《School, social life, superpowers and other teenage problems》 The not so long prologue One of these days I¡¯ve got to learn to shut my mouth. It¡¯s going to get me into some serious shit one day, I swear. Well I suppose even worse than the shit storm I¡¯m already in. What staring death straight in the face. And by death I mean a hormone intoxicated female teenager I may or may not have riled up. In my defense I didn¡¯t mean to blow up her car it was an accident. This was the result of another accident that was the result of me opening my mouth. And by opening my mouth I mean making fun of some kid that was over compensating his micro penis by being, pardon the irony, a giant dick. Like seriously who pushes people off buildings? I¡¯m not the smartest guy around but I¡¯m fairly certain that¡¯s illegal or at least frowned upon. I¡¯m right aren¡¯t I? Or am I bitter because I was the one who got pushed off a building? No it can¡¯t be me. It¡¯s the world that¡¯s wrong. Sound edgy enough? I think so. Ten out of ten would edge lord. Fair warning I have ADHD in my opinion I¡¯m just fun but whatever man. At least that¡¯s what my doctor said and I don¡¯t mind the extra pocket money selling adderall to the preppy kids in school. Oh don¡¯t give me that crap there¡¯s worse things to sell teenagers. Like drugs, the belief we can land a good job right out of college, and drugs. Well I guess adderall is a drug but the bad kind of drugs. You know what I mean. Sometimes I wish I didn¡¯t think things out loud. I blame it on falling four stories into a car, which was way too pink for anyone sane to drive. That was sure to do a number on my brain cell count. I mean after hitting a hunk of metal if I let slip a few less than friendly words it should be okay right? I mean I was just pushed off a building so if I call the person driving this pink monstrosity a blonde bimbo out loud I should be able to use my get out of jail free card. Unfortunately real life isn¡¯t like monopoly where everything is decided by luck. Wait¡­ fuck I don¡¯t even know anymore man, my head fucking hurts. Get off my case. Righty-o, back to topic. Blonde bimbo I believe it was. Right so this chick with the car is pretty pissed at me. Rightly so, as hideous as it looks I¡¯m sure it cost a pretty penny and daddy was sure to be mad when he finds out. Am I dick for assuming daddy bought her the car and she didn¡¯t earn the money herself? Probably. Am I wrong? Probably not. I digress, blonde bimbo is staring straight at me with flames in her eyes. I¡¯m sure she has a name, most people do. I just can¡¯t for the life in me remember it. So we¡¯ll stick with blonde bimbo. I know it might be unfair, maybe she¡¯s actually a swell person but right now I think I¡¯m on her shit list so we¡¯ll go with mutual dislike for now. So blonde bimbo is staring at me with flames in her eyes. I say this twice because it¡¯s not just for descriptive purposes. I mean she literally has flames in her eyes. I guess that makes her an elemental talent holder. Which means I¡¯m almost certainly in deep shit cause the way the heat is rising I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s fairly strong. Are you curious as to what talent is? Well just read between the line I¡¯m almost certain this isn¡¯t the first story you¡¯ve read on the internet. Holy fucking shit sticks that is a big ass fire ball she¡¯s making. ¡°Hey I know it might be a little late, but maybe we can talk it out?¡± please be reasonable lady. That fire ball is melting the pavement around you. Wait why aren¡¯t her clothes burning. If I¡¯m going to die at least let me see some tits before I die. ¡°I would honestly like to do just that as I would like some answers¡± Oh wow unexpected. ¡°Soooooo¡­..¡±how do I explain this. ¡°But you¡¯ve been staring at my chest for a while now¡± Note to self, try harder not to get caught doing that. ¡°This might sting¡± Smiling is not going to make me feel better lady. ¡°For future reference I didn¡¯t crash into your car on purpose, some douche pushed me off the building¡± She paused for a second after hearing that. ¡°Oh do pray tell who said douche is¡± Dude stop smiling it¡¯s seriously freaking me out right now. ¡°About say this high, blond hair, overly high opinion of himself, might be over compensating for something¡± putting my hand slightly above my head and describe¡­ what was his name? For fuck sakes man I need to get better at this name thing. It¡¯s been over a month since I got transferred into this stupid school I should at least know some names. ¡°Um¡­ I actually don¡¯t know his name¡± I should start a list with names on them. I¡¯ll buy a notebook if I get out of this alive. ¡°No need, I know who you¡¯re talking about. His name is Chaz¡± She explains as she extinguished the massive fireball. God bless rational women. ¡°So are you going to incinerate me?¡± Please don¡¯t, I like life. ¡°No but I¡¯m going to incinerate that blonde asshole.¡± Look at that, things work out pretty well for once. ¡°We¡¯re not done yet, so stay here and wait till I¡¯m back¡± Or not.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Not half a second later she shoots up into the air trails of fire behind her. I bet I could run before she comes back. I mean the jock asshat looked pretty strong. It might take a while for them to settle things. From the looks of it, blonde bimbo- Wait that¡¯s not fair she actually listened. Let¡¯s call her blondie for now I suppose. So blondie looks to be about a class 6 maybe even a class 7 elementalist, while asshat looks to be a class 5 enhancer. The gap is pretty big but considering asshat is an enhancer he should be able to hold out long enough for me to get the fuck out of here. Even without being an enhancer just being a talent holder makes us a bit more sturdy than a regular human being. I honestly don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing here to be honest. This is a fucking combat school. A fucking talent holder combat school. What