Chapter 62: The School of Fear
The helicopter had, in fact, arrived on time. Alex hated whoever had decided helicopters should do rides at four in the morning. They should die in a hole somewhere. He was not looking forward to more fucking tests. Lance seemed to be in terrible shape. Belinda looked annoyingly implacable as always. She didn't even have bags under her eyes and Alex was just annoyed. Why were all the adults in his life mutants who didn't blink at 3 a.m. alarms? Alex blinked blearily as the helicopter blades tha-thonked around them. He knew better than to try to yell over helicopter blades. Lance didn't. "Not your first ride, is it?"
Alex mentally sighed. "No."
Lance leaned back, taking the hint for once. They landed about two hours later. Alex had gotten no extra sleep. Lance looked god-awful and Alex felt smug. Hey, he would take it. Card was, surprisingly, on the same damn helicopter. The man was also part of the mutant adult society. He showed no signs of fatigue. The helicopter landed. Card suddenly shouted over the blades. "Remember to duck, eh? Don't want to be cut in half on the first day!" Alex was suddenly reminded of Gordon Ross. They got off and Card seemed to be in one of his manically cheerful moods. "Welcome to school!"
Alex was having Malagasto flashbacks. Card was bat fuck crazy. So was Lance, come to think of it. They followed Card to his office. "I thought we got the introduction yesterday."
Card blinked. "Xander, you're very close to extra etiquette lessons."
Alex shut his mouth. Lance huffed back a laugh. "You're here because I wanted to show you where my office was. Also, there are a few housekeeping things."
Card picked up a phone. "Breakfast for four in my office, please." Alex would have been impressed, but SCORPIA had much better offices. The office was, once again, far too nice for someone doing a purely legal CIA job. Selling drugs and running a cartel must be lucrative. This entire thing seemed like a rip-off of Malagasto so far. Alex was sure that D'Arc would have been delighted to hear that. Breakfast was served. "What? Examining my furniture?"
Alex arched a brow at the man. "You don't get mahogany chairs from just your CIA salary. It's valuable intel."
Card chuckled. "True, but you knew that already." Alex sighed. "I hope you're not shy." Alex snorted loudly. "Dude, I've been the "new kid" so often that it's old now."
Card sank into his chair. "Well, if you don't have any more questions, it's time to meet the staff and the other students."
Alex blinked. Alright, then.
Card got up. Lance followed behind him. They followed him into what looked like a cafeteria. Alex saw ten children of various ages. The youngest one looked about ten. His heart nearly stopped. The oldest one looked about seventeen. Alex inhaled. "Hi, I'm Xander, your new classmate." Card smiled. Alex was unsure if it was fake. It probably was. The oldest one stepped forward. "I'm Kenneth."
He was tall and very fit. The build was closer to "Yassen" than "Nile", but still. Alex shook his hand. The children seemed to be going in birth order. A slim blonde stepped forward. "Abigail."
Alex learned that the others were named Crystal, John, Kelly, Kristen, Archer, Aiden, Eric, and Madison. There were seven teachers. "There are Mr. Smith, Ms. Allen, Mr. Perez, Mr. Davis, Ms. Davis - they're not married to each other - Mr. Johnson, Ms. Miller, and I teach several subjects here."
Alex blinked. "Nice to meet all of you."
It was a complete lie. He didn't want to get to know too many of them very well, just in case he had to kill them later. "These are Lance and Belinda. Lance is Xander's mentor and Belinda is...just Xander's."
Alex felt his mouth drop open. The man-made him sound like a bloody human trafficker. "How does that work?"
