The limo quickly pulled up to the VIP drop-off to let its three passengers off. Jay's luggage would be delivered separately by his father's employees, while the other two had no luggage in the first place. Nothing they owned would be of better quality than what The Uni was handing out for free.
JJ had to admit that this was by far the most pleasant 4 hour road trip he had ever been on. Most 5-star restaurants would be less comfortable. It almost made up for Jay's company. Almost.
After saying goodbye to Steven, and glaring goodbye at Jay, JJ pulled out the brochure he received in the mail with a map of the campus and directions to his orientation.
Not the orientation that Steven and Jay were going to, with speeches from distinguished guests, important faculty, and famous alumni, followed by an extensive after party with foods JJ likely wouldn't even recognize, and an after after party that Jay would surely enjoy and Steven would just as surely skip. No, JJ had his own orientation. A special orientation.
Officially, JJ's brochure called it the “Supernatural and semimagical phenomenon research team”. Knowing that nobody would bother with such a long-winded name in casual conversation, he hoped it would be shortened to something cool like the “Super team” or the “Magic research team”.
Passing through throngs of new students headed for their own orientation, JJ spotted a small group of girls pointing at him and grinning. Barely believing his new lot in life, that he of all people would be recognized when there were so many other illustrious individuals around, he shot back the smoothest smile he could while walking slowly by.
“It's him!”
“From the news, right?”
“Yes, that's definitely him! The astroguy!”
JJ did not consider himself a vain person, but he couldn't help but indulge in the attention he'd missed out on for most of his young life. It felt good to be admired.
“I heard the Uni invited him to be one of the Guinea Pigs!”
'Huh?'
“Do you think they'll let us watch the experiments?”
“Ohmygosh I hope so, did you know the Josh Jacobson is going to be one of the guineas? Do you think they'll make them go topless?”
“Probably, clothes get in the way of experiments and stuff, right?”
'Wait a second, who's Josh Jacobson? And why did their conversation suddenly jump to this?'
“Do you think they'll cut them open?”
“No way, not Josh Jacobson. But that guy, maybe.”
'EXCUSE ME?' JJ screamed internally.
“Calm down. Nobody is going to get cut open-”
'DAMN RIGHT NOBODY IS CUTTING ME OPEN!'
“-They already tried that over in Sunderland, but the magic didn't help at all. There's no way the Uni would risk losing such a rare guinea pig.”
JJ didn't want to stay and hear any more, so he hurriedly speed-walked away in an effort to forget such a conversation ever took place. In fact, the entire thing was probably a result of his overactive imagination combined with a slightly-too-high blood alcohol level. Girls pointing him out on the first day? Before he even had a chance to do something foolish? Definitely not in this reality.
Amidst his delusions, JJ crossed his fingers and prayed that his group would not end up with the moniker “The Guinea Pigs”. 'Please, I'll even take the astroguy instead.'
JJ quickly left behind the more crowded, extravagantly decorated walkways meant to welcome the regular incoming students, both the rich and the talented whom the rich coveted. He found a group of sterile, plain white buildings in the northwest corner of the campus that matched the ones shown on his brochure. The research section.
Approaching a pair of conspicuously armed guards chatting near the entrance of the foremost building, JJ called out “I'm part of the super team. Is this where I'm supposed to be?”
“Aye, this is it. Go on in, just don't make any trouble ya hear” the older guard drawled.
“Of course” JJ nervously replied “I never make trouble. But just out of curiosity, uh, why do we have guards here, instead of the general orientation everyone else went to?”
“Heh. Let me tell you something kid. Rich folk don't like seeing the hired help, but they're there alright. Someone tries something funny over there, they disappear for a while. Nobody even notices a thing. Us? They put us out here to scare ya little shits straight so we don't have to have no problems. Just go do your thing and pretend we aren't here.”
'Well that's mildly terrifying... let's go see what else is in store for me today' JJ shuddered.
Walking cautiously towards the back of the building, JJ made sure to check around ever corner for the next surprise sure to jump out at him. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if he accidentally walked into a working haunted house. It was that kind of day. He definitely shouldn't have had that alcohol on the way here. 'Stupid JJ. Listen to Jay and not Steven? It's just a couple sips he says. What could possibly go wrong?'
Luckily fate took pity on JJ and he made his way through the hallways to the back of the building completely unharmed. The meeting location looked like a large auditorium, just with less seats and more lab equipment.
At the front of the room he saw one man and two older women in stereotypical lab coats, standing stiffly and staring at the entrance with nearly identical frowns on their faces. They glanced at him for a moment and then turned to glare at their watches.
JJ quickly bolted for the small group of students standing off to the side and took out his phone to glance at the time. “4:56” read the display. 'I'm not even late. I'm 4 minutes early! Why are you glaring at me like that!' JJ shouted in his mind, too scared to mutter it aloud.
