The sheen light reflected from the sun, shining down on your face leaving a nice warm hue. The soft velvety texture of your bed sheets rubbed against your skin, kissing it with its softness and purity. You felt warm, like you were back in your mother's embrace as a little kid. This feeling, this comfort, you wanted to treasure it forever. How could a simple bed make you feel so serene? You could never know.
And who could forget the best part? The incessant banging noise that rang across the room...
Wait... banging?
You groggily forced yourself up, your entire body feeling numb from just having woken up. Your senses were dull and joints were stiff, even so it had been one of the best sleeps of your life. Seriously though... this place was stacked and yet they couldn't put soundproof walls? Maybe you were being a bit critical here, but fuck that.
You looked towards the clock on the wall for a time check... but it was an analog clock and it was too early for your brain to function properly so you just checked your phone. You looked at the screen and your eyes widened at the number.
It was... 1 o'clock. You slept in... like grossly slept in. You supposed the mattress was just so comfortable, you unknowingly slept through your normal schedule and into the middle of the afternoon. Still, you would have thought Bruinhild would wake you up or something. Not that she was obligated to, but today was the day you were supposed to sign all the documents and notation to officially enroll into the academy.
Still, there was still the problem of all that banging. It wasn't a constant noise, there was no pattern to it either. It just happened at random times. Sometimes there would be a two minute pause between the bangs, and sometimes there would be a two second pause. It wasn't super loud either, however just enough for it to reach your ears and annoy you. If anything, the random order of the noise was more aggravating than a constant one.
Not-so gracefully, you stepped out into the halls of your dorm to investigate the noise. Not for the sake of going back to bed though, as of now your curiosity was completely overpowering the sleepiness you felt. So much so that you weren't even tired anymore, it was taking a morning cup of coffee, except in irritating bangs.
Forcing yourself up from the bed, you let out a small yawn and a morning stretch. You could feel cold morning air hit your arms, as they went up into the air. You remembered going to sleep in your regular clothes last night, so you must have kicked off the extra ;ayers in your sleep, leaving you in your undergarments.
Walking over to your suitcase, you fished out the first pair of clothes you saw. It wasn't an outfit to write home about since you picked it up quickly, but it would do for now.
Quickly you threw the clothes on and walked into some slides, ready to investigate the origin of the strange noise. You almost felt like a detective in a crime show, or maybe like the really oblivious character in a horror movie who dies first... Well, too late now. You were already dressed, so if you died then so be it.
You walked out into the familiar hall from last night, only it was illuminated with daylight instead of artificial light. It gave the hallway a lighter feel. Looking out one of the windows, you could see the big campus. A few students roamed around on the street but overall it was much less rowdy than when you had first arrived. Not that it was exactly rowdy in the first place, this was a private school after all.
You followed the banging down the hallway towards the source of the noise. It was a bit hard to navigate given the odd frequency of the knocks, but with a hope, dream and a prayer you managed to find the door that seemed to be holding the source of your annoyance and curiosity.
None of the doors had actual numbers on them, rather they had labels presented on huge gold plates. For public rooms like the student lounge, the embroidered gold piece had a silver outline. Meanwhile the student's personal dorms were just set in a gold plate, with their names carved into them in cursive.
The one you stood in front of, was no different. A beautifully decorated plate showcasing the name of the room's owner, Nikola Tesla. However unlike any of the other doors, this one was different. Instead of the classic white door with an intricately detailed golden handle, this door was customized heavily.
It was a circular sliding metal door, made of titanium like metal. Along the sides of the door you could still see soldering marks outlining the places that connected the metal, showing off the handwork put into it. Sitting right where the doorknob usually should be, was a keypad unlocking the door. With a closer inspection, you could see some sort of lens attached to the front of the keypad, most likely to act as some sort of home security system.
It was obvious the person who designed it created the door for function, rather than style. Though you did appreciate the futuristic vibe it gave off.
Just as you were appreciating the door, another round bang came from the room, reminding you of your purpose.
You brought your fist up to knock on the door, hovering before you could make contact with metal, the door slider opened automatically.
"Uh...." You mumbled, standing there with your fist still in the air like an idiot. "What the fuck."
