I step through the door, and it looks like a prison. Rooms line the walls, and what appears to be a cafeteria can be seen on the other side of the room. The door shuts behind me, and I just stand there for a second, watching other kids start to cim their rooms and taking in everything that just happened.

  "Where am I? Why am I here? I don’t have powers, only this weird feeling above my shoulder, so why am I here?!" I say to myself in my head.

  I manage to collect myself and see Ivan and Simon approaching, which calms me the slightest bit.

  “Yo, Christian, have you checked out the rooms yet? They each hold three people, so we thought you could be the third,” Ivan says, pointing to a room on the bottom floor, close to the front where we’re standing.

  “Yeah, sure, thanks for offering. I’m gd I could be in a room with people I’m at least a little acquainted with.”

  Simon nods in agreement. “Same here. It would be a shame if the people I shared a room with couldn't speak the same nguage.”

  The three of us make our way to the room. A few people check it out and the rooms around it but quickly realize our cim and back off. The room at least looks somewhat cozy—it can comfortably fit the three of us. There’s a table with a mp at the side of each bed, and beyond that, there’s not much to it.

  I move over to the bed in the back left corner and y down, letting out a sigh. Simon and Ivan both take their beds too.

  “A few weeks here don’t seem too bad,” Simon says, attempting to lighten the mood.

  “I just hope they change their minds and let us go,” Ivan says, sprawled out.

  “But you seem comfortable here,” I say, pointing out how he looks on his bed.

  “Okay, well, I’m not! I’m starting to miss home, and it's pissing me off!”

  Simon and I are taken aback by the outburst—one simir to the one Ivan had on the pne.

  “We are too, Ivan, but it’s no use yelling at us about it,” Simon says quietly, trying not to make Ivan mad again.

  “You’re right, sorry gu—” Ivan is cut off as a speaker crackles overhead.

  “All boys, please report to the cafeteria for an assembly.”

  The rest of the guys poke their heads up.

  “Should we go?” I ask Ivan and Simon. They both nod, and we all push ourselves off our beds, heading out of the room and down the hall to the cafeteria, seeing all the other boys doing the same.

  The brawny kid from earlier sits down at a table, and everyone else follows, sitting at that same table. Small conversations can be heard from the group.

  “What do you think they’re going to talk about?” a voice louder than the rest asks.

  The culprit is a boy with a Canadian accent. Everyone looks in his direction, even kids who I don’t think understand English. But before the question can be answered, a woman—the same one who led us through the doors earlier—walks in. The same two transtors follow behind her, and they soon stand in front of us. The group quiets down as they begin to speak.

  “Thank you all for your cooperation, and we hope that you continue it. With that said, from this point on, you are property of the United States government.”

  When that is said, I see almost every fist clench in the room. I can’t bme them—I’m also angry.

  “You are all here to be held as we build VANGUARD, which stands for Variant Ability Next-Gen Utilization, Assessment, Research, and Development. This is going to be a school where we prioritize students' independence to grow their own power while also giving them the framework to do it well.”

  There’s a hint of curiosity flowing through all of us as she continues.

  “We will tell you more about the school when you’re there, but let’s talk about what’s happening right now and over the next few weeks as it’s being built. First, those who do not know English will be taught it. Second, in a week's time, there will be an area opened up to you for interacting with the girls—this will be expined shortly. Third, more of you are still to come—we are in the process of finding them and making deals with their host countries. Lastly, if you step out of line here, swift punishment will come to you, so it is in your best interest to hold yourself back. This is my only warning.”

  Most of the group seems to be following along well so far.

  “As for accessing the neutral zone with the girls, this is for one reason, and you can start doing it now—to form connections and alliances. I highly recommend doing this, because if not, your time at school might be significantly more difficult. That is all. Thank you for your time.”

  With that, she turns and leaves without giving us any time for questions. I look around—some boys are nervous, some are thinking, and some are already standing up, heading back to their rooms, their expressions quite neutral.

  Me? I’m a mix of every single one.

  --A week passes--

  Over the past week, I’ve gotten to know Ivan and Simon better, and we've become pretty good buddies. We stick together when it’s time to eat and pass the time pying games in our room that were provided on the second day.

  And what the woman said was true—the people who couldn’t speak English were gone a couple of hours a day and then came back with more progress each time. I could tell because, on the fourth day, I was just walking through the hall when I heard a broken sounding “Help~”.

  I looked over and saw someone who had dropped their pte of food looking at me. I helped him, and after he thought for a moment, he said, “Thank... you...”. I gave him a nod, and he seemed happy that he got it right before I continued walking.

  Some other notable things happened. At 12 PM every day, more kids arrived, and each time, we expined to them what was said to us and got them comfortable in the hall—it was the least we could do. I also tried making more connections beyond Ivan and Simon, but it wasn’t really successful. A good bit of the kids didn’t speak English, so I basically already had every English-speaking kid there.

  Oh, and the brawny kid’s name is Preston. We talk whenever we see each other, so I guess that’s a win—but we’re not as close as I am with Ivan and Simon.

  Yesterday, on the sixth day, I tried a bunch of different things to activate any powers I had, but nothing came of it. Ivan and Simon just ughed at me while I filed my arms around.

  Now, to the present—the number of new arrivals has dropped significantly. Only four kids walked through the door today.

