Chapter 13: Altair

  I couldn’t believe it. I was now engaged to an orca!

  Or so I thought.

  “What does it mean to be a partner, Cleo?” I asked, and he looked at me in utter confusion.

  “Isn’t it because you need to be protected? Hybrids are still humans, and your bodies can’t handle the ocean waves like we can,” he replied, and Amber laughed.

  “Here is the answer for both of you, young ones. Being a partner means you help each other understand the world around you. Cleo is partially right; hybrids don’t know the ocean like we do. But, we’re able to communicate and share experiences more deeply when bonded with humans. Both worlds are different, but by being bonded, we are able to take these worlds and merge them together, making both sides more knowledgeable of a place they aren’t familiar with,” Misty calmly lectured.

  “Misty’s right. No matter how long you’ve lived in the ocean, you would never understand it like a sea animal would.”

  The smiles they both shared to each other were full of happiness and understanding, and they finished their sentences in sync nearly all the time, as if they knew what was going on in their minds.

  Would we be like that too? To finish each other’s sentences and laugh and enjoy each other’s presence?

  That sounded nice.

  This past day, I met more people than I had ever had in my life, and it was absolutely thrilling. I opened so many doors, and finally felt like I could belong here. Everyone here was nice and kind, and-

  “Having a partner is amazing and all, but we need to get lunch now. Tomorrow, you will have your bonding ceremony before you are sorted into a team,” she smirked, and I jolted in fright.

  We already reached the Cafeteria? I clumsily flung myself off Cleo, probably making a scene in front of others, but Cleo only gently bumped me upright.

  “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow, Altair. See you later!”

  Cleo bounced his way down to the Aquarium with Misty, looking like an oversized excited underwater rabbit.

  “You have a really special partner, Altair. Your job now will be to never let him down. He’s been let down too many times.”

  Amber turned serious when she said that and entered the cubicle.

  “What are you waiting for? Aren’t you hungry?”

  Amber reached out a hand, and I realized I haven’t moved.

  “Oh, right. Sorry.”

  I quickly grabbed her hand and she pulled me into a large, bright hall.

  My mouth dropped. The amount of people I met today couldn’t compare to the number of students in that room. Foreign smells that I had never experienced before hit my nose like a bulldozer, and my empty stomach began protesting for food.

  “Courtesy to Amy, our head cook. She’s the one who makes sure that we are all well fed,” Amber explained, walking to the line.

  “Do you see that table in the corner? That’s where Edana and Kyle, my team, usually sit. Go over there first. I’ll get your food for you.”

  Amber nudged me towards the table, and I automatically started walking like my body was on auto-pilot. Where were they again? I couldn’t see them-

  “Altair! Over here!”

  A curly-haired boy waved, and I was startled again. Who was he-

  “Edana!” I called out, recognizing her next to the boy.

  She looked up, only to scowl at me. What did I do wrong this time?

  Oh. I found myself sprawled on the ground, and my chin collided painfully on the marbled floor.

  “Edana! How nice to see you!”

  I glanced up to see a girl stand over me, stepping on my hand as she ran to Edana.

  I winced, trying to get up, but I got smacked down again this time by a crowd of people.

  “Riley.”

  With a voice as cold as ice, she silenced the entire Cafeteria, and when the stampede subsided, I could see Edana complacently sitting down at the table with a girl in white curls facing off against her.

  “So, did you get yourself a boyfriend? I never knew that you could even attract one.”

  The girl named Riley smirked, looking back at me.

  What, me? We just met! How could people suddenly become couples just by staring at each other?

  “What boyfriend? That is Dr. Liam’s guest, and our team is accompanying him while he gets used to our facility. Some people have more things to do than lie around waiting for boys to glimpse at their skinny legs and too-long eyelashes,” Edana retorted, and the tension building between the two intensified.

  I was positively sure that if I wasn’t wearing a wetsuit right now, the hairs on my arms would be standing upright like little soldiers.

  “You are so spiteful as usual, Edana. How did you get the boy to follow you around like a dog on a leash? He must be really sweet, sticking to you like a barnacle on a rock. If only he knew that he could have landed on a pearl instead of a plain rock with no features like you.”