Abigail's question was probably valid. "They all live together as you do with your mentors." Alex was suddenly glad Malagasto did not have the extra-creepy parent/child dynamic added. It would have been super awkward. Lance and Belinda stared at Card in horror. Alex choked back his laughter at their facial expressions. He resisted the urge to snark the ever-loving shit out of them. He was still not quite sure that they wouldn't smother him in his sleep. Alex was glad that he had an eidetic memory now. The blueprints had been in the packet Card had given him to memorize. Alex would still want to explore a bit, but he mostly knew his way now that he had two reference points. Also, he now knew all the names. "He'll be off to take his assessments now. I hope you'll all get along." Alex was swept off to a very plain white room with twelve desks. He was the only kid in the room. Lance and Belinda were behind him. Card smiled lightly. Alex could now tell it was fake. "Just try your best." Alex had a sinking suspicion people who didn't pass high enough for their age were killed. Well, talk about motivation. Alex sighed as the first test was placed in front of him. Time to take a bunch of tests, again.
Alex had finished the last test the previous day. He was called up to the office shortly after. He felt like he hadn't done too bad. There were some awful questions on there. Alex had no idea how to correctly fillet a goddamn fish, thank you very much. There had been others that he'd answered a lot better. Alec was almost certain he'd aced the biology exam and the history set of exams. The English language and grammar had asked about regional variations in the US. Alec had suddenly been very grateful for his and Ian's impromptu survival trip. Alex had taken a look at art history, cursed, and done his best, but was pretty sure he failed anything past the impressionist movement. Paintings were not his favorite subject. Current events were in the bag. Pop culture was most assuredly not. Computer knowledge had been way too easy. The special classes were harder to gauge. Card interrupted his thought train. "I'm sure you're very eager to know how you did."
Alex looked at the man. "Yes, I am."
Card looked amused. "Alright, I won't keep you waiting too long. Here you go!" Alex looked down at the document.
Xander Onassis
Initial Assessment Report
State Educational Requirements:
World History 1: B-
World History 2: A
World Wars: A
Cold War: A
Modern Era: A
US History: B-
Overall: A-
Notes: There seems to have been a previous focus on anything relevant to current geopolitics. Repeat courses are not recommended.
Biology: A
Chemistry: A
Physics: A
Mathematics: A
Earth Science: C+
Overall: A-
Notes: Really? He's up to a third-year college student in biology, math, and chemistry, but can barely state the definition of a tectonic plate.
Academy Emphasis Courses:
Botany: A
Engineering: A
Weapons History: A
Weapons Theory: A
Weapons Practical (Age-Adjusted): B+
Unarmed Combat Theory: A
Unarmed Combat Practical (Age-Adjusted): A
CPR Certification Test: Pass
First Aid Knowledge: Pass
Diver's Certification Test: Pass
Driver's Knowledge (Theory and Practical): Pass
Other vehicles: None
Cotillion: B-
Overall: A
Notes: Courses marked as "Pass" are Pass/Fail only. Given that motor vehicles and tanks are covered, boats, helicopters, and planes are the next logical step. Motorcycles should probably wait until the student can right one on his own.
Elective Courses:
Hunting and Snares: A
Cooking: D-
Financial Management: B
Popular Culture: D
Electronics: A
General Arts: F
Fabric Arts: F
English Literature: A
English Poetry: D-
Home Economics: C
Music (Theory and Instrumental): Fail
Overall: N/A
Notes: Would somebody please let this kid have a hobby?!
Languages:
English: Native Speaker
German: Native Speaker
French: Native Speaker
Spanish: Fluent
Russian: Fluent
Japanese: Passable
Italian: Passable
Chinese: Needs improvement
Arabic (Pashto/Dari): Needs improvement
Overall: The student is far above average in language learning.
Notes: Seriously?! Did his past guardian beat him or something?
Alex looked up from his grades. "Are they allowed to write that?"
Card choked. "Write what?"
Alex flushed. "Didn't you read it before you gave it to me? Look under notes."
Lance picked that moment to barge in. "Sorry, I'm late. What did I miss?"
Card looked at Alex's report card. "Xander's class consultation."
Lance roared. "What?!"
Card smirked. "I'm messing with you, Lance. We just got done looking at his report card."
Lance promptly ripped it out of Card's hand and skimmed through it. "Pssh, not bad. Who needs a nancy little course like Home Economics anyway?"
Card glared at Lance. "Alex does, if he got a C or below."
Alex blinked. "What about, y'know, updates to current events or electronics?"
