‘I really don’t know. No one’s ever asked me to do anything monkey-like.’
‘Want to swap lives?’
~~~
Mitsuko’s muscles tightened. Her back arched off the bed in an almost frightening display of flexibility. She let out a shriek of release that might have woken the neighbours even through the superior soundproofing. Nava did not relent, however, until her lover collapsed back onto the bed, sated. Then she crawled up from between Mitsuko’s thighs to lie beside her.
‘Your stamina has improved,’ Mitsuko said when her breathing was back to normal. ‘You used to call for a break before I did.’
Nava’s shoulders shifted under Mitsuko’s arm; a tiny shrug, hampered by her posture. ‘Sex is good exercise.’
‘And we’ve been doing it nonstop since February.’
‘I wouldn’t say nonstop. Consistently, perhaps. You’ve been more eager again recently.’
‘Stress. Getting everything ready for the dance. Between that and lessons, I need the stress relief. Is Naomi really being a pain?’
There was a brief pause before Nava gave her answer. ‘I want to punch him. I’m not entirely sure I can reach his nose, so I think I’d aim lower, but I want to punch him somewhere painful.’
‘Violence is not the answer to every problem.’
‘I am sadly aware of that.’
Mitsuko chuckled. ‘I’m not sure whether that “sadly” was sarcastic or not.’
‘Life would be simpler if every problem could be disintegrated. However, I’ll refrain from punching Naomi since it’s likely to just complicate things.’
‘I’d appreciate it. He’s been trying to get me to push you into both competitions, you know.’
‘No, I didn’t, because you didn’t say anything. He doesn’t know about us, does he?’
‘He knows we’re good friends. If he knows we’re lovers, he’s never let anything slip. He believes that I can influence you. He wishes me to use that influence to get you into the war games and the Shinden Aerobatics Festival. I’ve told him that you’re clearly not interested, but he still pushes.’
‘Huh. What I need is a good excuse for not doing them. I think I have perfectly good excuses: safety and not wanting to. Apparently, I’m supposed to submit to the desires of my “betters” in order to increase the reputation of SAS-squared.’
‘Ah, well, aside from the fact that that was said in a far more bitter way than I’d expect from you, I have some sympathy for Naomi there. I’m quite sure that, with your talents, you would do well in the competitions and that would raise the school’s reputation. That’s one of the goals of the student council and therefore one of mine. Obviously, a slaughter would be bad, so I can grasp your issue with the war games, but the aerobatics…’
‘I think you’re neglecting the fact that I’m a total amateur and people who watch events like that would know. They’d know I was just good at aerobatics due to natural talent and they’d know that the school had little or nothing to do with it.’
‘Plenty of people would just look at the results… But I see where you’re going. I’ll mention it to Naomi when he tries to persuade me again.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Are you up for round four?’
Nava glanced over at Mitsuko’s ketcom which was plugged into a stand beside the bed. ‘It’s after midnight and we have lessons in the morning.’
‘I know…’
‘In the shower then. We’re already going to have to change the sheets before we can sleep.’
Mitsuko’s smile was all triumph. ‘I can get behind that.’ She could influence Nava when she wanted to. She just preferred to save it for things that really mattered.
235/7/28.
It was Wednesday morning, and that meant metaphysics. Today, it seemed, that meant that Lambert Stenger had made it in to do the teaching. Class 12C never knew who would be taking the lectern for any given theory class until the teacher arrived.
Most of the students knew that something bad had happened to the man back in May, but few of them knew the details. The school had invoked personal privacy to keep the full story under wraps. They had been unable to silence it entirely because someone had died, but exactly what had happened to Lambert and his family was known only to those directly involved.
Nava, Melissa, and Rochester knew that their teacher had lost pretty much everything. His wife was still unable to look at him without either bursting into tears or screaming. His daughter understood, perhaps more than anyone, that her father had not done anything to her mother, but Bethany was sticking to her mother’s side at the moment and Lambert rarely saw either of them. To add insult to injury, Lambert was increasingly unable to focus on his work. With the Harbinger destroyed, Lambert had delegated all his research work to his subordinates and rarely went near the lab. Just looking at the broken artefact sank him into days of depression. He muddled through, barely keeping his life ticking over. Rumour had it that the school wanted him to take a sabbatical to sort himself out, which was a polite way of saying, ‘We can’t fire you, so please resign.’
