The Law of Polarity

1. One Toasty Hotdog, Please

I swear today will finally be the day I die of heat exhaustion.

"I hate summer," I mumble to myself, wiping the sticky sweat off my brow for the 50 billionth time.

Yes, summertime is beautiful; I love the breeze through the trees, the chatter of birds, the blue water sparkling in the sun—but I'm so fucking over this relentless heat.

Granted, it's the only time of year it's semi-acceptable to wear the least amount of clothing possible, so at least I don't stand out for now. Actually, if it was acceptable to walk around campus in the nude, I'd strip down in a heartbeat. Maybe I should consider joining a nudist colony... But alas, I'll suffer in silent, sweaty hell like I've done everyday for the last 20 years. How long until winter? Six months? Shit.

Of course I have to walk clear across campus to get from my last class to the cafe where I'm working for the summer.

On the bright side, at least the walk itself is nice. With summer classes just starting the campus isn't as busy as it is the rest of the year, but there are still plenty of students in this area.

Amity University is somewhat spread out and diverse. The largest section is composed of modern, sleek, and state of the art science buildings. The art sector is bold with impressive murals covering every curved and abstract wall. The business square stands strong in brick and mortar, stable among an ever-changing world.

Currently, I stand in the dead center of campus surrounded by towering stone structures. Full of old world charm, The six Learning Halls are the heart of the university. Each Hall is dedicated to one of the six disciples: Aero, Geo, Hydro, Pyro, Photo, and Neuro. The weavers of each disciple are scattered around me, some hurrying into a Hall for class, others meandering down the path like myself. Many are clustered on the lawn, practicing their abilities, studying or just relaxing between classes.

I watch a group of students as they try out some new abilities. One girl is floating leaves on a pillow of air, it looks like another is training a squirrel? ...I think?

Next to them, two weavers are working together to create a rainbow: the hydroweaver sends out a spray of water droplets, while the photoweaver bends light through it.

One of my favorite qualities about our school is how the students and faculty of each disciple mingle and hang out together. Outside of the university is a different story, but here, we pride ourselves on working together, not creating invisible lines between us.

At least that's how most of the school is. Of course there's the few sour skittles in the bunch.

Someone rams into my shoulder with their own and I reel back, only half processing it when their books scatter onto the sidewalk like a deck of cards.

"Shit, sorry! I wasn't looking!" he blurts, scrambling to grab his stuff.

My heart pounds in my ears. Did his shoulder hit mine? No, my sleeves cover my shoulder. I'm running pretty hot today, but am I hot enough that I would've burned him? I'm not sure... should I ask if I hurt him? Maybe that would make it wor—

"Sorry about that! See ya!"

He resumes his jog away from me, head still buried in his phone. No wonder he ran into me.

At least he's fine, I reassure myself. Close call though...

I resume my own walk towards the cafe, wiping the beading sweat away once again.

Great. I'll probably have to use my fire weaving today at the cafe too since I'm training. Wren is definitely going to owe me big after talking me into working there with her. "It will be fun," she started. "We could use you're fancy fire hands on the hot bar," she complimented. "Please! We really, really need more help for the summer," she finally begged.