Card gave him a thankful look. Alex resisted a shudder. "I'm glad you asked, Xander. Students get to watch the news during dinner. If you're curious about certain developments, you can look it up in the library during your mentorship hours."
Alex paused. "What about homework and languages?"
Card grinned. "Great news! Lance here knows Arabic and Ms. Davis can teach you Chinese."
Alex blinked. "Why not let me finish mastering Japanese or Italian?"
Card waved his hand at that. "The other two are more strategically important."
Alex mentally sighed. "Er, yeah. Arabic's no problem. I can't help you with the squiggles the Chinese call a language, though."
Card beamed. "Excellent! That leaves you with options."
Lance glared at the man. "So, for sciences, you'll be stuck in Earth Science. I'm sorry, but they'll insist if I don't. I think we'll go with the standard options for your physical education."
Card paused and drew a breath. "Now, your advanced courses were already decided upon, needs of the department, and all that jazz. I think you'll like them."
Alex sighed. "What about electives?"
Lance jumped in. "I vote hunting!"
Card glared. "Shut up and let him pick you hypermasculine shit!"
Alex paused. "Well, since I tested out of hunting -" Alex was interrupted by Lance's moan of dismay. "I think I'd like Cooking and Home Economics."
Lance squawked, but Card shut down any sexist commentary. "Well, one of you has to cook and pick up after the other. After all, Lance here burnt water once. He should have a partner who can help him in survival situations."
Lance's eye twitched, but he didn't say anything. A page printed out and was handed to Alex. "Well, it looks like this is the end of our course consultation. Out! Both of you!"
Alex got up and was swiftly followed out by Lance.
Xander Onassis
Course Schedule
Breakfast - 6:30
Mentorship Morning (Arabic suggested) - 7:00
Physical Education (Conditioning) - 8:00
Physical Education (Combat) - 10:00
Lunch Break - 12:00
Physical Education (Ballet) - 12:30
Language Class (Chinese) - 2:30
Earth Science - 3:30
Advanced Engineering (Bomb Deconstruction) - 4:30
Cooking - 5:30
Dinner - 6:30
Home Economics - 7:30
Advanced Botany (Antidotes) - 8:30
The History of Espionage and Devices - 9:30
Mentorship Evening (Instructor's Preference) - 10:30
"Wait, what about homework?"
Lance grinned. "You only get it on the weekends."
Alex blinked. "We get weekends off?"
Lance shrugged. "You get a half-day on Saturday and a whole day on Sunday. Apparently, the President insisted." Lance trailed off. "So, it's unpacking and move in together day-"
Alex blinked. "Okay."
Lance sighed. "We're going to be sharing a set of rooms."
Alex sighed. "Is there a point you're trying to get across?"
Lance blinked. "Uh, we're sharing a bathroom. I hope you ain't shy."
Alex snorted loudly. "I used to play sports and I'm sure everyone knows how to knock."
Lance looked relieved. "Why'd you bring it up?"
Lance rubbed his eyes. "It was an issue in the past with some of the students."
Alex shrugged. "Okay, cool."
They got to what Alex presumed was their set of rooms. Lance knocked on the door. "Open up, unless you're fucking. Not that you should be!"
Alex saw the exasperated faces of Michael and Belinda as the door opened. "I guess you guys already unpacked, then."
Michael shrugged. "Yep."
Belinda sighed. Larry twitched. "So, I hope you like your room. It's a little on the small side, but-"
Belinda snapped. "Oh, do shut up, Larsen. Xander has lived in worse. You've been on edge for days."
It took Alex a second to realize Lance had been nervous. "You're a real heartless cunt, you know that, right? I, unlike you, actually care if Alex is comfortable. Then again, I'm not surprised. I don't know who came up with the women are nurturers crock of shit. My own mother-"
Lance was thankfully cut off by Belinda. "Oh, get inside, Lance. He's hardly going to reject you just because he didn't get the master bedroom."
Lance fluffed Alex's hair. "Let's go in."
They both walked past Michael and Belinda. Lance opened the door to his room. It was surprisingly decent.