  From what me, Ivan, and Simon have tracked, there are now 76 kids in the male hall. We’re unsure how many are in the girls’ hall, but we assume it’s around the same number.

  But it seems we don’t have to wait long, as we hear the overhead speaker come to life.

  “Attention, the area where boys and girls are both allowed will now be unlocked.”

  I hear the opening of a door in the cafeteria and look down the hall, seeing people in the cafeteria react with surprise.

  I decide not to help out the new arrivals—we’ve got enough people to cover that now. Instead, I head down the hall. As I enter the cafeteria, most people are still in their seats, standing up and looking at whatever just happened.

  Then, I see it.

  I freeze in shock for a second.

  A whole wall is gone.

  It opens up into a courtyard-like area, and we see sunlight for the first time in a week. As our eyes adjust, we look across the courtyard and see girls having the same reactions as us, standing in an identical-looking cafeteria.

  Footsteps echo behind me as a bunch of other boys come to see what’s happening.

  I fully step into the cafeteria to get out of the way of the incoming crowd. A few brave boys take the first steps into the courtyard, followed soon after by a handful of girls who cautiously explore the space. The area itself is simple—there are a couple of flower beds and benches, but it’s mostly just pathways and grass.

  I look up at the sky. It’s the real sky.

  The sunlight would feel nice if there weren’t concrete walls enclosing the entire space.

  Then, it starts—light conversation spreads through the courtyard as the boys and girls meet for the first time.

  "How was your week?" "Are you going through the same thing?"

  I smile slightly. This brings some normalcy back to everything.

  But before I can get too comfortable, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

  “Hi! Do you speak English?”

  I turn around and see a short, orange-haired girl with a slight Australian accent.

  “Yeah, I do. Why ask?”

  She smiles at my answer, her energy almost jarring compared to the mood that’s been filling the past week.

  “Great! My name is Melody! What’s your power?”

  She’s high-energy, the opposite of the atmosphere I’ve been surrounded by.

  “Oh, uh... it’s good to meet you, Melody. I’m Christian. And, uh, my power…? I don’t have one.”

  She frowns at my answer. “Don’t lie to me, Christian! I can see the aura around you, and you’re pretty strong!”

  I immediately give her my full attention.

  “Wait, what?! I’m strong? But I haven’t even used a single power yet!”

  She seems taken aback by my response. She can tell I’m telling the truth.

  “Really...? Because the only reason I came over here to talk to you is your aura is impressive. It’s a soft yellow, while...” She looks around before pointing to Simon, who’s in mid-conversation. “His is pretty strong too, but wild and red.”

  She turns back to me, her expression serious.

  “Yours is like… perfectly controlled. It’s almost scary.”

  I don’t know how to feel about that, but it sounds like a good thing.

  “So... what’s your power exactly?” I ask.

  She perks up. “Oh, right! So, you know how I can see auras? Well, I also have a little cirvoyance.”

  I must have looked confused because she quickly adds, “Oh, right, that’s just a fancy word. I was confused when I first heard it too. Basically, I can see distant pces and a little bit into the future.

  "But... I’m really bad at it, and it hurts my eyes.”

  “Whoa. That’s really cool.”

  My jaw drops slightly, but my mind starts racing. She’d be a good ally to have.

  “Well, Christian, I hope we can be friends.”

  I blink, surprised she just said that so outright.

  “Yeah, of course! I’d love to, Melody!”

  She smiles warmly.

  “Great! If you ever want to talk, just come find me out here—I’ll come right away!”

  I nod at the idea, and she walks off back into the girls’ hall.

  I take a seat on one of the benches, watching as more people meet and talk.

  A few minutes pass, and I’m about to head to the boys’ cafeteria to get some food, but I can’t help the feeling that... I’m being watched.

  I stay seated, scanning the area, and finally, I spot something.

  A head with long, dark blueish hair poking out from the girls’ cafeteria entrance.

  “Isn’t that... the Russian girl I helped on the first day?”

  The moment she realizes I noticed her, she jumps and quickly hides away.

  Curious, I get up and walk toward the girls’ cafeteria entrance, but before I even have time to look inside—

  A sharp, rude voice cuts through the air behind me.

  “What do you think you’re doing? You’re not allowed to go in there.”

  I turn around. A girl with long ptinum blonde hair stands there, fnked by two other girls. She’s staring me down with a gre.

  “Sorry, I’ll step back. But when I think about it... I haven’t heard any rules about going into the other gender’s hall.”

  “It’s just common sense. Or are you too stupid to figure it out!” I look like I want to say something, but I’m stunned by this girls Rudeness. “Hopeless You're not going to go anywhere at VANGUARD.”

  She scoffs and pushes past me into the cafeteria, her two followers trailing behind.

  I let out a sigh. So much for that.

  I wonder if that Russian girl has learned English yet.

  I turn back toward the boys’ cafeteria, grab some food, and return to my room.

  I find Ivan there, but not Simon—he’s probably still in the courtyard.

  “Have you seen the courtyard yet?” I ask Ivan.

  “Yeah, but there’s not much to do there.”

  “You don’t want to chat with anyone?”

  “You know that’s not my thing.”

  “Suit yourself.” I toss myself onto my bed. And stare up at the Celling what am I going to do for 3 weeks and more Importantly after that... ---3 weeks pass---