Looking around the room, you immediately noticed the size of it. It was almost double the size of your room- Hell, it was probably more than double. Despite this immense size, by some miracle of god the owner of this room managed to cover almost every square inch with sheets of paper and sprawled out books.
You looked down at a piece of paper sitting right in front of your feet, picking it up gingerly, you could see all of the work that was written on the paper. The handwriting was almost incomprehensible, but you could work out a complex math equation littered the sheet. You tried to viper it further, but the work was so intricate that if you tried to comprehend the work your brain might just explode.
Decorating the walls of the room was a long chalk board, filled to the brim with equations as far as the eye could see. It felt like the embodiment of a math textbook, except thousands of times more complex. Your eyes were wide with wonder as you stood in wonder of this new mathematical world
Just as you were admiring the room, something whizzed by your head. Quickly, your view followed the object in shock. The object pierced itself right on your shoulder, and there you could finally get a good view of what it was. Some kind of bird was sitting on you, only it wasn't a bird. At least, not a bird found in nature.
Its frame resembled that of a dove, but its exterior was built of metal and titanium. The wings flapped like it was about to glide through the sky, but the soft sound of a motor could be heard buzzing softly from its body. It was everything that a bird was, except for being an actual bird.
The robotic dove softly pecked your head repeatedly, and you just let it. Your shock was too great to do anything other than stare at the machine.
"Dane, quit it." A strong voice called out. The voice wasn't strong in a commanding or stern way, but held a sense of compassion and softness. "Don't bother the poor girl."
The bird that was sitting on your shoulder quickly flew up, and landed on the shoulder of a man sitting on the ground in the corner. From the back you could tell he was tall and had decent muscle mass, but paled in comparison to the red head you met last night.
You didn't even notice him at first, too caught up in the insanity of the room to see the boy. His body was turned the opposite way to you, hovering over a small object that he seemed to be tinkering with.
As soon as the bird landed on his shoulder, he turned his head to face you. A welding mask covered his face as he looked at you, obstructing your view from seeing his face in return. He looked at you in silence for a few seconds, awkwardly you shifted in place, feeling nervous about his gaze. Then, he turned around and went back to work on his object.
"Hm, sorry about that." He said, picking the tools back up and working on his project. "Dane is a highly intricate artificial intelligence unit that I made myself. For AI, pattern recognition is important so he tends to be very curious about new things, picking them up almost as quickly as humans do too. I supposed him pecking you was part of his algorithm trying to gather information on you, seeing as you're a subject he's never encountered. "
"Oh um, yeah...tooootally." You mumbled, acting like you understood what he meant. "So your name is Nikola Tesla... right?"
He nodded softly, never taking his eyes off his machine. "Yup, and I know you too. You're [Name] [Lastname]"
"Wait... how did yo-"
"I do my research. '' He cut you off hastily before you could finish. Then he pointed to his desk, a variety of tools and screws and circuits and things you don't even know the name of littered on the desk messily. "You think you could hand me a wrench?"
"Oh, yeah for sure." You replied, stepping further into his lair of science. Stepping into his rooms was actually really cool, it gave off a big science-fiction vibe, only it was reality instead of fiction.
You stepped up to the desk, carefully moving stuff around to find a wrench to give to him. After a few seconds of looking, you found what you were looking for and brought it to the male sitting on the floor. As soon as you placed it in his outstretched hand, he snagged it from young and began working quickly.
By now all the malice and anger you felt towards the male was swept away, replaced quickly by curiosity. You could help but feel intrigued at the complexity of his robots and inventions. What was he making? How was he making them? Why was he making them? All these questions flooded your mind, and yet you just silently watched as he tinkered away at his little project.
Then he put the wrench down, and outstretched his hand towards you again.
"Screwdriver please."
"Huh?" You mumbled, taking a second to process his words before understanding his intent. "Oh! Yeah, ok just one sec."
You quickly dove back into the pile of tools, carefully searching for a screwdriver. You didn't know when you became his unofficial assistant, but you didn't really mind. Watching Tesla work was interesting enough, so it was worth it. Once you found the screwdriver, you handed the tool off to him and the male began to work with your watchful eyes above him.
The boy's hands moved slowly and carefully, being precise with every movement he made. Sometimes, he would check over areas multiple times to make sure that they were carefully positioned and secured on. It was a slow process, but something about watching the piece slowly come together was satisfying. With patience and time came beautiful things, and just from watching him build for a few minutes you could tell this was going to be a very complex machine.
