Alpha Academy: Misfit's Rise

Chapter 12: The Classes

To be fair, I wasn't lying. I did need to study, just not for my classes. I wanted to make sure I was prepared for when Artemis decided to strike. But even after five minutes of reading the same paragraph repeatedly, I wasn't making any progress. And I was out of time. My next class was starting soon, and I had no idea where it was.

Sighing, I pulled out the map again. Maybe it would make more sense this time than the other five times I'd looked at it. At least my first class was meditation. It couldn't be that important.

According to my schedule, my first class was in the Ma-at room. From what I could tell, all the classrooms were named after Gods and Goddesses, and there didn't seem to be any pattern. This was going to be a nightmare.

The first room I passed was called Athena, beside which hung an intricate mural of an olive tree. Where there should have been bark was only writing, like the tree was made of scrolls. An owl was perched on one branch, and as I walked past, he looked at me. He even hooted softly as arrows whizzed passed his body. The mural next to the Apollo room featured a flaming high-definition sun, with arrows shooting out like rays. Something exploded on the surface of the sun, sending out a flaming tendril right in front of my face. The heat licked my skin and I jumped back, stunned. Now I had to worry about avoiding bodily damage as well as arriving on time.

Finally, I found the Ma-at room. There were no arrows or exploding suns in this mural, thankfully. A boat floated down a river under a star-filled sky. Inside the boat was an ostrich. As I got closer, the ostrich's feathers burst into flame while a large snake curled around the mural. Guess I'd spoken too soon. His head moved into the frame, showing a pair of blood-red eyes. He opened his jaw, revealing fangs as long as my forearm. I shuddered and looked away.

The teacher, Ms. Morningsky, was already speaking when I opened the door. I was late.

I gasped when I saw her. I couldn't help it. She was at least six feet tall, with hips half the width of mine, a hollow face, and sharp, prominent cheekbones. I'd think she was anorexic if not for her bright eyes, glossy hair, and vibrant skin. There was also this vivacious aura about her, something you usually didn't get with someone who was malnourished.

"You are Billie, I presume?" she said, looking me up and down.

"Yes."

"I do not typically accept tardiness," she sniffed, "so I trust this will not happen again."

"Ay-Ay, Captain." I saluted. A few kids laughed, but Ms. Morningsky was clearly not amused. Without missing a beat though, she turned to the class and said, "Class, we have a new student. This is Billie ... Runningdeer, isn't it?" I nodded.

"Isn't she the Rusty?" one girl called out after a moment of silence. Some people started whispering. Ms. Morningsky held up her hands.

"Billie's a special addition to our Academy, and it's our job to make her feel welcome. Am I understood?"

Everyone nodded, but they were still whispering and giving me wary looks.

Sighing, I found an empty mat in the back. There were no chairs, of course. Sitting kitty-corner to me was Thea. She even turned around to give me a brief smile. It was a start.

The mural of the Nile continued inside the classroom, though this time there was a sun and a clear, vibrant sky. There was also no snake. I did my best to avoid the stare of the ostrich, whose eyes seemed to follow me.

"We're going to resume where we left off yesterday." Ms. Morningsky clapped her hands together. "Chop, chop." Everyone around me started getting into pairs, but I just sat there.

"Thea, please work with Billie and help her catch up." Thea frowned for a second, but then nodded, moving away from Iris. Iris gave me another round of her fearful eyes. Great, now she has another reason not to like me.