  Riley puffed her hair and straightened her suit, pushing her way toward me. I instantly took a step back as if the floor was lava, mortified that she would ever come in my direction. But instead of slapping me like I thought she would, she flipped her hair and stuck her hand out.

  What was this? What was I supposed to do when someone stuck your hand out like that? Was this a handshake? But her hand was flat out!

  Needless to say, there was an uncomfortable stretch of silence as the girl, Riley, tried to regain her pride.

  “You bend down on one knee and kiss my hand, idiot,” she whispered, smiling too widely.

  “What?”

  My brain just stopped working, not sure whether it was from stress or from the stupidity of the situation I was in. Riley’s hand faltered and dropped to her side, and I could tell that I just made an enemy as her face reddened with shame and anger.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “I understand why you match up with Edana. You both are stupid rocks with no brain for romance.”

  Riley sighed in distaste and marched away to her friends, and they comforted her like her cat died or something. The carrot-looking ringleader brought Riley up on his lap and patted her, glaring at me like I was evil itself.

  “Wow, you know how to play with the crowd.”

  The curly-haired boy who called out my name before dragged me to the table while I stood still like I was stoned.

  “Play with the crowd? What does that mean?” I asked, and he laughed.

  “What are you, a sheltered kid? No wonder why you looked stunned! You probably never interacted with anyone before!” he cried with laughter, and funnily enough, both Edana and I shared the same stare.

  “Wait… so that was actually true? Like… you live under a rock?”

  He stopped laughing, and I sheepishly nodded.

  “You didn’t say anything wrong,” Edana confirmed, and he stared at me in astonishment.

  “So this is what a sheltered kid looks like. I’m Kyle, Amber’s right hand man-”

  He was interrupted with a slap from Edana.

  “What he means is that he’s our team’s third member,” she exasperatedly sighed.

  “What is a team?” I wondered, right as Amber made her way to our table with food.

  “Amber, it’s your turn to answer his questions. My quota is full.”

  Edana turned away while Kyle and Amber only sighed, looking like parents when side by side.

  “Everyone is broken into mission teams during training when they turn eleven. These teams will go out and do different tasks depending on the skills of everyone in the team. You stay in these groups even after you graduate from training,” Amber explained.

  “When do I figure out what team I’m in?” I asked, wondering what missions I could do here.

  “Dr. Liam told me that tomorrow is also your choosing ceremony, which is really exciting for everyone. Right, Edana?”

  Amber nudged Edana, who was busy digging into her food like the starving dogs roaming around our house. She nodded lightly in response, her attention focused on her plate. I gaped at her, Kyle, and Amber, who tucked into their food with the ferocity of a pack of hyenas. Feeling my gaze, they all turned to me in unison.

  “If you were expecting us to eat like rich prissies, they’re all on the other side of the table.”

  Kyle pointed over to the other side where the girls daintily picked at their salads and avoided the carbohydrates while the boys lifted their pinky every time they lifted their glass of water.

  Following suit, I brought a spoonful of warmth to my mouth.

  At the first bite, I paused, my spoon wavering above the deliciously hot food.

  I’m sorry, Mom, but this food was way better than the canned spaghetti at home.

  Forks were clinking on empty plates by the time I savored all of that amazing food.

  “Altair, Dr. Liam told me to give this to you.”

  Amber handed me a box, and I stared at it, wondering if it was bad manners to open a gift in front of others.

  “Open it, silly,” she chuckled, and I lifted the box to see a watch inside.

  “Woah, is this the same watch that brought me to Meliora?” I gasped, and Kyle shook his head.

  “No way, those watches are way better. However, these are student watches, made to track training progress and notify you of missions or homework. I’ll help you set it up.”

  Kyle moved forward, turning the watch once and revealing a - what in the world! The watch was a 3D projector?

  “You look cute when you’re shocked, sheltered kid.”

  Kyle winked, moving the controls while I sat there in stunned silence, still blushing from embarrassment.

  “Kyle, stop teasing Altair. Anyway, these watches will track you so the academy knows where you are. It’s a precaution that began since we declared war with Oceanus. Oh, I almost forgot. Kyle, do you have Altair’s tablet?”

  “A tablet?”

  Oh, the ones used for learning, right? Mom gave me one too-

  Hold up. It’s just a piece of glass!

