Chapter Text
The air is chilly, and the wind is soft. Trees are planted to the side of a sidewalk in the grass. Their leaves rustle in the wind. Beyond the grass were buildings all bunched and connected together. All residential. Alongside the sidewalk and trees was a road, and in that road was a bicycle lane. A poorly thought out bicycle lane, where the most inconsiderate of people would park their cars in the middle of it.
Petra peddled her blue bicycle in the lane. She was annoyed to have to maneuver her way past the parked cars and to keep her focus on the ones driving past her. Her grip on the handles were tight, and her face scrunched up. The ginger wore a backpack on her back. Her hoodie was indigo, with dark grey stripes across her chest, and stripes perpendicular to each other on the bottom. Making the corners of her hoodie cut off in a square. Her hoodie’s sleeves were rolled up, revealing the light blueish grey long sleeve shirt underneath. Her shorts were brown, and her boots black. She had a bandage on her knee from crashing her bike a few days prior. All because some idiot didn’t let her have the right of way.
A car honked at her, making her roll her eyes and scoff as she let it drive past her. Her eyes were set back to the road in front of her. The wind blew the hair out of her face. The brick buildings flew past her.
It was mid afternoon, summer was coming to an end soon. Kids would return to school, adults would either join or re enter college, and the holidays would be just around the corner. She had seen all of the back to school supplies in stores. More and more kids were out and about to enjoy their last few days of summer break. At least soon it’d be less busy, and she wouldn’t have to deal with so many cars flipping her off or honking their horns just because she wanted to ride her bike today.
Petra stopped at a sign. She looks both ways before turning right, making her way out of the residential area, and getting into the more business-run part of town. A few strands or so flew in her face, she shook her head, and tried to blow her hair out of the way. The buildings were farther apart than they were before. There were a few flowers growing alongside the sidewalks leading up to the doors. A person was walking their dog on the sidewalk.
She saw her destination, looking both ways once more before crossing the road. The building was a tan orange. Faded after years of sun exposure. It was up on supports, making it higher than the ground underneath it. A collection box was right outside. Her bike hopped over the curb. She peddled faster onto the sidewalk, and then to the path leading to the building. Petra hopped off her bike, and set it against the cement wall. She then walked up the ramp, and opened the door.
The post office was empty today. At least the main part of it was. She went to the left, and stopped at the metal boxes in the wall. She kneeled down, and took her keys off of her backpack. Then she placed her bag next to her, opening up the box after. There was nothing but letters today. She pulled them out.
“Bills. Water bills. EnderCon news. Is that - Oh thank god that’s not jury duty. Another bill. And…” She hesitated. It was a letter she hadn’t seen before. One in a yellow envelope, the word L.I.F.E was imprinted into the red seal that shut it. She turned it over to see nothing on the back. No other clues could tell her what the letter was for.
She shrugged putting it in the backpack with the rest of the letters. Figuring it could just be another one of her mom’s kooky side gigs. Petra zipped up the backpack, and closed the box. Clipping her keys back onto the bag before throwing it over her shoulder.
It wasn't long before she was back on her bike. She hopped off the curb, and rode back to the bike lane. A water bottle was attached to the frame of her bike. Petra grabbed it, both of her hands were off the handles. She took a sip of water with her other hand hanging off to the side. As she looked around she saw people on the sidewalk. There’s the faint sound of music coming from one of the building’s she passed. Two people laugh and hold hands as they walk down the steps.
Petra held onto the handlebars with her right hand and kept the water bottle in her left. She slowed to a stop at a stop sign. When she turned her head she saw a couple of kids playing hopscotch on the sidewalk. Someone who got into their car. And someone who was kneeled down giving their dog a bunch of pets.
Tiredly she looked back to the road. She took another sip of water before putting the bottle back onto the frame. Then she peddled off, heading back into the direction of the residential district.
The ride there was uneventful. Cars would drive past, she’d go past the red mangrove buildings, it’s a calm day in town. Not as busy as she thought it’d be. There’s turns and stops she goes to. It’s all a blur, but eventually she makes a stop at one of the connected buildings. There’s a small car parked in the front. The house is tall and narrow, connected to the other ones beside it. It’s made out of mangrove wood, and the lawn is empty. There’s no space for there to really be a lawn anyways.
After Petra hopped onto the curb she got off of her bike. Carrying it with her as she went up the steps to the dark oak wood door. She grumbled as she leaned the bike against her and as she struggled to knock on the door. It isn’t long before it opens. The older woman inside gasps happily. She had dark ginger hair, brown eyes, and a yellow blouse. She was almost as tall as Petra, only an inch or so shorter.
“Petra! You’re back! Come on in, take a seat! You look like you need it. ” She added that last part snarkily. She went back into the house.
“Psh.” Petra rolled her eyes, and stepped inside. Leaning her bike against the wall, and taking her shoes off leaving them on the small rug next to the door. The room is small. The couch and TV was off to Petra’s right, the dining table was off to the left. The kitchen is a little further down in the room. Blocked off by a counter island connected to the wall. The walls were a light blue, and there were stairs leading up in the back of the room.
“Did you get the mail this time?” The other says in a teasing voice.
