Chapter 17: Jammy's Dilemma

After departing from the classroom, it did not take long for the girls to find what they were looking for, the Dream Academy Mess Hall. A big room full of students, teachers, and other various faculty getting their meals from the Academy's accredited chefs; for a price, of course. Zel had thought it would be harder to find, as most things in the mountain were, but the trail of similarly hungry students helped end their questing shortly.

The grub of the night was gathered from the nearby farms that surrounded most of Dream Academy in several directions and was served seasonally, at least that's what Zel overheard some of the other, slightly more knowledgeable, students talking about. The food in front of her gave her no inkling of what season these crops were all from. Her mother was a gardener and her dad a chef, so she wasn't unfamiliar with the kinds of stuff that ended up in meals, but she was clearly in over her head here. She did her best to pick something she recognized and pay before the number of choices confused her further.

It was rather crowded in the mess, but the three of them found a table easily enough and ate their meals while discussing the way the first class had gone. They all agreed that it was exciting and interesting, except for that last part that they would leave to discuss until a later date, but in particular they were all interested in the idea of magical flexibility. Zel and Miriya spent some time discussing it between themselves as Jammy did her best to interject, but this particular topic was very difficult to approach because of the language barrier, the sisters found themselves guessing what Jammy was trying to say but it was getting them nowhere.

"Ah! We should go see Flint!" Miriya suddenly interjected while Zell and Jammy were locked in some kind of dance, throwing out hands at each other trying to properly convey what exactly Jammy's thoughts were on her own skill level when it came to the flexibility of her plant magic.

Zel agreed. "We have plenty of time before our electives begin, so why don't we pay him a visit to help him clear this up as well as the… other things…" Zel wasn't particularly excited to have such a serious talk with a senior student so soon, but it needed to be done. "You know the way, right Jammy?"

Jammy nodded equal parts enthusiastically and angrily, frustrated at this continual issue. She led them out the mess hall and further up the spiraling staircase.

Jammy led them up four stories, leaving them on the fifth floor of the campus. Zel was surprised, as she thought it would be further up still. She recalled that Miracle had said the higher you moved up in the academy, the more places you were allowed to stay. She had an assumption coupled with that, namely that the higher rooms would be of somewhat higher quality, but as Zel led them to a seemingly identical doorway with seemingly identical interior upon entering, that illusion was thoroughly dashed.

It really was just the same kind of hallway that they lived in, with the added bonus of a staircase at the back end that led to somewhere mysterious. Jammy walked up to one of the doors and gave it a solid knock. A few moments later a Clickfolk man that the group did not recognize, looking as though he had just awoken from a years long nap, appeared.

"What's up?" He asked while rubbing his eyes futilly, the sleep was stronger than he. "What do you need?"

Before Zel or Miriya were able to say anything, Jammy piped up with some Clicktongue and the man in the doorway looked down in surprise, having not noticed her.

"Oooh, you're clearly here for Flint." He said before calling over his shoulder, "Flint, some of your buddies are here to talk to you!" He then disappeared from the door and after a short time Flint appeared in his place.

"Hey! How's it going Jammy! Zel, Miriya! Good to see you all!" Unlike his roommate, Flint was very enthusiastic and awake. He was no longer wearing the long and flowing garb of the Clickfolk clique that he had been temporarily a part of, but a more classic and bookish look. A nice shirt tucked into some equally nice and well-fitting pants. Zel thought it was a good look for him, though his scruff was getting more noticeable every time she saw him.

"I would invite you in, but my roommate just got back from a deployment. We should take this elsewhere." As Flint said this, a thankful grunt could be heard from behind him as he gently closed the door. "Let's head to the common area." He led them back towards the front of the lobby where they procured themselves a few seats and a table.

"I expected that third years' dorms would be a lot different from the ones that were given to us!" Miriya exclaimed as they got seated, "This is practically the same! So much for moving up in the world!"

"Ahh, it's not so bad." Flint responded, pointing towards the hallway. "Did you see that staircase back there? We actually have access to a variety of campus facilities that you guys don't have on the rock bottom down there. Baths, food, a private tunnel out to the city. It's nice. Oh, and not to make you jealous, Miriya, but we have a private shooting range for those of us who use range weapons. The facilities themselves aren't any better than yours, that's true, but with additional experience gives us additional responsibility. We get cooler stuff."

"Anyway," Flint continued, "to what do I owe this visit? Perhaps you are going to take me up on my offer?" Flint asked with a sincere and hopeful smile.

