unOrdinary: An Old Friend Returns

Class With Blyke

As I glance up, my eyes meet those of a boy with golden eyes and crimson hair. The Jack of Wellston!

I wink at Blyke, and instantly his cheeks get rosy. Now I have the attention of Isen and Remi, who both look over as well. I wave at them from my table, and Remi waves back. The two boys are still stunned by their expressions.

I turn my attention back to my food and the conversation that Evie and Roland are having about their weekend homework. Apparently, Ms. Walmer had assigned them the task of presenting the idea of CRISPR to the class, and Evie and Roland were going over who would say what. I nodded along, same as Terrance who was quietly sipping his coffee and finish my plate of eggs, sausage, and toast.

Out of the corner of my eye I also looked to see who was entering the cafeteria. Wellston's cafeteria consisted of circular tables with a set number of seats. While some may refer to King Arthur's round table and insist that this type of table lends to egalitarianism, in high school such tables are a bane to equality.

Remi, Isen, and Blyke had taken over a central table that could only be known as the Royals' table. Those closest to that table were high tiers, and those farther away were mid and low tiers, near the back walls of the cafeteria. When I had crossed from the buffet to Evie's table I had observed that even with the cafeteria almost empty, the students did not move closer to the food; instead, they remained as spread out as if their seats were assigned. When more students entered, in groups or alone, I could see from their auras that this division by ability level persisted.

The one person who seemed to be breaking this rule was me. When I had first walked it, students had been stealing surreptitious glances to see where I would sit. When I had established that I would sit with Evie and her friends, the high tiers had lost interest.

Finishing my second and third plate of food, I saw that Evie and her friends had finished as well. I finished the last sip of my hot chocolate and stacked my plates on my tray. Evie and her friends rose from their chairs and swung their backpacks over their shoulders.

"Roland, Terrance and I are off to first period English. What's your first class?"

"I have Digital Media Studies with Mr. Wozniak."

"That's in the Jobs building. Would you like me to show you to the classroom?"

"No thanks, Evie. I think I can find my way around."

They picked up their trays and left the cafeteria for the first period. I dropped off my tray and headed in the opposite direction towards the Jobs building, which was a multi-colored glass building on the east lawn.

As I was reaching the building, I heard a shout.

"Hey wait up!"

I swiveled on my heel and saw that Blyke was running towards me. He was not wearing the uniform's vest and his tie was in disarray. I stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Hey! Thanks for waiting. I saw you in the cafeteria and did not get a chance to introduce myself. My name is Bryce, welcome to Wellston."

"Hi Bryce, my name is Eloise. Are you on your way to Mr. Wozniak's class, too?"

He nodded, still a bit out of breath from catching up to me. I reach for his tie, and he lifts his hand to swat mine away. Realizing that I am just fixing his tie, he lowers his arm and mutters a short thanks.

"I guess we can walk to class together."

I resume my walking pace and sense him walking beside me. We get to class just before the bell rings and I find a desk near the front, while Blyke goes to sit near the back, sparking a conversation with the other students.

Mr. Wozniak, a middle-aged man with chaotic white-streaked hair, is typing fast on his computer at his desk. Class begins and he still has not risen. Minutes tick by, and I glance back towards Blyke and the other students. He nods knowingly and waves me over.

Softly I get up from my desk and slide into a desk at the back. Then I murmur over to Blyke.

"Is this what class is usually like?"

"Yeah. He is working on something big. Something revolutionary he says. I just hope he remembers to patent it this time."

I nod my head. His name did seem familiar, but now it was clear that our teacher was the well-renowned engineer who had created the Pear computer, one of the fastest and securest computer systems in the world. Blyke returned to drawing and I see that he is sketching the Kamehameha from Dragon Ball Z but instead of drawing Gou, he has drawn himself.

I take out my computer, google digital media studies classes, and put my headphones in to settle down to listen.