New Apartment Same Mind

Every day finished the same way it started: Ryan lying in his bed, staring at his bedroom's ceiling. The fluff between waking up and bedtime was irrelevant because it was the same, an endless cycle of monotony. Ryan knew that someday this would change. When you pay attention, it's easy to spot the little nodes of change in your life, though it's very unpleasant when you spot one you didn't initiate. When you stare at a ceiling long enough, you notice tiny details you hadn't noticed before, like the small chip on one of the wooden beams that hold the ceiling together or the strange spot on the ceiling that barely stands out against the aged wood. Ryan sighed, his discontent taking up the empty space of the barren bedroom. He should be sleeping right now. Jumping out of his covers, he headed towards a cushioned office chair. He habitually bent down and pressed a small power button. His computer lit up his room with an eerie artificial light. Ryan blinked a few times as he took in the sudden blue light. "Always annoying." He muttered lowly as his computer started up. Slowly the piece of technology came to life. It welcomed Ryan to a familiar image of his home desktop. He began tonight's internet exploration by visiting the news, where one can regularly find articles upon articles of controversy and catastrophe. Every once in and while there is a crumb of good or interesting news unrelated to the world's stresses, but those articles were shortlived. People thrive on negativity. They consume it with a ravenous desire that cannot be satiated. When something appears to be a threat, the human mind will pay more attention to it. It will analyze it and learn from it. Positivity is not the same. It is appreciated, then discarded. He hated reading the news because it made him feel powerless. It made life seem that much harder and worse than it already is. Yet he always checked the news at least once every few days, no matter how crappy it made him feel. Rows upon rows of headlines were displayed on his screen: _________________________________________ ---------------------------------————————— The Keeper Post 6:00 PM August 10, 2042 Pop-Star AydN rocks the world with a new hit album 4:32 PM August 10, 2042 Opinion: Why we shouldn't be allowing demons to be living among us 2:00 PM August 10, 2042 Threats of a terrorist attack on the Grand Hall 1:10 PM August 9, 2042 Protests in Arway wreck havoc on the countries streets 10:00 AM August 9, 2042 Gyle catches one of the 11 Underlords in an unprecedented chase. ____________________________________ --------------------------------------------- Ryan filtered through numerous articles until he finally found one that caught his eye. "Gyle, huh? Underlord Aphelion is a big catch." He had heard about Gyle before. He was a well-known figure in the Union. He was a hero, literally a hero, a diamond in a sea of aged bronze. Ryan didn't know Gyle well but followed many other heroes. Heroes were humanity's greatest achievements. They were capable of feats that most humans weren't capable of. They held values that one could only look up to. They were revered and loved by many inside and outside the Union. They stand above us all. Hero…what an envious title. Ryan finished the article about Gyle. He began to fall down a rabbit hole of videos and clips of numerous heroes. He was fixated on the deeds and scenes of action before him, endlessly watching lives being saved, medals being given, and praises being shouted. As a pang of longing stirred inside of him, he grabbed onto his desk. He didn't bother to pay attention to what hero he was watching. It didn't matter. It all blended together. They all shared similar traits, unwavering strength, unyielding conviction, and a great responsibility, far removed from the worries of day-to-day life. Ryan tightened his grip on his desk, nearly turning his fingers white. Ryan's gaze shifted from the contents of the screen to his own reflection on the monitor's face. He stared at himself with questioning brown eyes, the room's shadows outlining his fatigue. He analyzed his face and its looks. Unsatisfied, he looked deeper into his mind, at his thoughts. What did he have? Ryan searched desperately, but it could never amount to the heroes lying in front of him. It couldn't even amount to the expectations of a mundane individual. What was he if he had nothing of value? Ryan rose out of his seat while clenching his jaw. He slowly picked up his monitor off the desk, his reflection