Part 1: The Academy - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

My alarm clock woke me up at 6:30 the next morning. I wasted no time getting out of bed and jumping into the shower. Despite what my actions suggested, I was hardly a morning person. My mind was foggy and I ended up dozing off while standing in the shower before I was able to drag myself out. I let out a yawn and contemplated going back to sleep as I came into view of the bed, but ended up forcing myself to change into my school uniform.

The Eliwen Academy uniform for guys during the winter consisted of a white blazer and shirt, black dress pants and shoes, and a tie. Along the outer edges of the jacket was colored trim that was different for each grade. The colors were: yellow for freshmen, green for sophomores, red for juniors, and blue for seniors. The tie was also the color of the year you were in, making mine a ruby red.

For females it was much the same thing, although instead of pants they had skirts that stopped a little above the knee, and black thigh high socks. In place of the tie, they had a ribbon that displayed the color of their grade.

By the time I straightened my clothes and left my room, it was 7:10. I entered the foyer to be greeted by Sonia and Rika from the kitchen.

“Uh, good morning,” I offered them, still not really aware of my surroundings.

Rika grinned at me and the next thing I knew, a steaming plate of eggs and bacon was sitting in my hands. “This is yours.” I sent her a questioning look and she giggled at my reaction. “Sis and I cook breakfast and dinner for everybody during the weekdays. You’re on your own for the weekends though. Anyway, enjoy!”

She gave me a bright smile and I thanked her before taking the plate and sitting down at the table with Lily who was already there. I made sure to sit far away from her. One by one the rest appeared from their rooms until everybody was accounted for. When breakfast had finished and I helped clean up, I went back to my room to get my backpack. I slung the bag over my shoulder and went to join everyone else by the door. It was a 15 minute walk from the dorm to the school, and we all left together in playful conversation. I would later learn to enjoy these mornings.

 

The academy was divided into three different buildings, all located on one gigantic plot of land that was encased in a high, aluminum fence. Across from the main gate was the school itself. The building was absolutely huge in length, seeming to stretch on forever along the grounds. It had five floors to it, making it the smallest building, height-wise, in the area. The architecture seemed to go for a more modern, skyscraper design. The exterior seemed to consist of tinted glass windows for the majority of the structure, refusing to let anybody on the outside see in. The roof was slanted off to one side, making it look like half a triangle was slapped onto the top. Each floor contained one of the grades: the first years on the second, sophomores on the third, juniors on the fourth, and seniors on the top floor. The first floor consisted of the main desk, the cafeteria, the auditorium, the nurse’s office, and the school’s indoor pool.

The building closest to the school, on the right, was the faculty office. Ten stories high and sharing the same design as the previous structure, both seemed to look the part of an office building rather than a place of learning. Beside the offices, stood a building that looked completely out of place. A huge, white domed stadium rest along the grass, taking up a large amount of space inside the fence. The place was famous for hosting some of the tournaments here in Rishawa, while people waited around for the World Championships to begin. Even if I wasn’t particularly interested in combat, I was fully aware of these tournaments, everyone was. It was even popular for the senior class at Eliwen to partake in the fights to try and win the $10,000,000 prize money. Although as far as I know, none of them had actually managed to win first place.

I kept my eye on the coliseum as our group walked toward the front door to the school with the rest of the students. Transitioning inside, I found myself in the lobby with the secretary’s desk straight ahead. On either side were escalators that the students rode up and down to get to their designated floors. The whole inner structure resembled a shopping mall; a huge open area with walkways connecting the left and right sides of the floor, and a skylight that let in the natural light from outside. Beside the escalators on the ground level and closest to the walls were two double doors that led off to the rest of the school’s first floor. But we weren’t heading there now. We all took one of the escalators up until we reached the fourth floor. It was here that we separated with the seniors as they moved on to reach the floor above. James led the rest of us juniors to our classroom, the last door on the left side. He already told me before (and the headmaster had as well) that I was in class C, with the rest of the juniors in the Pryce dorm.

