Poking Alex in the arm, Melissa jerked him out of his thoughts as she gestured over her shoulder. "If we talk like this for too long the instructor will hear. I don't really feel like spending the night in the brig. Let’s fall back."
He slowed his pace to hers, allowing his classmates to pass by.
"Brig? Like a...jail?"
"You don't want to find out."
"Isn't this a high school?"
"Even if it wasn't contracted with the military, you couldn't call it a normal one."
Contracted. The word passed dully through Alex's mind as the teacher talked. No wonder everything about this school was weird. Nevertheless, this was the first time he'd ever tagged along on a campus tour after having already enrolled, not to mention kicking off an orientation involving little more than categorizing him by level and tier.
Halting suddenly in the middle of an intersection, Mrs. Quill gestured languidly to her left. "Down that hall are the junior and senior classrooms. Appraise the SR and J on the walls as a red light. You do not belong there, not this year. So don't let me catch you exploring. If I do or hear about it, consequences will follow and will be administered accordingly. Am I understood?"
She didn't wait for a reply. Turning right sharply the instructor had barely stepped but a few feet into the hall before initiating yet another pause. Standing before the dark wood of a door she nodded to the classroom behind her.
"Observe the S above the door and take note that this is a sophomore classroom. You don't belong here either; in fact, the entire left side of this hall includes various sophomore classrooms, for that class only. Know right here and now that the excuse of not knowing your left from your right will not fly, kiddos. You need only look up to know whether or not you belong."
Crossing to the right side of the wall, she stopped before another door, its color ashen in comparison to the one across from it.
"And here is my classroom. The one and only class you will attend daily throughout this term without fail, excluding the weekends...and all national holidays of course."
"What about winter break?" a student asked.
"Break? There are no breaks in Corpus. Breaks make the mind soft and lazy."
"What about Blissmis?” said another.
"Is it a federal holiday? Yes? Well then you've got your answer. Now enough of the questions. This term your class will be exercising mental discipline through a variety of drills and will exemplify for me your progress and proficiency through the basics. Though I am a hard grader and expect much out of you, my young...what’s an appropriate word? Oh, pupils."
"What type of place is this?" Alex whispered to Melissa.
"Boredom for the strong, torture for the weak. The first term involves weeding out the people who can't handle mental pressure."
"Mental pressure?"
"You know, peer pressure, public speaking, and public humiliation among others." Melissa put her hands behind her head nonchalantly. "The purpose of the first term is to run out the weak, unprepared and the coasters. If you know your stuff, can work under pressure and take a little criticism, then you should be good."
"—and in return for the efforts on my part, I expect the best out of you, my—hey you two in the back." Mrs. Quill's crimson glare picked them out amongst the crowd. "Are you brats even paying attention?"
Melissa stepped away from Alex in a subconscious effort to sever all association and transfer the blame solely to him.
"Yeah..." Alex said sheepishly, giving his fleeing accomplice a look.
"You're that Oddity aren't you? I never thought I'd live to see your kind in my class."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Most Oddities are bottom rung. Eleven or not, it doesn't matter, be it a week or a month you'll drop out soon enough, you fake."
Fists clenched, his gazed dropped to the floor; he was at a loss for words. The seconds passed slowly, agonizingly, as in his study of the dark tile he racked his brain for a comeback.
I have to say something. I am more than an Oddity...I refuse to be categorized by such base term. I have to say something.
He licked his lips compulsively, he could feel them...the stares, the gazes of his classmates. Their eyes picked at him from all sides, drilling through his meager confidence, shattering his mental barrier and testing his will.
He could almost hear the thoughts resonate from them in mental harmony. Is he weak? Will he break? Like birds of prey, like vultures they circled as Mrs. Quill, a lioness toyed with him in her claws.
Am I more than an Oddity? He hung his head, nails digging into the flesh of his palms. His mind was blank, tongue-tied and embarrassed. Needless to say, in all but a few moments, he had crumbled.
"Well then," Mrs. Quill said, losing interest as she readdressed the class. "The tour moves upstairs. Oh, and Oddity? Pay attention."
The class parted for their teacher and Alex did likewise, moving aside as she walked past.
On the fourth floor, reigning above the second and third, where the classrooms of the tens and elevens resided. Mrs. Quill introduced the training facility. Encircled by windows, the room other than the state of the art equipment consisted of several titus practice rooms. An indoor basketball court and pool as well as a wide balcony from which several climbing ropes whose ends disappeared into the ground level foam pit below.
Making his way over to one of the windows, Alex looked out its clear glass. He noticed for the first time a creek that parted the campus, separating the unruly backyard of the school from the manicured grounds housing its main buildings. Beyond the creek lay a swath of sparse woodland that gave way to a reedy wetland. Squinting, he made out a rocky sort of terrain stretching further past the marsh that was swallowed by the shadow of a small mountain.
"Beyond the Restless Creek is Corpus' playground..." Mrs. Quill began.
Breaking off from the bulk of the class, Melissa wandered over to him and bumped his arm, offering a smile. "What'cha looking at?" Her expression was bright and warm, devoid of even a hint of guilt for sacrificing him downstairs.
