Chương 12: Chapter 11

It was not long into the first day that Cal discovered his strongest ability lay not in being near unkillable or his ridiculous reserves of magic. No, his greatest strength lay in zoning out. Ancestors help him he'd barely gotten through the first twenty minutes of class before resorting to his trance to get through it. And he liked history. At least his classmates were willing to keep their distance. Whispers and glances aside.

His class schedule began in the building where he had done his written assessment for a brief homeroom, then crisscrossed all over campus for the rest of the day. By the third class, he started to notice a pattern. Most of his teachers were, to put it charitably, kinda shit. Perhaps he was being too hasty; after all, he'd essentially slept through their teachings, but he got the sense they didn't want to be there anymore than he did. Tenured and cashing checks or researchers at heart were his two best guesses.

Either option worked well for him, as they'd be less likely to take any special interest in him. On the topic of special interests, he'd been watching carefully all day to see if anyone would show signs of perplexity about his aliveness. No luck yet. Once again arriving at the central cafeteria, he scanned his cufflink and loaded his plate. He'd originally been meant to meet up with Alice to go over the possible courses he could take from the Senior classes, but she'd texted him something had come up.

Being a creature of habit dictated he eat here again; he'd explore the other options later. After scanning the area, he picked another corner like before and sat to enjoy his lunch while going over the sheet of courses his homeroom teacher had given to him. There were roughly twenty choices; he couldn't remember if that was a lot or not, but for here, it wasn't. Most students put in their course requests at the end of the previous year, so he'd been given the leftovers.

He browsed the selection and quickly narrowed down the list by half using the names he'd committed to memory. Of the remainder, he spotted an economics and bookkeeping course under the administration concentration. It wasn't like anyone understood how economies worked so he'd be on equal footing with the rest of the class. Bookkeeping looked to be accounting; he wasn't the largest fan of that, so he put a pin in it. There was also a history class he marked as a good candidate.

With some amusement, he noted the list had no combat courses or anything dealing with practical applications of magic. With the exception of one, if you squint. Introduction to magical engineering, hosted by a Professor Wyatt. He idly marked a star next to the course. Magical engineering did not strike him as 'easy,' but it would be a crying shame if he walked away from a magic academy without taking any actual magic classes and everything else had been nabbed.

The magical theory class he took today didn't count; it was just that. Theory.

"Hello." A sandy-haired guy approached with a small group to his back.

"These spots open?" He gestured to the empty table Cal had been monopolizing. Cal kept his expression from changing to one of disappointment before waving in assent and focusing back on his selections.

"Thanks, I'm Ryan. In case you didn't catch it in homeroom." Not taking the hint, the guy introduced himself before sitting next to Cal. Hearing his statement, Cal realized the group was vaguely familiar. Ryan pointed to a pair that had sat across from Cal.

"There is Anne, and then the guy with his nose in a book is Gregor." Anne gave a small nod, tucking some of her brown hair behind her ear. He noticed a pencil held in her other. The boy carefully thumbed his book, his shaggy hair hiding his expression. The grunt he gave conveyed his enthusiasm.

"And lastly, that-""I can introduce myself." The last of the group sat on Cal's other side. She had long blonde hair reaching her waist. Her uniform was slightly altered. The blazer was a size too small, and her skirt skewed so one side was lower than the other. Her wrists were covered in an array of bangles.

"I am Jessica, pleasure to meet you," she said with a smile. Penned in, Cal felt the stares prompting him to respond.

"Name's Cal," he said simply and focused back on the sheet. He wasn't sure why they wanted that; they'd heard it earlier today.

"Mmmmmm," Jessica leaned in while resting her head on a hand, peering at what occupied him.

"Professor Wyatt…. you might want to reconsider that." Cal looked at her questioningly.

"He's not taught that many classes but." She turned to the other girl.

"Didn't your sister take his class?" Anne shifted her focus from her meal to them.

"That's right," Anne responded while cutting up her meal.

"She took advanced magical resonance. From what I remember her saying, Professor Wyatt hasn't given many courses. He's more of an academic than an instructor. The classes he did give were unorganized and while the workload was low, the examinations were harshly graded."