He looked around and saw there were only four other students already here and they looked just as lost and unsettled as JJ felt.
Over the next 15 minutes, another five students trickled in. Each receiving the same treatment JJ had, with progressively more and more scathing glares leveled at them.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Finally, at slightly past 5:30, one last person came strolling in. With bleached hair, a spiked nose ring, two giant hoop earrings, and chains dangling off his pants from every side, he carried himself like the world owed him a favor. He had to duck just to enter the doorway and his sleeveless shirt showed clearly that if there was just one place he diligently attended, it was the gym.
The researchers were not impressed.
After waiting a good half a minute for the straggler to slowly make his way across the room to join the rest of the group and spread himself across a couple of unused chairs, the leading researcher, an older woman with Horn-rimmed glasses, stepped up to address the crowd.
“Greetings, students. I'm Professor Hertz, and behind me are my assistants, Mr. Payne and Mrs. Quill. I'm glad you could all... finally make it.” She calmly stated while all three continued glaring at the most recent newcomer. “Before we explain what will be expected of you here, let us call attendance. Please state 'here' when your name is called and inform us if there are any corrections that need to be made to your profiles.”
'I guess questions aren't welcome. Oh well, it's probably for the best. That just means there's less chance for me to mess up my first impressions!'
“Alexa Andra. Born Sunderland. Residence Sunderland. Hydrokinesis confirmed.”
“Here” whispered a young girl, so quiet JJ could barely here it.
“Speak up so I don't have to ask you to repeat yourself.” Professor Hertz snapped.
“HERE!” she shouted, looking incredibly embarrassed after realizing how loudly she yelled.
“Good. Next. Alex Andra. Born Sunderland. Residence Sunderland. Pyrokinesis confirmed.”
“Here!” shouted the boy standing next to Alexa who was clearly her brother. He appeared to be trying to match his sister's yell.
Neither looked a day over 13 to JJ so he wasn't quite sure how they were Uni students, but he decided not to judge a book by its cover. They probably just looked young for their age and JJ would make an ass out of himself if he brought it up.
“Michael Cornwall. Born Rickville. Residence New Vick City. Astral projection unconfirmed”
“He- Wait, my abilities are confirmed!” cried a large teen from the back. He sounded nervous and appeared to be trembling.
Looking down at her notes, Professor Hertz questioned “Confirmed by who?”
“Err... Action Now News, in Vick City, confirmed it. They wrote an article about it and everything!”
Paging through her notes, Professor Hertz again asked “Amazing Hometown Magician Discovered, written June 23rd, 2020 by journalist Frederick Cornwall?”
“Y-y-yes, that's the one” Michael, who was looking distinctly more nervous at this point, responded.
“Hmmm...” Professor Hertz began marking in her notes and muttering “... astral projection unconfirmed... possible control subject... alright next!”
“Joshua Jacobson. Born Tresick. Residence University City. Astral projection confirmed. Empathic reading unconfirmed. Empathic projection unconfirmed.”
The giant man with excessive jewelry, doing his best impression of a sloth while draped over two chairs, called out “That's my name, don't wear it out... But that whole empathic thing is a load of hogwash, I can't do anything like that!” while putting on what he probably considered his most winning smile.
Professor Hertz did not deign to respond and made no effort to correct the profile in front of her.
…
'Finally, the interrogation is almost over.' JJ could barely hold back his anxiety. He zoned out the last few names, but he knew his own was coming soon. He was always last in roll call. All he had to do was answer politely and be done with it-
“Junior Zimmer, Jr. Born Rosewood. Residence Rosewood. Astral projection confirmed.”
“THAT'S NOT MY NAME!” JJ shouted.
“Pardon?” For the first time since JJ had walked into the room, Professor Hertz dropped her perpetual frown of disapproval and replaced it with one of confusion.
“H-haha, well, I mean, I prefer to go by JJ so...”
“You are Junior. Zimmer. Junior. Yes?”
He could distinctly hear giggling in the background.
“Yes” he admitted. 'My social life is dead, already. I was so close to making it through!'
“Good” Professor Hertz continued, completely oblivious to or uncaring about JJ's inner turmoil. “Then let us continue with the introduction. The discovery of entrances to the “Pathways” on Terra has lead to many fantastical phenomenon such as the spontaneous appearance of monsters, twisted spatial anomalies that defy modern physics, and the manifestation of supernatural abilities within the global populace. These are all thought to be a result of mana leaking out of the Pathways and into our world. There are many questions yet to be answered. Questions I expect you all to help us solve.”
A hand shot up from a tall, very well endowed girl at the front of the group. Professor Hertz gave her permission to speak, by silently staring at her until she began “I thought the aliens knew that stuff? Why don't we ask them?”
