The Secret Society

by Hannah Hopkins

  “Is something the matter?” Mr. Calcon asked calmly from his immobile position at the front of the room.

  “Sorry, Sir,” Rudy replied with a splutter. “I was just watching the daily news bulletin.”

  “I didn’t authorise you to use your tablet device for anything other than the assessments I have asked you to carry out,” Mr. Calcon said, his agreeable tone beginning to waver.

  “I know, Sir,” Rudy answered, “but it’s relevant to your class. In fact, I think it’s very important that everyone watches.”

  “Is that so?” Mr. Calcon responded, cocking his head to the side. “Send the bulletin to the interactive board then and enlighten us all.”

  “As you wish, Sir” Rudy snorted, pressing a button on his tablet and projecting his screen instantaneously onto the board.

  “Good afternoon and welcome to the daily news report,” Wendy Weaver’s voice echoed across the classroom. “On today’s programme, we will be discussing ‘The Famous Faint’, as we reveal whether hero Finley Campbell is struggling with pressures of fame. Recent reports have come in alleging that Finley suffered from a fainting episode during the incident in the lobby, when the so-called ‘Society of the Enlightened’ commandeered the main screen and made an unauthorised broadcast. Sources have suggested that Finley may not be coping since the end of his first school year at The Space Academy, which saw him battling with former Headteacher Admiral Allance-the first known Vacuous to take human form. Our star Finley was admitted to the Medic Ward following his collapse and was reportedly treated for a panic attack. No further information has yet been given to suggest whether Finley has recovered from the episode. More on this story as it develops.”

  As the bulletin ended, every face in the classroom turned towards Finley, whose face had become a shade of red so dark it was almost purple. Balling up his fists, he began shaking from head to toe, his mouth forming a tight line as he tried to suppress the outcry that Lois was certain was rising in his throat. She reached out in an attempt to comfort him, but he snatched his arm away, closing his eyes in pain as he struggled to contain his horror. With a deep breath, he strode with determination from the room, without so much as pausing to look back as he made his exit. Rudy exploded into a fit of laughter at the sight of his departure, his face illuminated with the joy at having succeeded in his plan to humiliate him.

  Will rose from his desk, his body poised with fury as he prepared to confront Rudy. Before he could move, Lois sprung to her feet, making her way over to Rudy in three swift steps and snatching the tablet from his hands. Looking straight into his eyes, she smashed the device against the cold, tiled floor, listening as it hit the ground with a satisfying ‘crack’. To make certain it was destroyed she stamped her feet into it several times, obliterating the tablet into as many pieces as she could muster. Rudy’s mouth hung open as he blinked in shock from Lois’ outburst. For once, it seemed he had no clever response to taunt her with. Rejoicing in the victory of his silence, Lois stared at him with disgust, allowing the hatred she felt for him to pulse through her veins, projecting from her eyes and into his own. Her triumph at having shaken him was short-lived, however, as she was interrupted by Mr. Calcon, who approached with fluidity from across the room.

  “I believe,” he said shortly, “that I must issue you both with a detention. You will come back to my classroom tonight after dinner and perform a task of my choosing.”

  “I’d rather have death by laser-eyes than be alone in a room with him,” Lois remarked, her rage towards Rudy suppressing her fear of the Arithmetic teacher.

  “There’ll be no need for any deaths,” Mr. Calcon replied calmly. “However, I would that hope by the end of your punishment, you would have learnt to get along a little better with your classmates. After all, we are stronger when we are together. At least, that is what your father would like us to believe, isn’t it Lois?”

  Lois froze, chewing her lip with resentment over the robot’s choice of words. It wasn’t the first time somebody had used her father’s motto against her, and she was sure that it wouldn’t be the last. Despite this, she couldn’t shake the sensation of deep unease that had spread in the pit of her stomach, alarmed to hear the android speaking the words with irony in his voice. Not wishing to anger Mr. Calcon any further, she dropped her arms to her side in surrender, tearing her eyes away from Rudy and nodding at the ground with defeat as she accepted her punishment. Rudy did the same, swallowing hard as he bowed his head to indicate his understanding of his own wrongdoing. Upon seeing their submission, Mr. Calcon arranged his face into the strange, metallic smile he had attempted to wear at the beginning of the lesson.