Every grade had 6 classes, each with about 20 or so students. Classes A, B, and C were located on the left half of the building, while classes D, E, and F were on the right. Contrary to what it might suggest, only class A is filled with the students who achieved near perfect marks on their tests. The rest of the classes were all mixed, with students of varying performances.

When I entered class C (3-C to be exact), I understood why the building was given so much room.

The classroom was absolutely huge, putting the dorm’s main room to shame. Up in the front was the stereotypical chalkboard and student desks arranged neatly. The rest of the room’s space was taken up by the four “mini” arenas that were outlined with gaff tape. When I say mini, I don’t really mean that. Each arena had to be as large as the dorm itself, give or take a couple of yards. And there were four of them. Four. It didn’t take me very long to figure out that this was where the combat instruction took place. Along the back wall, closest to the fighting area was an array of weapons you could only dream about, all lined up neatly on shelves. Just about any instrument of combat you could think of was there, waiting to be used.

I later learned that none of these were actually real; they were just filled with something like lead so it would still hurt like hell if you were struck. This school really had some serious funding.

The teacher sitting at his desk up front looked up from his newspaper as we entered. He was a middle-aged man with a mop of dark brown hair and think glasses. There was a loose-fitting tie hanging from his thin neck, and a food stained white lab coat, left unbuttoned, on his figure. You could see the faded t-shirt with the name of some band from years ago underneath, a complete contrast to the dress pants he wore. His eyes zeroed in on me, the new guy, as soon as I stepped into his view. With a yawn, he stood up and beckoned me forward.

I obediently followed him to a desk in the corner of the classroom area, next to the windows. He patted the spot as he took a seat on the desk. “This,” the drawled in a sleepy voice, “is your seat. I’m Ken Bolgovich, though I expect you to call me Mr. Bolgovich, or Mr. B. I don’t really care actually. Do you care? You shouldn’t, just do what you want. Anyway, nice to have you around Marcus, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to an introduction like that. “Uh, thank you, sir… It’s good to… be here…” I trailed off.

Mr. Bolgovich gave me a pat on the shoulder and walked off, back to his desk.

I stood there for a few more seconds before sitting down in my seat and letting my backpack drop to the floor. I shouldn’t have expected anything different from this school for hiring strange teachers.

While I was thinking to myself, James slid into the seat in front of me, his trademark grin on his face. “Looks like you get to sit with me!” he exclaimed giddily.

“Uh, yeah, looks like it.” To be honest, I was still out of it from this morning, and from talking with Mr. Bolgovich. James didn’t seem to notice and continued speaking to me excitedly until class started.

 

“You sure you don’t want to walk home with us?” Rika questioned me as we were packing up at the end of the day. She ended up being the person in the seat beside me, to my right.

“Yeah, you guys go on ahead. I have to talk to the headmaster about some things. I’ll be back at the dorm later.”

“He’s not coming?” Lily came over to us with Cody trailing behind her. They were both seated toward the front of the class.

“Nope,” James answered before I could even open my mouth. “He’s going to see Mikahliss.”

“Good,” Lily fixed me with a glare, which I promptly ignored by sliding my bag over my shoulder and standing up from my desk.

“I’ll see you guys later,” I told them. They waved goodbye, save for Lily of course, as I left the classroom and exited the building. I followed the steady stream of students as they all left to either go home or attend business elsewhere. While the majority of them headed for the large gate the marked the entrance and exit to the grounds, I turned and made my way over to the large building that marked the offices.

Automatic doors opened as I approached and closed behind me when I entered the lobby. And of course with an academy like this, I wasn’t surprised when I found that it didn’t look like the lobby you would expect from a normal school. I had been inside this building before, so that might also be a reason I wasn’t taken aback, but I had half a mind to believe this room changed every time one would enter. I learned now that this was not the case and I was somewhat grateful for that.

I moved on to the front desk, walking through what appeared to be a luxury hotel lobby, and waited for the secretary to notice me.

“Can I help you, Mister Galloway?” It slipped my mind at the time that they already recognized me in such a short time.

“Is Headmaster Mikahliss in? I need to speak with him.”

