Beware the Power: Legend of Suyeita
Difference in Opinion
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.For DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY in this story, see GLOSSARY of terms at BOTTOM OF CHAPTER 1..WARNING OF CONTENT: None ^_^.Note:For those who know me… Teachers and people in this story in no way have anything to do with any teachers… or substitute *cough* teachers, that I have known- living or dead. Any similarities are purely coincidental-and accidental! Also, I must say that I do not suggest or support the real life relationship outside of mentorship, and well being a teacher, between teacher and student. Friends, maybe. If any of you who don’t know me are all O_O wth? I’ll save that story for another time.Yulian- don’t say a word about the teach. we both remember, and thanks for reading.
.Questions/Comments about things you are unsure about, please do not hesitate to contact me so I may answer and/or fix anything in and about the story..See an error? Something just doesn’t make sense? Tell me about it so I can fix it! I need a Beta..Written: 5/15/09Revised: 5/26/09- edited!...
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..Lisa arrived to her homeroom classroom twenty-five minutes before the beginning of class. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. She had always tried to arrive early for class, but there were no other students inside, and none in the hallway she stood in, it was early even for her.She nervously peered into the window beside the door and saw that the room was still dark inside. Standing up straight, she continued to rub her stiff neck and leaned against the wall next to the window. Lisa closed her eyes and sighed, trying to remember the dreams she had had during the night.
“Rough night?” The voice was rich and deep, and Lisa opened her eyes to see a tall man with dark indigo hair. His tone sounded friendly and his bluish-purple eyes looked kind as he smiled.
“Didn’t sleep too well,” Lisa admitted with a grin, trying to mask her feeling of dread about what she could remember. She had woken up at around six in a cold sweat, Lisa could not remember the dream, but somehow she did not feel safe when she awakened. She dressed into her uniform blue plaid skirt and long sleeved collared shirt in a hurry, and quickly brought her school sweater as she left her room. After eating in the Great Hall, she found a recreational room to study in for the next few hours before homeroom began at eight. Leaving her room so hastily was part of the reason she that had shown up so early to the class.
The man nodded, and moved to unlock the door. Lisa quietly watched him as he opened the door and she raised an eyebrow when he did not enter.
“Would you care to join me?” He asked, with a smile. “You do not have to stand out here until class begins, feel free to come and sit down.”
Lisa felt herself blush slightly, and afraid that her voice might fail her, she merely nodded and followed him inside. She walked silently to the desk in the middle, that she had sat in the previous day. She then sat down in the chair and laid her head on the desk, staring out the window.
“Would you like the lights on?” The man asked, laying a large binder on the desk.
“I like the lighting like this,” Lisa answered. The sky outside was overcast and the gray-blue light was soft compared to the harsh light of the fluorescents.
“I prefer it myself, too, actually,” He replied.
Lisa looked away from the window and studied him as he took several papers out from the binder. He was wearing black slacks and a loose white collared shirt, with no tie. Although many male teachers wore similar attire, somehow it appeared almost casual on him. She wondered exactly how old he was, and then she remembered Athena telling her that he was one of the youngest teachers. Looking up from the binder he met her gaze, Lisa flushed as she realized that she had been staring.“Well, my name is Michael Roso,” he told her.
Lisa smiled and said, “Ms. Roso already told me.”
“Aaah, I thought you might be the girl. Lisa Noreg, right?” Michael asked. Lisa nodded as he sat down in the chair behind his desk and knitted his fingers together, resting his chin atop them. “Every year she finds a new student or two that she really likes and secretly dotes on.”
Lisa smiled, knowingly, and turned to look out the window once more. She felt his eyes on her, and she pulled her sweater’s sleeves down onto her hands.
“Why did you not sleep well?” He asked.
She avoided his gaze and merely shrugged in response, laying her head back on the desk.
“Then can you tell me why you are so early at least?” Michael questioned, his voice quiet.
“I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep,” Lisa admitted, “So, I ate breakfast… I still had a few hours before class, so I studied, and I decided to head here early. I had nothing better to do.”
“Nightmare?”
She glanced at him, before turning away again. The question was normal enough, but after the night in the hospital, her dreams had begun to bother her. They were vivid and felt real; if she experienced pain in them, when she woke up she would still hurt. Lisa hoped that her neck was merely sore because she had slept in an odd position, and not because of a dream.
“I guess,” Lisa whispered. She closed her eyes, still feeling sleepy. “What did she tell you about me?”
Mr. Roso had a sharp intake of breath and Lisa sighed. Remembering himself, he told her, “I know that Noreg is not the name you were born with… That alone would be reason enough for nightmares as of recently.”
“Have you ever had a dream that felt so real, that when you woke up you were surprised to be in your bed because it had been so…” she trailed off, her voiced quavering slightly. Blurred memories of a silver-haired man with icy eyes surfaced, and she shivered.
“It seems you have gathered some powerful enemies,” He answered, concerned. “I would not put much of anything past those you have upset.”
Lisa was about to ask what he meant, when there was a knock on the door. She opened her eyes and lifted her head as Mr. Roso told whomever it was to come inside the room.
Kou stepped into the room, greeting, “Good morning.” His eyes fell on Lisa, and he looked surprised. “You always are early, aren’t you?”
“Good morning K-Mr. Kou,” She replied with a nervous smile.
“Ah, Michael doesn’t count, you can drop the formalities with him,” Kou laughed. Michael did not appear as amused by the comment, but he did not look overly bothered.
“Good morning to you, also, Kou,” Mr. Roso murmured quietly, standing up. Kou had in his hands two cups of coffees and offered one to the younger man. Michael accepted it and gave it an indignant sniff before sipping it.
“You’d think he’d have reason to suspect I poisoned it,” Kou laughed, closing the door behind him. Lisa smiled slightly as she saw Roso glare at him.
“I know you often have bad tastes in coffee,” He defended himself, curtly setting the cup down on his desk. Kou just laughed again and patted Roso’s shoulder.
“Lisa, although I wasn’t expecting you, I’m glad I found you,” Kou began, walking towards her. “Michael, would you mind?”
Kou paused his walking to turn towards the younger teacher. He had picked the coffee up again and took a sip before making a disgusted expression on his face.
“You offer me grotesque tasting coffee to make amends for chasing me from my own classroom?” Roso asked with a grin.
Grunting, Kou made a shooing motion with his hands, “Oh, be quiet. I know double espresso with extra crème and four teaspoons sugar is your favorite. Blame the coffee shop if they are unable to either make it correctly or for having a bad espresso blend.”
“Fine, fine,” Roso replied, “I’m going.” He left the room and as the door closed, Lisa chuckled.
“I didn’t know you were friends with the new teacher,” Lisa commented. Kou turned to her, and his face appeared nervous for a moment before he smiled.
“Yes, we met several years ago, actually,” Kou explained, “Through work.”
“Oh… So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about,” Lisa asked, “So badly that you chased him from his own room?”
Kou moved and sat down on top of the desk in front of Lisa. Still smiling, he told her, “You get to start your training, well… testing, today after school.”
Her curiosity quickly turned to exasperation as she said, “There is no way that I’m an Ahawei, I don’t even know why you need to bother.”
“It’s just better safe than sorry,” Kou lowered his voice. “Iyagi rarely express neilana abilities before puberty, and if they do it is often ill controlled and abstract. If, as Athena suspects, you are an Ahawei you are at the proper age to have a surge of neilana potential. It can be dangerous if left untrained.”
“I thought neilana is taught to Iyagi by special teachers,” She replied, skeptically looking him up and down.
“Deyo, or master, is the term for neilana teachers… although the word deyo can be used for other teachers, too, it originally refers to neilana teachers. I admit that it has been several years, but I only know one other person who is a better teacher than myself,” Kou told her, sounding prideful, but not ostentatious.
