The Tram ride to the Miscellaneous Study Hall took no time at all. If not for the speed of the Tram, it would be a waste of time to sit down. The students managed glimpses of the other Halls beyond the windows of the Tram in between open sections of the caverns. Every time the windows showed another section of the Principality, everyone pressed their faces to the glass and soaked up as much of the view as possible.

  “Ashley, could you maybe. . .” Jeremiah uttered.

  She was leaning over him to get a closer look at what appeared to be the Physiology Hall. Countless students flooded the Lane, which looked like a national park. The gigantic metal fixture was buried underneath dirt, grass, and stone paving. The artificial sky was nearly blotted out by an assortment of thick trees and artificial land formations. And yet, the same service bots and monitors weaved through this facsimile of nature like it was their natural habitat.

  “Aw snap, they got a waterfall in there?” Robin said incredulously.

  Unfortunately, Jeremiah didn’t see it. Ashley blocked most of the view from him, her elbows digging into his large stomach. Being so close to her, Jeremiah’s face expectedly turned beet red.

  “Ashley, come on. . .”

  “Why do they get colored armbands and not us?” Ashley whined. “So unfair~”

  She looked down at the uniform, glumly tracing along the forearms of the overcoat where a thin, colored piece of cloth should be.

  She referred to the strange dress code of the Miscellaneous Hall. Blessings were the height of one’s individuality, but the type of Blessing is expressed as well. The Misc. Hall was a strange mixture of all of the Halls. From the top, they all wore the preppy dark-gray blazer suits of the Manipulation Hall, adorned with gold buttons. Underneath that, they wore full combat body suits known as Hard-Suits worn by the Physiology Hall. It was another technological wonder from HardTek Industries. They adapted perfectly to the body of the wearer, practically becoming another layer of skin. No specific tailoring needed for Jeremiah, who was especially thankful. On their feet, were the black, steel-toe military boots worn by students of the Amplification Hall. As for the bottoms, it was up to the students given that it was acceptable by the generic standards of the Principality, likely taking after the lax dress code of the Creation Hall.

  It made sense, considering the fact that everyone here would have normally been in the other Halls. Jeremiah was sure it was Mr. Hill’s idea. He thought to explain this to Ashley, but found his mouth too close to her chest to dare open it to speak.

  To distance himself from his current circumstances, Jeremiah listed off the colors attributed to the Main Halls.

  Red for Amplification, Purple for Manipulation, Green for Physiology, Gold for Creation—

  The Tram returned to its cozy yellow lamp lighting as it entered another tight tunnel, and Jeremiah was truly grateful. He looked at Ashley, expecting her to retreat back to her seat. Instead, she stared at him without a crumb of emotion. It was that analytical stare she sometimes had.

  “Uh. . . Did I do something?”

  Ashley’s eyes returned to normal, and she pulled back into her seat. Even her response lacked the sing-songy casual tone it always had.

  “No.”

  Jeremiah looked at Isaac for some help. Isaac’s lips were pursed and an eyebrow was raised in the most cartoonish imitation of deep thought imaginable. It was that stupid stare he sometimes had.

  Then, Isaac’s jaw dropped.

  Then, he looked at Isaac with a smirk of smug suggestion.

  “What?” Jeremiah demanded.

  “Nooothing, man.” Isaac grinned. “Nooothing at allll.”

  Jeremiah wanted to press the buffoon further, but a pleasant ding from the rarely used intercom on the Tram signified the end of their short ride.

  The doors slid open and the students silently stared out.

  The fantastical grandeur of the Main Halls could not be seen in the Miscellaneous Hall. It was as if a corridor from any old highschool was magically removed and teleported into the Principality. Drab, run-of-the-mill classrooms faced each other across a brightly lit but otherwise nearly featureless hallway. As expected, there were no lights on inside the classrooms. After all, there were no students there to learn.

  But there were two people standing in the hall.

  A blonde girl with the bombastic french braid of an ancient noblewoman seemed to be loudly pestering another girl. The other one stared off into nothing, absentmindedly curling a pinky around her long auburn hair. The blonde didn’t seem to notice, instead making a flourishing wave with her hand as if she made some grand point in her monologue. The spike in volume from this act managed only a slight wince from the redheaded one. Only when the Tram’s beeping signified its arrival did the two girls look in their direction.

  And it was only then when Jeremiah remembered seeing the redhead. It was the first day of the Afterschool Waiting List. She witnessed Jeremiah and Isaac climbing up from an L-Train Tunnel after using Isaac’s Blessing to tail the caboose. The same one that gave a knowing sneer, promising trouble in the future.