the actual fuck was I thinking? This is so not worth free college tuition. Join the academy they said. Get a free ride they said. Meet new people they said. Nobody said anything about enrolling into a school of fucking hormonal super-powered teenagers with self-esteem issues. I could have gone to a local high school man. They have all of that sans the super powers. I want to be in a normal school with as close to normal teenagers as possible, but no I had to cheap out and try to get a full ride. I mean when you think of all the abilities talent holders have you¡¯d think hey maybe some of you will be responsible and maybe use them for the greater good. Unfortunately, real people aren¡¯t like the superheroes in comics or knights in fairy tales. No, we¡¯re just an amalgamation of greed, lust, avarice, and overall douchery with a sprinkle of decent human being every now and again. Sweet baby Jesus in your golden fleece diapers deliver me from the hell called high school. For reference, I¡¯m not some destitute bloke that has to cut corners wherever he can. I¡¯m from an upper-middle-class single parent family that lives a few blocks away from the business sector. Only 20-minute drive from the beach and downtown. Prime real estate if you ask me. It¡¯s just my mom has this thing about earning my own way. And apparently finding a way around life crippling student loans was part of that. So when some government dude comes up to me with an offer to pay for college as long as I go to a certain academy I could hardly pass up the offer. Looking back it was probably a little suspicious that a guy comes up to me with an offer that can magically solve all my future financial issues as soon as I awaken a talent and in hindsight, I should have said no, but in my defense, I¡¯m 16 and lazy. Before you all start speculating what sort of talent I have and think I¡¯m some super awesome person that shoots lightning from my fingertips or something ridiculously amazing like that I¡¯m going out and say this beforehand. I¡¯m an empath. Yeah. I know, trust me I fucking know. Literally drew the shit stick on the superpower lottery. According to the doctor, the same doctor who told me I had ADHD, oh hey that was a pretty big explosion. I¡¯m a class 3 empath. Meaning I get all the empathic goodies that come with the talent. I can feel other people¡¯s emotions and share my own. And uh¡­ yeah that¡¯s pretty much it. I mean if I ever you want someone to feel crippling depression over the simple passage of time I can hook you up yo. Also if you need adderall, I don¡¯t take it. The only thing mildly impressive about me is the base physical boost I get from being a holder is higher than most because I¡¯m a class 3. Most holders don¡¯t ever make it past class one. You know small things like levitating a dime or maybe mildly better vision. Class 2 isn¡¯t much better. Class 3 on the other hand, that¡¯s where things start getting interesting. See at class 3 in order for our bodies to house our powers it has to genetically enhance itself so it doesn¡¯t pop like an overinflated balloon animal. So we all get mildly super strength, endurance, and speed. Yada yada, etcetera etcetera. that''s why all class 3 holders get invited to the academy for training. We all have physically enhanced traits. Which I¡¯m super grateful for because of the fact I just got thrown off a building. The enhanced traits part not the thrown off a building part. ¡°Dude you ok?¡± I look over to see my cowardly or maybe rational is the more apt term classmate Henry. See Ma told ya I could do it if ya gave me the chance. One out of three on the name game, I¡¯ll take it. ¡°I¡¯ve had better days man¡± Seriously though it has not been a very good day. ¡°Thanks for having my back against Chaz man¡± ¡°Fuck you, you threw me under the bus you dick¡± Did I mention the reason asshat threw me off the building was because of this guy? ¡°I thought you had him¡± This guy is cruisin¡¯ for a bruisin¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m a class 3 empath he¡¯s a class 5 enhancer. What part of me being chucked off the roof was any indication that I ¡°had¡± him? How¡¯d you even get away anyways?¡± ¡°Lux manipulation, I can turn invisible¡± The sneaky son of a bitch. ¡°So why did we pick a fight with him again?¡± Seriously though why did we fight, my heads kind of fuzzy on that part. ¡°Well we can¡¯t let him walk all over us the whole year can we? And you did put up a pretty decent fight up until he threw you off the roof¡± ¡°You know what would have been great? Some fucking back up like how we planned¡± ¡°Well we¡¯re not exactly combat oriented holders are we?¡± ¡°It was your bloody idea to fight him jackass!¡± ¡°Well calm down man, we¡¯re both okay and I think Chaz is getting his ass beat¡± Yeah by the same pyromaniac that¡¯s going to immolate me if we don¡¯t get the fuck out of here. ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s loud¡± The biggest explosion yet just erupted from the roof. ¡°Hey how long you¡¯d think Chaz will hold out, I wanna get out of here-¡°He¡¯s gone. The fucking snake is gone again. I look around and can¡¯t find him anywhere. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m out of here¡± nothing here but scorched pavement and a trashed car, I¡¯m out. ¡°I thought I told you to wait¡± C¡¯mon Jesus, just one, just give me one. The melodic voice of a flaming angel rings in my ears. ¡°Hahaha¡­ yea I was just stretching my legs you know¡± ¡°Oh I see, well then why don¡¯t you take a seat and we can continue our conversation¡± There is literally nothing around but melted pavement and a trashed car. What do you want me to sit on? ¡°Um, I¡¯m actually pretty late for this thing¡± Aaaaaand there she goes exuding fire and shit. ¡°It can wait¡± Hello floor, how are you today? Good? No? Well better luck next time. ¡°Then I think introductions are in order. I am Vera Arthus Cromwell, class 7 pyro elementalist, and you?