Olly Briggs
He was sure he would have been afflicted by his strange dreams last night if he had managed to sleep. But as it stood he was scarcely able to close his eyes, let alone welcome sleep. Still, despite his exhaustion, he hastened his pace through the halls of the Academy.
A media tour.
More like a media circus. This wasn’t going to be good.
Not when there were unexplained anomalies happening.
Not while he was figuring out how different he was.
And now he’d have to highlight it to the world?
Fuck.
It was going to blow his ability to privately research his abilities wide open. At best, he wouldn’t have time to do his research. At worst, he would become a spectacle.
He needed to speak with Abigail. Surely, surely she wasn’t actually planning something so public for him. But Sarah wasn’t one to embellish,and her concern was enough to shake him to his core.
Speaking of.
“Olly, wait!”
He turned to look over his shoulder but only slowed his pace.
“I have to speak with her,” he insisted.
“I know you do but please let me come with you.”
She almost walked in lockstep with him as he charged ahead.
"We're already in enough trouble. You don't have to put yourself further in her bad books for me," he muttered in a low voice.
“That's not important. I already am in her bad books. Besides, would you really want to be alone with her right now? You're going into this already worked up so it might be better to have someone there who can confirm exactly what was said.”
A witness.
He tilted his head to the side. She had a good point.
“Good idea," he sighed, "It's weird she saved me for last. She knew I wouldn't take it well and yet she hasn't even attempted to reach out. It feels like she wanted me to hear it second hand."
His suspicions made him feel overly paranoid and yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being played.
"All the better that I come with you then," she agreed.
They made it to her Academy office. Her administrative assistant took his time in finishing whatever task he was doing before he even glanced their way.
“I need to speak to the Grandmaster!” Olly insisted before he could even open his mouth.
“She’s busy at the moment,” he said primly.
“I think she had better make time to discuss the decision that she made on my behalf!” Olly retorted rather hotly.
Her assistant opened his mouth to respond when Abigail’s office door swung open and she popped her head outside.
“Ah I thought I heard you, Olly. Both of you please come inside. I’m sure you want to chat,” she said casually.
She left the door open as she disappeared back into her office.
Olly exchanged a reproachful glance with the assistant as he entered.
“So I take it that Sarah has filled you in on the plan? I would have met with you personally but I found out that Brandon had monopolized you yesterday evening,” she said smoothly.
So perhaps she had tried to speak with him. Still, his suspicions of her intentions were not alleviated. Her voice didn’t give away whether she was displeased about his meeting with Brandon but her eyes were rather inquisitive. He wondered if this was intentional on Brandon’s behalf. He felt incensed all over again.
“She did, but I still have questions,” he responded. He decided to ignore the bit about Brandon. He didn’t like feeling like a pawn between them.
“Well I have a little bit of time before I have to return to the Conductors’ Guild headquarters. As you can imagine, there's still a considerable amount of work to do after the attacks. But I will answer your questions. Before you start I will say that I believe it’s a reasonable consequence. I do think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn it’s not much of a punishment, but an opportunity.”
She gave him a wide smile. A salesperson’s smile. Mistrustful though he was right now, Olly still hadn't fully bought into the idea that she was the bad person that Sarah made her out to be. But his belief in Sarah’s cause for concern was growing by the day.
“What kind of opportunity? The way I see it, everyone is suspicious of the Guilds right now. But now you want us to be the face of them.”
“We have an image problem, this is true. But I think we could use the two of you to help improve that. We want to show that the Academy has a wide array of students from a variety of backgrounds. This is something that may shift public opinion.”
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“Variety of backgrounds… Meaning that we’re not rich or have a family legacy?” Sarah asked.
“It’s true that you don’t fit the profile of our usual backgrounds. But you’ve also proven to be some of the most successful and talented candidates of this incoming year. We’ve been trying to think about ways to broaden our reach because imagine if we’ve been missing this kind of talent? This antiquated model may have been alienating a wide percentage of the population and that's not something I can adhere to as I look to build the future of the Guild.”
On the surface it sounded… fine. Perhaps it even had the potential to do good under normal circumstances. But there was too much at stake here. Sarah was uncharacteristically silent as she took this in.
“What would we be expected to do?” Olly asked carefully.
“We were thinking of doing a roadshow of sorts. You could be featured prominently in the media, answer questions, go speak to schools. That sort of thing.”
Olly felt a pit forming in his stomach. “And what about our school work? I have a reduced workload, but Sarah doesn’t. Not to mention my lab sessions. How are we supposed to make this work? I can’t do less and still responsibly be a Conductor. I won’t accept qualifying with even lower standards. It’s irresponsible.”
“Olly, I’ve been through this with you. We help our own. Everything I’ve done for you has been for your benefit. Why can’t you believe that this is as well?”