"Yup, heard from the grapevine they're making him teach an intro class as a punishment." Ryan cut in.

"I'm sure Anne knows all about that, but let's leave that boring stuff for later. How are you finding the Academy? Everything you hoped and dreamed?"

"Oh, never mind that," Jessica interjected, saving him from having to respond.

"Tell me more about what occurred yesterday. It was quite the show." Or she just wanted gossip. The table quieted down as they awaited Cal's reply. He mulled over it before giving in.

"Didn't have much of an expectation to begin with. I am a little surprised at how casual you all are; I thought you'd talk a lot stuffier."

"Ha, if you were here a couple of years ago, maybe. Don't get me wrong, we can all talk properly when the occasion calls for it but most of us think it's a bit... what's the word?"

"Old fashioned?" Cal supplied.

"Yeah, that's right." Ryan snapped a finger and pointed at him.

"Between you, me, and most in the Academy, I don't think our parents' way of speaking is going to last too much longer. They're stuck in the past; the only reason to keep talking that way is to separate us from them." He made quotation signs around the last word.

"And that rift is getting smaller every day." Cal presumed 'them' meant the common folk.

"Ryan!" Jessica said in a soft but harsh whisper.

"You mustn't speak like that." Her eyes darted to the surrounding tables.

"What if others heard you?!"

"Oh, come on, Jess." Ryan rolled his eyes "It's obvious the Empire is moving to a more merit-based system. Anyone denying it is just burying their head in the ground. Even the Crown Prince himself is on board."

"That may be true, but she has a point; talking like that can be dangerous," Anne warned.

"On to somewhat lighter subjects, did you hear about the rumor regarding said prince yesterday?"

"Hair products," Cal said, acting decisively to derail the conversation. His words had the desired effect as they all stared at him. He tilted his head towards Jessica.

"You asked about yesterday, right? I forgot to bring any shampoo or the like, so I borrowed hers. She got pretty mad." It was a lie he'd just made on the spot. He'd skimmed the statement Alice had put out, but it just amounted to this was a family matter, and mind your own business.

"Really? All that over toiletries?" Ryan asked skeptically. Jessica narrowed her eyes.

"What type of products exactly?" Cal shrugged.

"Don't know exactly; she said they were imported, if that helps."

"Still, that seems a bit of an over…" Ryan trailed off as he noticed the girls' expressions, "ly important thing for you to borrow without asking." His quick thinking did little to prevent his true thoughts from being known.

"Gregor, you've been quiet as usual. What do you think?" He finished, throwing his supposed friend in the line of fire.

"What?" The friend in question looked up from his book for a moment. His dark-brown bangs parted, revealing his freckled face that was set in a frown.

"I don't know, I don't care." He put his head back down.

"Leave me alone right now; can't you see I'm trying to study?"

"You do realize it's only the first day, right?" Anne minutely shook her head but Ryan continued while waving a fork around, "There's no need to lose your mind just yet."

"Some of us can't afford to be so relaxed," Gregor bit back, the frown deepening.

"This place is too noisy; I'm done anyway, so I'm going to find a bench somewhere outside." He said while getting up. Carrying his still mostly full tray with him, he stomped out. There was a moment of awkward silence that Cal was happy to take advantage of and eat in peace.

"Sorry about Gregor; he's not usually like that," Ryan said apologetically.

"You know better," Jessica responded pointedly.

"This is a stressful year for him."

"I know, that's why I was trying to distract him from it," Ryan explained.

"Being so worked up this early is going to do more harm than good."

"We can't relate to what he's going through." Anne picked at her plate, moving around some errant vegetables.

"All we can do is support him the best we can."

"We can't," Ryan gestured towards his two remaining companions.

"But our new friend here might." Cal had no idea what they were talking about.

"Orrrr not." Ryan accepted his blank stare at face value.

"House Ardere must run things differently."

"It does make sense." Jessica examined him from the side.

"Considering the timing of his arrival." Back at HQ, having people talk about him was a common enough occurrence, even if they tended to scatter like rats whenever he directed his attention their way. People doing it right in his face? That was more novel.

"I apologize for them." Anne bowed her head slightly.

"They tend to forget the presence of others."

"I do not!" Jessica defended herself.

