As soon as breakfast was over, classes have finally begun. To Cody and Milo's surprise, they have the same homeroom teacher: Lester Kim in Room 1-4. Finding their respective class wasn't hard, for it was only on the first floor of the academy building. Once the two made it, they entered the class and found it packed with eighteen other students who had already taken their seats. Fortunately, two seats were vacant and Cody and Milo claimed them both.
While seated, Cody looked around at the other students in the room. He once again saw the blonde girl and the pink-haired boy, both of them sitting next to each other. The blonde girl was tapping at her phone, presumably texting someone. As for the pink-haired boy, he sat still, but his left leg was moving up and down. In addition, there was a girl with shoulder-length silver hair and pale skin with her face decorated with black lipstick and eyeshadow and her nails were painted black. The silver-haired girl also wore piercings on her ears and lower lip. In the corner of the room, there was also a boy with dark skin and unkempt dark blue hair wearing a large blue scarf covering his neck, shoulders, and mouth.
Finally, the homeroom teacher showed up and everyone stopped what they were doing to give him their attention. Mr. Kim was plain-looking with dark brown hair, gray eyes, and pale skin. He donned only a brown buttoned-up sweater with folded sleeves over a white collared shirt, a blueish-gray tie, blue pants, rectangular glasses, and brown loafers. Slung over the man's right shoulder was a dark gray messenger bag, which he placed on a more oversized desk. Then, he stood in front of his desk, facing the students as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Good morning, class. My name is Lester Kim and I will be your homeroom teacher for your first year of DEA Academy," Mr. Kim said in a monotone voice. "As you already know, you are all here to learn the discipline and teamwork required for being Slayers."
"Excuse me," the blonde girl said with a raised hand. "Why should we learn 'discipline and teamwork' if all of us were trained in DEA training facilities where we could've learned all that?"
Mr. Kim hummed in response before asking, "What's your name?"
"It's Autumn," she answered.
"Well, Autumn, discipline and teamwork are crucial to surviving a fight against even the toughest Eldritch to defeat, so we ought to remind you in case you haven't figured it out. Also, you're not the only one to ask me this question; there were others before you."
"Fair enough, I guess..." the blonde girl called Autumn muttered, crossing her arms.
"Anyway," Mr. Kim continued. "Here in homeroom, you will be taught the different classes of Eldritch you are bound to fight. You will also learn about the types of abilities you have and will use during your lives as Slayers."
"What about weapons?" Asked a male student with a bowl cut.
"Your physical training teacher will instruct you on that," he answered.
"Okay, when will we meet them?" Asked a female student with hair shaved on the right side.
"She will be coming here in two days and before any of you ask why, she just recovered from surgery. So until then, you're all stuck with me."
With that, almost every student groaned and grumbled, no one wanting to be deskbound. One student even rolled his head before placing it on his desk. Meanwhile, Autumn rolled her eyes as the pink-haired boy's left eye twitched. As for Cody and Milo, they just looked at each other for a brief moment before turning back to the teacher.
"I know, it sucks." Mr. Kim reached into his jacket and pulled out a notepad and pen. "Now, let's start the day by getting to know each other, shall we? Starting from the back, we'll introduce ourselves and say what our powers are."
With that, Cody learned the names of his classmates and their powers one by one. The scarf boy in the back was Terry, who has a supersonic voice that is always active. For this, he rarely speaks and prefers to communicate via sign language. Next was the pink-haired boy: Nigel. Much to Cody's surprise, he had the same ability as Mia, which is a heightened sense of hearing. Then, there was the silver-haired girl, Margo, who is nicknamed "Magnette" for her ability to control metal. Finally, there was Autumn, who can control the air around her.
As soon as the introductions were over, Mr. Kim said, "Now that we know each other's names, I hope we all get along and work together as one. But before we officially begin class, I should let you all know that your years here and after will not be easy. During your training, you will all face hardships and there's a chance you will lose a friend or two on the way. However, the best thing to do in times like those is to move forward or you won't make any progress."
Move forward... Cody thought as he looked down at his hands again. Would Cody want this for me, to move on without him? Would that even be fair? I wonder what he would think if he saw me now...
Meanwhile, Mr. Kim continued, "Being a Slayer is no walk in the park, but the more you keep going, the easier it will become for you. You all have a long road ahead of you in your journey to become Slayers. But once you become a Slayer, there is no going back, only forward." He sighed. "Now that that's over with, does anyone have any questions before we move on?"
That question snapped Cody back to reality and he looked up, finding none of his classmates or Milo raising their hands. He looked at Mr. Kim and realized that he is the only one who didn't speak of his ability. For this, reason, he raised his hand and caught the teacher's attention.
"Ah, yes. Mr. Cody Byrd, was it? What's your question?"
Putting his hand down, Cody replied. "All of us spoke of our powers, but you're the only one who hasn't said yours. What's your ability?"
In response, Milo stared at his roommate with wide eyes as all the other classmates whispered to one another. As for Mr. Kim, he pursed his lips together and froze like a deer in headlights. But then, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Letting out a sigh, he answered, "I'd rather not say."
"Oh. That's alright, I understand."
Mr. Kim's breath hitched and he furrowed his eyebrows as his eyes grew wide. Meanwhile, Cody raised both his eyebrows as he noticed tears appearing in the corner of the teacher's eyes. However, Mr. Kim covered his eyes with his right arm and said, "Forgive me, class. I need to use the restroom. While I'm away, do socialize." With that, he walked out of the classroom with his arm still covering his eyes. Once he was gone, the whole class whispered among each other once again.
"Dude, what was that?" Milo whispered, getting his roommate's attention.
"I guess I didn't want him to feel left out," Cody answered. "Was it something I said?"
"Well, I remember my sister telling me that when a teacher gets new students, they're rarely asked what their powers are. When the teacher says what their ability is, the students usually don't care unless their said ability is showcased."
"Yeah, it's almost rare for a student to ask what a teacher's power is in the first place." Chimes in Magnette, who sat beside Cody and Milo on the left.
"How do you know that?" Cody asked, turning to the silver-haired girl.
"My mom's a Slayer. She's also a teacher here, though she's mainly seen on the junior's floor. She told me one time that one of her students asked her about her powers, but it never happened again after that."
"I see."
"Hey, do you prefer Margo or Magnette?" Milo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't care." Magnette turned away.
"Magnette, it is..."
Cody hummed before suddenly, a paper airplane fell on top of his desk. Raising both his eyebrows at it, he picked it up and looked at one of the wings. On the bottom of the left wing was a tiny message that read...
I'd mind my own business if I were you.
-Terry
After reading the short sentence, Cody turned his head around to the scarf boy, who was scowling at him. Meanwhile, Nigel stood from his seat and pointed his finger at the dark-haired boy before shouting, "Byrd made Mr. Kim cry on purpose! He got my message, so he knows we're all doomed! We should get out of here while we're still alive!"
"Shut up, Nigel!" Autumn retorted. "And sit back down, will you!"
At this point, all Cody could do was frown, feeling that today will be rough.