  A chill ran up Jeremiah’s spine. He and Isaac shared a glance of despair.

  “Is that. . .?”

  “Oh man. . .” Isaac said, wilting like a trampled flower.

  And there it was again. On her once blank, robotic face, a wolfish sneer.

  “Yes, that is me!” the blonde one shouted. She practically skipped over to the incoming crowd, with the redhead following at a normal pace. Jeremiah barely noted a small horizontal scar on the blonde girl’s freckled face, just below her hairline.

  Was it glowing, or a reflection of light?

  “Wait. . . wait!” Thomas gasped.

  Thomas points a reverent finger towards the blonde.

  “That’s a Goldenchild!”

  And just like that, the redhead who could potentially ruin Jeremiah’s life was put on the backburner. A Goldenchild? Jeremiah was sharing a class with a Goldenchild? A Goldenchild is attending the Miscellaneous Class of all places?

  What is going on?

  Upon hearing her legendary family name, she chuckled and performed the same over-exaggerated gesture she did earlier.

  With a dazzling smile she said, “That would be Gloria-Grace Goldenchild to you.”

  She regally extended her hand out.

  “Well, don’t mind if I do!”

  Without hesitation, Isaac’s lips found themselves on her hand.

  “Isaac Lopez at your service, Princess.” He looked at her with a serious smolder of a heroic knight. As serious and heroic Isaac can be, at least.

  June and Ashley audibly groaned in unison.

  “This guy. . .” Jeremiah muttered.

  Gloria-Grace’s face went slack for a moment, but her head quickly returned to its upturned position of pride. Slightly higher, actually. She overdid it to the point that her nostrils were all Jeremiah could see of her face.

  “It is about time I have received some proper respect in this place!”

  She topped this goofily high-class display with a pronounced ‘ohohohoho!’

  Thomas managed to tear his face from the Goldenchild and toward the redheaded girl.

  “A Goldenchild is a supreme honor, but the daughter of the AmaTek’s CEO is a different kind of surprise.”

  No way, Jeremiah thought. A Goldenchild and the heir to AmaTek?

  He looked back to her, and noticed that her expression had returned to neutral zero. More stone-faced than anything Lloyd could turn into.

  Ashley tilted her head, “Uh, Imma what now?”

  “Hah! That’s AmaTek, Ashley.” Robin clarified. “They’re a big Suit and Gear manufacturing company.”

  With haste, Isaac swiveled over to the CEO’s daughter—still kneeling, of course—and held out a hand.

  “I’ll say it again. I’m Isaac Lopez.”

  The redhead did not even react to the boy beneath her. The only sign of her acknowledging Isaac’s existence was her curt introduction.

  “Natali Amatore.”

  It was as if her tone was a murderer of conversation. The energy of the room was devoured by her cold demeanor. Behind him, Jeremiah heard a quiet conversation.

  “An Amatore. . .” Lloyd murmured. “Not good. . .”

  “Brother Lloyd, you must remember that she is a child like us,” Claudius said. “The doings of AmaTek cannot be attributed to her.”

  Robin began nervously peeling and unpeeling a corner of her face bandage. Finding the awkwardness unbearable, she threw a fist pump to the ceiling.

  “Well, it’s nice to meet y’all! Let’s make this class a good time, yeah? Oh, I’m Robin. Nice to meet you two!”

  It was a clumsy attempt, but the class wanted it to work, so it did.

  Natali nodded with the stiffness of a machine, and Gloria-Grace smiled rose with her shoulders.

  “Yes.”

  “Very well!”

  Alex spoke up for the first time since the Tram arrived.

  “Can we go to the classroom now? A desk would be nice to sleep on right about now.”

  This made Thomas grumble as he glanced at his smartphone.

  “We are in Room 1-A, unsurprisingly. It is at the end of the hall, right hand side.”

  June grimaced.

  “All of these empty classrooms and he picked the farthest one? Asshole.”

  “What’s wrong, shortstuff? Scared of a little exercise?” Isaac jeered.

  June responded by cracking her knuckles. Isaac wasted no time in starting a sprint to the classroom at the end of the hall. June followed, her tiny legs blurring as she did her best to catch the idiot.

  “Hey, no fighting!” Robin pleaded.

  “And no running in the halls!” Thomas barked.

  They both ran after them.

  “Oh? But did he not just say running was not allowed?” Gloria-Grace laughed. “How humorous! You must explain this joke to me!”