The walls were bare but colored with blue and gold wallpaper. The desk was made of oak and had a small bookshelf with what Alex assumed were textbooks and maybe some light reading. There were school supplies laid out in the drawers and pens and pencils in a cup on the desk. His luggage had been brought to the room. The closet was small but would fit two weeks' worth of clothes. Alex peeked in. There were seven sets of black pants and black shirts. There was a gym bag with three sets of exercise clothes. A hamper was next to the door. There was a small dresser at the foot of the bed and a small safe in the bottom of the closet. The desk had a decent chair and there was a small futon with a reading table and light in the corner. The window had curtains that matched the wallpaper. "You can, uh, ask for posters and stuff."
Larry wasn't exactly twitching, but Alex could now sense the almost nervous air he gave off. "It's nice."
Lance's face looked surprised. "Didn't you come from a rich family, though?"
Alex was tempted to laugh in the man's face but refrained. "I once lived in the wilderness for over three months."
Lance winced. "Oh."
Larry plopped down on his bed. "So, uh, what kind of wall decorations do you want."
Alex snorted. "I don't care."
Lance flipped open the magazine. "C'mon, pick some stuff."
Alex looked at him. "What about towels?"
Lance looked at him. "Linen closet in the bathroom." Lance sighed. "Are you gonna pick or am I ordering you Power Puff Girls themed stuff?"
Alex sat next to Lance. The magazine was once again flipped open. Alex did his best to avoid touching the man. He didn't like strangers touching him. "Cologne. Tsk. Tsk."
Lance lightly swatted him. "You've got some and deodorant in the bathroom."
Alex blinked. "But it can give you away on stealth missions."
Lance sighed and bopped him with the magazine. "You're at school, kid. Wear the goddamn cologne and deodorant like a civilized person."
Alex sighed and picked out the most generic-looking ocean pictures he could find in the magazine. "That's literally the most generic one!"
Alex glared at Lance. "I don't want to regret my decor choices in a few years."
Lance sighed. "You get new ones once a year, kid."
Alex grinned. Well, he had no intention of staying that long, but Lance didn't know that. Alex picked some slightly less generic nature scenes. Lance's skeptical look said it all. "Alright, kid. I'm gonna pick some decorations for you since you won't tell me what you want. Looks like Shrinky is going to be good for something after all."
With that, the man left him to unpack.
Lance was not in a good mood. "Belinda, I just spent half an hour trying to get the kid to pick something other than generic sea paintings. Do you know what he picked? Generic forest paintings!"
Belinda sighed. "Xander's previous guardian tended to both withhold items to Xander's preferences and reject any that he did show."
Lance groaned. "So, what does that mean?"
Belinda sighed. "You'll have to build rapport with him before he'll let so much as a favorite color slip."
Lance pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, what does he like?"
Belinda smirked. "James Bond. His aunt got him the latest movie for his birthday."
Michael cut in. "Fire. We used to set fires together until his uncle booted me out of England for daring to corrupt his precious nephew."
Larry opened the magazine and marked some "cooler" stuff. "Thank you, Jesus."
Belinda smirked. "We need to talk."
Lance sighed. "Something tells me uncle shithead is not going to help my blood pressure."
Belinda rolled her eyes. "Xander isn't exactly your average student. He has goals."
Lance shrugged. "Yeah, I figured. I'm not sure how he passed drama class with that shit he calls acting. Are you gonna explain?"
Belinda sighed. They were probably bugged. "Xander has decided to right the wrongs were done to children by the criminal and black ops worlds."
That statement could mean a lot of things. It could be as benign as voting rights for his fellow assassins. It could be as bloody as a mass takeover. Michael stared wide-eyed at Belinda. He knew. Lance shrugged. "I've got one condition."
Belinda sighed and hoped there were no sexual favors involved. "Yes?"
Lance grinned. "When the time comes, I want in. And a heads-up."
Belinda figured it wasn't too bad. "Why?"
Lance and Michael looked at each other. "Xany's not the only one who takes issue here, but he's the only one remotely close to leader material."