¡± fuck my life she¡¯s a god damned progenitor. ¡°I¡¯m Scott Hughes, class 3 empath, please don¡¯t kill me¡± Chapter 1: I got the notebook guys ¡°One notebook and two metallic pens that¡¯ll be 16 credits, how will you be paying?¡± the cashier asks with a dry voice. I¡¯d be the same if I was stuck in a dead end job as a cashier for hours on end, day in and day out. Poor sap. As much as I like peace and quiet, it gets boring real quick. ¡°On my slate¡± I reply in the same tone. ¡°Tap on the pad whenever you¡¯re ready, sir.¡± I tapped my slate over the purchase pad and took the bag. I checked my items as I walked out the store and immediately took the small navy blue book and put it in my blazers chest pocket along with the pens. Well I got the notebook and I put in the names I knew of classmates at school along with a brief description of them. Is four a lot? I like to think four is a lot. It helps me sleep at night. Are they biased and jaded? Yes. Are they accurate? Also yes. So for example if you look into my little notebook and look up Henry you¡¯ll see the phrase backstabbing pussy beside his name. Yeah I¡¯m a bitter individual, but who isn¡¯t? On a different note I bet you¡¯re all wondering what happened between Vera and I. She got call from her family had to leave our little shindig. Talk about anticlimactic, short and disappointing, story of my life. On a happier note I¡¯m still alive so silver linings. The key is happy thoughts. If I get enough of them I can drown out the thoughts of going back to school tomorrow. And I¡¯m depressed again. I hate gym class. I really, really do. Specifically the way the academy does gym class. Oh I¡¯m sorry simulated combat class. Wanna know what¡¯s better than a school full of emotionally unbalanced teens with super powers? Making them fight each other of course. So there¡¯s that to look forward to tomorrow. I¡¯d bet id like it better if I had an actual combat ability. God damn empathy, they already know I¡¯m scared shitless, don¡¯t need a talent for that. I look up and see the sky going dark or at least as dark as the sky can get in a lively city like this. I better get home before mom kills me. I try to pass the time by trying to recall more names. So far I¡¯ve got most of my teacher¡¯s names so I think it¡¯s going well. It¡¯s not like I try not to remember my classmate¡¯s names, I mean I can remember what they look like just fine. It¡¯s almost as if they¡¯re just mob characters in a story and it doesn¡¯t really matter if I remember them or not. I pause in my quest to remember the names of my schoolmates and take a look around me. I ended up around the old park near my house. A sense of nostalgia washes over me and I smile as I recall coming here as a child with my mom. Things were so much easier without talents. What with not having to worry about getting my ass kicked on a daily basis. Taking a seat on the old swings I consider my day so far. Honestly it was a pretty good day at the start I wasn¡¯t even late for class, what the fuck happened? There is no more unique love hate relationship to a person than that between you and your alarm clock. As much as you hate the bloody thing and what it represents, you need it. Unfortunately you don¡¯t realize that at 6 in the morning and you hit the snooze button only later to regret it later because you didn¡¯t hit the snooze button you just turned the fucking thing off without realizing it. Alarms only want to help us remember things and help us grow as individuals, but fuck they¡¯re annoying. Groaning as I get off the bed, I sigh as I realize I¡¯m already late. I can still make it to class but I guess I¡¯ll have to skip breakfast. I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth before getting dressed. Am I forgetting anything? Whatever if I forgot it then it can¡¯t be that important. Grabbing my bag I head out the door and make my way down to the subway. I barely manage to make it to class and get to my desk just as the bell rings. ¡°Cutting it close there man¡± Henry sits down next to me with that permanent smirk etched on his face. Sometimes I understand bullies. Some people just have a punchable face. Maybe that¡¯s why I get into so much trouble. ¡°Fuck off man, slept through my alarm¡± Maybe it¡¯s my mouth. I blame television. ¡°Alright man no need to get cranky with me¡± Hands raised as he backs off. I probably wouldn¡¯t be cranky if I had breakfast. Or had to go to school, but what can you do. ¡°So any idea what¡¯s on the itinerary for today?¡± I could almost guess at what is, but there was some small part of me that was hoping I was wrong. ¡°Combat training. Lots of combat training¡± Oh Joy. I let out a sigh, exasperated as I lay my head on my desk. ¡°Well what did you expect? The ranking tournament is in a few weeks; obviously they¡¯re going to be training us into the ground so we don¡¯t make the school look bad¡± I understand the reasoning, but it¡¯s not going to make me feel any better. ¡°Hey at least we¡¯re just class 3 and they won¡¯t expect much out of us, they¡¯ll be focusing on people with actual potential¡± Yay mediocrity! Three cheers for sucking eggs! Huzzah for being a disappointment! ¡°Wanna partner up?