The Academy (30 page)

Rebecca suppressed a sigh at her friend’s self-centered display of melodrama, and went to go pay her the attention she obviously needed. It was why she’d come to the gym, after all.

Like hell she was doing the stupid cardio-kickboxing class.

“Hey, Mitsuru, sweetie, what’s wrong?” Rebecca was careful, putting her hand on Mitsuru’s shoulder, slick with sweat. Even a tame dog can be dangerous. “What’s got you so worked up? Did something happen in the field?”

Mitsuru stopped her assault, her shoulders heaving as she caught her breath.

“You saw the report?”

The question was rhetorical. Rebecca saw every report, even the ones that were marked for Gaul’s eyes only. That was her job. Everyone knew that.

“Sure. It went well. Alice even gave you a few compliments, and that means something, coming from her. What do you have to be so upset over?”

Mitsuru finally turned around, her red eyes wet with intermingled sweat and tears. Rebecca was taken back despite herself.

“I saw Alice’s protocol.”

“So? She ports. She’s an apport technician, M-Class, the very best. What’s the problem?”

Of course, Rebecca already knew what the problem was. She’d known from the moment she’d read Mitsuru’s field report, before she’d had a chance to edit it. After all, she had to make sure that everyone who came saw Alice’s Black Protocol firsthand received her personal attention. Otherwise, they would notice it didn’t make any sense.

They had nothing to talk about, at least, nothing that Rebecca hadn’t heard a dozen times before. Everyone knew what a protocol looked like, after all. And Alice’s little displays looked nothing at all like one.

“What did she do to Tung? What was that?”

Mitsuru’s voice shook, but Rebecca was already inside her head, soothing, reinforcing. Creating little spaces for doubt to erode away.

“I’m not sure, hon,” Rebecca said with a tired smile. She was actually glad to have the opportunity to tell the truth, for once, since Mitsuru wouldn’t remember a thing. “Nobody knows. Alice Gallow has been here longer than we have. Whatever Alice Gallow does is a secret, even to her. Even to me.”

 “I don’t understand.”

“No one does.”

“I don’t like it. It makes me nervous.”

“It
made
you nervous,” Rebecca corrected cheerfully. “It doesn’t anymore.”

“But, it could be dangerous…”

Mitsuru barely managed that, in a dreamy, half-removed voice. Rebecca pushed a little harder.

“That’s what everyone thinks. But, it’s not. Not while I’m here. You see, I know something about Alice Gallow that no one else does.”

Mitsuru’s eyes fluttered closed. She barely moved her lips when she spoke.

“What?”

“It’s our secret, silly. I can’t even tell you. She’s my best friend, after all. Now,” Rebecca encouraged, patting Mitsuru on the arm, “you go wash up, and go back to feeling good about the operation, okay?”

She stood there in silence, her eyes fluttering, before she was animated by a sudden internal signal. Mitsuru stretched like she was waking up, and smiled at Rebecca as if she hadn’t seen her in some time.

“Hey ‘Becca,” she said fondly. “Are you here for cardio-kickboxing?”

--

“I never understand the point of his lectures,” Alex complained. “I tried to take notes today, but how the hell can I take notes when I’m hearing all of this stuff for first time? I don’t even know what the important parts are. This is the dumbest class I’ve ever taken.”

Vivik laughed, peeling his orange in the shade of one of the massive HVAC units that had been crudely grafted onto the stone building. It was warm today, up on the grey slate of the roof, and Alex was glad to be outside. The three-hour long class had felt endless.

“It’s only been a few days, Alex. Did you take a look at the study guide I made you?” Vivik squinted up at Alex, half-blinded by the afternoon sun. “And do you have to keep pacing like that?”

Alex stopped, and realized that Vivik was right. He had been pacing since they’d come up to the roof for lunch. He sighed, and then sat down next to Vivik in the shade.

“Sorry – and no, I, um, haven’t had time yet,” Alex said guiltily. He’d tried looking over the guide the night before last, and he’d ended up falling asleep before he finished the first page. It wasn’t that Vivik’s study guide was bad, or even that the subject matter was boring. Rather, since arriving at the Academy, Alex had been extraordinarily tired, falling asleep not long after sunset most evenings.

“It’s not a big thing.” Vivik popped a section of orange into his mouth. “I think it might help you get up to speed…”

“Ha. You are worried about homeroom, when you should be worried about next Friday,” Anastasia smirked at him, around her the straw from her juice box. She was flanked, as always, by Edward and Renton, who were not eating. “Mitsuru is going to make hamburger out of you.”

“That isn’t helpful, Anastasia.” Alex grimaced at the reminder of ‘Applied Combat Fundamentals’. “I’m not exactly overflowing with confidence right now.”

“Well, you seem like a nice enough guy, Alex, so I’m sorry to see you go.” Renton gave him a toothy grin. “But, you had a good run.”

“What was good about it? I must have missed that part.”

Emily produced a number of sealed plastic containers from her purse, divvying them up between her and Alex.