Belinda leaned back. "Fair enough."
Two more allies for Alex. He'd better at least give her a nice retirement.
Alex was surprised to find that all of his possessions were intact. Even the computer. Then again, Alex figured they thought his classes would keep him out of trouble. Like Malagasto. What was that shit with Lance? He was trying not to give anything away that might be used later. Belinda had done a good job recruiting, but it was always a risk. Then again, Alex suspected she knew both of these two before. He would just have to trust her. For now, anyway. At least he'd get cool wall decor out of those two being treacherous shits. Alex set up his stuff. His civilian clothes went into the closet. Alex was shocked to find Kevlar in the dresser. There was a note on the desk stating that the gym clothes were dress code in the gym, the armor was to be worn at all times, and the black clothes were uniform. Their laundry was done once a week, but only if they put it in the hamper. Alex was a little creeped out to find underwear in the correct size in the dresser. He decided to check in case there were more surprises. The gym bag had typical gym clothes and ballet clothes. There were pointe and soft-toed shoes and what looked like other clothing. How far did they expect him to get before his shoe size changed? Alex checked through the desk. There was an empty book bag propped next to it. The bookbag had a pencil bag inside. Alex sighed and began packing his bag for school as much as he could. He'd also have to organize notebooks and folders for all of his classes before they began. The textbooks were pretty obvious. Alex decided to finish unpacking first. There was still most of the day to go and he'd done his workout before Card called the class consultation at eight. Alex set his computer on the desk. It was pretty much the finishing touch. He stuck his luggage under the bed. Alex grabbed his first textbook. He knew he could probably read them all before the day was over. Since his memory was perfect now, that would also give him the advantage of having memorized the texts before class. Alex was hoping to test out of Earth Science in less than a month. Who gave a fuck about tectonic plates when he could be learning useful stuff? Like the biology and anatomy that would help him in his new goal to become a surgeon. Alex wasn't going to let a little thing like an assassination career stop him. Yassen became a helicopter pilot. Alex grabbed the first textbook. Home Economics should be easy reading.
Belinda paused in her musings about their current situation. She knew Lance/Larry and Michael would be easy to pick up. They had both lodged protests with the department about the program. Not to mention, Lance seemed to actually like Alex and Michael had once been close friends with him. Then again, you never really knew. Card had been unpopular for some time with most of the elite operatives. It was a combination of removing them from primary combat roles and dead children. Nobody liked dead children. Xander would have the advantage of his eidetic memory, but his age would work against him. Belinda had made sure to pressure Lance into giving Alex Saturday evenings most of Sunday off. It had almost been too easy. One pleading look at Michael and letting it slip that his previous guardian had done no such thing had them both ready to tear Ian Rider's throat out. It had gotten the job done, though. "What about therapy for Xander?"
It was the first time Michael had brought anything up on his own. "Xander does not benefit from traditional therapy. We would be better off talking over some benign activity than in a formal setting, I think. I'll be relying on you two for some of it."
Lance looked up from the dinner menu. Alex had claimed he didn't care and refused to state a preference. Belinda knew that was a lie. "How's that?"
Belinda pursed her lips. "At his current age, in a normal family, Xander would now begin withdrawing from primarily female influences and moving into primarily male influences. In other words, he needs male role models in addition to myself."
Lance grinned. "Don't worry, we'll teach him how to be a man."
Michael rolled his eyes but gave her a considering look. "Has he had the talk?"
Belinda's tart expression emerged against her will. "I believe he was fully informed at the age of seven about matters regarding biology, safe sex, consent, and partner abuse. A refresher pamphlet or two probably wouldn't be out of line, however."
Lance looked outraged. "Pamphlet?! We'll just hire some hookers once he goes legal and-"
Belinda cut him off with a glare. "You will do nothing of the sort. Xander is morally opposed to prostitution."
Michael sighed in the corner he was in. "What does he do for fun?"
Belinda's eyes twinkled. "He breaks into black ops facilities and steals experimental animals for pets."
Michael perked up. "Really?"