After a few minutes of watching the boy work, he suddenly spoke up again.
"So... is there a reason why you're here?" Tesla asked, his eyes never leaving his work. "Not that I really mind of course, but you must have come for a reason, no?"
"Yeah..." You mumbled, forcing yourself to take your eyes off his work and awkwardly look away. "It's just... you kind of woke me up with your noise and stuff."
"Do you not have soundproof walls?" He said, tilting his head in confusion. "Also, you know it's like 3 o'clock, right?"
Your jaw dropped. "It is?!"
"Pfft- yeah it is, how did you not know?" Tesla said, chuckling a little as he spoke.
You rested your forehead in your hand, feeling embarrassed. So much for a good first impression, you could throw that idea out the window. He probably thought you were super lazy for something right now.
A soft sigh left your lips. "Jet lag is gonna be the death of me..." You looked away, eyes trailed around the room to meet anything other than his eyes, although it's not like you could meet them anyways. For one he was completely engrossed in his work, it was a surprise he was even able to talk to you in the first place. However, his face was also covered by a welding mask, completely disguising his features from you.
Still, just looking at his figure was enough to make you feel embarrassed, so you looked away. Eventually your eyes landed on one of the books in front of you, carefully you picked it up.
"Oh yeah. You're a transfer student, right? " He mumbled as you flipped through the pages of the book, scanning its contents quickly.
You nodded aimlessly, still looking through the pages. "Yeah, I'm originally from [Country]. It's pretty cool being abroad." Eventually you stopped on one page that interested you. The heading caught your attention, as the words 'String Theory' were printed above in bold.
You read the page carefully, finding interest in the words. It was a theory, a theory about the universe itself. You were never really into physics that much, but you always appreciated facts and theories about the universe. There was something special about learning about the world around you, and the building blocks that create it.
According to the book, string theory was the idea that the universe was made up of tiny strings of pure energy, each one vibrating at a different frequency. From there, the difference frequencies present themselves as quarks and electrons, making up the building blocks of atoms, which make up the building block of... well, everything!
You couldn't help but feel engrossed in the idea. It was interesting for sure, and although it wasn't proven it was still a concept you could see yourself getting behind.
Suddenly a loud bang brought your attention back to reality and away from the book. Looking down you could see Tesla still working on his machine, silently working as you silently read his books.
You set the book down on the table carefully, and crouched down next to Tesla to get a closer look at what he was working on. The boy turned to face you, noticing your presence again. At the same time you turned to face him, by now the two of you were an atom's length apart, the only thing standing between you two was his welding mask.
You turned away with a soft blush, now wishing you were the one wearing a welding mask.
"So... What exactly are you working on?" You mumbled, hoping to direct attention off your embarrassed face.
Tesla stared at you a second longer than necessary, then cleared his throat and continued to work.
"Do you really wanna know?"
You couldn't help but nod excitedly. Even though you originally proposed your question to take away from your embarrassment, you really did find great interest in his work. "Yeah, I definitely wanna know!"
The boy beside you signed softly and nodded. "Well, if you must know... I'm working on a model for instantaneous movement!"
"Instantaneous movement?! Like teleportation?!" You cried, eyes widening in surprise. You thought things like teleportation were virtually impossible! The idea of teleportation existing always felt like some sort of science fiction idea, something that was nice in theory yet never actually possible. And yet you were sitting beside someone who was literally working on it.
"No! Niet! Nien! Not teleportation!" He clarified.
"But you just said-"
"Teleportation is simply impossible." Tesla explained, wagging his finger. "Atoms cannot be made or completely disappear, however if we manage to make them move faster than the eye can process, it will appear as teleportation. But it's not, so we call it instantaneous movement."
"Oh... ok?"
"Yes! it's quiet mind-blowing." He nodded. "But.. It's a real pain in the ass. I feel like every idea and theory I come up with just ends up back at square one. That's why, I'm taking a break to build the model instead of working on the actual theory and mathematics of it."
You processed his words for a second, taking in all the information he told you. Somehow, your brain ended up relating it back to the book you just read about String Theory. It needed to move faster than the eye could see, right? And eyes see using light, so it would have to go at the speed of light. So how could you force an item to move at the speed of light? Then, you spoke up.
