S1 EP3 - V(2) Everyday life

After I have packed my most important things and assured Mom again that I still love her, I make my way to bedroom 2 where Ivory and Cleo sleep. The door is open and the chatter of the girls reaches into the hallway.

"Who's there?" asks some girl and comes to the door.

"I'm Violet. I... I would love to sleep here as well. If that's okay."

"Pfft- sure, come in. Listen up everyone, that's Violet! Oh, I'm Saskia by the way. Hi!" The others mumble something to me while I wave friendly and would like to sink into the ground. Why am I so embarrassed by this situation?

"Oh, is that all of the luggage? Or did you perhaps confuse the bedrooms?" She obviously doesn't know that I'm a Foster and actually have my own room...

"No, I-"

"Violet! Over here!"

"Ah!!" I smile apologetically at Saskia and scurry over to Cleo and Ivory. The two have bunkered the top floor of the loft beds and below them is still free.

"You here? How come?"

"I want to feel like a real academy student... I want something new..."

"Oh, Princess wants something new. Can we offer her that, Ivory?"

"Definitely, haha..."

From the next day, the lessons begin.

#morning exercise, 6:00-6:30

"For you, I am Sensei Trust. Today we do a few musculature exercises that will be routine until your graduation. So remember the routine!"

Cleo, Kuro and I have no problems with training. I've had to participate here since I was little. And the training gets harder later... after all, you can become a guard after the second year and thus need good musculature and endurance. The first year is really only the base...

#cooking, 7:16 am

Jay B. is one minute late, causing Ai to grin. This means she's about to take the day off... Way too many times she's abandoned her latecomers and their teams....

"You guys are late. I'm Ai Lemanya. Here is the recipe. Everything has to be ready by 7:45. Have fun!"

" Whaaaat?! Learning-by-doing or what?", Cleo blurts out. I just shake my head at this... That's when I notice Luke's confident smile. He squints over at his brother Jay, who has already rolled up his sleeves and thrown on an apron. I quickly brief everyone on the kitchen and then we get to work. Since I know my way around the campus best, I'm sent with Ivory to the greenhouse to get fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.

#engineering

I've never had that subject before... but Cleo had, she loves that subject. A young teacher comes in with a lot of electrical equipment. I don't know his name yet, as he has just recently started working here.

" Only if you open something and not only look at it, but also understand how it is built and how it functions, you truly understand it. And that's how you can fix it or even improve it. Oh yes, I'm Mr. Evidence."

#orientation

We sit down at tables that show a hologram map of Rumah. Luke is especially excited about it. Seems like the second year just had class here. Mom joins us with old paper maps from the room next door and turns off the holograms. Well... we're simply not ready to use these yet....

"Why are we still using the old maps? We have navigation devices and GPS..."

"Even a guard should be able to cope without technology."

"…"

#nature study

"Pleased to meet you. I am Kaiya von Alvarez. Feel free to call me by my first name. I will teach you which plants are edible and which are poisonous by teaching you how to tell them apart. But first, I want each of you to get a plant seed and grow a plant yourselves."

We'll grow different seeds and plant them in flower pots. What was the point of that again? As if she heard my question, she glances at me and begins to explain what it's all about.

"Plants need a lot of care and bring responsibilities with them, but they also give something back. You might be wondering what that could be. Well, you get something like a task, something to take care of. It's part of our human needs to want to take care of something. It also gives us back some control. Thanks to us, this plant thrives and grows - or dies. This simple routine will also help you relax a bit and counteract the stress and anxiety you will soon be facing. And believe me, you will. By the way, gardening in general helps mental health. But we'll learn more about that in the lessons to come."