He turned from the window, meeting her smile with a frown; he looked into her eyes. "Nothing."
"—in your sophomore year you'll spend an intensive five months of training to truly master the field of natural titus,” Mrs. Quill continued. “This year however, your hands-on education will be largely confined to this facility."
"What's natural titus?" Alex asked.
"Think of the four elements,” Melissa began. “But instead of manipulating them in their pure forms, you—"
"P-pure forms?"
"You know, a lake for water and bonfire for fire. The pure form of an element is when it’s specifically plucked out of nature for humans to use."
"Oh. So it's like modernized?"
"Yeah in a way."
"—with state of the art equipment,” Mrs. Quill’s voice cut in. “This floor is a purely focused environment that strives for improvement in all aspects of the word. So if you are looking for a place to goof off or halfheartedly train, then mill around the stadium..."
"Anyway,” Melissa continued. “Natural titus involves manipulating more than just the elements in a natural setting. You also mess with their fruit."
"Fruit?"
"For example –" Despite Mrs. Quill's needle-like stare or perhaps in spite of it, Melissa continued, undeterred, and her voice did not waver nor did her tone soften or rise. "Plants are the fruit or are nurtured into existence by earth, water and the light aspect of fire. Natural titus isn't just limited to plants. With fire and earth you can make rocks, metal, gold, diamonds, you name it. With fire and air, you can create heat waves—"
"Are you two done?" the instructor demanded.
"More or less, yeah,” Melissa replied casually. Alex nodded stiffly.
"Good. Now separate yourselves, permanently, and keep your mouths shut. I don't want to see your lips move for the rest of this tour. Interrupt me or distract me again and you'll be the firs
t of this class to sleep in the brig."
~*~*~*~
As they stepped outdoors once again, the tour took on a different route. Mrs. Quill led the class past a dragon statue guarding a large brick building that stretched out behind it. Entering the building, Alex's eyes widened as he took in the array of mounted flat-screens, a café area and gaming section topped off with a multitude of vending machines lining a wall.
"And this concludes the tour,” Mrs. Quill announced absently. "But just for reference and because I don't want you newbies bugging me later on about directions. The Commons, where we currently are, leads to the cafeteria, down there."
The woman pointed down a hall. "The second floor above us is dedicated to the library."
She turned the finger upwards, "The floor above that is the girl's dormitory and above that or the fourth floor is the boy's. All right, see you in class freshies. Be safe, have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't do and make something of yourselves."
With that run down, the instructor left, leaving the freshman tens to their own devices.
~*~*~*~
"So now what?" Alex asked Melissa once he'd sought her out.
She flashed him a smile and grabbing his arm, dragged him into the nearest elevator. "Next, the roof."
Hitting a button, she tapped her foot impatiently as the elevator began its assent. Alex pulled his arm in an attempt to get it back, wincing as Melissa tightened her grip before warding him off with a glare. Alex broke eye contact, fairly intimidated.
The elevator opened and the two stepped out onto the roof. Fenced in by a perimeter of high railing, the roof bore yet another elevator which was sandwiched between two wide stairways that led up to an enormous clear, oval-like structure. Seemingly suspended in the air, the structure's near transparent existence was visible through the distinct ripples crossing it as its substance refracted sunlight. Further defined by a multitude of side beams bolted to it in support, Alex could make out the dark sliver of a building followed by a curving large white base of something else.
"What's—"
"That's the stadium,” Melissa said pointing up. The stadium overlooked the roof which would have covered it in shadow if its glass-like bottom didn't reflect the sky.
"So...what's it for? Entertainment?"
"Entertain—of course not! How could you not—Oh that's right...I guess you wouldn't, huh?" Her purple eyes fell on him pointedly. "Oddity."
"You say it like a curse word."
She smiled at that, winked and stepped forward, poking him in the chest in passing.
"The stadium can be used as a practice area by all levels,” she said, pushing the button for the elevator. "But its primary purpose is for the semester exams. It's where we'll get assessed on our titus in action."
"In action? Like fighting?" he asked as the elevator door opened.
"Yep,” Melissa said stepping inside, Alex followed. The doors closed and Melissa hit a button. "Through mock battles with our classmates."
"In our tier?"
"No, the whole freshman class."
"Isn't that unfair for the lower levels?"
"Fair? Who cares about fair? The world's not fair. The system's the way it is for a reason. It separates the skilled from the average and severs the determined from those who just kinda want it. It rewards succeeding as opposed to trying. It's fair enough."
"That doesn't justify—"
"Look Alex, the lower levels are slugs. They're bottom rung for a reason. They suck because they're lazy. If they really wanted to be at our level then they would set it as a goal, rather than complaining all damn day about how good we've got it. Hell, Sierra set an end goal and look how high she climbed...the bitch's a level eight. When I first noticed her she was a measly five...and I only met her because she was a Goethe."
"Fighting’s still different though,” Alex pressed stubbornly. "There's a gap in skill."
"Skill?" Melissa scoffed. "There's a gap in everything, even between us. I mean I'm more intelligent than you and yet somehow your titus level matches mine."
"Just because you're a walking talking library doesn't mean I'm stupid."
