"You want me to do what?!" I asked incredulously.

On Friday, my supervisor, Laura Hartman, decided to come to our island to meet with me. Instead of having me enter the city, she sat right in front of me, sipping a dark roast. I wasn't sure what the ties were between St. Antonia's and the local government here. Still, it was definitely more than a partnership between public and private organizations.

She glanced over her stack of papers for a few moments before she gave me a mischievous smile.

"You heard me, Ikazuchi. You're going to help manage the scheduling and destinations for the class trip to the Harborwood enclave next week. Five First-Year social studies classes will be participating."

"Doesn't that sound like a lot of responsibility for me? I mean, I'm just a kid. Also, hasn't this been in the works for a while? Throwing me in like this feels incredibly last-minute."

Granted, there were extenuating circumstances with the horrifying attack on downtown and everything.

Mrs. Hartman grinned and shook her head, "You've done an amazing job this summer, Ikazuchi. We thought you would be interested in a project like this, and it will look great on your resume - I promise you won't have to do it all alone, either. We merely require some last-minute inputs."

I looked at the documents for a minute and sighed, feeling pretty annoyed. So far, my work-study had consisted of little more than fetching coffee and punching in lines for Hartman's spreadsheets. This was one heck of a project to drop on me.

"I don't even know how to plan a trip, let alone figure out the logistics for a class outing."

"That's alright! Like I said, you'll learn on the fly. Truth be told, you were mostly chosen because you live in the area and know the cultures involved. You won't have to do any of the heavy lifting."

I perked up and gave her a slight glare.

"So, you're saying I got put on this gig strictly because I'm from Earth?" I asked. That didn't sit right with me. "I'm really not sure about this."

If you asked me, exposing a bunch of snooty rich kids to an immigrant enclave seemed like a terrible idea. A lot could go wrong with putting crowds like these together, especially with such a short timeline. The teachers responsible for planning this trip had gone missing during the Chaos Event.

My boss looked at me, sighed, and set down her cup. "Look, Ikazuchi. This is for your own good. When we hire someone as an intern, we want them to learn as they go. Your experience from living in an enclave will help this class learn about other cultures. Heavens know your colleagues could use that exposure."

I was quiet, looking at her and her confidently leering eyes. She did have a point, even if it seemed a little backhanded. The things I had learned from living on Earth were invaluable.

What could someone like me do to deal with barriers and prejudices, except one step at a time? Except, something felt seriously off about all of this.

"Alright," I said, trying to smile and support her decision. "I suppose I can do that. Before I accept though, why exactly are you cobbling together this trip suddenly? I'd imagine it would've been canceled given the circumstances."

That was the real sticking point for me. I didn't like how this was being rushed through, making me feel a bit uneasy. Does this have to do with the ethnic tension that's been ratcheting up? Is this a political statement?

"Ikazuchi," Mrs. Hartman said, her voice sounding slightly calmer than I wanted to hear. "Why don't you just focus on the current task at hand?"

I saw her eyes narrow, and she gave me a thin smile.

"Fine. I'll get on it, then."

I took my assignment documents and looked at them, my stomach twisting a little. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but I hoped this was a good and positive experience for everyone involved.

"Good," she grinned. "Now, the roster is all set. You're officially working under Ms. Clara Roth's group for this project. Don't worry, she's a good one."

My ears perked in recognition when I heard her name. The history teacher had definitely left a positive impression on me, but I couldn't help but get the sense that she would be a bit of a hardass to work with.

"You can start by researching the best places to visit, and the best ways to get there," my boss explained. "Your first meeting is in the conference room at 10:30 a.m, and you'll be spending the entire morning reviewing the itinerary together," she said. "You will be excused for your morning classes today."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I grimaced a bit, but I resigned myself to my fate. I would've much-preferred spending the morning doing anything else, but I guess I had important work. I collected my things and met her eyes.

"Thanks for the opportunity," I said through clenched teeth. "I hope I can meet your expectations."

"I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors," Mrs. Hartman said wryly.

She gave me a knowing glance, causing me to shudder a bit. The silence was uncomfortable, but I tried to shake it off.

I managed a halfhearted smile before proceeding to the conference room.

I entered the conference room and was startled to see that a familiar portly short woman was already sitting there. She looked like a typical history teacher — her hair was pulled back into a bun, and her eyes were stern with a slight frown. I instantly had to suppress the urge to frown about it.

Ms. Roth looked up at me and flashed me a surprisingly friendly grin.

"Good to see you, kid. I'm looking forward to working with you on this — pardon my French, clusterfrick of a class trip."

