by S. G. Basu
The master thought that it was Karhann’s.
“But Master Kehorkjin—” Karhann protested.
“As I said, you will leave the room.”
“But, it’s not mine.”
“For the lack of better evidence, I will trust what I have seen,” the master said menacingly as he picked up the offending piece of metal, “unless, of course, someone else claims responsibility for this.”
Ren’s shoulders slumped and his head drooped; Maia and the rest of the team were too confused by the sudden turn of events to say anything.
Master Kehorkjin’s voice boomed. “Since you seem so reluctant to leave, young man, let us see what else we can add to your punishment. How would you like it if your whole team joined you outside?”
“No, sir. I will leave.” Karhann got hastily to his feet.
“Too late now,” the master said in mock lament. “This kind of sloppiness is intolerable, particularly from a student of this academy. You shall all leave. Right now.”
After the occupants of the first row trudged out, everyone worked at a furious pace in absolute silence. The Core 21 was no exception; they hung their heads and desperately avoided looking at each other. Thankfully, a mid-session break was announced, and they slinked out of the room, shoulders sagging with guilt. Maia was surprised by the overwhelming regret that made her head feel leaden. She was not supposed to care—that was what she had told herself repeatedly over the past few days. And this could have been the opportunity she was hoping for, to be disqualified and sent back to Tansi. But . . . how could I have let an innocent boy be blamed? Nafi was right, whether she liked it or not, she was the team leader after all. She was responsible.
“Told you,” Nafi grumbled, shaking her head at Ren. “But you wouldn’t listen. Now what a mess you’ve made.”
“Guys,” Ren spoke in a small voice as they approached the door. “I’ll go to Master Kehorkjin and own up.”
“Let’s go outside and talk to Karhann before we approach the master,” Dani suggested.
They did not get a chance to talk to anyone. A smirking Lex stood at the door, the same four boys that were in Arpasgula were flanked his sides.
“There you are, thought you’d never leave the room. Don’t have the guts to own up, do you?” Lex spat out the next word, “Cowards.”
“We’re just—” Ren started.
“Hey, Karhann,” Lex waved at Karhann and his team who were talking to other groups, doubtlessly trying to piece together what had happened. “I know who did it.”
“You don’t have to tell,” Nafi shouted, as Karhann walked over to join the small gathering. “We were going to talk to him about it anyway.”
“Talk about it when?” Karhann spoke calmly, but his eyes flashed with anger. “After we had been sent off from the academy? Maybe it doesn’t matter to a bunch of visitors like you, but our lives are tied to this place. Perhaps you should try to keep that in mind.”
“It was an accident,” Maia tried to explain.
“It was actually him.” Nafi glared at Lex who stood gloating. “He sent it flying in your direction.”
“Well, did one of you make the craft or not?” Karhann asked impatiently.
“I did,” Ren said, “and I will tell the master the truth.”
“All right,” Karhann replied. “Let’s go then.”
“Maybe the whole team should go,” Lex piped again, grinning wide.
“No,” Ren protested. “I built that thing, and I will go . . . alone.”
As Karhann and Ren walked into the instruction room, Lex cackled, his posse joining him on cue.
“Stop screeching like idiots,” Nafi yelled. She stood with her fists clenched, lips trembling in anger.
Lex cocked an eyebrow. “The pocket-sized powerhouse of Team Cowards is angry.”
“What’s your problem, Lex?” Kusha said through gritted teeth. His face had turned a bright crimson.
“I don’t have a problem, not anymore. I did have one when you insulted me in front of the crowd in Arpasgula—you and your band of girlfriends. Now we’re even. And for your information, I do have my team together, just like I wanted. I hail from a very powerful house. My family can snap you and your bunch of no-name friends like a twig,” he said with a vicious imitation of breaking an imaginary stick.
“Maybe your family can take your training sessions for you as well then. That way, you might survive the first month here, seeing that you can hardly fit a spoke onto a wheel,” Dani said, fixing an icy stare on Lex.