“Have you ever known an Ahawei?” Lisa asked, standing up and pulling her skirt down an inch.
“To be honest, up until the last few years, I never thought Ahawei could exist,” He admitted.
“If I am, and that’s a big if,” Lisa turned away from him to face the back of the classroom, “are you sure you could teach a human?”
“Athena wants me to dredge up whether or not you are,” Kou answered. “If you are, and I am unable to teach you, I do know someone who would be able to.” He told her where to meet him and then began to walk towards the door and scowled at it. Lisa turned around in time to see him throw the door open and to hear a shout from the other side.
“What the hell?!” Roso demanded, walking into the classroom and rubbing his forehead.
“Aren’t you too old for eavesdropping?” Kou asked, standing in the doorframe and placing his arms above his head onto the sides.
“I was not eavesdropping,” Roso spat in response, “I was merely trying to see if you were going to let me have my room back anytime soon.”
Kou coughed and shook his head, “If you say so, Michael.” He then left from the room and let the door fall closed.
Lisa laughed nervously, sitting back down in her chair, “It’s always fun to see Kou so riled up. It’s weird, you’re only the second person I’ve seen to annoy him.”
“More should take it up,” Roso crossed back over to his desk and sat down. “He deserves to be annoyed more often… Borrowing people’s rooms without even asking.”
“You didn’t overhear anything, did you?” Lisa asked quietly. Roso chuckled and shook his head.
“So…Was yesterday merely a fluke, or do you enjoy the art of debate?” He put his elbow on the desk and propped his head on his hand. His soft eyes studied her and his mouth seemed to just barely pull into a smile.
He really does look cute, Lisa thought for moment before blushing and recomposing herself, “Um, yeah, actually. It’s fun and a great way to learn.”
“I am going to begin an extra credit debate group tonight,” He began, “Feel free to join. I am willing to put the extra credit towards the new semester for you.”
“That’s really nice of you,” Lisa smiled, “To do that… There’s a lot of students that would probably fail, merely because Hatoch disagrees with their views.”
“Ah, well I hate to admit it, but my intentions are not entirely so pure,” He chuckled. “I enjoy the art of debate, especially when it comes to ethics. I am truly interested to hear of the younger generation’s view on current events.”
“Younger generation?” She giggled, “You sound like you’re forty.”
“Sometimes I feel like it,” He replied with a smile.
..
“Leeeeeee-saaaaaaah,” A voice called out from the mass of tables, chair, and students. Lisa turned and looked into the jumble of faces and tables for several moments before she spotted a boy with tan skin and black and orange hair waving frantically at her.Giggling quietly, Lisa gripped her tray tighter and headed towards the table. Riot and Sato were already eating when she arrived and set her tray down on the table. Pulling out a chair, Lisa sat down and sighed.
“What’s up?” Sato asked her, after swallowing a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
“You guys were right,” She mumbled, “It’s going to take a while for everyone to forget about what happened with Hatoch. I’ve been hearing rumors already.”
“Not surprised here,” Riot spoke up, picking up a glass of water and taking a sip.
“Hey, look it’s that one laheshn chick,” Sato pointed. Lisa saw a tall girl with dark blue hair and emerald eyes walking away from the buffet tables. She was looking about at the crowded tables and many unfriendly faces and expressions.
“Maybe we should invite her,” Lisa suggested.
“No,” Riot answered, rubbing his forehead. “Even if you did, she would decline and then it would just make more humans think you’re a laheshn and more Iyagi think you’re just feeling pity for them.”
“Is it really all that bad to try to be nice?” Lisa sighed. Fuileni caught her eyes for a moment and Lisa smiled. The other girl rolled her eyes before walking over to a table, four tables away from them.
“You’re a hero in my book,” Sato laughed. “Even if it was only a week early, you still got rid of the furor.”
Lisa laughed nervously and took a bite of the pasta on her plate. The three ate quietly for a while, with the occasional joke from Sato. Once she cleared about half of the plate, Lisa asked, “Do you think that table Fuileni is at is all laheshn?”
The tables were intended to seat up to five people. The table Fuileni had gone to had six other students, and she made seven. Although cramped, they all looked happy and were very lively in their conversations.
“That guy with the blonde hair,” Riot leaned over to her, “His name is Jenson, and I know he’s a laheshn. He’s like the ringleader for the Iyagi in the laheshn-human tensions around here.”
Fuileni was seated next to Jenson and she leaned on his shoulder briefly before he turned to grin at her.
“I think Mr. Roso is planning on trying to push his debates towards that,” Lisa told them. “I wonder if it’s because he’s going to try to help, or if he really is only curious about it all.”
“Who cares?” Sato laughed, “I don’t have to repeat her freakin’ class another time! Who wants to play Addiction?”
“I do,” Lisa chimed happily.
“Count me in, too,” Riot answered with a smile. “When Sato first said he was going to teach us to play a game called Addiction, I have to admit I was concerned. His tricks and jokes sometimes really get people into trouble.”
“Hey, I only tricked you into drinking alcohol once,” Sato replied with a wide grin.
“You tricked him into drinking alcohol?” Lisa asked with interest, shuffling the deck of cards that Sato had handed to her.
“It was only a shot, he spit it out before he even downed it all,” Sato explained, patting Riot on his back.
“I fear the day when I turn twenty-one,” Riot announced, melodramatically.
Lisa dealt out the cards as she and Sato laughed.
..
The bell signaling the end of school sounded and Lisa let out a reluctant sigh. She knew she had to go meet up with Kou in one of the gyms, and she was not overjoyed to do so.She bid Sato and Riot a farewell before heading down the hallways towards the gyms. Although there was a main stairwell near the Great Hall, there were other stairs throughout the building. Lisa decided to take the stairs near the gyms down to the level where Kou told her to meet him.
The Academy was several stories tall, but it also had two basement levels. The lower was for maintenance and to be used in an emergency, the upper basement was mostly storage rooms, a few specialty classrooms, and several small gyms.
It was in the upper basement where she was set to meet with Kou. Arriving after nearly seven minutes of navigating through the halls, Lisa entered through the open door. Kou was already standing in the middle of the gym and he was doing something on his phone.
“Mr. Kou,” Lisa acknowledged. Kou raised his gaze from off the phone and smiled at her.
“Well, close the door and let’s begin,” He told her, pocketing his phone.
Lisa did as told and walked into the center of the room. She noticed that the room was about the size of the classrooms and the floor had foam padding covering all but a few feet around the edge.
“So how does this work exactly?” She asked, sitting down in front of where he was standing.
He looked down at her a moment before joining her on the floor, “Close your eyes and just relax.”
She closed her eyes, but she could not help her feeling of unease. Kou placed his hands on her temples and he closed his eyes, too. Lisa felt her uneasiness intensify as a strange sensation flooded through her entire body. The sensation was almost like a light-headed feeling, but throughout her whole body.
After what seemed like a few minutes, Kou removed his hands and told her to open her eyes.
“That was it?” She asked, skeptically.
Kou grinned at her, “You are one… but, you seem completely unaware of it.”
“How can I be an Ahawei?” Lisa questioned, standing up and looking away from him, at the wall.
“I can feel it, neilana running through your body,” He explained, still sitting on the floor. “My guess is that you might only be able to realize it when stressed, which is not uncommon in Iyagi your age.”
“So I am an Ahawei, unaware of it, and I have to get stressed to use neilana,” She summarized with a raised eyebrow.
“Skepticism or not, don’t be sarcastic with me,” Kou snapped. Lisa turned to look at him and apologized, softly. He continued, “Usually, for those who are unable to tap into it, the stress is from fear or anxiety.”
“How shall we scare me?” Lisa asked with a smile. Kou frowned at her and her smile slipped.
“I could just attack you,” Kou stated, putting a hand into his pocket he removed his phone.