She was the first adult in a while who didn't look at me with a slightly superior or condescending look, and I instantly felt at ease. Truth be told, I did start looking forward to her history class.

"Likewise," I said, giving her a confused smile. "I'm happy to help, but I'm a little perplexed. Isn't this supposed to be a group project?"

Ms. Roth gave me a sympathetic smile. "This is just a preliminary meeting to go over the project with you. We'll be going over the itinerary in more detail later this weekend, but I need to know more about your homeland and what you think would be the best possible destinations for the class. I hope you don't mind?"

I shook my head and tried to hide the wide grin on my face. Working with Ms. Roth would be a welcome change, and I was happy someone else was taking the reins. Funny feeling in the gut aside, I had taken an interest in the cultures back home. As a kid, I had also been following the situation in Harborwood for years before I crossed over the portal.

"I'll be happy to help however I can," I said.

"Good. That's what I like to hear, Ikki." she said, her smile widening.

I glanced around the room and took a seat — although we were the only two people. I couldn't help but feel a little curious.

"So, why did you end up working on this project, Ms. Roth? Were there any extenuating circumstances that needed you on board here?"

She responded quickly, "Nah, nothing out of the ordinary. I'm just a teacher at the college, and I organize and supervise a lot of student events. We were all so sad to hear the news about Tillman being caught in the Chaos Event. May he rest in peace."

I gave a respectful nod.

"He was my history teacher too," I told her. "But he... I didn't really get to know him."

I thought more about Ms. Roth's role at the academy. Unlike back on Earth, the secondary school system was split between three years of 'high school' and a two-year college before properly sending kids off to specialized programs. It seemed like a cool setup, but it made me feel a bit strange.

"I understand this isn't your first time dealing with the unforeseen," she said sincerely. "I know from experience that life sometimes can throw you curveballs. Umn. I hope you're adjusting well? How have you been managing since the Chaos Event and adjusting to your new home on this side of the portal?"

The question caught me a little off guard. I wasn't expecting such genuine concern for my well-being from a teacher here.

"Excuse me? Why do you ask?" I responded, a bit bewildered.

"I take an active role in mentoring students, Ikazuchi," Ms. Roth answered. "I'm not the kind of teacher who just teaches the book and leaves the students to sink or swim. I push my students to succeed and still be comfortable. So, I take an interest in my students as people, not just as test scores to pad my performance ratings."

Ms. Roth looked away for a moment and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I do apologize if this comes across as unprofessional."

I gave an awkward chuckle and tried to stave off the pang of sadness behind my breast and heavily, heavily compartmentalized traumas involving Aberrations.

"It's fine, Ms. Roth. I'm doing all right. The same could be said for getting used to the enclave down at Harborwood. I'm used to it now."

I wished I could explain to her what it was like to have a close encounter with the Aberrations, how you could feel the presence of such malice and looming dread. However, I had no words to explain it. To be honest, I really didn't want to.

"Anyway, let's get this trip planned out," she said, her voice returning to its usual no-nonsense tone.

I turned my thoughts to the project at hand and started listing the best possible locations we could visit. I had some ideas, but I wanted to ensure I was manageable. I could even get Ms. Roth to stop at my favorite haunts.

"That's a good one to add," I started. "El Coyote in Harborwood has some of the best authentic and affordable Mexican food on Terra. I think it would be perfect to have the others try it out."

Ms. Roth agreed and took out a personal tablet. She scrolled down the page and jotted down a few notes.

"That's going to be one of the first destinations," she said, tapping her stylus on the page and nodding. A few minutes later, she entered a few more notes and snapped her fingers.

"That should do it, Ikazuchi. Now, let's iron out the details..."

I nodded and got straight to work. We spent the next hour discussing the finer details. By the time we were done, I was sure we would have a comprehensive and representative itinerary for this trip.

"I think that's all we need for today," she said as she slipped me a teacher's note. "You can head back to class now... lunch, instead. I'll have the rest of the proposed itinerary for the trip to you by Sunday. We can correspond tomorrow morning to go over any last-minute details. That okay?

"Sounds good." I nodded and made for the door. "And... thanks. For real."

The look on her face was enough to tell me that she had much sympathy for me.

"Don't worry about it," she said, smiling. "But kid — if you're ever having a hard time, you can always talk to me. That's one of the perks of being faculty here. Okay?"

"Uh, of course," I grinned sheepishly.

"Excellent. I'll see you around, then."

She gave me a rugged but warm smile, and I returned it.

Then, I stretched lazily and yawned before leaving for lunch.