Chapter Text
I stare at my calendar, but no matter how hard I stare it won’t change. My Mother had signed me up for a study camp that met every Sunday. More time siphoned from me. With track practice early in the morning before school, homework and studying after school, track meets every Saturday, and music lessons interspersed through the week, Sunday was my only refuge. The only time it was ‘mine’. No matter how hard I stare, the fact that its been ripped from me stays true. I felt a hand on my shoulder as my friend Terry spoke. “Wow study camps too? You’re already the top of the class. Isn’t that overkill?”
“Only in this school.” I answered, “Compared to other seniors testing for colleges I’m not that smart. I am but a frog in a well.”
“What does that even mean?” Terry asked.
“Let me guess.” A new voice came to my other side. “If means you’re not in a pond so you feel isolated because you can’t hang out with the other frogs?”
I didn’t need to look at who it was to know who the voice belonged to. It was my childhood friend as well as my girlfriend. Her name is Madeline. I love her very much.
“Close.” I said, I always could feel a smile grow on me when she was here. Smiles have been getting more rare these days. “It means I am unaware of the ocean around me, as all I see are the walls of the well.”
“That doesn’t sound like I was close at all.” Madeline pouted, but it was quickly replaced with a smile. “It’s sad that you don’t have the entire day, but we can just plan dates around it right?”
My smile became more forced. “Yeah. We’ll figure it out somehow.” Madeline always looked on the bright side. Always optimistically trodding forward with a smile on her face. Personally, I cannot understand it. Where does she draw this endless stream of energy and happiness from? What would have to happen to break that smile? No, I shouldn’t think about that. I gain nothing from trying to figure out how to make my girlfriend cry.
“Oh yeah.” Terry said, “George finally figured out how to cast a spell.”
“Finally,” I remarked. “He’s been trying for years by now. Four I think.”
Magic was a complicated thing. Each species typically had their own way of doing it but the Terran was to memorize complex mathematical equations and hand gestures to draw the innate magical energy that permeates the air. Then, the body works as a conduit to make miracles manifest. Terran magic is a prime example of one’s hard work paying off and is everything that The Corporations stand for and look for in applicants. It is amazing that George’s hard work paid off.
“What spell can he cast now?” I asked.
“He can play Fart SFX With Reverb even when his phone is taken away now.”
“What.”
“Oh come on.” Terry said, “You might almost be 18 but surely you aren’t already a high and mighty mature adult.”
“I don’t know, I turn 18 this Sunday. Maybe I’m already a mature adult and we just have to wait for the clock it hit to make it official.”
“Well I think it’s dumb,” Madeline said, “and my birthday isn’t for a while.”
“Well of course you do.” Terry said, “You’re a girl. Us boys have a defacto less mature sense of humor. It’s only natural. Right Edward?”
I grimaced. My name is Edward Cole Rogers and I absolutely hate every part of it from the fact that all three of them are first names to how lame they all are to how I just plain hate them. If I could change my name, I would, but unfortunately that’s impossible. I also hated being referred to as ‘one of the guys’. Just because of the immutable fact that I was born male, I suddenly have to adhere to these ideas of what a man is and what a woman is. I can’t change the fact that I’m a man, but why do I have to be dumb and stupid and laugh at fart jokes? It’s unfair!
The bell rang before I could voice my feelings about my name or the state of the gendered world. We each said our goodbyes and went to our first period classes. We each went to different classes. Terry was never smart enough to get into the high level courses, and Madeline and I had different schedules from our different electives. Men and Women sports were segregated so even if she did the same sports that I did, our classes would still be shuffled around from the fact that the men and women athletic teams had classes on different periods.
The classroom was louder than normal. So loud, in fact, that I could hear it from the hallway. Upon walking inside, I saw the source of the noise. Standing in front of the classroom was a girl I had never seen before. She was a lot shorter than I was with long blonde hair and a school uniform, though this school didn’t have one. She wore a big smile as she talked with the group of classmates that were no doubt curious about this new person. I noted that most of them were men. When I entered, the new classmate met my eyes with hers and smiled. The smile she gave me was different than the ones she had before she noticed me. I couldn’t place it, but I knew it meant I should avoid her.
Further along, the teacher had her introduce herself to the class.
“Hi everyone!” She gave an energetic wave. “My name is Kayleigh Romano! I’m not used to a place like this so I’m excited to meet all of you!” Then, she said a bit about where she was from. It was some less well off region of the planet. So she was unaccustomed to seeing a school with such funding. Our school didn’t receive that well compared to the other high schools of the City, but I suppose when when you see green grass on the other side you stop paying attention to just how green your own grass is. However, as she spoke, her eyes never left mine. At no point did her gaze move to somebody else. What’s this person’s deal? First she gives me a weird smile and now this? What did I ever do to her? No, I’m jumping to conclusions. The first time she looked at me, I was entering the classroom. I just saw more in her expression than there was. Now, she’s just picking a face to focus on as she’s talking to a crowd. Actors do that in crowd scenes so they don’t look at the camera. It’s the same principle. It’s just all coincidences.
Once her introduction was over, the teacher asked her where she should sit. Kayleigh put her finger to her chin in a pantomime of thought and looked at each of the vacant seats. Then, she stopped at the one beside my seat. “I want to sit with the smart student, so I can get clued in if I’m missing something.”
How does she know that I’m the number one student? What is going on? Who is this person? My mind was going several miles a second as she sat down beside me. I glared at her, but she just responded with the same shit eating grin she had before. Whatever, as long as I can ignore her I should be fine. After all, the likelihood we had the same classes for every period was zero. Otherwise I’d be able to attend class with Madeline instead of only getting to see each other in the brief moments between classes. We didn’t even have the same lunch.