“What? That’s not funny, Kou,” Lisa mumbled, nervously backing away. He tossed the phone a few feet away and removed a watch from his wrist. As Kou threw the watch to join his phone Lisa said, “You can’t be serious.”
“I won’t seriously harm you,” He answered, rolling up his shirt sleeves, “Just rough you up a little.”
Panic began to flood Lisa as she saw him kick off his shoes, too. “Ko-AAAH!” She let out a yell as she felt a sharp pain hit her right calve. The pain was not intense nor was it harsh, but it had caught her by surprise.
“Now, you will attempt to stop me from doing that again,” Kou instructed her. “Although, to be honest, I’m not sure how you will, but just try to think of something, or not think, just do. It’s funny, I didn’t realize I could be so precise as a laheshn.”
“Kou, ple-” Lisa stopped short as she felt another jolt of pain run through her other leg. She clenched her teeth and avoided shouting out this, time. Kou moved nearer her and she began to back away, with her hands up defensively.
After several invisible strikes of pain and a few swear words, Lisa finally began to feel frustrated. The pain was tolerable, but she was at a loss as to why he seemed so persistent. He had already chased her about the room with his attacks, and although she wished she could do something, Lisa only had the urge to try to run at him and physically attack him in response.
“I can’t be an Ahawei!” She finally exclaimed, running towards the door. “This is getting us nowhere, I feel nothing.”
“Maybe I just don’t seem threatening enough,” Kou laughed, walking over to retrieve his effects. Lisa glared at him and he continued, “I know I can sense neilana in you. I might have to get my friend to have a try at you.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m just not. If you want me to see your friend, fine, but it won’t help,” Lisa murmured.
“You know,” Kou began, fastening his watch back onto his wrist, “Athena really thinks you are one of the chosen… there are four humans of them, two are supposedly Ahawei, which means, if you are a chosen, there’s a fifty percent chance that you could be an Ahawei.”
“Is that why you are so determined?!” She demanded, crossing her arms across his chest, annoyed. “There’s also a fifty percent chance that I’m not… and a big chance I’m not one of the chosen, either. I’m sorry, Kou.”
“There’s no need for apologies,” Kou told her, as he walked toward the door. “I just hope you can forgive me later.”
“Forgive you for what? Those attacks were nothing,” Lisa chuckled.
“I wish that was the only thing,” he replied. “Just promise not to hold it against me, later.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about… but, sure,” Lisa smiled, laying a hand on the door knob.
“There is something of interest, though,” Kou added, as they exited the room. “That your whole family seems to have fair skin and hair and light eyes… those are usually recessive traits. Tell me when you can think of a reason, other than the traits coming from an Iyaga, that might explain it.”
She opened her mouth to offer a witty response, but she closed it without saying a word. Excusing herself, she walked down the hallway the opposite direction Kou had left, and tried to think of plausible reasons for what he had pointed out. As Lisa reached the ground floor, she still had failed to think of a reason and wondered to herself, if what he said was right… Maybe I could be an Ahawei… Remembering the night with Von, she felt a chill run through her body, I just wish I knew the truth. For some reason it just feels like there’s something about that night that they’re keeping from me.
..
Lisa tapped her foot as she waited outside her bedroom door. Glancing at her watch, she found that it was already six in the evening; he was late. She pulled her skirt down an inch and contemplated if she should quickly change into a pair of pants, unsure if he would be tardy enough to allow her to do so.“Sorry I’m late,” a voice called out from the end of the hallway. Lisa sighed as she saw a tall young man walking in her direction. He was wearing black dress pants and a plain white collared shirt with a black tie. His dark brown hair and dark eyes, along with his athletic body, from years of training, attracted the attention of a group of girls standing across the hall from Lisa.
“Jean,” Lisa greeted, and opened her arms wide, as he approached. He pulled her into a bear hug and she giggled as she saw the girls narrow their eyes jealously.
“Wow,” He stated, looking over her, up and down.
She felt herself blush slightly and asked, “What?”
“You’re in a skirt and you still seem to be yourself,” Jean joked. Lisa sighed, rolling her eyes, and opened her room door and gestured for him to enter. He glanced nervously at the group of girls across the hallway and quietly asked, “You sure you aren’t going to get in trouble or something?”
“You’re in security, if you can’t go in my room, then who can?” Lisa answered, grabbing his arm and guiding him into the room. She closed the door and hugged him again, mumbling into his chest, “I missed you.”
He chuckled and rubbed her head, messing up her hair, “It’s only been a few days, and I haven’t really gone anywhere.”
“I know,” She replied, moving away from him and walking over to sit down on a small sofa. She patted the seat next to her and Jean sat down, too.
“So how is everything? I heard about what happened with that teacher,” Jean mentioned, offhandedly.
Lisa’s eyes went wide with surprise and annoyance, “When Sato said that everyone knew about it, I didn’t think he literally meant everyone.”
Jean grinned and patted her head, “Now, don’t scare any more teachers away and maybe you’ll be fine. You know, there’s talk that you’re a laheshn. Can you believe that?”
Laughing nervously, she answered, “No, no I can’t… Actually, it’s funny, Athena seems to think I might be an Ahawei.”
He was silent for several moments, staring at her wide-eyed. She continued her nervous laugh and a smile broke across his face, “Wow, well that’s different.”
“Kou,” She continued, “He thinks so, too… And, he asked me why my family all has light hair, skin, and eyes. When someone marries in, the children inherit the same traits regardless.”
“Hm,” Jean murmured to himself, “Now that you mention it, it is odd.”
“That’s not quite the comforting response I was hoping for,” Lisa sighed, leaning forward and putting her elbows on her knees, then resting her head on top of her hands.
“Well it’s weird, but that doesn’t mean you’re an Ahawei,” Jean quickly said. “Besides, even if you are, you’re still you.”
“Funny, I told another friend about it, and they said the same thing,” She commented, cocking her head to the side as she looked at Jean.
“Does this friend happen to be that Sato boy that you seem to be so taken with?” Jean asked with a smirk and Lisa blushed. “So when are you two going to officially become girlfriend and boyfriend?”
“It’s not like that,” She protested, although her face felt even more flushed. “He’s just a friend, he’s way too… well, immature most of the time, for me to like him as anything more.”
“So harsh,” He chuckled, rubbing her back.
“You’re one to talk,” Lisa pointed out, “You still don’t even have any prospective girlfriends, do you?”
“There are some very nice looking and single teachers here. Give me a month and we’ll see,” Jean stood up from the sofa and smiled down at Lisa. She leaned back and he added, “Well, I’m hungry, care to join me to get some food?”
“Sure,” Lisa eagerly asked, “Is this food on or off grounds?”
“Last time I checked, we need another mature chaperone for you to go off grounds,” Jean answered. “We can always ask and see, though. Oh, and you might want to change into some pants. You still don’t seem to have the hang of wearing a skirt that short appropriately.”
Lisa looked down to her lap and saw that the skirt had ridden up several inches, revealing most of her thighs. From the distance Jean was standing, she realized he could probably see under it, too and her face reddened. She leapt up and as he was laughing, she struck his chest.
“What was that for?” He asked, still laughing, “Better me saying something than someone else saying it… or worse, not saying anything.”
“You’re such a perv!” She squealed, although she only half meant it. “Now, shoo, and let me change, then we can try to hit up the new teacher for a food excursion.”
“The new teacher?”
“Yeah,” Lisa explained as she walked over to her door and opened it for him, “Mr. Roso, Athena’s nephew, she already said that he could be a stand in for Kou.”
“Then we can have more fun,” Jean joked as Lisa pushed him from the room, “Kou’s fun and all, but it’s more fun if it’s all younger people.”
