A loud annoying beeping sound woke Abigail. Her hair spilled over her face as her head jerked forward. She looked around not quite sure what was happening. She didn’t remember setting any kind of alarm. The alarm blared loudly for a second time. She turned toward the right, looking at the home computer dock that was set up by the kitchen.
“Shut up!”
Abigail screamed against the loud beeping, and the alarm stopped. The silence was soothing after the ridiculously loud alarm. She sighed in relief, closing her eyes and leaning back against the couch. She rested her head against it, five more minutes wouldn’t kill her. Then the alarm rang for a third time, this time it was accompanied by a loud reminder.
REMINDER: YOU HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED FOR FIVE O’CLOCK P.M
She groaned loudly before responding.
“Ugh. Fine, Thank you.”
The reminder stopped responding to her voice, and she pulled herself off the couch. A blanket she didn’t remember getting fell onto the carpeted floor. She stared at it for a moment. It was worth it. She trudged over to the bathroom, her feet dragged against the carpet. Could she tell them to meet later, maybe just get them to come here? No, that wouldn’t work. They were planning to use Jake’s training area. She would need to meet them outside of his dorm. Sighing again, she marched over to the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, and she looked tired.
She turned the sink on by pressing a button at the base of the mirror. Sticking a hand beneath the stream of water, she pressed another button to set the temperature. Sarah had set up some basic presets for the temperature. The water quickly became hot, the sensation flowed up from her hand. Her shoulders loosened as she leaned forward a little. There was no better feeling than a hot shower after a nap, and this was close. She wanted to take a shower but didn’t have the time for it.
She settled for washing her face and tying her hair into a ponytail. Checking herself out in the mirror, she figured it was good enough for training. After cleaning up in the bathroom, she changed out of her casual clothes and wore one of her protective tracksuits. It wasn’t a very fashionable outfit. It was all grey, and she didn’t really have the right curves to make it look nice. Sarah did, and Abigail would forever be a little jealous of her friend for it. The cloth was good enough to block some knives. That should be good enough for their training, considering that the only one of them that used any blades was Gavin.
She left her apartment at 4:50 and Jake’s dorm building was fifteen minutes away. If she ran, she could still make it on time. Her apartment was on the tenth floor of a skyscraper. There was only one other room on the floor, and she still hadn’t had the opportunity to meet her neighbor. A sliding sound made her head turn, and she noticed the elevator door closing.
“Wait!”
She sprinted across the hall, shouting the word as loud as she could, and was relieved to see a hand stick out of the elevator. The door opened and she slipped into the tiny room and met her neighbor for the first time.
A girl dressed in a simple purple tracksuit smiled at her as she entered, and Abigail couldn’t help but stare and compare. The girl had a far nicer body than she did, with proportions that any model would envy. A slender waist with wide hips and a big chest made Abigail a little envious, although it was the height that she really wanted. This girl towered over her, and she had to tilt her head up to meet the girl’s eyes. They popped shining like rubies under a lamp. Red was an interesting eye color to choose, and it made the girl even more imposing than she already was. Abigail didn’t recognize her and realized she had been staring for a few seconds now.
“Thanks! And, Hi! And I’m Abigail.”
After the awkward staring, she couldn’t stop an even more awkward greeting. The girl chuckled lightly and replied with a smile that made Abigail’s heart skip a beat. The girl’s skin was flawless, and she managed to use the perfect amount of makeup, not to mention that she had noticeable cheekbones, a pointed chin, and sharp features that gave her a grown-up beauty.
“I’m Adelaide, but please just call me Aida. My parents have this thing about appearances, and my name has some weird fancy meaning. I try not to live up to it.”
Aida’s voice was not girlish. It was deeper than Abigail’s and breathier. It was another thing that made her feel more like an adult, though Abigail was pretty sure that wasn’t true. She wasn’t the oldest student, but she was probably in the upper half in terms of age. This girl couldn’t be that much older than her, no, she just had the kind of poise that people like Sarah did.
“I was just named after someone in my family. Where are you headed anyways?”
Abigail couldn’t think of a creative way to respond and decided to ask Aida about something else. The elevator wasn’t particularly fast, but it dinged as it approached the bottom floor. The doors sliding open accompanied Aida’s response.
“Oh, I’m just heading to a training area. Need to prepare for the practical tomorrow.”
Abigail followed Aida out of the elevator, nodding to her statement.
“Me too. I guess that means that every class has them together.”
Abigail almost had to half jog to keep up with the girl’s stride.
