Corn Ordeal

The first week has been incredibly hectic. Mostly thanks to her roommate. But Maya felt Elena had quieted down with her unruly behaviour at some point. Almost as if she had been feeling down lately.

Maya felt it in adults too. As if finding those students dead, especially after learning Hunters were lost, put incredible pressure on the question of their future safety. It was still unclear how they were taken with all the measures in place.

'Did they sneak outside? If so… Why?'

That was hard to believe considering the pyjama boy was one of the victims. Who, in their right mind, would go outside willingly, dressed like that?

Maya didn't know other students, but Stella didn't seem like someone who would break the curfew, either. Maya tried not to stress herself constantly thinking over the dead victims, but it was harder said than done.

The fact was that she had an advantage over most. Not only would she be aware of the danger before most, thanks to Leo sticking to her almost constantly, but she also had the potential to grow stronger much faster.

Her secret personal instructor was the creator of the world herself and the most powerful witch the world has ever known, after all. She had the least reason to worry among everyone. Maya's flaw was that she wasn't very good at fighting, but that matter came last because she would always have enough time to run away.

It seems pressure was high on the Headmistress as well. She had been strengthening the safety measures and making trips to Elador, the capital, to negotiate more support. Maya believed in her ability and expected she would fulfil her promises.

All in all, it was harvest time. Fear or not, it was true that Maya would eventually have to go outside the wall.

Today, instead of classes, students were packed into strange hybrids between rovers capable of traversing rough terrains and buses to carry many passengers, and taken outside the walls as a workforce. Well, students who were confirmed to have succeeded in using magic. The rest had to stay and practice for a chance to continue attending the academy.

Farther out, outside the town walls, there was an agricultural establishment. It was less fortified but with a higher level of security considering the manpower currently guarding it. It truly needed it — it was their bread basket.

Guards won't have to be spread so thing after the harvest. It is fortunate enough that such a large establishment only had to be guarded periodically. Perhaps even vampires weren't stupid enough to destroy the food of their food.

Even though Amellan crop fields were only supplying the town with a portion of food supplies — the rest was coming from other industrial and agricultural towns specialized specifically to feed the nation — it needed to be guarded during the night just in case. If there were a catastrophe, the town could survive for some time on its supplies, so it was important to keep them safe.

Today, they drafted the freshmen students to harvest corn. It wasn't all that there was in these fields, but that was their task. The method was rather crude. Each student would receive a basket and harvest corn cobs by hand.

At least the system was somewhat optimized. One row — one student. And some were assigned as transportation — to collect filled baskets and bring back empty ones. It all required cooperation and made Maya feel a sense of community.

For many, just like Maya, this was the first time they were doing something like this, so it took some time to get things running smoothly. After they did, it was like a well-oiled machine.

A sigh could be heard in the row next to Maya where Elena was harvesting corn.

"I guess we're the winners, so we get to do hard work," she made a snarky remark.

Maya wasn't critical of the system. It made sense to put in some work. They were already receiving everything for free. Even though she didn't devalue the experience, Maya couldn't help but wonder:

"I thought they would have machines for such work."

"You don't need machines if you indulge in child labour."

"We're hardly children."

Other than occasional menial exchange, they weren't talking much. Not that Maya needed it, as Leo was already giving her funny anecdotes, making it difficult not to laugh out loud at them. Elena was being lazy and doing sloppy work, so she began to fall behind.

Maya was truly engrossed in the task. Maybe this kind of task was a great way to unite everyone and create a feeling of togetherness. It could also help people appreciate the effort put into the task even more. However, the question remains: will she remember this experience the next time she has lunch with something that contains corn?

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of something small hitting her. It was as if a drop of rain had fallen on her but the sky was clear. Just as she was about to dismiss it, it happened again.

Maya could have been wondering for a long time if Leo didn't notify her about what was happening.

"It's Elena. She's messing with you."

Maya looked back straight at Elena who started laughing. It was corn, she was throwing corn at her.

In return, Maya ripped out a fistful of corn from a corn cob she was holding and retaliated. Elena skilfully avoided each one, even if Maya had thrown more at once. Then hiding behind a corn stem, she threw more Maya's way.

They were laughing like idiots while having a corn fight. However, Elena started throwing corn at other unsuspecting people, and Maya joined in. They tried not to laugh at the confused expressions on their victims' faces as they looked up at the sky, wondering if it was raining. Eventually, the victims realized what was happening and joined in on the silly game, pulling more people into the fun.