“What did he ever do,” Vivik complained, looking enviously at Emily’s cloth lunch sack, “to deserve you making him lunch? I’ve been helping you with your biology homework since I got here, Emily.”

“And I fixed it so that Steve and Charles can’t seem to remember that you are in our class,” Emily said cheerfully, peeling a hard-boiled egg. “We are square. Alex is new here, and anyway, the poor thing is an orphan. It would be irresponsible of me not to look after him a bit.”

“There is a cafeteria, you know. He doesn’t need you to make him lunch.”

 Anastasia scowled, looking angrily at her own lunch, which as far as Alex could see was made up entirely of raw vegetable slices.

“I was at my sister’s last night, so I had a kitchen available. And you brought your own cook to the Academy with you. When did you start eating up here with us, anyway, Anastasia?”

Emily smiled sweetly. Anastasia made a face in return. Renton laughed quietly to himself. And Edward didn’t react at all, which was par for the course, as far as Alex’s experience with him went.

“Well, I do appreciate the lunches,” Alex said quickly, trying to prevent the daily fight between the two. “But, how’d you make Steve forget about Vivik, Emily? I thought you were an empath.”

“Most empaths have some telepathic ability as well,” Emily shrugged. “I have a little bit myself.”

“Emphasis on the little,” Anastasia said acidly. She pointed at Emily with her nibbled baby carrot. “It’s a good thing that you can cook, Emily.”

“That’s mean, Anastasia,” Emily complained, unwrapping the plastic around her sandwich. “I’m doing the best I can with what I have. We can’t all be child prodigies.”

“You are only one year older than me,” Anastasia protested, waving her carrot in outrage. “I am hardly a child. As for being a prodigy – well, it would be foolish to deny it.”

Alex decided to focus on the turkey sandwich Emily had given him, which turned out to be unreasonably delicious, despite the fact that he’d never like turkey much.

“I have to get going to the Science building,” Anastasia announced, standing up and gathering her things. “I have lab to finish. Are you coming, Vivik?”

Vivik nodded and stood up, collecting the trash from his lunch in a paper sack for disposal. He’d told Alex the night before that he was a Sikh, from someplace in India, where his parents owned land. Alex wasn’t sure exactly what a Sikh was, though he thought it was a religion, sort of. Vivik’s explanation had been unclear. But, it did explain the turban he wore all of the time.

“Yeah, I’ll walk with you.”

Vivik looked over at Alex, who realized he was staring openly, and found something else to do.

“You want me to help you go over the homeroom lecture, later on?”

“Maybe,” Alex shrugged, staring off into the woods that bordered the building, for lack of a better option. “I was thinking about talking a walk or something. I’ve been feeling really cooped up today.”

“That’s perfect,” Emily said, looking at Alex hopefully. “Do you feel like taking a trip into town with me? I have something I want to show you.”

“And what would that be?” Anastasia demanded, suddenly face-to-face with Emily, glaring up at her. Alex had to stifle a laugh – Anastasia never looked younger or shorter to him than when she was near Emily. “Don’t you ever have to go to class?”

Emily glared right back, tossing her head indignantly.

“It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. It’s none of your business what I do. You’re always going on about how clever you are, so figure it out for yourself.”

Emily turned to Alex, and put one hand lightly on his shoulder.

“Is it okay, Alex? I’d really like you to come, if you’re not too busy,” she said sincerely, her expression anxious.

Alex was stunned by the realization that she expected him to reject her. This girl, who was obviously nice, smart, and beautiful, had gotten so used to rejection that she anticipated it even from a brand new student. It must be a very bad thing, he thought solemnly, to be B-class.

“Sure,” he said, trying not to sound resigned. “I didn’t really have any specific plans, anyway.”

Anastasia shrugged, exasperated, and then stomped off down the stairs, followed by a smiling Renton and an expressionless Edward.

“Be careful, Alex,” Vivik whispered as he walked by. “Think about what you’re doing.”

Alex nodded amiably. But he didn’t really feel like it was any of Vivik or Anastasia’s business. Particularly since he wasn’t entirely sure what it was he was doing.

--

“Do you want me to – ”

“Hush,” Anastasia commanded, hustling down the stairs. “When I want you to do something, Renton, I will tell you as much.”

Ten steps. He was quiet for ten steps. She counted them. An old habit.

“But, don’t you think that Emily is going to try and, well… seduce him?”

Her laughter echoed back up the stairwell, no doubt confusing Vivik, somewhere above her. But, it wasn’t often she managed to make Renton feel uncomfortable.

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

She laughed again, quietly, this time. She couldn’t help it. The idea was just too funny. It was easy to forget that Renton was much older than he looked, most of the time. But it would occasionally shine through in his speech.

“I wish her the best of luck, then,” she said honestly. “And I do think that she will need it.”

She hurried ahead, so that Renton had to rush; and poor Edward, as well.

Anastasia liked to make them run after her, occasionally. It was a good reminder of place and role, she felt. For everyone involved.

--