They waved me toward the elevator on the side and I thanked them before entering and pushing the button for the top floor. The doors closed and I waited patiently, the elevator music rather soothing. When they opened I stepped into the dojo that was the headmaster’s office. By dojo, I mean dojo. The kind with the tatami floors and the fusuma and shōji walls, and a sword placed upon a pedestal on the far wall.

The headmaster opened his eyes from his spot on the floor as I entered, giving me a curt nod before rising from his cross-legged position. The old man was now dressed in a gray kimono, different from his monk robes from yesterday. I stopped caring about all the oddities I found since transferring into this school, I just went with it.

“Is there something you need from me, Mister Galloway?” Mikahliss asked me. There wasn’t much of a point in beating around the bush.

“Sir, why didn’t I have to take the physical test?”

The old man laughed and waved a hand through the air, as if dismissing the question entirely. “Because there was no need; I already knew what you were capable of, so we let you attend.”

“But sir,” I began, “I don’t feel like I deserve being here unless I take that test.”

“Well, would you pass it?” His face turned serious, all signs of his gentle nature gone. I felt myself swallow and thought through my answer carefully.

“No.”

His face brightened up once again, filling me with worry. “Then there is no need.”

“But sir-”

“My word is final, Mister Galloway. Now is not the time to be discussing this, as you are needed elsewhere.”

I frowned, puzzled by his words. “Needed elsewhere?”

“You will see,” he told me as he went to sit back down. “Now you should head home, as you can see I am a very busy man.” The headmaster closed his eyes.

I shook my head and stepped into the elevator once again. I felt like that conversation was a waste of time. He was hiding something from me, that much was obvious. I just didn’t know what it was, nor did I have any clue as to what it could be. There was no way that he would know what had happened before, it was impossible. I wasn’t supposed to exist. Something began nagging at my subconscious, making me wonder if I had forgotten anything important. A sigh left my mouth as I pushed the button for the lobby; I was ready to just go to sleep once I reached the dorm.

 

The walk back to the dorm was unnerving. The headmaster’s words invaded my mind no matter how hard I tried to forget it. He was keeping information from me and I didn’t like that. There was no way I should have been accepted into the academy, perfect score or not. This was a world where fighting was everything. So why would I, someone who had absolutely no chance in a brawl, be a student at one of the top schools for combatants in the entire world? Some things just didn’t make logical sense. Of course, this was where I wanted to be, so I shouldn’t really be one to complain. But I didn’t like to be kept in the dark; it made me paranoid to not see every detail.

I froze in place on the sidewalk, looking about me as I stopped my steps. I was near Hyde Park, a popular spot in the city for everybody. I peered through the iron bars that marked the area of the park, seeing the golden and orange leaves hanging from the trees and threatening to fall off. Even now, some had drifted down to cover the grass and pathways that filled Hyde Park. It was a beautiful picture of nature. And only nature. Even with November’s cold weather, the park should be filled with people at this time of day. But not a soul was around. And not only within the confines of the park, the street I was walking down was completely devoid of all cars and pedestrians.

A chill went down my spine as I listened to the silence around me. My pulse started to quicken as I watched the area around me, waiting for something to move within the scenery. Fear started to weave its icy grip around my heart as questions ran rampant in my head. Did they find me already? Was this it? I should have been more careful, stayed around other people. Maybe I could make it to the dorm in time if I ran now. I was only 10 minutes away, I could probably outrun them.

Like a small animal coming face to face with a hungry wolf, I bolted down the street. My heart hammered in my chest, pumping the adrenaline through my system as I moved. I didn’t run for long because when I turned a corner, I came into sight of why the streets were deserted.

I let out a sign of relief and I stopped to catch my breath against a nearby telephone pole. After steadying my heartbeat, I pushed off the pole and made my way over to the scene that was occurring in the middle of the road.

“The hell is going on here?” I asked to nobody in particular, placing myself on the outside of the two groups. The air around me was tense, everybody waiting for the other to make the first move. In front of me, the group from Pryce dorm (minus Michelle) stood close together in various stances of fighting.

