Chapter 4

  "What club are you interested in in?" asks Lu to me as we stand in front of a billboard with posters advertising clubs for everyone to join.

  "I'm not sure," I say, "I used to play tennis, though I'm not sure I want to continue."

  Well, tennis might be a half-lie. It was more of racquetball. Back at the orphanage nobody ever was around that much, so I just hit a ball against a wall to practice, and then came in second for my district. I one time did a little match in the general district, and I did get second place. I never figured out where the silver medal I got went, but I still remember that I did get that place. It might not be much, but I'm exceptionally proud of that achievement in my life until now.

  "I'm thinking basketball," says Lu, "Syl and I have been doing it since grade school, and together we usually have great teamwork."

  "Aside from when you two fight?" asks Tula with a grin.

  "Yeah, aside from then," answers Lu.

  "I mean, you're the one who starts them," says Syl.

  "No, it's you!" says Lu back, and they start a mildly heated bickering full of haughty insults.

  Class just finished, and being the third day, we're all looking at what kind of after-school activities we want to join in on. Since CCMS is in Florida, it won't get that cold around here, so sports will continue probably throughout the entire year. There's also a town about two miles away, and the teachers says as long as we behave we can take a bus down there to hang out. If some of us don't go into clubs we could easily go and visit, since the bus fare for students is free, and we have to just show the little student ID cards we all got to the driver. I'm not really acquainted with the town, but am more than happy to go over there with my new friends. Curfew is at seven, so everyone's to be back by then though. Not that I'm thinking we'll have to be out that late. Dinner is served at six-thirty, and I'm thinking I'm not the only one who doesn't want to make a habit of missing dinner at CCMS of all places. The meals served are delicious, and in the several meals I've enjoyed here for the short time, I've found nothing in which I can leave negative dissertation.

  "Maybe I'll join the girl's basketball team," says Hala, "I'm short, but I think I can run pretty fast."

  "Me too," says Morgan, "though for me, I'm tall so can reach other things. And I also happen to have some experience."

  "Do you see track?" asks Tula.

  "Yeah, right here," I say, pointing at a poster.

  "That's for me," says Tula with a smile, "and thanks!"

  "Anytime."

  "Are you going to join the tennis one?" asks Tula as she points to it.

  "Hmm," I say, then shaking my head, "no. I want to try something new."

  "What are you thinking about?" asks Hala.

  "I'm not sure," I say with a shrug.

  "There's apparently a dragon research club," says Thames, "I heard it's really popular."

  "I think for Revy that's a little too much excitement," says Lu, and I laugh at his somewhat motherly antic.

  "You make it sound like I'm two," I say with a grin.

  "Call me overprotective, but dragons sound crazy," says Lu with a shrug and smile, "and honestly, I would drag you away from one of them."

  "Eh, fair point," I say, "I hope dragons don't exist."

  "From what I've heard, they do," says Machiv, who shows up with Keito in tow.

  "They exist?" I ask, not as scared as I am surprised.

  "I think my history teacher said so," says Mach, "Mr. Gen."

  "Well, maybe not so much the dragon research club," I say, "what club do you think you'll be in?"

  "I'm not sure," says Mach, looking at the many posters, "it appears there is a library club, but that's not as alluring as you'd think."

  "Why's that?" asks Hala.

  "The library club has to sort out returned books. That'll take up my reading time if I join it," answers Machiv.

  "That might not be so bad," says Syl, "I mean, the worst that can happen is that you get to peruse through a wide variety of books."

  "True. But still it takes up time," says Mach.

  Keito nudges Machiv, and Machiv turns to him, and Keito nods to the poster in question for the library club. Machiv reads part of it, and says, "Hmm, well, that is true."

  "What is it?" asks Tula, looking at the poster.

  "It just says that if you join our club sorting books isn't mandatory," says Mach, pointing to where it does say that in very fine print, "I'm guessing CCMS does hire librarians, so it'd make sense they get paid to do a job."

