Henry stepped out onto the Bronze Path, a paper heavier than steel anchoring his arm to the earth. On it, a teal seal sharing the shape of the University Emblem. It was official; his course was charted. Henry, was to be a mineralogist. Folding his Track Slip and slipping it into the comfort of his pocket, that was the decision he came to. He supposed–in a way–he had asked for it. He desired a destiny as far removed from his old life as possible, and boy did he get it. If his star was one to be found in the secrets of earth and clay, then he had no choice but to pursue it with full heart and vigor.
He had to, lest he waste the one opportunity the rest of his life banked on.
The Bronze Path was swimming with other students. A pair of muscular guys loitered at the corner of–what looked to be–the General Goods Store. “Markets” are what they were called back home, but Henry was unsure if his local colloquialisms would be accepted in a place so posh.
Just as he stepped past the Store, a voice called, “Hey, you!”
Now, it could have been for anyone, but there was a certain laser-like precision in the way it shot from its barrel’s mouth, as if words were no different from a Fire Blast or a Flame Burst. Henry figured everyone would have turned to ascertain who was shouting, so he scanned all the other faces before finally settling on the one staring back at him.
Well, more like glaring.
“There’s no way you had to actually look around–you knew it was me.”
It was Amber–what a pleasant surprise. She looked hotter than usual–not in the alluring way. More like in the “standing too close to an erupting volcano and praying not to be singed to charred meat” sort of way. Henry figured this would be the expectation moving forward, whenever he found himself grateful enough to be graced with her attention.
“I didn’t want to assume,” Henry replied, fearful of speaking the wrong number of syllables and setting off the walking landmine.
Amber crossed her arms and cocked her hip. “Professor Sequoia tells me you haven’t joined a Track yet? What’s the big hold-up?”
Henry fetched his folded Slip and waved it for Amber to see. “Not anymore–she helped me handle it. I’m in Teal.”
Amber nodded. She tapped her foot, set her sights on the numerous crowds in the distance, and lingered there. Henry wondered if he should have kept talking to fill in the gap. Was she waiting on him to follow up? What did she want, a detailed play-by-play? She seemed to be impatiently waiting for something; maybe for her own mouth to move; for her own brain to formulate words.
The Professor did mention she had very little in the way of friends. Maybe she was just awkward? If the case was so, it would be most polite to practice patience with her. That’s what Dad would have advised, anyway.
“So…” she finally spat after a dozen other conversations started and concluded around them. “Join any–” She stopped short as if choked up by her own words; she cleared them from her throat. “Have you joined any clubs yet? We’re all mandated to participate in at least one.”
“I sort of just got the whole ‘Track thing’ sorted out. I haven’t really given clubs much thought.”
Again, another painful stretch of silence. Listen close enough, and you might be able to hear the Spinarak spinning her web.
“Well–” Amber cleared the letters lodged in her esophagus yet a second time. “When you do decide on a club, you should–you know–maybe let the Professor know.”
What? Why would the Professor care? If anything, she’d be more invested in Amber’s pursuits than Henry’s.
“I’ll, umm…I’ll definitely let her knooow? But I probably won’t decide until tomorrow. Today’s been exhausting enough, ya know? Plus, I gotta find my roommate.”
Amber nodded, chewing her lower lip as if tasting her own venom. “You shouldn’t wait too long–just a heads up. Some people might be…Might be ‘hindered’ by your late decision. So consider courtesy while you’re debating.”
Ah, the rule of threes~ Another silence hung around with the wind, only broken once the breeze picked up again.
“I’ll…I’ll be sure to keep that in mind?”
It was official. Of all the people Henry obtained the pleasure of meeting with his admission into the Institution, Amber was by far the most exhausting to interact with. He hoped that would change as she grew more comfortable around other people.
She surely didn’t stick around long enough for him to potentially offer an outside communion to break the ice–not that he really would have. She blitzed off right after he gave his response.
Once the proverbial soot after the eruption cleared, Henry noticed the muscular guys were no longer hanging around the General Goods Store. Where they stood, only a flyer existed. He stepped up to get a closer look.
“Gladiators Club.” The symbol of a trophy, etched with a sinister grin. This was the emblem on Theodore’s uniform. Beneath, in smaller type, read “Strengthen your body, your spirit, your mind. Become the Trinity; become the master, the student, the Gladiator.”
Sounded pretty metal–even more so than studying actual metals. Henry imagined the kind of club to be behind such powerful words.
A hand slapped him on the shoulder and broke his daydream. “I’ll be right back–he says. Yet here I had to come and scout your bony behind out of a myriad of other bony behinds. That, my errant roommate, is a minus one. What is it that has you looking so–for lack of a better term–stone-faced?”
Henry pointed at the flyer. “Amber’s got me thinking about clubs.”
“Who?”
“Amber? The girl with the red hair?”
“Oh! You mean the Book Stomper! Well, she has a point, you know; I almost hurled saying that.”
Henry let a sigh free, allowing an exchange between the world around him; he would give it his breath, and–in return–he would receive a lumbering fatigue. Two days in, and he was already exhausted. “Don’t you go getting on my case about this, too. I just got the Track situation all sorted out.”
“Really? Good on you! Now we keep going–no time to let up! We’re going to sprint through this preliminary process. Next marker: Clubs.”
If only he could use Rest like a Snorlax. What’s a guy gotta do to get a break around here?
