by Lynette Noni
She didn’t bother pointing out how quick she’d been. “Do I need to take anything with me to breakfast? Textbooks?”
“What classes do you have today?” Bear asked.
She looked at her timetable. “Um… after PE it’s Archery, Medical Science, and then Combat.”
“Med Sci is the only one you need stuff for and you can grab everything after lunch,” Bear told her.
Jordan held out a pair of running shoes and some socks. Seeing Alex’s amusement, he defended, “I know what girls are like when they have to figure out clothes. It takes forever! I’m about to die of hunger, so just put them on already so we can leave.”
She laughed and did as he said before pocketing her timetable and following them out of the room. On the walk through the dorm building, many students called out to Jordan and Bear and sent curious looks in her direction. The boys returned the greetings but didn’t stop to talk to anyone, much to Alex’s relief. She still wasn’t sure how she was supposed to fit in and not draw attention to herself.
“Hey, guys?” she said as they stepped outside and into the crisp morning air.
“Yeah?” they answered in sync.
“How are we going to do this?”
“Do what?” Bear asked.
“This whole, ‘I’m new here but I’m really just from out of town, not from another world’? People are going to notice that I don’t know how things work around here.”
Jordan didn’t look concerned. “Don’t worry about it, Alex. I doubt anyone will care if you say or do something strange, but even if they do, you already have an excuse because you’re new. Everyone will understand that you need time to settle in.”
His words made her feel better.
“And besides, if it all blows up in your face…”
“Yes?” she prompted when Jordan didn’t continue. “What then?”
“Well… we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.”
Alex sighed. “That’s reassuring.”
They entered the food court and she was surprised to find tables and chairs of different sizes, colours and shapes scattered throughout the room. There was absolutely no logic to the set-up, and she felt as if she’d stepped into a grown-up version of a kindergarten play area. She shook her head and followed her friends over to a triangular table, taking a seat between them.
“I’m starving,” Jordan said, again. He picked up what looked like a menu and motioned for Alex to do the same. She glanced over the list of options, surprised by the variety. Everything from a continental breakfast to toast and cereal was available for selection.
Alex looked around the food court. People everywhere were eating but she could see no sign of where the food came from. She wondered where she had to go to place her order and turned to ask when her question died in her throat.
Jordan pressed his finger to a circle beside one of the menu options and almost immediately a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon appeared in front of him, complete with knife and fork. He then pushed on another circle and a stack of pancakes arrived. A third press brought a glass of orange juice. Apparently satisfied, he placed the menu to the side and looked up, taking note of her wide-eyed expression.
“What?” he asked.
Bear chuckled and slapped Jordan on the back.
“You’ll have to forgive Jordan. He’s a bit clueless sometimes, especially on an empty stomach.” Bear indicated to the menu. “It’s a TCD—a TechnoConnectivity Device. Just press the circle beside what you want and it’ll be transferred here through the connection.”
Alex touched the separate circles for blueberry pancakes, maple syrup, and a glass of apple juice. Her selection appeared immediately, steaming hot and smelling delicious.
“This seems kind of… impossible,” she said. Nevertheless, she spread the syrup over her pancakes and took a bite. Mmm. Sugary heaven. “How does it work?”
“No idea,” Jordan said around a mouthful of food.
“Helpful,” she mumbled, taking another bite.
“Bear can explain,” Jordan said after swallowing. “He’s a complete whiz at Chemistry. Epsilon level—unnaturally smart.”
“Why do you always manage to make what should be a compliment sound like an insult?” Bear grumbled.
Jordan shrugged and started on his massive stack of pancakes. “It’s a gift.”
Alex cleared her throat and looked at Bear, waiting for an explanation.
“Firstly, you have to remember that everything is different here, Alex.” Bear spoke quietly, careful not to gain the attention of those seated near them. “Our technology is really advanced. Most of the cool things we can do are because of the different kinds of TechnoConnectivity Devices we have. Some TCDs are readily available to the public, like ComTCDs, which we use for instant holographic communications.”
He paused to pull a small black object out of his pocket and placed it into the palm of his hand before touching the screen and saying Jordan’s name. A chiming noise sounded, and Jordan pulled out a similar Device, his coloured silver. Alex wasn’t sure what he did next, but she gasped when a miniature real-time hologram of Bear rose up out of the screen Jordan held—as did a live version of Jordan appear above Bear’s Device.
“Awesome,” she breathed, watching the holographs mimic Jordan and Bear’s movements perfectly.
“Pretty neat, huh? ComTCDs also make it easy for us to check in with our families—and anyone else—while we’re here at Akarnae,” said both the actual Bear and the miniature version of him. He ended the connection and both boys pocketed their Devices again. “Other TCDs can do all kinds of things—I could spend hours talking about some of them—but to keep it simple, this one here—” he pointed to the menu on the table “—is linked to an offsite food station where people are employed to prepare meals for residents of Akarnae. When we make our selection, they place the food into an out-tray of sorts, and the networked connection transfers it through to our end.”
