Once we are out of sight of the orphanage, I finally allow myself to relax a little. It’s now that I notice something pretty weird: THIS IS THE MOST COMFY THING I'VE EVER SAT ON! The interior of the car is larger and more spacious than I expected, and the seats are filled to the brim with cushioning. Back at the orphanage, we either sat in stiff plastic chairs, cement benches, or on the cold hard ground.

After getting over how comfy this seat is, I start to look around the car some more. It has four black seats, a small platform in-between the back two, and a fairly large steering wheel in front of a small assortment of gauges and numbers. To the right of the steering wheel is a glass panel that takes up the entire center of the front. It has a bunch of words flashing on and off as the Captain pokes from one thing to another. After a few swipes and pokes, the glass finally goes blank and the Captain sits back and lets loose a long sigh.

“Sssooo... what kind of training will I be doing? Hand to hand, big guns, explosives, oh! How about arcane magic, or how about…”

“Heh heh, calm down kid,” the Captain interjects. ”You won’t start any combat training until you’re fourteen. All new recruits your age go to the academy and stay there until they graduate boot camp.” He giggles something about arcane magic, but I don't hear it completely.

“Oh… Okay… so what academy am I going to then?”

“The University of Stella Ficor.”

“Okay… WAIT, WHAT?!” I yell in astonishment.

“What?”

“I’m going to USF, the most prestigious school in the city; that one school that’s in the same building as the parliament; THAT school?!”

“Yeah, is there something wrong with going to that school? Would you rather go somewhere else?” the captain asks as he looks back to me.

“Well DUH I would want to go somewhere else!" I scream at him. “I can’t read; I can’t write; not to mention I’m nowhere near old enough to go to a college! Why would you think I would be able to go to the school for the most gifted people in all of Terradisia?!” Apparently I said something funny, because both the Captain and the driver have started laughing.

“Wow kid,” laughs the driver. “High expectations, huh,” he chimes as he continues to giggle at me.

“Oh, someone went to USOD,” replies the Captain. This is followed by even more laughter.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” I say as I cross my arms and glare at the back of the Captain’s head.

“Aww, now don’t pout little guy,” says the Captain, which earns him even more mean glares. “First off, you’ll be taught to read and write, so don’t worry about that. Secondly, the college is open to anyone of any age, as long as you are smart enough or with the military. And lastly, the military has worked out a deal with the school so that all their cadets go there. So there aren’t any alternatives.”

After taking a few moments to accept my fate, I simply mutter, “Humph. I’m not little…”

“Are you smaller than me?” asks the Captain teasingly.

“Well yeah, but…”

“Then quit your worrying, squirt, and just enjoy the ride,” beams the Captain. I don’t like this guy.

For the rest of the trip, I spend my time silently enjoying the comfort of my seat; I’m on the verge of sleep when the car comes to a stop.

After unbuckling himself, the Captain turns to me and says, "Hey squirt, we’re here.” Yeah, I don’t like this guy. As I unbuckle and let myself out of the car, I notice something odd about this area: everything is very clean. The windows, the floor, the buildings, even the people are really clean. Being around this much cleanliness is starting to make me feel self-conscious about myself, so as soon as the Captain and driver start moving towards the building, I make sure to stick as close as possible.

Walking up to the Parliament Congressional Hall is pretty intimidating. As I try to look up at the top, I feel as if the building is looming over me - as if it’s about to topple over and crush everything unfortunate enough to be underneath it. As I continue to walk with my attention upwards, I suddenly bump right into something and am sent straight on my backside.

After a few dizzying seconds, I look up to see what I bumped into. Standing in front of me is a man wearing a light grey business suit and a red tie. He has long blonde hair tied behind him in a ponytail, a really narrow face - he’s pretty scrawny overall, actually - and pale white skin. But the thing I notice the most are his crimson red eyes. The seem to bore right into me, searing with so much wrath.

As I stand to my feet, he promptly snaps at me. “Look where you’re going, you little brat!”