  Gloria-Grace began to daintily run as well.

  This left the only sensible people to walk down the hallway. Ashley quickly matched Jeremiah’s pace and leaned in to whisper. Jeremiah did his best not to react, of course.

  “Hey, Froggy. What’s with that chick? You kinda acted weird, and she is, like, tooootally staring at you.”

  “Oh um, uh. . .” Jeremiah racked his brain for a satisfying response.

  “I saw her before, and. . . she laughed at me for looking like a frog, I guess.” Jeremiah said, slowly warming up to his fib as he said it.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “She just thinks I’m funny to look at, p-probably.”

  “Oh?” Ashley said. She flashed a nasty look back at Natali. The cold expression of Natali still bore into Jeremiah’s head, completely ignoring Ashley’s challenge. Ashley sucked her teeth.

  “Bitch.” Ashley muttered.

  The venom in Ashley’s voice made Jeremiah’s eyes widen. Did he just make a mistake telling that lie? It probably wasn’t that far off from the truth, anyways. It was the normal reason he would get such a sneer from someone like Natali.

  “Ignore her, Froggy. She’s just a bitch.”

  “Uh, you said that already?”

  “Yup~”

  “Ok. . .”

  Yeah, I definitely made a mistake. Jeremiah thought. As he agonized over his blunder, they finished their walk into the classroom. Jeremiah nervously swallowed, emitting a quiet ribbit. This was an important moment.

  It was time to pick seats.

  There were three rows of four desks in the squat and sparse classroom. Jeremiah quickly absorbed his surroundings and perused his options.

  As expected Alex was in the back of the classroom on the furthest seat to the left of the classroom. The boy was already succumbing to sleep. Jeremiah could have sworn Alex was lagging behind them earlier, but ignored that detail for now. Sitting in the second row in front of him was Robin, who looked mentally exhausted after likely breaking up a fight between June and Isaac. June happened to be seated next to her, still fuming somewhat. Isaac was seated next to her, a noticeable sign of a bruise already forming on his cheek. At the end of the second row, Gloria-Grace sat on a pristine looking cushion placed on top of the standard desk chair.

  In the first row, Thomas sat at the seat closest to the door, no doubt wanting to be the first to greet the teacher every day.

  That was everyone who was currently seated. Jeremiah adjusted his glasses, satisfied with the options left over. It was obvious he needed to be in the front. Sitting next to Thomas would be a pain, and being in the back row was simply not going to happen. Which led to one final option. . .

  There! Jeremiah thought as he made a beeline for the second to last seat on the right side of the room. It was perfect! It wasn’t next to the ever-strict Thomas and was right in front of where Mr. Hill would be! Jeremiah sat down—slowly, of course—in the seat and sighed in relief. What may be his seat for the next four years was the most optimal. It was the first step to redeeming his school life after the disaster that was elementary and middle school.

  He watched as Claudius took the seat next to Alex in the back row, with Lloyd sheepishly securing the seat right next to him.

  “No seats in the middle row? Laaame.” Ashley said as she plopped down in the seat between Jeremiah and Thomas.

  Jeremiah didn’t complain about Ashley being next to him. She was pretty smart, so having her nearby wouldn’t be the worst.

  Wait a second, Jeremiah thought. A girl like Ashley, sitting next to him? This seemed like the classic ‘cute-girl-sits-next-to-dork-to-cheat-off-his-answers’ schtick. No, Ashley probably wouldn’t do that. Maybe?

  Jeremiah was thrown out of his overthinking when he realized Natali was sitting on his left.

  Oh.

  Oh no.

  He could feel an otherworldly tether of pure animosity springing from both sides. Jeremiah didn’t need to look to his right to know that Ashley was death-glaring at Natali. Jeremiah also didn’t need to look to his left to know Natali was probably sneering at him. He looked between both of them anyway to confirm.

  On his right?

  Yup. Ashley’s got the death-glare going at full throttle.

  On his left?

  Natali’s sneering all right, but at Ashley this time?

  Jeremiah then turned to face the empty chalkboard in front of him. Did he say something about the seat he had picked for the next four years being optimal? No, he must have meant suboptimal. And that would be an understatement.

  For the third time in an hour, he once again thought, If Mom and Dad saw me now. . .

  Wait a second.

  Jeremiah turned to look behind him. Three rows of four. All of them were filled except the last row, furthest to the right. Jeremiah recalled Mr. Hill referring to nine other students when mentioning the after effects of the nanoinjectors they took months ago. If twelve is the minimum number, does that mean one is late?