¡± I ask even though I already know the answer everyone needs a sparring partner for simulated combat. If we pair up together we can both slack off and not have to try or get hurt. I¡¯m fairly certain this was the crux of my relationship with Henry. Collective slacking off. Not that I¡¯m complaining of course. No quite the opposite really. Isn¡¯t friendship beautiful? I see the teacher walk up to the podium out of the corner of my eye. Ms. Nsia clad in her red tracksuit and her black hair in a messy bun in all her glory stands at the podium. Truly the lack of grace is the epitome of class 2-F. For our class of rejects she¡¯s a perfect teacher for us in every sense. ¡°Ahem as you are all well aware the city wide high school talent tournament is coming up and as such we must beginning training even harder so you don¡¯t disgrace the schools name¡± She says it¡¯s for the schools name and dignity but really it¡¯s because if we tank the competition the school¡¯s funding gets cut and we lose sponsors. Nothing surprising there, the world is runs on money. There¡¯s no way the school will do that bad considering we have a class 9 in the school. ¡°So starting today we¡¯ll be starting intensive combat simulation classes. Further explanations will be provided in the training field, but for now I want you all to get into pairs. These pairs will be permanent until the actual competition but even so don¡¯t just pick your friends. Pick somebody you can train and better yourselves with¡± Yeah how about no. Anyone below class 5 has absolutely no chance of garnering any attention from the sponsors anyways. Sponsors being the big companies, unions, cartels, and conglomerates that run the world. People like that tend to pick up promising holders from academies like ours in order to groom them into proper soldiers. The higher your class the better your chance of being scouted is. So chances are the best me and Henry would get is a job in the military or police force. Well the fact that our class has the lowest classes among the holders in school means that none of us really have any chance, but Ms. Nsia has to say it because she¡¯s a teacher. Although her blatant lack of enthusiasm betrays her. It¡¯s not her fault per se, The academy takes you talent rank into consideration when we got assigned classes so she just lucked out when she had to teach ours. I can already see people walking toward each other and forming pairs as soon as Ms. Nsia finished her monologue. Despite the speech everyone in their respective cliques gathers and form pairs. Not that we¡¯re any better. Taking a last look around I see everyone¡¯s finished making pairs. Wait there¡¯s one person left out. Some girl with long black hair and bangs that cover her eyes is sitting in the far corner of the classroom alone. Yikes man sucks to be you lady. Not my problem.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Henry¡¯s tapping away on his phone. Despite being in the reject class he¡¯s a pretty sociable guy. Why he¡¯s friends with me, I¡¯ll probably never know, but we¡¯re friends regardless much to the mystification of his other friends. ¡°Alright it looks like you¡¯re all paired up now. Hmm?¡± Wait she¡¯s looking straight at corner girl. Yo don¡¯t call her out man that¡¯s the last thing the girl wants. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s somebody without a partner, does anyone want to be with her in a group of three?¡± Wow she actually said it. ¡°Anyone?¡± The silence is deadly man. Corner girl¡¯s face reddens at the lack of volunteers. I can feel the embarrassment of corner girl from here across the room. This is just painful. ¡°Alright you can partner up with Henry and his partner for a group of three then¡± Instant karma. ¡°Well then now that that¡¯s done with you can all head over to the training field and get started on combat training. Okay off you go. Shoo shoo¡± waving us off she all but kicks us out of the classroom. We all change quickly and head over to the training field before we get into our pairs or in our case trio. The training field itself is really impressive. It¡¯s essentially a sports arena but instead of sports we have modern gladiator games and instead of a stone coliseum it¡¯s a reinforced concrete structure made to withstand the intensity of up to class 9 talents. ¡°Hey Scott I think we should introduce ourselves to our new friend¡± Henry¡¯s all smiles at the prospect of me making new friends. I appreciate the gesture but it¡¯s unnecessary. It¡¯s to my understanding that for the most part people are just terrible. Life beat me down early so I act like a cranky old man. I like to think I¡¯m a realist, but I¡¯ve been retirement homes for required volunteer hours and all I can say is that the resemblance is uncanny. Though I don¡¯t think I can get away with pretending she doesn¡¯t exist and considering we¡¯re going to be with each other for a while I guess introductions are a good start. ¡°I¡¯m Henry Thoreau, class 3 Lux elementalist¡± He grins as he introduces himself. ¡°Um I¡¯m Anya Nsia, class 5 catalyst¡± she replies as she blushes. It didn¡¯t take Henry long at all to win her over. ¡°Hey I¡¯m Scott Hughes, class 3 empath nice to meet you¡± I extend my hand in greeting. Wait a minute. ¡°Did you just say class 5 catalyst? As in a talent boosting catalyst?¡± Way to be subtle Henry. ¡°Well I can¡¯t really control it, it just kind of happens sometimes¡± Ok so she¡¯s a dud. ¡°But your still a class 5 so how strong is your physical enhancement?¡± I asked ¡°It¡¯s at class 3¡± Her head hung low. I start massaging my temples. Okay that explains why she¡¯s in our class. Just when I thought I taught myself to aim low and avoid disappointment. ¡°Wait, Nsia? As in our homeroom teacher Nsia?¡± Henry inquires. Now that you mention it they do have the same last name. There was a certain disparity between the two sisters that made you wonder if they were actually related. ¡°Hey guys, check that out¡± Henry points out a person standing in the entrance of the training field. Completely clad in a black military grade combat suit. Their face was hidden in an obsidian helmet. ¡°Training has begun, try to stay alive¡± As soon as the armored enigma said that sentence they disappeared. Then the next moment they reappeared as the figure struck Henry right out of the training field into the audience section. I wasn¡¯t the only one surprised; the whole class was frozen in shock. ¡°Pathetic, not a single one of you even reacted to my movements¡± Oh and it makes fun of people as they beat you to a pulp. Wonderful. The guy doesn¡¯t disappear this time. They slowly saunter off in the direction of my classmates, who are still frozen in fear. Each time the figure gets in range of said person they get sent flying left and right. One by one the students get knocked away until all that¡¯s left standing is me and Anya. It couldn¡¯t have taken more than twelve seconds. Staring straight at the black visor of impeding pain I regain control of my mental faculties. ¡°Get behind me corner girl!