‘All right,’ Lambert said. The class had already settled and grown silent. Having Lambert turn up always had that effect these days. Even the class clowns could see that their teacher was broken and they preferred not to push him over the edge. ‘Today, we will be going over the mathematical process of determining the complexity of spells. Rochester Hunt, would you please define the Tammy for us?’ That was another thing: Lambert usually took the path of least resistance now and just asked Rochester to answer questions.
‘The Tammy is the unit of spell complexity,’ Rochester said. He sounded a little depressed himself; seeing Lambert like this did not go well with him. ‘Named for the founder of metaphysics, Tamara Edison Erickson, who was, apparently, Tammy to her friends. The scale is somewhat arbitrary. One Tammy is defined as the complexity of the simplest of cantrips. This basic building block was then used to scale other measurements. A typical, entry-level student at SAS-squared is capable of handling spells in the sixty to one hundred and ten Tammy range, though some have significantly higher capabilities.’ He did not look at Nava when he said that last part, but she knew she was who he was talking about.
‘Very good.’ Lambert knew that Rochester was talking about Nava too, but he did not look her way either. Everyone was being very good about that. The teacher gave a sigh and then he activated the screen behind him to show a complicated set of equations. ‘Now, we’re going to go through all of these in detail, but I want you to take in the whole thing before we dissect it. Establishing the complexity of a spell requires the use of a considerable amount of metaphysics knowledge, but it’s one of those things you need to know how to do, so you just need to knuckle down and learn this.’
Knuckling down and getting on with it seemed to be Lambert’s default mode now. His life had been his research and his family. Now he had neither.
235/7/30.
‘Does anyone see anything problematic in the buffet menu?’ Mitsuko asked. Her gaze swept around the student council who were, once again, discussing the details of the summer dance. Mitsuko’s stress levels were not going down. She planned to drag Nava into bed as soon as possible tonight.
‘Is everything going to be suitably labelled?’ Darius asked. ‘We do have students with special dietary needs.’ Darius had turned around a little after Mitsuko’s pep talk the week before. He was actually being helpful. Less useless definitely, but sometimes that edged into helpfulness.
‘Vegetarians?’ Melissa asked. Then she answered as though that was what he had meant. ‘There’s a selection of dishes designed for them and a slightly more restricted list of vegan dishes. They’ll be labelled as such. Uh…’ She flicked at her ketcom briefly. ‘Yes, there are a few other indicators on the labelling for things like gluten and lactose intolerance. It should all be labelled the same as the refectories, so there shouldn’t be a problem.’
‘Except for when some jo
ker swaps the labels,’ Courtney said. ‘We’ll need to watch for that. It’s not a problem in the cafeterias because the labels are built into the cabinets.’
‘There speaks the voice of experience,’ Mitsuko said. ‘We’ll need to keep an eye on that. Anything else we need to discuss?’
‘Not about the dance,’ Melissa said, flicking at her ketcom again, ‘but we did get a request from the administration. From Vice Principal Joslyn Harris, actually.’
‘Oh. What now?’
‘Let me see… The school is taking part in a symposium being held in Alliance City from the thirteenth of August to the sixteenth. They’re sending a delegation of faculty and staff, but they’d like the student council to arrange a student delegation.’
‘A symposium?’ Darius asked.
‘Sorcery in Society zero two three five. It’s the first in what they hope will be a series of Alliance-wide discussion forums regarding the place and function of sorcery, uh, in society. It’ll cover social issues for magicians, relations with non-magicians, military aspects including policing, and education. Uh, it’s that last one they’re asking us to prepare for. They’d like a representative of the students to sit on one of the discussion panels which will happen on the fourteenth, if everything goes as planned.’
