Nichol, Morris, Coleen, and Anisette traversed through the countryside at night on their way to retake an enemy camp. Out of the four, Nichol led the way during the skirmish.
"That shed, over there. It must be the place," Nichol said, getting his rifle ready.
"Your educated guess is better than mine," Morris said, loading his shotgun.
"We do this, we go back, we rest easy. And hey, the walk hasn't been too bad, it's nice talking with you all," Coleen said. No matter the location, she loved chatting with people because it helped pass the time during the hike.
"That's the spirit! Ahhh, the smell of nature, reminds me of home. A shame we have to fight here, would be nice to hang out around the folks, maybe put on a local concert," Anisette mused. "Y'all get front seat, of course!"
Morris composed himself, wanting to show that he wasn't afraid of anything. "I'm ready to go inside and take the shed."
They all nodded to each other. Coleen steadied her lance, then launched a round into a door to blow it open. The four took the rebels by surprise when they stormed in and fired away. Anisette unloaded her submachine gun into several enemy soldiers without much trouble, before they had the chance to get their weapons ready.
"Hey Morris, look out!" Coleen noticed an enemy soldier come out of hiding and charging at him. Morris swung around and dispatched him with his shotgun.
The firefight ended. "All is clear," Nichol said. "I'm going to look around, cover for me."
"I'm going to look around, cover for me," Nichol said.
"You got it," Morris said, as he checked his ammo.
"Right with you," Coleen drew her pistol.
Nichol rummaged the camp for supplies. "Not much to report. Seems like they only brought enough to last them the night."
Anisette yawned. "I don't know about any of you, but I wanna get some shuteye before we get back to the school."
Morris was concerned. "I don't know if that's a good idea. What if someone catches us off guard?"
"We'll take guard duty," Coleen said. "We got to put our training to good use, yeah?"
"I'll find a good vantage point and let you know by radio if anything comes up." Nichol grabbed his rifle and left the shed.
"Hey, Morris," she motioned to him, "let's get some fresh air."
Morris followed her outside, where they sat against a wall.
"Sure is a nice night. A shame we have to fight, but it's what we signed up for, so we enjoy peaceful," Coleen mused.
Morris looked over to Coleen. What did he deserve to deserve the company of someone like her?
"Say, did I ever tell you what I want to do for my career?" She asked. "I want to be a radio host. I think I'd do well with that sort of thing. How about you?"
"I want to become a lawyer someday. My plan was to go to law school, but it's expensive, so I enrolled here instead."
"That's ambitious! You seem to have your goals set out, more than a lot of people I know. I'm sure you'll do fine."
"When you put it like that, I feel better about myself."
"You know, I'm impressed with Nichol. He felt in his element tonight."
"Makes me glad I suggested he come along for the skirmish and he said yes. I thought, the chances of him joining us were low, because of how he is around his sister. You know what they say, you don't know unless you try. Franca will throw a fit once she finds out, but our teacher will probably find some way to deal with her. Can't say I envy him in his position."
"Weapons rack, check," Raymond reported.
He along with Magari and Rene worked in the R&D shop as part of their underclassmen duties, also known as plebe duties. While Lavinia usually supervised their work, she was out for the moment, but she expected them to still carry out what needed to be done.
"Ammunition crate, check," Magari reported.
"Vehicle lot, check. Tank is here and accounted for," Rene reported. "I don't understand why we need more than one person to do inventory readings for these things. I mean, looking at rifles and ammo is one thing, but it's hard to miss a tank or an APC."
"I guess it's protocol, like with everything else. Who knows, someone may have parked it in the wrong lot," Raymond said.
"It probably happened before," Magari said.
"Stranger things take place," Rene said, "like that one time Avan saw a young girl come out of a tank in the middle of the night."
"At least it wasn't a ghost," Raymond commented, "now that would've been spooky."
Once all three signed off on the inspection forms, they sat on a bench to cool down.
"Lavinia is so nice and understanding," Raymond said. "She gets that there's a lot to do and it can get overwhelming. I worry about mistakes. Whenever I mess up, she shows me how to do things properly, telling me it's better to make them here than on the field. She looks out for us."
Magari nodded "I agree. Though, I wonder what it'll be like working under the other students. I've only worked with Lavinia, so I don't know what to expect."
Rene chimed in. "You run the gamut. Most people are okay, from what I know. Oh man, Nahum Dryer, that prince from the Kingdom of Dryer. He really orders me around like I'm his servant. Serve him tea, clean his room, and you know what? I'm already his personal chef. He expects me to make his food and serve it to him personally. Turns out I'm good at domestic work, he tells me, if only the other plebeians were like me." Rene chuckled and made light of Nahum, like she didn't mind his personality.
