G's Chapters

          I was quite surprised, as you might have guessed. Salman came out just then.

          “Oh, you’re already acquainted? Great! Vidyut, I know you haven’t got a familiar, so I’m putting her in as yours.”

          “What’s a familiar?”

          “Right. Cloudview don’t have these, do they? Vidyut, do you mind explaining? I’ve got to go. Head wanted me for something.”

 

          After he left, Lyria turned to me.

          “So, what’s a familiar?”

          “Well, here, all new students become a familiar to an older student. I’m basically responsible for introducing you to the class, and getting you familiarized with the school grounds.”

          “So, a guide, basically.”

          “Yup. Why are you in my school? Adonai business? Trying to get more recruits?”

          “No! Why do you have such a bad impression of Adonai, anyway?”

          “Something to do with Ephraim being my first real interaction with your cult.”

          “Wait, so I’m the only Adonai in this entire school? I refuse to believe that.”

          “Oh, no! There are plenty of Adonai students in campus. You aren’t allowed to propagate cultism of any kind on campus, though.”

          “So I keep mum. You seemed quite informal with Salman. Is that how all students interact with teachers here? Seems a bit too… friendly.”

          “Nah. Salman’s only twenty, so we get away with more with him than with most teachers. Otherwise, its superformal respect here, as anywhere else.”

          “Oh.”

          “Come in! Seats aren’t fixed by the teachers, but most are spoken for. This one’s the only free desk.”

 

          She dropped her bag next to mine and looked around at the classroom.

          Why isn’t there a board? I can’t even see a projector anywhere.”

          “Projector’s in the ceiling, it’s a hidden type. Only the lens is visible, over at the back wall. Whatever the teacher draws or writes on his Desk gets projected onto the front wall. Student Desks are linked to the system too, but we don’t have as much access. Our desks have to be unlocked by a teacher, and even then, we can only edit other students’ works. However…”

          “What?”

          “The code isn’t very sophisticated. Backdoors are relatively easy to find.”

 

          I turned my desk on and drew in a pattern onto the wall, a sort of welcome to my classmates and the teachers.

          “There we go! Come on! I’ve got to show you the Clans!”

          “Clans? What do you mean, clans?”

          “You’d call them clubs, I suppose, though these are a lot more competitive, and a lot more like societies, than school clubs.”

 

          We walked down the hallway to a door labeled Clan HQs. I opened the door and led Lyria out to the large backyard.

          “Whoa! This place is huge! But where are the clans?”

          “The clans are scattered about in various buildings in the yard. The school ground is humongous, over fifty hectares of land. That domed glass structure? That’s the Opera House. Choir, Orchestra, and Theatre are there. That tree house – and the tree – are Robin’s Nest: The Archery HQ. The stadiums you can just about see in the distance, that’s Track and Field, and various Sports clans. That stone brick Keep like thing is Fencing, Architecture, and Clairvoyance.”

          “Wait, Clairvoyance?”

 

          She sounded amused.

          “Yep. Clairvoyance. Though I’m not really a believer.”

          “Nor am I. What clan are you in?”

          “Archery. I used to be in Taichi, but got too good at it, so I left.”

          “Why’d you leave?”

          “People began asking me to deal with their bullies. I’m not that kind of guy. Say, do you want to visit any of them, or. . .”

 

          She checked her watch.

          “Why not, we’ve got time to spare.”

          “Great! Let’s go to archery, it’s the closest.”

 

         I ran over and pulled a door set in the bark, revealing a large stairwell spiraling up the trunk.
         “Isn’t this bad for the tree?”

          “Tree has been hollow for quite a while. It’s been standing from the Second War, at least.”

 

          We walked over to the range. Phineas was already there, cleaning his rifle. He looked up as we were coming in.

          “Heya Vidyut! And who’s this beautiful young lady? Wait, wait, I’m getting a name – Lyria? Yeah? Um, Lyria, eh, nope. Didn’t get your last name. You’re new? A transfer, huh? From Cloudview, if I’m not mistaken. Dingy place, no offence meant. The uniform is grey and black. Eurch. Went there for a sharpshooters’ once. They have good riflemen, I’ll give them that. Came second.”

          “Whew!”

 

          Phineas was Olympic level, and that they’d beaten him was… He drew a breath.

          “I see you’re Gifted too, eh? Oh, an Adonai, though. Sad. Um.”

 

          He slowed down.

          “Drat, Viddy, you’re interfering with the Sight! Close your ears.”

 

          He raised the rifle, cocked, and shot. I’d just about managed to summon earplugs but it was still loud!