“Yes, mom I did.” Petra plopped her bag onto the dining table. Her mom sat down at the table with an eager look on her face. Petra rummaged through the bag, pulling out a few of the envelopes directed to “Ari”. “I think they’re all bills this time.”
“Awh drats.” Ari said as she grabbed one of the envelopes. Petra set the others down. Ari pulled out a pocket knife and opened the envelope with it. She pulled out the piece of paper, and skimmed over it before saying. “Y’know they’re really starting to run me dry. They just increased the water bill again.”
“Great. Just what we needed.”
“I know! It’s like they’re purposely doing this just to make our lives harder. It’s starting to get annoying .”
“Once I get a job this won’t be a problem.”
“Petra.” Ari snorted. “It’s not that easy.”
“...” She raised her eyebrow as her mom continued.
“I appreciated the thought, but - don’t stress out about this! We’ll be fine. It’s nothing drastic like last month.”
“Mhm.”
“You sound skeptical.”
Petra’s eyebrows raised, and she deadpanned.
“May I remind you I’ve taken care of the both of us on my own for years. There’s no need to worry about anything. You take your time young lady. There’s no need to rush out the door, or to rush into a job.”
“Mmm.” Petra mumbled as she threw the yellow envelope onto the pile.
“I’m serious! I know you feel behind compared to your peers, but you’re not Petra! There’s no set time limits for life… “ Petra simply scoffed and set the backpack onto the ground. Her mom picked up the yellow envelope. “... What’s this?”
“You don’t know?” Petra asked.
“No?” Ari tilted her head, clearly confused.
“...” Petra’s eyebrows furrowed. “I thought this was like… one of those subscription things you like so much…”
“Oh I stopped those a while ago, they were just draining us of money! I’ve never seen anything like this though…”
“...” Petra whispered. “Weird.”
“Pah! It must just be a part of some advertisement.” Ari opened the envelope with the knife, and pulled out the letter. Petra sat down. Her mom gasped. “Oh Petra!” Her mom handed her the paper. “It's actually for you!”
“What??” Petra grabbed the paper and skimmed over the first sentence. Seeing her name on the top. “ Why?? What's this for??”
“I don't know! Read it!”
Petra’s eyes started to skim the paper -
“Out loud Petra my goodness! I can’t read it from here, or read your mind!”
“Oh.” Petra cleared her throat. “Dear Petra…”
It has come to our attention that a few years ago while you were still attending school you dropped out due to not being able to perform. We contacted several of your old teachers who said you all worked hard, but you could never grasp the material that was given to you. You were then labeled a failure -
Petra paused. She had a deadpanned look when she looked at her mom. “Where is this going?”
“I don't know. I didn't exactly read the letter before handing it to you, you know.”
Petra rolled her eyes and continued.
And left the school system. I am here to inform you that you are not a failure. You are just different and people learn in different ways. You are just one of those people. I'm here to offer you a solution. I don't believe you are a failure. I believe you are a winner and there's a place for people like you.
With that I formally invite you to the L.I.F.E academy -
“WOAH WOAH WOAH - Wait! Is this a college?? I'm being invited to a college -” Petra stopped and skimmed the rest of the letter. Mumbling. “ This is a place you will be able to call home and fit in - classes start next week - you do not have to pay for anything your tuition has already been PAID?!? Mom!”
“That's amazing Petra!”
“Mom I don’t - I -” Petra ran a hand through her hair. “College?? Now?? I - I didn’t think I could get into any I dropped out?! And they’re paying for my entire tuition?? This sounds suspicious…”
“...” Ari hummed, and pulled out her phone. “Well you’re right about that… this sounds too good to be true… Uh… What was the name again? I want to look this up.”
“Life academy.”
Ari nodded and typed into her phone. Petra looked back to the letter in her hands. Reading more silently.
Your dorm is already set up, and your roommate already chosen. You’ll be informed on the specifics once you make it to campus. Before you ask, no, you cannot change this. Unless there are extreme circumstances, you are stuck with that roommate for the entire year. First years are required to live on campus. This may seem weird now, but you’ll understand soon.
We hope you join us this year. While classes do start next week we understand if you’re not able to make it before then. Be sure to be here in the next two weeks. After that our doors will be closed and you’ll have to wait until next year to try again. We make no exceptions.
With regards,
Dean Hadrian.
Administrator Xara.
“Well…” Petra looked up to her mom. “It seems real. The site doesn’t look shifty at all. The only problems are that there’s no pictures of the entire campus. Just the entrance and some of the dorms… and…”
“And?”
“Nothing about anything that goes on in the campus. I can see they compete with other schools, but they’re just as secretive as this one. It’s…”
“Odd?”
“Mhm, but all the people who graduated from there say great things about it! One of them says it’s a high honor to get an invitation, so if you get one you have to take it. See if you have what it takes to be a student.”
“Huh…” She looked down at the paper.
“...” Ari smiled a little. “I think you should go.”
“What?”
“So many students look so happy, and it looks like they help struggling students get an education. It’s a once in a lifetime chance Petra!”
“...” She looked away. Unsure.
“You’ll get to meet other people like you! It’s a good opportunity not just to get an education, but to also socialize, and trust me you need it.” Ari said with a sly smirk.
