Ori
“Unsurprising to everyone, just because one reaches an aptitude score of 100, doesn’t mean that it’s the end of your potential. Stematas are devices that bend the rules of reality, after all.”
Tap…Tap…Tap…
“If a wielder has an aptitude score of 100, they have the ability to overclock their stemata in the height of battle.”
Tap.Tap.Tap.
“This makes the crystal of their stemata glow a bright red instead of blue, and nearly doubles the strength of their stemata. This comes with a drawback though: the user will destroy their body each time. It’s highly recommended you do this only on the condition that you know you can win whatever fight you’re in.”
TapTapTapTapTapTap
“Do we have a problem, Trainee Haustoria?” Instructor Matthews looked over to me. When I looked down at my desk, I noticed that I was tapping my notebook with my pencil at anxious speeds. I must’ve been doing it so loudly that everyone in the class could hear it.
“Your tapping is more annoying than usual.” Derris glanced over.
“You okay, Ori?” Gollie asked.
“I-I’m fine…sorry” I put down my pencil and faced forward to the instructor. He has my full attention…for now.
I've been cycling through my thoughts over and over, trying to think about how to deal with Arno’s stemata troubles for the past two days. As the day of his expulsion comes closer and closer, I can’t help but get more and more anxious. I feel like the worst friend ever. If we can’t get past this hurdle, our dream will end here. I know I talk a big game, but I need Arno…
As everyone filed out of class, I felt something clasp my hands. I know this feeling. These rough, hardened hands belong to only one person:
“Get better! Get better! Get better!” Arno was holding my hands together in his own and was rocking them back and forth while chanting. What is this, some kind of ritual?! He’s almost lifting me off of my feet!
“Whu-huh?!” I could feel my heart race faster and faster. Do your best, Ori! Don’t give your feelings away just yet!
That’s when Arno stopped and looked at the palms of my hands with a sad, pensive look. “You looked like you were worrying your head off. I’m just telling you you don’t have to worry…”
That’s when I realized what I was putting Arno through. I was making him worry about me this entire time. I can’t help it, though! Our future’s on the line. Think of something, Ori! Tell him you’ve got a plan to get over this. It can be anything!
“Arno…I—”
“Hey Ori. If you have the time, can I talk to you and Arno?” Anna walked over to the both of us and asked to chat. Thank God she did. I would’ve just been a bumbling mess trying to grasp at the words to say to Arno.
“Yeah, sure! It’s time for lunch, so how does the cafeteria sound?” Arno asked Anna.
“Yeah, that’s fine. You like the food here, right Ori?”
“Y-Yeah…”
We went over to the cafeteria and got some lunch with Jack and Gollie. With the five of us at a table, Anna began to explain why she wanted to chat with us.
"Over in zone two where my family is from, they’re holding a Bountfest party again and I’d like all of you to come.”
“What’s Bountfest?” Arno asked.
“It’s this big party where there’s lots of food and partying to celebrate a successful harvest. But I don’t really care about any of that. I just want to assure them that everything is fine. If I'm being completely honest…" an air of melancholy suddenly surrounded her as she confessed.
"My family always said that I never acted my age. They think that I’m too childish. And at times, I think I am too. It's hard for me to tell when I'm happy or sad. I don’t even know how to read a room all that well…" She trailed off in thought before realizing that she lost her train of thought. “But yeah…community is a big thing to them, so I'm asking you guys to come with me."
I put my fork down and leaned into the table.
“Is that what your parents think? You always came off as a very mindful person to me. You were the first to approach two haustorians in our class. You also stood your ground in the Hives fight. If anything, you come off as more of a leader type.”
“Yeah, but my parents think otherwise…haha.” Anna scratched the back of her head and shifted her gaze. That’s when Arno triumphantly puffed out his chest.
"Seems easy enough! Show Anna's family how cool we are!"
"Sure it sounds easy enough” I began “But this is zone two we're talking about. 'They call it the freeform zone.' They hate government interference and by association, they hate CTs. Topple that with the fact that we're Haustorians and you got a recipe for disaster."