"In string theory, everything is just energy vibration at different levels, right?" You said, starting off your theory. "Well, if everything is running on vibrations we can also assume light is the fastest form of vibrating energy, due to its speed and the amount of energy it creates. So what if you force the strings and the arms to vibrate so fast, that it transforms into light. That way, objects can travel faster than the eye can see, hence instant movement as far as the eye can see."
You smiled a bit, feeling hopeful for your theory. You just made it on the spot, but you felt it wasn't completely bad. In fact, you felt proud of it. The theory actually made sense, leaving you feeling hopeful. Could you really have just solved the long standing mystery to teleportation?! Did you just make the biggest breakthrough in science ever?!
"Oh, well that theory is certainly interesting. I really like the concept and way of thinking behind it." Tesla said, his voice light and friendly. "Although, I can probably poke a few holes in it."
"Oh... That sucks." Well, you supposed you wouldn't be getting your Nobel prize just yet. A smidge of disappointment rang through you, but it wasn't that strong. It's not like you had time to refine and perfect this theory, after all.
"Yeah, I mean first of all as the name suggests, string theory is just a theory." He said, unknowingly debunking your idea harshly. "Second, the amount of power needed to change an item into pure light would be insane, it could never be used in a particle application. Not to mention the fact we wouldn't be able to reverse the process of turning an object into light, so it would be stuck in that state anyways. Also-"
"Yeah I get it. My idea sucks." You cut him off, feeling dejected at his criticism.
Seeing your expression, Tesla panicked for a second.
"Oh no! Don't get me wrong! Your idea wasn't bad!" he said frantically, trying to cheer you up. "I mean, I really appreciate it. It was your first theory after all, so it's bound to have some errors. But the fact you managed to make it on the spot shows a lot of creativity. And that's something that's essential to being a scientist!"
"Really..." You mumbled, a bit of hope spilling back into you.
"Yes, yes, yes!" The boy cried out. You couldn't see his face, but from the tone of his voice you could tell he was smiling. "Just because your idea isn't applicable doesn't make it useless! Your theory still has tons of value, we can build off of it, re-evaluate it, look at it from different angles until finally we get a product that can have an application! It's all part of the scientific process! Science is always advancing, but you cannot advance without taking a few steps back! Besides, I think you were onto something, it might not be constructible but the idea has merit!"
"I see..." A smile softly graced your face. Yes, you were wrong but after hearing his explanation it made you feel a bit better. Maybe your suggestion wasn't as stupid as you thought it was.
"So don't give up!" The boy said with a smile, before dropping his tools. "In fact, this little conversation has rejuvenated my motivation to work on the theory! Also, your idea inspired me!"
"it did?!"
"Yes, it did! Thank you!" He said, quickly standing up and kicking his old model to the side. You watched it break on impact with the ground in shock as he paid it no attention, instead walking he swiftly moved to the chalkboard. As he walked up to the board he quickly threw his welding mask aside. You could see his wavy brown hair sway as he stumbled over to the chalkboard, and his warm brown eyes light up in excitement.
Tesla quickly picked up a piece of chalk and drew a diagram on it.
"You see, just instantaneous movement of something on its own from an acceleration of zero is impossible!" He said, sketching out a square and a circle, as well as a few mathematical equations around it. "However, if we can somehow create a vacuum chamber using electrostatic repulsion with zero gravity, it will allow objects to reach a higher velocity in a shorter time frame! This alone will allow objects to move incredibly quickly, but combined with that if we charge the sub atomic particles to high frequency speeds then it may just be what we're looking for!"
Suddenly he stopped, tapping the chalk against the board before starting again excitedly. "In fact, while we're at it we can cut down on wind movement too by vacuum sealing the chamber so fluid air dynamics don't impact or slow don't the results! Oh but how would we stop the moving object if it's propelling at such a high velocity? Well we can-"
As he continued to ramble about potential problems and solutions, the board quickly filled to the brim with equations. the male had already lost you by the time he opened his mouth, and you really didn't know what to do. While he was working on the robot, you could somewhat understand his movements and why he did them, but with this it was like listening to a new language.