still mocking him. He raised the monitor with a twisted expression above his head as his muscles tensed. He froze, stuck in time, the weight of the monitor pressing down on his being. With forced composure, his breath flowed in and out steadily. Ryan exhaled deeply, slowly bringing his monitor back down to safety. He turned off the computer and the monitor, returning the room to darkness. "I should be asleep right now, not breaking my monitor." He murmured. "What's wrong with me?" _____________________________________ "Pancakes!" Mary navigated through the apartment, delivering three piles of steaming buttery goodness onto an inviting oak table. "Ooh, pancakes." Jay rushed over to the table, adjusting his tailored charcoal gray blazer. His clothing gave him a professional air, causing his attire to contrast with the atmosphere of the casually decorated apartment. "That's a fancy outfit, have a date?" Mary eyed her son suspiciously. Jay was taken aback, "What, no. I have my internship with Forward. Remember? I've been talking about it all week. Besides, this blazer is too formal for a morning date," Jay thought momentarily, "It might look good at night, though." Mary lit up in understanding, "Oh right, the company that I don't understand. You got your hands into some complex nonsense." Jay stabbed his pancake, causing syrup to spill from the open wound. "It's not nonsense, Mom. It's the future." Jay had only briefly witnessed Forward's practices, but ever since he got sucked in, he had spent hours researching and applying, often staying up until morning. Mary would peek into his room and see him reading over papers with contents she could never understand, seeing his room slowly being consumed by scattered books and piling notes. Mary looked solemnly at her son ravenously eating pancakes. Jay and Ryan have grown so much. Mary remembers when they were little kids, and the family would play and eat around the lively patio. She still thinks back to then. The bluebirds would sing stories of the past, and the neighborhood cat would always prance around their home, almost like it was spying. And she still remembers him vividly. His boisterous laughter occupied a warm place in her heart. "Just don't overwork yourself, ok." Jay glanced up at his mother. He could barely see the tear droplets forming in her eyes. "I won't, Mom." When Mary caught her son's gaze, her tears dried up, and she donned a bright smile. "Where's Ryan? These pancakes won't eat themselves." Jay chuckled. "Sleeping, probably. I heard him talking to himself last night." "So you were awake too?" Jay stopped eating and teetered back slightly, turning towards Ryan's room. "I'll get him." Mary pointed the spatula at Jay's skull like a well-versed general signaling for an army to charge. "Make sure to tell him there are pancakes." Jay's fist shook the door's frame as he knocked, "Ryan, there's pancakes! Mom worked really hard making them." Silence. Jay knew he was sleeping, but sleep was no excuse to skip Mom's pancakes. His knocking had likely already woken him up. Now, Jay just had to get his brother out of his room. Jay busted in, and lo and behold, his brother was covering his ears with his pillow, acting like he had been blasted in the face by a speaker the size of a boulder. "Come on, get up." Jay's words were sharp, way too sharp for Ryan's exhausted mind. An obscured voice came from the pillow, proving that Ryan hadn't suffocated quite yet. "Yeah, give me a moment." "Glad you could make it Sleeping Beauty." Mary placed her finished plate of pancakes into the sink, using her head to gesture Ryan over to the table. She seemed to be proud of her sleeping beauty comment. Following Mary was Jay, who cleaned his dirty plate. Ryan glanced around the cramped kitchen-living room combo, rubbing off the lenses of his glasses on his shirt. His mom called it an open kitchen. He wasn't used to it yet. He had a headache, a problem he only could hope pancakes would solve. Ryan rubbed his forehead and sat down. After shaking off some grogginess, Ryan took notice of his brother's outfit. Jay didn't usually look so refined. It caught Ryan off guard. Not a single blemish stood on his clothes, and did Jay iron everything? "What are you wearing? Got a date?" "Why does it feel like no one in this house listens to me?" Jay exclaimed dramatically, feigning an air of defeat. "It's for a big fancy internship." Mary was eager to jump in. "Oh right, good luck Jay." "Thanks, Ryan." Jay glanced at Ryan. He expected a different