Arno groaned before slamming his head onto the table in frustration. I don’t blame him. It's like everywhere we go, we're met with opposition. But it’s for that exact reason…
“We’ll go regardless.” Anna was shocked to hear my answer given how it seemed I was preparing to reject her offer. Her face lit up in excitement.
“How about you, Gollie?” Anna snapped her head over to the gentle giant.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I have some stuff to do tomorrow. I’m sorry, Anna.”
“Pleaaaaase come, Gollie! I need all the help I can get for this!” Anna reached over the table and grabbed Gollie’s hands. When she did this, his face began to turn red.
“Uh, sure! If it’s that important to you, I’ll come.” Gollie folded under the pressure Anna was applying immediately.
“Wow! Ori’s face gets red like that when I get touchy with her too!”
“D-don’t phrase it like that! People are gonna think we’re—” I nearly choked on the food I was eating.
While Arno was patting me on the back to help, everyone looked over to Rono, who was quietly watching invitations go out before widening his eyes.
“W-wait! Are you inviting me too?!” Rono looked around and pointed to himself. Anna gave an unsure nod, contemplating whether or not to rescind her invitation.
“Finally…I’m starting my popular phase here and now. I’m one of the cool kids!” Rono pumped his fist.
“Oh, please! You wouldn’t even know ‘cool' if hell froze over right in front of you.” Derris walked over to all of us with a tray of food.
“Oh yeah? Well you wouldn’t know cool if it…was…uh—um.”
“Go on. I’ll wait. You can do it.” Derris kept egging Rono on until Anna interrupted.
“Do you wanna come too, Derris?”
“I have a very busy schedule.”
“As if…” I rolled my eyes.
“But I’ll see if I could squeeze some time in and grace you and your family with my presence.” He said with his usual sly grin.
“Since it seems like we’re inviting the whole class, how about you, Jack?” Anna called out to the table behind us and surprising everyone, Jack was there eating breakfast foods during lunch. He was so quiet I didn’t even notice him. Kinda creepy.
“I’ll be busy trying to increase my aptitude score until we get our custom stematas. I suggest you all do the same.”
“Come on, Jack! It’ll be fun! It’s just as important to take breaks as it is to train your body” Arno said.
“We’re here to train to defeat terrorists, not to ‘enjoy our youth’ like it’s high school.” Jack said as he began to clean the desk he was eating at.
“High…school?” Arno tilted his head in confusion, so I explained.
“It’s like the academy, but with no combat. Just tests.”
“That sounds awful…” Arno said.
“If anything, you guys should be in the same boat as me. Terrorism is ramping up and I don’t wanna have thoughts like ‘I should’ve done more at the academy.’ if I’m losing a fight.”
“But—oh there he goes…” Arno tried to get his attention again, but he walked off.
“Well you can’t say we didn’t try…” Anna gave him a gaze of pity. “He’ll come around. We’re his colleagues, after all. He’ll have to work with us at some point in the future. But enough about that. Bountfest is tomorrow evening so it’s best we leave first thing in the morning.”
“I’m guessing we’re taking the train, right?” I asked.
“The train?!” Arno sprung out of his seat in excitement.
===
"WE'RE GOING SO FAST! I'M GONNA STICK MY HEAD OUT THE WINDOW!"
"Arno, you're acting like you've never seen a train before. We rode one up here."
As we rode the train to Anna's hometown, Arno stuck his head out of the window in amazement.
Zone one and zone four are at opposite ends of the country so when everyone moved, we had to take the train to the academy.
"Arno's really enjoying himself." Anna began to chuckle.
"I guess the entire experience is still surreal to him."
The train had benches that could hold three people each and spread throughout the several cars that holds all of the passengers. We managed to buy tickets for three benches. Why would we need three benches if it's just the six of us, you ask? It's because one extra person came…
"You…"
"What about me?" Derris laid on the bench in front of us with his hands behind his head.
"I’m surprised you actually came."
