1. Rejection

"So...I'll see you later, Fala?"
"Yeah. Bye, Tahi!" Tahi, was, I suppose, my boyfriend. We had lived together ever since my parents passed away. My mother had died from a mysterious illness that even the healers could not fix and my father had slowly wasted away with grief, his face becoming more drawn and gray until he faded away completely. I had been powerless and helpless, and the only thing that kept me from doing the same as my father was Tahi. I moved in with him after my father passed away and we'd been living together ever since. I loved him in some ways, and he would kiss me on the lips when I left the house, as he did right before I left for the school. I wasn't sure if I liked him that way though. I saw him more as an older brother and protector than a boyfriend. Still, I couldn't complain because he was the one taking care of me. I was afraid that if I did, I would have no place to go.
And so began my first day of school. For the fourth time. But this was my first all-girls school. Slipping through the door, I made my way through the hall, listening to my footsteps echoing through the empty hallway. I flickered my eyes around, fidgeting in the quiet. Upon finding the principal's office, I knocked quietly and opened the door slightly. A tall, slender woman sat in a stiff wooden chair, looking over her rimmed glasses. Though she had straight bangs, curly light brown hair cascaded over her shoulder in a ponytail. Glancing quickly around the room, I decided that she must be Principal Bukiri. After all, that was what the small plaque on her desk said.
"Are you..." The principal paused, looking down at her paper.
"Falandra nu Azamoni?" I watched as her piercing green eyes quickly looked me over, probably making some sort of decision as to what kind of person was. Despite the fact that people always said they didn't judge by appearances and first impressions, they still did.
"Yes, that's me." I squeeked, my throat tightening in nervousness.
"Please, come in." She gave a gentle smile and gestured for me to sit down.
"Thank you." I murmured softly, not knowing what else to say in such a situation.
"Here's your schedule." She passed a slip of paper to me over her desk and gave me a moment as I stared at the paper, trying to decipher the millions of little words floating on the page.
"Don't worry about it, you'll figure it out later." she chuckled. "Now, follow me."
She led me through halls, turning right and left. How was I supposed to remember all this?! I looked down at the paper again, trying to keep up with the woman's fast pace. Flipping it over, I found that there was a map. I gave a sigh of relief. At least I wouldn't need to try and memorize the place.
"Ladies, settle down!" the principal called out to the class.
"Yes, Principal Bukiri..." came the murmured reply.
"This is Falandra nu Azamoni."
"Just Fala, please." I stammered. Whispering floated around the entire room.
"Nu Azamoni?!"
"Then she's...?"
"Shhh!" I gave a sigh before I let the speech I had prepared for all my schools flow from my lips.
"As it appears, you all know about my great grandfather. I'm sorry if he caused your families any pain, but that was in the past. I cannot reverse what happened." I didn't even bother to try to forge any friendships with anyone. This happened at every school I went to, it didn't matter where I went. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me up. But it didn't.
The other three schools had been too much for me to handle, after the students there had started physically abusing me, and though I knew I had no chance of making any sort of friends here, I hoped that I would be able to attend school without being hurt.
"Your great grandfather killed thousands of people!" came an accusing voice.
"He was a murderer!" A whole angry chorus of voices flowed over me. Closing my eyes, I waited for the torture to end.
"Quiet, please!" the principal beside me shouted over the din. The noise receded, but quiet murmuring still was there.
"Now, Fala, what is your gift?" she questioned softly.
"Uh..." This was the moment where I lost all the rest of my potential friends. Not that I would have had any anyways. I took a deep breath and said it.
"...I don't know my gift." I smiled nervously, my body shaking like a leaf. Dead silence followed. A person without a gift was like a person without a head.
I didn't know my gift. Everyone found out what their gift was when they turned 17. Everyone but me. I'd been 17 for around a month already, and still no sign. People went to school to cultivate their gift, which determined how they would spend the rest of their life. There were people who entertained, people who fought, people who worked for the welfare of others, and so many other occupations.
The rest of the day continued to be torturous. No one would talk to me. The people all stayed on the sides of the halls when I passed. No one wanted to touch me or even come closer than a couple of feet. I was an outcast. Running outside, I collapsed into Tahi's waiting arms.
"Tahi! I can't stand it anymore!" I cried, tears streaming down my face, dampening his clothes and my own.
"Shhh..." he consoled, brushing my hair gently, his own raven black hair brushing his eyes.
Tahi was the only one who understood, the only one who accepted the fact that I didn't know my gift. He wasn't repulsed by my defect. He saw who I was inside. Or, at least that's how I felt at the time.
Putting on a bright face, I forced myself to go to school, day after day, even though I didn't know my gift. Even though everyone refused to look at me. Even though there was no point in me going. The teachers tried putting me into different classes, to see if my gift would bloom and appear. I went through cooking, planting, fighting. Nothing worked. It was all hopeless. Still, it was better than at the other schools, where I'd been hurt by others physically. And then, something happened that changed my life forever.