¡± For all the good it¡¯ll do us I call out a warning to Anya. The armor clad figure grabs my collar fear, resignation, and a general sense of dread overcome me as I close my eyes and wait for the incoming pain. A scream sounds out throughout the training field only it¡¯s not mine. I open my eyes to see every single person including those who were previously groaning in pain passed out. ¡°What the fuck¡± Bodies strewn the training field even the black armored figure is sprawled on the floor. ¡°Well would you look this, it¡¯s been a while since a student managed to beat an instructor¡± I look up to see the source of the whimsical voice and see a student floating in the air. ¡°This hasn¡¯t happened since, well me I suppose¡± ¡°And you are?¡± I ask the guy. ¡°That¡¯s pretty rude considering you just sent out a rather annoying mental attack to anyone in range. Needless to say I came here to see who had the gall to attack me, but when I look around I can see that it was just collateral damage¡± The smile that was on his face slips off as he narrows his eyes. ¡°Markos Decadare, class 9 aura manipulator, current head of the sixth. Now then your turn.¡± His aura crashes into me like a tidal wave, in an instant I¡¯m on all fours gasping for breath. I felt like a getting hit by a ruck over and over again. ¡°S-Scott Hughes¡­ empath¡± I choke out between gasps. What the fuck is he? ¡°Empath you say? Ah it all makes sense now¡± What makes sense? I¡¯m still confused. Someone explain what¡¯s happening. ¡°Looks like my time is up, a pleasure meeting you¡± And just like that he disappears along with the weight of his aura. With the sense of relief that overflowed cam darkness. Ah quiet, nothing better than sleep, even sleep from the result of exhaustion and fear. It would have been perfect if it wasn¡¯t for that constant ringing. I just want to sleep turn it off. ¡°God damn it, turn that fucking thing off¡± I yell as I wake from my pseudo coma. I look around and I see Henry and corner girl by my bedside. Henry is smirking and holding his slate. ¡°Told you that it would wake him up¡± I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t use me to prove a point. ¡°Haha I guess you were right¡± Corner girl don¡¯t be an enabler. ¡°So? What happened?¡± ¡°Well after you passed out, some started to wake up and the medics carried away those still out of it. More importantly, Dude you beat the combat instructor! Everyone¡¯s talking about it.¡± I did what now. ¡°Yeah only one other person has ever beaten a combat instructor before!¡± But I passed out too guys, and if I was to winner why was I in the nurses office. ¡°Who¡¯s the other guy?¡± I already met that monster but I needed confirmation In case I was just going loony. ¡°Ah he¡¯s an upper classman, his name is Markos Decadare, he¡¯s an aberrant talent holder, so it¡¯s hard to place him in a class but he¡¯s above 7 at least. I think it¡¯s some sort of telekinetic ability but I¡¯m not sure¡± Henry answers while rubbing his chin. For a guy that isn¡¯t For a guy that isn¡¯t not sure you sure have a lot of information. I wrestle with the thought of filling in the holes in their knowledge but decide against it. I don¡¯t want to piss the guy off even if he gave me the information. ¡°Do you know what the sixth is?¡± I recall Markos saying something about being the head of the sixth. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s something very impressive, but an uneducated guy like me would let it slip by him and Henry being the font of knowledge he is I¡¯m sure he knows something. ¡°Well long story short there are 13 families that inherit talents they¡¯re more commonly known as progenitors and the sixth is the Decadare family I believe. Actually there¡¯s quite a few progenitors in the school like the Cromwells¡± Henry explains ¡°And the Isha family¡± Anya adds. ¡°You mean his entire family is a bunch of monsters¡± I throw back. That¡¯s a scary thought so there¡¯s a whole family of those guys. ¡°No, Markos is an aberration, his talent isn¡¯t the same as the rest of his family¡± He countered. ¡°How so?¡± Now I¡¯m really curious as to what he is. ¡°Well his family is mainly generic telekines with a few offsets of telepaths, but Markos is something else entirely. It¡¯s almost as if he can bend the world to his will within a given area. I¡¯m not too sure how he does it though. Any ideas on what kind of holder he is Anya?¡± ¡°Uh I¡¯m pretty much in the dark about that, I tend to shy away from anything involving the 13¡± That¡¯s fine, I got a general idea who is now. This entire day is just one big information dump clusterfuck. ¡°So what happens now?¡± I just want to go home and run away to the internet. ¡°I can explain that¡± I turn to see Ms. Nsia walk into the room. Nonchalant as always, she waltzes in the room and pushes Henry out of his seat beside the bed and sits down. I turn to face her and wait for her to start. ¡°I sending you to the advance combat class with the higher classes¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Why¡± ¡°You beat the combat instructor¡± ¡°I passed out too¡± ¡°You were the last one standing¡± ¡°Nobody needs to know¡± ¡°Surveillance caught it on tape and the whole school knows already¡± ¡°Still doesn¡¯t seem like a good enough reason and I¡¯m class 3¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, not even a class 7 can beat the combat instructors so the school doesn¡¯t care about your current class they think you have potential¡± ¡°How do you know it was me? Could have been corner girl¡± ¡°You mean Anya?¡± Tilting her head and looking at the girl in question. ¡°Yes her¡± ¡°Not possible, she doesn¡¯t have a mental talent¡± ¡°I¡¯m an empath how do I beat a combat instructor with my feelings?