  "So why don't you join it?" asks Tula, "It sounds like it'll be fun."

  "I'll consider it," replies Mach simply.

  "What about you, Keito?" asks Morgan to him.

  "Probably basketball," says Keito in his usual deep and quiet voice, "I can play some amount."

  "Then you're with us!" says Lu.

  He and Syl have this glint in their eye as they throw an arm around Keito's shoulders and lead him off toward the gym to sign up for basketball, waving bye as they do. Something smells fishy, but the trio of them disappear into the crowd of students in the hallways before I can call out. Thinking how Syl and Lu jumped out to drag him away like to proud lions, I'm guessing they have an agenda to somewhat tear him apart with questions. Sounds like something they would do, and I quietly pray that Keito will be alright. I'm sure he'll be fine. 

  "Well, I'm going to head off too," says Hala to me, "let me know what club you get in, alright? I wanna know."

  "Sure thing. Though if I don't join a club, I fear I'll disappoint."

  "Not at all!" says Hala, "It just means you'll get something else to do, and we can hang out when I don't have club."

  "Works by me," I say with a smile.

  She and Morgan wave, and head off with Tula. The sports clubs are all in the gym with tables and sheets to write down names and hand out schedules to the new members. Glancing around, I note that Thames and Machiv are still with me, though Thames after writing a few things down in his phone waves and heads to the gym as well.

  "Have you decided on joining the library club?" I ask Machiv, and his green eyes with black centers find mine, which though I can tell aren't trying to, send a chill through me from being so sharp.

  "Hmm, I guess," contemplates Mach, "if it's good, I'll recommend it to you."

  "What if it's bad?" I ask with a smile.

  "I guess you'll know it then," says Mach, returning his smile.

  He waves, and heads off in the direction of the library. I got to see it the other day, and it's huge and beautiful. One of the rooms in the whole castle of CCMS occupying two stories, it has stacks and stacks of books. There were some metal spinning things in the air when I went in, but I didn't get around to figure out what those were. 

  Walking around and heading in what I think is the direction of the dorms, I think that if Mach joins the library club he'll be able to explain to me what it is those things are. Thinking that, I'm continuing to walk when I realize I took the wrong turn. Having been in the middle of my thoughts, I didn't realize I headed in the direction that Mach did. I must've just been thinking about that direction and not realized I was coming this way.

  But, since I'm already over here, I might as well look around some bit before heading back to the dorms. This school has a staff of teachers that are not invested in quotas but rather academic prowess. Thus, when it comes to learning, they'd rather have you do no assignments and learn than the inverse. Maybe the obverse. Not, not obverse. The reverse would be the proper phrase. 

  I do have homework, but referencing the teachers and their nice approach to helping the next generation, it's not a pressing amount. I have to work on it, but it'll be done in an hour-and-a-half. As long as I focus though. As soon as I get back, which will probably be in the next forty minutes or so, as I guess, I'll dedicate myself to it. That should wrap up the assignments with no real worry. 

  Reaching the library, I walk past it while observing the architecture again. It really is strange to see the lively renaissance walls melt into the smooth glass windows of the modern world. Whoever knew that differences are nothing in the light of harmony?

  Walking more, I'm passing a window looking into a courtyard, when I realize that this view is the one I saw on the first day I was introduced to the estate of this school. It's the largest courtyard, the one with—what was it—that thing I can't recall.

  Exploring must be in my blood, and so finding a doorway has me walking out into the courtyard. A garden really, since each courtyard has trees and fauna making a verdant carpet.

  There's a few other teens lazing about, enjoying the afternoon sun, but none of them are near that part of the mausoleum. I remember it by that name as I see it. It's hidden by trees, which this garden being so big has quite a number of leafy crowns. Walking maybe three has me seeing the dark-grey exterior of it. Nearing it, I see that it stand a moderate height, and rests underneath the tree limbs growing around it. It's only through a branch or two that I saw the mausoleum and the stone surface. 