He remembered that night he went to see Lola.
“Do I have a future as a Conductor?”
“No. But your future will be something entirely of your own making. This is a gift.”
Brandon had pitched the idea of becoming a researcher to him the night before. Abigail was strong-arming him into becoming a Guild celebrity. As much as he wanted the normalcy and stability that being a Conductor would bring, he was realizing how far away from becoming one that he was. There were so many roadblocks. So many people were trying to manipulate his actions.
And not to mention the feeling he had of being followed after he left Lola's business. Or the brazen attacks directly on the Guilds. His blood ran cold.
“But what about the Shadow Fellowship?” he tentatively asked.
Abigail’s face held a sympathetic look. If she was acting it was convincing. “Of course. I don’t want any of our students to feel frightened. The senseless tragedy and resulting fear that they’ve invoked has not been forgotten. However, we feel that it is in the best interest to persevere. We need to forge ahead. I cannot let the sacrifice that my dear friend Alzira made have been in vain.”
He knew he shouldn’t ask but he had to know. “Is there any connection between the Shadow Fellowship and the anomalies?”
Her smile fell a fraction of an inch.
“We’re going to likely be asked a variety of questions if we’re appearing publicly. You may not be able to control that,” he pointed out.
“We will prepare answers for you for any case you might encounter,” she said neutrally.
“So you’ve got a plan to protect our safety?” Sarah pressed, “My family is already wary about me being here. We’ve been impacted by the anomalies enough that I can’t imagine they’ll agree to this.”
“We do. You will never be anywhere unescorted, and we will be vetting the security of each event heavily beforehand. Your family need not worry.”
Silence fell between them. Sarah didn’t seem convinced.
His mouth twisted thoughtfully. “Do I need my uncle’s permission? This may come as a surprise if he randomly sees me in the news.”
“Neither of you require parental or guardian permission to do anything on behalf of the Academy. One of the Academy’s privileges is that its students are viewed as de facto adults upon admission. You do not require guardian permission to do anything while you are a student. This allows our older and younger students to be considered equal peers,” she said before pausing thoughtfully, “That being said, I don't have any qualms about you speaking to your respective families. But, Olly, if you would like to speak to your uncle I would actually request that the Mayor finds out first and then we can navigate how to inform your uncle. Given your uncle’s position in Mayor Bennett’s confidence as an advisor it would be improper for him to hear of the incident and resulting media show after one of his staff.”
He wasn’t sure which piece of information he should be more surprised about.
“Did you not know?” Abigail asked with one eyebrow raised.
He decided to play coy. “About not requiring guardian permission? No, I was not aware.”
A small smile danced on her face but she did not press the matter further. He mentally cursed, already feeling like he had lost the advantage of the conversation.
“Any further questions?”
“When will this start?” Sarah asked.
“After exams. In two weeks time we will begin.”
“I agree to your terms of speaking to the Mayor first but I would like the opportunity to speak with my uncle. I want him to hear it from me,” he insisted.
His uncle had once told him that Abigail was in his debt. He didn’t need to be pushed around.
“Of course. I will request an urgent briefing with the Mayor and we can have you meet with your uncle at the same time. Would that suffice?”
He nodded.
“And Sarah, would you like the opportunity to go home imminently to discuss this with your family?”
She nodded.
“Good. Then kindly await further instructions from me today. I’ll prioritize this.”
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With Sarah off to see her parents, and Olly waiting for word from the Grandmaster on when they would be leaving, he could only aimlessly roam the halls. He spared a bemused thought for his essay and realized how forgotten it now was. There was no chance of productivity now. It was incredible how much hope he previously had for the weekend just for it to vanish in an instant.
One thought did occur to him though. It had been about a week since his conversation with Steven. Maybe, just maybe, he would have that book so that Olly could conduct his research to distract himself.
He made his way to Steven’s office and practically ran headlong into him in the hallway as he turned a corner.
“I have a mythology question!” he blurted out, panicking in case someone had overheard.
Steven grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into his office.
“Did you get the book?” Olly asked, without giving him a chance to speak.
“I did not. There’s been a complication,” Steven confessed.
Olly deflated. “I’ll say, I have to go on a media tour! Is that the reason why you can't get my book?”
“No. They would not put me into the spotlight," he said carefully, "In my case I’m losing access to some of my projects.”
Olly remembered his history, even if Steven didn’t know that he knew, and he felt bad for bringing it up.
“I’m sorry, that doesn’t sound pleasant either. So what’s the deal with the book?” he pressed.
“It’s checked out now."
“By who?”
“Brandon. His name was on the check out list and didn't dare place a hold. It would raise too much suspicion.”
Olly deflated. Great. As if he needed more bad news today.