¡± ¡°Anya probably amplified your abilities and you shared everyone¡¯s sense of pain¡± ¡°So why doesn¡¯t she go to the advance class and I stay here and goof off with Henry?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m not going to send my little sister to the advance class to get the shit beaten out of her¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll send me in her place?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about you¡± Feelings mutual bitch. ¡°Can I drop out?¡± It¡¯s only been a month. ¡°You signed a contract to attend this school¡± ¡°I¡¯m a minor; there¡¯s gotta be some sort of loophole¡± ¡°You¡¯re also a holder so laws are specialized for you¡± ¡°FUCK!¡± I just want to scream my lungs out right now. ¡°Where¡¯s the piece of shit that sent out that mental attack earlier¡± I hear a male shout from outside the room. ¡°Okay I¡¯ll leave you to deal with that¡± And the bitch just ups and walks away with Anya in tow. You know what I¡¯m just going to scream now. ¡°MOTHERFUCKER!¡± I see Ms. Nsia open the door to see some jock asshole looking at me as I shout profanities. ¡°You got balls kid calling me that after you attack me¡± I wasn¡¯t talking to you. I.Hate.This.School. Guns, Swords, Spears oh my Chapter 2 Guns, Swords, Spears oh my I hate being the center of attention nothing good ever comes of it. Either you end up looking like a total show off or you end up looking like a failure. None of which seemed the least bit appealing to me. Realistically though seeing as I¡¯ve already been pushed center stage I don¡¯t have much say in the matter. I¡¯m sure as hell not going to impress these people with my pathetic talent as it¡¯s about as impressive as a dog taking a shit so I¡¯m fairly certain mockery and ridicule will be my constant companion for the foreseeable future. Well it¡¯s the devil you know I suppose. Maybe it¡¯s not too late to drop out of school; I mean what¡¯s the worst that could happen? A few fines for breaching the contract with the school? A bad reputation perhaps? I could live with that. I could find a new school pick up a part time job you know, normal non-ulcer inducing stuff. Not that I have had any ulcers, but I¡¯m sure to get some at this rate. ¡°And so as of today Scott shall be joining you all in the advance combat class¡± Ms. Nsia¡¯s sentence knocked me out of my reverie and back into reality. Oh so cruel reality. I¡¯m looking around the field to meet my new classes¡¯ very unimpressed gazes. Rightfully so, but it doesn¡¯t make it hurt any less when an entire room of people look at you and see you as little more than the dirt they walk on. ¡°So would anyone like to partner up with Scott for the class?¡± Wow is this what Anya felt yesterday. Feels bad man. Looking around I¡¯m met with gazes of contempt and annoyance until suddenly a hand slowly goes up, it was Vera. ¡°I¡¯ll partner up with him¡± Inwardly groaning I desperately look around for another hand. ¡°Can I not partner up with her?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with partnering up with me?¡± pouting and crossing her arm. So many things lady. First off you nearly set me on fire yesterday and the guy you did set on fire was in the hospital. Secondly sparring with a people who can and most likely will kick my ass is not my definition of having fun. I miss Henry; Henry just made little bubbles of lights and turned invisible. Vera melts pavement and sends people to the hospital. I miss Anya too. Anya doesn''t really do anything and I think that''s just beautiful. I bet those two are goofing off without me. Traitors the lot of them. ¡°Are you even paying attention to me Scott?¡± Not really no. ¡°Yes of course I am¡± Lies make the world go round. ¡°Then answer the question Scott¡± This one time I was talking to Henry a while ago he mentioned something like this. Women and loaded questions. No matter the answer you give to the aforementioned question everything will all just come flying back to hit you in the face. So how do we men avoid this result? Divert and deflect. That¡¯s the key guys. ¡°Forty-two¡± Testing the waters with my newly acquired strategy. ¡°That-that¡¯s not an answer¡± confusion painted across her face as she struggles to comprehend my reply. ¡°Purple polka-dots¡± If I believe hard enough in myself I can overcome anything. ¡°Ugg just meet me on the mats when you sort your problem out¡± Sun Tzu would be proud. Having disarmed the situation I smile smugly and walk off in Vera¡¯s direction. That smug feeling didn¡¯t last long after Vera threw me on the ground, again and again, and again. You get the picture. ¡°What are you doing Scott?¡± Vera asked dryly. ¡°Getting up as you can see¡± I sure as hell can¡¯t since I¡¯m constantly wincing from the pain. ¡°I meant what are you doing in this class Scott. You¡¯re class 3 at best and to top it off you¡¯re an empath. There¡¯s no way you can succeed in advance combat. We¡¯re only doing warm ups and you can¡¯t even keep up¡± I can hardly blame her for wondering why. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? I beat a combat instructor¡± I sit on my ass and look up at her. I¡¯m really not in the mood to continue explaining myself. I¡¯m still seeing stars from my mild concussion. ¡°Or at least that¡¯s what I hear¡± sighing and hoping she would stop asking questions I don¡¯t have answers for. I look her in the eye and pose a question. ¡°Let me ask you a question now Vera. How do you think a class 3 empath could possibly defeat a combat instructor?¡± She pauses and thinks for a good second. ¡°You cheated?¡± Pretty close to the truth actually. I didn¡¯t beat him alone; I had Anya boosting my abilities. Second I had absolutely no control over my abilities at the time. The entire thing was one big fluke. ¡°You¡¯re right in a way I suppose; one of my classmates is a catalyst type, a class 5 catalyst at that¡± ¡°This school has a catalyst?¡± she asks excitedly. ¡°Are they rare?