by Nicol Terra
“Why are you taking that bed? I wanna be in the front near the door.” Erudite asked.
She smirked, “That is the point, so you can’t wake me like you did every morning before class.”
Erudite shook her head; her jaw dropped with her hand planted on her chest. “Why I would do no such thing! I wonder what made you get that idea.”
Erudite dripping sarcasm was enough for Tina to smile and roll her eyes. Erudite always loved to bend Tina to the rules, and that is what Tina wanted to avoid.
“Two years of being roommates with you.” She said.
“You make, a valid point.” Erudite said. Tina shrugged.
“Don’t worry, at least if I am here, and I don’t have to hear you snore.” Tina said. Erudite jaw dropped.
“I don‘t snore!” She blushed.
“Yes, you do,” Tina said, a coy smile looking at Erudite who turned crimson.
“Who said?” Erudite inquired.
“I said.” Tina responded.
“I would like to call out bullshit.” She said. Tina giggled- she felt better now. The two were perfect for eachother. Tina always liked to crack a joke, and always preferred to carry her own weight. Erudite however could take a joke with sarcasm and was generous, perhaps too generous for someone who was born richer then most.
Then two Faeries opened the door and came in, one of them stomping on the floor and the other one flying off the ground. The one stomping had red wings and had a furious expression. Her black shirt and gym shorts contrasted with a small, cross-like necklace around her neck. She was also kind of short even by Faerie standards, clocking in at four foot even. The other one had green wings and had a green dress to match. Her face was filled with curiosity and was five foot.
“Why is it such a big deal you failed, Rose? You can retake the test.”
“This is the second time Evelyn!” Rose said, her face steaming.
“Oh wow, you failed a test already? I guess I am teammates with an idiot.” Erudite said. Tina face palmed- she knew this would not end well. Erudite always was blunt.
The one with red wings flew to Erudite. “What did you say? You look like a snot-nosed rich folk.”
“Well, I am, but that sentence construction was atrocious.” Erudite said.
Tina sighed- She should do something before Erudite’s overconfidence, and honesty gets both of them hurt.
“Don’t worry about her, that is just how she always is.” Evelyn said. The one with red wings pouted and shook her head.
“I am still mad that I can’t graduate. I got perfect scores on the practical test!”
“And you failed the written test.” The one with green wings flew to where Tina was, her hand extended. Tina grabbed it and gave it a firm shake.
“I am Evelyn. That is my friend Rose. We both failed, and now we are roommates.” She said.
“Cool, do you snore?” Tina said.
“You still on that?” Erudite turned away. Tina loved to tease her, and her reaction is priceless. She turned back to Evelyn, who shook her head.
“No, I do not snore.” Evelyn smiled.
“Good, I am a light sleeper that likes to sleep a lot.” Tina said.
“Same,” Rose added, flying to Tina. “Rose. I am also your roommate.” The two shook hands, floating above ground and fluttering their wings. It was common practice for Faeries to fly and flutter their wings to greet new friends, either that or get drunk in a bar. Tina however, didn’t wanna get drunk today.
“Tina. I take it that our other roommates are to be assigned to us?” Tina asked
She shook her head. “Don’t know. I heard there is one that came in earlier today, but she hasn’t been back yet. The other one got promoted, and I think the bed will be free. The male dorm is worse than the female dorm.”
“That bad?” Tina asked.
“Well, besides one..idiot, we don’t have many male Faeries joining the military, at least near Agall,” Evelyn stated.
“Who is the idiot?’ Tina inquired
“Robin, he should be here today. We are going to go to the vending machines and smoke before our training starts.” Evelyn said.
Tina raised a brow. “They sell packs here?”
Evelyn and Rose nodded.