Lex turned to look at Dani, nose scrunching with disdain. “How would you know what family is? You pitiful orphan.”
Before Dani could reply, Kusha took a clean punch at Lex, landing a powerful blow on his cheek that left him sprawled on the floor. After a moment of stunned surprise, Lex’s boys jumped on Kusha with cries of fury.
Maia could not clearly recall the commotion that followed. She vaguely remembered trying to yank Kusha out of the brawl, as did Dani and Nafi and a few others in the crowd. By the time a strong hand pulled Maia up from the ground, her temple hurt from an elbow that had crashed into her head. Her hair was disheveled, and her friends did not look any better. Kusha had a gash on his cheek, and Lex’s gang sported similar cuts and bruises.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked a boy who held Maia firmly by her arm. He was wearing the black colors of Circle Four. His brows were furrowed.
A girl, also a senior, stepped in to break up the groups. “Move along. Let’s hope the master hasn’t heard the noise. Come on . . . hurry up.”
“We will get you sooner or later,” Lex hissed. His cronies scowled and snorted, shaking their fists before taking reluctant steps away.
The girl squinted and peered at Kusha after Lex and his gang had left. “You are on Miir’s team, aren’t you?”
“Oh, you’re so dead.” The boy who had pulled Maia out pronounced with a dour shake of his head. “Get inside now, your session is starting.”
Maia and her friends scrambled inside, rushing to take their places before the master started the lesson. They found Ren in his seat, assembling his craft in silence. His mouth fell open upon seeing his scuffed teammates. “What happened?”
“Got into a fight with Lex and gang,” Nafi replied simply.
“What happened with you?” Kusha inquired of Ren.
“I’ve been warned. He added my name to his Black Book. One more strike and I’ll be sent packing,” Ren explained. “And I have to pitch in for a week as Karhann’s assistant during the first challenge.”
“That’s not too bad,” Dani noted.
“Not at all. He hasn’t thrown us out of the competition . . . yet.” Nafi definitely sounded relieved. “And that Lex, I will break his nose someday, I promise.”
Even with the throbbing ache in her head, Maia felt proud. She was happy that although late, they had chosen to do the right thing in the end, and they had stuck together through it all.
The remainder of the session was peaceful. A brief moment of panic ensued when Master Kehorkjin raised a curious eyebrow at Kusha’s livid cut. He also seemed to take note of Lex and his friends and the bruises on their faces, but to everyone’s surprise and relief, he did not ask any questions. The gang was exhausted when they trooped back toward their quarters that evening.
“Oh goodness,” Kusha muttered under his breath as they turned onto the passageway leading to the dining area.
Maia’s heart sank at the sight; their mentor, Miir, was pacing near the entrance. As soon as he saw them approach, he strode up to the disheveled band. From the expression on his face, Maia surmised that he had been told of the day’s incidents and did not care much for the heroics of his charges.
“How dare you behave in this disgraceful way?” Miir yelled, glaring at their droopy faces. Maia felt his accusatory glance rest longer on her before it moved on to the next person. “It is just your second day here, and you have already been flouting the instructor’s rul
es, wrestling on the grounds, and barely missing disqualification. What else do you have planned?”
“Miir . . . it was an accident,” Ren started to explain.
“I do not care about how and why.” Miir raised his left hand decisively. “I shall promise you this: one more report of misbehavior and I shall personally see to it that you are thrown out of here. I refuse to be humiliated by your shameful conduct.”
Maia could hardly believe her ears. He refused to hear their explanation, let alone even consider that they had been wronged. All he cared about was his humiliation?
“How can you not care to know? You’re supposed to be our mentor, our guide, our counsel,” she blurted. “We didn’t do it on purpose, and that makes a difference. How can you not even listen to what we have to say?”
Miir stood in shocked disbelief, glowering at Maia as she spoke. “You dare to lecture me about my responsibilities when you do not even know what your own are?” he replied in a voice so harsh that Maia flinched. A group of trainees stared and smirked as they passed. “You were picked leader of the group, and it is your duty more than anyone else to keep your team out of trouble. And here you are, shamelessly trying to defend your lapses.”