"Oh," Anne covered her mouth, hiding a smile that was forming.

"Then I must have imagined what occurred during the Evermore's last gala?" The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Shusshh," Jessica rose slightly from her seat. Flustered, her face turned a shade of red.

"You promised not to bring that up."

"Haha, that was a great time," Ryan responded dreamily before noticing the death glare he got.

"I, uh, I mean nothing happened." He nudged Cal with an elbow and leaned in to whisper.

"I'll tell you about it later."

"You will do NO such thing."

"Course I wouldn't," Ryan was quick to acquiesce, waiting for Jessica to turn in a huff before winking at him. Ignoring the byplay, Cal fished out his phone to check the time. Lunch was a solid hour, so he still had a decent chunk of time. He pulled up the map next and plotted a route to his next class; as with the previous cases, it was a fair distance from the center of campus.

"That's a bit of a trek you got there," Ryan commented from the side.

"I don't think I've been to that building either. You Jess?"

"I haven't either; it's rather out of the way." The two shared a look, and Cal pretended to not have noticed. If people snooping over his shoulder was going to be a running theme, he should invest in a privacy screen, if they existed. Given the technology was nascent, he doubted they did.

"Well, better start heading over then." Cal got up, ready to leave.

"Wait up, here." Ryan stopped him, holding out his phone.

"Put in your number; we can hang out on the free days this week and show you around campus before all the seniors get here." That didn't sound like too bad an idea. The showing around campus, that is, there was only so much a static map could tell you, so getting a guide would be useful. Since he was already involved with her, Alice would be ideal but her availability was iffy. Typing in his number, he handed it back before waving goodbye and leaving.

His phone buzzed; it was Ryan sharing the contact information of the others. Even Gregor. He reflexively moved to give it a thumbs-up reaction before remembering that wasn't a thing and replying with a simple thanks. He kept making his way to his next class before a presence started walking alongside him.

"Heya." Lily walked in step with him, giving him a lopsided grin.

"Fancy meeting you here." Cal nodded at her.

"How long were you waiting to ambush me?"

"Ambush?" She responded, sounding taken aback.

"Here I am a delicate maiden compared to a brute like you. Our roles are reversed, are they not?"

"Sure, delicate," he said, dragging out the last word.

"Let me throw out a wild guess and say you're also one of the strongest students on campus." It was not that outrageous a claim given the speed she'd shown.

"Number five, actually." She plucked a loose strand of hair and waved it around, "Just hair's breadth away from four." She eyed him warily.

"Top three are further, but they're all in their final year."

"Anywhoo," she skipped ahead of him. Turning to face him and walking backward.

"Alie sent me to check up on you. You know, make sure you didn't punch another member of the royal family and all." He held his fists out in front of him, earning a raised eyebrow.

"See, no blood." She grabbed his right, turning it over and inspecting it closely before doing the same to the left. Satisfied, she released them.

"Brute like you wouldn't know to wash off any evidence, so I'll believe you."

"There are more of them here?" Cal asked, avoiding the bait.

"Uh-huh." She nodded energetically.

"Lots of staff are distant members; the closest relation should be one of the deans who is the brother of the first consort. As far as students go, the second princess is in the year between us while the third prince is just entering his first year." Curious. That was all it was, though. He had no plans to run into any of them after meeting the Crown Prince. She kept walking in front of him for a while, studying him in thought.

"I wasn't kidding before, you know?" She said, all playfulness from earlier gone.

"Don't cause trouble for Alie." Cal found that was a frequent request. One that he usually happily ignored while running head-first into said trouble. Given the circumstances, he tried to be diplomatic.

"Doing my best not to." Lily stopped, not looking pleased with his answer.

"And if that's not enough?"

"It is what it is." He shook his head while moving to walk past her. She stepped in his way.

"I hate that." Her face twisted into an ugly scowl.

"That saying. I hate it." Her fist clenched, the white of her knuckles standing out despite her pale skin.

"It was made by losers who accept whatever shit is shoveled their way." She took a step closer, staring up at him.

"And I won't let people who smell like that near Alie. Got it?" Cal couldn't help himself and let out a snicker.

"Is this a joke to you?" She said in a manner that was meant to be dangerous. He shook his head.

