Micah was used to things going wrong from one moment to the next by now. He shouldn’t have been too surprised. He just hadn’t thought they would go wrong here, like this.
He racked his brain as he went down the list and asked, “Isn’t there anyone else we can invite?”
They had been rejected by everyone they knew. He had a list from Stephanie and Felix with names of people who might still be looking, but didn’t recognize anyone on it. He didn’t want to invite a bunch of strangers onto their team, really, even if they would have two weeks to get to know each other. But, they were getting desperate.
They should be looking for good [Mages] to round out their composition. Instead, they might have to accept whoever they could get.
“Ryan?”
The guy didn’t respond. Neither did Lisa. She was silently poking at her food; he reading an expedition report at lunch, which was new. Ryan usually only read in the evenings. It was also surprising since they were Ryan and Lisa. They could eat like they had Skills for it.
He kind of felt like he was the only one trying to solve this, not that it was Lisa’s problem to solve at all.
“Okay, let’s go over this again,” he said and pushed a bit of motivation into his voice, hoping it would catch. “I asked Mason, Andrew, Delilah, Stephanie, Lukas, Felix, Lanh and Fabian, Vladi, Cathy … and … I think that’s it?”
Ten people. Not so many, in retrospect.
“And you?” He got no answer, so he bent down a little to get a look at his friend’s face. “Ryan?”
“Hm?”
“Who have you asked?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you tell me, please? I want to make a list.”
He silently sighed and earmarked the page, but still wouldn’t quite give him his attention. “I don’t know. Not many? Everyone we talked about the first time around, basically. Myra, Eliot, Alex, Connor—”
“Connor?”
He looked up, briefly surprised. “Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Micah frowned. “Why? When? We didn’t talk about inviting him. You could have told me or something.”
They had discussed inviting everyone else.
Ryan shook his head. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”
It didn’t, not really, but for some reason it did. He had given him that mana crystal too, right? Micah had barely ever talked to him. “Do you even know which Skills he has or, like, which requirements he could have fulfilled?”
He shrugged.
“And we’re a team, right? So it kind of does matter,” Micah pushed on. “I mean, shouldn’t we discuss things like—”
“It doesn’t matter, alright?!” Ryan snapped. Micah shut up. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me. With us— With—” He looked at a loss for words for a moment and sighed. “He doesn’t want to be on our team. Maybe we won’t find anyone at all. Maybe we’ll get sorted into random groups alone.”
Micah opened his mouth to protest. Don’t say that, he thought. But he shut up and sunk back down. He wanted to say they could find a group if they looked hard enough. They had the list. But he got the sense it was exactly that kind of incessant optimism that was causing Ryan to snap at him.
He … hadn’t meant to be annoying. He didn’t want to be. Not ever. Especially not here, where it was becoming more and more obvious it was all too easy to have happen. He didn’t want to be that young kid trailing after people who everyone wished would just shut up. He had to act older than that.
His friends were obviously in a bad mood. Micah needed to find a solution.
So he looked around, but there was no one he hadn’t considered before in the last ten minutes, or the last three days, so he turned around on his bench and looked the other way. There, he spotted someone sitting down to eat alone and wondered, What about him?
Micah waited a moment to let the awkward moment pass. Then, with what he hoped sounded like casual confidence, he turned back to Ryan and asked, “Hey, how about Glove Guy?”
He looked up, confused.
“Glove Guy?” Lisa asked. She sounded a little curious, which was better than indifference.
“Yeah. There has to be a reason he goes to our school, right?” Micah asked. “I mean, he got in late without going through the Tower exam, so that’s practically a glowing recommendation from Ms. Denner—or Mr. Sundberg, anyway—right?” He hadn’t really thought about it before, he was making this up on the spot, but how had Kyle made it into the school?
How good was he?
Lisa shook her head. “No, I meant, who or what is a Glove Guy?”
“Kyle, Ryan’s new roommate?”
She frowned. “Why do you call him Glove Guy?”
“Because he always wears a glove on his left hand,” Micah said, tapping the scars in his own palm there. Pale as they were, they didn't look like his own skin. More like tattoos. “Day and night. Even in bed. Even in the showers.”
“Hm?” She sounded slightly more curious, now.
Micah smiled at the thought—Lisa curious about someone in the shower. He didn’t want to say anything, then realized it would make a good joke, and the older guys tended to make jokes like that, so he wiggled his eyebrows just late enough for it to maybe be awkward and asked, “Why? Are you interested?”
“Yeah.”
He blinked, felt the onset of a blush, then burst out laughing instead. Only half of it was forced, the other half coming from embarrassment. Ryan scowled. Lisa just looked at him in confusion.
“What?”
“You’re interested in him in the shower?”
“Huh? Why— Oh. Oh, no. Not that!” She slapped her hands down. “Ew. Dammit, Micah. You better not be like this for the next few years.” She frowned at Ryan. “Are you through puberty yet?”
Micah laughed even harder. What kind of question was that? And she seemed so clueless and exasperated, he couldn’t help it. He wanted to laugh. He needed to laugh. Why weren’t they joining him?