“That’s what I was led to believe. I doubt the school could arrange 300 simulated trials for each class. I bet they just make one for each lesson.”
That made sense considering how expensive it must be to run a simulated trial.
“I wonder what the trial’s gonna be like.”
Abigail spoke softly as she imagined what it could be. Inwardly, she hoped that it wouldn’t be combat focused but had little hope for that considering how much time people spent on fighting.
“It will probably be a maze; they’ve used the same format for the past twenty years. “
“Wait how do you know that?”
Abigail's eyes narrowed as she examined the girl more closely. Aida laughed softly, responding as she held the building’s door open for Abigail. Despite the modern interior of the building, they put a lot of effort into maintaining an old-fashioned appearance. That included mundane, not automatic doors.
“I just looked it up. There are plenty of videos of trials from the past couple of years.”
There were recordings of these trials. Abigail had seen her fair share of simulated trials, but those were typical of professionals or famous people. She hadn’t expected these low-level trials to receive, well, any attention.
They continued talking as they walked together, and before long it became evident that they were heading to the same place. It was Aida who commented on it first.
“You’re heading to the private arenas? I didn’t recall an Abigail in the top 100’s.”
Abigail waved her hands frantically and shook her head fast.
“What, no. I’m not ranked that high. My teammate is though. But what about you?”
Adelaide paused, staring at Abigail with some obvious hesitation.
“You seriously don’t know? Um, look, I liked talking to you, so please don’t treat me any different after I tell you.”
For the first time since meeting the girl, Abigail heard a hint of fear in her voice. She didn’t sound so mature anymore, now she was more like a desperate kid. Abigail noticed and tried to soothe her a little.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“My teammate is ranked third, and he’s annoying. And here’s my number, though I guess you could just knock.”
Aida relaxed a little and schooled her expression.
“Thanks. Ok, well, I’m ranked second.”
Abigail’s eyes bugged out, as she stumbled a little. Ranked second! She should really stop relying on Sarah to tell her about the ranks and investigate them herself. Abigail gaped like a fish as she tried to form a response.
“Wha… Ranked Second. Wow. “
Her words didn’t come out properly, and she couldn’t help but glance at her own rank.
Name: Abigail Kaminari
Home World: Atreus Academy World 3
Grade: F
Rank: 5123
Physical Grade: 1.40
Strength: 0.9
Dexterity: 1.5
Speed: 1.8
Mental Grade: 1.10
Reflexes: 1.5
Intuition: 1.0
Fortitude: 0.8
Gift Grade: F
Gift (F): Voice of Charge
Recognitions: None
Her very unimpressive rank and status weighed on her a little. She had made improvements, but they weren’t comparable to some other people. Clo was one of those who was improving most rapidly. She had seen several discussions on the forum of how his growth didn’t make any sense, and that he had to have found some trick to it. She was inclined to believe those rumors too. She was working hard too, training for over two hours every day, yet her growth was tiny compared to his. He must have some kind of trick.
Abigail realized that her thoughts were wandering and shook herself off those thoughts. Nothing good would come from comparing herself to a person like Clo. She talked to Aida with a little bit of forced casualness, but even that vanished as she realized how friendly Aida was. The girl was likable and honest, and Abigail was just as eager to make a new friend. She hadn’t had many real friends back home, and this academy hadn’t been as inviting as she had hoped.
They talked for the remainder of the walk, making small conversations about their classes and teachers. Aida was surprised to hear about her teacher, and just how capable he was. Apparently, her teacher was nearly as impressive, and Abigail couldn’t help but wonder why. Shouldn’t the best students get the best teachers? At least that was what she had thought. Either way, the subject matter let them talk more comfortably, and before long they had arrived at the dorm building.
“Well, it looks like we're here. Thanks for not making a big deal of my rank. And if you ever want to train together or use my training area, just let me know.”
Aida smiled, as she walked up to the main entrance of the building. This dorm was one of the most modern buildings in the academy. The front door was touch operated and only opened if you actually had the right to enter the building. Aida did, and the door slipped open.
“I’ll see you lat-“
“You’re finally fucking here!”
A very loud, very obnoxious shout cracked through the air. It cut off Abigail’s words, and she turned to see Jake storming toward her. He was standing inside the building in what looked like a lobby by the door. Gavin and Maria were seated on couches nearby. He wore his usual black jacket. Maria had the same odd hoodie on, although she had changed from her usual sweatpants into shorts and athletic leggings. Gavin wore a thin bodysuit of some dense-looking cloth and sweatpants.