I quickly reply with a generous, “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, asshole!” He doesn't seem to appreciate this. He raises his hand and is about to bring it across my face, when another hand catches it mid-flight. The man looks behind to find the Captain holding his arm. Before he can say a single word, the Captain twists his arm and pins him in an arm lock.

“Now, now, now… don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit?” he says teasingly as he adds pressure.

“Susurrans, are you seriously going to defend this slum—AAHH-HAH-HAH!” he rasps back, only to be twisted a little more. The Captain continues to hold the stranger, and begins to whisper stuff into his ear. I try to creep closer to hear, but the driver grabs my shoulder and holds me back. Meanwhile, the emotion on the stranger’s face goes from anger to confusion, and then to a lesser anger. Once done, the Captain releases the stranger and pushes him away. Now free, the stranger takes a moment to collect himself before leaving, shooting dirty looks my way.

While glaring back to him, I can't help but wonder what it is the Captain said to him. What could be so impor-

SMACK

“Ow! What was that for?!” I demand while rubbing the back of my head.

“That’s for cussing. Now unless you plan on aggravating any other people, I suggest we get going,” he replies while giving me a very stern look. I want to argue with him, but that look he’s giving… I don’t think I’ll be able to win any argument with a man that can give that kind of look, so I make my way through the entrance of the building.

As we enter through the spinning doors, I get a lot of the same feelings that I got from the outside. Everything is really clean: polished floors, bright shining lights, even the trash cans are sparkly! In the center of the room are four walls standing end to end. These walls each have rows of curved indentations along them, with metallic platforms at the bottom. The platforms seem to be a meter wide and have strange markings going around the edges. As I look, I notice some lady walk onto one of them. She stands there for a moment; then in a bright flash she’s gone. Astonished, I begin looking around for answers, only to notice that these platforms cover almost every part of every wall.

“They’re called Mico platforms,” says the Captain. “They are used to teleport people from one floor to another.”

“Is there one for every floor?” I ask in astonishment.

“Ha! No way; there would have to be some two hundred platforms! No, they go every ten stories, and from there you either take the stairs or an elevator,” answers the Captain as he scans from one side of the room to the other. “Now which one was - oh there it is,” he says, and begins to walk to the center of the left wall. As we make our way, I notice that inside of each indentation is an etching. We stop in front of a platform that has an etching of a bar of soap and bubbles. I look at the Captain, who gestures for me to go onto the platform. I gulp as I take my place, not sure of what to expect. I get to the center and turn to the Captain, expecting at any second to suddenly disappear. After what feels like an eternity, I begin to wonder if there’s something I’m supposed to do to activate the platform, only to have my train of thought interrupted by a bright white flash.

After rubbing my eyes for a few seconds, I finally regain my vision and begin to take in my surroundings. I’m in what looks like a small waiting room. The walls are painted light blue with white trim, and directly to my left and right are rows of metallic seats. A few meters in front of me is a white counter with a light grey top. To the left and right of the counter are hallways that lead to rows of doors with numbers on them. Above each hallway is a strange symbol: the one on the left is a blue circle with an arrow pointing up and to the right, and the one on the right is a pink circle with a plus sign attached to the bottom.

“Ahem! If you don’t mind, could you please step off the platform and take a seat,” says a pale blonde woman from behind the counter. Hmm… I wonder how I failed to notice her right away… eh, whatever. I step off the platform and take the seat directly to my right. A few seconds later, a white flash appears and the Captain walks out, followed by another flash and the driver. The pair walk straight to the lady and they begin talking with her. From where I’m sitting I can’t hear what they’re saying, so I decide to walk up to them.

“Okay, so just sign off here, and we’ll be set,” says the lady, handing Captain Bellum a tablet. She glances between me and the Captain before looking back down to her work, smiling slightly. After signing the tablet, he looks to the driver, who smiles and nods, then looks down at me.

“So, Miles, before we get you set for school, you need a good wash. Just head into the boy’s chamber, go to room 101, and get washed up. Oh!” He makes some marks on the tablet and shows it to me. “And this is what a ‘101’ looks like.”