¡± Is Anya actually super-duper rare holder? ¡°Incredibly so, and to be class 5 is even more amazing. Who are they? I have to meet them¡± She¡¯s like a kid with a new toy. ¡°Nah don¡¯t think they¡¯re too keen on meeting a progenitor, so I think I¡¯ll pass introducing you two¡± Anya mentioned something about avoiding the 13. It¡¯s a hassle to act as a go-between anyways so it¡¯s a win-win. ¡°A progenitor huh¡­¡± She looks away with a downcast look. Is it a sensitive topic? Oh well like I give a shit about other people¡¯s feelings. ¡°Hey Vera, what is a progenitor exactly? I know they¡¯re part of the 13 but I want to hear your impression on them.¡± I¡¯m curious and it¡¯s a good way to kill time I guess. She stared hard at me for a second before I turned my eyes from her gaze. ¡°The 13 have existed longer than we can remember. For us, they have been and always will be. They were the first holders. Their power was unshakable and could change the world. Fortunately, they kept each other in check. One never gaining an advantage over the other. That is why we call them progenitors. The 13 now though are just mere shadows of their former glory. Our bloodlines now thinned and strength at an all-time low. Every generation our power wanes more and more. Though there are some exceptions¡± ¡°Like Markos?¡± ¡°Yes like Markos, Warm-ups are over. Let¡¯s go meet up with the instructor.¡± Dismissing the topic at hand she heads over to the growing group of students. As curious as I am I think that¡¯s all I¡¯m going to get out of her. At the center of the group, I see what I think is our combat instructor. And by instructor I mean a moving wall of a man. And by wall, I mean wall of muscle and rippling veins.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Like honestly this guy¡¯s abs were bigger than my future. He would have made Olympic body builders weep at the sight of his gains. I can see the instructor looking around and judging the students which was all well and good, but a little something did not escape my sight when I saw him making his rounds. I know I wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed too. I think most of the males noticed, but I could just be wrong. See when the instructor was sizing all of us up he pretty much completely skimmed over all the girls. Normally you could just pass this off as a man being sexist and cry patriarchy. Did I think this man was sexist? No sadly I didn¡¯t it would have been great if he was though. All the males in the class had to endure him taking looks up and down our bodies with a smile that screams uncle who¡¯s not really your uncle vibe. Please let me be wrong. ¡°Alright kiddies line up!¡± We all do as we¡¯re told and form a line as quickly as possible. His deep voicewas betrayed by the playful atmosphere he was exuded. All in all, it was creepy as fuck. As soon as we finished lining up the instructor walked up and down our line as the male portion of the class¡¯s collective butthole just puckered. I back slightly behind Vera who¡¯s beside me. ¡°Scott, what are you doing?¡± She asks dryly with her eyes closed. ¡°Vera I¡¯m scared¡± I can see the males in class giving me understanding looks and slight nods. Look at that. Fear unites us all under a common enemy. ¡°Scott just get back in line¡± Why won¡¯t women at least try to be understanding. ¡°Alright kiddies I think it¡¯s time to start weapons training. You¡¯re all to pick out a weapon and learn how to use it.¡± I see a bunch of crates suddenly appear behind him. What the fuck, where did those come from? The shock must have been apparent because not a moment later Vera fills me in. ¡°He¡¯s instructor Novik, he¡¯s a teleporter¡± See that¡¯s a useful ability, I want one. ¡°Alright I want each of you to pick a weapon from the crates behind me and then we¡¯ll begin sparring with your current partner¡± Wait shouldn¡¯t we learn how to use them first? What happened to starting with the basics? Alas, I can see the rest of the class already taking weapons from the crates. I can see Vera pulling out a massive halberd. Which would look utterly ridiculous to see any girl wield, but somehow she makes it work. She looks back at me and frowns as she puts the seven-foot monstrosity back down and takes a long sword out in its place. ¡°Scott what weapon do you use, I¡¯ll get it for you¡± She calls out to me as she looks through the various crates. ¡°I don¡¯t really¡­¡± Did she really expect anything from me? ¡°Of course you don¡¯t¡± Sighing as she throws a bunch of objects to my feet. I look at the plethora of weaponry at my feet and recognize some of them. There¡¯s a sword, daggers, a spear, and¡­ a pistol? Holy shit is it loaded?! Jesus Vera, why the fuck would you toss around firearms. ¡°Fine then well start from scratch and see which weapon works best for you¡± She¡¯s smiling again. Why is she smiling again? Did I ever mention that I hate this school? ¡°Um Vera I¡¯m not entirely comfortable shooting you with a gun¡± The other weapons didn¡¯t work out too well. Turns out you need years of training to be proficient with a melee weapon. Go figure right? The other students had said training, but me? Not so much. ¡°Relax Scott you won¡¯t be able to hit me and even if you did a 9mm won¡¯t even leave a mark on me¡± Smug as it sounds it¡¯s the truth. How do I know? The psycho shot herself in the head to prove a point when we started. Literally, put the muzzle to her temple and fired off the entire clip as she giggles. It fucking tickled her, shooting herself in the fucking head just tickles her. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m scared of hurting you Vera, it¡¯s just the nuance of pointing a gun at someone and then firing a bullet into their face.