Chapter 3

• Aria.
• Lila looked around as others grumbled at the sight of their tags. “Well, at least we aren’t alone in this. Do you think they all have these too? The Ravens?”
• “I don’t know. We are going to find out, aren’t we? Since we’ll be stuck with them for more than eight hours every day in school. It’s all about control to remind us that we don’t belong.”
• “Come on, Aria. Let’s get prepared. The last thing you need is to be on dinner duty.”
• “I might as well consider it so I get stuck with you tonight.” I chuckled as Lila pulled us towards the bathroom.
• I sighed, feeling a heavy weight on my injured shoulder. I could feel it; the wolf that bit me attended Ravencrest High. And if today was going to be all about meeting them, I knew I would hate every minute of it.
• The air definitely felt heavier in here. Just standing in front of Ravencrest High School, I could feel the heavy weight of something bad settle deep in my stomach.
• A massive building stood in front of us, bigger and more intimidating than Silverwood High ever was. It was a towering structure with big windows that I could almost feel eyes watching us from. It had black and silver engravings and the big Raven crest logo hanging from a flag. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
• I swallowed hard as I felt Lila’s arm graze mine as if nudging me to look at something. I followed her direction to notice some Ravencrest students heading into the school building. They were staring at us, sneering even.
• All twenty of us stood in front of the school eating what was left of our sandwiches because they hadn’t given us enough time to have them in the dorms. But at the sight of the Ravens, we stopped immediately as they looked down on us.
• It was clear from their first glance that we didn’t belong here and they didn’t like us.
• The Ravens, as we called them, moved with a very quiet arrogance; they held their heads high, and their sharp eyes were cold and assessing. They wore the same uniform as us, but there was a slight difference. Instead of the same sweaters we had on, they had sharp navy blue blazers that had been tailored perfectly for each of them. And their ties were navy blue instead of the silver ones we wore.
• But apart from the clear distinction in our uniforms, another thing that set the Ravencrest and the Silverwoods apart was the way they held themselves.
• They looked perfect, poised. Their uniforms were sharp and neat, and their postures screamed confidence from every angle. Meanwhile, all twenty of us stood awkwardly in front of the school as if we didn’t know what to do, trying to adjust to our new uniforms.
• Mrs Holt, the dorm leader, had told us to wait here, and we would be addressed by the principal of the school.
• And just immediately, a woman stepped out from the building. She was a tall figure, elegant and with sharp features. She wore a dark green pantsuit and a silver Ravencrest emblem pinned to her chest.
• I knew she was the principal. I could feel her aura as her eyes swept over us, cold, stern, and unreadable.
• “Welcome to Ravencrest High,” she said, her voice sharp and precise. “I am Principal Regina Hartley. And as you all know, you are here as a part of your pack’s transition into Ravencrest. It is our duty to ensure that you are fully integrated into our pack effectively.”
• I glanced at Lila, who met my gaze with a worried look. They didn’t want to integrate us. They wanted us to submit to their rules.
• The principal stopped stepping aside as some students came out of the building, about ten of them, and they stood beside her. They looked smart and poised too, and like the rest, they watched with curiosity. I also noticed some students had opened their windows, and some stood at the balconies looking down at us, and some were even taking pictures on their phones and laughing.
• “To ensure your smooth transition into Ravencrest High, two of you would be paired and assigned to a Ravencrest student as your guide. They would introduce you to the school’s structure and system. They would be here to assist you in adapting to our way of life.”
• “Or keep a tab on us.” I murmured gently to Lila, who nodded in agreement.
• I listened as the Principal called out names and parodied my pack mates with vacuous Raven students. One by one, our people stepped forward, stiff and exhausted as they were matched with their guides.
• And then she called out names.
• “Aria Langston and Lila Monroe, you will be assigned to Maya Rivera. You are all dismissed. Classes start at fifteen; no late entries.” She finished before disappearing into the building.
• “What do you think she’s like? Our guide, I mean?” Lila asked, and I shrugged as a petite girl stepped towards us. She was slightly smaller than the other guides, around our height. She had warm olive skin and dark brown wavy hair that reached her shoulders. Her hazel eyes and pointed nose were surrounded with freckles.
• “Hello, I’m Maya.” She said softly with a genuine smile. “I’ll be your guide this term. And which one of you is Aria?”
• “I am.” I responded as she smiled wider.
• “You’re the one who was the captain of the debate club at your school?”
• “Yeah?” I raised an eyebrow. “How did you know that?”