Across from them and a few yards to my left stood about thirty students, dressed in the uniforms of Hecatorn Prep (a school in Jenora, the next town over), white dress pants and a blood red button-down shirt with the emblem of the school on its chest: a menacing battle-axe. They too, were in their fighting stances. I noticed that everybody was unarmed, and this was looking to be a pretty one-sided fistfight.

It was Scott who ended up answering my question. “These guys from Hec are trying to start s**t with us,” he growled.

“And you’re going to fight them?” I asked the most obvious question in the world.

“Hell yeah!” James shouted.

I sighed, something I seemed to be doing a lot of recently, and brushed the bangs out of my face as I studied the scene around me. “Well you’re kind of outnumbered,” I told them. “You’re going to get your asses kicked if you fight them like this.”

Sonia threw a glance over at me before she turned back to the mass of people in front of her. “And what would you suggest we do?” I already had an answer and I pointed over my left shoulder with my thumb.

“Fall back into this alley, it’ll be easier.”

They may not have been able to change the numbers in the fight, but they certainly could change the location. If they went into the alley, their friends from Hecatorn would be forced to come at them only a few at a time. I was confident that my dorm mates could handle them then. The perfect bottle-necking technique. It was obvious if they thought about it. But they weren’t thinking. Especially one person in particular.

I saw my schoolmates start to move toward me and the alley, their fronts still to their opponents. But they stopped in their tracks when a voice broke through the silence.

“Are you telling us to run away?” Lily glared over her shoulder in my direction.

I wanted to strangle her for being so difficult. Why me? Why did she hate me so much? I was trying to keep everyone alive and well, and she had to go and question my plan. I needed to sway the others into my favor again or else they were going to fight an already lost battle.

“No, not run away. It’s a strategic retreat.”

…

…

…

Probably not the best choice of words actually.

“All right, listen here new guy,” Scott began, “At Eliwen, we don’t run or retreat. We stand and fight.” He cracked his knuckles and the others stood their ground. I had to give it to him; he had no fear at getting his a*s kicked. But that didn’t mean that they had to lose because of their pride.

I never had the chance to say anything more as the battle began.

For being severely outnumbered, my fellow students put up one hell of a fight. They were able to take out ten of the thirty opponents before being surrounded and being knocked out themselves. Beaten and bleeding, my dorm mates lay in the middle of the street, groaning from the pain. Then the rest of the Hecatorn students turned toward me.

“Oh you have got to be kidding,” I grumbled, my hands up in a surrendering gesture. I was already backing up into the alley, but they continued to follow me. I didn’t stand a chance against a single one of them, let alone twenty. Yet they still advanced, probably because I was wearing the Eliwen Academy uniform. I wouldn’t be able to run, they were much faster than me, and they had better endurance. I wasn’t even sure if the alley simply ended a short distance away. I continued to back up until I bumped into something soft and felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I froze, knowing that I would have to face my fate along with my schoolmates.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Michelle’s voice whispered in my ear. I half turned to stare into the smiling face of my raven-haired dorm advisor.

I opened my mouth to respond but she silenced me with her finger. Michelle gave me a wink before she glided past me, toward the mob of Hecatorn students. They obviously recognized her as they started to back up out of the alley, tripping over each other in the street. I followed Michelle as she moved forward, confused as to why the mob was so scared of a single girl.

Michelle stepped into the street and addressed her fallen friends as they struggled to sit up. “How did you guys lose like this?” she chided. “Especially with him around!” she gestured wildly in my direction which only served to confuse me more. What did I have to do with any of this? Michelle continued. “Did he not do anything?”

Scott, the only one who managed to get himself righted, smiled weakly at his girlfriend. “We didn’t listen,” he admitted.

Michelle let out an “Ugh!” and snapped her head back to the mass of twenty Hecatorn students. They visibly jumped as her gaze fell on them and I began to put the pieces together.

I couldn’t really explain what happened next. All I knew was that there was some movement, and then everybody with a Hecatorn uniform was on the ground, nursing broken limbs. Michelle turned to me and rolled her eyes, not a scratch on her. I was pretty sure she was still standing in the same spot from before.

“Hey Marcus, help me get our friends back to the dorm.”