“I thought you guys hated him or something,” she said.
Micah wiped his eye and answered, “We don’t hate him. He’s just—”
“Really annoying,” Ryan finished.
Micah gulped. “Yeah.”
She asked and they tried to explain. It was like Kyle wanted to antagonize people, all the time. You couldn’t ask him for anything, even if you were polite and said, “Please.” Not holding the door—he would just walk off—or to keep an eye your stuff when you went to the bathroom, or to lend his key because you had forgotten yours. He’d either insult you, or tell you it was your own responsibility, or both.
He hated group exercises, especially group homework, he never worked with his team in sports, took seats without asking, put his things on the places next to him so nobody could sit down there, would sit elsewhere if you tried anyway, or glare at you and tell you to leave—
Micah had tried to be friendly. He had put a lot of effort into washing his bedclothes despite this team stuff taking up half his time, but Kyle just seemed indifferent. Like he didn’t want to have any friends.
Or like he preferred to make enemies?
“But my other point from earlier is still valid, right?” Micah asked. “He has to be good, somehow. And I doubt he has a team, considering he’s new here and, you know, him. So, should we invite him?”
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It wasn’t like they had any other options. If they could find at least one more member, they could sign up as a team and wouldn’t be separated. If they hadn’t by the end of the school week, Micah was planning on just asking random people in the crowd until he found a single one.
Ryan grumbled something in the back of his throat before giving in with a, “Fine.”
Micah smiled and spun around on his bench to tap the other guy on the back one table right behind him. “Hey, Kyle. Kyle—”
“I’m sitting right here,” he said. “I could hear every word you just said.”
Wow, his shoulders were tense.
“I know. I wanted to ask—”
“Shove it.”
He got up and left.
Micah watched him storm off in genuine surprise. He had even left his tray there. When he turned back, Ryan seemed indifferent. He was still scowling, a habit Micah would rather he hadn’t picked up again.
Lisa looked disappointed in him. He didn’t know which of the two was worse. “Really, Micah? He was sitting right there.”
“What?”
“You shouldn’t make fun of future teammates.”
He looked at the both of them in turn but got no support. Just like he had these last few days. Ryan had done nothing but read expedition reports, huddled up in his room or some corner somewhere. Lisa was spending less and less time with them as she hung out with her teammates.
For once, he scowled and asked, “Can’t anyone take a joke?”
He got up and left himself. They didn’t seem to care.
Where the hell had Kyle gone? Micah used the same exit and looked around, caught a glimpse of his dark clothes instead of the school uniform, and followed. He headed through the cold weather to the Guild.
Micah grit his teeth and followed. His blazer and jacket were still back in the cafeteria, though he doubted either of his supposed friends would look after them. Why would he have to be the one to apologize anyway when it was everyone else who was being so moody lately?
He didn’t hurry as he tried to catch up—he figured the guy was headed back to his room—walked around a corner, and caught a glimpse of two people. He immediately stepped back out of sight.
“You told me I could level if I came here,” Kyle accused her.
“I told you, you would have an opportunity here,” Ms. Denner responded. “To receive a proper education, among other things, which will open many more doors for you in the future.”
“What doors? There are no doors for me. I don’t get why I have to join a team for this stupid exam. I can do it on my own. I know I can.”
They were arguing in the hallway next to the windows facing the courtyard, not far from her office. She had a mug in her hand—coffee, probably. Was she out on her own lunch break?
“Be reasonable,” she said. “Be patient. You know why these exams are held in teams.”
“Yeah, and it’s not for my benefit.”
“It might be.”
“Please,” Kyle said. Sarcasm. They spoke to each other like equals, as she did with Micah. Was she that way with everyone? “I’ve been in the Tower, here and in Anevos. There’s nothing below the fifth floor that could kill me. And I am patient. I just want to level my Class, and I won’t be able to do that with three to five idiots weighing me down.”
“You don’t really believe that,” she said, completely ignoring the way he was talking to her. “And you can level your Class here.”
There was a pause.
Micah tried to stay still. He knew eavesdropping was wrong. Especially since this seemed like a sensitive conversation. He should probably walk away and come back to check in a few minutes and see whether or not they were done. Or at least, let himself be known.
He listened anyway.
“Not that Class,” Kyle grumbled.
“Give it a chance?”
“I did. And it ended me up here.”
“Yes,” Ameryth agreed, “and it ended you up here. Hadica, the City of Gardens. It’s the perfect place for someone like you, I think. It’s your Class. I would rather you gave it one more chance … Kyle. Be patient. You know it’s for your own good. And look, there’s even someone who wants to invite you on their team.”
Micah jerked in reflex. He wanted to check who she was talking about, worried he would miss his chance to invite Kyle himself. Who else would want to? But he couldn’t show himself or they might know he had eavesdropped. Maybe if he acted like he had just run around the corner—
Ameryth cleared her throat. “That was your cue to step out, Micah.”
Huh?
Oh.
Of course.