Abigail winced at Jake’s tone and checked the time frantically. She was twenty minutes late. She had lost track of time talking to Aida and had apparently slowed down a lot on her way here. Jake looked angry and so did the others. His footsteps were loud as he stomped his boots.
“How is it that our leader is the late one? And why didn’t you at least send a message?”
Jake was a loud person by default, and it was hard to differentiate his normal voice from a shouting one. He was definitely angry at her, but she didn’t know if he meant to shout at her. Either way, it made her wince.
“Sorry, I got distracted.”
Without Sarah around, she found it a lot harder to sound confident. And Jake was in the right here, she should’ve at least messaged them. Jake stepped closer still until Aida moved between them. Her left arm was raised slightly as if to guard Abigail. It was unnecessary. Jake might dress like an old-fashioned biker, but he didn’t act like the type to actually attack someone.
“Larian, didn’t your father ever teach you? A good dog knows how to wait.”
Unlike Aida’s pleasant tone from before, this was more like the snapping of a viper. Jake’s face twisted.
“Brighton, what does an eel like you want?”
Jake wasn’t any less loud with his response. He glared at Aida with familiarity. It was the kind of look someone would give a loathsome aunt or cousin. She was very familiar with that expression and wondered what kind of relationship they had. Did everyone in the top ranks know one another? She made a mental note to look into the other rankers later. Abigail stepped further, stopping either side from saying anything else.
“Can we just start training? I know it's my fault that we’re late, but we shouldn’t just stand here either.”
Jake spluttered; his response was cut short by her words. Abigail headed off any reprisal by admitting to her own blame. This was a tactic she had developed well, and Jake was left with nothing to do but nod. He did it grudgingly but turned toward the others.
“Fine, let's just get to it.”
Maria and Gavin were watching, and Abigail saw Maria hand something to Gavin. They had been betting on something, and Gavin had apparently won. Jake stomped toward the training arenas, and Abigail turned to Aida before following.
“Sorry about that. I do need to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
Abigail was about to leave, but Aida caught her arm once.
“As much as I dislike him, Jake isn’t a bad person. He has a short fuse, but you don’t need to be afraid of him. Also, I can beat him up if you ever need me to. “
Aida released her after Abigail nodded. The two girls shared a moment of understanding before separating. Abigail jogged after the rest of her team.
Jake led them to his training room which was situated near the end of a long hallway. It was weirdly silent despite the dozens of training spaces that were hidden behind the walls. She expected some noise to bleed through, but there was nothing but the sound of their own footsteps. Jake walked up to one of the doors and placed his hand against it. It slid up revealing a space of tiled metallic floor of pale grey. It was empty, devoid of anything and everything. There weren’t even any training dummies or anything. She raised an eyebrow at it.
“Have you ever even used this yet?”
Jake looked around.
“No, why would I bother with something like this?”
He didn’t seem to be a fan of the room. Abigail didn’t bother responding, but Maria did.
“To train?”
He rolled his eyes.
“I can do that anywhere, and there are better places to train in the city.”
Maria looked at him from the corner of her eyes.
“Just how rich are you? Actually, it doesn’t matter. How about we order some snacks though?”
Nobody missed the obvious meaning behind her words. Jake looked at Maria, narrowing his eyes as though he were examining some strange animal.
“Snacks for training? How about I just buy everyone dinner afterward?”
Abigail was surprised to hear him offer even that much. He didn’t owe Maria anything, especially not a meal. Students could get free meals at any of the mess halls, and they were fairly high quality, even by Abigail’s standards.
“Deal, but it has to be somewhere expensive.”
Maria said the words cheerily, although her hoodie didn’t fit the reaction. Abigail stared at Maria in disbelief. The comment even made the silent Gavin respond.
“Wow, I think you’re the most shameless person I have ever met, and that includes a long list of old arrogant mercs.”
Maria grinned at him; her eyes flashed green as she replied.
“How many of them were supposed to be dead a few months ago?”
Gavin actually smiled back at her; the first one Abigail had seen on the hawkish man.
“Three of them.”
That response must have been a joke, right? Abigail couldn’t keep up with the conversation and realized that she had missed something with the group.
“I feel like I’m missing something. What do mean by mercs? No, more importantly, what do you mean by dead?”
Abigail turned from Gavin to Maria as she got her thoughts in order. The teacher really had placed her in a very odd group. The three of them exchanged looks. Jake sighed.
“Fine, I’ll tell you what happened, then we can start training.”