Mitsuko groaned. ‘I wonder how long they’ve known about this. And they tell us a week before the dance and two weeks before they expect us to perform. My little vindictive self wants to tell them that we can’t do it.’
‘But your dutiful, daughter-of-a-clan-leader self is saying that you can’t avoid it?’ Darius suggested.
Mitsuko flashed a grimace. ‘Sometimes, I wish I’d been born on a backwater world to a vat-meat production worker.’
‘No, you don’t,’ Melissa said.
‘Okay, you’re right, I don’t.’
~~~
‘And so, on top of organising the dance, I’ve agreed to take on this seminar,’ Mitsuko said. She was at dinner with Nava, Melissa, and Rochester, as usual. Her contemplation of stress relief had risen to the point where she was almost ready to invite them all back to her place for an orgy. Maybe she could get Courtney and Kyle to come over…
‘Ahem,’ Melissa said. ‘You agreed that we would do it.’
Shifting thought patterns in an instant, Mitsuko put on her best pleading face. ‘You do want to do it, don’t you? You wouldn’t leave your poor president and friend out in the cold when she desperately needs her efficient, organised, brilliant, beautiful secretary to help, would you?’
‘I am not all of those things.’
‘I think you are,’ Rochester said.
‘I’ll help,’ Nava said. She forked rice into her mouth and let her words sink in. It took a second for Mitsuko to understand what she had heard.
‘What? Why? I mean, I won’t turn down the assistance and they did say three or four people would be best, but–’
‘I think I may have a unique perspective. Having grown up outside the normal clan system and coming to SAS-squared fresh. Without any preconceived ideas.’
‘That’s… an interesting idea. I like it. Yes, I could see how that might– Wait! You just want an excuse to not go to the war games.’
‘That is just a fringe benefit. What I really need is a better excuse for the aerobatics festival. My excuse for the war games is, I believe, quite valid.’ Mitsuko stared at Nava, narrowing her eyes. ‘Okay, so being at this symposium will mean I can’t do flight practice for a week and give me a somewhat better excuse to avoid both competitions. My point still stands. I believe I can contribute to many discussions on the place of sorcery in society having grown up with a different view of society.’
With a sigh, Mitsuko gave up. ‘Yes, well, I did say it might be useful. You have some connection to the ASF as well and that will be useful. I’m going to formulate some ideas based on the documents the administration sent us. Next week, after the dance, we’ll move to Alliance City and spend the week coming up with strategies and speeches.’
‘Where will we stay in Alliance City?’ Melissa asked. ‘And can Chess come?’
‘If he wants to, I see no issue in him coming. I think we can swing a pass for him to attend the symposium too. The more of us who are there, the more ground we can cover.’
‘Well, I’d be happy to,’ Rochester said. ‘Especially if they’re discussing metaphysics in some of those panels.’
‘There’s one I noticed on applying metaphysics to “real-world” problems,’ Melissa said. ‘I didn’t make the title up, so don’t blame me that they don’t seem to think sorcery is the real world.’
‘As for where we’ll be staying,’ Mitsuko went on, ‘I’ll see if the townhouse is available.’
‘Townhouse?’
‘We, the Trentons, have a place in Alliance City for when we have to spend more than a day there. It doesn’t get an enormous amount of use, but–’
‘Your family is rich and can afford an unused property in Alliance City,’ Nava said.
‘That’s… more or less valid. I’ll check, but we can probably block book it for those two weeks. It’s usually Father who uses it the most. He has business in the assembly every so often, but I doubt he’s involved in this symposium.’
‘That sounds nice,’ Melissa said.
‘Also convenient. It’s about a kilometre from the assembly building.’
‘Sounds perfect,’ Nava said. ‘I assume it has enough rooms for all of us?’
‘Oh, it has plenty of space. It’s not the mansion, of course, but…’
‘Yeah,’ Nava said, patting Mitsuko’s arm. ‘I get it. Rich family.’
235/7/31.
The club was busier than it had been the night Mitsuko and Nava had been there hunting for a Harbinger. There was only one week left of school before the month-long summer holiday and the students were cutting loose a little.