  “Everyone, our Instructor is coming down the hall! Behave!” Thomas barked. The class came to a hush as the footsteps of the incoming Instructor became louder and louder. Jeremiah found himself sweating buckets. This was it. It’s finally happening! What would they be doing first? Would there be a pop quiz? What kind of pop quiz could there even be?

  Jeremiah stewed in an endless whirlpool of questions for the thirty seconds it took for the door to swing open. Mr. Hill stepped in with a hard expression, his face taut and stoic. It made sense to Jeremiah. This wasn’t Mr. Hill, but Instructor Hill. He looked towards his Instructor and summoned all the resolve that rested deep within him. Jeremiah took on a determined, resolute face.

  No matter what, nothing would shake his confidence.

  Not in him, nor in Miscellaneous Hall’s Instructor, Roger Hill.

  Ashley glanced at Jeremiah’s flabbergasted expression. She probably would have found his face pretty funny right now, but she couldn’t even giggle. Her face probably looked just as ridiculous.

  After all, an Instructor of the most prodigious Principality in the country—maybe even the world—just admitted to not having a Blessing.

  Some of them were silent, some attempted to laugh, and some audibly gasped.

  “There is no joke in these words.” Roger said. “I don’t have a single Blessed bone in my body.”

  Ashley had a decent handle on when Roger was trying to hide the truth. This wasn’t that Roger. He’s serious, she thought. He’s powerless.

  “What,” Thomas said as he struggled not to short-circuit. “Do you mean by that?”

  “I’m sorry Thomas, but we don’t have a lot of time for me to be repeating myself.” Roger said. He began writing on the chalkboard with dexterity. In big neat words, ‘EARLY ASSESSMENT’ was written on the chalkboard.

  “After all, this classroom is far from guaranteed just yet.”

  Changing the subject, huh? Ashley thought.

  Fine.

  “But uh, didn’t we pass the entrance examination before we got here?” Robin asked.

  “Getting in is easy,” Roger replied with a serpentine smile. “Staying in is decided a month later. By the Early Assessment.”

  From underneath his podium, Roger placed what looked like a spherical glass container connected to a stand with a lever attached. It had tiny little multi-colored balls no bigger than ones belonging to golf inside.

  “Oh? The Early Assessment is decided by bingo?” Gloria-Grace wondered, her excitement far from hidden.

  “Not exactly, Miss Goldenchild.” Roger said as he began turning the lever. As the balls were being mixed inside of the container, he continued.

  “T.H.R.O.N.E. and Myriad High want to know how well you can use your Blessings for the sake of neutralizing villains and rescuing civilians. This lottery will decide the teams who will work together to accomplish one of those tasks.”

  “Getting right into it, huh?” Alex said.

  Ashley noticed the pretty boy sounded more awake than normal. After Roger’s little declaration, anybody would be wide awake after that. It was an excellent strategy to demand the attention of the class.

  Roger periodically fished one of the balls from the machine, setting them aside in three small bowls. When he finished he etched three sections on the chalkboard: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie.

  Thomas cupped his chin, smiling.

  “Alpha, Bravo, Charlie,” He mused. “A nice, military-style naming convention.”

  “What a poser~” Ashley laughed.

  Thomas grit his teeth, but didn’t respond.

  “For Alpha Team. . .” Roger wrote down the following names,

  ALPHA TEAM

  June Takakura Alex Evans Isaac Lopez Claudius Grimold

  Ashley listened to Isaac and June’s collectively despairing.

  “Oh, fuck this.” June growled

  “We’re so screwed, man.” Isaac moaned.

  Alex shrugged while that creepy guy Claudius’ smile grew wider.

  Roger wasted no time as he moved on to the Bravo team.

  “For Bravo Team. . .”

  BRAVO TEAM

  Lloyd Law Robin Bennett Thomas Clark Gloria-Grace Goldenchild

  “Saying ‘Bravo’ already?” Gloria-Grace said, shaking her head. “Nonsense, we haven’t even performed yet.”

  “Uh, I don’t think that’s what that means, sister.” Robin frowned.

  Thomas began writing the names down in a camo-colored notebook.

  Lloyd seemed to be nervously chewing on his fingernails.

  What’s with that guy anyways?

  “As for Charlie team, we have the leftovers.”

  CHARLIE TEAM

  Ashley Baker Jeremiah Stoudemire

  “Yay~” Ashley celebrated as she playfully punched Jeremiah, who still maintained a look of shock. “We’re, like, still a team, Froggy! We won’t have Isaac’s super-speed but whatevs!”