  “I shall see you both at seven p.m. sharp,” he informed them, strolling back to the front of the classroom and swiping the news bulletin away from the screen with force. “I would advise for your own sakes that you do not keep me waiting,” he added, an undertone of malice in his voice.

  “Now then,” the teacher continued, evening his tone in a conscious effort to emulate his pleasant persona. “Where were we?”.

  7.

  The Warning

  Rudy stomped about his bedroom, throwing his uniform in a crumpled pile onto his chair and changing into a pair of dark, denim jeans and a grey hoody. He checked his appearance briefly in the mirror, making a half-hearted attempt to tame his unruly dark hair, which he quickly abandoned, realising that his efforts were futile. He glanced down at his Personal Device and noted with anguish that he only had ten minutes to get to his detention. Despite his outspoken behaviour in class, it was the first time he had ever received a formal punishment from a teacher, and he was extremely resentful towards Mr. Calcon as a result.

  He stormed out of his bedroom door, entering the hallway on the second floor of the dormitory and marched down to the lift, tapping his foot with impatience as he waited for it to reach him. Eventually, the doors slid open, revealing two of his friends, Jack and Tyler returning from their evening meal.

  “Hi, Rudy,” Jack said, stepping out into the corridor. “Where have you been all evening?”

  “I had to get ready for this stupid detention,” Rudy replied flatly. “I have to be there in ten minutes.”

  “Why don’t you just skip it?” Tyler suggested with a shrug. “What’s that robot thing really going to do if you don’t turn up?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out,” Rudy answered. “It’ll probably come after me with its security-bot friends.”

  “I can’t think of anything worse than being stuck in a room all night with Lois Sommers,” Jack grimaced. “Except maybe being stuck in a room all night with Finley Campbell.”

  “I heard there’s something romantic going on between the two of them” Tyler laughed scathingly. “I was talking to that Cara Demozay about it. Her best friend is going out with Will, and he told her that Finley and Lois like each other. It makes me feel sick. Although, her dad will probably throw Finley off the Mayfly when he finds out. If that happens, I’ll be the first in line to watch.”

  “He’s lucky his family got raised to Floor Two,” Jack smirked. “Otherwise, they’d be in serious trouble, what with the De Havilland Initiative and everything.”

  “What do you mean?” Rudy asked with confusion. “I thought that De Havilland thing was to find all the Vacuous.”

  “It is,” Jack shrugged, “but don’t you think it’s funny how a lot of the Vacuous seem to have been hiding on the Lower Floors?”

  His eyes glittered with mischief, sending Rudy’s mind into a spin. Jack’s father was a Navigator and worked closely with the Captain, and was therefore very knowledgeable on such matters. Rudy scuffed his foot across the floor, avoiding Jack’s gaze as he sunk his hands into the pocket of his jeans. He felt extremely uncomfortable at the thought of the authorities sending innocent people to their deaths under the guise that they were Vacuous and tried hard not to imagine the terror those on the Lower Floors must be experiencing. Seeing Rudy’s expression, Jac
k raised his eyebrows with surprise.

  “Don’t tell me you actually feel sorry for these people?” he asked him with disgust. “Your dad’s the one who put them all down there in the first place.”

  “Of course I don’t feel sorry for them,” Rudy scoffed. “I was just thinking about what a shame it is that Finley escaped from such a fate. I’d enjoy seeing any of the ‘Famous Four’ taken off this ship.”

  “Good,” Jack smiled. “For a minute there, I thought you’d gone soft.”