  Looking around, I'm certain that it's not off limits. One, because the entrance doesn't have a door but is a simple archway. It leads in some distance without any disturbance. Around it there's no sign that says no entry allowed, or anything else that seems to indicate non-permissible actions.

  Again peering down the entrance, the archway connects to a dark hallway, at which at the end I see a room. It seems to lead down once before going straight, and the room at the end is lower in the ground. I'd usually shy away from any dark room, but because there's light at the end, I'm not as scared. So I walk in and down a few steps, then the hallway. 

  Leaving the dark hallway has me in a room with a large dome ceiling and curved columns embedded in the wall holding it up. The center of the ceiling must be the roof of the mausoleum and a window, as it's got the afternoon light coming in. The floor of the chamber though has multiple lines, what looks like runes, running and spinning, making a few letters I can spot but more shapes I don't know. The lines all trace and spin around a central pool. With water the color of cerulean shades, the circular pool that I could with effort toss a rock over sits quietly and still.

  I don't know what this place is, but only a soft breeze from the hall and some windows in the ceiling create movement. I gaze around, wondering what the meaning of this granite room is, with barely anything. 

  Not finding anything, I'm turning to leave when something changes. The center of the pool seemed to have a darker spot, but I didn't really notice it at all for some reason. On the edge of my vision, like a melting mirage, the darker circular spot has points and lines, and a floating body materializes. A teen, maybe my age, floats on the surface. I see him in the CCMS uniform, and I'm guessing he's in trouble.

  "Hey!" I say, moving to get into the pool to help him, "Hey! You alright?"

  I raise my leg to go in, when I feel a push from the pool. It's like I'm a headpin with the pool as a magnet pushing me away. I somehow know I'm not supposed to get in, and I don't. Looking in the water, I can't tell how deep it is. It seems shallow then deep the next moment, and something, the magic in this place, indicates there's a lot of mechanisms larger than myself here.

  The boy in the water, who has black hair and soft skin, opens his eyes. His eyes are a light tan color, like a horse I know from books, and he talks softly, despite being a little distance away, and I hear him.

  "Don't get in the pool," he says, "you'll get hurt."

  "Are you okay?" I ask, noting how he still floats on the surface, "Why are you in there?"

  "Don't worry about me," says the boy, "I'm alright. There's nothing wrong."

  Again, the magic must have some meaning here. I'm not that versed in Majestic Theory, but the way that the boy floats still in the water, with no ripples, tells me this.

  "Should I go get help?" I ask, really wondering, but thinking I can't do anything.

  "No," says the boy, closing his eyes a little, "there's no help for me."

  He closes his eyes, and it's silent between us again, though the air shifts with the breeze that makes it in. Looking at him more only discloses that he seems to be maybe my age, or a year older, but nothing else I can fathom. 

  "Are you a student?" I ask, but notice his uniform is only redolent of mine, and not exact, some details different, "Or, where you one?"

  "Yes," says the boy, opening his eyes, "I was."

  He observes me more, and smiles softly, "Are you new to this school?"

  "Yes," I say with a nod, "I came here this week."

  "Enjoy your school life," he say, still smiling softly, "it's very precious."

  "Okay," I say, "um, I'm Revel."

  "Hello, Revel. Revel is a good name. You should treasure it."

  "I will. What's your name?"

  The boy, slightly taken back during our conversation, as if he didn't expect me to talk this much, smiles again, saying, "Valence. I'm Valence."

  And then, maybe being tired, he closes his eyes again, and continues on the surface. Like one of those jellies, a Portuguese-man-of-war, though not at all deadly and only similar in color to this pool. Though, I swear he rotates a little where he is. A small difference from before. I take note of this, and finding nothing else to talk about, say a quiet farewell promising my return and leave. Though, I do intend to come back. He seems lonely, reminiscent of me before coming here, and maybe I want to remedy that. Well, I know I want to.

  Walking out, I glance back, not terrified of the dark hall into the mausoleum with the room at the end, and make a promise to myself this time I will come back here. And then I head out along the path back to the dorms at the end of my little trek.