Mikael Pacioli

The American Craftsman-style building where the jeep stopped was impressive, in both size and artful construction. It dwarfed its landscape, appearing at times to tower on the horizon; yet, drawing closer, Mikael almost lost parts of it - the pale greens and rich browns bled so smoothly into the surrounding countryside. It amazed him that something so large could have been built so elegantly. St. Xavier's wasn't a tenth the size of this place, he was sure.

The engine shut off and the man in the front passenger seat got out first, then opened the rear doors to release the chaperones and Mikael.
"We're just going to go straight in those glass doors there." he indicated them, at some distance across a graveled driveway and brick entry path. "The chaperones will get your bags and take them in to your room. You won't need anything but your ID."
When Mikael paused, lingering by the car as if not wanting to go alone, the man spoke up again.
"It's the last time you get to walk through those doors alone, carrier." he said, mildly. "Seize the chance."

The reception desk in the entrance hall was huge, blocking up pretty much the entirety of the room. Four chaperones stationed around the room monitored the comings and goings. As they entered, the carrier sitting behind the desk popped up brightly.
"Hello! Welcome to the CEC! I'm Blake. How can I help you today?"
Mikael hesitated, suddenly at a loss for words. The driver stepped forward.
"Hi, Blake. Registering a new carrier today. This is Mikael Pacioli."
Blake smiled brightly at him and turned to type the name into his screen, his blonde hair falling forward into his face as he did so. Mikael had never seen a carrier before - not besides himself, of course - and he found it difficult not to stare. Blake was slim without being skinny and had adorable features - freckles over a ski-jump nose, pale green eyes set at a slight angle and accented with dark lashes, and a sharp point of a chin. Mikael wondered if he had always looked this way - this curious androgyny - or if it was an effect of the change. Blake, seemingly oblivious to this scrutiny, wrinkled his nose as he typed, never losing his smile.
"OK...Pacioli. That's with a C, right?"
Mikael nodded.
"P-A-C-I-O-L-I."
Blake scratched with one hand at a freckled nose and frowned in consternation at his screen. All at once, he brightened and flipped his hair backwards over one shoulder.
"Oh! OK! There you are." he peered at the screen. "Boy, you're a recent change, aren't you?" he asked cheerily.
Mikael nodded uneasily.
"Yes."
Blake looked up at him, and his eyes flicked down the new carrier's body before he turned back to his screen.
"Oh! Hey! You're in my group." he said suddenly, smiling broadly at Mikael. "You're my last one - I've been waiting for you to get here. Let me just get your packet together, and then I can take you on a tour and show you your room."
Blake looked up at the two uniformed men.
"Thanks, Officers - I've got it from here."
The one who had driven the car nodded shortly.
"Just need you to sign off, then." he stuck out a slim glass sig pad and Blake scribbled something on it. The officer tilted his hat at the pair of them, then turned and left, followed closely by his companion.
Blake leaned forward. "Welcome to Wiltshire, Mikael. You're going to have a great time here."

~:~

Room Eagle-304 was his, in one of the far west wings of Wiltshire. The room was on the highest floor of that wing, overlooking the empty field behind the Center and, in the distance, the electric fence that separated the grounds from the forest. Two single cedar beds had been placed along the pale blue western wall, one large bay window separating them.

Blake went in first.
"Your roommate's name is Nicolo, and he's really excited to meet you. You'll be the fifth person in our group - I'm the peer group leader, or PGL, and so if you have any problems or questions or need anything at all, you can just come to me, OK?"
Mikael nodded as he looked around. The half of the room closer to the door was obviously occupied by Nicolo - the bed was half-made, clothes were scattered on the window seat, and personal effects were strewn around the floor. Blake made an annoyed face at this, but ignored it in favor of helping Mikael settle in.
"Well!" the blonde carrier clapped his hands together, then pulled an elastic band from his pocket and tied his hair back. "Let's get you unpacked!"

They dissected the backpack first, which Mikael now noticed was embroidered with his first and middle names. The contents were straightforward, but Blake took pains to explain everything anyway.