"I was invited here just like everyone else." He gave me a smug grin.
"So all of a sudden, you're seeing your way into our friend group? How about you start with an apology?" I teased Derris.
"I'm sorry."
…
Huh?
"I was being very prejudiced against you and Arno for simply being Haustorians. You guys aren't any different from regular people."
Am I seriously getting an apology from him? This is very out of character for him, but I’ll take it—
“And anyone that’s regular is below me, naturally. That obstacle course was a fluke and Arno’s inability to use stematas proves it.”
“I knew it—you’re a real piece of work, you know that?!” I snapped at him.
"Ahoyyyyy! I see land! Land Hooooooooooooo!" Arno shouted as we approached our destination.
"Arno, only pirates say stuff like that. Besides, we're already on land." Anna began to chuckle.
Once we got out of the train station, we entered Anna's hometown. Or rather, her home. It was a farm with acres of crops and livestock as far as the eye could see. I can't believe that one family owns all of this land. Haustorians were given a couple of blocks at most to fit hundreds of people.
"AHH! THESE DAMN BUGS ARE EVERYWHERE! AND I'M ALREADY SO SWEATY." Rono tried swatting the countless bugs that began to swarm
"That's because of the humidity!" Anna explained "although it's not as hot as the other zones the humidity here is definitely a cut above the rest."
We eventually reached Anna’s home and she was the first to run up the steps of a hill that had her house at the top of it. When she knocked on the door, three kids looked out of the window at all of us. When I made eye contact with them, they ducked right outside of my vision. At that moment, the door opened to reveal an older woman with a cigarette in her mouth.
“Hey Aunt Maya. The party starts in a couple of hours, right? I brought macaroni and cheese一”
“Oh hell no! We’re not sharing food with no job-stealin’ parasites!”
“B-but they’re my friends!”
“Marty! ANNABELLE BROUGHT PARASITES RIGHT TO OUR DAMN DOORSTEP!”
“Annabelle?” Arno tilted his head in confusion.
Figures. A waste of time. I could at least tell everyone else to go inside and improve relations with her family. Arno and I will just have to find a hotel to stay at. One thing I won’t compromise on though is tasting that zone two cuisine. How they make it at the academy has got to be different from how they make it here. This is HOMEMADE zone two food.
“NO!”
Huh?
“They’re my friends! It doesn’t matter where they came from! They even saved my life once! They deserve to eat with us as much as anyone else!”
Anna stepped up and stared her aunt in the face. You could cut the tension with a knife. Regardless, I can’t believe what she’s doing. I have to stop her before she says something she’ll regret. I grabbed her hand and told her to calm down.
“Anna, it’s fine! We’ll just stay at a hotel or something. Right Arno?”
“Yeah, it’s no big deal. We’re used to getting treated like this!” Arno said.
Exactly…hateful looks, barred entry to areas, getting hurt and not being able to retaliate…we’re used to it. Ever since we came to this country we’ve been dealing with it for years. Now isn’t any different.
“This isn’t something you should be getting used to…” Anna looked away and stood her ground. She stood her ground and I couldn’t even protest. How could I? She has a point. When did I get so comfortable with being treated this way? It’s probably because I was so busy looking towards the future that I didn’t really care about what was going on in the present.
“If you’re gonna have me, you’ll take my guests. All of my guests.” Anna stood her ground.
That’s when a tall, older man came to the door. Anna’s Aunt immediately stepped out of her way and Anna’s face changed from one of confrontation to one of relief.
“Hey Dad! You’re not gonna keep me out are you?”
Anna’s father looked at her with disapproval. It was a look a parent would give their child upon seeing her go down the wrong path. It was clear where he stood on this issue on his doorstep.
“Annabelle…I am disappointed to see you in such a poor mental state. I can’t let the rest of the family see you like this…especially given what’s going to happen tonight.”
On hearing this, Anna’s eyes began to water and she ran away. Gollie was the first to chase after her and everyone else soon followed. I respect Anna for what she did, but family is important. Although we can’t choose them, they’re important to keep close.