Of course, she had known he was there. He wanted to groan. His heart pounded as he stepped out into the middle of the hallway and bowed at the waist. “I’m so sorry for eavesdropping, ma’am.” He looked up. “I just—”
She raised a hand to cut him off. “Don’t apologize to me, apologize to him.” She gestured at Kyle and took a sip of her coffee.
Kyle looked pissed.
Micah bowed even deeper. “I’m so sorry, Kyle. Both for this and for what I said earlier. I followed you to do that, and because I wanted to ask you to join my team. I’ll understand if I screwed that up entirely, now.”
He thought the apology seemed sincere—he couldn’t bow much lower without seeming insincere—but when he glanced up, the guy still didn’t look happy.
Ameryth pursed her lips and gave him a little shove. The look of shock on his face made him look five years younger. He tried to glance back at her as he stumbled down the hallway.
“Give him a chance, will you?” she said. Micah didn’t know which of them she meant until she added, “He means well, but he’s too curious for his own good.”
By the time Kyle was walking on his own again, he’d discarded the look and picked his scowl back up again.
“You’re a piece of shit,” he said as he walked past him. “You of all people should have known better.”
Ameryth left the other way, drinking her coffee.
Micah stood between the two and had no idea what to do. ‘He of all people?’ What was that supposed to mean?
Down the first flight of stairs, Kyle paused and looked back up at him. “Well? Are you coming or not?”
“Oh, was that a yes?”
He grunted and walked off.
Micah rushed to keep up. Back to the cafeteria they went. He couldn’t believe he actually had a new teammate. Just like that. With an actual recommendation from Ms. Denner. He should have thanked her before heading off. He would, the next time they met.
As he followed behind him, his mind filled with questions. What were his Classes, then? And he’d said he’d been in the Tower here and in Anevos before? What was it like? Was he from Anevos? Was it true that the entrances there were privately owned? How did people put up with that? Which of the doors had he used? What kind of monsters had he fought? Oh, and what were his levels? His Skills?
But some of those questions were better asked in their team’s company, so Micah thought of other things.
When had he moved here? With his family? Had he been in the new Tower yet? Were the bedclothes even alright? Micah had gone with sandalwood over lavender since he’d figured anything that had “wood” in the name was less feminine than the alternative. Unless, of course, the alternative had something to do with rocks or metal.
He asked none of the questions out loud. Micah didn’t want to be that annoying kid trailing after people, so he stored them up. Finally, he stared at his rattail and wondered how long it had taken him to grow it out like that.
When they got to the door again, he sped up to walk beside him. He missed the first chance but managed to hold the second door open for him after cutting ahead.
Kyle didn’t seem to care.
At their table, someone else stood and waited. Tall, black hair, a little odd around the edges.
Jason.
Micah had completely forgotten about him. Asking him to join their team, he meant. He hadn’t even spoken to him in weeks, ever since the exams had picked up. What had he been up to?
“Micah—” he started.
Kyle fetched the tray he had left behind and sat down opposite Ryan.
He looked up. “You can’t be serious. Really?” He turned to Micah. “I didn’t think he would actually accept.”
Micah was torn who to answer first. Thankfully, the other guy noticed and took a small step back, content to wait. Micah still raised a hand and smile in greeting, then told Ryan, “Ms. Denner convinced him, I think. So he has her recommendation?” He didn’t sit down yet.
“Great. So now we have to put up with him.”
It … wasn’t exactly the reaction Micah had been hoping for, but he couldn’t say he was surprised.
Before he could, Ryan jerked a thumb back at Jason and said, “He said he was looking for you.”
Micah turned to friendlier faces. “Hi. Uhm, what for?”
“Alex told me you were looking for teammates?” He had a slightly optimistic look on his face. Hopeful?
His eyes went wide. “Oh, did you want to join— I mean, you don’t have a team yet?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve been asking around myself, but everyone either already had teams or … didn’t want to let me join. But if it’s you guys, it’s perfect. So yes, I would like to. If you’ll have me?”
Perfect. Micah tried not to be embarrassed by the compliment.
Perfect? Oh—
He glanced at Ryan, suddenly remembering something they had discussed. If they signed up as three, there was a chance the school might assign them another group of three that fit them. There would still be a slight penalty, but it was the best outcome in the case they didn’t find many members.
They might also only get assigned a single straggler. If they were four, that chance would be smaller.
Did they want to invite more people?
He did, personally. Jason’s smile was like a breath of fresh air with the scowling match going on between the other two. But he wanted to confer with his teammates. It was hard to do that with him standing right there. Should they ask him to leave for a moment or—
Ryan must have noticed his look because he took control. He turned and looked Jason up and down before grumbling, “So what Class do you have, then? Some kind of [Acolyte] or [Priest]?”
“What? No. There are no [Priests] anymore,” Jason said. “Everyone knows that. No, I am of the Shepherd’s flock. I have the one true Class every climber should have." He smiled. "I’m an [Adventurer].”
Lisa averted her eyes. “Oh, boy.”