turned quiet, there was no noise  except the occasionally erasing of the answers and groans coming from students. Robin turned to her own piece of paper, her eyes landed on number 3.Confused, Robin put down her pen and stared at the words. She furrowed her brows and her hands gripped the sides of her head. Think, she had to think. Robin paused, thinking for a moment. A thought popped in her mind and she found herself picking up the pen. Writing the thought down, she took a deep breath as he hand scribbled what she neeeded to right.  For some reason, it just felt write. “You only have 30 minutes left.” The woman, Ms. Theresa, announced before  the bell rang.

Robin turned to number 4, and began writing. Her mind helped her, pushing away distracting thoughts and sticking only to one thought.  As her hand created word after word, she felt like she was the only person in the room. In her eyes, no one was there except her and the test on the table. “10 minutes.” Her breath quickened, her heart pounded in her chest, she finished her sentence and turned her gaze to the last number. The sounds of her heart and the scribbling of the pen filled her ears as the pen glided on the paper. “5 minutes.” Suddenly, she stopped and took a deep breath. Her mind went blank and she stared at the empty space beside the word she had wrote. Her hand dropped her pen and it landed on the table before rolling towards the edge.  A strange smell struck her, her eyes turned dull and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. She stopped moving,her breath was slow and steady. It was if she had malfunctioned. “3 minutes.” She looked up at the ceiling, her eyes watching the chandelier twinkle. “2 minutes.” She peered at the altar without any emotions. With a shaky breath, she slowly moved her hand towards the pen, her hand shaking as she picked it up. “1 minute.” Her eyes turned to the paper, she only had 1 minute left. Robin began writing the final words. “30 seconds.” She took a deep breath and escaped a sigh, her hand turned numb and her fingers were starting to hurt. “10 seconds.” Pain shot through her hand as she began adding the last two words to her sentence. “5 seconds.” Finishing, Robin’s hand let go of the pen. The pen hit the floor, creating a thud. “Time’s up. We’ll be collecting your papers. Please stay in your seats.” Robin leaned against her chain, gasping for air. Exhaustion washed over her, and her body turned light. A ringing sound rang in her ears, her vision turned blurry, the world spun around her, and her eyelids flutter. Sweat dripped from her brow, she began taking off her coat and folding her sleeves. “Hey are you alright?” The person beside her asked. She shook her head slowly. “Hey I think this person needs help.” Darkness surrounded her, and the next thing she knew, she was laying on the floor with people surrounding her. “Help!” That was the last thing Robin heard before losing consciousness.

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Opening her eyes, she found herself sitting in a classroom. Desks lined the sides and the center of the room, some were laying on the ground while others were standing. The blackboard was smeared with blood and it was dripping on the ground below it. Blood covered the floor, and the metallic smell stung Robin. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “What is this?” Pinching her nose, she looked outside. Like the blackboard, the windows were smeared with blood except they some of them were broken. Shards of broken glass lay on the floor and the desks on the left side of the room, and a few pieces of torn clothing were drenched in thick red liquid. Standing up, she walked towards the front of the class, making sure that there were no shards to poke her. In front of the black board was a table, a small white chest stood on top of it, waiting for it to be opened. Robin approached it slowly, her heart pounding in her ears. She stood, in front of the chest with a look of confusion. She reached out her hand, shaking each time it got closer. A cold hand gripped her shoulder. Robin jumped and her heart nearly jumping out of her chest. She reeled around to face the person. “Robin.” Kaeli smiled at her, washing a wave of relief to the scared girl. “Kaeli what’s going on?” Robin asked as the grip on her shoulder tighten. “And you’re hurting me.”

Kaeli’s smile grew wider. The pain on her shoulder sent Robin to crouch down on her knees. “Kaeli stop!” Kaeli ignored her, the smile on her face growing wider and wider. Robin pushed Kaeli away, Kaeli loosened her grip and slammed into the desk. Standing up, Robin stared at Kaeli with widen eyes. With just one blink, Kaeli was gone. Robin tilted her head, questions filled her head. Pain stung her, she used hand gripped the side of the table while the other held her head. Crouching, Robin leaned against the table. A metallic smell stung her nose, Robin coughed and blood landed on the ground. Her hand was wet and something was dripping from it. Letting go of her head, she took a look at her hand and froze. It was blood. Blood dripped from the side of her head, it’s dark velvet red liquid sending droplets to the floor. Looking up, she saw someone she has never meet before. They frowned at her, tears streaming down their cheeks. In their hand was a baseball bat drenched with blood. Robin’s blood. “Sorry Robin.” They raised their bat above Robin’s head. “But it’s for our own good.” Robin widen her eyes as the bat descended towards her.

