Chapter 5.2: So Many Choices

The next day was reserved for the students to create their schedules. We had to choose the classes and seminars for the semester. Naturally, I didn't make up my mind just yet. How could I? I despised the fact that I had to move here. If not for Dad's arrangements I wouldn't be here. I just wished he would be able to see me, be proud, but he won't, and he never will. I was stuck here without any goal in mind.

I met up with Rose in front of the ornamented cast-iron gates of the school. In place of the demolished security robot stood a bored teacher leaning against the cold metal. He lazily yawned seemingly disinterestedly in the affairs of the student body. A 180° turn to the alertness of the robot. It might be this attitude why the robots got implemented in the first place.

"Morning Song! Why are you looking at the teacher? Do you contemplate punching him as well? As assuming this thought is, I'd advise against it. His cultivation is higher than it looks." Rose approached me grinning from ear to ear.

"You can tell? How?" I asked.

Rose threw her arm around me and came into conspiratorial distance. "Don't worry about it! Everyone knows that. Anyway, about your fight yesterday. Do you know that all the first-years are talking about you?"

"What!? Why?"

"'Cause your confrontation yesterday spread like wildfire. Well, I might have helped here and there. Together with your tale of destroying the security bot we established your dominance, boss."

"You did what!?" I raised my voice and saw the nearby students jump. What exactly did she tell them?

"Ah, don't worry about it. No need for thanks." She laughingly hit my back and entered the school grounds.

With what kind of weirdo did I get involved? I sighed. "Wait up, Rose!"

The boulevard from the gate to the main buildings was lined with fully blossomed cherry trees. Their bloom was heralding the peak of spring. The smog was thin enough to let a few refreshing sunbeams through, making the view picturesque. I hated it. I would trade anything for getting home again.

Not only did I hate this place, now I was ostracized for being a violent troublemaker. Why did it feel like the fates were stacked against me?

"What's wrong, Song?" Rose shook me.

I returned my focus to the present. "Nothing. Just why did you spread it? I have plenty to worry about. I don't need this." I furrowed my brows and looked seriously at Rose.

"I'm sorry. I thought it was an amazing story."

"Amazing huh?"

"Not many duel without their spirits and win. The people ate up a tale such as this. I don't even think that everyone believed it. But it was believable enough that they were hanging on my lips." Rose did a pirouette and looked at me inspired.

"So, in other words, you like the attention?"

Rose's face fell. "Well, maybe?"

I stared at her.

"A little? Okay, fine! I love it! I adore people, their laughter, their tears, everything. I'm acquainted with many people but only a few I could ever call my friends. I thought about how to best approach people, To tell them an amazing story. Connect via the gripping narrative of an unknown girl fighting off a dashing lad from the five houses." She wildly gesticulated while explaining herself.

And then I understood. Rose and I were very similar. We both were scared of people. Scared of being rejected. While I fled into the coziness of my own thoughts Rose compensated with her attempts to hyper-socialize. I imagine that most people find her behavior rather weird, or they could smell her desperation. But in my eyes, it seemed innocent. Like a toddler wanting to share their favorite toy with the other kids.

"You might invite this amazing girl to lunch later." I crossed my arm and sighed playfully.

"Sure, will!" Said Rose while spinning once more.

At the end of the boulevard were a couple of large buildings, the main campus of the Eimei Academy. There were some offshoots for different specializations like alchemy, cyber engineering, ranged fighting, melee fighting, and some other arts. The general courses like advanced calculus were taught here though. Some of them were obligatory but they would only cover half of the needed amount of credits. That meant I had to choose at least four courses more.

On the stone plaza between the buildings, where the entrance ceremony took place, stood a plethora of stalls advertising their classes.

Underwater Cultivating - people sat crossed-legged at the bottom of a glass tank. Too wet, no, thank you.

Rapier-fighting - swords were pretty cool but the rapier doesn't vibe with me.

Mecha-beast Taming - I hate those things. Whoever thought those beasts would be good pets should get spanked.

Cybersteed Racing - sadly I didn't have my regular license yet although it sounded pretty cool.

Viral Marketing - Urgh, no! Those advertisements were annoying already. I didn't feel like adding my own take to them.

Hacking 101 - Numbers and I were like fire and water.

Now was there nothing interesting here? "Hey Song, what do you think of the history of punk-rock? That sounds pretty dope."

It really did but I didn't see how it would help me in my future endeavors. I was looking for something more practical, something boring. I walked around seeing some very tempting courses like spiritual photography but in the end, I stayed true to my resolution and picked three very ordinary classes.

I decided on History of Cultivation because Auntie always said I had to learn about how things began to forge my own path.

Dan-Design was a course that fused mystical alchemy with body cultivation. Enhancing specific attributes of one's body was much more effective but dependent on the cultivator, on their spirit or cyber interface, and on their cultivation technique, hence the need to design.

The most practical class was Advanced Hand-to-Hand Combat though. In my old school, Plum Manor, I aced every Hand-to-Hand test. It was not a skill many modern cultivators used but it suited me.

I needed one more class for this semester. A class where I could cultivate my grass spirit would be best.

"Rose, do you see any bio-spirit-related course?"

She looked contemplative. "I think there was one in the past but something happened and it got wiped off the campus."

"How do you know there was one? Didn't you just enroll?" I curiously mustered Rose's face.

She laughed. "Don't worry about it! Rumors, rumors! I hear a lot of things. For example that there is a Botany Club. It might not be exactly what you are looking for but it does explore the relationship between humans and plants. Sounds boring to me though." Rose shrugged and pointed at a stall without many visitors.