“Out!” Lisa pushed him out the rest of the way. Closing her door, she turned and tried to rid her face of the blushing. She hurriedly changed into a pair of black pants and long sleeved blue shirt with the school insignia on it. Once she put her wallet and cell phone into the pockets and left her room, Jean was already talking with several of the girls that had been across the hall.
“So, you’re with the security?” One girl asked, touching his arm in a familiar way.
Jean nervously smiled and said, “Ah, well I’m very sorry, but I have to go now. Lisa, shall we?”
“Okay, let’s go,” Lisa answered, grabbing his other arm and guiding him away from the girls. She heard rude whispers as they walked down the hall, she could have sworn she heard one of the girls whisper something about laheshn.
“So where is this guy?” Jean asked as they rounded the corner.
“Actually,” Lisa realized, “I don’t know.”
“Great job, there,” He mumbled as they walked.
“He was going to start up a debate group, maybe he’s at his classroom,” She suggested.
“Well, it’s worth a shot, otherwise we can ask Kou,” Jean agreed.
..
Arriving at the classroom that was currently Mr. Roso’s, Lisa peered into the window on the side of it. The lights were on inside the classroom and she saw a surprised expression on the face of the teacher residing inside. She smiled and waved before knocking on the door, although he had already stood up.“Miss Noreg,” He began to ask, opening the door, “What can I do for…” He stopped as he saw Jean.
,p>“Um,” Lisa tried to explain, suddenly feeling nervous and silly. “Sorry for… looking in the window again, you always seem to catch me doing stupid things.” She laughed nervously and Jean grinned.
“It is fine, to be honest you really startled me, I was just grading some tests and I happened to look over and see you there,” Roso replied. He chuckled before asking again, “The debate was not supposed to be until eight thirty, so how can I help you?”
“Ms. Roso,” Lisa began, again, “She uh… She said that I can’t leave the grounds unless I have Jean,” She pointed at Jean and then paused. “Oh yeah, this is Jean, Jean this is Mr. Roso…” They both offered feeble smiles at one another as she continued, “But, she said that I have to have him and either Kou or you, too.”
“We’re hungry,” Jean explained, with a smile and Lisa felt herself blush.
Why am I getting so embarrassed? She wondered.
“Actually, I have not eaten yet, either. We have plenty of time, it would be refreshing to get off the grounds,” Michael told them.
Jean smiled and Lisa quietly thanked him. “Do you think I could invite my friends?”
“Roso, do you have a car?” Jean asked.
An annoyed look came across his face and Lisa felt a flash of anger at Jean’s casualness. When he answered, though, it dissipated, “I do, and I must ask that you call me Michael, if I am calling you Jean.”
“Ah, sure,” Jean replied, “Well then, if we have two cars, then I’m okay with it. And you Michael?”
“How many friends, Miss Noreg?” He asked, turning the lights off in his classroom.
“Just two, Riot and Sato,” She answered, “Oh… and um… Well if we’re out of class you can just call me Lisa. It’s weird being called miss Noreg.”
“You still have to call me Mr. Roso, though,” Michael replied, closing the classroom door.
Lisa felt embarrassed as she rushed to say, “Well, yeah, I know… but, I mean. Oh, Jean, he knows about who I really am… So when I say, for obvious reasons, being called Noreg in general is still kind of strange to me.”
Jean made an odd expression as he asked, “It was Ms. Roso wasn’t it, who told you?”
“I have known her for years,” Michael answered, “You are just learning the ways she can pull strings.”
..
Jean, Lisa, Riot, Mr. Roso, and Sato all walked towards the back of the parking garage. Michael had suggested that they borrow one of the vans that the school owned, insisting that if any problem arose as to why they had borrowed it, that he would say it had been his idea and not Jean’s.After several minutes of debating while Roso drove the van out of the garage and down the long driveway, the group had decided on their destination: Dean’s, a twenty four hour diner that served breakfast all day.
They arrived and parked near the back of the parking lot. Everyone left the van and walked towards the building, all of them talking amongst themselves. Jean and Mr. Roso were having a quiet conversation and Lisa, Riot, and Sato were discussing the different endings to an adventure game called Horus.
“Jean,” Riot spoke up, holding the door open for everyone to walk through, “How long have you known Lisa?”
“Oh man,” Jean thought for a moment. Riot let the door fall closed after everyone was inside and a host came to show them to a table. “Over three years, already.”
“Wow,” Sato commented, sliding into the booth the host had led them to. They had a large round table with a booth seat that ran around it. “Lisa, you wanna sit next to me?” He asked hopefully. Jean covered his mouth as he chuckled, but Lisa slid in to sit next to him.
Sato wound up sitting in the middle with Riot and then Jean to his left, and Lisa and then Mr. Roso to his right. Menus were handed out and the host left them alone for a few minutes.
“I haven’t been here in such a long time,” Riot explained as he looked over the menu, “It seems I’ve forgotten most of their menu.”
“Well, they’ve changed it a lot in the last year or so,” Jean replied.
“I’ve never actually eaten here before,” Lisa said, quietly.
“What?” Sato asked. Lisa smiled sheepishly at him.
“Really? Well, then I don’t feel all that bad, then,” Riot laughed.
“What about you, Michael?” Jean asked, lowering his menu to look across the table.
“I have never eaten here before, either,” Roso admitted, much to the surprise of Riot and Sato.
“Where have you two been living your whole lives?” Sato asked with a grin.
“My family generally disapproved of junk food,” Lisa explained, “They counted this as junk food. What about you, Mr. Roso?”
“Hm?” He paused a moment and looked about the table before answering, “Well, I just have not had any reason to come here. Most of the people I go out with are generally older than the mean age here.”
Jean chuckled and said, “Well it is a hot place for the high school and college age groups.”
A waitress came and introduced herself, then took their orders and everyone aside from Jean wound up ordering breakfast foods. The group chatted and joked throughout the meal. Lisa felt overjoyed by the whole experience, it was the first time she had ever gone out with a group of friends. She had never realized what she had been missing in her years of isolated education. Even Mr. Roso was good company to her, she had been skeptical when Ms. Roso told her that they would make good friends, so she was surprised to see how well they all got along.
After nearly an hour and a half, Michael suggested that they all return to the school. Each person paid for their meals, and they all went back to the van. Driving back in the direction of the academy, there was a giddy feeling throughout the vehicle. Once they reached the academy, Mr. Roso reminded them again of the debate group to be held at eight thirty. Sato and Riot both agreed to attend as they got out of the van.
Lisa was getting up from her seat when as she moved to step down from the van, she tripped. Michael had already gotten out and was closing his door as she fell. He caught her, clumsily, but prevented her from falling to the concrete floor.
“You should be more careful,” He told her, lifting her into an upright standing position.
“Yeah, sorry,” She mumbled an apology, looking down at the floor in embarrassment.
“Lisa, you up to hang out?” Sato asked, already crossing the garage.
“No, you go on without me,” She called. Riot and Sato nodded and continued to leave.
“You are going to come to the debate, are you not?” Mr. Roso asked, closing the van door Lisa had tumbled out from.
“Yeah, of course,” She answered, eagerly. Jean raised an eyebrow as they began to walk towards the exit.
“Lisa, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” Jean said to her before they reached the exit door.
“I shall see you later, then,” Roso excused himself, going through the exit.
“What is it?” Lisa asked, stopping her walking and looking over at Jean.
“Be careful,” Jean began, “I just… You should be careful.”
“Why are you saying this all of a sudden?” She walked over to the door and leaned against the wall to the side of it.
“I’m not an idiot, although I do find it cute,” He continued, “The way you were behaving. I don’t think I’ve seen you with a crush before.”
“What?!” She exclaimed. “I already told you, I don’t like Sato… or do you mean Riot?”
“I mean the person you excluded from your response,” Jean smiled as she opened her mouth to argue. “You can deny it, but maybe you just don’t realize it yet. It’s not all that bad, it’s not unheard of for students to have a thing for their teachers.”