There was a bound notebook for taking notes.
A bible to bring with him to chapel.
Three sets of carrier briefs in bright colors because, according to Blake, new carriers never had proper underwear.
A folder containing his introduction information and first week's schedule, so that he wouldn't get lost trying to make all his appointments.
A prettily decorated package of toiletries in a small plastic bin, just in case he was missing anything.
Three books which were required reading for new carriers; Mikael did not notice the titles.
A leatherbound personal journal for keeping a history of his experience.

Only on this last one did Blake comment.
"Sometimes it really helps to be able to look back and see how far you've come." he said said, paging curiously through the blank journal. He paused, turning the book over in gentle hands. "At least it helped me."

~:~

It was late afternoon before Mikael was released to his own recognizance and schedule. His day had been carefully orchestrated by Blake and the CEC not to feel carefully orchestrated; they casually bumped into all of his new counselors, stumbled across all the necessary parts of the facility, found a spare brochure on the amenities and rules of each, and managed to get a hold of the Head of House for Eagle Wing. Once they felt he had been properly introduced, then there had been endless amounts of paperwork to complete his registration (most of which required a custodial signature and so would be mailed to Father Pacioli on the following day), two introductory videos to watch, a general health interview and a scheduling office orientation. And he hadn't even eaten yet.

It was this particular problem that led Mikael out of his newfound room and down the wide halls, back to the dining hall that Blake had shown him earlier. It was too early for dinner, but he figured he could probably find some sort of snack. Following the crowd, he took a tray and got into the entry line. A bored-looking carrier swiped his ID card, and Mikael pressed his thumbprint to the reader to verify, then moved to enter the dining hall.
"Oh, wait." the carrier was frowning at his screen. "You missed two meals. I have to orange flag you."
Mikael frowned.
"I didn't miss two meals. I only got here this afternoon. Meals are mandatory?"
The carrier looked at him as if he were very, very stupid.
"Of course meals are mandatory. You think you don't have to eat?" the carrier rolled his eyes and refocused on his screen. "Anyway, I'm orange flagging you once for the missed meals and once for the missed meds."
Mikael looked astonished.
"But I don't have any meds to miss."
The carrier exhaled in annoyance and pointedly looked at the line now forming behind Mikael.
"They come with the meals. Don't be difficult."
Mikael's expression changed to bewilderment.
"I wasn't being difficult, I - look, is there someone I could talk to about this? I didn't know the rules, and I wasn't even here. I just think - "
"OK, FINE. Geez." the carrier blew his hair out of his face and indicated to one of the guards over his shoulder. "He'll deal with you."
The next person in line stepped up, and the carrier swiped his card.
"Thanks..." Mikael began, but was interrupted by a rough hand on his shoulder.
"Problem?"
The bored-looking carrier waved a hand vaguely at the bored-looking guard who had arrived to relieve him.
"Orange flag. Missed meals."
The guard shifted his grip on his stun rifle and frowned at Mikael.
"Missing meals isn't allowed."
Mikael sighed.
"Yes, I know. I just - "
"You got written permission?"
Mikael frowned.
"Permission for what?"
"Miss meals. Miss meds."
Mikael shook his head in disbelief.
"No, I don't. I wasn't even here for those meals. This is my first day. I just got here this afternoon. I could not have possibly attended those two meals, even if I wanted to."
The guard nodded skeptically.
"Right. You got any paperwork for that?"
"Not with me, but - "
"Orange flag stays. You need to see your PGL after the meal, talk about this."
Mikael pressed one finger against his temple; his head was beginning to ache alongside his stomach.
"OK. Fine. I'll talk to Blake. Thank you for your time."
Mikael moved to leave, but a hand snatched his arm in a tight grip, almost making him drop his empty tray. The guard narrowed his eyes.
"You dismissing me, carrier?"
Mikael hesitated. Behind him, the entrance line had quieted somewhat. Mikael shook his head.
"I wasn't dismissing you. I was just going to go get some lunch."
The guard's expression darkened.
"You walk away from me when I say you can walk away from me. You get lunch when I say you can get lunch."
Mikael wasn't really sure what had transpired to bring them to this point of hostility, but he wasn't about to escalate it. He squeezed his hand around the edge of the tray.
"OK." he said, quietly. "Fine. Sorry." he stopped himself short of asking to be released; some things were not worth the loss of pride. He could wait it out.
The guard stared at him.
"Another yellow flag for insolent behavior."
Mikael gritted his teeth.
"Alright. I'm sorry that you felt my behavior was insolent."
Now the guard really looked annoyed.
"That's two yellow flags, plus an orange, all in one day. You are well on your way to a behavioral audit, little carrier."
Mikael resented the scorn in the honorific, but he let it go. The other carriers nearby were quieting now, all tuning in to watch the standoff. Mikael took a deep breath and centered himself, controlled his anger.
"Thank you for letting me know. Could I please go eat my lunch now?"
The guard practically snarled.
"No. You'll eat when it's dinnertime. I don't feel like letting you in my d-fac right now."
The tips of Mikael's ears pinkened, but he just nodded.
"OK. Then would you mind if I went back to my room?"
The guard stared at him for a long moment. Abruptly, he released Mikael's arm, only to lean down close to his face.
"Sure. How about I escort you?"
Mikael took an unconscious step back, placing the tray between himself and the guard.
"No, thank you." he responded, not looking at him.
"No, really." the guard said, calmly, his eyes intent on catching Mikael's. "I insist."
Mikael looked away, suddenly aware of the ongoing attention he was garnering, and wisely decided not rise to this.
"Can I go, please, now?" he repeated. The guard took a step back and gave Mikael a look of scorn.
"Yeah. Sure. You can go now. Get the fuck out of my d-fac." he shoved the carrier, roughly with the butt of his rifle, and Mikael almost lost his balance for a minute before recovering. A quiet murmur went up from the crowd. Mikael shook his head, set the tray down on a nearby table, and hightailed it out of the cafeteria, not giving the man the satisfaction of looking over his shoulder. Halfway to Eagle Wing, he changed his mind, switched directions, and went to the library instead.