"Whatever." She smoothed a few strands of hair behind an ear. "Anyway the goal of a mock battle is to foster real world experience...of course it doesn't really work out that way because the first person to get knocked out loses."
"K-knocked out?"
"Yeah, but it's so stupid. I mean like people react differently when their lives are on the line but if you're just going to ensure a safety net, then why bother?"
"So, you'd prefer a battle royale?"
"No. I just think people get more out of it if they went at each other seriously. Like in regards to their lives. A lot of higher levels could just pass by going through the motions."
"Right...wait, I thought you didn't know anything about the curriculum."
"I know bits and pieces because of Sierra. She's a Goethe, her family owns this school. And besides almost every high school does mock battles. It's sort of an unofficial national standard, but this is Corpus so they probably put their own spin on it. In the stadium it all comes down to skill and creativity. No one's being judged on how well they can use their titus. The goal is to take out your opponent before they can do the same to you. It's like a game, one that sort of determines whether or not you'll be here next semester."
"Wait, wait, wait, what?"
She blinked at him. "What do you mean what? Didn't you know?"
He shook his head, a little frantic.
"I mean, what did you expect?" Melissa laughed sadistically at his expression. "This is a military school; its survival of the fittest. No country has any use for spineless soldiers."
Chapter 16
Nearly Falling
The elevator doors opened to a dark hallway whose lights switched on as the two stepped into it. "This a-way, I think,” Melissa said taking a left down the hall. Pushing open one of the double doors at the hall's end, she walked out under the sun and into the stadium. She stood among the bleeder seats, just two rows before the very top of the stands. Alex joined her, feeling strange as his green eyes roamed the seats below.
He was so high. Yet he felt like he was walking on air or at least as close to the equivalent as he felt comfortable with. And whether it be the stadium's wide glass base below or the encircling stands, Alex couldn't help but liken his predicament to that of a goldfish in a tank.
"It's sorta like the Roman coliseum."
"What?”
That’s right, different world. Alex thought. “Uh, nothing, never mind.”
“Well, whatever." Melissa hopped onto the first step of the stairway which stretched down to the stadium's base with its concurring railing, which acted as the main ferry for the training hangout's east side. "Let's go to the top."
Alex lifted his gaze to her slowly with a deepening frown. "Why?"
"You'll see,” Melissa called over a shoulder as she cleared the short flight two steps at a time. Sighing he followed, and placing a foot reluctantly on the last step, he approached his companion already at the railing. Curling his fingers onto frigid metal, his light green pupils dilated as they took in the view.
Below was the Common's gravel roof. Above was the cool blue sky and accenting clouds that in appearance were so near yet in reality so far. To trump it all, outstretched before him was Corpus in its entirety, its campus laid out on a platter of manicured green, checked gardens and regulated green houses.
It was a presentation so opulent in its twisting hedge mazes, wall of flowers, sprawling tennis and outdoor basketball courts, indoor baseball and football stadiums. Not to mention a full on dedicated waterworks facility. The netted rock walls and subtle dabs of sand hosted both net and volleyball nearby. Acting almost as an afterthought they only furthered the impression of the school as one giant money sign.
From its worldly distractions like the club and entertainment centers to the more integral culture centers and practical orchards t
o themed trails, ponds and fountains, the overabundance reminded Alex of some type of an estate...or better yet with so many activities to dabble in—a small palace rather than a school. His eyes lingered on the roundabout at the school's gate. There was no parking lot.
"Dude...just, wow,” Alex breathed in awe and whistled. "Is this even a school?"
With so much at its finger tips, no wonder it’s called prestigious. He thought, it’s the coolest damn campus I've ever seen and even with all that, the titus buildings and the Commons are so large they don't even have to try to stand out. A high school dedicated to titus...I guess is one that also signs its name to creativity.
Melissa simply nodded in agreement. "And all this, plus three hundred acres containing the bulk of the surrounding area. Those woods." She indicated a finger towards the school's backyard. "The marsh, that rocky terrain leading to the Shadow Peak, all that extending nearly a quarter to the mountain, belongs to Corpus debt free. But it’s barely used by the clubs let alone school wide activities."
"You know a heck of a lot about Corpus."
She focused her violet eyes on his, flashing white teeth in a grin as she shrugged carelessly. "I've hung out here with Sierra a couple of times."
"Hung out?" he said, dryly incredulous.
"Yeah. Hung out. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Uh, no...It’s just that—"
"What?"
"You're always saying stuff behind her back."
"So?"
"I just never thought you two hung out. You know since you resent her so—"
"I don't resent her. I loathe her...but yeah, we hang out sometimes."
"That—that makes no sense."
"Whatever. Look over there," she said pointing to a greenhouse. "Next to that is this flower garden. You should see how they bloom in the spring; they're all so vivid. Uh, I can't describe how gorgeous they are, but it's not like they'd ever be on par with me." She chuckled, but even as Alex frowned at her vanity, she'd already moved on.
"Oh, and do you see that little building by the well? That's the tea parlor. When I first visited Corpus I was like eight and Sierra was sitting at one of the tables alone. I was just going to ignore her but..."
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