Okay, he keeps glancing back to the driver, who stifles a chuckle each time… Whatever, I’ll worry about it later. Boy’s chamber. Hmm… which one is that? I look between the two hallways. Arrow or plus sign… Blue or pink… Well, blue is more for boys, so I'll go that way. As I make my way under the blue sign, I swear I can hear a coin flip and some laughter from the room. Wonder what that was about… Whatever. When I find the room with the same marks the Captain showed me, I enter and am greeted by a scruffy older man with a full head of white hair.

“Alright, take a seat and I’ll be with you in a minute,” he says to me as he sweeps some hair away. He’s wearing a white button up shirt, black pants, and thick square glasses on his wrinkly face.

“Umm…I don’t think I’m in the right room,” I say as I back away slowly.

“Room 101; wash room?” he asks.

“Yeah, but-”

“Yeah, you’re in the right room. Start with a trim, then a shower. Now just hang tight and I’ll get to you when I get to you," he replies sternly before disappearing behind a door. The room I’m in is square with white walls and white tile flooring. There are two doors in the room: one behind me and one to the left on the other side of the room. A large mirror takes up the wall to the right of the other door, with a long white counter beneath it. Three barber chairs are set next to each other in front of the counter.

“Alright, take a seat and we’ll get started,” the barber says as he re-enters the room with an assortment of scissors and clippers. I make my way to the center chair and take a seat. Once seated, the barber pumps the chair up and spins me around so I’m facing the mirror.

I’ve never really looked at myself before, and being face to face with myself for the first time makes me realize something - I am dirty! I have medium-length black hair that goes down to just above my shoulders. Most of it is matted together and dusty beyond belief. My skin’s a light tan and is covered in dust and grime. I’m fairly scrawny; any weight I do have is all in muscle, thanks to the constant fighting and running around at the orphanage. Another thing I never noticed is my eyes: they’re light brown and seem to shine through the dirt and filth.

As the barber gets started, he takes the scissors and begins cutting the matted lumps out of my hair. He’s not really trying to make even cuts, just get the lumps out. Whatever, I don’t really mind short hair. Once he gets all of the matted parts out, he moves to the counter and switches to some clippers.

“Hey, how short does it have to be?” I ask as I glance between him and the clippers. “I don’t really care about style, I just want to keep as much as possible.”

The barber looks down at me and says, "Don’t worry. I’m just going to bring it down to even it out.” He moves behind me and starts the clippers. He brings it to my forehead, and then pulls it to the back of my head, leaving a bald trail behind.

“Whoa, what are you doing!?” I yell as I look back at him. “I said short, not bald!”

“Ooohhh, I thought you wanted it that way,” he says with a smirk. “Oh well, too late.” And with that, he continues shaving my pale head bald. As he finishes the last patch of hair, I watch the final strands fall to the floor. What a jerk.

“All right, all done. Next, you need to shower. I swear; you smell like barf-and-late night surprise stew.” *sniff sniff* Whoa! I reek! “Just head through that door, down the hall, and it’ll be the first door to the left. There are new clothes for you in there as well.”

“What kind of clothes will I be getting?” I ask.

He looks back to me and gives me an annoyed look. “Well, get going and you’ll find out, now won’t you?” he says as he lowers the chair. I don’t like this guy. He's almost as big a jerk as the suit guy. I get up and make my way through the door and down the hall, rubbing my pale head all the way.

I go through the first door to the left and enter the shower room. It's a long, narrow room with small blue and white tiles, light blue walls, and rows of shower heads on the left and right walls. The lights go down the center of the ceiling and give a small buzz. Underneath each showerhead are two clear knobs. Two knobs... what does the second one do? I look around, and in the corner to my right is a small stool with a pile of clothes and a towel. Well, there’s no one else here, so I guess these are mine now.