~:~

Blake came and found him for dinner.
"Hey, sleepyhead."
Mikael opened his eyes, confused for a moment by the strange voice waking him. He startled, then memory caught up with consciousness and he sat up from where he'd been napping on a bench behind the stacks.
"Hey, Blake. Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep..." a thought occurred to him, and he looked immediately for his watch, which was not on his wrist - it had been confiscated when he'd entered the Centre. "I didn't miss dinner, did I?"
Blake smiled gently and shook his head, wisps of hair flying into his face.
"Nope. It's in ten minutes." his expression got a little more serious. "I heard you had some trouble today."
Mikael looked over Blake's face quickly for any sign of disapproval.
"The computer said I missed two meals. A guard got mad at me about it."
Blake nodded, slowly.
"And is that all?"
Mikael wasn't sure what answer to give, so he just nodded. Blake furrowed his brow, then glanced over his shoulder, smoothed his hair behind one ear, and leaned forward.
"Listen, don't let guys like Wilson intimidate you. For all his big talk, he's just a grunt. He really can't lay a hand on you, OK? Not without bringing hell down on his own head. But guys like him, they rely on fear for their power, so he likes to mess with the newbies." Blake frowned. "He knows you don't know any better. But now you do. So if he messes with you again, or he makes you feel uncomfortable, you come tell me, alright? I'll take care of it."
Mikael nodded mutely, uncertain what the correct response to this would be. Blake grinned at him.
"So...next time you want to take a nap, you can do it in your own room. No need to hide out in the stacks from Officer Wilson and his attitude."
Mikael blushed a little, but gave Blake a grateful smile.
The blond carrier grinned more broadly, then clapped both hands to his thighs and began to stand up.
"Alright! Well, let's get on to dinner before all the good stuff is gone."
Mikael followed him. Halfway out of the stacks, another thought gave him pause.
"So how did you hear? That I had trouble?" he asked. Blake threw an amused look over his shoulder.
"Wiltshire's not but so big, Mikael." he grinned. "I hear everything."

~:~