“Cannabis only, but they are cheap. We get a card loaded with money for food and other pleasurable stuff.” Rose said. Tina smile. Her favorite past time, like all Faeries, was to have a night drinking and smoking, until she forgot where she was. Tina blinked, remembering the times that she would stay the night at bars. Erudite always did find her before class and still woke her up, hungover or not. Then, she let out a small frown. She had no money. Like always.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Rose said, pulling out two cards from her pocket as she held one towards Tina. “This is yours. Commander Jay told me that they would instead give the cards to senior members instead of handing them out themselves.”
“Why?” Tina and Erudite asked.
She shrugged. “Probably have little responsibility with the card giving at the moment..considering the circumstances.” She said. Evelyn flew over to Erudite and motioned to give her a card, only for her to keep holding on to it after Erudite pulled. She grunted and pulled the card away from her.
Then a male faerie flew in, his yellow hair and his yellow wings practically lighting the room up. His wings fluttered, sparkles of light falling from them.
“Yo, I take it that this is our squadron?”Robin said.
“Yeah. We only got three this time. We are short by about… four people.” She said, motioning her hand motions to them. “Come, let's get rolls.”
“You coming?” Tina turned to Erudite. She shook her head.
“Sorry, I will nap and call it a day early. We have our training at night, rather catch up on some early sleep.” She said. Tina nodded, flying out of the room with the three.
The hallway was packed with people trying to put their stuff inside their rooms. Many of them were outside, chatting with their friends, many more were in the hallways, buying packs of Sparks or Candy from the vending machines. Evelyn flew to a nearby device and swiped her card on it, dropping a pack of Sparks below as she pulled out one and handed everyone one. Tina stopped midway.
“You don’t smoke?” Robin said, lighting his up with glee.
“I don’t often. I also can’t pay you back.” Tina admitted. She couldn't save too much money since graduating.
“Eh, fuck it. They load your card for three square meals a day for four weeks of training and an extra silver just for stuff like this.” She said. Tina grabbed it with Rose lighting it.
“So, where you from?” Rose asked.
“Agall.” Tina said.
“Same.” She said.
“I am from Mianar,” Evelyn said. “Robin, someone raised you in Orem, right?”
Robin nodded. Tina blinked as she shook her head rapidly.
“Orem is a human city!” She said finally. The 5 Great Powers were mostly homogeneous, and Orem was the largest city of the Kragg Empire. Tina always did want to go there, but without the money she was always stuck in Siphor with thousands of miles of ocean separating the two continents.
“And trust me, they know how to have a good time.” Robin snickered. “I also have some booze in my room, although we only get two free days to relax.” He sighed.
Tina looked outside to see a field of Faeries, doing pushups and sit-ups. Some of them were also running around the track or flying around it. She shook her head- this was her life now. Twenty-one days of this and away from home. She shivered.
“Your friend is rude,” Rose said. Tina raised a brow and gave a small giggle.
“Glad you noticed, she is fun.” She said. “We used to be roommates at university.”
“Oh shit, what was your field of study?” Rose asked.
“Time Magick, I even did a thesis on it and graduated with high honors,” Tina said, her voice was stale and cold, but everyone stepped back. In her mind,
she never used her study. She cracked and learn her ability and explored it in a book which now is used in a limited fashion in technology around Agall, but in her mind, she was slightly disappointed. Her thesis for Time Magick was comprehensive but in the technologically advanced society of the Planet was nothing more than a 'useless' skill. Tina frowned. This was why she was here, she needed the money, and she needed it badly.
She let out a small shrug. “Didn’t change the world though.” She thought to herself.
“Woah, that is a complicated field, and you wrote a book on it!” Robin said, taking one long drag. Tina was feeling like time was slowing just for her, and everyone around them was giggling.
“I didn’t expect a brainiac like you to be here. Why are you here?” Evelyn inquired. Tina looked away for a moment and sighed.
“I need the money. I don‘t exactly have it yet, and I am in a lot of debt. I need more money than my field pays me.” She partly lied, shrugging “The military gave me a generous plan, and I took it.” She said truthfully.
“You ranked already?” Rose turned. Tina shook her head.