We approached. Three similar-looking potted plants stood on the table. An older student, I'd guess around twenty years old, sat there with his head on one hand. His long brown dreadlocks contrasted his even darker skin. With his eyes closed, he started to talk to us, "Are you interested in botany?"

"Not really," said Rose with her arms crossed behind her head.

"Don't waste my time then." He shooed us lazily with his free hand.

"Rose!" She walked away whistling. "I'm interested, senior brother," I said panicked.

He opened one eye. "Are you now?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Then if you don't mind. Would you mind taking part in a little test?"

"A test? At the other classes, I didn't need to take any tests." I was taken aback.

He stood up and looked me in my eyes. He was frigging tall. "Well, let's just say this course is special."

"I see. What do I have to do?"

"It's simple really. Just answer a question. Tell me, which one of those three plants contains the most spiritual energy?"

Lush green leaves, a little darker stem, no flowers or fruits adorned these plants. They all had the same height and were generally non-distinguishable. Neither had an aura of spiritual energy. Was that a trick question? The answer is clearly none. But I had the feeling I was wrong.

It's years ago since Mom and I took care of our herb garden. I wish I could just call and ask her. Remember Meadow what did she say. "You might think that plants like this lemongrass aren't alive. But they are. They breathe and grow like you, sweetheart. If you put enough care into them then they flourish. Do you know why? Because every living thing has a spirit, a soul. And it notices if it gets appreciated."

I gently touched the leaves of every plant, feeling their vibrant happiness, smelling their joy of life. Those were well cared for. Senior brother's face was unchanged. I looked at him ready to give my answer.

"All of them."

He grinned. "That's correct, kid. Give me your student card."

Every class had to manually grant students access to their facilities. While the other representatives handed them out like free candy the botany club restricted them deliberately. I wondered why.

"Meadow Song, huh? The greenhouses are at the alchemy campus. You can't miss them. Although they are reconstructing them at the moment, classes begin after the spring holidays at the earliest. We will work on some weekends though to make up the lost time. Be prepared." He handed me my student card back.

Weekends or weekdays made no difference to me. I saluted with my palm holding my fist and bowed slightly. "Thank you, senior brother."

He nodded. "Call me Kane."

We said our goodbyes and I went back into the stream of students eager to fill their schedule. I looked back only to see senior brother Kane slumped back on his chair. Did I join a loner club? If so, awesome!

I scanned the stalls in the search for Rose. She was like a fish in water in this festival-like atmosphere. Only the people didn't sell cheap souvenirs and street food, or so I thought. I found her salivating in front of a stall that advertised Culinary Cultivation. Enchanting smells of spices and charred meat rose into the sky like a newborn dragon, penetrating the hollow halls of my stomach and awakened the beast inside.

I silently joined her appreciation of the skilled young chefs. Chubby bodies moved like feathers in the wind, chopping vegetables, stirring soups and sauces. It reminded me of dancing or a form of meditative moving.

"Do you want to take that course?" I asked

Rose looked conflicted. "I already have four. The History of Punk-Rock, Brewing Spiritual Liquor, How to Debate like a Demon, and Stagecraft."

"Stagecraft? I didn't think you were into drama." I said without looking at her.

"Thou shall know. That, I am but a rose without thorns without an audience."

"I should've known that's the case." Massaging my temples did not free me from the headache. Not because of Rose's thirst for attention, no, because I really wanted into that course but that would mean to take extra credits. Now, was that possible? It sure was but did I want to do extra work? Hell no! "I've filled all my slots as well."

We looked at each other for a long moment contemplating, silently communicating. Then, at the same time, we nodded at each other and joined the row of students, eager to learn the culinary arts.

After enrolling in all the classes we sat under a lone willow at the edge of the campus. In front of us was a small lake where we spotted the occasional splatterings of the fish that lived there. Even with the sky-high towers in the background the beauty of this scene was undeniable.

The pixie-haired girl lay down with outstretched arms and legs. "School is pretty fun with you, Song."

I laughed. "School didn't even begin yet!"

"Classes didn't start yet, true. But if you can't find a person to hang on to at this point you know that the school year would be pretty lonely."

"Was that the case at your previous school?"

"Previous school?" Rose paused for a breath. "Yes, I guess so."

The grass welcomed me with its tender embrace when I let myself fall into it. I used my arms as a cushion and looked at the sky through the willow's branches. "You are pretty fun too, Rose."

"Right?"

"Also, very weird," I added

"Eh, I can live with that."

We talked the whole day until the sun started to set behind the skyline of the city. I told her of my home, about my badass Auntie who policed the region, about my favorite foods and music. The only thing I didn't talk about was my life before Auntie took me in. I… I couldn't share it with her. The thought of home still weighs me down.

Although we talked a lot about me, I felt that she wasn't comfortable talking about herself. When I asked where she came from she answered, "Hm, me? I'm originally also not from Heaven's Gate but I moved here a while ago."

Ordinarily, we people from the frontiers talk a lot about our little towns all the time. Like there was an unspoken contest about the number two settlement of humankind. Silly, really, but the competition was driving progress. Even if it's negligible in comparison to the city. A new street or a new market was a big deal in the frontiers though. I was from the southern frontiers Suzaku district, specifically a town called Feywind.

"What is Feywind known for?" She asked.

I scratched my head. "Nothing really. All we have are empty stretches of grass and herds of cowlings. And yours? What is your hometown known for?"

"My hometown? Hm… Let me think. It really has nothing interesting to offer. As a child, I thought it was the greatest place to be but it is not. All there is to it are false hopes, useless rituals, and fake traditions." The more she spoke the more upset she got.

"I… I gotta go now, Song. See you tomorrow."

I waved my goodbye as I watched Rose disappear into the sunset.