However, there was always someone who took it too far and ruined the fun. This time it was already-grumpy Sarah. Elena enjoyed messing with her in particular, but she was the one refusing to join in the play. One too many people messing with her and she snapped and threw the entire corn cob at Elena.

Expectedly, Elena dodged it, but the game was over now. That thing wasn't for playing. It was like throwing a rock if not worse.

The game turned into a war and Elena returned in equal measure. It bounced off Sarah's shoulder and hit someone behind. Someone who wasn't willing to forget it and tried to hit Elena with another corn cob. It was thrown poorly, and it flew by someone who misread it as being meant for them. The game became a bloodthirsty battle.

Soon, the air was filled with dangerous projectiles flying everywhere and Maya was holding on for dear life. The guards had to intervene and break off the fight, looking for the ones starting it. If it stayed on a playful tone, they could've brushed it off, but now, everyone pointed at Maya and Elena.

They were packed into a rover and taken back to the Academy for a talk with the headmistress. Maya was having a sense of deja vu, waiting outside the office while Daria and Elena were screaming at each other inside the office. This was the kind of situation Maya was supposed to keep Elena away from. Not join in.

"People depend on those crops! Your little game just wasted a whole lot of it. And for what?" Daria was furious.

"If people need it, why don't they pick it themselves."

"You're part of those people! It is what's going to feed you this winter, Elena. We are a small community! We all need to contribute and do our part. If we all acted like you, we would starve or die a miserable death!"

"Community my ass! It's just some low-ass excuse to justify using us as free labour! We have our rights! We don't deserve to be treated as cattle," Elena was slurring her words.

"What are you talking about? Since when did you become an advocate for social justice?"

"Your cult sucks! You won't silence me!" Elena was incoherent.

"What are—" Daria was confused. "Are you drunk?!"

"No… Are you?"

"Lords have mercy, are you insane? It's the middle of the day!" Daria was in disbelief. "I need to lower your allowance, so you can't afford any alcohol," she decided.

"Noo! You can't. Please. I'll never forgive you!" Elena cycled through pleading and threatening.

"You leave me no choice, Elena. This can't go on."

"You can't stop it!"

"Someone has to!" Daria sounded desperate.

"You'll make things worse!"

"Look at yourself! You're wasted and it's not even noon yet," it was saddening Daria.

"Okay. Go ahead then. Less money won't make much difference. I'll just substitute it for food. Or steal it. Who knows, actually. Even I can't predict the lengths I'll go to."

'She really loves alcohol,' Maya thought to herself, then corrected her posture in the chair as she saw someone approaching.

An assistant was bringing in an unexpected person.

"Keith!?"

"Hi, Maya. What's going on?" he sat down beside her. "Am I in some sort of trouble?" he asked in a low voice.

"Honestly, I don't know."

He craned up his head after hearing Elena and Daria yelling inside. "What did she drag me into, now?" he sighed.

The woman who brought him, after some hesitation, finally knocked on the office door. "Sorry for interrupting, Lady Zdunowski. I've brought you Keith Spencer."

Daria opened the door to let him in.

"You called my boyfriend to play my mom?!" Elena was outraged. "I'm not his property. You can't do this. Fuck you, Daria!"

"Then do you prefer I call your guardians in?"

"Don't! That creep will show up."

"Creep?! Elena, I don't want to force you to accept strangers as your parents but you should at least have some respect for people who financially support you. Now, please wait outside." Daria's gaze fell on Maya. "I apologize, Maya. You are free to go. I know you aren't responsible for this fiasco."

Elena wasn't cooperating. But she was pushed out of the room and the door was shut in her face. She stood there growling.

"Are you okay?" Maya was unsure of what to say.

"I'm fine. Let's just go," she snapped in malcontent.

"She asked you to wait," Maya reminded her.

"It's just a matter of speech. What she really meant is: Get the fuck out of my face," Elena grabbed Maya's wrist and continued to drag her out of the building.

Before they exit the hallway. Elena stopped for a second like she was catching her balance. "It's not just me. The floors are tilted, right?"

"Yeah. The Academy is on a hill," Maya said. In this part of the Academy, the floors were tilted, slightly. It had confused her before.

"But, it's slopping to the wrong side."