"Ok well... good luck with that. I'm gonna go..." You said, as he wrote down equations on the chalkboard quickly. He was writing so quickly, it was like he was moving at light speed. He didn't need to do all those equations, when passion and excitement alone cause him to move instantaneously.
You silently stepped out of the room, leaving him to his chalkboard. It felt wrong to be in there, like walking into a conversation you weren't supposed to take part in. It was just kinda awkward. Although, you were sure it was a one sided feeling since Tesla was too busy to care.
A happy sign left your mouth as soon as you got into the hall. It wasn't that you hated being in the male's room, in fact it was kinda futuristic and cool, however for as cool as it was the room also felt very cramped and overwhelming.
You took a few steps- hell not even a few steps, before someone tugged on the back of your shirt. Looking back, you made eye contact with icy turquoise blue eyes, ones that you could recognize anywhere.
"Oh haha, hey Brunhild... what's up." A nervous smile made its way onto your face, as the woman in front of you glared at you with contempt.
"Where. The actual fuck. Were you?!" She seethed, gripped onto the back of your shirt tighter. "I went to your room to pick you up but you were gone! We were supposed to be at the meeting 30 minutes ago!"
"I met this guy named Tesla, he's really into science."
She paused for a moment, face changing from anger to slight surprise as she calmed down "Tesla? Oh, I've heard of him. The guy's supposed to be some sort of child prodigy genius when it comes to science and physics..."
Brunhild shook head quickly, and began dragging you along with her. "But that's not important. What's important is that we hurry up to the office for your meeting. Luckily it's being held in the conference room of your dorm so we won't have to walk all the way to the main building, thank the gods for that!"
"Meeting?! What meeting?!" You panicked as the woman dragged you closer and closer to the conference room.
She squeezed your hand gently, her voice as firm as ever as she explained what would be happening to you. "Don't worry. You'll just be signing some waivers, officiating your stay at the school and getting your class schedule."
The two of you swiftly walked down the hall, until Brunhild made a sharp turn to theft, stopping at a door labeled 'conference room.' Instead of a single door, this one had large double doors, showing the grandeur of the room in front of you.
"Here we are." She said, letting go of your hand. Then her hand softly came up to your head, softly stroking your hair in a comforting way. "I can't come in because they want you to have an impartial decision when it comes to officiating your stay, but I'll support you from behind this door, ok?"
You nodded hesitantly, a weary smile gracing your face. "Yeah, thanks."
Then you stepped forward, forcing open the door that could either make or break your future. seconds seemed like minutes, and you found yourself standing inside of the conference room. The room was probably one of the least extravagant things you've seen thus far. A large wooden table stretched across the room, with seats littered on each side. On the very end of the table, sat a boy around your age, carefully shuffling through documents.
His soft blond hair framed his face like ocean waves, and his icy blue eyes gazed down at the papers in boredom. The boy was beautiful, no doubt about it. However, he looked utterly bold and apathetic. Without looking up, the male beckoned you in, his voice reflecting the passive look on his face.
"Sit." The boy's harsh yet uncaring voice commanded.
You wanted to resist his command just to spite his tone, but it would create more trouble than it was worth. You walked closer to him, and took a seat close to him. You didn't want to sit directly beside him, his tone already left a bad impression in your mind, but you sat close enough.
Despite this, he still scooted away from you as soon as you sat down. What a dick.
"So uh... are you the principal or something?" You said, trying to get a conversation going. The guy had yet to look at you once, opting to look at the papers in his hands.
A snarl covered his face after hearing your question, and he continued to flip through papers. "Do I fucking look like a principal?"
"Uhh... depends?"
"Fucking imbecile..." He muttered under his breath, before sliding a documenting your direction. "I'm a student council member, I'm filling in for the principal since he isn't here right now."
You picked up the document and held it up to read it. It was essentially a non-disclosure form, by signing this you agreed to never speak badly about the school, spread lies about the school and overall keep quiet about the things that go on here since they wanted to preserve the dignity of the academy.
You picked up the pen and signed your name. Was it sketchy? Yes, very. However you had gotten too far to back out now, and so you would see this thing all the way through.
The boy across from you let out a huff as you finished signing your name, and swiped the document from you. He then placed another document in front of you and stood up to leave. Looking over the document, you could see it was your timetable for school.