During the lesson, Kayleigh whispered to me. “Hey hey, what’s your name?”
“Edward.” I grumbled.
“That’s a shit name. I’m not calling you that.”
I blinked at her. “Huh? But it’s my name.”
“Don’t care.” she said, “Come up with a better one or I’m making one for you.”
“You can’t just change your name willy nilly.” I said, “You just have to put up with it. Nothing to do.”
A moment passed in silence between us. Maybe that’s it and I can continue the class without a worry.
“You know,” She finally spoke. “For the smartest kid in the school you’re pretty fucking stupid. Also you look like a Sariel to me.”
“How the fuck do you know that?” I asked, upset. “The class rankings aren’t posted anywhere. You shouldn’t know that.” I felt my face getting red.
“Uhh I asked someone. Duh. Like I said, stupid.” The entire time she spoke she held the same grin that she showed me before. Now I knew what threw me off about her smile. Her mouth was more open than a natural smile, it was a conscious effort. Also her teeth were sharp. Too sharp for a Terran. It was at that moment I realized she wasn’t smiling at me. She was baring her teeth.
Kayleigh was following me on my way to my next class. I cut right to the chase. “Why are you following me?”
“I’m not following you silly goose.” She responded with that same baring of her teeth. “I’m trying to go to my next class. We just so happen to be taking the same turns.”
Bullshit. “What class do you have?” The next class I’m going to is in classroom 203. It’s a physics course.
“Um, it’s physics. Class two-oh-something.”
You have to be kidding me. Why do I have to be separated from Madeline due to class conflicts but this person can just stroll in? This is bullshit.
“Hey are you okay?” Kayleigh asked. “Your face keeps getting more red.”
“It’s nothing.” I grit my teeth. It’s still a statistical probability that she just so happened to get a similar schedule to mine. After all, it’s only the two classes.
“By the way, while I have you, I gotta ask.” Kayleigh went on. “I noticed everyone’s wearing different clothes. Does this school not have a uniform?”
“No.” I answered bluntly.
“Aww drat!” She said, “I could have sworn otherwise.”
“Is that your old school’s uniform?” I glance over at her, I can’t tell what specific school it’s for. She’s wearing a tie, blazer, and a plaid skirt. I could swear it looked like a uniform from a private school in the city.
“Yes, I couldn’t see anything about uniforms on the school’s website or in any of the papers so I assumed I could wear my old uniform and see what would happen. I’ll admit I’m embarrassed. I’m sticking out like a sore thumb! Look! I’m as red as you were earlier! Yeah just like that.” My face got red again.
I took a deep breath. Surely I can tolerate this. Surely she’ll just get bored with me and leave. Right?
After second period she was following me again. Sorry I was wrong, she was ‘simply going in the same direction as me’.
“Hey,” I tried to put on my most polite smile. “May I see your schedule?”
Kayleigh looked at me for a moment. “Is something wrong?” I must not have hidden my emotions as well as I tried.
“I figure if you have a hard to find class I could help you now and save you the trouble later.” I lied. The truth is, I already knew what was on her schedule. Looking had only confirmed my suspicions. It was a direct mirror of my schedule! All of the same classes, electives, everything. How could this be? I gave her back her schedule and then took her hand. She was a willing participant to be led by me, though that wouldn’t have mattered. I would have dragged her if need be.
I took her to a secluded spot in the school. Then, I pushed her against the wall. She winced and I realized I may have been more forceful than I had intended, but I was too upset and angry to care. “What is the meaning of this?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Despite the situation, she was remarkably calm. She had that same predatory baring of her teeth. It only pissed me off further.
“Enough with these games!” I growled. “There is only so much I can blame on mere probability! To share one or two classes can be a mere coincidence, but to share every single one? It is preposterous! Why, my final class of the day is men’s track! I demand an explanation as to why we share such a class!”
Kayleigh studied my face, making no move to leave the pinned state I had her in. Instead, her lips took on a smile of satisfaction. “Aww you poor little thing! You’ve been working so hard! I can tell from the way you look at everything. You work so hard and slave away all day and really stress out that big old brain of yours!”
“That’s life!” I shouted at her. “Life is to toil away at your work! Life is pain! Anyone saying something else is selling you something!”
Her eyes softened. “Oh no no no dear. Please don’t say those sad things. If a candle is burning too fast then maybe the issue is with the fire and not the candle don’tcha think?” She cupped my cheek with her hand. “Don’t you want to spend life actually living and not just surviving? Please, think of me as your guardian angel, whisking you away from the trouble.”
I jolted away from her when I felt her hand. Not even Madeline ever touched me like that. I was angrier than I remember being in a long time. “I ‘am’ living! Every second spent in this world is a second you can’t get back. To just waste them willy nilly is near sighted at best and downright idiotic at worst!” I laughed bitterly. “I reject your idea that I’m only surviving. After all, I’m thriving! I’ve never been late to any class, I’ve never failed to turn in any homework, I’ve even gotten perfect marks on every test! I have made no mistakes and you cannot stop me! Do not call yourself my guardian angel! I rebuke you!”
This time it was Kayleigh’s turn to laugh. “Oh Sariel, you can’t refuse me silly! You don’t have a choice in the matter! Duh! If I didn’t account for that bullheadedness of yours then I wouldn’t have drawn you over here.”
“Wait what?”
At that moment the bell ringed. Kayleigh was smiling. I was late to class.