“Mom!”
“I’m joking! I’m joking! You know I don’t mean it.” Ari leaned forward and placed her hand on Petra’s shoulder. “But seriously, you could use some time away from home. Away from all this stress. We don’t even have to pay anything! This is perfect!”
“...” She sighed. “I’ll give it some thought.”
Ari patted her shoulder. “That’s the spirit. Now come on! Help me sort out the rest of this mail…”
…….
The wind is harsher than it was back home. Her hair whipped onto her face, obscuring Petra’s vision. She stood in front of tall open gates. With a whole group of big buildings behind them. Her mom’s car was right behind her, Petra turned around. One hand on the strap of her backpack, the other on the bandana on her head.
“I’ll see you next summer then, right?” Ari asked from inside the car. Petra nodded.
“Mhm.”
“But -” Her mom pointed at her. “You’re still texting me right?”
“Of course mom.”
“Everyday?”
“Tsh. Does whenever I can work?”
Ari deadpanned. “Okay, not everyday, but I still want to hear from you, got it? Don’t leave me in the dust about this stuff, if you get hurt or something happens I want to be the first to hear about it!”
“I know, I know.” Petra waved her off. “I doubt that’s going to happen but okay .”
“I’m serious, young lady.”
“Alright mom, I’ll text you later.” Petra looked back to the campus beyond the gates and then to her mom. Her shoulders slumped. “And… I guess I’ll see you next summer. Mom, are you sure you’re going to be okay by yourself?”
“Of course! Petra. I’ll be fine. Don’t waste your time worrying about me, focus on you and your studies. That is the most important thing you can do!”
“...” She sighed.
“And, you only have the weekend to get yourself adjusted to this place before classes start! Stop wasting your stinkin time! Get in there!”
Petra rolled her eyes and started walking to the gates. She shook her head with a smile on her face as her mom yelled
“Good luck out there honey!! Knock em dead!! And don’t die yourself!”
“I won’t!” She snickered, and stood at the gates. She turned and saw her mom drive off, leaving her alone now. The wind still threatening to blow her bandana away.
Oddly enough that changes the moment she steps through the gates. The wind calmed down, to the point there was only a slight breeze. Petra stopped, absolutely confused. She stepped back out of the gates to the rough gusts of wind once more, almost losing her bandana in the process. She panicked and snatched it before it could fly away. Then she stepped back through the gates, where the wind was minimal. She put her bandana back on.
“What the hell?” She whispered. The trees inside the gates were barely affected by the wind too. Her eyebrows furrowed.
Slowly she went back to walking. Deciding it was probably just because of the walls or something. She couldn’t dwell on that either, she needed to find the dean’s office now so she could get her room, class schedule, a map of the place, and ask the dean some of her burning questions too. And through her excellent skills of deduction, she deemed the first building almost directly in front of the gates to have to be the one to be the office. It’s tall, made out of spruce with dark oak roofs. There were flowerless bushes at the front, and tall oak trees. The doors are wide open, that must be where she has to go.
An older woman with long black hair, green eyes, and a golden sun dress walked down the steps leading up to it. She was holding a chicken in one of her arms, and her hair seemed to move in the… non-existent wind? She smiled at Petra.
“Oh! Are you a new student? I haven’t seen you before!”
“Uhhhh… “ The two of them stopped in the middle of the steps. “Yeah, I am.”
“Wonderful! I assume you’re looking for the dean’s office?”
“Mhm.”
“It’s the first one to the left once you come in. You can’t miss it.” Petra nodded and was about to leave before the woman added. “Oh! By the way, I’m Isa. I’m one of the teachers here, and who knows I could end up being your teacher too.” Isa held out her hand.
“...” Petra took it and shook Isa’s hand. “Petra.”
“Nice to meet you Petra!” Isa laughed. “Now I shouldn’t keep you waiting should I? Go on now! I have to take this little trickster back where she belongs.”
“... okay.” Petra said as she watched Isa and the chicken go down the steps. She thought that the teachers would be called professors at this point, but oh well. She continued up the steps and went through the open doors. There’s a door to the right and one to the left. She followed Isa’s advice and went left, seeing a plaque with the words “Dean Hadrian” on it. Petra opened the door.
Her hands were in her pockets as she stepped inside. There was a big window to the left. Multiple bookshelves, and a painting of the dean himself on the wall behind the desk. Said dean was sitting down. There were two lone chairs in front of the desk.
“Ah a new face! Hello sport, take a seat.”
Petra did, albeit a little awkwardly. She felt uncomfortable to be in the room, for some reason.
“Now, you must be Petra, correct?”
“Uh… yeah actually, how did you -”
“What, do you think we didn’t know what you looked like before we sent the letter? We look at the background of all our students, we don’t just let anyone in here willy nilly!” He scoffed, and then muttered. “ Please. ”
“...” Petra’s eyebrows narrowed.
“But, anyways, here’s all that you need to know.” He handed her some papers, and a pair of keys. “Your room number is 207, all our first years are required to live on campus, most of our second and third years do not. Your schedule is the pink paper, but this will change next week. This first week is to just get students accustomed to the campus, and to see who stays and who leaves. After that you’ll be given a new schedule. Don’t get too used to this one. AND. Do not leave this area - “
Hadrian places down a map and circled a part of it with a marker.
