There were many talented people in the class, that much was certain. It also did seem the vast majority of them were Quintessences. What was a significant blow to them however was their lack of teamwork. They had no leaders amongst the group who could stand back and direct such a massive force. It was every person for themselves, and more than a handful of people went down from friendly fire. They did not even know who their own classmates were.
The battlefield had fallen into chaos, with blasts and beams flying about everywhere. Because the older class not only knew their own, but also knew they were not nearly as bursting with Quintessences, it was easy to pick them off. Even JaMarkus was being a team player, taking out opposition before it could harm someone else in their class. In the end, it was a one-sided affair, the elder class being the clear victors.
Given the chaos, Professor Osadi did not even bother trying to shield people, likely because of the large number of them he would need to consider. Even as powerful as he was, it would not be as effective if he needed to take care of that many people individually. As the fight was winding down, everyone pitched in to help each other up off the ground as a show of good sportsmanship.
Peter was not at all happy about being carted around in his mobile prison, something Dan thought was extremely funny and decided not to release him until the class was nearly over. He complained to Anaar, begging him to destroy the golem, but with a wink Peter could not see, he simply shrugged which caused Dan to laugh even more.
As they had expected, Maggie and Anaar were indeed the special bounties, and neither of them had even so much as a scratch on them when the class was over. The disappointed younger class received a through tongue lashing from Professor Osadi about the importance of teamwork and assessing their opponents. They were promised a rigorous next few weeks in which tactics would be ingrained into their very being.
As was her norm, Professor Offerdero found herself quite upset with the lack of injuries. She was particularly surprised by the lack of violent side effects of poison, but Anaar simply give Genevieve a smile and a thumbs up, to which she blushed deeply. Though the younger class was routed, they agreed it was enjoyable, and they would do it again. With the class dismissed, Dan, Maggie and Anaar walked to their next classes as they listened to Peter complain incessantly about Anaar’s coddling of him and vowing to get retribution for his humiliation.
13
Reveling in the warm glowing sun of the summer, Pryshka jogs happily toward the gym. Her dedication to her body and health was something she almost considered religion. While many people envied her for her rock hard, yet still curvy body, they could not begin to imagine the work she put into obtaining such a physique.
Most of her life was plagued by those who thought she was blessed by some deity. Though she grew up practicing the religion of her family, she found herself moving more and more away from its teachings. She still retained her Indian pride, much like those of her generation who found themselves split between two worlds, but she knew in her heart she was an American.
When she was growing up in her grandmother’s home, it was easy to only think of herself as Indian, because she did not know anything else. Once she came to realize the privilege afforded to her, she came to understand her stints with her grandmother in India were vacations, not where she lived. Thanks to being a Water Affinity, she was never required to prove herself. Even without that burden, she was always known as a hard worker.
She remembered when she was in middle school, and she began taking a deep interest in a various extra-curricular activities. Since her grades were never a problem, she thought perhaps she could finally challenge herself with adding more onto her plate. Because her parents never ingrained in her the prejudiced nature of many generational Water attuned, it was much easier for her to interact with a number of people in a more natural fashion.
Every sports team she joined, she was always the captain. She was never one to believe she was a show off, but she understood how much her hard work and dedication meant, and that she deserved the positions. She was able to be superior, not thanks to her attunement, but to her own work ethic. She had gone much of her life living by such a creed.
She understood there was a large amount of pain in the world for those less fortunate than her, so she did not want to spit in their faces by being rewarded by a broken system that gave greater weight to her exploits than theirs. At least when people saw how much she worked, and how good she was, they were less likely to attribute it to her affinity.
Even Pratikaar, the weapon she designed and helped build was a testament to her work ethic and also her talent. Not being a Quintessence was always somewhat grating on her, though she never let others know it. She could see how that way of thinking could be considered extremely arrogant and selfish, but there was something in her heart that made her feel as if she was worthy of such a gift.
Just being Water attuned was enough to get her into the best schools, the most elite circles, and garner her respect she did not earn. She felt if she were perhaps a Quintessence, people would have to look at her for her ability, not just her attunement. Some might argue with her that they could be considered the same, as both required an extreme amount of luck to be gifted with it. To her though, she felt that anyone could be a Quintessence if they just worked hard enough, so it was different from their attunement which was somewhat genetic.
Alas it was not meant to be for her, as despite her hard work, she was never able to be more than an above average Regenerist. Of course healing from injuries faster, and fewer illnesses was quite a perk, but it was not enough to make her special. It was because she did not feel special that she took particular pride in her ranking in her class.
When she looked at the other classes, all she saw were supreme displays of power. Ripp was hailed as one of the greatest Transporters to live, her mastery over space making her a living legend. Phavian was a rare breed who managed to be both a Titan and a Juggernaut, all while having a manifestation that would end most people in an instant. Even the Schrodes boy, though only number 1 in name, was a True Water Quintessence, allowing him to change his form and generate water. All of the people at the top of their class were Quintessences, yet she alone stood at the pinnacle of success while being a regular person.