Belinda snorted. "No, but I don't think I've ever seen Alex do anything for fun. Perhaps gardening and caring for his dog. I'm not sure if the sports were his idea or his uncle's."
Michael groaned. "Well, setting fires is out for now. Did you ask him what he wants to do for a living?"
Belinda blinked. "He has a hero complex a mile wide and decided on being a surgeon for now."
Lance groaned. "Of fucking course."
Michael grinned. "Well, you're the only one here with a degree."
Belinda gave him a dry look. "Not to mention a high school diploma."
Michael huffed. "I got my GED."
Lance shrugged. "I dropped out at twelve. Look at me now."
Belinda was saved from her reply by Alex barging in. "Did you guys order dinner yet?"
Lance looked slightly guilty. "Uh, no."
Alex looked impatient. "Could you hurry it up? And please try to keep the bickering down. I'm only two-thirds of the way through memorizing my textbooks and I keep hearing my name."
The adults shared a bemused look as the boy closed his door.
Dinner had arrived in twenty minutes. Lance had managed to get Belinda to cough up some foods Xander liked and had taken some educated guesses. He figured the kid was going to be good, but memorizing ALL the textbooks before class? Belinda had explained that Xander had perfect recall, but Lance had never really understood what that meant until now. All the textbooks in one night were a bit much. Maybe he should interrupt Xander? Lance poked his head in Xander's room. "You know you're only supposed to have read the first chapter of each, right?"
Xander shrugged. "I aim to be prepared."
Lance blinked. "Are you alright?"
Xander's reply was sarcastic. "Yes, after getting impressed into assassin school for child soldiers, I'm feeling spectacular."
Lance sat down next to Xander. "Look, kid, they won't make you kill anyone until they think you're ready."
Alex glared stubbornly at Lance. "You're never really ready to kill somebody for the first time."
Lance sat down next to him. Alex felt a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, I know. I think you already know, too." Lance paused, then continued. "Xander, how many people have you killed?"
Alex frowned. "Why do you care?"
Lance sighed. "It's important to me."
Alex glared up at Lance. "Why?"
Lance sighed. "Don't take that tone with me. I'm here to help you, not to judge you. Besides, I'm sure you had good reasons."
Alex's face softened. "Fine. I don't know. There were...explosions and stuff."
Alex refused to count the ones from his current life and, in the past life, he'd lost count. "Give me your best estimate, then."
Alex pinched his nose. "Above ten and under twenty, depending on your definition of murder."
Lance mentally groaned. "What does that mean?"
Alex blinked. "Well, it depends if you count conspiracy."
Lance huffed. "Fine, fine. I won't ask again. Asking you shit is like pulling teeth."
Alex looked down and bit his lip. "Sorry."
Lance waved him off. "Nah, I was way nastier at your age."
Alex blinked. "Really?"
Lance grinned. "Can you believe they convicted me of a murder some other guy did at a kangaroo court?"
Alex didn't bat an eyelid. "Yep."
Lance snorted. "You're so damn cynical. Then again, once I got out I murdered the guy who framed me and my asshat stepdad."
Alex was not at all surprised. "Why?"
Lance shrugged. "He didn't treat me well and mother dearest took his side. He choked her to death while I was in juvie. She was a stupid, weak bint."
Alex blinked. "Er, sorry."
Lance grinned madly. Alex suddenly questioned the man's sanity. "Don't be. It'll be fine. You'll see."
Lance got up. "Goodnight, Kid."
Alex nearly gaped at the subject change. "Goodnight, Lance."
He had more reading to do.
Alex was gently shaken awake by a very grumpy Lance at promptly six in the morning. "Rise and shine, Xany."
He groaned into his pillow. Lance patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I know, I hate shit at the crack of dawn, too. But you have like six hours of exercise and really should eat breakfast."
With that cheerful little thought, Alex got up. After about three cups of caffeinated tea, he was now feeling up to being social. His classmates seemed to be hovering at arm's length, just in case he turned out to be a violent lunatic. Lance was on his fifth cup of coffee. "I have a headache."