The professor sighed, looking as though she'd answered this question many times before, but still replied “These aliens, as you call them, have indeed been exposed to magic for much longer than we have. However, most of them are primitive beings who rely on magic to pull themselves out of the misery of their technologically illiterate societies. If they have a problem, they simply throw magic at it until it goes away, never delving deeper into the minutiae to find out why. Additionally, I have been informed by those with more authority than I that while their sciences may be lacking, their political acumen is not. Anything valuable we could learn from them would have to be properly compensated.”
“Doesn't that mean we deserve proper compensation, for anything valuable we find?” Josh cut in, still lounging bonelessly in his seats.
“You are properly compensated. You have all received full scholarships to the greatest learning institution in the country, with fully paid room and board, access to the greatest library Terra has ever seen, and a stipend equal to the average median salary of this city.”
“Tsk, gonna have to talk to my agent about this shit” Josh muttered while Professor Hertz finished up her speech.
“Ahem. I would wish you all luck in your academic endeavors and tell you not to waste the good fortunes you have received... but I genuinely do not care. So long as you show up for our meetings and participate in my research, you can do whatever you please with your own time. Our sessions will be Mondays and Thursdays, starting next week, from noon to 5 P.M. in this very building. Attendance is not optional. Please do not show up at my office, unless it is a matter of life or death. It would be most unfortunate if one of you died.”
And with that said, Hertz and her two assistants turned and walked out out of the room without looking back.
The abrupt exit left everyone standing in shock. Everyone except Josh, who managed to right himself and stroll over to the exit before anyone else could gather their wits. He somehow managed to cross a good 20 meters of empty room in under 3 seconds while still maintaining his perfect sloth impression.
JJ decided to follow his lead. Unfortunately, before he could make it to the door, he felt a strong grip on his shoulder.
“Hey, Junior! I'm Tyler, as you probably already know, let's get along shall we?” A painfully cheery young man introduced himself. The kind who always asks awkward questions in such a way that you can't refuse to answer without looking like an ass yourself.
“So, how'd you get the name Junior, haha?” Tyler queried while holding his hand out in front of JJ's face for a handshake.
'Oh no! I knew it!' JJ thought, lightly shaking Tyler's hand while attempting to end the conversation with the oldest cop-out in the book. “It's... a long story”
“Well I've got time! How about we all get together for dinner, and get to know each other better? It's not every day you meet another super! The cafeteria should still be open.” Tyler refused to let go of JJ's hand as he looked around at the rest of the group to goad them into agreement.
After a round of muttered confirmations, the group headed out together to find the cafeteria under Tyler's lead. JJ couldn't even sneak away because his next stop was going to be the cafeteria anyways, so he tried to hang to the back in the hopes that Tyler would forget about-
“So, Junior, how about that story?”
And now the entire group was looking at him.
“It's... not that interesting. My grandpa's parents called him junior when he was growing up, and he wanted to do the same with his son, so he named his son, my dad, junior so that he wouldn't have to remember two names, and then my dad thought it would be... funny to name me Junior Jr. So... here I am.”
“Hahaha, that is pretty funny. I'd like to meet your dad sometime!” Tyler cheerfully replied, while the rest of the group awkwardly looked at JJ with a mix of pity and stifled laughter.
“Please... just call me JJ” he begged.
“Sure, sure! No problem” Tyler agreed, giving off the impression that he would probably forget by tomorrow.
Luckily the conversation turned away from JJ as Tyler began peppering the rest of the group with his questions.
“Alex and Alexa, those are funny names for twins haha, you guys look like a pair of 10 year old, what's with that?” - 'I knew I wasn't the only one! Good job Tyler. And wow, I can't believe the Uni gave a couple of 12 year olds a scholarship. Is that legal?'
“Michael, does your dad take commissions for his articles? No? Yes? What do you mean it depends?”
“Sasha, you look familiar, are you sure you don't stream?”
“Billy, you're a TK too, right? I heard on the news that a couple of elves showed up in the Gran Highlands and claimed that us telekinetics can get a lot stronger if we learn to create our own mana. It's a shame we have to use the mana around us instead because nobody on Terra knows how to generate it.”
“Gary, I've got some acne cream I brought from home that you can use if you'd like! It's too bad the Uni doesn't supply us with any huh? 'Not a necessity' my ass!”
“Diana and Robert, you're astral projectors just like Josh and Junior, eh~ Which one of you do you think is the strongest?”
By the time the group reached the cafeteria, there was a collective agreement to grab their food and run. They all remembered a variety of urgent matters that needed to be taken care of, like calling home, finishing their laundry, or taking a pizza out of the oven. Why somebody would leave a pizza in the oven before heading to the cafeteria was not a question JJ was in the mood to consider, so he grabbed a burger with a side of curly fries and fled before Tyler could make his way back to him.
JJ scarfed down his food on the walk to his assigned dorm and jumped in bed as soon as he got inside, not even bothering to take a look around. 'Today was awful. But it could have been worse. I even made a friend, I think... Tyler probably considers us all friends at this point'