HIVE: Inheritance: Chapter Two
Otto Malpense woke to the sound of his Black Box beeping. HIVE Mind was displayed on the screen. He hastily pressed the off button and lay back groggily under his white sheets. HIVE Mind was a computer which could be accessed all around the school, Otto referred to the computer as a 'he', for he could talk and was a close friend. More so because Otto had the unique ability to enter HIVE Mind and search his databases.
"Get up Otto!" That was Otto's room mate, Wing Fanchu. His dark shape towered over him, emphasized by his long black hair and foreign look. Moaning, Otto sat up, running a hand through his white hair.
"I'm so tired!" he said, stepping onto the cold wooden floor. With not even a flicker of a smile, Wing turned and went to the bathroom.
Anyone would of thought that Wing hated Otto, but actually he was just serious and only smiled rarely. He and Otto were very close friends, they'd first met when they'd been chosen to attend HIVE. Fortunately, they shared a bedroom, (jokingly referred to as a 'cell'.) As Otto slipped on his black jumpsuit, he looked around for the millionth time.
Otto's bed was two his right, with Wing's to his left. HIVE was underground so there was no windows, but there was a bright light on the ceiling. At the end of Wing's bed was two doors: one which led to the bathroom, and one which led to the Common Room. At the end of Otto's bed was a tall cupboard which contained their jumpsuits. All in all, it was a fairly big room to contain only two people.
Otto held up the black box-he needed to find out what lesson he had after breakfast.
"What is my first lesson?" he asked HIVE Mind.
The mechanical, (but distinctly male) voice replied, "Mr Malpense, you have got Physical Education with Colonel Fransico." Otto's heart sank. He was more of a genius than a practical person, and Colonel Fransico loved working people hard. Plus, he loathed Alpha Stream students, and Otto was an Alpha.
"Is that what I thought it was?" asked Wing, stepping out the bathroom. Otto nodded, trying to think positive. "That's good, I like Physical Education!" Smiling at their differences, they left the room for breakfast.
The voices of thousands of children echoed around the Dining Hall. It was a huge hall, filled with tables and chairs. The whole left side of the hall was dedicated to food of all tastes. There was Italian and Mexican, English and French, filling the hall with delicious smells. You could say the same about the students. Not all even spoke English.
"I hope Colonel Fransico doesn't work us too hard!" Laura Brand said in her Scottish accent, pushing her short red hair out of her eyes. Otto nodded, his mouth full of pancake.
"You lazy lot!" Shelby laughed, she could be too loquacious at the best of times. She was American, and with her blonde hair and chatty nature, anyone would think she was girly. But Shelby Trinity was the opposite, she used to be the most successful thief in England before HIVE took her in.
"Otto doesn't fancy it either," Wing said, almost smiling.
"Just because we're better with computers," Otto retorted. Shelby swiped his head playfully.
"Only joking nerd, I meant genius!" she quickly corrected herself.
The alarm rang, signalling the first lesson of the day. Smiling, the the four friends threaded through the crowd, making their way to Physical Education.