“No, but I am supposed to graduate with Lieutenant rank if I make it through, like most degree holders.” Tina said, then she let out a small giggle. “Although I am mostly here for the bonus. If I get that, I probably will be a regular soldier.” She said.
“Heck, if you came from the University of Agall,” Robin said, his face a devilish grin as she smacked Tina on the arm. “Do you like getting fucked up?” He asked.
Tina blinked three times and laughed, and she felt a smile wipe on her face as she turned to Rose. Rose merely smiled as well and shook her head.
“He ain’t lying, we may have failed twice, but to be fair, our free days involve us drinking, or smoking, or pulling pranks.” Rose said, fluttering her wings as she pulled a large drag from her roll.
“Pulling pranks? Tina inquired.
“Please don‘t.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Last time, we put inside Commander Jay’s underwear some Jelly. Or that one time we gave Commander Grow an edible without him knowing.”
“That last one I was proud of,” Rose said with pride. Evelyn rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, and both you and Robin got caught and had to do five miles for the hour.” Evelyn added.
“To be fair, I was still laughing on the track,” Robin said. Evelyn groaned.
“Yeah, we get it. Just don’t do it, Tina. These two goofballs might ruin your chances here.” Evelyn pointed.
“Maybe,” Tina said, her brow raised and a gaping smile formed across her cheeks. “But I like drinking and having a good time.” She said.
“Can’t wait to introduce her to Eve.” Robin whispered to Rose, who merely nodded.
Tina frowned, she just realized the only she could do was smoke, study, drink or sleep. Although she did like to sleep, it did get boring after a while.
What else was she supposed to do? Her Holosphere had her Phone disabled because of the Firewall, calling her family would be impossible. She can at least drink.
Robin and Rose high fived each other as Evelyn sighed.
“Well, I guess we will see.” She said, incinerating the tiny part of her joint left. Tina created a bubble of light and snuffed out the flame as she dumped the piece of paper in a nearby trash can.
“I guess we should get ready for tonight's sessions. We are gonna be training and studying for the next few week.” Robin said, his wings fluttering. “I will call it a night, nice meeting you Tina.”
Tina nodded. “I will go to sleep.” She said, flying away back to her room and jumping on her bed. She felt the soft cushion of her mattress give a small squeak. She giggled.
A few days have passed since Erudite has joined the Faerie army. Training has been tough; they feed you three times a day (which since a faerie usually eat five times a day; she found herself beyond cranky); the showers are never free, and she suspects that not one of her squadmates gives a damn about the war. Three loud bangs erupted in a room of six beds; the door was being pounded so hard you could have sworn it would have fallen off from the sheer force. Erudite thought about it staring at the dark ceiling. Does she care about the war?
No, She didn't. She had her friends partially to thank for that. She is scheduled to be a Lieutenant for her squad, thanks to Tina declining the position. She winced at this thought as she heard loud thumps coming from outside.
“Get up, you butterflies!” A man with a gruff, grizzly voice said. One Faerie, with blue wings, turned to the other side and held her blanket close.
Erudite was different, wings in Faerie society determine your social caste, and she had red wings, one of the most prestigious social classes there were, and her attire proved it. She had a gold necklace wrapped around her tiny neck, silver, flowing robes that gave out a faint sparkle in the sunlight. A silver ring on her right ring finger and piercing red eyes that matched with discipline and order. She quickly got out of bed, gave a quick stretch and went to her bed-stand, which had a coffee machine that smelt of sweet broiling coffee. She pressed the switch and slid her mug under the device. She looked to see everyone except one faerie get out of their bed, ready to tackle the day.
“Yo Tina! Get your lazy ass out of bed.” Erudite said.
Tina flipped her off as she shrugged. One Faerie, female as well with green wings flew up to her.
“Don’t we have our final training exercise the 29th?” She asked, her fingers rubbing against themselves as she looked at the ground. Erudite patted her on the back.
“Yeah, but you will fine. If anyone it will fail, it will be that slob over there.” She said as she pointed to Tina.