  “Isn’t it just glass?”

  I pointed out, and Kyle laughed again.

  “You’ve never seen this? Our tablets are way cooler than up there. With a bit of tweaking, I could access confidential information from the governments up there. Dr. Liam confiscated my tablet for a while when I accidentally probed too far into Russia’s confidential database and almost started a global war. They thought I was an American hacker hired by the American government,” he chuckled, pleased by my shocked expression.

  What kind of teenager was he?

  What kind of people were down here?

  After meeting an expressionless girl, an eleven-year-old doctor, a guy whose hair color changed every five seconds, a girl who stepped on me, and a psychopathic teenager who almost started a war, I was about to run - oh, I mean swim - away from here as fast as I could.

  “To open your tablet, tap the tablet twice…”

  I sat there for most of the lunch break, listening to Kyle explain meticulously about how to use and care for my tablet. After Kyle fixed its settings, it was able to recognize my voice, opening websites and applications through my commands.

  “Wow, these are way smarter than my smartphone up on land,” I whistled in amazement.

  “Technology up on land is outdated. People still think that the tablets and smartphones they’re using are great, but they haven’t seen our kind of technology. It’s enough to make an average human’s eyes pop out,” Kyle chuckled, scrolling through his hologram for his version of the latest news.

  “What are you looking at?”

  I peered over his tablet and saw various rooms of the Institute.

  “Oh, I installed cameras that record information about students’ lives. Since I am specializing in being a spy, my job is to know what most of the world is doing, so I installed these cameras with my other friends so that we never miss anything. I have to write long and boring reports of what I noticed each week, so these help me when I am doing some last-minute assignments for school. Thankfully, school is over, so I don’t have to do any more assignments,” Kyle nonchalantly spoke, flipping through his various recordings.

  I blinked at him, dumbfounded. Was I being watched all this time? So, did that mean that if I picked my nose, someone would see that and write a report on how I couldn’t keep my hands together and be hygienic?

  “Are you worried about something, Altair?”

  Amber looked at me worryingly.

  “Are we being watched constantly? Like, if I were sleeping, would someone be watching that?”

  I began to feel squeamish and self-conscious.

  “There shouldn’t be cameras in the dormitories, right?”

  Amber looked expectantly at Kyle.

  “Yeah, there shouldn’t be - wait. Let me check Carter’s camera positions.”

  He quickly scrolled through his camera feeds.

  “None in the rooms, but plenty in the showers. You should watch yourself,” he sighed, and both Amber and I turned red.

  “How could you? Tell Carter to remove those cameras this instant!”

  She glared at Kyle, while he only sighed in response.

  “Relax, it’s only in the boy’s bathrooms. And anyway, how could I? I’m not the star student in my class, and I’m not a tattletale either,” he whined.

  “I guess Carter got the best grade in your department?” Edana snickered, which came as a surprise to me.

  I thought that she had the personality of a fossil, but I guess even fossils could laugh when they wanted to.

  “I can’t believe it! He wrote a last-minute paper on how people’s behavior patterns affect their daily decisions with the recordings of that camera and got the best grade in the department! I spent days working on mine and got an A-minus for good effort!” Kyle huffed, mad as he checked the recordings for me.

  I couldn’t make myself look at his tablet, cringing and worrying about what would happen next.

  “Carter’s camera was in the second stall to the right. Just remember that and you should be fine,” Kyle laughed, which horrified both Amber and I.

  Thankfully I was not the only one who’s sane here. Edana slid out of the table and was about to leave when I, stupid as always, stopped her.

  “Where are you going, Edana?”

  In my defense, it was an honest question. I just really wanted to know. Amber and Kyle stopped arguing about morality and looked at Edana, apparently preparing for the worst.

  Why was everyone scared to death around Edana?

  What did she do that scared even Amber?

  She turned back and looked at me.

  “We are preparing for war, Altair. It doesn’t seem like it because we have Kyle the clown to entertain us, but Oceanus is coming to attack us soon, and I need to work,” Edana simply replied and left, students leaving her a path as wide as the split that the oceans made for Moses and his people to go through.

  What could have ever made her this cold?

  Tomorrow.

  Tomorrow, I’ll find more answers.

  I promised Dr. Liam already, didn’t I?