¡± I like to think I at least retain some semblance of normality. If I start shooting the popular kids at school what kind of person would that make me? ¡°Stop being a pussy and fire Scott¡± Ok hurtful, maybe I will shoot you geez. I squeeze the trigger and empty the magazine into her face. That felt surprisingly good. Maybe I am some messed up kid. The lead rounds fall from her face one at a time. What a fucking monster. I¡¯m not going to lie that felt good. Is this some foreboding sign of some mental problems? Probably. ¡°There now that we have your moral dilemma out of the way let¡¯s get started on train-¡± ¡°Hey I wonder if I¡¯m bulletproof¡± I¡¯m not going to try to explain why I shot myself because it takes a special kind of narrator to deliver that kind of stupid so that others can understand. Maybe hanging out with Vera all day is a bad influence on my sense of normalcy. Maybe I¡¯m starting to lose my mind. Maybe I¡¯m just a fucking idiot. ¡°FUCK THAT HURTS¡± I¡¯m a fucking idiot. I can see a bruise on my hand in the shape of a small dot. Okay, I¡¯m bulletproof, but I¡¯m not Vera. It fucking stings. ¡°What is wrong with you Scott?¡± Her eyes were a mix of amazement and pity. I think her gaze was more painful than the bullet. ¡°What, you did it¡± It¡¯s not a sound argument but it¡¯s all I got. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to start to explain your own stupidity Scott, let¡¯s just go back to training¡± ¡°Fine¡± ¡°Alright I want you to keep up evading my sword attacks while also firing back at me¡± ¡°Um it might me a little late to ask but should we be firing bullets wildly around in an open area. Won¡¯t we hit someone?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine the training field is divided into 20 areas. Each on has its own barrier mechanism that¡¯ll stop most things, be it bullets or abilities so it¡¯s fine. Get ready¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s pretty neat-¡°She runs up to me and swings her sword at my neck. I narrowly dodge it by stepping back, but I end up falling on my ass. She readies her sword again and swings it down at me. I roll to the side and fire off a few rounds. She doesn¡¯t make a move to dodge and merely bats the rounds off with her sword. That would be so cool if I wasn¡¯t I scared at the moment. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Scott? You were off to a pretty good start. Keep it up.¡± The biggest smile I¡¯ve ever seen was plastered her face as she swung her sword at me. Her smile was a mix of Cheshire cat and child with a new toy. I raise my gun at her and pull the trigger. ¡°Huh?¡± shit its empty and I can¡¯t dodge. ¡°Somebody should have counted their bullets¡± Shit eating grin on her face as she stabs me with her sword. I let the darkness take me as blood flows from my body. You know those signs in factories that count how long it¡¯s been since their last accident? I should get one for how long it¡¯s been since I¡¯ve been to the infirmary. I could bring in some stuff from home, really cozy the place up. What with how things are looking I¡¯ll be here quite often. I look down at my abdomen and the wound is already gone. Not even a scar. God bless the wonders of modern medicine. Vera was pretty nice to me considering she¡¯s a progenitor and all. She¡¯s pretty and friendly to boot. Too bad she¡¯s a complete combat junkie. It was only training no need to stab people. ¡°Are you done checking on your condition Scott¡± Holy shit that startled me. Was she there the whole time just staring at me. ¡°Jesus Vera warn somebody if you¡¯re going to that¡± ¡°The startling you or perhaps the impaling people with swords?¡± I stare at her. ¡°It was a joke. See not so fun when people screw with you is it?¡± I don¡¯t even know where to start my comeback. Awkward silence permeates the room as we struggle to continue our conversation. Conversations are a two-way street. Too bad this one was a goddamn multi-car pile up traffic accident in the middle of a highway. ¡°So um is class over then?¡± I try to move the conversation away from the silence. I really do hope it¡¯s over, I don¡¯t fancy going through another of Vera¡¯s training sessions. ¡°Yes, we were excused so I could take you to the infirmary to get you patched up¡± That¡¯s great, now I don¡¯t have to get stabbed until tomorrow. ¡°You know I¡¯ve been wondering for some time but, does this school have a nurse or doctor? I¡¯ve been here twice now and I¡¯ve never seen an adult aside from Ms. Nsia in this room. Even then she¡¯s not much of an adult.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t disrespect a teacher Scott, her in particular. She was a former mercenary you know¡± ¡°I seriously have trouble imagining that though¡± She seems more suited to be, well to be frank a good for nothing drunk. ¡°Believe it or not she¡¯s a class 8 pushing it to class 9, even Markos would have a hard time beating her¡± What the shit, she¡¯s that strong? ¡°Hey~ Scott me and Anya came to visit, heard ya got yer ass kicked to the curb again¡± Henry take me back, I don¡¯t want to with Vera anymore. ¡°You two seem pretty friendly, anything happen I should know about Henry?¡± Anya blushes at the question. The two are complete opposites in my opinion. Henry¡¯s a social butterfly and corner girl is well corner girl. ¡°Yeah we¡¯re training partners now that you¡¯re gone¡± Not like I wanted to leave. I look to the side and see Anya hiding at the door giving fleeting glances at Vera. Right, progenitor in the room. ¡°Anyways guys this is Vera. Vera meet Henry and Anya¡± Henry is unflappable as usual and Anya is trying to decide between hiding and introducing herself. ¡°A pleasure¡± Short and to the point, Vera introduces herself to the other two. ¡°Right, Anya I heard your sister was a mercenary before she was a teacher what happened?¡± Vera turned to look at Anya who was hiding behind the door with a curious gaze. ¡°She got fired for her bad work ethic¡± She looked away from Vera¡¯s direction. Vera looked at me and I just shrugged. Not even surprised at this point. ¡°So Scott how¡¯d the two of you become so close¡± His grin widening as he looked at me and Vera. ¡°Oh easy she put a sword through my gut¡± No faster way to a man¡¯s heart is through his stomach.