“You are a first year, and while you won’t understand now, we do not allow fresh first years into these areas until the assimilation period is complete. Which is this week and the next.”
“... Okay…? ” He handed her the map.
“Professor Harper will want to talk to you sometime during this and next week, do not dismiss her. It’s important, do you understand?”
“...” Petra slowly nodded. “Yeah…?”
“Good. You’re dismissed -”
“Waitwaitwait - do I not get to choose my classes?”
“No, you’ll learn why later, or well - not at all for some of the folks here.”
“Why don’t I get to know, now?”
“You’ll understand later.” He said with a hint of irritation in his voice. “It’s for the safety of everyone here, so stop asking. All will be learned in due time. In the meantime, enjoy your time here at Life Academy.”
“...” Petra squinted her eyes, glancing down at the papers in her hands.
“You can go now. Ms. Petra.”
“Right…” She stood up, and walked out. Feeling as if she was being stared at the entire time. What a weird… eccentric man.
As soon as she was outside again, she opened the map in her hands. The other papers slightly crumpled with it. On the map there was a building in the shape of a boxy C, labeled dorms. Alongside a river running through the campus. The huge building was across a bridge, and it had about three different floors if she had to guess. It was also made almost entirely out of spruce wood with those dark oak roofs.
Petra started making her way to the bridge over the river. There was a man with slicked back blonde hair, a brown blazer, and purple shirt with a darker purple stripe in the middle. He smiled softly at Petra as he walked past her.
“Good afternoon!” He said in a cheerful voice.
“Afternoon…” Petra muttered as she continued forward. Not really wanting to get dragged into another conversation.
She walked past the bridge, seeing fish in the river below. Reeds were growing on the sides of the river bed. She stopped to look at how far the river went. Far enough to the parts of the campus she wasn’t allowed in.
It was then Petra realized how huge this place was. She saw buildings she knew had to have lecture halls in them, but some of them were impossible to tell what they hold from the outside. A lot of them were huge too. Jeez, this place must’ve been rich rich. They were able to afford to maintain a river, giant buildings, and from the looks of the map there were multiple cafeterias. They had the place be livable for all the first years who would be here 24/7. And on top of all of that they paid for her tuition too. Where were they getting all this money?
Petra shook her head. Whatever, she had to get to her dorm and drop all her stuff off. And… possibly meet her roommate. The thought of it made her stomach churn. She’d have to share a room with a complete stranger for almost an entire year. She had no idea what they looked like, how they acted, what they liked, what they didn’t like. What kind of a person they were - ugh! Stupid! Why is she being left in the dark about everything!
She kept walking down the polished granite path. There was no space for any cars inside of the campus, everything was entirely walkable, with trees and benches scattered around so people could sit and rest. Plants along the sides of the path, leaving all kinds of wildflowers, some not even from the biome the campus was in. Plains. They must’ve gone a long way to find all of those…
Tiredly she finally made it to the entrance to the dorms. Well… one of the entrances. She was on the right side of the giant C box. Directly at the end furthest away from any of the corners. The left side of the building was directly parallel to this side, just a few yards…? Away. Dang she didn’t realize how big this place would be.
The paper directing her to her room said it would be on the right wing, second floor. She stepped in through the doors. There was a long hallway to the left, and one in front of her with rooms aligned next to each other. To her left was a door leading with a sign signifying that’s where the stairs were. The carpet was dark grey, and the walls were light blue. She saw two women talking in front of one of the rooms. One had a green beanie with goggles, and was in red. The other had a magenta hair clip, and purple overalls. She didn’t have the chance to see more, as she stepped through the door.
Her shoulders felt heavy as she climbed up the stairs. Her backpack started to feel as if they weighed more. It was then she realized, that shit all she had was seven different pairs of clothes for the week, and a few miscellaneous items. Like her toothbrush, a water bottle, and other useless stuff… Wow, she really didn’t think this through. But at least when she checked the paper again, she noticed they had a laundromat here. She breathed out a sigh of relief. She stepped through the door to the second floor. She passed by doors, squinting her eyes as she looked at the numbers plastered onto them. 204… 205… 206… aha!
“207.” She whispered. Petra stopped in front of the door, taking the keys from Hadrian, and got ready to unlock the door -
Only for it to swing open, out of nowhere. Petra had to look down to see them. The person on the other side jumped. “OH! Uh - hello? Do you need something?”
Their hair was short, brown and curly, their eyes were brown too. He wore a muted cyan - teal(?) shirt, under a grey and black flannel. His pants were baggy jeans, and had black sneakers. He had a stubby nose, moles all dotted on his face, and was significantly shorter than Petra. He also had two leaves in his hair. If he was in the room then this must’ve been…
“Uhh… hey. I’m Petra, and this is…” She showed him the paper she was given. “My room.”
The stranger immediately lit up. “Wait - Oh my gosh, hey! You’re my roommate! Uh- Hi! My name’s Jay………. Den . Jaiden. Technically. But everyone calls me Jay, so I would like it if you did the same.”
They shook hands. “Okay… Jay .“
“I was just about to get lunch, but I didn’t expect you to show up - so - come in! I’ll show you around, and then we can go get some food.”
