Chapter 24: first day at the Ionoon school.
“Chaiseky still hasn’t spoken to me since the rite of passage.” Shitari’s friend Rynus’s voice trembled as she sat anxiously in her seat. “I hope he’s doing alright.”
“He doesn’t think he’s worthy of you anymore.” Beside her at the table Shitari patted her back in a reassuring manner. “You need to speak to him and let him know you don’t judge him. Cook something for him and let him know he’s still the man of your dreams and th-“
*Bang*
A large bang shook the table and startled the two girls. Shitari looked behind her where the disturbance came from. She saw none other than Azurai Dendendei Dupin with his face planted into the thick boards of the wooden table.
The three were in the Ionoon school job collection room where an awkward silence came over the place as everyone stared at Shitari’s table.
“Crap everyone’s looking at me.” Dupin began to panic internally. Just now he had tried to wake himself up from this nightmare. After waking up that morning to find out that his father had disowned him due to shame, and after finding out that he’d now have to live in shared accommodation with Shitari and Rynus, he simply couldn’t except the reality he found himself in anymore. He rested his head in his arms unable to face his two companions. “Are you okay?” Shitari gave Dupin a sympathetic look before patting his head.
“Knock it off.” Dupin said shrugging her hand of.
“I bet you can understand how Chaiseky feels.” Rynus said as her eyes glimmered with a new sense of hope. “Can you talk to him for me? Pleeeeas-“
“Be quiet!” Dupin snapped suddenly cutting the girl off. “I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone today. I just want to do the job with you guys and be left alone.”
“You jerk!” Ryna pouted. “You should be more grateful to be around us. We’re your real friends anyway. do you think the other boys are still your friends? They’re assholes, you should’ve heard the things they’re saying behind your back. You shouldn’t ever hang out with them anymore and stick with me and Shitari.”
Upon hearing the girl’s words, Dupin’s heart sank even deeper. He had purposely avoided all of his male peers this morning, hoping to spare himself of further despair. He really must have been stupid if he thought that would save him from the judgement of the other boys, after all girls have brothers and boyfriends. As long as he was around the clan girls who all generally loved to test a boy’s masculinity, he would constantly hear of other boys and their negative opinions on him.
He didn’t respond to Rynus and stared straight ahead at the grey haired and long nosed Ionoon school woman who sat at a large desk in the front of the room facing everyone. Beside her was the job request printer which had not printed out a job request yet. Behind her there appeared to be some kind of leader board but Dupin didn’t give a damn. His immediate objective was to secure enough money to live comfortably for a life time and then leave the Country as soon as possible. He may have had Shitari’s friendship, but it ultimately wasn’t worth the humiliating experience of being a man in the Ionoon school. He naturally wouldn’t stay here just for her.
Shitari gazed over at her friend wandering what he was thinking. She knew that failing to pass his rite of passage must have taken a toll on him so she decided to leave him unmolested. It was best to let him calm down on his own and give him space.
“Is that her?” Rynus eyed a girl sitting on the opposite side of the room beside the indoor supply shop. “She’s so beautiful.”
Shitari turned her head to look at what the hell her friend was talking about before her eyes widened when she saw her. “That’s Asherah right?”
They were looking at a girl with almost white blonde hair, long eyelashes and makeup that complimented her cat like silver eyes. Around the room there were many who shot glances at the girl before whispering amongst themselves.
Asherah looked around. “There all staring at me…”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Feeling uncomfortable, her eyes lock on to The job request printer anticipating the next job. It was best for her to get going as quickly as possible to avoid the stares.
The job printer buzzed as a new job request came in. Several of the Ionoon women immediately charged forward with Shitari almost stumbling over Rynus as she stood up. Even Asherah was about to run towards it as well.
“Stop!” The woman sitting at the desk yelled authoritatively, her voice booming out across the room.
Everyone stopped and waited partially for her to read out the job description.
Once the woman was satisfied with the level of quiet she slowly and loudly read the job description out to everyone abridged. “Basically this job request comes from the clan head himself. Apparently they’re was a report of a vengeful spirit heading towards the clan this morning and they are requesting a single person to look into the situation. If the vengeful spirit is successfully killed then the reward will be three thousand greater coronation shekels and sixty contribution points.”
