A small beeping filled my ears, slowly growing in volume and annoyance until it reached a point where I jolted up in rage and gave my alarm clock a glare that could make even the strongest of Wielders freeze in terror. “Shut the hell up will you!?!” I blasted the rather cheap-looking digital clock with a tremendous bolt of lightning, only for the damn piece of plastic to absorb it, stop beeping, and display the voltage: 13 kilowatts. “New record,'' I mumbled half-asleep to myself as I crawled out of bed.

Steading my feet, I looked around my fairly desolate room, empty except for a desk and chair, a few posters, closet, dresser, and of course my bed and nightstand. I had moved into this house less than a week ago, to continue my second year of high school at Elmsworth Private Highschool, one of the most prestigious and widely-acclaimed schools out there, known for its strong students and high ranking in practically all subjects.

Sighing, I told myself to get ready for my first day at this impressive school.

After walking out of my room, I went down the hall and entered the bathroom, taking care of my business as I would on any other day. I’m not one to take showers in the morning, so I instead opted to brush my teeth and wash my face.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw a young man, with grey-blue eyes that could turn from bright, warm, and friendly to dark, icy, and deadly balls of ‘color’ faster than one can snap their fingers, and very dark (theoretically) brown hair, ruined by the bed I sleep on. ‘Need to change to fix this up.

Rubbing my eyes, I head back down the hall towards my room, opening the door and looking up at one of the posters.

“Your country needs you.” I read, and sighed, “I sure hope so, Kitchener, I sure do hope so,” and hummed a little tune to cheer myself up as I walked over to the closet and opened its door, revealing my garments, which were mostly sets of my aforementioned uniform and casual-wear. I snatched up a set and walked over to the dresser, made of light oak, and pulled a fresh white undershirt from it.

‘Not the best uniform I’ve worn’, I commented to myself, stripping off my sleepwear, ‘But not the worst, by far.’ and pulled on the navy grey dress pants and undershirt, tucking it in, and fitting on the white dress shirt that went above and tucked that in, too, before slipping on the dark blue blazer, emblazoned with the school’s insignia sewed above the left breast pocket, a mighty griffon in a position resembling those of medieval times. And finally tying on a plain black tie.

Now dressed, I walked back to the bathroom, and gave myself a simple side part, sighing and saying, “What was I getting ready for?” A pause, “. . . Oh, yea, my first day at a school where people beat each other up and leave elephant-sized holes in the walls and grounds. Let’s see if I remember my place here this time,” I hoarsely groaned, remembering the verse that has been drilled into me practically since my abilities started flourishing. “But what the hell is the difference between defending one’s self, and defending one’s interest?”

I looked down in despair, ‘Easier said than done, mate.’ I thought, ‘At least I’ll get a fresh start here.’ My phone rang in the distance, reminding me that I forgot it in my room. ‘Probably my dad calling me.'’ And once again, I went to my room, picking up the cellular device.

“Hey, son.” He said in a cheery voice, “Ready for your first day?”

I sighed again, “I’m… not really sure, to be honest. Between all I’ve heard of this school and what I suspect myself…”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fine.” He insisted, “You just need to make sure to stay out of trouble. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say.”

“Whatever you say, father.”

“Oh, and remember-”

“Yea, yea, I know the rules.”

“Alright, call me after classes are over.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And remember: I didn’t teach you martial arts for nothing.”

“I know, dad. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Hanging up, I exhaled deeply. “Time to go, I guess.”

Starting on my way towards the school, I put on my headphones and hit play on my playlist, and listened to a little indie rock on my rather chilly walk, passing various interesting locations and people, all fairly polite. ‘Jesus Christ. How do people survive here? It’s fucking freezing all the damn time.’

Being a new student is the worst, especially here. Everyone watches your every move, your habits, how you act, who you talk to, your grades, and worst of all, they base your value on how strong your ability is. That may be good for some, but bad for others. Not strong enough, or don’t have any powers at all? Boom. You are nothing, the bottom of the totem pole. Pretty powerful? Congrats, every single fucking person who’s weaker than you will treat you like a god damned emperor, and this was exemplified as I neared the school gates, where all the students milling about took at least one glance at me before turning to their friends and whispering. ‘Bloody petty gossip and rumors. Never can do anything without it.’ I let out a resigned sigh as I approached the building, drawing a few more looks at me. ‘At least I don’t act like them; like I have all the power in the world, or am the center of all-’

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” I bump into someone, a girl, a few inches shorter than me before I can finish my thought. All seemed to stop around me, students stared at me, with worry, fear, and excitement, as they circled around us.

“Oh shit! New Kid just bumped into the Ace!” One of them called.

“What?” I looked at this ‘Ace.’ She was about 5’5, with straight, dark pink hair and glowing emerald green eyes.

She scoffed and glared at me, and said, “You must be new around here, right?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I nodded, “Yea, the name’s John.” I extended my hand out in a friendly gesture, but again, she scoffed, moved it aside.

“I don’t deal with people like you.” She replied coldly instead and walked off into the school building, the students parting to make way for her.

‘Is an asshole, doesn’t deal with new kids, and everyone tenses up when something happens around here? Oh, she’s the Ace alright. But why, how strong is she, exactly?’ One would not expect much from me at first glance, either.