Petra quietly followed Jay into the room. Her eyes widened at how much things were inside. Immediately once you entered the room you were in the kitchen. Which had more appliances than she thought there’d be. The countertops were black, with grey drawers, and a single refrigerator. There was a microwave, a sink, and an oven top, but not the rest of it. The kitchen and the living room were separated by an island, which had a few empty glasses, and three stools beside it. Petra gawked at the sight. She thought there would only be one room with maybe a couple of beds, and the tiniest kitchen. But this place had a decent amount of space.
“Prettyyyy neat right?” Jay smiled brightly. “I was surprised too, I didn’t expect this place to be so huge!” Jay spread his arms out. “And! Guess what, you can already see the living room, but we have our bedrooms separated by walls, and two different bathrooms! It’s like a small apartment instead of a dorm room!”
“Wow…” Petra slowly walked into the living room to see a brown couch against the side of a wall. On the furthest wall was the window, and on the wall parallel to the couch was the medium sized TV. Shelving was right underneath it, and it was pretty empty. Except for a few wii games, wii remotes, and a wii console on top of it that was plugged into the TV.
“Oh! And that’s my wii, I had to fight my sis to keep it in my room. She took our xbox with her, so I thought this was fair.”
Petra nodded absentmindedly. “Uh huh…”
Jay walked over to the TV and leaned against the wall next to it. Standing in front of a tiny hallway with two rooms on both sides. There was another hall like it on the other side of the room next to the couch. Jay continued. “But, this is not a regular Wii, this one is modded. So if you’re down for mario kart later, we can totally play online too.”
“Woah. Well, uh, I haven’t played… that version of mario kart, I’ve only played it on the DS.”
“You have a DS?!”
“Mhm.” Petra set her bag onto the couch, and pulled out a small blue device. Holding it up as Jay seemed like they were about to explode with joy.
“Holyyyy crapp. That’s awesome! I’ve always wanted one of those…” Jay paused, and then their eyes widened. “Crap! Sorry, my mind is all over the place, I have a few more things to tell you.” He pointed to the rooms behind him. “That’s where my room and bathroom is, and those -” He pointed to the ones behind Petra. “Are yours. I haven’t touched them. So you can set all your stuff up there.”
“...” Petra nodded once more as Jay continued.
“And - I hope you don’t mind, but my sister and my best friend are here too, and they mayyyyy uh…” He smiled sheepishly. “Visit often? We’ve all kinda been randomly showing up at our rooms, and their roommates are okay with it, but I don’t know if you are - because if you’re not then I could tell them -”
“It’s… fine.” Honestly Petra was barely processing what Jay was saying. She was too tired to really care. The drive to the academy wore her out, and she hadn’t had any breakfast that morning.
“It is?”
“Yeah sure, whatever.” Petra shrugged. “Just warn me in advance I guess…” She said as she turned around, picking back up her bag.
“Oh, okay. Well that’s good, I’ll uh - I’ll let you get settled in then? And uh - Petra right?”
Petra looked back at him. “Mhm?”
“Once you’re done with that do you… want to join me for lunch? I’m off to see my friends, and like - we’re going to be living with each other for about a year, so we’ve got to get to know each other, right?”
“Right… Uh. Sure. I will. Just… give me a moment.” Petra said as she walked into the little nook. She opened the door to her right, and immediately closed it, realizing that it was the bathroom. She opened the door to her left, as Jay said.
“Sounds good!” They said as they gave her a thumbs up. Petra entered into her new bedroom, and closed the door behind her. Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her bag. She let out a long sigh before falling forward onto the bed. Completely apathetic to the fact she was still wearing her boots.
The room’s the same light blue as the rest of the building. The bed is covered in red sheets, and there’s a tiny window at the end of the bed. Brown curtains wide open. The bedroom is smaller than the rest of the dorm, the bed in the middle of the room took up the most space. With small drawers on both sides, and an open small closet to the right. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. Her boots were hanging off the edge of the bed. She had a hand on her chest, with the other arm hanging off the side of the bed. Her eyes were heavy, and her mind a static fuzz. Her joints stiff, and her muscles sore. The car ride there had numbers on her back, and body.
This was… a lot. All at once.
The bed was soft and comforting like a cloud. A welcome change. She closed her eyes, with her head back. Petra wanted to crumple up into a ball and stay there. Maybe take a nap while she was at it.
Inherently she knew this was going to be a challenge. High school by itself was a mess , college was going to be no different. But she hadn’t thought she would’ve felt so drained in a matter of minutes. That eccentric dean, alongside people everywhere just… wanting to talk to her. She wasn’t used to it. Jay seemed nice at least. She barely talked to him, but she didn’t sense any ill will. Petra squeezed her eyes, and lightly hit her head as she realized she agreed to go to lunch with this guy. Without even thinking. Damnit.
She sat up, her boots hitting the ground. Her head was in her hands. She should’ve asked if they could do that later. Petra was not ready to talk to more people, explore the campus, or even eat -
Her stomach growled. Immediately disproving her line of thought. Petra grumbled and stood back up. Slowly inching her way back to the door. She’d unpack her single backpack of items later. For now she opened the door, and stepped back into the main room. Jay was waiting for her on the couch, looking through his phone. They smiled at her.