Coming had been a joint proposal from Mitsuko and Melissa. That Melissa had backed Mitsuko up was the amazing part, but she was showing signs of stress herself with only a week to go before the dance. She had suggested that a night out with her boyfriend and her two girlfriends might relieve some of that stress. She was not a natural clubgoer. Neither was Rochester, but he had agreed to go.
Part of his reason might have been because he had seen Melissa’s outfit and had decided he had to keep an eye on her. There was a danger she might get picked up by someone better looking than he was. It was an unjustified worry, but Melissa had plucked up the courage to wear a floral skirt and top combo which left her midriff bare and showed off her bust quite spectacularly, so without a man, she was going to get invitations. Rochester had put on the jeans he had been forced to buy in Alliance City and a dark shirt which was unlike him but did look good on him.
Nava and Mitsuko were in the same outfits they had worn last time. Rochester had no idea where to look. Especially since his two friends were hardly the only women there in brief outfits.
‘Is the dance next week going to be like this?’ Rochester asked as they found a free table to sit down, drink, and chat around.
‘Yes,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘The winter one will be different. It’s a little more formal so we should expect to see gowns on the women and suits on the men.’
‘I don’t own a suit.’
‘And I don’t own a gown,’ Melissa added.
‘Ditto,’ Nava said. ‘However, I recall some of the gowns at that party at your mansion, and I think Chess is still going to be wondering where to put his eyes.’
‘That’s a valid point,’ Mitsuko agreed. ‘We must endeavour to find a gown for Mel which will ensure that Chess is unable to take his eyes off her.’
‘Now I’m scared of the winter ball,’ Melissa said.
Mitsuko smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I know of several designs which will suit our purpose and won’t embarrass you. Much.’
‘Not helping.’
‘To be honest,’ Nava said, ‘I’m more scared of what she’ll find for me. Then agai
n, both dances are scary anyway.’
‘You’re not afraid of anything,’ Melissa countered. ‘You weren’t afraid to use an untested spell to follow a monster serial killer into another dimension. If you’re not afraid of that, what could possibly be scary about a dance?’
‘The dancing.’
‘Huh?’
‘I can’t dance. I’ve never learned. I have no idea how to do that… wiggling that seems to be going on out there.’ Nava waved a hand vaguely at the club’s dance floor where people were, as she put it, wiggling to the music.
‘Well, I’ve never learned. You just sort of… do it.’
‘I disagree,’ Rochester said. ‘I’m with Nava on this one. Dancing scares me silly. I have big, heavy feet and you are going to be bruised by bedtime.’
‘At least you’re about the right size for your partner,’ Nava said. ‘Anyway, didn’t I hear that you’re going to have to get people dancing who don’t have a partner, Mel?’
‘Oh, yes, I hadn’t thought of that,’ Melissa said, going a little pale. ‘You’re right, dancing is scary. Uh, b-but it’s the ball I really don’t know about. I mean, the “wiggling” is easy enough, but there’ll be formal dances at the ball. I have no idea how to do those.’
Mitsuko frowned. ‘That’s an interesting point. We do have people from all walks of life here. The stronger families are a little more prominent, perhaps, but even in some of those, the children won’t get any lessons in dancing before coming here. I had two years of weekly dancing lessons, so I can happily say that you’re better off without. However… Perhaps we should arrange a few classes for the autumn term.’
Melissa reached for the bag she was using to lug around her ketcom. ‘I’ll make a note to discuss it at the next council meeting.’
‘Good. It’s not like we don’t have plenty of those to do it in.’
235/8/3.
The night of the summer dance came with very clear skies which burned brightly with stars. It also burned brightly in another sense: it was hot, which seemed to have determined the final choice in what to wear. There was nothing quite as revealing as the outfits on show at the Trentons’ party, but brief was definitely in. Melissa, on hand before the doors opened to help make sure everything was as it should be, considered it likely that Rochester would be staring at people’s hairlines a lot tonight.
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