Throughout her workout she ruminated on where she was, and what she had accomplished. It was only recently she had become part of the cluster of talent that was Anaar’s group. Before, she had friends, but none of them seemed willing to truly connect with her. She was immediately welcomed with open arms by the members of his cadre and she found herself quite happy with it.
It also was nothing short of an amazing feat so many powerful individuals were able to be not only in close proximity, but be good friends, without feeling the need to assert their dominance over one another. Some part of her wondered if it was due to the presence of Anaar, who was clearly superior to everyone else, yet he did his best to allow everyone to shine by dimming his own light. Perhaps by having such a dominant entity who was willing to share, it created the dynamic she had come to enjoy.
Enjoyment was something she was having more of than ever before in her life. Though she had lived a happy and fulfilled childhood, she spent so much of her time trying to be the best that very few people understood her. Though she had sought to become friends with Anaar, what had resulted was something so much more. Thanks to their relationship, she was able to meet Codi, who not only understood her where others could not, but they shared a number of similarities.
They both came from good families, but did not subscribe to the attitudes many people born in their world carried. Even though Codi was infinitely wealthier than she was, just by her being Water attuned, it placed her on a more even ground with her. She knew this was not right, but in this case, it worked in her favor and she was willing to look past it.
Despite their families’ status, they were both very hard workers. Codi’s intellect was something to behold, and she was extremel
y powerful. It was unfortunate for her that she was so misplaced in her class, because in Pryshka’s eyes she was more than capable enough to be the number 1 student in her class. If not for the Titans surrounding her on all sides, and her own best friend, she would be much more accomplished.
They also both shared a love of women, and what it meant to be one. Though she was not nearly as rigid as Codi was, as she did not see men as inferior, and also enjoyed the company of men as well, she did adore how Codi refused to let anyone tell her how to be a woman. Though many people saw Codi as being brusque and very masculine, she had come to see through her actions just what it meant to be unapologetically unique and she loved her for it.
In that moment it seemed her own thoughts betrayed her. She had not intended on it, but she was definitely falling for Codi. She recognized it may be too premature to call love, but something about the spunky woman made her want to spend even more time in her presence. The problem she was having was she was almost positive her feelings would not be reciprocated.
Codi considered herself ‘sexually liberated’ and balked at the idea of being beholden to one person. They had even been involved in some group exploits together, and it was in that environment Codi seemed most alive. There was no way she would ever be able to tie down the spirit of Codi, it was much too strong for anyone to even attempt. Walking back to her room, she thought of something that could possibly turn out favorably, which caused her to rush back as quickly as possible to clean up.
Showering, doing her makeup and hair, selecting a sexy outfit and psyching herself up seemed to fly by as she worried if she was making a mistake. She knew what Codi liked, but she could not help but feel she was shamelessly putting herself on display for the cause. Either way, it was not as if she was opposed to her look, it just seemed it might be for the wrong reasons this time. Making her way over to The Rack where they had agreed to meet, she was met by extremely approving eyes as she entered Codi’s vision.
“Wait a minute. Are we doing this? Are we fucking right here? You can’t look this good and not expect to have me gushing like Niagara Falls!”
Unable to hold back her smile of delight, tinged with a dash of blushing, Pryshka sits down next to Codi in the booth rather than opposite her. As she leans in, one if her deep crimson bangs flutters forward, tickling Codi’s face. Giving her a gentle and sensual kiss on the lips, she pulls back and grins roguishly.
“I think we should save the dessert for later. I did want to talk to you though. Something has been on my mind and I can’t leave it any longer.”
“Well if you leave me for much longer this place is going to be condemned from flooding…”
“As much as I like it when you talk nasty to me, I’m serious.”
Recognizing the resolute look on her face, Codi pulls back and offers up her full attention. “Okay. Shoot, before I squirt.”
“Codi!”
“Okay, okay, that was the last one. Why so serious?”
“I don’t know how to ease into this so I’m just going to come right out and say it. I want us to be together.”
“Now you know how I feel-”
“Yes, I am well aware, but let me finish.”
“Oh I can get you to finish…” When she sees the look on her face she sighs, “Go ahead.”
“I’m not asking for something like Anaar and Phavian. Honestly, they seem to have enough problems from what I hear so we don’t need another one of them on campus. I’m thinking more of an open relationship. I don’t want to, nor plan to stop you from being who you are. I just think we have a lot more chemistry than just sex and you know it. Sex with other people doesn’t bother me, so I figured this would be a good compromise.”
“You say it doesn’t bother you, but then you are going to start wondering where I have been, and who I have been with, and all of that shit isn’t for me.”
“I can wonder where you have been and who you have been with without it being a jealous inquisition. It would just be more like sharing. I might want to join in.”
“People try shit like this all the time and it never ends well.”
