“…so then my ally’s in our usual meeting place, about to pick which mission we wanted to do, when this idiot comes up and starts trying to grief us. But it’s not like he was even any good. He just kept standing in our way and trying to crowd us into a corner. It’s the kind of griefing you’d expect a twelve year old to come up with. So I get on and PM the others, and we decide to turn the tables. By the end we had him screaming messages at us ‘cause we had him completely surrounded, so he couldn’t even move. When we eventually got bored, Shinigami28 killed him. I’m hoping one of the others got video of it and I can show you. It was some epic pwnage.”
Rika shook her head, smiling. Myra’s eyes were always brighter and her voice always louder when she talked about her online life. “Serves him right.”
Myra grinned. “Damn straight,” she said, her words punctuated by the final bell ringing overhead.
Chuckling, Rika turned to face the front, waiting for Mr. Lawson to start. Except he wasn’t there. She frowned, knowing after the many lectures she’d received from him on the subject, that Mr. Lawson was anal about punctuality. She glanced around the room, but couldn’t see him.
She shrugged as conversations around that had hushed now started up again, and turned back to Myra. “If he doesn’t show up in the next fifteen minutes, we can leave.”
“That’d be great. Monday math is always the worst.”
The sound of the door opening was almost immediately followed by Mr. Lawson’s voice calling “Alright, everyone quiet down. I’ve got an announcement to make.”
The whispers died away as their teacher swept them with his gaze. “It looks like we’ll be having a guest for the rest of the year. He’s been homeschooled up until now, but has decided he’d like to try attending a public school for a while. Now, I want you to treat him with the same respect and courtesy you show each other. Mr. Sagan,” he said, making a beckoning gesture at the door.
A moment later, Rika felt like someone had just stabbed her with a pencil, her mouth dropping. Strolling into her classroom, a plastic visitor’s pass hanging on a lanyard over his chest, was Hugh. He looked around the room, his eyes lighting on her. Hugh grinned and waved at her.
Like someone had taken the mute off the class, the room filled with sound. Squeals from couple of girls mixed with the laughter of a few of the boys, and the chatter that seemed to come from everywhere. Mr. Lawson allowed it to go one for a few moments, then held his hands up for quiet.
“I know you’re all excited and perhaps a bit surprised. Mr. Sagan will be here to make a decision about attending our school next year or not. I expect you all to make him feel welcome,” he told them before turning to Hugh. “Now, would you care to introduce yourself?”
The boy nodded, a suspicious glint in his eyes. “My name is Hugh Sagan. While it’s true that I’m only eleven, I’ve been identified as being at the university level, so please, don’t feel you need to treat me special,” he said. Then his eyes went back to Mr. Lawson. “If it’s possible, I’d like to sit next to Rika. We’ve met before,” he said, pointing in her direction.
“Of course,” he said, waving his hand at the empty desk to Rika’s right. “No one’s sitting there, so it’s no trouble.”
Hugh nodded. “Thank you,” he said, before making his way to his new seat under the combined gazes of the entire class.
Rika was no exception. She watched as Hugh took the seat next to her, ignoring Mr. Lawson clearing his throat as he tried to recapture the class’s focus. “This is the last thing we’ll be learning before we start reviewing for your exams, so you’d all better be paying attention.”
She waited until Mr. Lawson told them to open their textbooks before she spoke. “Hugh,” Rika whispered. “What are you doing here?”
His grin reappeared, his eyes awash in a faint glitter of mischief. “Researching.”
Rika frowned. “Researching what? If you’re at the university level, there’s no reason for you to actually go to high school.”
He chuckled. “Of course. But I had to have some plausible sounding reason for my interest in a long term visit. Did you know that you’re a very interesting person? You’re one of the only people who’s just accepted my intelligence without any questions or protests. Then there’s, the…ability,” he said, after a glance around them. “That you and I both share. One that you’ve been unaware of for most of your life, if I’m to believe you.”
Rika shook her head and took a quick look at Myra. Her friend was trying to divide her attention between what they were saying and what Mr. Lawson was explaining, nor was she the only one. “That’s not something we should be talking about here. And are you telling me that you came here because of me? Isn’t that a little nuts?”
“Perhaps. I initially thought you were some sort of trap, you know. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought maybe you are exactly what you appear to be. And I did promise to speak with you and your leader.”
She frowned, not liking the tone he used on that word. “Still, that’s not a good reason to get yourself accepted into school.”
Hugh grinned. “No, you’re right about that. I like you, Rika. I thought, with time, we could become friends. After our little meeting with your group, of course. I expect you’ll want ot have that sooner, rather than later.”
Rika opened her mouth, then closed it. Whatever Hugh’s real reasons were, the fact that he was so near at hand would make getting information from him much later. She’d ask when she got home, but she expected they could all meet in her apartment Tuesday or Wednesday. She knew that Ahisu was really interested in meeting Hugh, and finding out about magic here. She nodded. “I’ll talk to the others. Would tomorrow of Wednesday work for you?”
“Either will be fine. I can’t wait to meet the person who came up with such…controversial ideas,” he said, eyes crinkling up in the corners.
She nodded again. Whenever the meeting between Ahisu and Hugh happened, she suspected it was going to be very…interesting.
YOU ARE READING
Reader Believes
FantasyRika has finally gotten home and is all set to put the events of the past months behind her. That is until Ahisu arrives with an offer she can't refuse. Now she's helping him recruit others and plan a rebellion. He plans to turn the country into a h...