"We think we will, Flint, but there's something we've gotta talk to you about first. Tonight we come to you with some issues that we've been having with Jammy. More specifically with her boss." Zel explained. It was true that their visit had been spurred on by a miscommunication with Jammy, but the truth was also that that miscommunication was the least of Jammy's problems

Flint's smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Jammy, who had seemed to be quite cheerful despite the situation, suddenly seemed like it all came crashing down on her. She slumped in her seat and, as she began to speak to Flint, Zel could hear the tapping noise that she had been making last night began to come back, quite at first, but it grew louder as she spoke.

Flint listened intently.

"I understand. I'm sorry that this happened to you, Jammy." He said before addressing the sisters. "Jammy explained that you've been having some communications issues with this, so I'll bring you up to speed. The Clickfolk that you have been having issues with is Jammy's commanding officer. Unlike normal Dream Academy students, such as yourself, the exchange program still has the students be part of their own school, rather than official members of Dream Academy. As such, Jammy is not technically a student here, but a student of a Clickfolk institution to the west."

"What? Why would they send someone like an officer with students? Wouldn't that be the equivalent to their Captains?" Zel asked.

"Not exactly." Flint said, shaking his head. "Where the Clickfolk come from is a very different culture than our own. With different cultures obviously comes different ideas. Their command structure is similar, but not the same as ours. Where Dream Academy focuses on flexible individuals, the Clickfolk school of thought is flexible teams. There are a variety of reasons for that I could go into, but that isn't important right now. What you should understand is that Clickfolk that gave you and Jammy these troubles, Dark, is just as much a student as you are, he's here to learn. Despite this, he has been chosen as the leader of the Clickfolk in the exchange here at Dream Academy, and the leading officer in this program's rules are absolute, and any infractions against them are taken very seriously. Because of this incident, when Jammy returns to her homeland she will no longer be welcome."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"WHAT!?" Zel screamed leaning forward in her chair and startling some nearby students, "What does that mean? They won't let her be a student anymore?"

"I'm afraid so," Flint said, nodding solemnly, "disobedience is not tolerated in the Clickfolk culture, especially not by someone in a position with essentially no power. Jammy will be allowed to finish her year out here, that part is set in stone via the contract between Dream Academy and Beryiith, but as soon as her time is up at the Academy she will be forced out of her own program when she returns. If what she told me is true, Dark has likely already sent word to their country detailing this. She has essentially been put on a timer."

"That's not fair, though!" Miriya said, "All she did was spend some time with us! Isn't that the whole point of an exchange program? To be surrounded by people you've never met before."

"I agree with you completely," Flint said, "I even agree that most people that I met in my exchange program feel the exact same way. But there are always outliers. In Split Sky, there is a lot of focus on equality and treating others as you would have them you, but not everyone agrees with this or behaves in a way that reflects this general belief. I remember that you got into quite the argument with another Splitfolk after your exam, did you not Zel?" Flint asked. Cleinz 'enraged face flashed in Zel's mind. She slumped back down into her chair and crossed her arms.

"I don't think it has anything to do with either of you." Flint continued, "I did not meet Dark until my journey back here, and during that time I can count on one hand the number of times that we spoke to one another. I don't know who he is, but I suspect that this reluctance to let his unit mingle with other students boils down to a personal belief of his. Unfortunately, regardless of his personal beliefs he has the final word on his unit's activities. There is little we can do to change his decision."

"What are we going to do, then?" Miriya asked, "It may be a ways off, but we can't have Jammy quit doing something she loves!" Her ears had fallen flat on her head, something that only happened when she was truly upset.

"Well…" Flint paused, thinking for a moment, "She's not totally out of luck. But it isn't ideal."

"What can she do?" Miriya asked.

"Like I said, Dark's word is final. If it's true that he already sent word back about her failure to work under his command, then unless a major miracle happens to overturn this result she will not be allowed to work back at her academy. However," Flint paused again, this time dramatically, "after this program ends in one year, she could enroll into Dream Academy as a regular student, and continue her courses here."

"YES!" Zel shouted again, the students who were startled before were ready for it this time, and they did not flinch.

"It is some good news," Flint agreed, "but like I said, it's not perfect. There first of all is the issue of whether or not Jammy would want to do that." He looked at Jammy, awaiting her opinion. Jammy sat up out of her sullen posture and let out a positive buzz. Flint nodded.

"You say that you would be willing right now, but things change in a year of course, luckily you have that long to decide your next action. However, the other challenges will be much more difficult." Flint scratched at his fuzz as he compiled the information in his mind. After he was satisfied, he continued

"There likely won't be any legal ramifications, she won't be made a criminal, but she will likely be barred from further education. But if we actually want to solve this problem…" He paused again before an idea seemed to pop in his head. "We would probably need someone with massive political power in both Split Sky and Beryiith to vouch for her. Someone at least as relevant as the headmaster. The only real silver lining right now is that, even if Jammy is forced to go back, that she would only be forced to drop her program, this incident wouldn't bar her from other fields."

