The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023

73| Displaced Angels

Their conversation is cut short as Sammy starts running for the lights with her eyes glued to her phone. "He's going to be here any minute! I need everyone to hide!"

"You still have to tell me where you want these." Casey yells, holding up the box and shaking it until the contents start to rattle, stopping only at the sound of something breaking inside.

"At this point, just take them anywhere like-" Sammy smiles once Topher takes the box from Casey's hands and hides it on top of the cupboards, waiting patiently for everyone to find their hiding spot before switching the lights off.

Justin stumbles into the room, almost walking straight into the doorframe on his first attempt. "Why are the lights off?"

"Surprise!"

Even though he saw it coming, he still jumps a little at everyone leaping out from their hiding places to surprise him.

"What's going on?"

"This is your surprise party." Casey throws his arm over Justin's shoulder. "Did you think we would forget your birthday...actually on second thought don't answer that."

"It was actually all Sammy's idea." Sky remarks.

"Yeah, but we did all the heavy lifting." Cloud adds.

"Thank you everyone...really, I'm grateful."

Neith finishes tightening her bandage before addressing her closest friends. "Can we eat now or what?"

"You were already eating the food before he got here." Topher replies, getting a laugh out of the others.

Justin looks around the room at his friends fondly. "I'm just glad we're all together."

Meanwhile, after catching glimpses of the celebration when passing by, the Professor takes himself to his office, sinking into his spinning chair with his thoughts and a shiny-coated feline friend purring in his lap.

"It appears we have an imposter amongst us," he utters to himself, turning towards the door when he hears three knocks against the hardwood. "Yes, come in."

The door cracks open before Gallo pops his head around, uttering the first thought that comes to mind. "I thought I'd find you here."

"Well where else would I ever be?"

"Issa said she saw you skulking around so I thought..." Gallo squints his eyes as he stops himself, looking over his shoulder to check that no one else is around before stepping into the office and closing the door behind him. "...the Fox."

"What about our friendly neighbourhood criminal?"

"She had help, there's no way she didn't... you suspect it was one of us, don't you?"

The Professor flashes his sharp teeth, playful toying with the man he considers a favoured acquaintance. "I did at first."

"But what?"

"But then I realised the font was all wrong."

A soft laugh escapes from Gallo, stroking his patchy beard as he indulges the Professor. "I don't follow."

"I didn't expect you would. You're from the older generation, a simple man who likes his knitted jumpers and tames your naturally curly hair. Neat, tidy, no nonsense. That's you."

"Did you just call me bland?"

"If you were a font you'd probably be Arial." The Professor places Mortimer on top of his desk, seemingly ignoring Gallo's response as he pulls open a drawer. "But these newer channelers, they're all about flare, it's flashy, vibrant, destructive."

"You give them a font too?"

"Jokerman."

"Of course."

The Professor amuses himself with his own playful joke but no part of him is ignoring the severity of the situation. "If she got help from anyone here it was one or more of our students."

Gallo grits his teeth, wondering what their next steps will be to uncover the corrupted mines walking amongst them.

However, part of him is relieved that the Professor doesn't outwardly suspect any faculty members in aiding these attacks, especially when he has known many of his fellow tutors for decades. The thought of any of them betraying the school like that makes him feel sick to his core.

Just then the book that the Professor retrieves with a golden cover that looks like rusted metal draws Gallo's attention. "What's that?"

"A nursery rhyme.Apparently we missed one when we were purging the library of Helel."

"Did Cloud get his hands on it?"

"He did."

"Do you think-"

"-that he figured it out? Yes, not all of the tale but just enough to set him off in my class."

Gallo's eyes flick back and forth between the man and the book, noticing the vacant gaze in his dark eyes as if stuck in a daze. "I noticed you turned the leaderboards off. Want to tell me why now or should I make an educated guess?"

The Professor lifts his eyes, staring at Gallo through his long eyelashes, no longer maintaining a playful grin. "The Council is moving forward with the Solar Eclipse Ceremony which means that the highest ranking Initials, like every year before, will be granted access to the Apothecary."

"Does Helel know?" Gallo inquires, getting his answer when the Professor's gaze does not waver. "Are you going to tell him?"

The Professor looks down at the book in his hands, tiptoeing along the line as he always does, choosing his next words very carefully. "We held too tight and now the truth, I fear, is slipping from our grasp."