  Jeremiah’s face deflated, his fat cheeks drooping low.

  “This is bad. . .” Jeremiah murmured.

  For a moment, Ashley thought he meant teaming up with her would be bad.

  “Huuuh? What the hell!” Ashley scowled. Jeremiah frantically waved his hands, realizing how he sounded.

  “N-no, it’s not like that! He’s not done writing, see?”

  Ashley looked at the chalkboard and clenched her fists until she felt her acrylic nails threatening to snap in half.

  Was he doing this on purpose?

  CHARLIE TEAM

  Ashley Baker Jeremiah Stoudemire Natali Amatore

  Roger, you ass!

  “This will be the team that you will place your faith in to maintain your place in this Principality. Get familiar with your team member’s Blessings and learn how they are used, how they operate. It will take creativity and teamwork if you are to pass the Early Assessment. Then, and only then, will this class truly begin.”

  Roger placed the chalk down on the chalkboards railing.

  “Oh, and one more thing. The mission briefing for the Early Assessment will be waiting for you all in your mailboxes back at the Dormitory in black folders. It’s technically top-secret so don’t leave them in public spaces.”

  He scanned the room one last time, and walked towards the door.

  “Wait, um, where are you going?” Jeremiah asked.

  Roger gave him a confused look.

  “I’m leaving, obviously.”

  Jeremiah spluttered.

  “I’d recommend each team to mingle for the rest of the day. For those who moved into the Dorms recently, use this time to explore and acclimate yourself to the Principality. Tomorrow will be much more involved, let’s say.”

  Roger gave a wave as he exited without another word.

  Ashley couldn’t believe it. Roger was in the classroom for all of ten minutes, talked trash, said he didn’t have a Blessing, and then he just left?

  After a moment of silence, the class burst into a cacophony of complaints and speculation.

  “It’s some kind of psychological tactic.” Alex shrugged. “He’s just bluffing.”

  “That’s r-right.” Thomas stammered, flipping through a thick binder of the Principality’s rules and standards. “There’s n-no way an Non-blessed person can be allowed to teach in a Principality!”

  “We’re so screwed, man.” Isaac repeated.

  “I wonder if he is single?” Gloria-Grace pondered.

  Ashley attempted to calm down. Class is dismissed, which means there is no need to be here, blabbering with the rest of these guys. She grabbed for Jeremiah’s clammy hand, who emitted a croak of surprise, and stood up.

  “No time to waste, Froggy. Let’s get out of here and, like, strategize or whatever.”

  Ashley knew that networking was a vital part of her future career. Jeremiah didn’t seem like anything more than an entertaining oddity when they first met. That was until he knocked a Cherubim out cold. Might makes right, and if Ashley couldn’t be mighty, she’ll just make sure she sides with someone who is.

  She sauntered out of the classroom and down the hall with Jeremiah in tow.

  “Where are we going?” Jeremiah asked.

  “Good question.” Ashley said. She really just wanted to get away from the redhead. Ashley got the worst vibes from that bitch. Hopefully she just shows up for the Early Assessment and leaves us alo—

  “Acquiring the mission brief from our Dormitory would be the most logical option.”

  The cold voice of Natali pierced through Ashley’s hopes. Jeremiah made another frantic croak, which was loud enough to make Ashley jump.

  “Froggy, I know you’re like, Froggy, but can you stop doing. . .” Ashley faltered as she turned and saw that Natali was holding Jeremiah’s other hand.

  This bitch!

  Ashley’s annoyance reached fury as she openly scowled at her competition. She’s got the same plan as me, huh? No way, skank. I got dibs.

  “Can you like, not? Froggy is obviously bothered you’re holding his hand like that.” Ashley said in a low voice.

  Natali’s grin oozed a vile smugness.

  “Is that so? What if it’s your hand that bothers him? Those circus-clown nails are moments away from drawing blood from his palm.”

  Before Ashley could violently retort, Jeremiah attempted to defuse the nuclear situation.

  “I’m actually fine, haha!” Jeremiah said, his lips quivering. “I just sweat easily, and it's hot in here, that’s all! Maybe we don’t have to hold hands?”

  “No, we do.” Natali coldly responded.

  “Yeah, we definitely do.” Ashley agreed.

  They tugged Jeremiah to the Tram station, glaring at each other over the poor boy’s shivering head.

  “Somebody, anybody. . . help. . .” Jeremiah whimpered.