  Rudy laughed faintly, excusing himself and heading inside the empty lift. He rode his way down to the foyer, Jack’s words ringing in his ears as he went. He had known since he was a child that his dad had been a member of the Government, appointed with the responsibility of designating applicants for the Mayfly to the appropriate floors. It made him feel deeply depressed to imagine that his father was indirectly responsible for the difficulties the lower-class passengers had to endure. If Jack was telling the truth, then Rudy’s family was also loosely to blame for the wrongful executions of several inferior citizens. He shuddered at the thought, shaking the disturbing notion from his mind as he forced himself to think only about his impending detention, and nothing else.

  Once out of the second-year dormitory, he made the short trip to the main school building in a few quick strides, entering the Reception Hall and trying desperately to ignore the happy gaggles of students, heading off to enjoy an evening of pleasantries with their friends. Rudy seethed with anger, wishing that he could be unwinding over a game of Man Vs Alien on his virtual reality console instead of being forced to carry out whichever tedious activity Mr. Calcon had undoubtedly planned for his detention.

  It didn’t take him long to reach the third floor, and before he knew it, he was dragging his feet along the corridor of quotations, desperate to postpone his inevitable misery. All too soon he found himself outside of the Arithmetic classroom, where Lois was waiting outside, twirling her long, blonde hair around her fingers and staring gloomily at the wall in front of her.

  “Where’s the robot then?” Rudy asked as he approached, scanning his surroundings for any sign of Mr. Calcon.

  “He’s not here yet,” she replied bluntly, refusing to make eye contact with him.

  “There’s no need to be like that,” Rudy teased her. “I’m not that bad once you get to know me.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” she replied.

  “It’s true. Just ask your friend Emily,” Rudy insisted. “She and I were in the same tutor group before we came to the Academy. She knows better than anyone how sweet I am on the inside.”

  Lois turned to him, her face filled with disgust.

  “Trust me, Rudy, you don’t want to know what Emily says about you behind your back, but I can assure you that none of her detailed descriptions of your repugnant behaviour have ever included the word ‘sweet’,” she snapped.

  “Wow,” Rudy said holding his hands up in surrender. “You all really hate me, don’t you?”

  “What do you think?” Lois replied, rolling her eyes at having been asked such an obvious question.

  “I thought you lot had a sense of humour,” he shrugged. “I only want to have a bit of a fun with you.”

  “If humiliating someone in front of their entire year group is your definition of ‘fun’ then there really is something wrong with you,” Lois spat back. “You’ve no idea what Finley has been through- what any of us have for that matter. Worse than that-you don’t care. As long as you get your laughs and your moment in the spotlight, it doesn’t matter who you hurt in the process.”

  “I’m not hurting anyone!” Rudy snorted. “It’s not my fault Finley can’t take a joke. Besides, it wasn’t me that wrote that news bulletin. Whoever leaked that story in the first place is the one to blame for Finley’s ‘humiliation.’”

  “Whatever you say, Rudy” Lois sighed, abandoning any attempt to make him see reason.

  “What did you mean, before?” Rudy pressed her. “When you said I had no idea what Finley had been through. I thought things were going pretty well for him and his family, what with their elevation and all the fame and attention.”

  Lois glared at him, conveying through her eyes how unlikely it was that she was going to share personal information about Finley with his mortal nemesis.

  “I’m not going to say anything,” Rudy assured her. “I just don’t understand what could be so terrible. He should be grateful for everything that’s happened to him.”

  “Admiral Allance tried to kill him!” Lois exclaimed. “So did Josie Jones. That’s two attempts on his life in one year. Being moved to Floor Two doesn’t make any of it better. The elite population will never truly accept him or his family. They treat them like they’re on holiday, secretly hoping they’ll go back to where they came from so they don’t have to put up with them anymore.”

  “Well, can you blame them?” Rudy shrugged. “You and I both know that the people from the Lower Floors aren’t like us. They were put down there for a reason, Lois.”

  “Do you really believe that, or are you just an idiot?” Lois demanded, folding her arms as she awaited his response.

  “All I know is, you’re the Captain’s daughter,” Rudy replied. “You have a reputation to uphold, and yet you choose to hang around with people like Finley and Will. It doesn’t make any sense to me at all.”