"When you put it like that, he doesn't sound that bad. At least he isn't Juliana. I feel bad for Zeri because she always bosses him around. It's like she has him on a leash. How he puts up with being treated like a dog by her, I don't know." Magari looked sad.
"Oh yeah, you know her, right?" Raymond asked Magari. "I heard you have history with her."
"Yeah, I do," she sighed, "it's complicated. My mother works as a maid for the Everhart estate, so I'd often come along. Usually, I stayed in the family library. I was easily intimidated by Juliana, so I avoided her whenever possible. On the other hand, she mostly ignored me. I always stayed close to Zeri, since I knew him from high school. He made me feel safe and comfortable."
"Sounds like you and Zeri are very close. You're lucky to have someone like him," Rene said.
Magari brightened up. "He's my best friend! I don't know what I'd do without him. He's given me the confidence to do a lot of things. Zeri might look cold, but he's fun to be around once he opens up." She could talk about him all day.
Zeri was always happy to talk to Magari, no matter the time and place. While waiting for class to start, they noticed Franca talking with Hubert, but couldn't make out the conversation due to the classroom chatter. It probably didn't involve them.
The school bells rang. Both were disappointed they had to cut their conversation short, but they could always pick up where they left off once they got out of class.
"Get out your course materials, everyone," Hubert said. "Avan and Zeri, meet me in my office after class."
"Everything okay, Zeri?" Magari asked out of concern.
"I hope so, and for Avan's sake." He felt bad whenever Magari worried for him like this. He wanted to reassure her that nothing bad was going to happen.
Avan and Zeri entered Hubert's office.
"Long time no see," Zeri said.
"Long time no see, indeed," Hubert said.
Avan looked confused. "Wait a moment, how can you say it when we see each other in class just about every day?"
"We met about a week before classes, when he gave me my acceptance letter. He may be strict as a teacher, but he's great company to have around. Shares the same sense of dry humor as I do. I only wish I was old enough to drink with him."
"Someday, Zeri. Anyway, we have a major problem on our hands. And no, Avan, it's not about you. Your grades are mediocre, but at least you're passing."
Avan was relieved. "That's good. Waddup, teach?"
"It's about Franca and Nichol. Their relationship is causing problems for Class G."
"Things feel uneasy in the class," Avan said. "A lot of our classmates are sympathetic to Nichol, me and Avan included. Meanwhile, nobody is quite sure how to approach Franca, aside from maybe one or two people."
"I notice she's always hounding Nichol, from his schoolwork to the drills," Zeri added.
"Not only that," Hubert said, "she's also been keeping him from going on skirmishes, saying he's not ready."
Zeri caught on. "So that's why Franca was talking to you earlier."
"About Nichol being sent out on one without her knowledge. I said he needed to be sent out on the field sooner rather than later. I left out the part about how Morris suggested we sneak Nichol out of campus late at night, however."
Avan asked, "Aren't you going to do something about it, teach? I mean, you're the teacher."
"Yes, I could do something about it, but I want to hear your thoughts on it instead. How would you approach this problem and resolve it? Think of it as your first test of leadership."
Avan scratched his chin. Only now did the responsibilities of class chair dawn on him. "I got it! How about we get Franca and Nichol to openly work things out with each other, while Zeri and I make sure things don't get too out of hand. If I had a problem with someone, like with my good pal Zeri, I'd talk it out with him."
"Good enough answer," Hubert responded. "In case it doesn't work out, do you have another approach?"
At this exact moment, Zeri understood why Hubert asked him to come with Avan to his office after class. "We should transfer her to another class, where she'll be a better fit. With her away, Nichol can be himself in Class G."
"I'm interested," Hubert said, "please go on."
"While well-intentioned, placing two siblings in the same class was a mistake. It's unfortunate that you have to deal with it, but the sooner we can do something about it, the better things will be for all of us. I can see what class is the best fit for her. Then I'll go to the class chair to work out the details."
Avan looked impressed. "I was about to call you crazy, but that's the most brilliant thing I ever heard."
"May I make a suggestion?" Hubert asked.
"I'm all ears," Zeri said.
"Class A. It's the best fit for her."
He was dejected.
"You okay, Zeri?" Avan asked.
"Yeah, just thinking ahead," Zeri replied.
"You got this, man," Avan encouraged Zeri by patting him on the shoulder.
"One last thing on my mind, Hubert" Zeri said, "how come you sent us out to Arlem so early on in the school year, and on such short notice?"
"Nobody else was available, or should I say, nobody else wanted to do it. The regular army was also too far away to intervene in the time needed. Politics happen at this school, like anywhere else."
"That's cynical, teach," Avan remarked.