“Yeah, people who are in some monogamous relationship and trying to save it. If we start out with a polyamorous relationship it would already be understood that sometimes other people will be involved. I don’t see how it is much different from what we are doing right now, we just don’t call it that.”
It wasn’t until Codi stopped to think about what Pryshka had said that she realized there was some truth in her words. Codi had only very rarely invited someone back into her bed, but Pryshka was a staple. There was of course the fact that such a small campus dramatically limited her pool of candidates so she would need to look into repeats, but it was not just the shrinking of her potential partners that called her back.
They actually talked, and even more surprisingly she listened. Normally she might pretend to be paying attention, but in reality, she only had one thing on her mind. With Pryshka it was different, and even enjoyable to talk to her. If she put it into perspective, perhaps this was not a bad idea after all.
During all of Phavian’s and Anaar’s troubles she found herself conflicted at many points. Though being in a situation that would cause such a ruckus in her life, all because of someone else she had chosen to care about, was never desirable to her, she could not deny the bond between the two and how much better they were because of it. She had at times wondered if her life would be different if she had someone who made her behave in that manner.
There was also the fact that when those two were good, they were extremely good. Their synergy, their attitudes, their love was so infectious. It was hard for even someone like her to not desire what they had. Perhaps the trials they endured was the price they had to pay for the perfection of their happy moments. The questions was if she could be happy with Pryshka.
She had only known the girl for a little over half a year, but there was no doubt they had a connection. She had even come to her with a compromise, understanding how she felt about relationships and what they brought along with them. Everyone needs someone who could understand them, so it could not hurt to try fully opening herself up to Pryshka to be that person. It was as she began formulating her response that she got a rude awakening.
Yelling in their direction was none other than Efren Chang. Why she was such a magnet for the waste of human life was a mystery to her. It seemed he appeared at all the wrong moments, determined to make a good situation horrible just by existing. He made his way over to their booth and the sickening odor from the miasma he called breath immediately made her want to gag.
“Well fuck me! Like for real. Two hot bitches talking about being together, but letting other people fuck too?! Count me in!” Rubbing his belly, “Shit, you know I like to eat, I’ll have you screaming all night!”
“Yeah, and you would probably give me a yeast infection, a UTI, and a hysterectomy all at once with that fucked up sewage dump you call a mouth. Why the fuck are you even over here? Better yet why are you so loud? Shouldn’t your own voice deafen you? Fucking troll.”
“Codi baby, don’t be like that. There is no way I could ever drown out the sweetness that is your voice. And then you got Pryshka Apendu over here looking like a whole fucking buffet too. I just need to stay by your side Codi, cause the fine ass bitches that be around you never seem to disappoint!”
As he leaned down toward them, Pryshka immediately threw the scalding hot tea Codi had ordered, hitting him directly in the face and causing him to scream hysterically. Because he was now drenched with water, it only made Codi’s attack even more devastating. As she pumped him full of voltage, he began to foam at the mouth, and then fell to the floor. Looking down at him with disgust, Pryshka threw the empty cup onto his prone body, kicking him as she stepped out of the booth and over him. Codi followed suit, zapping him again for good measure.
No one in the café seemed at all sympathetic or surprised, as Efren’s behavior often resulted in his ba
ttery by someone. As quickly as the event occurred, everyone went back to their own affairs, and a medical transport was called for him as usual. Leaving The Rack, Pryshka and Codi strode confidently out, just happy to be quit of the dirge that was Efren.
When they had found a nice place to sit, under the shade of a giant tree, they continued their conversation. Codi found she agreed with Pryshka in what she had said, and their exchange with Efren only made it clear they had the same type of synergy as Phavian and Anaar, or at least it was similar. Curious about what could be, and hoping she did not come to regret her decision, she took Pryshka up on her offer.
Pryshka was quite taken aback by an affirmative response from Codi. She had expected it to be a complete longshot and already prepared to go into full damage control mode to make sure she did not lose what she did have. For Codi to say yes made her much happier than she expected. In order to make sure things were not going to be different, or weird between them, they decided to talk through the parameters of their relationship right away.
The first and most obvious component was that they were free to have sex with anyone they wanted to. What made it different from what they were already doing was an agreement to always tell the other when it was happening, if only to allow for the other to partake in the fun. They found this extremely agreeable and looked forward to what it would mean for them.
They then made a promise to talk to one another if feelings of jealousy or wanting something more arose. In order for their relationship to work as it was, they had to be honest about their desires. They could be there for each other, and have their fun, but if one of them suddenly decided the terms of their relationship were no longer favorable, it would be an issue.
Finally, they decided they would not burden themselves with titles. They had no problem letting others know of their arrangement, but they did not want to sully it by utilizing terms that already had connotations and expectations. This was less for them, and more for others whom they encountered. Words like ‘girlfriend’ or ‘partner’ had baggage with them that they would rather avoid.
Apotheosis (Song of Sophangence Book 3) Page 17