Card seemed to magically appear behind them. "You know, unless you drink water, coffee is not going to help your hangover."
Lance bared his teeth. "Fuck you, Boss."
There was a shocked gasp from more than a few of the adults. Alex looked up from his eggs. "Lance."
Lance locked eyes with him. "Xander."
Alex did his best to channel Yassen's most impassive look. Everyone had their eyes on the three of them. Alex arched an eyebrow and tilted his head towards the rest of the room. "Fine. Fine. Sorry, Boss. Don't talk to me before ten in the morning."
Card seemed a little too interested in the entire exchange. "It's all good, Lance. Just try to set a better example."
Alex saw that he was receiving pitying looks from a good portion of the student body and a few of the adults. Card swept through the rest of the room. "Alright, you guys know what time it is."
Everyone got up. Alex padded lightly behind Lance into a classroom. Ms. Davis was waiting for them. There was a slightly hysterical edge to her gaze. "I'm supervising!"
Her lips trembled. It took Alex a second to realize she was terrified of Lance. "Since when is mentorship hour supervised?!"
Ms. Davis was braver than Alex had thought. "Since Card stuck a child with you!"
The venom in her voice surprised Alex. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
Ms. Davis suddenly looked ferocious. "You're the worst sociopath the CIA has ever seen! None of your partners have survived longer than a year! You're unworthy of a potted plant, much less a child!"
Lance looked furious. "Oh, yeah?! Well, at least I wasn't passed up, unlike you! You couldn't talk a cat out of a goddamned paper bag!"
Alex sat down in his chair and opened the Arabic textbook. He had a feeling this might take a while. The movement drew the eyes of both adults. Ms. Davis glared at Lance and then poked him in the chest and hissed. "This argument is far from done, Larson, but we're wasting class time."
With that, she sat primly in the corner while Lance gave him a surprisingly good Arabic lesson.
Alex walked into his four-hour gym class not knowing what to expect. "Hi, I'm Mr. Perez. I supervise the conditioning classes. Ms. Allen teaches the ballet and combat classes for younger children."
Alex shrugged. "Cool. What's first?"
Perez grinned. "How about some nice stretches?"
Alex resisted a snort. It was a long two hours of stretches and warm-ups. Then came combat class. Ms. Allen was the complete opposite of Perez. He was almost laidback. She walked in and Alex was instantly reminded of Yermalov. "Today, we'll be learning about defense primarily. The first thing you need to know is that one punch from a grown man will probably bring you down, and break several bones." The woman then demonstrated dodging techniques and had them follow her. The second half of the class was them attempting to dodge random attacks at all angles from the woman. She was evil. It reminded him of all the real assassins he had met. Allen had also called the entire class to watch him. "If you look here, Xander has the right idea."
The woman then swung a sword that Alex side-stepped. "Since he seems to have a good instinct for dodging, I'm going to go a bit harder on him. Clear the floor. The other children went and sat by the mirror. Allen counted to make sure they were all there and then went nuts. Alex was forced to use just about all of his focus to dodge. Alex realized a bit later than he would like to admit that she was trying to back him into a corner. He smirked inwardly. Looks like judo class would come in handy. Alex let her back him to about halfway there before he made his move. She swung at his head. Alex immediately dropped, swung his foot out - darn, she dodged it - and rolled into a standing position safely out of her reach. "A good idea, but you need to practice more. If you had let me back you up a few feet further, I would not have been able to dodge your tripping efforts as easily." Alex breathed a sigh of relief when she let him sit down. He was hungry and an adrenaline rushes slightly before noon were not fun. Allen moved on to the other students, stopping just short of actually touching them. Yermalov would have let them bruise. Alex supposed that was the difference here. The classes were designed for children. The other kids still seemed to be observing him. Not that Alex could blame them for having trust issues. Alex made sure to give Maddison and Eric faint smiles. They were the closest to his biological age, so would likely be the first to approach him. Maddison touched her face. Eric looked faintly alarmed. They seemed nervous and almost...afraid of him. But why? He hadn't done anything to make them afraid yet. Alex decided to press them for answers during lunch.