“I do not have a thing for anyone,” Lisa growled, moving away from the wall. “Let alone Mr. Roso.”
“Tell me that again in a few weeks,” Jean laughed. “Just, be careful about it all. He seems like a good guy, but you never know.”
“Ms. Roso just thinks we’d make good friends.” Lisa suggested, “You’re just confusing us getting along with something else. Besides, if he were the type who’d take advantage, why would she want him teaching here?”
“Well, anyone can do things that are morally questionable without having bad intentions,” Jean commented, opening the exit door. “Just be wary, okay?”
“Okay,” Lisa grumbled, doubtfully.
..
It was eight fifteen when Lisa arrived at Michael Roso’s classroom for the third time that day. The door was already open, and she went inside to find several students already sitting down at the desks. There were three boys and a girl she did not know sitting in the middle with Fuileni and Jenson, and four girls she also did not know sitting in the back.“Miss Noreg, welcome,” Roso greeted with a smile. Lisa smiled back and took a seat near the front of the room.
Right after Lisa had sat down, Riot and Sato entered into the room.
“Welcome, Mr. Sato, and-” Roso began except Riot cut him off.
“Riot! Just call me Riot, I don’t care how familiar or informal it is,” He rushed. Michael chuckled and nodded his head. Sato had told Lisa that Riot had all the teachers call him Riot, except for Mrs. Hatoch, who had refused to.
“Lisa, what’s up?” Sato asked, sitting down in a chair next to her.
“Nothing, I finished up our math homework before I came up here,” She answered, leaning back in her chair and grinning.
“I thought you were just trying to catch up! How can you understand that, already?” Sato asked, leaning towards her.
“I had very good teachers before I came here,” Lisa giggled as Riot took a seat behind them.
“Wow, she’s younger and smarter than you Sato,” Riot patted Sato’s back, “You really don’t have a chance with her.”
“Wha….?” Lisa blushed deeply and turned to face away from Sato and Riot, only to meet Mr. Roso’s gaze. He smiled at her, obviously close enough to have heard their conversation, and she blushed even more.
“Aw, don’t be mean, Riot,” Sato mumbled, also turning away, his face slightly turning pink.
Michael cleared his throat and the quiet conversations throughout the room died down. “Alright… Welcome to the extra credit ethics debate meeting.” He stood up from behind his desk, and moved around to the front, “Does anyone have any topics that they would care to suggest?”
“We have Noreg here, she’s the expert, what do you say we should debate, Noreg?” Jenson asked, his voice loud. After he spoke several of the students had laughed.
“Now,” Roso intervened, “Behave. If you make any more rude comments you are going to be out of here, and I have seen your grade Mr. Tafud, you really cannot afford that.”
Several other students giggled at this and Lisa grinned.
“Actually,” Lisa began, “I do have an idea. What about social groupings and why there is often animosity between different groups? Like the smart and the popular.”
“That is an interesting idea,” Roso said, crossing his arms across his chest. One of the girls in the back sighed loud enough to be heard and he smiled nervously. “Also, how about why humans and Iyagi tend to divert into different groups in social situations?” He asked.
“There are many reasons,” Fuileni spoke up, “Usually it’s differences. Everyone winds up going into a group that they can relate to, and isolate those who are different.”
“Very true,” Michael nodded and let his arms fall to his sides. He pulled out a chair from under one of the desks in the front and sat down in it, “But, why is that?”
“Because it’s familiar, popular or smart, Iyagi or human,” The girl who had sighed nervously suggested. She had long light brown hair and deep blue eyes, her face blushed when Roso looked over at her when she spoke.
“So, is that the only reason?” He asked, trying to continue the conversation.
“Maybe, a lot of people just don’t like change,” Lisa commented.
“Care to elaborate?” Roso suggested.
Riot spoke up before Lisa could continue, “Like she said about how smart and popular groups often don’t go together. Popular children grow up, and as they grow up, they want popular friends and even when they reach adulthood, they might put superficial values ahead of decent morals when looking for friends and lovers and such. For some it works most of their life okay, they can take easy classes in school, go on to work an easy job that is based on looks or something, not brains… In such cases, they don’t need to change, so why would they want to?”
“He’s right,” Jenson agreed. “Unless there’s something to push you out from what you are used to… unless you actually face the need to change, if most people have the choice they will stay with what they know.”
“What they know they like,” Sato added.
Lisa smiled as she saw Jenson nod. Although she knew the school was divided, she found it nice how everyone felt so at peace now.
“Why are you all here?” Roso asked, leaning back in his chair casually.
“Because most of us are failing,” Sato joked, eliciting several laughs throughout the group.
“Maybe… we are curious,” Lisa suggested. “Maybe we are wondering what other people are thinking about ethics, especially right now, and this is a safe place to express opinion and hear others.”
“Is that so? How many of you came here, at least in part, from curiosity?” Michael asked the room. Several of people vocally agreed, and others just nodded silently.
“The elephant in the room is that we have humans, laheshn, and a few we’re undecided about in here,” The girl with brown hair said, glancing in Lisa’s direction.
“The official position of the school is that all the students and staff are human,” Roso commented. “Well, aside from Ms. Roso’s personal assistant.”
“Everyone knows that’s bull,” Jenson said, putting his arm around Fuileni. “I’ll admit it, I’m an Iyaga. I think we all knew that, though.”
“Look at how you are all sitting,” Michael pointed out. Jenson and Fuileni were sitting with the three boys that Lisa did not recognize, along with one other girl. The girl with brown hair was seated with three other girls, in the back, the two groups were separated by several desks. Then Lisa, Riot, and Sato were seated together near the front. “It appears you have segregated yourselves.”
“So what? The humans and then the laheshn and then the oddballs?” One of the girls in the back stood up and asked. She sat back down as Roso gave her a stern look.
“Miss Noreg, I am sure Sato and Riot joined you because you are friends, but why did you sit there alone in the first place?” Roso asked, looking in their direction.
“Honestly? Everyone in the school generally seems to hate me for one reason or another because of Mrs. Hatoch. The human students are upset because so many of them relate to how she felt, and then the laheshn students… actually, I’m still a little confused as to why they hate me for it,” Lisa sighed, exasperated.
“Because it was none of your business,” Jenson replied. “We don’t need your pity… We don’t need a human to feel sorry for us! That example was neutral to begin with, but everyone knows more than half of her examples are really meant to be an Iyaga in a moral dilemma.”
“How was it pity? It was true, I’m sorry if I don’t feel like Iyagi are so different from humans,” Lisa snapped.
Jenson glared and opened his mouth but Roso spoke first, “Calm down, now. This place is neutral, you can express your opinions, even if they are not popular, okay? Jenson, in a respectfull manner, why did the incident upset you?”
“Because,” Jenson began, “This new human girl starts attending. Although I can’t confirm this, she comes off as the privileged little rich kid who got their parents to bribe them into this school. Then, she comes to class, and tries to put Hatoch in her place, but it feels so insincere, like she’s pretending to be all perfect… It’s like if when you’re a little kid, you’re a boy and your friend who’s a girl winds up beating up another guy for you, even if you could have won the fight.”
“That’s sexist,” Fuileni pointed out, causing Jenson to sigh.
“I do not think he meant it to be sexist.” Michael asked, “So honestly… how many of you think that humans are better than Iyagi in any way?” The group of girls in the back raised their hands.
“That Iyagi are better than humans in any way?” He asked again, and Jenson’s group raised their hands.
“Well that explains why we’re all alone,” Lisa scoffed.
“I don’t believe that you honestly think we’re all equal,” Jenson challenged.
“I don’t think we in this room are all equal,” Lisa admitted, “But, as soon as your start comparing groups as a whole it becomes unfair to say one is better than the other. I am sure there are individual Iyagi who are better morally and or intellectually than individual humans, and vise versa.”