The schedule was arranged so you had four subjects in one day, each class taking just over an hour. The first classes you had were English and Biology, both of them occupying the time before lunch. After lunch you had Physical Education and to end off the day you had the oh-so great Mathematics.
Your schedule sucked... hard.
"You know... You may be part of the school, but no one here actually thinks of you as a peer." He said, harsh words accompanied by an expression of complete apathy. "The only reason we have you are is so in the eyes of the public we look good, but if it was up to me, I would never let a dirty incest like you breath the same air as us."
Your eyes widened in slight shock, and your mouth hung open in disbelief. It was obvious he didn't like you from the first moment you met, but you didn't expect him to be so open about his feelings. He refused to make eye contact with you, however even without that you could still make out the hatred burning through his icy pupils.
"Poor people like you... they're all just stupid pigs who are controlled by the system. Even the ones who think they're free, truly aren't." He continued, walking towards the exit. Throughout the whole conversation, his eyes never met yours. It was as if he was you as nothing more than an insect. "So don't get comfortable. No one wants you here."
With that he walked out of the room, whistling a soft tune and leaving you dumbstruck. Your grip on the paper tightened, and you felt the weight of his words pile up on your back.
Most rich people were assholes. And now, you've found yourself in a school full of them.
Suddenly, you found yourself standing up and running after the blonde haired male You'd didn't know why, he made his distance obvious, and yet your body was moving on its own to catch up with him.
"Hey!! You!!" You cried out, pointing towards the boy as you ran. He turned his head slightly, just glancing at your figure from the corner of your eyes but refusing to make eye contact.
Before he could react, you chawed at him and grabbed his collar roughly. With both of your hands, you pulled him around and forced him to face you, his eyes looking into yours. Your vision was flooded with his icy blue color, like a soft winter's day or the waves flooding into the shore, beautifully crashing and rising into the sand.
"Didn't your parents ever teach you it's common courtesy to make eye contact with people?!" You cried in anger, bringing his face closer to yours. "Or do you rich people just pay someone to do it for you?!"
The boy stared at you in shock for the first few seconds, his eyes meeting yours deeply. Then, it switched to anger, and you knew you fucked up in your impulsive decision to attack him. His eyes narrowed and you could see his teeth grit together in annoyance.
Then the boy grabbed your arm that was grabbing his collar, and squeezed it firmly. You winced in pain, but refused to back down.
"What did you say to me, you little-"
"Ah! Brother! There you are." A voice cut the blonde haired boy off. "I've been looking for you, the student council is holding a pre-school meeting and- oh? Who's this?"
You looked around the blonde boy to see another male standing behind him. This boy also looked to be a similar age, yet despite this he had beautiful white hair, parted off to the side. Along with this, he had a tattoo around his neck, looking almost like a necklace. Although, what was most noticeable about him was the fact he had an eyepatch over his left eye, leaving a singular periwinkle eye by itself.
"It's nothing." The blonde boy said, shoving you away from him roughly causing you to fall on the ground. "Just a pest. Let's go."
"Poseidon, you know that's no way to treat a lady." His self proclaimed brother said, walking up to you and taking your hand to pull you up. "I'm sorry about him, my brother isn't exactly the most sociable."
The albino boy smiled at you kindly, yet he had the same eyes as his brother, one of apathy. "May I know your name?"
"Oh, I'm [Name]" You said, pulling your hand away from him as soon as you stood up and no longer needed his support.
"Oh? [Name]?" He said, a soft look of intrigue gracing over his features. "Oh! You're the new scholarship student! I've been very excited to meet you."
The boy gently took your hand in his own hand and shook it, his smile never leaving his face. "My name is Hades, and my brother over there is Poseidon. We're both members of the student council, so don't hesitate to come to us if you ever need anything."
You forced yourself to smile back at him. "Thank you for the offer." Ha. Yeah right, his brother looked like he was about to puke simply at the notion of having been forced to help you. It was a bit funny, really.
Hades let go of your hand and straightened back up to town above you. "It was my pleasure helping a lovely lady like yourself. However, we must be going as the student council has a meeting to attend. Goodbye for now."
With that, the two brothers walked away. As Hades walked away you could see the hand he used to shake yours graze the side of his school uniform blazer, gently wiping it off as if it was filled with filth from touching you.
It seemed like the two boys truly were brothers after all.