“Hey! That was fast, I didn’t expect you to get all your things set up like that -”
“I… haven’t yet.” Petra shrugged. “I’ll do it later, I didn’t bring that much stuff anyways.”
“Oh! Okay.” Jay stood up. “So… you’re ready then?”
“Sure.”
“Coolioo.” She followed after Jay as they put their phone into their pocket. “Just so you know, we may meet up with Lou before we get to the… cafeteria aaa ? I don’t know if I’d call it that. But we’re going to one of the smaller ones. Away from all the bigger groups. Y’know?”
“Uh-huh… Who’s Lou?”
“Lu - uh - Lukas. His name is Lukas. He’s my best friend. Uh - you definitely should not call him Lou.” Jay opened the door to the room, and went into the hallway. Petra was right beside them. She closed the door after them, before walking next to Jay. “I think you’ll like him, he's very friendly, and kind. It takes a lot for him to dislike a person. And between you and me he has excellent hair .”
“... Okay?” She raised her eyebrow. Weird information to include at the end, but Petra wasn’t going to say anything.
The duo reached the staircase and headed down the stairs. Jay continued.
“There’s also a few more people. We’ll be meeting up with Jesse. My twin. Olivia. Her roommate. And Axel who is Lukas’ roommate. Olivia’s really nice, and super smart. I’ll admit sometimes she’s kinda blunt, but she doesn’t mean to be rude. And I like her so far.” Jay said as they held onto the railing and descended the stairs. Petra put her hands into her pockets as she listened. “Axel’s pretty loud - but fun! He’s chaotically fun! I think he accidentally put a fork in the microwave the other day so he and Lukas need a new microwave for their dorm.”
Petra’s eyebrows shot up.
“Nobody got hurt though! Don’t worry!” Jay laughed. “And then there’s Jesse, like I said they’re my twin. I’m older though, by twelve minutes. She never likes it when I bring that up.”
Jay hopped off the stairs once there were only two steps left. Petra quickly stepped down the stairs, and followed Jay as he opened the door to the bottom floor.
“Jesse’s also really cool. Kinda annoying. But I think that’s just my inner older brother talking.” Jay shrugged. “She’s also veryyyyyyyy stubborn. Even more stubborn than me, which is saying a lot. You’ll see.”
Petra simply hummed as the two of the exited out of the building. Not even a second later, before they could go down the steps she hears a new voice.
“Jay!” She turned to see the blonde guy she saw earlier. He had a muted purple backpack hanging off his shoulder. The man - Lukas was just in front of the bottom of the stairs.
“Lukas!” Jay’s pace was hurried as he went down the steps. Petra continued to walk down as she watched Jay pull Lukas into a hug with the biggest smile on his face. Their head was tucked underneath Lukas' chin. The blonde’s eyes went wide as it must’ve been a bear hug, but he returned the hug.
When Jay pulled away, Petra was on the bottom of the steps next to the other two. Lukas had a hand on his chest as he breathed out. “Hah… oh jeez Jay. Did you really miss me that much? We just saw each other this morning!”
“I know, I am just happy to see you! Oh!” Jay patted Lukas’ arm, and gestured to Petra. “Lukas, this is Petra. Petra, Lukas. She’s my roommate.”
“Nice to meet you!” Lukas held out his hand for a handshake and Petra took it. She noticed the black ring on his right middle finger. And the black studs in his ears.
“You too.” She muttered. Putting her hand back into her pocket.
“Soooo…” Lukas said as the duo - now trio started walking. Jay was in the middle of Lukas and Petra. “What brings you here Petra?”
“Uh…” Petra shrugged and gritted her teeth. “Free college I guess.”
“Oh my gosh same!” Jay said. “I was struggling for a bit to get into college cause I didn’t want to go into debt, but then I got a letter inviting me here telling me the tuition is already paid for and I couldn’t say no! But I still don’t know why you’re here Lou. Your parents would have gotten you into any college you want!”
“Ehehe… Well… not any college I want. But…” Lukas scratched his head. “I dunno. It just felt right.”
“Really?” Petra raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Lukas.
“Yeah.” Lukas laughed softly. “I will admit, once I heard Jess and Jay would be here I kinda… was more inclined to come here.”
“Ah.” Petra side eyed the two for a moment before asking. “How long have you known each other?”
The trio walked down the granite path. She heard a few birds chirp as they walked past buildings with lecture halls. The trees were few and sparse along this path.
“Middle school!”
“Middle school.”
“I think it was… 7th grade right?” Jay turned to Lukas. “But we didn’t become friends until 8th grade.”
“Something like that.”
“He then moved away our senior year of highschool. So we haven’t seen each other in person for a couple of years.”
“Mhm.”
“Alright.” Petra hummed.
“Do you have any friends here too Petra?” Lukas asked.
“Nope. I’m by myself.”
“Ohh okay.” Jay nudged her. “Well if you need anything just know you can come to us!”
“I’ll… keep that in mind.”
