Child of Hades

7. Learning

Ribbit came to my room in the early morning. He poked my shoulder. I woke up to an ugly yet funny grimace.

I turned around and pulled the blanket over my head. "Let me sleep."

He pulled the blanket, at first lightly. I resisted. He pretended to give up, then he pulled the blanket abruptly and violently out of my hands.

I was wearing pajamas that I had found in my closet when I arrived.

"Come with me.", he insisted. I should really lock my door in the future, I thought to myself.

I smiled into my pillow, then I turned around to face him. "Just let me change clothes."

"Meet me at the fountain in the school yard."

I put on the black jumpsuit Cat bought for me yesterday. I had not thought of a way to repay her yet. There was no mirror in my room, so I stopped by the public bathroom. I washed my face and tied my hair behind my head. I had noticed that a lot of female students were not using twisted roots to tie their hair. It seemed like a minor difference between the children of the orphanage and the students in this school, but it was not. The children in the orphanage took whatever they could find and used it, and the students at this school chose whatever they wanted. What would the price be?

Cat and her friends were standing at the fountain with Ribbit when I arrived. They were sharing an energy drink and smoking something. Cat handed the drink to me. It was sweet and sour, and it prickled inside my mouth. I handed it to Ribbit.

I asked Cat to let me try what they were smoking, but she just smiled and pretended not to hear me. "I can get you some.", Ethyl said with a cocky smile. "He won't get you anything.", Cat insisted. Ethyl's eyes harbored a strange determination.

Everyone else was still half-asleep, mumbling about things they saw the other day at the mall. The school bell went off and shook us out of our morning drowsiness. It was loud and electronic-sounding.

Ribbit tapped on my shoulder and we made our way to class together.

Some of the other students were familiar to me from the orphanage. I recognized Jiraiya and Blagden. The two were good friends.

I recognized the pale twins I had seen in the bus.

Our teacher was a slim but tall human man. His right eye was covered by a black scar, matching the color of his hair. His skin color was white like he had never been in the sun a day in his life. Like someone that had never been outside of Chaus. The entire class turned silent the moment he arrived. "Good morning, my dear students. I am Mr. Donovan." His left eye wandered around the class, taking half a second to examine everyone of us. "Take your seats, please.", His voice echoed through the room. His voice was a little higher than I had thought it would be.

Everyone rushed to the closest available chair as fast as they could.

"I expect everyone to wait for me on the same seat they are sitting in right now come tomorrow morning." Mr. Donovan said condescendingly.

"Today's class is an orientation class. It is your one and only orientation class. I will tell you about the different opportunities that you are eligible for as a servant of Hades. I will also..."

I raised my hand and asked: "What does eligible mean?"

Mr. Donovan raised his eyebrows, amused. "Come forward."

I stood up and walked to the front of the class.

"You should NEVER interrupt your teacher. ", he paused to give everybody else a moment to stare at me in fear. "I will deal with you soon. Just stand in that corner for now.", he continued.

"I will also teach you about the law of Chaus.", he pointed at the chalkboard behind him.

"Come tomorrow, every single one of your names will be on that board in a hierarchical order. On top of the list I will put the student that I find has the best potential to be useful for Hades. I will test each and every one of you and I will decide who shows promise and who does not.", he looked at me for a brief moment. "Not all of you will survive the next few years. In fact I encourage you to make sure that no weak soul will join the ranks of Hades's army."

Mr Donovan turned to me again. "This student had the audacity to interrupt me.", he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to the middle of the room. "Let me show you what happens to students when they don't respect their teachers." He pulled me out of the classroom using brute force. The class-group followed him to the schoolyard. He pulled both my hands and tied them around the stone-pillar. He tied the rope very tightly. The pain was intense, I winced.

Mr. Donovan stepped back to let the other students examine me. The pale twins were stepping close to me. The boy took out a knife and held it below my eye.

Mr. Donovan immediately interrupted him, taking his arm and twisting it. "What would you do with her after you kill her?", he asked him loudly. I could tell he enjoyed humiliating students more than he enjoyed killing them.

The students thronged together, each trying to escape Mr. Donovan's look. The healthy eye was somehow scarier than the other one. The boy that had been viciously fearless just moments ago was now thrown onto the floor in front of everyone, with a dull thumping noise.

"Elf meat is an interplanetary delicacy that is worth more than most of you are going to earn during your entire life."

Mr. Donovan smiled in a sinister fashion: "I will not let you kill an elf if you don't even know how to make proper money off it."

He signaled to the students to get back to the classroom. I was left behind. Unable to move and completely defenseless.