“I agree,” Riot added, “It really all depends. It isn’t really fair to make such concrete judgment when the pool can be so varied. Like Zoisu for example, he’s a ruthless and scary man regardless of if he’s a human or not, like Alexander Maror was. They are both very, very bad people, although in ways have helped make the world better.”
At the mention of Alexander Maror the group of laheshn seemed to have tensed, along with Lisa and Sato. Sato looked questioningly at her, and she offered a weak smile.
“How did a man like Alexander Maror help the world at all?” Lisa asked coldly.
“Come off it, Noreg,” one of the other boys with Jenson told her, “You were probably crying like a baby when he was killed.”
Lisa narrowed her eyes and was about to reply to his comment, but Michael stopped her, “Riot, answer her question.”
“He helped a lot of charities and also funded a lot of research into cures for diseases,” Riot explained, “Thousands of people have been helped through Ulena, by Alexander’s order… I am sure that Zoisu has also saved and helped a lot of Iyagi, too.”
“Marors have killed a lot more Iyagi than Zoisu has humans, though,” Fuileni responded. “And, at least Uleiga hasn’t poisoned millions of humans over several generations and pretended that humans are only as smart as an animal.”
“The thing is, no one right now is very right,” Lisa said, “Except maybe Mr. Mahoku. He seems to have a good idea about how things should be.”
“But isn’t Uleiga’s whole goal to just make slaves out of humans?” One of the girls in the back asked.
Roso kept quiet and watched interested as everyone went back and forth.
“No,” The boy who had spoken up before explained, “not entirely. Mahoku at least wants to just get Iyagi and humans on the same level. Although, if you read some of his personal statements and sentiments, he does generally feel that Iyagi are stronger, smarter, and more moral than humans, he acknowledges, like Noreg said, that it’s not always the case…. So it isn’t fair to give one group more rights than the other.”
“I think that we should tie this up, pretty soon,” Roso announced. “It is starting to get late.”
“Mr. Roso, what do you think?” Lisa asked.
He raised his eyebrows and chuckled, “I have to be the neutral party here, my opinion does not exist at the moment.”
Most of the room laughed, but Lisa frowned. It’s almost like he’s hiding something, she thought.
“It’s just a little hard to… accept it,” The brown haired girl said quietly. “For most of my life, for generations what we were taught, it was just blown away. Even if I hear you speaking and see you behaving like us, it’s just… alien to think Iyagi could be so human. I mean no offense, either.”
“It’s fine,” Fuileni replied, “Like where this all started, unless one is pushed into a change, unless there really is a need to, it’s hard and unlikely that people will change.”
“Well, I think it is time for you to all head to your rooms now. We can continue this discussion later this week,” Roso said, standing up and moving towards the door. “Miss Noreg, may I have a word with you?”
The students all filed out and as the brown haired girl passed Michael, she blushed and looked at the floor. Once everyone had left, he closed the door and looked down at her.
“Are you okay?” He asked, walking nearer her and putting a hand on her desk.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked in return, confused.
“You hold your tongue well, but I am concerned at to what cost,” Roso stated. Lisa looked up into his face and saw that he looked very worried.
“I’m fine,” She whispered, “Let them think I’m a spoiled rich kid who wants to appear perfect, Jenson had a point… when other’s who don’t understand you pity you, it is frustrating… If they ever find out that I’m an orphan who is also naturally an outcast, I know that I would be treated differently. Even if I’m treated worse for wrong assumptions, at least they aren’t lying to me, like they would if they knew the truth.”
“You are too mature for your own good, you know,” Roso replied, moving the hand on the desk to her head. She closed her eyes for a moment at the touch. Her heart beat harder and when she opened her eyes, she was thankful she was sitting, because she suddenly felt light headed.
“…Mr. Roso, the debate’s over,” Lisa mumbled, trying to calm her heart. “What is your opinion anyway?”
He withdrew his hand and Lisa felt her pulse slow, and she was almost regretful she had asked.
“Most of the time I honestly just do not know.”
Lisa excused herself and walked through the halls and back to her bedroom almost feeling as if in a daze. After showering and then changing into her pajamas, she lied down on her bed and stared at her ceiling. Just as when Sato had nearly kissed her, her heart raced and her face grew warm, again she felt the same way and wondered if Jean had been right. Well I think that group of girls was there because they think he’s cute, too… Too, oh well, I mean I’d be lying if I said he was unattractive… kind, smart, mature… but… it’s still like he’s hiding something… I wonder what it could be?
She fell into a calm sleep. For the first time in several nights, her dreams were almost peaceful.
..
The days went by and Lisa’s birthday approached. Her classes had been uneventful, but most of the students still held a grudge against her. Mr. Roso offered another debate night on Thursday and Friday and by the end of Friday, Jenson and Lisa were almost friends.After each meeting, it became more apparent, at least to those in attendance, that Lisa’s expressed views were sincere and not fabrication of a desire to appear a good person. Roso was pleased that the students were respectfully expressing and coming to terms with their views. It seemed, although slowly, the laheshn group and human group were beginning to understand the other’s viewpoint.
Thursday afternoon, Kou had tried to test Lisa again and met her in the gym. Everything happened mostly the same way, except that Lisa rushed at him and managed to hit him in the face. Kou was admittedly disappointed that she had been unable to defend herself with neilana or express any sign that she was an Ahawei. He seemed unconvinced that she was not an Ahawei and vowed to not give up on her, much to Lisa’s annoyance.
Sunday finally came and Lisa woke up early in the morning. She dressed into black pants and one of the dark blue school tee shirts that she had. Going out into the hallways, she did not see anyone in sight, no staff or students. It was only six o’clock when she walked down to one of the doors that lead outside.
The sun was barely up and the sky was bathed in a peach colored glow. The breeze was cool, but it felt warmer in comparison to what it had been weeks ago. Spring was coming and several of the plants far in the distance were beginning to bud with flowers.
Sighing, Lisa began to walk towards the woods that were behind the large staff housing compound. As she passed she wondered what Jean was doing, but she soon forgot about it all as she reached the woods. There was small paved path that ran around the academy property, around the border of the lawn, and through the woods. Walking briskly, she set off down it.
Lisa had no idea where the path led, or if it circled back, but she did not care. She replayed the dream she had woken up from over in her head. It could not have been less than seventy degrees but she shivered, as if suddenly feeling a chill.
She had been fighting someone with neilana, and winning. A boy whom she had never met, but who seemed about her age, with dark emerald hair and green eyes, he had been using neilana, too. Although she did not know him, somehow she felt she had seen him somewhere before, but she could not place it.
Most of the dream had been hazy, but she could recall a few moments clearly.
“My parents,” he said, after they finished their spar. “He took them, I have to rescue them… But, how can I, when I still lose to you?”
“Hey, watch it,” Lisa had replied with a smile, “I’ve had a lot more time to learn than you have.”
She remembered talking longer than that, but the exact words were lost in her head. Lisa woke up shortly after that in a cold sweat. It was nothing near as fearful as the dreams with Zoisu had been, but the dream still held the same feeling… as if it had been too real, or surreal.
The thing that had been most troublesome about the dream was that she had used neilana. It had been so natural and easy; it just came as if she had always been using it. After walking for nearly an hour, trying to clear her mind, Lisa finally reached the academy yard once more. The path she had chosen cut through a section of woods before turning back around towards the buildings, except now she was on the other side of the staff housing building.
Lisa began to walk back towards the main academy building, deciding to eat some breakfast. She did feel calmer since the walk, but she could not help but wonder if Kou could have been right. He said that he sensed neilana in me… maybe the dream was trying to tell me that he’s right, maybe it was trying to show me how I could tap into it… or maybe it was really only a dream… But it felt so real.
..