I take my place in front of the shower closest to the stool and begin to undress. Throwing my clothes on the floor next to the stool, I turn to the shower. Hmmm, which one is the water? The one on the left has a symbol I’ve never seen before, while the one on the right looks familiar. I take the one that’s familiar, give it a twist, and… SUCCESS, water! After about five minutes of washing, I turn the water off and head to the stool. After drying myself off with a fluffy white towel, I begin to get dressed in my new clothes. I have a light green button up t-shirt, dark green pants, black shoes and socks, and a belt. I put everything on except the shoes. Looking at them, I realize I don’t know how to tie them, so I figure I’ll ask the Captain. With my new shoes in one hand and my old clothes in the other, I leave the shower room. As soon as I get out of the door, I’m greeted by the Captain and the driver.

“How long were you-”

“Alright, first off, you need to tuck in that shirt.”

“Okay but-”

“Also, your belt needs to be in the center.”

“Fine, but can-”

“Oh, and give me your old clothes; you won’t need them anymore.”

After a few seconds of trying to understand what needs to happen, I reluctantly hand him my old clothes, tuck in my shirt, and center my belt. The Captain passes my old clothes to the driver, then watches me correct my uniform. Once I'm done, he gets down on one knee and adds his own touches.

“The buttons should line up with the belt and zipper,” he says quietly. He had a distant look on his face. As if something important is on his mind. “Now let’s put your shoes on.” I have no idea what made him be so serious all of the sudden, but I ignore it for now and slide my feet into the shoes.

“Umm… I don’t know to tie these. C-can you show me?” I ask timidly. I don’t know what it is about the Captain, but being face-to-face with him is making me nervous. He gives me a small smile and takes the laces of my left shoe.

“First you take one lace in each hand, then cross them, go under, loop it, swoop it, and pull,” he says as he ties my shoe. “Now you try.” I go through the steps he told me at a slower pace, but finish with the same results. “Good job,” he says as he puts a hand on my shoulder. The instant he makes contact he loses his smile and looks at me with concern. “Miles, why are you so cold?”

“What? I did just come out of the shower,” I reply, only to get laughed at by the driver.

“Su-Su-Susurrans,” he manages between chuckles. Susurrans just glares at him as he digs into his pocket.

“Yeah, yeah, hold on, Apricis,” says the Captain as he takes out a gold credit and tosses it to him. As I look between the two, I can’t help but feel confused. Why is he giving him all that money, and why does he find my showering so funny?

“Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks,” he says while returning his attention to me. “So this is basically how things will work from here on out: you will be living in this building with a roommate of the same grade. You’re going to be attending eight hours of school every day, except for Sundays and Saturdays; Saturday will be your elective day - they’ll explain what that is later - and Sundays you get off. The school will provide breakfast and dinner for you, but lunch is something you must get on your own. You will receive a weekly allowance of seven silver credits, but if your grades drop, so does your allowance. I'll drop by from time to time to check in on you, but for the most part it’s up to you to make it here. Think you can handle it?”

Wow… Okay, this is a lot to take in. First off, FUCK YEAH! I didn’t know I was going to be paid for doing this! Jack-FUCKING-POT! But that’s only if I can get good grades, so I guess I’ll have to really study if I want to make some decent money here. I might be screwed there, but it won’t matter too much, because I’m already getting free food and a room with only one other person.

I look at the Captain and reply, “Get along with at least one person, try hard to get good grades, and buy lunch. I think I can manage that.” This must make him happy, because he grows a pretty big smile and pats my back before standing back up. Hmmm… never had my back patted before. Feels kind of weird…

The Captain and the driver -Apricis- lead me down the hall to another one of the teleporter platforms. This one is the same as the others, except for the etching on the wall - two masks: one looking really happy, and one looking really sad.

Captain Bellum turns to me and says, “Okay, this is where we part ways. The platform will take you to the theater for orientation. Just go in, take a seat, and try your best to pay attention.” I nod and begin walking onto the platform, only to feel him grab my shoulder. I turn to face him, and he gets back on his knee to tell me one last thing. “I almost forgot. There’s one more very important thing you will need to do while you’re here,” he says seriously as he brings himself eye-level with me. “Make some friends.”

Before I can even think of a response, he pushes me onto the platform and everything disappears in a flash of white.

The money system basically works like this: ten bronze coins to one silver, ten silver to a gold and ten gold to a platinum. Think of credits like bits.