Maia’s insides squirmed. His words stung, but they were not exactly untrue. I should have done something—stopped Ren or talked to Master Kehorkjin immediately or something . . . anything that could have prevented this muddle.
As Maia’s gaze wavered, Miir decided to raise the offensive a notch. “I guess you do not care about this competition. Judging by your eagerness to talk back, your only goal seems to be going back to that dump you came from.”
Maia blinked at his last words, hushed momentarily by their cruelty. She held her breath, struggling to stop from reacting, and then decided against it. She did not care if he was a celebrity; she would not let him insult her heritage.
“I would love to go back to that dump anytime. I don’t like your pretty castle anyway,” Maia retorted, fighting back the hurt and the fear. “You should have stopped Pomewege from bringing me here in the first place. But if you succeed in sending me away even now, I’ll be very thankful to you for it.”
Miir did not say a word. Then a small smile twisted his face, and his eyes narrowed. Maia braced herself, realizing immediately that his response would be pitiless. For the briefest moment she regretted having spoken at all.
“Thank you for reminding me. The likes or dislikes of an insignificant person like you tend to slip my mind.” His voice was a merciless whisper. “But I shall remember this—and if you do not mend your ways, I pledge to see to it that you are sent away. No . . . not to the dump you love to belong, but to places where they would enjoy crushing that unruly spirit of yours. I promise.”
Maia watched as he turned and left, her appetite vanishing with his retreating form. As they trudged back to their rooms in complete silence, Dani hooked her arm around Maia’s, but the evening had already been marred.
21: The TEK Club Tryouts
After the first week, Maia felt more at ease, her homesickness almost forgotten in the constant running between instruction sessions. She was now prepared to accept that there would be no early escape from Xif. She realized that not only was she part of a team but also the team lead, which meant she had to place the needs of the team ahead of her own. She had to make an effort to support her teammates through the next few months until her commitments as a leader ended. It was not going to be easy; she could not make herself feel as enthusiastic about the Initiative as the rest of her teammates did, at least not overnight, but she could try. And she would try.
Matters thus fell into place. The only two things that remained at their painful best were their grumpy Kinetics Master and their stuck-up mentor. Also, Ren seemed to vanish without a trace at least every other evening, surfacing at the dining bay the next morning. Thankfully, Nafi did not raise an alarm about it, although from her expression it was clear that she could barely contain her curiosity. Of course, if Nafi did not voice her concerns, the others were not too eager to pry either. Maia, however, made a mental note to ask Ren of his whereabouts at an opportune moment, given her obligations as the leader of the team.
One day, after working on machine designs, the group headed toward the dining bay. The day had started off well, but then instead of their usual trip to the nice and cheery Design Studios, they had been sent to tour an old project room for an introduction to ancient tools and equipment. The excursion was far from entertaining; no one was eager to handle the heavy and unwieldy hammers or tongs that not just looked ferocious, but were also quite capable of biting their heads off. When Master Kehorkjin decided to step in and assign tasks, matters got progressively worse. Someone forgot to shut off the grease faucet, and Kenan, the bushy-haired boy, slipped and fell into a tumbler full of sprockets. In another corner of the room, a girl dropped one of the fearsome tongs on her foot and had to be carried to the infirmary. Of course, Master Kehorkjin did not pass over a single chance of lecturing the class on the importance of being alert and attentive. By the time they were excused, everybody was tired; the walk back to the dining bay seemed endless.
“What’s going on here?” Nafi said squinting as they lumbered down the stairs.
One floor above the visitors’ quarters, where the Circle One section doorway opened at the mouth of the glass staircase, a very large crowd had gathered. It was quite unusual to see people swarm together at the XDA, so the curious gang came to a halt. As they watched, a girl with long, black hair broke away from the pack and started down the stairs.
“Let’s ask her,” Ren rushed forward.
“Wait, she’s the one from Karhann’s team,” Nafi shot a warning note, but Ren had already bounded up to the girl.
