Rising Power (#1 of the Canton Chronicles Series)

The Bully and the Hero

The New Academy-East Canton, 10:00 AM, 22nd July, 250 A.D

"Nice going there, Val. You've forgotten your old friends and found new ones. Really charming."

Mandy was pissed and it was only the beginning of day two. Val couldn't stay mad at her though, not with her overly dramatic behaviour.

"You were too engulfed in your boyfriend affairs," Amy replied ironically and Mandy sulked for a second. Then Val hugged her tightly and she gave in.

"Speaking of friends, do you have a friend on the Test today? We all had our turns yesterday."

Mandy nodded. "Yes, in fact, I do. Doug and Scott. Nelson's pals. You remember them, Val, right?"

She did. Scott was an extremely timid and introvert guy, Doug a handsome older athlete. Val and he had a short affair, which ended abruptly after three months, mostly because of her insecurity and refusal to let out any information about her past. He had always been sweet and kind, so Val felt glad he was here too.

"Of course, I remember them. It'll be interesting to watch them compete."

The girls reached the Main Hall after their breakfast, locating their trio of boys right next to the Training Room's entrance. Next to them stood Nelson with his two friends. Seb seemed to be talking with them in a quite passionate mood.

"Good morning, all of you."

Mandy sat next to Nelson and kissed him sweetly.

"Get a room" shouted Mike.

"You forgot your own shit back in the day, Mike."

He looked back at Seb, his face red. "Nice support, dude."

Valentine was still laughing when she was greeted by Doug.

"Hey, Val. Long time, no see. Nice job, the show you put up yesterday. Helping that coward with his werewolf wasn't a bad thing either."

Val laughed, truly grateful and saw Doug looking at her with great interest, studying her. "What's wrong?"

"You seem changed, somehow. For the better, I mean."

"Thanks. You look great, too. So, what were you guys talking about?" she asked, changing the subject swiftly.

Sebastian got fired up from her question and started talking non-stop. It turned out the three of them knew each other, through some Internet forums for a major online game. Val wasn't a great fan of computers, gadgets or the exchange of electronic information, although it had been a crazy trend for the past ten years, especially in the two Canton cities, the Capital and Cancun. It looked the technological frenzy of Old was back again and Seb was its ultimate ambassador. His knowledge around the subject was uncanny.

"Anyway, we had this crazy idea. We'd like to set up a sort of a local Internet line, just inside the Academy. Like having an electronic newspaper of sorts. That way we'll get to upload of profiles, throw events, you know, team stuff. We can't really be considered Heroes if we don't know each other's names and faces."

Amy was the first to respond, looking amazed. "Wow, Seb, that's a really smart idea."

Seb looked at her, slightly annoyed. "You thought I was an idiot before?"

"No, God, of course not. I told you yesterday, that you are excluded from the idiot list, didn't I? But you just... you don't seem that social, you know. Like you prefer keeping to yourself."

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Amy."

Amy looked timidly at Seb. "I am sorry, Sebastian, I didn't want to offend you," she said, earning a polite smile.