The trio continued on their walk. Lukas and Jay went into an idle chatter, about a lot of stuff Petra didn’t know about. Which she didn’t mind. It meant they didn’t go to ask her anymore questions. But she noticed the two did their best to make sure she was still walking beside them and not behind or in front of them. Which was… actually nice.
She could tell they had some kind of history. Of what kind she wasn’t sure. They consistently bumped each other’s arms into one another, and honestly stood closer to one another more than she thought best friends usually did. At least with two guy best friends, most of the ones she saw back in her school days were always roughhousing. Or throwing insults at each other. These two were not like that in the slightest. Petra looked forward, deciding to stop prying into whatever was going on with them.
There was a small building in front of them. Smaller than most of the ones she had seen. It was made out of oak wood, with oak logs on the corners. The doors were spruce and wide open. Dandelions lined the front of the building. It’s cute, cozy.
“Sweet! It looks like there’s not that much people here today!” Jay said.
“Good, and it looks like Aiden isn’t here either.”
Jay shuddered. “Ugh, Aiden.”
“Who’s Aiden?” Petra asked.
“Some guy we knew in school.” Jay’s eyebrows narrowed. Lukas sheepishly looked away. “He’s kind of a jerk, and hasn’t gotten over all the stupid stuff that happened back then either.”
“Yeah… I’m not too happy he’s here now either, and isn’t he your next door neighbor Jay?”
“Oh right!” Jay gritted his teeth. “By the way! I should let you know, but Aiden is our neighbor. The door to the left of ours. Alongside his friend Gill. Now! Gill’s actually cool, we get along pretty well. Aiden is not. Aiden is an asshole.” Jay hissed out the last word. “But he hasn’t really actively tried to pester me in the dorm rooms, so I think he’ll leave us alone for the most part. And he should leave you alone cause he doesn’t know you.”
“Duly noted.” She said as the trio walked in through the doors.
There’s a few tables and booths in the building. Only a few of the tables were filled, just with other students talking idly. At the far end of the building to Petra’s left was an open food bar. At one of the tables against the wall to Petra’s left were three people. One of them, a woman Petra just saw earlier. The black curly hair in a ponytail, magenta/purple hair clip, and purple overalls. She had a lilac off shoulder top shirt, and had moles dotted on her face in a similar pattern to Jay’s. Her eyes were a dark green. She was waving wildly to her, Jay and Lukas. And the was the one closest to the group. The other two were sat on the other side of the table.
“Hey guys! Over here!” The stranger waved over. There were two other people at the table. The other woman Petra saw earlier. Green beanie, googles, braided black hair, dark brown eyes. A white with a tint of red short sleeve shirt, and a red sleeveless jacket. The third person was a man Petra hadn’t seen at all. Unibrow, black hair that made it look like the man had touched an electrical socket, brown eyes, sideburns and stubble. He wore a white bandana around his neck, and had a grey shirt with a skull on it. There was a brown patch on his shoulder, and he had a green flannel tied around his waist. Out of all the people Petra had seen today, this man looked like the tallest, and while he was sitting she would’ve guessed he was taller than Petra herself.
She barely noticed how Jay dragged her with them as they started walking up to the group. Lukas taking the lead.
“Took you two long enough.” The person with a hairclip said. They then looked at Petra. “Who’s this?”
“Jesse, this is Petra!” Jay exclaimed. “She’s my roommate! Petra this is my sister Jesse, that -” He pointed to the other woman. “Is Olivia, and he’s -” They gestured to the man. “Axel.”
“Sup.” Axel said as he leaned back in his chair.
“Hello.” Olivia said simply before taking a bite of spaghetti.
“Hi!” Jesse held out her hand to Petra. “It’s nice to meet you!”
“... You too.” Petra shook her hand. What was this now like the third time she's said this to someone? Forth? This was going to be a long day from the looks of it. Why did she say yes -
“Now, if you guys will please give us a moment to get some food, I am starving. ” Jay said, a bit dramatically at the last part. Lukas slightly chuckled, setting down his bag next to the open chair next to Axel.
“Go ahead.” Olivia waved them off.
Jesse waved at them as they headed off to the food bar. The options were mostly simple. She, Lukas, and Jay went into separate directions. Jay grabbed a plate and went over to the salad bar portion. Lukas went over to a sandwich making station, and Petra… Petra wanted something simple. After grabbing a plate, she went over to a section where most of the food was fried. She grabbed a pair of tongs and got herself a few pieces of chicken nuggets, and a handful of fries. She paused for a moment before getting herself a few mozzarella sticks as well.
Once she, Jay, and Lukas were all done getting their food they went back to the table. She noticed how Lukas was eyeing her mozzarella sticks. She groaned loudly, and let him take one. Lukas hummed happily as he took a bite. The three were now at the table, Lukas took a seat next to Axel.
“Here, you and Jay can sit next to me.” Jesse offered. Jay took a step forward - “Nononono, Petra can sit in the middle, I don’t want you constantly poking at me Jay.”
Jay side eyed Jesse heavily as Petra sat down in the chair next to her. Jay followed after, sitting down next to Petra. Olivia was directly in front of Jesse. Axel was in front of Petra. And Lukas sat down in the chair in front of Jay. Petra kept her head down towards her food. These were all a bunch of new people, and she didn’t want -
“So Petra…” Olivia said, interrupting Petra’s thoughts. “Where are you from?”
