Prophecy of the Nexus

Chapter 7

A six o'clock wake up call was the last thing I needed. The bell rang through me, shattering whatever rest I had managed. The other girls were out of bed in a flash, so I thought there was some kind of emergency. But Lex explained it was just the wake-up call. "Canteen in thirty minutes," she said. Thirty minutes was not a lot of time to get ready, let alone wake up. How the girls got showered and dressed in that time was beyond me. I stumbled around, haphazardly put on my clothes. The others looked so smart and powerful in their crisp uniform and marched out of the room. Lex waited for me and walked me to the canteen.

The canteen was a massive hall with rows of benches and seating. This didn't feel too unlike school, and I wondered if there was a status quo on where to sit. I stayed close to Lex, mostly. They gave us a choice of porridge, toast, juice, fruit, and cooked meat. Anywhere else, I would have tucked in, but today my stomach was grouchy. Even the smell of the sausages made me feel nausea. I settled for some water and cornflakes and followed Lex to a table with Jesse. "You'll not have much energy with that," Lex said, nodding at my pathetic breakfast.

"Will I be doing much today?" I asked. I didn't know what a Squire did on their first day. Across the hall, a bunch of younger Squires were marching past. They couldn't be more than twelve years old. Even they seemed more grown-up than me.

Lex swallowed a mouth full of porridge. "Depends what Sir Atticus has got planned," she said. "Ask Marcus."

Marcus was making his way to the table. He had a big plate of food and sat opposite me. "Good first night?" Marcus asked. I didn't answer him and looked down at my food. "That bad, eh?" He said, tucking into his food.

"What do you expect?" Lex said. "Plus, Katrina was being her usual self."

"Did she say anything to you?" Marcus asked me. I shook my head. No one had been mean to me, just distant. I would have expected that with the new girl at school, but this seemed different.

"Did Virgil kick-off?" Lex asked, finishing her smoothy.

"Next level," Marcus said. He glared over at another table. Katrina, Autumn, and Ilona were sitting with four boys. One of them was mousy with straw blond hair, while another was lanky with dark eyes. The third had a pointed nose and was incredibly spotty. The one Marcus was glaring at was tall and muscular. He had slick black hair and a face you just wanted to punch. His nose was sharp while his eyes were dull and apathetic. Marcus shook his head. "Probably would have started another fight if Atticus hadn't come in."

It was strange not hearing someone use Sir at the front of Sir Atticus's name. If any civilian had been caught doing that, they would have been shamed. Hearing an Squire say it must be cause for some sort of discipline but no one said anything. I didn't speak up as there might be something I didn't know. Lex's fist clenched. "I wish you had. Put him in his place again. Can't believe he'll be an Arknight one day." Marcus didn't respond but focused on his food. I stared down at my soggy cornflakes now, dreading meeting this Virgil properly.

Two boys came and sat down next to Marcus on either side. They slid in, slamming him into him, but Marcus pushed them back with his elbows. The boys all grinned at each other. "Glad to see you two are in high spirits," Marcus said.