• “Oh, we have your files here, and we’ve been given some information about you prior to your resumption.”
• “Are you kidding?” Lila asked as I finally noticed a bunch of files on her arm. “Can we have a look?”
• “I’m sorry, that’s private information. But I’m sure there’s so much more to you than some pieces of paper, and I’m looking forward to finding out more about you. The good thing is we are in the same grade, so we can become good friends.” Maya said cheerfully, and Lila and I exchanged wary glances before following her into the school.
• “Come on. I’ll walk you through everything.” Maya said as we stood behind her, taking everything in. Ravencrest was even bigger and more beautiful on the inside.
• Students filled the hall, some in front of their lockers that lined the side of the wall. I observed the Ravens. They looked so smart and confident as they moved. Some of them sent us glares or scowls, but I didn’t mind.
• As we walked, I noticed the Ravens had a similar name tag to us, pinned to their blazers, but something about theirs was different, but I couldn’t tell.
• “Ravencrest High school is home to thousands of students in our pack. And some other pack members have transferred here due to our high quality of education and wolf training.” Maya turned to us, and I looked down at her tag.
• Maya Rivera. Rank 6. Strength: 4/10.
• My eyes narrowed as I raised a brow.
• Rank?
• “What’s the ranking system here?” I suddenly asked, cutting her shirt as she spoke, and Lila followed my eyes and spotted her tag.
• “Oh. It’s our pack hierarchy. Every wolf in Ravencrest is ranked based on your status and their role.” She explained.
• Rank 6? Did that mean that was low?
• “Yeah, I know, not really impressive.” She chuckled in embarrassment before she started walking, and we followed behind.
• Here at Ravencrest. It is important that everyone know their place and their importance in the pack. It helps us recognize who is higher than us. It’s simple.
• Rank 1 is the highest; only the alphas belong in that rank.
• Rank 2 wolves are betas, second-in-commands, elders, and their children.
• Rank 3 includes the scout leaders, hunter leaders, and basically any wolf that holds a position of leadership.
• Rank 4 included the scouts, guards, hunters, fighters, doctors, nurses, and medical trainees.” Maya explained easily as we listened closely.
• “Rank 5 are mostly the caregivers, those who focus on farming, production, maintenance, and stuff like that.”
• “And Rank 6?” Lila asked.
• Maya gave us a thin smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Those of us who don’t hold any real position. Wolves with no claim to power or leadership. Just ordinary wolves.”
• I frowned, seeing her shoulders slump. She was one of the lowest-ranked wolves on Ravencrest. It makes sense why she didn’t look down on us in disgust.
• Because she wasn’t much different from us.
• “It’s almost the same as being an omega. But Ravencrest likes to deal with numbers. In the coming months your ranks would be decided in the training you undergo, and then the ranking ceremony would take place and your tags would be changed to display your position to everyone. But more information would be given about that in the coming events.”
• I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as Maya continued down the hall.
• “The ranking system keeps everything in order. And just so you know, everyone here follows it.”
• “Of course they do.” I said under my breath and didn’t say anything else as she stopped in front of a locker and tapped her fingers against it.
• “Locker 246. This one is yours, Aria.”
• I stepped forward hesitantly as I looked at the tall lockers; they were bigger than the ones we had back home.
• I turned to ask Maya something about keeping snacks in them when I noticed her staring at the locker beside mine.
• Locker 245.
• I saw something flicker across her eyes that looked like hesitation and a bit of fear.
• “What’s wrong?” I asked as I exchanged glances with Lila, who was frowning at her reaction too.
• “Nothing.” She answered quickly before handing me a folded piece of paper. This is your timetable. It has your schedule, class times, and locations. Inside your locker you would see your textbooks and notebooks inside.” She said before taking Lila’s arm and pulling her further down the hall.
• I felt a strange feeling in my stomach. She was acting differently. I turned to the locker beside mine. Locker 245. There was nothing special about it, so why was she so uncomfortable?
• “Come on, Lila. Let’s find your locker next.” She said quickly as she looked down the hall briefly, and Lila shot me a questioning look, obviously noticing the tension that had come between us. I shrugged at her.
• “I’ll see you at lunch in the cafeteria. Everyone has lunch at the same time.” Maya said, and Lila waved at me and adjusted her bag strap nervously.
• “Wait at the entrance, ok?” I told her as she nodded before she pulled Lila hurriedly down the hall, and I watched them walk down the hall.