The School of Velocity

Chapter One - Welcome!

(dedication: to Jun Yi, who showed up in my life after secondary school had completed. Got to know each other through some brief college workshop, and we ended up going for the same pre-u course, though in different schools. Unexpectedly, you became a part of my life since then - that brief college workshop. I'm glad I got to know you. :D)

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"You're always like this," my father grumbled at me. "Why couldn't you wake up early for once." he said as he tried to cut into the lane where all the cars where lined up to the school.

I merely tied my shoelaces and said "But it can't be helped."

Father looked at me in the front mirror, clearly irritated and mad, and snapped: "If you were ever fetched by a transporter - he or she would've left because you'd angered them by making them wait!" he exclaimed. "No transporter would ever want to fetch such an ill-timed person like you." he nagged. "You have to understand that transporters have other students to fetch, too. They simply won't allow anymore time spent, waiting, on someone who would just take their sweet time to prepare while the fate of other students for reaching to school on time is at stake." he nagged on. "You have to be more considerate and have some sense of time-management for once, Marianne." he concluded.

"But that isn't the current situation now, is it?" I mumbled to myself silently.

"You better watch your mouth, young lady." My dad warned.

It took around five minutes before the traffic became smooth again. Before I knew it, my dad's car was already parked in front of the main gate. I got out of the car and turned round to say goodbye. "Have a good day, daddy" I said, and he wished me "All the best, skunk bag" - I scowled at the back of his car as he drove away. I turned round to look up at the sign board: The International School of Velocity. It was like a dream - I was finally here!

I knew where the administrative office of the Sixth Formers was. From the main gate, I headed straight towards the foyer without further ado, walking past students as they went, to where the office was located. As I was nearing the crowded foyer, I heard someone calling out my name out of the thundering sounds of walking feet and the loud, noisy chattering of students. 

"Marianne, Marianne!"

I turned round to find my senior racing towards me. "This way." he panted. 

"Oh." I said. "But isn't the office this wa-"

"No, no." he interrupted. "Mr. Leonard is at the discipline room." he panted. "With the others."

Oh no, I thought. With the others? - I was the last to arrive!

"Hurry, hurry. We don't have much time." he said.

My senior and I then raced towards the opposite side of the foyer to where the discipline room was. Surely enough, it was crowded with all the new students who had transferred in with me. All my mates were there, and they were busily filling in some forms. I looked about the room and saw all the discipline teachers looming around us - they had a menacing aura to them.

Despite such, the sixth form advisory teacher was no where in sight. "Probably left a while ago." my senior thought. "Stay here and do what the others are doing." he said. He then took off in search of the advisory teacher. Everyone seemed so busy, and I didn't know what to do with myself. A lady teacher nearby, of shoulder-length and wavy hair, noticed it. She beckoned me to not block the doorway and come in.

"My dear, you're already Form Six!" the lady teacher exclaimed at me, rather irritably. "Don't just stand there - go find yourself some space to put your things down."

"Y-y-yes, ma'am." I quivered. I made a quick way to an empty spot beside my friend on the opposite side, and hurriedly placed my things down. Another teacher came over and gave me the forms that the others were filling up. I looked down and briefly read the contents in them, then asked my friend the parts where it needed to be filled.

"Just here and here." My friend pointed, here and there. "And that. Wait, wait, no just-" She suddenly seemed unsure herself. "I'm not sure which school we're supposed to fill in for this one. I'm putting in our former secondary school, and not the new school we were placed in before this." she said. "The others are doing the same, I suppose. I don't know - since we're all doing it, just do the same as well." she concluded rather thoughtfully.

I raised my eyebrows at her answer - I guessed none of them had dared to ask the teachers in the room.

I was almost done filling in the forms when I caught sight of the outside - the students were already moving towards the assembly site. The others were already done filling in theirs and began chatting with one another. Oh man, I thought. I still had a page to go. I glanced towards my right and saw that my friend was already done with hers as well. Hmm... I can't remember my parent's identification number, I thought as I filled in the last section.

By then, the sixth form advisory teacher had come into the room. He was a stout man who wore glasses and looked to be in his 50s. He had a red tie on, and the black shoes he wore had a glossy shine under the fluorescent light of the room. The lenses of his rectangular glasses had enlarged his thoughtful eyes that were looking at all of us. He looked at us for a good while before he turned to speak to one of the new students closest to him.

"What school were you from, my good boy?"

"Flughafen Institution, sir." The student replied. I noticed the student and the advisory teacher were around the same height.

"Oh, that's very much far away!" the teacher exclaimed. He then turned his attention to the rest of us. "And what about the rest of you, fellas?"

"Samanreet School, sir." One of my former schoolmate replied.

"Oh!" the teacher exclaimed again. "That infamous sports school?"

"Yes. But the four of us weren't originally from Samanreet though." My schoolmate replied as he turned round to point out the four of us, himself included. "We were from Samanraat." he said.

"I see". The teacher replied. He then turned round to a petite girl who hadn't spoken at all. The girl had looked foreign. "And what about you?" He asked.

"I'm from another state, sir." She said.

"And what state would that be?"

"Argentria, sir."

"Oh!" The advisory teacher exclaimed once more. "I see." He then turned his attention to all of us in the room again. "Well. Has all of you completed the forms yet? If so, just leave them here and head on for the morning assembly, without further ado. I'll see all of you in my office after the assembly." He then made a swift turn and left the room immediately, leaving us all in an awkward situation, since none of us knew each other yet.

"I think we should all go for the morning assembly now." I spoke, breaking the silence. The others merely nodded their heads and agreed.

As quick as we could, we grabbed our things and left the discipline room, as we were the last students left. The assembly site was just outside. Since we hadn't got a clue which class we were placed in, all of us merely huddled together at one spot behind the school's natives. And, of course - the genders were separated into two separate groups.