Erudite took a large gulp from her coffee, as she waved the space itself, as a small stack of papers fell into her free hand.
“Commander Jay promoted you?”
“Yeah, since Cherry got promoted and sent immediately to the field, I got the job of Lieutenant for now.” Erudite said, her voice shifting towards a mumble at the end.... The green-winged Fae looked at her with beaming eyes. Another Faerie, this time Male barged into the room with red wings.
“We ain’t got all day you snowflakes! Hurry up Eve” He said. The green wing Faerie parted while the four other Faeries scattered, either brushing their teeth with water magic or struggling to get dressed. Erudite walked up to the man, papers in hand.
“These are the scores of everyone from the last physical, magical and crystal tests. Everyone passed except for four going from squads 1-5." She said. The other lieutenants gave her theirs out of laziness, completing the scores for the written test herself. The test wasn't hard, but it was for anyone who didn't take some schooling or was just lazy.
“Who are the four?” Jay asked.
Erudite bit her lip. “Tina, Merry, Zero and Rose.” Erudite said. Tina probably failed because she was too lazy to do the work.
“Well, luckily for them, they get one last chance in three weeks. But there has been..” He said, his eyes quickly darted from side to side, inspecting the room as he motioned her out. She followed as the two went outside down the hall. Jay was also one to be quiet, always inside his head. Erudite sighed, she didn’t mind, she followed. Following Orders was usually best anyway, especially with a superior officer.
The hall was large and spacious, closer to an entire building. It was a lopsided hemisphere, with five rooms and Commander Jay having the place to himself in the building's front. Erudite’s bunk room was two left turns down from his. The two continued halfway to his office as he sighed, figuring he should get it over with. His eyes weary and his body exhausted.
“I get Tina is your friend, and she is talented, but she does not do our nation’s pride.” He said Erudite raised a brow.
“Okay, I will give you she is lazy, but what makes you think she does not have our nation's pride?” She asked. The two reached his room, which he opened the door too. He had a tidy, brown desk with stacks of files in front of him, complete with a single cup of coffe
e. He also had a pack of cigarettes with him, but he only smoked them outside in the training grounds. She sat in the only chair in the office while Jay flew over to his desk and sat firmly on his chair.
She crossed her legs in anticipation, as Jay sat, gazing at Erudite intensely for five seconds.
“I am saying she is too radical. She believes in a lot of things that put our culture under question.” He said, Erudite clenched her fists together, she knew where he was going with this.
“She is a poorling, and poorlings like her are guaranteed to revolt when given the possibility. She has no loyalty I think flunking her in the best course of action.” He said as he passed her a light brown file to Erudite. It read Classified “I shouldn’t have recruited her if I knew about this.” Jay said.
She looked at File; she looked at the name at the top “Tina.” She threw the file back at him.
“Is there something wrong, Miss Erudite?” Jay asked.
“Nothing, but she is my best friend. Whatever ‘dirt’ you have on her, I already know about.” Erudite said. Tina was always the one to put herself before her nation, something that jarred Erudite but she did learn to accept this part of her. As a friend, she could at least give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Then you know the seriousness of the charges.” He said.
“So? We have different opinions all the time, and a different opinion is not a bad thing.” Erudite said.
“Well, some opinions are dangerous.” Jay growled.
“Says who? No one is morally pure, and the picture painted of the government is never one of pureness or amorality. I don’t need a reason to fight for my government, but she does.” She said. Jay's face turned red with Anger. Erudite then rolled her head down to the floor for a moment. “Sir.” She added.
“Then why are you friends with her?” Jay inquired.
Erudite felt that question sting slightly; she held her hands together below his desk. She just shook her head, as her wings fluttered.
“Because friendship is more than just ideology.” She said.
Jay sighed and raised his finger one more time. There was a small glimmer of light below the door she felt. Erudite frowned, was it Tina? She must have stopped time. Erudite merely just shook her head and rubbed her fingers down her legs in impatience.