There was a loud knock on the door to Lisa’s living area. She had been in the middle of a history assignment, sighing, she set her book down, and went to answer the door. On the other side was Jenson, tall and a smug as ever.“Mr. Roso wanted to see you,” Jenson told her before she could even greet him.
“Do you know why?” Lisa asked, raising an eyebrow and leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
“Something about the coming semester, making sure you’re all caught up… Stuff like that,” Jenson answered. “Here, I’ll show you were he is.”
Lisa followed behind Jenson silently. They passed many students who looked surprised to see them walking together. By the time they reached the forth floor, Lisa was getting annoyed by the looks they were being given.
Only a few paces away from the stairs Jenson stopped in front of a door and knocked.
“Come in,” Someone inside called, although Lisa did not think it sounded quite like Mr. Roso.
Jenson motioned Lisa to go in first, opening the door, she began to walk inside. The room was dark and she felt a sudden surge of panic for a moment before the lights turned on.
“Happy birthday!” A jumble of voices shouted. A grin spread across her face as Lisa saw everyone in the room. Mr. Roso, Kou, Jean and Ms. Depping were standing near a table with a cake and a few presents. Sato and Riot were standing near the door and Fuileni was near the light switch.
“You scared the heck out of me,” Lisa giggled, walking to hug Riot and Sato.
“Well it’s a surprise party,” Sato laughed back. “Thanks Jenson, she really had no idea, did she?”
“None at all,” He answered with a smile, closing the door to the room.
“This is the first surprise party she’s had,” Jean explained, walking over to Lisa and hugging her. “Hopefully not the last, either.”
“Who planned all this anyway?” Lisa asked, looking around the room at everyone.
“Thank Kou,” Depping told her, patting Kou on the back. “And Jean. They were the ones who got everyone together and thought this all up.”
“Aaaaand,” Jean moved away from her and picked up a slim plastic rectangle from off the table, “I have that movie that came to DVD recently, that you wanted to see so badly: Hubris Falling.”
Lisa laughed, “The one I wasn’t allowed to see in theaters. Thanks, Kou and thanks Jean, and thanks everyone.”
“Come and blow out your candles before the cake gets waxy,” Fuileni chirped, grabbing Lisa by the arm and walking her over to the cake.
“Don’t forget to make a wish,” Ms. Depping suggested, smiling kindly.
Pausing for a moment, Lisa thought, I wonder what I should wish for… It’s not like it’s really going to come true by blowing out some candles… but, still… I wish… I wish that I could find out if what happened in that dream could be real… if I could be an Ahawei or not… to know for sure.
Taking a deep breath, Lisa blew the candles out and everyone clapped.
The cake was a large square and it was half strawberry and half chocolate. Lisa and Fuileni were the only ones who had the strawberry and Jean commented that he had only gotten it half strawberry because he knew it was Lisa’s favorite.
After eating cake, they encouraged Lisa to open the presents.
“After you all put this together, you didn’t have to get me anything,” She mumbled as Fuileni put a small package into her hands.
“Cut the act, everyone wants gifts on their big day,” She replied with a grin. Lisa could tell she had meant it in a friendly way, but Lisa really appreciated that so many people remembered and wanted to celebrate with her. In her whole life, she had only had her family at her birthdays and holidays, but she was too embarrassed to mention that aloud.
The small box was wrapped in pink and Fuileni announced that it was from her. Lisa carefully pulled off the white ribbon and then peeled off the pink wrapping paper. Inside was a bookmark of dried pressed flowers that were laminated onto paper.
“You’re always tearing off little scraps of paper to shove in novels you read when the teachers call on you,” She explained, “So I figured you could use a good book mark.”
“Thank you so much, Fuileni,” Lisa thanked. “I really like it, and you’re right… It’s nice that you actually got me something that I could use… and need… I didn’t realize you actually pay attention to m-”
“Don’t get sappy,” Fuileni snapped, still in a friendly way, “Next gift, from Sato and Riot.”
The box that was handed to Lisa and flat and large. It turned out to be a drawing tablet with different art pencils, ink pens, and colored pencils. Her other gifts had been a science book with many photos she had been meaning to buy for months, from Kou. Ms. Depping gave her a small silver anklet with tiny purple glass gems. Jenson’s present was a novel written by Richard Stanson, although when published it was unknown, he was now openly admitting himself as a laheshn.
When Fuileni asked about what Jean had gotten her, he said that the DVD was now hers. Everyone aside from Roso and Lisa laughed at the comment. After the presents were open, they all went over to where there were several sofas and armchairs and Jean began to play the movie.
Lisa sat on the end of one of the couches with Sato to her right and Roso sitting on her left in loveseat with Ms. Depping. Riot was next to Sato and Jean had armchairs by Riot. Kou sat to Depping’s left in an armchair. Finally, Fuileni and Jenson had a loveseat near Jean.
Hurbis Falling was a movie about a young man who was born into royalty, but not near any succession to the throne. Through acts of war and sickness, he wound up becoming king at a young age. All that the protagonist wanted was to ensure peace for his country and to protect a neighbor girl he was in love with, but somehow he wound up loosing sight of the common people and became overwhelmed with his power. In the end, his country was taken over and his own followers and counselors betrayed him, and the girl was killed by the infiltrating army. The movie ended with him sitting in a dark cell retelling his story to a fellow prisoner, voicing that his biggest regret was not saving the girl that he loved.
The movie credits began to roll and Fuileni and Lisa began to talk to one another on how they liked the movie. Jenson thought it was too much of a romance, but Fuileni joked that she thought he looked almost about to cry near the end.
Soon Jenson and Fuileni left, happily telling Lisa that they would see her in class. Kou and Ms. Depping left. Riot and Sato soon followed. Lisa, Jean and Roso wound up cleaning up the room.
There was not much to clean, only paper plates with cake crumbs and empty paper cups, along with the discarded wrapping paper.
“Hey, Michael,” Jean began, ejecting the movie disc from the player, “You didn’t get her anything, did you?”
Lisa glared at Jean a moment before saying, “I already said it was fine. Really, to have a party with people aside from family, it’s nice.”
“Don’t forget to call your uncle tonight,” Jean reminded, “It’s Sunday.”
“Yeah, I know,” Lisa replied. She tied up the garbage bag that was full of the trash and sighed.
“Well, I have to go, now,” Jean walked up behind her and gave her a hug, wrapping his arms around from her back to her front. Lisa blushed slightly as he did so. He elaborated, “I have a date.”
“Good luck,” Lisa mumbled, as he pulled away.
He smiled at her and nodded, “Happy birthday, Lis’.”
“Aw, you haven’t called me that in years,” Lisa blushed, but grinned.
“You said you were too old for it,” Jean replied with a smile as he walked to the door. “But, it’s your birthday, so I just want to remind you that you’re not old, yet.”
“…Lisa?” Roso asked. Lisa jumped, startled for a moment, turning to face Roso. She had forgotten that he was still in the room.
“Oh, sorry,” she apologized, bowing her head slightly.
“It’s fine,” He said, moving nearer to her and holding a hand out to take the trash bag.
“Thanks,” She mumbled, cursing the blush she could not rid from her face. Then she saw him pull something out from the pocket of the jacket he was wearing, two small wrapped boxes.
“I did get you something, and one is from Athena,” He told her. She took them and mumbled a quiet thanks before excusing herself from the room.
Once she was back in her bedroom, Lisa decided to open the gifts up. The first one had a tiny card that had written, ‘I hope you may find this useful or at least interesting, happy birthday. -Athena.’ Inside was a book of legends, myth and lore of the Onii islands. Lisa smiled, guessing that there was more information of the Suyeita in there.
The second gift was around the same size, and Lisa wondered what it could be. She pulled off the paper and found a plain box. Inside the box was a card and a necklace made from small shiny black stones. The necklace was well made, but far from looking attractive. Puzzled, Lisa opened up the card and read the neat cursive script.