She was tall, even taller than Kusha. Her pitch-black hair hung past her waist like a dark silk curtain, and her almond-shaped eyes were placed a little wide apart. What was odd, Maia realized, was the complete lack of warmth on her face as she stared at the group, as if she were wearing a mask.
“Hello, I’m Ren.”
The girl did not even blink, let alone smile back.
“I . . . um . . . we wanted to know what’s going on in there?” Ren asked, pointing at the crowd.
“The TEK Club tryouts, tonight at the Dusilado Arena, after dinner hours,” she replied in a cold, emotionless voice.
Maia noticed Ren’s eyes light up.
“I have to go now,” the girl said.
“Oh yes, sorry for holding you up. Umm . . . what’s your name?” Ren gushed, his cheeks flushing a little, as the girl turned to leave. “I mean, I’ve seen you during instructions, but we’ve never been introduced.”
“Are these little people bothering you, Yoome?” Karhann had materialized noiselessly behind them with Nafi’s cousin Loriine in tow.
As Loriine scowled and placed herself protectively by Yoome’s side, the dark-haired girl shrugged listlessly.
“Bothering her?” Nafi shot back. “We were just trying to find out about the TEK Club tryouts. And who are you calling ‘little people’?”
Karhann’s face broke into a teasing smirk. “You didn’t know about the tryouts?”
“Why would they need to know?” Loriine snickered. “They don’t belong here anyway.”
“Well, it’s been going on for the last two days, and tonight is the final round,” Karhann informed with a generous chuckle, “the LS4.”
“You missed Karhann’s tryout,” Loriine added. “He did a wonderful display for LS3.”
“That really is heartbreaking,” Nafi sneered, never missing a chance to be the spokesperson of the group. “Since that’s all we’re here for . . . to watch Karhann try out for the TEK Club.”
Karhann ignored the comment and turned to leave. Loriine made a face at the bewildered gang before leading Yoome away.
“What was that all about?” Maia found her voice after the trio had left.
“She’s on the K team, and they’re a tad
touchy about socializing with us,” Nafi said, stomping noisily toward the dining bay. She kept grumbling and muttering to herself. “Little people, huh? You’ll see who has the last laugh.”
“Not that. I mean about the TEK Club?” Maia said as they picked their meal boxes.
“You’ll find out soon,” Ren replied.
“What’s bothering you, Ren?” Dani asked.
“Karhann didn’t have to be so rude and obnoxious, like I was going to bite her or something,” he said ruefully.
“Maybe she’s his girlfriend?” Kusha said as he dug into his food.
“I thought Loriine had that spot,” scoffed Nafi.
“Who cares about Karhann’s girlfriend?” Maia waved them away impatiently. “All I want to know about is this TEK thing, and why everyone is going gaga over it.”
“TEK is short for telekinetics. Ever heard of that?” Ren asked. Immediately all ears were cocked in his direction.
“The TEK Club is hosting its annual tryouts for new members. Every year they enroll new trainees from Circle One and anyone who has telekinetic or TEK power is free to take the tests.”
He paused to eat a spoonful as the others waited restlessly to hear more.
“The TEK Club is a very powerful and exclusive club with extensive ties to the rich and powerful in Xifarian society. Club members usually make the top appointees and best-placed apprentices in any of the agencies here on Xif. That’s the reason anyone and everyone wants to get in.”
“And what does LS stand for?” Dani asked.
“It’s the Level of Strength,” Ren explained. “LS2 is mostly strength-related exercises, which do not require much precision control, like lifting objects and other simple moves. The next level includes the tests of balance, which needs more precise manipulation of the powers. The LS4 category is where the participants have mastered a high level of accuracy in their moves. All levels beyond this involve much more than these basic proficiencies.”
“Are you going to try out, Ren?” Nafi asked.
“No, they only allow students to compete,” Ren replied gruffly. After a reflective pause, he spoke again in a very low voice. “And then, I’m not good at it. To be honest, I have no TEK powers at all.”