response, especially since he messed with Ryan's beauty sleep. Ryan and Jay have been poking fun at each other since they could both talk. "Just don't blow anything up or show anyone a picture of your room." Suddenly Jay's gratitude became less sincere, "Thanks. Ryan." "I was going to clean my room up later today, so I don't want to hear it." "Right." "Well, I got to go. Thanks for the pancakes, Mom." Jay grabbed his bag lying by the entrance and rushed out, slamming the door behind him in a hurry. Mary scrunched her face. Jay was always in such a rush. Mary lit up, suddenly remembering what had been eluding her all morning, "Oh, Ryan! Great news." Ryan knew there wasn't much that could qualify as great news for him at the moment, and even then, he could only imagine what would fall under that category. "You got accepted into Aetheria. Isn't that amazing?" Ryan sat, stunned. "But I didn't apply for Aetheria?" "You won some lottery. They even mailed over some clothes and an acceptance letter last night." Mary placed everything she found in the morning before Ryan a minute later. Wrapped in plastic were a few sets of a dazzling blue uniform and a pair of dress shoes. Engraved onto the heart of the uniform was a patterned golden crest with the school's title. Ryan ripped open the plastic and felt the fabric of the uniform. It was smooth to the touch. His fingers glided against the carefully interwoven polyester. Ryan moved to the letter. It was a simple congratulations with a link on the back for the campus website. "Welcome to Aetheria Preparatory. High achievement, high excellence." Ryan had often heard about Aetheria, even when living in another district. It held a high reputation, with many prominent figures sending their children to the school and many graduates standing at the top of society, molded and polished by the school's system. The only institution that could rival it was in the Union's capital. It was too sudden. Ryan scanned the letter again, trying to find any clues as to why he was chosen. Was it really just pure luck? "This is too much, am I even fit for this school? Jay is way more qualified than me and wouldn't have gotten in himself." Without status or wealth, it was nearly impossible to get into Aetheria unless you somehow won their yearly lottery, which gave five students free entry, but you had to apply for it. Aetheria Preparatory argued that their lottery system was in place to give a chance to anyone who had dreams of joining their prestigious institution while masking the fact that it was almost impossible to get in otherwise if you didn't have high enough standing. Ryan doesn't recall applying. He sat with a dumb look on his face, trying to brainstorm how this could have happened. "Why don't you go find out if you're fit? The initiation ceremony is today." Mary had a shift at the hospital this morning, so she couldn't see the campus with him, but a quick drive wouldn't hurt. "Today? I just got my acceptance letter today." For such a pretentious school, they weren't very punctual. Ryan stared at the application letter, entertaining the thought of sitting in a classroom of the high and mighty. In his mind, he was shuffling through the halls, grasping at his neck, barely managing to claw his way through the hall's suffocating air. He wouldn't take a single step without being labeled different from all his entitled peers, and every night he would be up studying for exams that he would likely barely pass. Was this even worth it? A pit began to form in his stomach. "Give it a shot, Ryan. You'll never get this opportunity again. You need to face your fears to grow. I think you're much stronger and smarter than you realize." Ryan appreciated his mother's words, but they were the words of a mother. This was the real world in a school he was unqualified for. He couldn't. He wouldn't. Who would he even talk to, the other lottery winners? Mary's brows knitted together in a knot of concern as her son sat silently with a strange expression. "Just go to the initiation ceremony, please. You won't even have to go back. Give it a shot." Mary knew this was the perfect chance for her son to break his mold, with a opportunity of a lifetime. Ryan couldn't speak for a bit, stuck in his thoughts. He reluctantly sighed. One visit couldn't hurt. It was one of the best academies in the Union, after all. "Sure, I'll go," Mary lit up at her son's response, "When do we have to leave for the ceremony?" He asked. Mary checked the time, "Right now."

Next chapter