After seeing the holograph Devices, Alex had kind of expected something more… detailed. “That’s your explanation?”
“Pretty much,” Bear answered. “Add to that some intellectual Techno-babble about particle transference and regeneration, and you’ve got the answer you’re after.”
She took a sip from her juice and said, “It sounds an awful lot like magic to me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jordan said, his amusement clear. “There’s no such thing as magic.”
Alex looked at him incredulously. “I beg to differ.” She pointed to herself and raised her eyebrows. “Exhibit A.”
“You’re a special case,” Jordan replied, and her eyebrows just rose higher. “Not special–special,” he amended quickly. “Just, you know, uh, special.”
Alex had to fight a grin at the uncomfortable look on his face.
“What Jordan means is that you’re an anomaly,” Bear interjected. “But you being here is still not magic.”
Alex looked between the two of them. “Well, I’m sufficiently confused. But whatever. If you say it’s not magic, then I’ll believe you. New world, new rules. We’ll leave it at that.”
Both Jordan and Bear smiled at her.
“You’re taking this pretty well,” Bear said.
She shrugged. “It’s not like I have a choice. I’m stuck here for better or worse until your headmaster gets back from wherever he is. I just have to deal with this as best as I can until then. And once I get home, I’ll book myself in for what I anticipate to be some much-needed therapy.”
“Don’t worry, Alex,” Jordan said. “We’ll make sure you have an unforgettable time while you’re here. That therapy will be well worth it.”
Alex had a hard time trusting their matching grins, but before she could warn them that she didn’t want any trouble, a loud gonging noise filled the food court.
“Time to see what you’re made of, Jennings,” Jordan said, pulling her from her seat and dragging her towards the doors. “If you can survive the
next two hours, you can make it through anything.”
She looked sideways at him as she followed them both outside. “Care to explain?”
“You’ve heard of PE, right?” Bear answered for him. “Physical Education?” At her nod, he continued, “Well, here we call it Physical Exhaustion, mostly because of the instructor, Finn. You’ll understand why soon enough.”
Wonderful, she thought.
When the three of them stopped at the outskirts of the large grassy field they had trekked across the day before, Alex noticed a group of students already waiting around. Most of them were in stretching positions. She counted thirteen people; sixteen including her trio. By the looks of the others, Alex guessed they were around her age or older. Two of them might have been slightly younger.
A few of the students glanced up in curiosity as they approached, but before any introductions could be made, a loud voice trumpeted nearby.
“Up! Up! Up! No dawdling! You’re on my time now!”
Alex looked around until she found the man who was shouting. He was of medium height with stringy, dark blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. His thin body was wiry, with skin straining over his taut muscles. If there was such a thing as ‘too fit’, then he was it.
Alex looked into his eyes as he approached and she couldn’t help but notice that he looked a little… wild.
“You know the drill; get started on your warm-up laps. Go!” he yelled, sending the students scattering. Bear and Jordan took off with the others, but Alex hesitated, unsure of what she was supposed to do.
The instructor—presumably Finn—noticed her now that she was alone.
“Who’re you?”
She stepped towards him. “Alexandra Jennings, sir,” she said. “I’m new here.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re still standing here,” he snapped. “Ten laps. Get to it!”
She gaped at him and turned to look out over the enormous field. It had taken them ages just to walk across it the day before. How was she supposed to fit ten whole laps into the two-hour class, let alone whatever else he had planned?
“What are you waiting for, Jennings? Move!”
There was nothing for it but to follow his instructions. She set out after her classmates—who were now way ahead of her—and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
To her dismay, she had company.
“You call that running? My grandmother can run faster than that!”
She looked over her shoulder to see Finn jogging along behind her with some kind of metallic stick in his hand.
“Faster!” he barked.
She picked her pace up to a near-sprint, disgruntled by his pushiness.
“I said, faster!”
“I’m… going… as… fast… as… I… can!” she panted out.
“Not good enough!”
Alex felt a stinging sensation on her backside. It wasn’t until she felt it a second time, more painful than the first, that she realised what it was. Finn had zapped her with the metallic stick.
She stopped dead and turned to face him, breathing heavily.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she shrieked.
“Not running, that’s for sure,” he retorted. His breathing was perfectly controlled. “Now pick up the pace; I want to make it back by nightfall.”
“But—you just zapped me!” she spluttered. “Like an animal!”
“What? This?” He shocked her with his stick again, this time by whacking her on the hip.
Alex gasped from the stinging pain and rubbed her side. “Ow! Stop that!”
“I’ll stop when you start running,” Finn told her, reaching forward to zap her again, but she took off before he had another chance to make contact.
The man was completely insane. There was no way he could treat students like this. It wasn’t ethical. It wasn’t moral. And it certainly wasn’t legal. At least, not in her world.
Unfortunately, she could only keep running at a sprint for so long, and soon enough she had to drop her pace or risk breaking an ankle. The moment she slowed, Finn was waiting for her, zapping stick at the ready.
Five
Two hours later, Alex was lying on the field, moaning. Everything ached, including parts of her body that she hadn’t previously known could ache.
