The Institute for Mianite Arts

Chapter 7: Jazlyn's Second Day

Jazlyn woke up earlier than necessary, and wasn't surprised to find that the newest members were still alseep, with their door shut. They always slept the latest. Jazlyn could only hope that they would wake up in time to catch breakfast. The last people to eat always ended up with the worst food.

She was one of the first people to reach the cafeteria, as always. Usually, her Dianite friends were already gathered there by the time she arrived, but today there was only one person. Alyssa, a girl with long brown hair and alarmingly red eyes, was helping herself at the end of the table.

"Hey," she greeted her friend as she sat down. The two of them didn't talk that often, but they acted as if no time had gone by when they next spoke to each other. "Where's everyone else?"

Alyssa shrugged. "Don't know. They're late, I guess. I'm not going to complain, though. It's more food for you and me." She passed Jazlyn a plate. "Here, eat something."

"Alright." As breakfast went on, all of the other Dianitees filed in and ate their share. Jazlyn and Alyssa did their best to make the newer members feel welcome, but there wasn't much they could do right now. The school could be intimidating, and it would take some time to get used to it.

"Okay, so what's our first class?" Jazlyn asked. "I don't have my schedule on me."

Alyssa pulled hers out. "We have world history with Jeriah! Great!"

Jazlyn shrugged as they entered the room and sat down. "I like Jeriah and everything, but history just doesn't interest me."

The typical, boring class began. We took out our textbooks, written by the ominous World Historian that nobody seemed to know anything about. We were learning about the very origins of our world, beginning with the famous Spark. I had heard the story before, but the new Dianitees and Ianitees looked fascinated. 

After the class was over, the two girls headed down the hallway, to where a man named DG Worker stood. He instructed Iain, Lucas, and the Ianitees to choose where to go. This was a big decision for them, but one that Jazlyn and Alyssa had made ages ago. They went through the door that led to the Ars Magica classroom, where Iain had also gone. 

Waglington, probably the kindest (but also the scariest-looking) teacher, greeted his new students and showed them where to sit. His girlfriend, Martha, stood to the side and smiled as everyone settled down. This was the class that Jazlyn liked best- the teachers were wonderful, and the class itself was beyond interesting. It was a subject that appealed to almost everyone.

After that class, the girls headed to what was most people's favorite class- pranking. It was taught by most Dianitee's favorite instructor, Tom Syndicate. Most people spent the entire class laughing, as it wasn't exactly the most serious lesson ever, but Jazlyn and Alyssa had both grown tired of it. 

The day was going by quickly. Perhaps it was because Jazlyn was trying to focus on her schoolwork and pay attention to the new students, but the classes had flown by faster than ever before. Lunch was already here. She usually took this opportunity to sit with all of her friends, but she decided to join Alyssa that day.

"Let's see what we have next," Alyssa said, laying her schedule out on the table while she ate. "Ooh, mighty smelting. With Mot. This will be fun. And then, obviously, 'right rumbling' with Steve. Personally, that's my favorite class. It's a way to take revenge on all of the annoying Mianitees without breaking the rules. And, I suppose, showing the Ianitees what we're made of as well."

Jazlyn sighed. "I'd love to kick the butts of some of those Mianitees, but I don't like the idea of the new members having a fighting class on their first day. They don't know what they're doing!"

Alyssa placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Jazlyn. You don't have to constantly be protecting them! And they're not going to get hurt. The new members will be paired together."

She relaxed slightly. "I... guess you're right."

After they had finished, they headed over to Mot's class. As always, he was wearing a colorful flower crown over his thick green hair, and his one good eye was shining with excitement. He laid down the rules for creating weapons, and explained the idea of the purge.

"I can't wait for the new ones to take part in their first purge!" Alyssa looked thrilled. "It's an amazing experience. And don't worry," she said, seeing the look on Jazlyn's face. "They're going to be in teams, which means that they won't have to do much fighting. It's going to be fine."

"...right style of weapon," Mot was saying as Jazlyn tuned back into the class. "Your first task, however, is design." Sheets of paper were passed out to each student. A few of them began sketching immediately, while others were still deep in thought.

The two girls sketched their separate swords. Alyssa chose a thinner, longer blade, which was easy for her to use. She was much more graceful than Jazlyn, and a light blade suited her well. On the other hand, Jazlyn preferred a heavier weapon. Her sword was wider, with a flat side that could be used to block the other person's attack as well. 

And then, finally, the fighting class. The two girls stood next to each other, hoping to be partnered together. It would be more fun to go against each other, since they were at a similar skill level. Unfortunately, Steve didn't have the same idea in mind.

"Iain, you can go with Lucas," she heard the instructor saying. "And," he said, arriving at Jazlyn, "you can go with one of the girls down here. Alyssa, that leaves you with this new Ianitee, named Alee."

Jazlyn's eyes flew wide at the thought of her friend going against a new girl. She may have had a lot of power, being the head of the Dianitees, but she didn't have enough power to tell Steve that this wasn't a good idea. She could only head over to where a girl that was slightly younger than her was standing, and prepare to fight.

"You scared, pesky Dianitee?" the girl taunted. She put her hair in a ponytail, revealing her shiny Mianite badge.

"Nah," Jazlyn laughed. "You Mianitees sure love to brag, considering you couldn't fight to save your life."

The furious girl went to run at her when they heard someone cry out in pain. Sure enough, it was Alee, bleeding in front of a stunned Alyssa.

"What did I say?" Jazlyn muttered, panicked, as she ran over to do what she could to help.