“Hey! Don’t you idiots have classes to go to?” I heard another voice call out, and almost immediately, the students disperse in a hurry, scattering this way and that, and soon there remains only one person, a male, of about my height, with electric blue hair and piercing yellow eyes. He made his way over to me, “So, you must be the new student, yes?”

“Why does everyone here ask me that? I mean, I understand that getting a new student is exciting, and all, but why is it such a big deal here?” I inquired.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He extended his hand, “I am Weston, Jack here at this school.”

“Well, I suppose it’s an honor, you could say, to meet you.” I shook the hand, “I am John, the newbie at this fine establishment.”

“And to answer your question, well, you know how these places run, right? I mean, you’ve been to school before.”

Sighing, I answer with a nod and hear the bell ring, “Should probably get going. I’ll see you later, probably.”

We went our separate ways, and I eventually made my way to my first class of the first day of the year here, Homeroom.

Is homeroom even a class? Is it kind of a free period? I honestly had no god damned clue. All I knew was that I needed to be there at that time.

‘This should be a fun one, eh?’ I walked into the class, and everyone stopped what they were doing, and instead decided to stare at me.

“Oh. You must be John, the new student.” The teacher said, and I nodded my head.

“Sit over there, in that chair two seats in front of Isaias, the one with golden-brown hair.”

His hair was golden, all right. Looked closer to copper than gold, actually. But whatever, he seemed nice enough. “I’m John, as you must have heard.” I greeted him and offered my hand.

“I’m Isaias, as you must have heard, too.” He chuckled and pumped my hand.

“Your name’s Iberian, no? You Spanish or something?”

“Well, I’m sure I have Spanish blood somewhere, but my mom mostly just picked this name because she thought it was nice.” He explained.

“God is salvation,” I muttered just as the second bell rang, and the students rushed over to their seats, and I noticed someone familiar.

“Okay class, as you can see, we have a new student here.” She motioned for me to walk over to her, so I stood up and made my way towards the front of the class, “This is John, he transferred here from-”

“Some hillbilly town in the middle of the bloody Mojave.” The whole class looked at me, apparently appalled at not only my interruption of the teacher but also the derogatory comment I made about my own hometown.

“John… I wouldn’t exactly call Vegas a “hillbilly town in the middle of the Mojave Desert.”

All of the pupils gazed at me with some level of awe, except one. ‘Why the hell do people lose their shit when they find out I’m from Vegas? I mean, sure, it’s a big city and all, and a very popular attraction. But just because of that it doesn’t mean it’s a very good place to live.’

“Anyways, so, what school did you transfer from, John?” The teacher asked.

“Edwards Preparatory School.” I heard a few whispers rise from the crowd.

“And what made you come halfway across the country to attend our school?” She inquired.

“Well, when my father offered me the chance to study out of state, I decided to either go big or stay home. So I enrolled here.”

“And what makes you think you’re cut out for this place?” Everyone turned to face practically the only person who was not very excited to have me, the Ace.

“Now, now, Sierra. We mustn’t give our new students a hard time here. Especially this late in the year-” I held up my hand and faced the Ace.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this,” I said and took a step forward, let’s see if I can still pull this off. “So, you’re the girl I bumped into earlier, correct?”

She nodded, scowled, “And I have yet to hear an apology.”

Feeling that the teacher would want to step in right about now, I took a deep breath, and began talking, “I assure you, it was never my intention to run into you outside, and I am sorry.” I looked her in the eye as I told her that, and she seemed satisfied enough. “And to answer your first question, I passed the entry exam with good marks, no? Should that alone not be enough proof of my worthiness?”

But Sierra merely scoffed, of course. She was the strongest student here after all. Or was she? “Grades aren’t the only things that count here, you know. I would expect you, of all people, to understand, for did you not go to one of the best schools in Vegas?” All of the class started looking on edge, probably fearing that this could escalate into something more than a little bickering.

Using my own words against me? How dare she! “I suppose you’re talking about abilities, no?” I raised my eyebrow and cocked my head a bit.

“Maybe you really are just stupid.”

Gasping dramatically, I put a hand over my chest, “Me? Stupid? How dare you assume my intellect!”

“Then prove it. Show me you’re not an imbecile, and show me your ability.”

This was where things hit the point of no return. “I-I well, there are certain factors that prohibit me from merely showing you my ability-”

*JOHN. PLEASE REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER’S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY*

Thanking my lucky stars, I very discreetly let out a heavy sigh, pleased to have the intercom come on just then. ‘Wonder what the Headmaster wants with me? Guess I’ll find out.’

Sierra was unhappy with the interruption, no doubt. She gave me a death glare before saying, “I know you’re hiding something, you nasty little prick!”

“Sierra! That is not how you treat other students! Especially a new one!” The teacher cried, clearly disappointed. “I shall have to punish you if you do that one more time!”

The Ace slumped into her chair, eyes still trying to burn holes into me. “I am so sorry about her behavior. I have no idea what got into her.”

Waving her off, I replied, “Don’t worry, she probably got worked up about having a new classmate. She’ll get used to me. Oh, and do I just head to the Headmaster’s office?”

She nodded, “Do you need someone to show you the way?” Shaking my head, I opened the door and walked out, making my way to the office of this Headmaster of theirs.