Lisa,
I can tell you have still been having difficulties with your sleep. This necklace might help you, but if it does alleviate your ill dreams it might give more reason for Kou to think you are an Ahawei.
Lisa felt annoyed for a moment, wondering who it was who told had told him, but she shook her head and kept reading.
The necklace is made from a very special stone that is only found a few places in the world. It interferes with external magnetism around a body that manifests itself usually as what most would call neilana. Your dreams that are too real to be dreams, they might indeed be real, or perhaps some day shall be real. If you wear it to bed and stop having the dreams all together then it will provide more reason that you could be an Ahawei.
Kou mentioned to me how you keep denying that you are an Ahawei, but why? He also mentioned that he can sense you have neilana, deny it as you will, but he has had no luck in getting you to use it. We have a week vacation before the new semester, until next Monday. Meet me in my classroom at eleven in the evening on Tuesday, after you have slept with the beads for tonight and Monday night… Although I teach ethics I have extensively studied neilana in Iyagi, and I have had the fortune to have met an Ahawei before. The Ahawei that I once met taught me much, and although difficult, I believe I might be able to offer guidance as to your own neilana.
Although you might wonder if my personal inexperience would not lend itself well for me to guide you, but the way a human mind uses neilana differs much from the way Iyagi can. I want you to know that this offer is for help, not to make you out as a subject of study. I hope you can trust me, as I hope I can trust you.
-Michael Roso.
Lisa’s heart pounded, her breathing seemed to have stopped. The Suyeita was hard enough to swallow. Toying with the idea that she might be an Ahawei, that they might exist… That one truly did exist, she felt shaken, as if a scientist somehow proved that one and one was four. Ahawei could not exist, but one somehow did.
Doubts ran through her head, whether it what he had said was really truth. But, why would he lie about that? Could … could Mr. Roso possibly be an Ahawei? Maybe that’s what I was sensing that he was hiding… but, still… if he were, wouldn’t he just admit it?
Her ringing phone startled her out of her train of thought. Looking at the screen she saw it was her uncle calling her. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she answered the phone calmly, “Hey, Uncle Nick.”
“Happy birthday, Lisa,” He greeted on the other end. “How was it?”
“Jean and … Kou, they got my friends together and threw a party for me,” She answered, almost hesitant to mention Kou’s involvement, but her uncle had expressed that he held some trust of Kou.
“That’s wonderful to hear,” Nicholas replied. “So you are making friends okay, then?”
“Yeah,” Lisa smiled. “Although I normally just hang out with Sato and this friend of his, now friend of mine, too, Riot. Lately I’ve been befriending other people, too.”
“Again, great to hear,” Her uncle expressed. She imagined that he was grinning, sitting behind his large desk in his office after a long day of work, calling his niece. “How have you been otherwise?”
She could read into the unsaid questions. He did not want to appear overbearing or overly concerned, but he was worried and curious about if she was safe and happy. He would never actually bluntly ask that, because he would not want to upset her, but she knew that he wanted to know.
“I’m usually the youngest in most of my classes, but I get along with my classmates well enough,” Lisa began. “I’m not afraid of getting hurt outside of being clumsy in P.E., no strange and mysterious attacks, it’s nice actually. My birthday, though, there were some people who I didn’t even know liked me… The classes here are great and challenging, I’m already learning. I don’t think this school could be better. Oh! Jean has a date tonight, too.”
Nicholas chuckled as he replied, “I’m very glad to hear that you are doing so well.”
There was a momentary pause and Lisa was about to ask how he was when he spoke again.
“Do you remember about how we were going to get the K-cams installed here?” He asked.
The question was unexpected, but Lisa remembered all too well, “Yes, of course.”
“We have scheduled a public release date for them,” Nicholas continued. “It is going to be April sixth when they are officially for sale, but we already have thousands of orders.”
“Thousands?” Lisa asked, shocked. “How are so many people finding out about it?”
“The developer’s, Ms. White’s, assistant leaked it out online. It spread like wildfire, people really want a way to get laheshn out of their businesses and communities,” Nicholas explained. “It seems that Uleiga has also caught wind of it, naturally, and they are not happy.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” The questioned slipped out and Lisa immediately apologized, “Sorry I didn’t mean that… in a rude way.”
“I know you didn’t,” Nicholas sighed. “I care about you and love you, that’s why I am telling you. The way the media is finding everything out about this, I know this would get to you soon, regardless. I want you to know that I do trust you and you can trust me, so I am telling you before it hits the press.” He paused and took a deep breath, “Franklin Maror, the Prime Minister for north Nava Canan, was contacted a few days ago by Uleiga. They are requesting a meeting with him and the south and west prime ministers.”
“Uncle Frank?” Lisa whispered to herself. He was distantly related to Lisa and she had only met him twice. He seemed a kind enough man, but he did not come across as someone who negotiated. “Why a meeting?”
“Uleiga wants to be officially recognized under the government.” Nicholas continued to tell her, “Although, they are not denying Uleiga’s existence anymore, right now they are not being officially recognized either. Iyagi are not seen under the law as citizens, so a group of them is merely just that. Uleiga wants to be recognized and then to negotiate a gradual increase of rights for Iyagi… Or else, they are threatening that they will abruptly bring Iyagi their rights, by any means necessary.”
“Do you think they’ll agree to a meeting?” Lisa asked, beginning to feel tightness in her chest.
“Of course not,” Nicholas laughed bitterly. “Which will only give Uleiga more support, because they’ll appear amicable and it demonizes the government. I am doubtful even if they had the meeting that Uleiga would play fairly, it’s a power play. Either they win by gaining rights for Iyagi, or they win further support… Lisa, I don’t know what means they are planning on taking. I just… I want you to know I love you, and I want you to be safe.”
“I love you too, Uncle Nick,” Lisa replied, nearly unable to speak.
“One way or another, something is going to change, the world can no longer stay the way it is right now,” Nicholas said, his voice growing dark. “There is too much chaos, things are too unstable… Just be safe, okay?”
“Of course, Uncle Nick,” Lisa mumbled, “You be safe, too… please.”
“I’ll try my best, sweetie,” He told her, and Lisa smiled slightly. “Well, it’s getting late, you should be off to bed. I’ll call you next Sunday, okay? I love you. Goodnight, Lisa.”
“G’night,” Lisa replied, then clicked off her phone. She stared at the dark screen of her television for several minutes running through the conversation in her head. Picking up the remote, she turned the television on, half expecting to see breaking news about Uleiga wanting to meet with the Nava Canan leaders.
She was almost disappointed, but far from surprised, to only see a drama mini-series airing. Sighing, she was about to turn it back off when a movie advertisement came on. Lisa always enjoyed watching movie advertisements, as she thought they were advertising at its best.
The movie being advertised was supposedly twenty years into the future. Uleiga had risen up and imprisoned all the humans and there was a single male human, born into captivity who was going to change it all. He was overly handsome and his muscles looked like that of a body builder as he was shown attacking a small group of Iyagi, their neilana appearing to bounce off his large muscles. Lisa snorted as she watched, knowing that the neilana depicted was not even half what Zoisu had done to her, but that it still would have brought him to his knees, in the least. The end of the preview hinted that somehow he was able to overthrow the Uleiga rulers and restore normalcy.
So are those the choices? Either Iyagi or humans are better than the other… no equality just a never ending battle of who’s better?
Although just a simple advertisement, it disturbed her. Five years ago a movie like that would have never sold any tickets, the idea would be absurd and unappealing.
The world really is falling into chaos… But uncle Nick, it is changing… I just don’t think it’s changing for the good.
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Aoi: Now what I am wondering… did you catch it? If you are attentive you should be able to pick out the hint and the truth behind Lisa’s suspicion although she misses it...