"At least you all came back unscathed. I try to remain positive."
"We should get going," Zeri said.
"Good luck out there," Hubert remarked.
Avan and Zeri brought Franca and Nichol into the Class G homeroom to talk out their problems. Both watched on as they tried to settle their differences, but Franca soon took control of the conversation and berated Nichol without giving him the opportunity to speak up for himself.
"How dare you slip out at night without me knowing! What would've happened to you if something went terribly wrong, and you didn't know what to do?"
"I wanted to prove myself, you can ask anyone else who went with me on the night mission. Please, understand."
"If only you were diligent about your plebe duties. Do I have to get onto you more about it? You've been slacking."
Nichol looked at Avan and Zeri for reassurance on speaking his mind for once. "I've been trying my best. If you saw me out on the field, you'd probably have a change of heart."
Franca slapped him. "That's what you get for talking back to me."
"I'm sorry." Nichol stood there and reverted to his meek demeanor.
Avan stepped in and put his arm around Nichol. "Yo, Franca, Nichol will hang out with me for a bit, he needs some cheering up, you know." Before Franca could say anything, Avan left with Nichol.
While Zeri was impressed with how Avan intervened before things could get worse, he was unsurprised when Avan's idea failed to work.
Time for Zeri to put his plan into motion, knowing full well what it entailed.
Zeri stared at the celing while he waited in the student council room. Once he got out of there, he hoped to find a book in the library to discuss with Magari and Mischlitt, since they formed their own book club.
"Zeri." Juliana entered, disappointed to see him.
"Juliana." Zeri was equally unenthusiastic to see her.
"I was looking forward to having this room to myself," she said.
If he was going to deal with her, he might as well bring sarcasm into the conversation. "I thought you'd be surprised by my mere presence."
She was not amused. "Not when you're everywhere, I can't get away from you."
"You're always the one seeking me out."
"Only I walked onto you this time."
The scene between Zeri and Juliana became awkward, as both looked around the room in silence, unsure what to say beyond the initial exchange of words. While Juliana usually had her way with words around most people, she was often at the mercy of Zeri's wit, having to play along with him.
His wit came into play. "I saved you the spectacle of me walking into your homeroom and telling you to meet me after class. You'd take it as an affront, saying, 'how dare a Darcsen order me around!' Class A would go wild, the rowdiness you'd normally expect from Class G, and then you'd glare at your classmates. I'd shrug my shoulders, knowing I can't sway you in front of everyone, then walk away. Let's face it, we produce enough drama at the school as is."
"Like good theater. At least you know how to act, unlike some people we know. You know, Avan."
"Avan is a dear friend, thank you very much." Zeri wanted to agree with Juliana and comment that he was covering for his incompetence, but it would've been too easy a response. He also wished to not return to the awkward silence between them, once the snark faded away, so he changed gears to the purpose of his meeting. "That being said, I have a proposal. I want to trade Franca to your class for one of Class A's students."
She found a great opportunity to taunt Zeri. "Admitting defeat with the rest of your fellow failures in Class G?"
He knew better than to play into Juliana's hand. Only he could respond so well to her provocations. "To the contrary. She's a better fit for Class A. You could take her under your wing, refine her disciplinarian tendencies, put her abilities to better use than exclusively toward Nichol."
While he spoke the truth, she knew he left the most important part out. "You only want to get her away from Nichol because you can't work out things between those two."
"That was Avan's idea. I went along with it. Unfortunately, it went as well as I expected. At least he tried. You should've seen the way he took away Nichol before things got out of hand."
"You could trade Nichol to Class A instead."
"He's good where he is in Class G. Have you heard him whimper when you're around? You'd intimidate the poor boy even more."
"Not everyone can stand on my level."
"My idea was to come to you."
"It's like you enjoy being around me."
"I really don't."
"Can't get enough of the tasks I make you do for your plebe duties?"
"I've had more than my fair share. Tidying your room, making your bedsheets, cleaning the bathrooms, dropping off and picking up your laundry, taking out your trash, the list goes on. I look forward to working with other people."
"And I look forward to actually being away from you for a change."
Juliana's short responses told Zeri she really didn't want him around, so he got to the point. "How about you trade over Noel?"
"She won't mind, she's more than happy to be around you and everyone else."
"I'll go back to Hubert about the trade and you can talk with your homeroom teacher about it."
"Deal."
"I should go."
"Zeri."
"Juliana."
He left the student council room.
Her calling him by his actual name always felt weird because she only did it in private. She had appearances to keep up, of course. That's how it always was.
Despite that, he wondered, how much of his feelings about her were an act and how much of it was real? When did their performance end and where did their true personal issues begin?
He put the thoughts aside. There were other people to be around.