At the next moment few voices expressed interest in the job and nobody stepped forward to take it. The woman was about to store the job request away incase someone wanted it in the future when a voice stopped her.
“I’ll do it.” Asheyrah said walking forward.
Everyone’s eyes locked on to her.
“Why would a prodigy like her be interested in such a lame job?” Shitari asked leaning in towards Rynus. On the opposite side of Shitari, Dupin still had his face buried in his lap. He wanted to get the first job request that came but was disappointed with the actual job that came. He couldn’t waist his time looking for a ghost for lack lustre pay. He needed something that would pay him a lot of money and fast. He wondered how long he’d be stuck here with a black hole of shame forming in his stomach. He… he couldn’t take it anymore.
Dupin stood up straight and quickly squeezed his way past Shitari and Rynus before running towards the room’s exit. Asherah who had been startled by the disturbance quickly turned her head to watch the boy leave with Shitari and Rynus running after him. Seeing that everyone’s eyes were directed away from her temporarily due to Dupin, she quickly grabbed the job request before leaving the room. She headed down the corridor leading towards the central hallway. Up ahead she saw Dupin throwing up into a trash can with Shitari and Rynus both patting his back to support him.
As she passed them by the two girls noticed her before quickly averting their gazes. Asherah glanced down at Dupin before making an observation. She noticed for the first time that Dupin was a boy. “So they let boys in the Ionoon school? Does that mean they let girls in the shang rokai too?”
“ umm… uh…,” Both of the girls were at a loss for words.
“…Did I say something wrong?” Asherah looked at them with an expression of confusion and regret.
“No not at all!” Shitari mumbled out.
Dupin felt his heart sink. To think that a girl would come and mock him like this. Maybe he should just die.
Asherah feared that she may have offended them so she quickly walked ahead to escape the situation. Right now she had successfully acquired a job that she could discretely a silently, with only formal conversations required. Perhaps in quiet and formal settings she could feel more comfortable. She entered the large main hallway that had been lit with an amber haze from the sun shining through the main entrance and walked out off the ancient building. Outside she shielded her silver eyes from the golden sun and read the job description for further instructions before heading in the direction of the train station.
Back inside the palace, Dupin had finished puking into the trash and got back up to his feet. Shitari and Rynus both looked at him with great concern, their bodies trembling with anxiety.
Dupin wondered why the hell they kept on acting so nice to him. Perhaps they thought that he’d find it encouraging? He snickered and stood up straight, wobbling occasionally as he turned to walk past the two girls, heading back towards the job collection room. He didn’t need their pity. What good did it do him for them to feel bad for him? Jack shit! They may love him but they’d never let him bed them because he wasn’t a man anymore. he needed to be respected and revered like, the man he could have been… like Ioseph, Guyus, Shipo and Okimodo. Those guys that were at the top who were gifted with strength and talent, loved and admired by everyone. He didn’t have any of that. That white haired half demon bastard took it from him. Now he had no life left for him here.
As the boy stepped hatefully through the corridor, he continuously muttered. “I have to escape the country. As long as I am stuck here the current me will never die. I have to escape the country and die in a foreign land, there I’ll be reborn as a new version of myself.”
Asherah got onto the commuter train bound for Buchai central station where she had to get off. “Buchai central station? Does that mean that this city is called Buchai?”
She gazed across the two rows of seats leading to the door on the opposite end of the stainless steel carriage. There were only three other people a family with a father, mother and toddler sun. They all sat together in the corner playing and laughing. Asherah didn’t know why but she felt an incredible sadness in that moment. She entered the second of the commuter train’s two carriages and sat down. She quickly grew to understand why the family made her feel that way, after all she wasn’t really Asherah was she.
She leaned back in the leather train seat and tilted her head to gaze at the sunny platform outside of the window.
Seeing that the time was twenty minutes past three, she laughed bitterly and said. “I was born twelve hours ago.”
End of chapter 24.