“No!” She bolted up in her bed, sweat trickling down the side of her head. “Robin are you okay?” She turned her head. Kaeli sat beside her, holding Robin’s trench coat in her hands. Kaeli stared at her, not saying anything before placing the trench coat on the table and cupping her hands on Robin’s face. “You’re having a fever.”  Kaeli muttered. “I’ll call the nurse.”

“I’m not sick your hands are just hot!” Robin exclaimed, grabbing Kaeli’s hands and pulling them away from her face. She stared at her, the image of her dream appeared in her mind. Shivering, she shook her head, telling herself that it wasn’t real. “Oh sorry it’s just that I had this weird dream.” Robin shifted in her seat as Kaeli raised a brow. “But it’s more of a nightmare and-“

“Yeah tell me that after you released your hands. It’s cold.” Robin reeled back, making Kaeli laugh out loud. “What happen to me?” Robin asked, placing a hand on her head. “You collapsed.”Kaeli informed her after she had stopped laughing. “The guard who escorted you told me that you collapsed after the exam. Was it really that hard?” 

“It was.” Robin admitted as she laid back down in the bed. “I see.” Kaeli leaned against her chair, humming a tune of a song. “You haven’t taken the exam yet?” Robin asked her. “If you haven’t, you could just leave me.”

“They’ll call me. Why? Do you want me gone? How rude of you!”

“No its not that it’s because of this dream I had.”

“I see.” Kaeli leaned towards the bed and fiddled with her fingers. “What was It all about?”

Robin took a deep breath, “I was in this classroom, every thing was bloody and the windows were broken. There was a chest on a table and when I was bout to open it you gripped my shoulder so hard that it hurt. I pushed you away and when I blinked you were gone. Then someone appeared and they hit me with a bat, saying it was for their own good.” Robin exhaled slowly. “And then I woke up.”

“That’s really a weird dream.” Kaeli nodded. The door opened and the man ducked inside. “Miss Chong please follows me to the examination room.” Kaeli turned to Robin and gave her a smile. “Wish me luck.” She stood up, waving good bye ate Robin before exiting the room. “Bye.” The door closed and Robin was left alone with her thoughts. She stared at the light above her head, wondering if it was a dream. “But it felt to real.” She whispered to herself. “It was like It wasn’t a dream.”

“It was more like a memory.”

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Grumbling a curse, they picked up the folder. Their fingers opening the folder in one swift motion. Their eyes examined the contents within before releasing a sigh.  For a moment, they relinquished the silence that filled the room as they read file after file. A smile formed on their face upon reaching a certain file, their eyes gleaming with interest at the profile of the young student. The door swung open and loud footsteps hit their ears, their smile fell and they shook their head. Darn it. 

Sighing, they closed the folder before placing it on their desk. The one who entered, Marcie Olstein, was holding a bottle of red wine in their hand.  Their face flushed with red, and as they walked towards them, the smell of alcohol reached their nose. They wrinkled their nose in disgust when she approached, the smell hung in the air and it filled the room with it’s heavy smell.

“It’s to early to be drinking.” They said, crossing their arms. “I can drink whenever I want.” Marcie took a sip of her wine, a burp escaped her mouth before wiping it with the sleeve of her suit. They rolled their eyes and Marcie escaped a laugh. “Hey want some?” With a shake of their head and the wave of their hand, they turned towards the window, their back facing the eye-patched girl. Light streamed into the room, making it clear for them to see. Marcie turned her attention to the painting beside the wall and snickered. “I heard there was an accident. Something about Theresa being disrespected by an examinee?” They told them, their voice showing no emotions. Marcie hesitated before escaping another laugh. “Oh yeah it was Richard’s kid, he had no respect whatsoever. Heck, I bet his dad is going to scold him when he gets home. I feel sorry for Richard. His son is a brat.” Marcie finished her wine in one gulp. “Damn this is some good wine. Too bad you didn’t try some.”

“Marcie, would you please tell….her…that she would be handling a class this year.” They chuckled. “And I would be the one picking her students.”

“Who are we talking about exactly?”

“You know very well who I am referring to.”

“I ain’t got no clue chief.”

“Don’t act dumb Marcie. We both know who I am talking about.”

Marcie shifted her feet. They looked over their shoulder, a smirk formed on their lips. “Now run along and bring them here. I would discuss something with them about her class.” Nodding, Marcie saluted them before heading out. As soon as the door closed, they turned towards their desk, their smirk still plastered on their face.

“Robin Atkins let’s see how you survive this school year.”