"That isn't much of a silver lining at all," Miriya complained.

"It isn't, but there are worse things," Flint said with a shrug, "Truth be told, if she spends long enough at the academy, she will almost certainly encounter worse things than forgetting about her dreams. But that would never stop the Jammy that I know." Gave Jammy a gentle smile, Jammy let out a gentle buzz in agreement, still seeming quite sad.

"So we got a year, huh…" Zel thought aloud, "I don't think anyone told you, Flint, but we actually got grouped up with that bastard I got in an argument with. Cleinz, if you remember. Exelcia is in charge of our team's class and put us together in order to get us to learn how to deal with teammates that don't get along, or something like that. However, she put the three of us together, so it isn't all that bad." Zel kept scooting lower in her chair with her arms crossed. Soon, she would become one with the floor.

"Ah, that tracks. Exelcia has a habit of doing that. The fact that the three of you are in a group together will prove to be a blessing and a curse, I imagine." Flint said this in a way that Zel could only describe as foreboding.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked bluntly.

"You'll find out from your class with her soon enough, I should suspect," Flint said in a taunting tone, "but the Exelcia I know does not put teams together that she thinks would succeed naturally." None of the three girls found Flints teasing amusing, and he moved on before incurring further questioning.

"In the interim, I would suggest getting to know the school as well as you can, and yourselves as best you are able. There is a lot to learn here, and you need to start exploring your options before the year is up. Who knows? Maybe one of you will make Captain before the end of the year, if you could pull that off I would be willing to bet the headmaster would take your case seriously." Flint said all this with a straight face, leading Zel to believe that they actually had some kind of chance to help Jammy. She balled her hands into fists.

We can't let them take her back! She thought to herself with determination. With that resolved as best as it was going to be for now, Zel thought it was time to move onto other topics.

"You mentioned earlier about helping us get into some Clicktongue classes. Miriya and I both wanted to. What should we do? Our classes aren't locked in yet, so we could take a course, or should we go the club route? Any ideas?" Zel pulled herself back up in her chair. The stone floor would be left wanting for her body a little longer yet. Jammy looked at Zel with a confused head tilt, Zel realized that she hadn't actually explained to Jammy that they planned to learn Clicktongue.

"We wanted to be able to understand you like you understand us," She said with a warm smile, "It's the least that we can do for a friend."

Jammy's eyes seemed to sparkle and she jumped out of her seat to give Zel a hug before running over to do the same with Miriya, all three of them were giggling.

Flint himself had lit up as well. He was clearly very excited to have more of a chance to talk about one of his favorite topics.

"Yes! Excellent! I do have some recommendations…" He began.

He explained to Zel and Miriya that there were a variety of classes that they could take at the school that were taught by different instructors. The one that Flint recommended was taught by a Professor Arcton, who he promised would be one of the best instructors for both learning the language, as well as giving them insight into Clickfolk culture, giving them an advantage as they started brainstorming how to keep Jammy around beyond this first year. Luckily for both Zel and Miriya, the class was later in the evening, and did not conflict with any of the classes they had taken so far, so they would be able to try it later that same night.

The whole time that they were talking, Jammy was absolutely aglow compared to how she had been acting all night. Zel smiled. The idea that Jammy felt so comfortable with them already, and they with her, was already a highlight of her time at Dream Academy.

They spent a while longer talking about anything, getting all of their minds off the more stressful goings on. With Jammy's help, Flint even spent the time to teach them some very basic words and phrases in Clicktongue that they could watch out for. Before long, though, it was time to head back to classes. So the girls gathered themselves and said goodbye to Flint before preparing to dive into the halls, more cluttered than labyrinthine, to find their next class.

This was also time for Zel and Miriya to part ways with Jammy, who did not share their next class. Zel and Miriya were heading up and Jammy was heading down. Jammy cheerfully waved, saying one of the words that Flint taught them.

"Goodbye!" She said happily.

Zel and Miriya were alone together once again.

"We've got magical flexibility next," Miriya said. "Do you think Captain Ceres will be as harsh as Captain Exelcia?"

"I hope not." Zel said with a shiver. "I can only handle so much criticism a night, otherwise I get hives."

"I thought that only happens when you talk to cute boys?" Miriya said

"Cute girls too," Zel said with a sorrowful shake of the head.

The two of them laughed as they made their way to their next class.