          “Give me some more warning next time, Phineas! Not everyone here is clairvoyant!”

          “Wait, he’s Clairvoyant? But –”

          “Yeah, no. Not Clairvoyant. I’m just a Seer. I just See things. Images, video clips, that sorta thing. No audio. It’s like I’m stuck in the silent era. Absolutely no ghosts involved. It’s my Gift, and not some dead hag trying to talk to the living through me mouth, and they certainly ain’t whispering future events in my ear. I mean, seriously, how would a ghost know about the future, anyway? Now, the past, that’s a thing the dead could specialize in. Viddy here just calls my gift Clairvoyance because it riles me up. It’s his subtle little payback for me outing his Gift when we were in third grade together. Viddy here sure can hold a grudge. Don’t get on his bad side, I’m warning you. Then again, it’s probably too late for you. You’re part of Adonai. Cover your ears.”

 

          He raised the rifle again and shot. This time, I was more prepared.

          “Well, Viddy, you’ve got class to get to.”

          “Yeah. Later, Phineas!”

          “Isn’t he coming?”

          “Nah. Phin doesn’t attend classes. Doesn’t need to. He just comes to school to muck about and ruin the Archery Club’s targets. Not that I mind, he fixes them too.”

 

          When we got to class, Shankar ran out.

          “Hey, Viddy, where’ve you bee – Oh! Hello! Ain’t you gonna introduce us, Vid?”

          “Shankar, this is Lyria. Lyria, meet Shankar. Shankar, I’ll leave her peer groups to you, eh? Thanks, old buddy, old pal.”

          “Oh, come on, Viddy! Well, anyway. Noah’s absent! No Bio class!”

          “Sweet!”

          “Wait, wait, wait. What happened to the sub?”

          “Noah is the sub. Salman is our Bio Prof, and he’s got that meeting with the Head.”

 

          We went to our places, and sat down.

          “Where’s Phineas anyway?”
          “Breaking our targets with his rifle again. Lucky Seer gets perfect grades without having to study. Makes my achievements seem tame, eh?”

          “Hey, you’re not one to talk; never seen you study, and you still get better than he does.”

          “This is just great. I’m going to forever be in the nerd’s shadow.”

          “Hey! This ‘nerd’ still defeated you without breaking a sweat!”

          “That wasn’t a fair fight! You jumped me, and had me tied up before I could recover!”

          “Whoa, whoa whoa! What are you two talking about?”

          “Birdman here swooped out of the sky and stole my bounty.”

 

          Shankar turned to me.

          “You can fly?”

          “Nah. Just glide real straight. The wingspan is huge, though, 10 feet.”

          “Who’d you catch?”

          “Blacklist 842. You know, the Icegen who robbed that bank downtown?”

          “Why’d you even fight, Viddy? I thought you were against antagonizing people?”

          “She shot me down. I just demanded an apology.”

          “‘Apologies’ don’t include bounty sharing!”

          “Hey, in my defense, I captured him, not you. I wasn’t taking half your bounty, I was giving you half of mine.”
          “ You wouldn’t have known about it, if not for me!”

          “That’s immaterial.”

          “How much did you get?”

          “Two hundred G. Apiece.”

          “Whew! So you loaded, then!”

          “Uh huh. You’re still buying me lunch, though.”
          “ Hey!”

 

          I looked over at Lyria, who was pouting at me.

          “Hey, Shankar…”

          “Yeah?”

          “I think Lyria needs to cool off. Wouldn’t you agree?”

           “You know, you’re right! Would a snowball do?”

           “Just what I was thinking.”

           “Where are you going to get a snowball in – Oof!”

 

          The look on her face was priceless.

          “A – Achoo!”

          “Bless you.”

          “So you’re an Icegen. Brr! That was cold!”

          “Nah, you still look all worked up. Maybe another one?”

 

          He held his hand out, palm upward. A snowball the size of a cricket ball was floating in the air above it.

          “Put that away, or I’ll Tase you.”

          “Aww, some on, just a tiny one? Please?”

His fingers twitched, and the snowball shrunk to the size of a golf ball. Lyria curled a hand up into a claw, sparks jumping between her fingertips.

          “All right… I’ll put it away…”

          He grabbed the snowball, turned his hand upside down, and opened it out. Nothing was inside. I got up, tugging at my bag, and took my Chemistry Lab log out.

          “Hey, Shankar, try not to get electrocuted while I’m out. I’ve got some labwork to finish.”

 

          I walked through the door, into a dark, slimy corridor that was definitely not supposed to be there.

          “What on –”

          The door slammed shut behind me. I turned around, and it wasn’t there anymore.