Alex swooped in after they both sat down. The two wouldn't be able to move without seeming rude under the teachers' watchful gaze. "Hi, I'm Xander."
Eric blinked. "Yeah, we know."
Alex resisted the urge to eyeroll. "Okay, spill. I'm fucking twelve. Why does everyone look at me like they're afraid of me or something?"
Surprisingly, it was Madison who spoke up. "Yes, exactly. Nobody receives an adult assassin mentor until they've already killed somebody. Before, it's one of the teachers."
Madison lowered her voice. "I heard the adults arguing about it. They said you were too young and thought you should get a teacher anyway."
Alex wanted to curse Card to the fiery depths of hell. "Is that all?"
Eric piped in. "No. There's also the fact that all of your theory classes are with the older students."
Alex blinked. "Even Earth Sciences?"
Eric waved his hand. "You'll probably test out of it in like three weeks. Especially since your mentor threw a fit and demanded you be put in something you liked."
Alex blinked. "Say I memorized the textbook. Could I take the test after and get a good grade?"
Eric stared at him. "Yeah. Anything at our level is mostly memorization."
Xander grinned. "Score."
Eric looked terrified. "You memorized the textbook already, didn't you?"
Alex blinked. "Maybe."
Madison stared with a horrified sort of awe. "You did. Oh my God, you did."
Eric inhaled, his eyes wide. "What are you?"
The kid had said that a little too loudly and drawn enraged looks from some of the teachers. Xander smiled grimly, and deliberately raised his voice. He didn't want Eric to be in trouble. The kid looked petrified, especially since Lance was one of the people glaring. "Don't worry, Eric. I know I'm a genetic freak of nature. I remember everything I see and hear. Perfectly. Forever."
Somehow, the adults looked even more pissed at that. Madison and Eric's expressions were awed. Alex supposed they were not old enough for intellectual jealousy yet. "So, what did you do? Spend yesterday memorizing the textbooks?"
Alex let a little tooth into his grin. "Yep."
Eric breathed out. "Wicked."
Madison was giving him a calculating look. "So, if you read a file would you-"
Ms. Davis swooped in. "That's enough, you two. This isn't a circus and Xander isn't part of a freak show! He's your classmate and a human being with feelings!"
Xander shrugged. "It's alright. They were just curious."
Ms. Davis was not at all mollified. "I'll be lecturing both of you on manners and respectful ways to ask questions later."
Madison and Eric both looked down at their plates. "Yes, Ma'am."
The rest of lunch was filled with an awkward silence.
After lunch was ballet. If Alex had thought Ms. Allen was strict in combat class, she took strict to a whole new level in ballet class. He'd never known how much work and detail went into a single ballet step. Alex felt funny in that class. After being shown what to do and corrected once or twice, it was almost instinctive for him. The injections. Alex felt a flicker of rage and something else. There was no way anyone could fairly compete with him. Ian had made him almost...superhuman. It was a horrifying thought. Ms. Allen pulled him aside after class. "I've noticed a certain...disparity between you and your classmates." Alex felt a stab of guilt. The woman's face softened. "You shouldn't feel bad about it, Xander. I should know. I was a prima ballerina once. Not everyone can make it to prima ballerina, but I worked for it. I was also lucky. Very lucky. It's genetics, you know."
Alex looked at her. "Oh?"
Ms. Allen continued. "I think you'll be great one day, but you'll still have to work hard. If you keep it up, I'll have you en pointe in less than a year."
The woman paused. "Tell me, Xander. If I were to have Card switch your conditioning hour to ballet, and I mean private lessons with me, what would you say?"
Alex thought about it. He liked Perez well enough, but...he felt like Allen's class was much less lax. He felt like he was accomplishing something with her. Xander looked up into her eyes. "I think I would like that, as long as there are no hard feelings."
Ms. Allen's smile was almost terrifying. Alex was reminded of the time he agreed to lessons with Yermalov in the past life. "Don't worry, Perez will understand."