All eyes were on her now. Petra took a bite out of a fry, and looked away. “Uh…”
“I’m from Boomtown!” Axel jumped in. “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, it’s like super chaotic, and loud. You’ve got to be a certain kind of person to live there -”
“She wasn’t asking you, Axel.” Lukas said as he rolled his eyes.
“I know! I was just saying, y’know, to make Petra more comfortable! Not everyone is fine with just - telling all their personal information like that guys!”
Jay snickered. “Well, uh, me and Jesse are from Endervill. Super old town, not that great.”
“We only recently moved to Beacontown with our parents, and wow what an upgrade!” Jesse added.
“Redstonia.” Olivia said simply.
“Sky City!” Lukas said. Which caused everyone aside from Jesse and Jay to stare at him wide eyed.
“Sky City?!” Axel almost yelled. “The Sky City?! Dude that shit’s expensive over there?! Are you a rich kid?!”
“Ehehehe…”
“Well, he moved over to our town in middle school, so.” Jay shrugged. “Yes, he is a rich kid, though.”
“His parents have a house out in the farlands.” Jesse added slyly.
Olivia, Axel, and Petra all gawked at Lukas. Who sunk down into his seat, putting his hands up.
“Hey, let’s not talk about my parents please.” Lukas then gestured to Olivia. “And Redstonia is a high tech city! Filled with a ton of super smart people, why aren’t you gawking at her?”
“Redstonia doesn’t float in the sky, Luke.” Jesse held her hands out. Accidentally bonking Petra in the process. “Most people don’t even have the money to come up to visit it. At least anybody can walk into Redstonia whenever they want.”
“... Right.”
“Well…” Petra leaned back in her seat. “I’m from Champion City.”
“Oh, Champion City, I’ve heard a lot about it.” Olivia tilted her head. “Don’t they have some of the most intricate and fancy buildings in the world? And didn’t they bring back plants everyone thought were extinct like the pitcher plant, and the torchflower just so that they could put those in their gardens?”
“To show off, yeah.” Petra sighed. “It’s a big flashy place, but once you get into the smaller parts it’s actually kinda nice.”
“Isn’t it also neighbors with Beacontown?” Jesse asked. Their eyes lit up.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, have you ever been to Beacontown?” Jay then added.
“Nope.”
“You need to come over sometime! Y’know once it’s summer!” Jesse exclaimed. “It’s one of the best towns you can live in - in my opinion - but the amount of creative freedom you have with building your house is awesome! There are so many cool builds there!”
“I’ll… think about it.”
“Can we go back to how this nerd is from Sky City?!” Axel said, gesturing to the man next to him.
“Let’s not, actually!”
“Am I interrupting something?”
It took all of Petra’s power to not breath loudly out of her nose. Not another person, please, she was barely handling talking to the five around her now. She slowly turned to the new person standing by the table. Black curly hair, brown skin, light icy blue eyes. She wore goggles on her head, had a white button up and dark blue jeans. There were black gloves on her hands, and a compass attached to her belt. The group at the table eyed each other awkwardly.
“Sorry for barging in on you guys like that. My name is Binta, I’m a third year and upperclassman of the academy.” She said with a big smile on her face. She put her hands on her hips. “And from the looks of it, you’re all first years aren’t you?”
“Yup!” Jesse was the first to chime in.
“What do you want?” Axel asked.
“Well, I have been inviting all the first years to a welcome party!” Binta raised her arms out. “It’s just out by the outside picnic tables. We’ll have fruit punch, soda, and a bunch of snacks!”
“Why exactly are you having this party?” Olivia said. “I understand you said it was a welcome party, but I don’t see why you as an upperclassman would want to set a party for us freshman other than this being an elaborate prank.”
Everyone at the table nodded, and hummed in agreement.
Binta shook her head, there was a genuine smile on her face. “Oh nono - It’s nothing like that! It’s just ever since I’ve been here, the upperclassmen always set something fun up to welcome the first years into the academy. You can ask any of the teachers too, most of them were students here once as well. It’s a tradition as old as hmm… I think ever since the academy was established!”
Petra squinted, eyeing Binta with suspicion. It seemed that Olivia and Lukas didn’t buy it either. Jesse and Axel were more relaxed.
“Guys we can trust her.” Jay said, turning to everyone. “Professor Ivor was telling me all about it, and you can go look up records. It’s a yearly thing.”
“Since when were you talking with some of the teachers?” Jesse reached over Petra to nudge their brother. “Are you already trying to get ahead in your studies? I thought you hated doing that?”
Jay snorted. “In a way, I guess. And not this stuff Jess. You'll see this stuff is fun.”
“See thank you, there’s nothing malicious about it.” Binta put her hands in her pockets. “But you’re not required to come. It’s just something fun for the weekend before classes start. And yes while the first couple of weeks will be relaxed, once everything is ready then the real fun will begin.”
Everyone except Jay seemed confused by that statement. Binta continued.
“Well, I have to go invite more freshmen. Bye guys! I hope to see you there!” Binta waved before leaving off to another table. Petra’s eyebrows furrowed as she watched the upperclassman. Wondering what she meant by real fun.