Strains

Chapter 5

To say I had a rough night is a gross understatement. After Matthew left, I realized how quiet my room was.

Then it started.

A single tap, then another, and then three more. I was too afraid to check what it was because whatever it ended up being, I was going to be too chicken to do anything.

Anyway, I'm awake now, just waiting for Matthew to come and get me. I look out of the window. It's covered in grime, but I can make out the beginnings of daybreak and I hear...is that a rooster?

Weird academy.

When is Matthew going to get here? I really have to pee. There has to be a bathroom around here. I get up from the desk and brace myself.

I open the door closest to me. It's just a closet. There are some dusty boxes at the top and an empty dresser. Not helpful. I try the next door and get a dose of good news and bad news.

It's a bathroom, but its dirt starts in the tile grout and ends on the ceiling. Hold on, Elizabeth, come down to earth for a moment. I've used enough gas station bathrooms in my life to handle this. Drop, squat, squirt, and I'm out of there before my feet fuse to the floor.

I'd like to take a shower, there's one in the bathroom. It even has a tub, but like everything else here, it's filthy and I don't see a point in cleaning a place I'll be leaving in a few hours.

Wait, Matthew never said anything about having to meet him in here. I pile my blanket, pillow, and student handbook in my box. Once it's all together, I open the door and run through the hallway.

"Goodbye hellhole, hello sunshine!" I say to the fresh air.

I begin the walk around the building, the morning dew on the rose bushes dampening my sleeves.

The path ends at the stairs leading up to the administration building. But suddenly my plan to wait here doesn't seem like the best one.

Not like I can go anywhere else though.

I sit down and pull the academy handbook from the box. At least I have reading material. I crack it open to the first page. Ugh, introduction. Next page, more intro. Few ahead, table of contents. That's also five pages. Finally, first page. The rules are laid out in simple text smaller than the twelve-point font I am used to. Rule after rule is listed, and the single spacing coupled with the small font makes reading it and picking out the rules difficult. I flip a page. Same deal here too.

Rule 30: "Facilitators" are the ultimate guides to their pupils. No entity, save the Council, shall hold any power over pupils. This is in regard to discipline, training, and safety.

I flip through the book, picking out passages that catch my eye.

Rule 76: Punishments will be given by the offender's Facilitator, if and only if, they are present to witness the offense.

Interesting.

Rule 121: Students are forbidden from using their strain without the consent of their Facilitator.

Don't have to worry about that one. The next few are regarding some exceptions to rule 121; like apparently you could use your powers to get to class and wash dishes after dinner but not to avoid curfew.

And then there's rule 127:

Rule 127: Student and facilitator relationships are forbidden. Punishments for violating this taboo can include expulsion or banishment for both parties as decided by the council.

And then there's the next one.

Rule 128: Relationships between students and faculty members, excluding those mentioned in Rule 127, are permitted as long as they do not negatively affect academic performance.

That's pretty gross. What kind of rule is this?

Rule 129: Relationships between students and faculty shall not be actively encouraged.

This whole section is problematic. When the heck did they write this?

"Morning Elizabeth, why aren't you in the room?"

I give Matthew a slight wave as he approaches.

"I'd rather read in the fresh air. Have you read this?" I ask, pointing at the passage.

He comes behind me and sits down.

"I didn't know you were a speed reader."

I try not to make it obvious that I've been skipping ahead, but I've already failed by thinking about it.

He sighs. "Yeah, I'm familiar with it. But you have to understand, eternity is a long time. The only way around Rule 127 is to graduate, and that is a rare occurrence. The rule is as strict as every one would allow."

I guess that explains it, but it still feels icky, especially considering the majority teenage population.

"Technically, you're the youngest soul here, by about a hundred years."

I raise my eyebrow at him. He shrugs his shoulders.

"It is what it is. You should know though, there isn't a piece of ass on this campus worth risking our reputation as graduates. So if you think a relationship with the staff will earn you good grades, you have another thing coming. We are heroes after all," he says.

I roll my eyes at his vulgarity and set the book back in the box. I sneak a glance over my shoulder. Matthew isn't doing anything, just sitting and watching the shadows begin to disappear as the sun rises in front of us.

"Enjoying the view?" he asks.

I look back at the campus. "I guess."

"You say that as if it's missing something."

It's missing a lot of somethings. My parents, my real dorm, a purpose. It's a pretty view, but oh so empty.

"It'll get better. Spark, Meat, or even Aqua, you'll get others to spend your time with once you get placed," Matthew says.

"You might as well be speaking another language. What the heck is a Spark?" I ask.

"It's slang the students came up with. The Sparks have energy based powers, they control electricity, fire, things like that; their uniforms have the gold trim. 'Meats' wear red, they're mostly strong jock types. Then there's the Socks, who move quickly and wear white. I imagine you can guess the rest about the Aquas."

I think back to dinner. The four the dean had called up all had different colored collars and emblems.

"They wear blue and I'm guessing they have aquatic powers or something? Can talk to fish maybe?"

Matthew sighs.

"Weren't you paying attention last night?"

I shrug my shoulders. I thought I did, I'm pretty sure the color that Matthew left out was blue. Unless he's a snob and expects me to know the difference between blue, indigo, and cerulean.

"I told you in your dorm last night that the last pillar was purification. You need to work on your listening skills or you'll get hell from your facilitator. Whoever it ends up being."

"If I don't have a strain, how are they going to decide where to put me? Pull it out of a hat?" I ask. I might get my sorting hat moment, that would be sort of cool. I guess.

"No. Most likely you'll get placed in the Aqua house. Aquas aren't especially powerful, so they'll take anybody."

He looks down and checks his watch.

"They should be ready for you now," he says.

My heart begins to thump against my chest. This is it, the first day of the rest of my afterlife. New beginnings, new room, and new faces. I rub my thumb over my scar.

"I'm ready too."