  “I know you have incredibly small-minded views about Finley,” Lois frowned. “But what’s your problem with Will? What’s he ever done to you?”

  Rudy shrugged, looking around the hallway to avoid Lois’ perceptive gaze, fearful he may expose the truth if he allowed her to read his expression.

  “Look, if you want Emily to like you, then stop ridiculing her best friends,” Lois sighed. “Do you honestly think that’s the best way to get a girl’s attention, Rudy? Being nasty is never going to impress someone like Emily. You should know that.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rudy said stiffly, his heart dropping to his stomach as he realised his greatest secret was on the verge of being discovered.

  “You’re never going to admit it,” Lois continued, “but anyone with a few brain cells can see how you feel about Emily. If you want her to ever stop being repulsed by the very sight of you, then you need to start demonstrating that you can be a decent human being from time to time, if you’re capable of that.”

  Rudy considered her words for a moment, turning the idea of playing nice over in his mind. The prospect of having to be pleasant towards Finley and Will made his stomach churn. He hardly dared to imagine what Tyler, Jack and the other boys would say if he suddenly started being civil towards their sworn enemies. He could almost hear the taunts that would be sent in his direction, should he show the slightest bit of kindness towards the glory-seeker and the peasant from Floor Seven.

  “If you tell anyone about this conversation, I’ll make Finley’s life Hell,” Rudy threatened Lois, furious at himself for letting his guard down. “He’ll have bigger things to worry about than a stupid report on the News Station if I really let him have it. He hasn’t seen anything yet.”

  “Unbelievable,” Lois replied, shaking her head with repulsion.

  Any chance of a further altercation was stifled, however, by the arrival of Mr. Calcon, gliding noiselessly down the corridor towards them, his metal face fixed in an expression of simulated severity.

  “Good evening,” he greeted them. “I’m glad to find you both prompt in attending your detention. Please, enter my classroom.”

  They did as they were told, walking into the empty classroom whilst keeping a safe distance from one another. They stood awkwardly, awaiting Mr. Calcon’s instructions, his intimidating presence causing the hair on the back of Rudy’s neck to stand on end.

  “Please, sit down,” Mr. Calcon commanded, and they did as they were told, hastily taking seats on opposite sides of the room.

  “Miss Fortem has informed me that the purpose of a detentio
n is to encourage badly behaved students to see the error of their ways. The punishment is designed to prevent the accused from repeating any wrongdoings in the future,” Mr. Calcon continued. “Therefore, I have spent several hours devising an activity which I believe will achieve both.”

  Rudy swallowed loudly.

  “I have decided that it would be best if you both sit quietly and reflect on your mistakes. Then, you will each write me a short essay on your tablet devices about why you were at fault. There will be thirty minutes thinking time, followed by thirty minutes of writing.”

  “You want us to sit here in silence for thirty minutes?” Rudy repeated with incredulity.

  “That is correct,” Mr. Calcon confirmed.

  Rudy exchanged a perplexed glance with Lois, who shrugged and folded her arms, leaning against the desk as she prepared to entertain herself within the recesses of her own mind. Rudy sighed. He had never much enjoyed thinking, and he wasn’t entirely sure whether he had enough thoughts to fill an entire half an hour. He leant back on his chair, shuffling uncomfortably as the immediate boredom began to settle in. He began thinking longingly of algebra, wishing he were able to immerse himself in its impossible complexity, favouring the idea of the immeasurable frustration he experienced every time he tried to solve an equation over the infinite dullness that came with sitting in silence.

  After what felt like an eternity, Rudy glanced down at his Personal Device, certain that at least twenty-five minutes must have passed. He could hardly believe his eyes when he saw that it had barely been eight minutes since the detention had begun. Even Miss Fortem’s lengthy history lectures during Civilisations were better able to entertain him. He began to internally berate himself for getting on the wrong side of Mr. Calcon, the stunt he had performed in his class becoming less and less worthwhile by the second.