Zenith's Academy

Chapter 4 | Party Rivalry

Remigius noticed Yun was acting strange during lunch but he assumed it was his jitters from the first day. Remigius knew Yun's nervous habits. He bounced his leg, swept his hair back too many times, and frowned to himself when he thought no one was looking. Maybe he was overanalyzing it. 

He thought about it after telling Yun to meet at their dorm tonight and shook it off for his last class of the day, potions. As much as Yun floated around in his head, he pushed it aside and headed to his potions classroom. He needed to focus; this was a third-year class, Masters Health-Remedy Potions, so there wasn't any space for a mistake. Meticulous concentration was key to acing and he would rather not waste his father's hours of teachings for anything lower.

He arrived at the classroom and peeked his head inside. Students with purple ties were seated with only a few spots remaining. He needed to be careful about what seat he chose. Each desk had two chairs so wherever he sat he would be stuck with the same person for the rest of the semester. To sit in the front was too close to his professor but too far away and he wouldn't be able to see the board and demonstrations well.  

"My, my, when I saw my class list I didn't believe it when they said I have a first-year in my class."

He didn't jump. Inside he did, but outside he reined his surprise and identified the voice. 

It was his professor. Her eyes seemed to smile at him as she gave a small nod. 

She wore lots and lots of bracelets and bangles, it seemed unfitting for a potions master. Her hair was pulled into a puff of coiled ringlets and her clothes fitted so nothing would dangle or catch a potion burner. Gold eyeshadow covered her dark eyelids, glittering in the candlelight. All of the potion professors Remigius had in the past were cold and stoic, rarely seen so expressive. 

This professor was a bit different. 

Sasha Bello, the Reg who stole an Ivion. Remigius heard the story from his father. A young talented girl born Reg from two Zeniths. She attended the school for Zeniths disguised as one, made it through her studies with perfect grades and became a potions master. 

How did she do it? She captured the magic from a Zenith's Ivion and used it on herself, granting her the power to use it for an extended time. They called her the 'Thief of Zeniths.'

"I take it you're Remigius Atwaters," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. It was cold, but somehow not isolating. "I'm Ms. Bello. Your father is Everett Atwaters?"

The way she said it wasn't filled with disgust. Pure interest or rather well-disguised scrutiny. 

"Yes," he said slowly, "he is."

She squeezed the hand on his shoulder before dropping it and leading him inside the classroom. "Wonderful! Your father's work is admirable, I'm in awe every day of how he comes up with such skillful technique and craftsmanship. It's no wonder his son is just as talented as him."

"Thank you..." She was just a fan of his father's work. Perhaps she set aside the Atwaters drama because she enjoyed the innovation his father had brought to the potion-making community. 

"I look forward to seeing your work, Mr. Atwaters. Now, you can take a seat beside Malachi Sonnet over there. He's only a year older than you, so don't let him intimidate you."

At least the pressure of picking a seat wasn't on him anymore. He mumbled another thanks and headed in the direction Ms. Bello pointed. The older students gave him strange looks and Remigius couldn't tell if it was because of his yellow tie or because he was an Atwaters. 

It was a relief that his seatmate didn't appear to care. The pencil in his hand scribbled into his notebook as he bit the end of his lip and murmured to himself every few seconds.