Hera was standing in front of a full-length mirror, eyeing herself in a way that she’d never done before. The mirror was Mother Tere’s gift for her admission to her ‘dream school’. Hera refused point-blank to accept it, as she had no use for it, but Mother Tere couldn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer, so much so that she took the initiative to nail it on the wall in Hera’s room. Her other roommates were happy about it, of course. They’ve been asking for one for ages, but Mother Tere didn’t approve it in respect to Hera who frets at the sight of her reflection. Though as to why she’s insisting it now, Hera could only guess along the lines that she wanted her to, at least, have some friends in her new school; certainly, with her hair covering her face and her anti-social and anti-self attitude, other students would have a hard time being comfortable around her.
It was Monday. Hera was just waiting for the service that
Hera had never felt nervous all her life, not even when she’d been brought to the orphanage. But as she stood facing the blue gate, her nerves failed again. She was shaking from head to foot, her heart drumming so loudly she’s worried the guard would hear it. So, swallowing hard, she moved away from him. He was trying to usher her inside, attempting to wrap his hand around her waist, but no way, no way would a stranger touch her, even if he’s an official of that damn school.‘I can walk on my own, thanks!’ she thought, shooting him a furtive look.“After you, m’lady.” The driver moved back a little, bowing as he pointed the small doorway on the right corner of the gate.Feeling this day wouldn’t get any weirder, she walked through the doorway and felt a cold fountain-like curtain whooshed past her body. Blinking, she looked back at the doorway but ended up face-to-face with a stone wall. Her breath hitched as
Hera knew, by the ring of the school’s name and the presence of a multi-billionaire, Patrick Hemmingworth, that the school would be beyond anything she’d seen all her life—and she wasn’t wrong. As she slumped on the bed, groaning at the soreness of her feet, she kept her eyes at the slow turn of the ceiling fan, wondering what it’s for when the room was already colder than Mother Tere’s freezing office. She shuddered, as though thinking about it alone was like being back in there.Sighing, she remembered what Patrick had said, and it didn’t give her comfort.“Let’s just say this school is where people like you—capabilities discovered or unused—congregate. If you still don’t understand, by all means go and reveal what’s inside it, just don’t expect the world to believe you.” He winked with a surreptitious grin. “Humans are more dimwitted than you think you are.”
Kioven made sure to drop Hera to their next class, warning her that if she’d be late once again, she’d have to face the ‘Standout League.’ Instead of feeling threatened, Hera felt thrilled. Ever since she entered the school, she’d wanted a word to Sheels, but they never crossed paths yesterday.Their classes were held in a building way ahead of the dormitory; in the Southern wing of the school where towers of buildings made Hera looked like a struggling ant. She didn’t know how many students the school could administer, but considering the space, she could guess they’re plenty.Unlike the dormitory, the classroom had a glass double-door that only admitted students when they’ve given their code and digitized password. From inside, she could feel the stares of her classmates, intrigued or what Hera didn’t care, for her whole being was poured to Kioven who was giving her final reminders and instructions, too, as to how
Had Hera been given a choice, she wouldn’t have spent her time in the Filling Realm where she would be ogled at by the students. For goodness sake, she wasn’t some kind of a display in a museum to have their attention like that. Though a part of her already agreed that the fact that she was a scholar of the president himself made her such a glimmering trophy amidst the glory of a gallery, it irked her all the same when their heads turned toward her as she walked in.The Filling Realm was like a small colosseum, covered so perfectly in white, a splendid travertine stone slabs rounding it. Circle in shape, the tables were arranged in a way that curved in the corners, giving a wide berth on the elevated stage where the likes of Hera could sit. From the glass table and throne-like chairs, they were made to look like the glistening pride cased on the grounds of the building.As Hera made to sit on the far left side of the table, the scholars already seated there
How Hera, with her head pounding so hard and her whole being shaken, managed to walk back to her dormitory, she’d never known. All that made absolute sense for her was that she put a lot of distance between her and Ms. Lourdes’s office. It seemed that she had done her detention for only an hour, but which seemed to her as though an eternity of screaming. Ms. Lourdes wasn’t even keen on letting her go; however, she had no choice since Hera had already been conscious of the fact that all of those terrible things she’d seen and experience were nothing but a figment of her distorted mind.“I never did like Ms. Lourdes’s Torture chamber,” Kioven had said as though by doing so, he’d console Hera’s disconcerted soul. She could remember grunting as a response and carefully shutting the door before slumping down to her bed, lying horrorstruck at the thought of the said chamber.She couldn’t really say what constituted
Hera had never all her life experienced a dreadful first week in her whole year of education. This was saying something, as she’s often besieged by the idea that no subject or teacher whatsoever would get into her nerves. Now, however, she seemed to have developed a keen understanding that meeting Ms. Lourdes would, if not always, led her to more detention, which, without a doubt, would twist her sanity. Nonetheless, it was with great relief that she had no scheduled class with her on Friday. It’s the only day of the week she knew would be free from her scorn and snide remarks that if she didn’t improve over the next few days, she’d keep detaining her in that Torture Chamber. Though quite shaken, she really had no idea what she’s supposed to answer when she didn’t even understand half of what she’s saying?Aside from Ms. Lourdes, the other teachers seemed to not mind Hera being quiet all the time, not when many students were raising t
Hera, who was expecting the weekends to be a much more enjoyable affair, now groaned as she dragged her feet toward another office of yet another teacher. It was a fine Saturday, the sky a forget-me-not blue, drifted carelessly by some tiny clouds, which did not reflect the gloom now slithering from insider her, a savage snake rising in response to her glares to the oblivious Amira. She was most enthusiastic about this. She had round them up just after breakfast and decided that they should do their detention now if they wanted to finish it by Friday. Hera agreed despite her desire to spend the time in her room. This was partly because Amira didn’t disclose what Hera had done, and partly because Hera was now hoping to get a whiff of the Standouts League.As the main reason she accepted the invitation in the first place was to unravel the secret of her body, she’s becoming more and more desperate to meet Sheels once again. She knew it was only a matter of time befo
Hera, after accepting Patrick Hemmingworth’s offer, had been trapped in an already tight-knit, which became a lot firmer as days passed. From Ms. Lourdes who kept giving her detentions any way possible, Kioven nagging her how best to behave and what’s expected of a special scholar like her, to the arrival of the Standouts League that, according to the hysterics students, was more likely a perfectly placed net over them. Not only would their movement be restricted, but they’d also have to keep up with new additional rules this League would announce later on in the meeting. If it’s a question of choosing to attend or not, Hera would have picked the latter without much thought; however, something about the anxious look on Kioven’s face as he cornered her just outside the building of the dormitory earlier bothered her. It was almost as though he’s as shaken as the students, and that’s saying something. After all, he’s a part of the staff, no matter how young he might look.