With the psychopathic Finn hot on her heels, Alex had soon caught up to her classmates, but even that hadn’t been enough to please the deranged PE teacher who had continued to zap her forward. She had never run as far or as fast before in her life. And now she wondered if she’d ever be able to walk again.
“You survived, at least. That’s more than some can say.”
Alex didn’t have the strength to open her eyes and acknowledge Jordan’s comment. She could hear the amusement in his voice—she didn’t need to see it as well.
“You should stretch, you know,” he told her. “If you don’t, you’ll regret it later.”
She pried her eyes open. Even that hurt. “I doubt it’ll make much difference now.” She knew that he was right though, so she forced herself into a sitting position, grimacing as her muscles pulled. “Ow.”
“You’re lucky,” he said, not even trying to hide his grin. “Finn was easy on us today.”
She paused mid-stretch. “You’re kidding, right?”
“You should see him on a bad day,” Jordan said, and he offered Alex his hand. She couldn’t hold back a groan of pain as he pulled her to her feet.
His mouth quivered but he managed to suppress his laughter, sending her a look of sympathy instead. “You’ve still got a full day ahead of you yet. Including Combat.”
She grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”
“You have Archery next, right?” he asked, turning away and motioning for her to follow.
She pulled her timetable out and scanned it as they walked. “Good memory.”
He nodded. “Bear had to take off for Chem, but I still have a few minutes to get to the stables. I’ll show you where to go.”
They didn’t get far before Jordan noticed her discomfort and mercifully slowed his pace.
“It’ll get easier,” he said. “Just give it a couple of weeks.”
Weeks? She wasn’t even sure she would last the day!
“Delta PE and Epsilon Combat will be your toughest subjects,” Jordan continued, “but with such high potential levels, that’s not surprising.” He scratched his chin. “You’re Epsilon for ES too, aren’t you? That’ll be demanding as well.”
He really wasn’t making her feel any better.
“ES?” she repeated.
“Equestrian Skills,” he clarified. “Tayla’s the instructor. She’s great—as long as you respect her horses.”
They rounded the crest of a hill that looked out over another large grassy area. It was sectioned off into three segments by thick, bushy hedges that bordered the edge of the forest.
“That’s where you need to go.” Jordan pointed to the segment closest to the main school campus. “See those people over there? They’ll be your classmates.”
She spotted the group and nodded.
“Meet you in the food court for lunch?” He waited only long enough for her to agree before he turned and jogged back up the path.
Alex mustered her courage and descended the hill, arriving at the same time as her instructor. For the next two hours she was thrilled to play around with a bow and arrow, even if she completely missed the target every time she made a shot. In her defence, she was somewhat distracted by the elf-like teacher, Magdelina Llohilas—or Maggie—who looked like she’d stepped straight off the set of a fantasy movie. Seriously.
When Alex wasn’t watching the graceful teacher, her attention was caught by one of her other classmates. The girl had thick auburn hair and the most interesting eyes Alex had ever seen; they were as blue as the sky, changing into a vivid green towards the middle. The colour was startling, made even more so by the frequent, menacing glares the girl directed towards Alex.
When lunch time finally arrived, Alex was more than relieved to leave the class behind. She had no idea what the other girl’s problem was, and she was glad to put some distance between them.
“Hey, Alex!” Bear called as she entered the food court and made her way over to him. “How was your class?”
She sent him a wry grin as she took her seat. “I’m still alive.”
Bear copied her expression. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it, you know. Not after PE.”
She grimaced before laughing with him and admitting, “It was touch and go for a while.”
Jordan arrived a moment later and slumped into the chair beside her. “I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving,” Alex observed. “I’ve known you less than a day, but the common theme is that you’re hungry—all the time. Maybe you have worms?”
Bear had just taken a sip of water and, hearing her words, he spat his mouthful out, choking on a laugh.
Jordan sent them both an unimpressed look and picked up his menu, grumbling about being ‘a growing boy’. When his meal arrived, it was accompanied by a glass of something purple and bubbly.
“What’s that?” Alex asked, pointing to the unnatural-looking drink.
“Dillyberry juice,” he answered, sliding the glass towards her. “Have a taste.”
She sniffed it and took a tentative sip, her eyes lighting up with delight. The juice might have looked funky but it was delicious. It reminded her of wild berries mixed with lemonade and coated with icing sugar. It was very sweet, but it also had a tangy aftertaste. She picked up her menu and ordered a glass for herself.
“Be careful not to overdo it,” Jordan warned when she drank half of her juice in one go.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s an energy drink,” he explained. “Very concentrated.”
Alex wasn’t too concerned. How bad could it be? The taste was well worth the consequences. She’d probably just have to make a few extra trips to the bathroom, no big deal. It might even be a blessing in disguise if it got her out of some of her dreaded Combat class later that afternoon. Bathroom breaks were a basic human right, after all.
She drained the rest of the glass as she skimmed through her menu, settling on a chicken salad wrap and another glass of dillyberry juice. Both appeared instantly and her used glass disappeared with the arrival of the new.