"No, it's just that sort of thinking has landed me in some messes before." It was a gross understatement considering what that type of attitude led to a couple of months ago.

"Also, aren't you sending me some mixed messages here?"

"Hah," she said, bringing a hand to her head and scrunching her hair.

"I sorta am, aren't I? Sorry, that just hit one of my sore points. In any case, if you see anyone important looking, just walk in the other direction." She scratched her chin.

"Now that I'm thinking of it, bombing the assessment helps us out here a bit. Most of the people you'll deal with are the unambitious noble types. The kind who are showing up only to make their house happy." She held out her hand.

"Just in case, hand me your phone." He obliged; there wasn't anything important on there. Coincidentally, the phone buzzed as she took it.

"Making friends already, are we?" She looked at the recipient's contact info.

"Last names?"

"Only got first."

"I see. Well, be careful with them. Nobles are a different breed than your commoners; even the young ones are always plotting."

"So I noticed," Cal responded, even if he didn't think it was quite as bad as she made it out to be. He wasn't blind. The group had done the same thing Claire had, trying to pump him for information. All that friendly banter was designed to make him feel part of the group and lower his guard. Most likely they were just interested in the 'new' kid and any related gossip they could find. Fairly normal school stuff that he could manage without issue.

"It's good that you're aware." She spoke while typing in his phone before handing it back.

"I added my number; if you get into anything, text me first." He raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't I be going to Alice first?"

"I'm more likely to be available." She brushed off his concern.

"Plus, I'm faster." In the distance, the clock tower dinged, signaling the start of a new hour.

"Shoot, gotta go." She zipped past him but stopped one last time.

"Don't read too deep into any of that; I'm only helping Alie." With that final piece, she departed for good. He figured it was obvious she was only trying to help her friend, but hey, better to preempt any misunderstandings. The rest of his classes followed the same pattern as his previous, and he soon found himself at the end of the day. He shared a late dinner with Alice in their shared living space, and after that, they began going over his class options.

And by go over, he meant she kept trying to railroad his decisions. She approved of his economics choice, was okayish with history, and pushed for bookkeeping. There was one point in heavy contention.

"Magical engineering is an advanced science that requires a strong foundation. Such a course usually has a minimum entrance score requirement," she said with a worried frown.

"With your background, we can't afford the risk it represents."

"I'm telling you it will be fine," Cal said, exasperated.

"Also, it's MY education, right? That means it's my decision."

"I do not understand why you are being so difficult about this." Alice shared his exasperation.

"Does this field truly garner so much interest in you?"

"Alice, I can't NOT take a magic class." He was close to pulling his hair out.

"That'd just be ridiculous."

"As I've told you, once your grades have improved, you will have plenty of opportunities to explore such leanings next semester." There wouldn't be a next semester if he did his job right. Neither side had been willing to give an inch, and he was thankful tomorrow's free day would let him 'sleep' in, as they'd been at it for hours now with his only reprieve being nonsensical texts Ryan had sent him.

"Look, you're going to have-" His words got cut off as he lost his voice. Again? Already?? He rushed back to the world of the living.

"I will have to what?" Alice asked. He disregarded her, spinning up his augmentation and hurriedly scanning the surroundings. Like before, he found nothing. Unaware of what had occurred, Alice didn't miss his actions and stood up.

"What did you sense?" She demanded while manifesting flames around her. He held his tongue while he confirmed there really was no trace left.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully.

"Must have been the exhaustion and nerves from today playing tricks on me," he answered untruthfully.

"I see, my apologies." Alice dismissed the fires.

"I did not consider the stress today must have incurred on you. It was a tad foolish to debate through the night."

"Through?" His voice came out quickly.

"What time is it? Like exactly what time is it?" She glanced at her watch and said simply.

"Twelve O'one." Cal got up, long steps carrying him toward his room.

"I'll take the bookkeeping class you want but I'm keeping the engineering. That's final." He cut off any complaints by slamming the door. Stalking to the window, he looked out. In the distance he could see the top of the registration building and further behind that, the walls. He focused on them, feeling the dim presence of the wards that had just activated.

"That lying son of a bitch!" He was going to skin it.

"Simple covenant my ass!"