We rush back to the classroom; we open the door and see that it’s dark. There’s a projector running that's playing old documentaries about the great leaders of Extol. The master isn’t here but all our classmates are busy. We hastily but quietly walk inside the room as to not disturb the others on their reading. We sit and try to blend in, hoping not to get noticed. We hear the door open and see that the master has returned along with a large book.
“All right, everyone, off your books and face the front,” the master said with a commanding tone.
He opens the lights and closes the projector. He drops the book on his desk, it slams harshly, making all of us slightly jump out of our seats, grabbing our full attention. He opens it and instructs us to pull out our pens and notebooks.
“All right, Metallogens, listen up, we will be talking about The Great Jiang, his history, his origins, his life. The man who created our great colony and the true leader of our lives, the man who lead us to wealth and our great present,”
Jiang Jin, the great leader. What more should we learn from the man. His story is basically imbued within all of us. From our childhood up until this day, we all had to listen to his life, his story, his perfection. I know and fully understand that he was an exemplary man that led us to where we are today, but as time goes by, his story gets blander and blander as we are already familiar with him, his legend and his greatness.
Honestly, I see the man as a very cunning and tactical individual. From his exploits in leading the motherland from poverty to unimagined riches, changing his land's constitution and curating everything for the betterment of his people, he excelled in true leadership as they say. But without a shadow of a doubt, he holds secrets that we all can't see. I believe the most glorified men hold the darkest secrets in this world. I believe in it because my mother always told me how great my father was, but she never went too much in detail about his personal life other than the man is a great musician and a very free-spirited individual.
I believe that my father is a great man, don’t get me wrong. But what I can't understand is why can't I learn about him a bit more. I mean, I love my father and I want to be like him, so much so that I took a course in music here at the academy. But I can't erase the doubt that my father had secrets he didn't want me and my mother to know.
“Inara, Inara, are you with us?” Someone said to me.
I suddenly hear the Master out of the blue. It seems that I was lost in my thoughts again and had not heard him calling upon me the first few times.
“You were in the nurse's room to start the day, now you come back in here without your mind inside your head,” the Master said with an angry demeanor.
“I apologize, Master. I'm still having problems with my stomach, I'll pay more attention from now on,” I replied with an apologetic tone.
“Well, better go home and rest instead of wasting my time trying to teach you,” he says as he looks back on the book on his hand ready to continue reading.
I was out of it the whole class. My mind was adrift with the clouds. Last night helped me to see beyond the boundaries of my eyes, to a lot of different possibilities, a whole new light to this reality I know. I saw Ironhart as a City, a buzzling metropolis of people with dreams and aspirations. A land filled with life and rules and obstacles that I had to live by. It's a city, unlike any other city.
But every day is focused on doing the same medial routine as the city has high standards. Learning and playing music in school, having the notes and chords hammered into our heads until we perfect a song. Having to learn and relearn our history, our language, and our arithmetic to no end. I know these are the basic building blocks of any individual in the land, learning how to read and write is essential to one's own being but, in the end, everything feels curated.
After a while of unending preaching, we move on to music class. I'm excited as I get to use my new guitar, though I haven’t checked if it’s properly tuned yet. Each music class is grouped based on the instrument you choose to master. The classes are conducted by a Maestro of that class instrument and each student is seated depending on their average scores for that month.
Each month, we hold a Leap Recital that decides on the seating arrangement for the next month. The seating arrangement decides who will have a chance to move on to Music Class II, the top five people in the front row seats are shoe-ins for the Crescendo. The Crescendo is a recital event held at the end of the year. Only the best of the best gets to play the preferred song chosen by the Maestro of each field at that recital in front of all the Rinnamads and high-ranking officers in Ironhart City.
At the event, after an individual has played, the crowd gets to rate each performance. There would be a total of five students for each category of instrument class. These categories are Strings, Woodwinds, Percussion, Brass and finally, Piano. Only one representative for each category passes and gets to Music Class II. That's why each student here is relentless on their craft. Every music class is a battlefield and we're soldier up against our own comrades.
Our class gets inside the music room, the smell of rustic aroma fills the air. The furnished wood instruments and the sounds coming from the wind chimes by the windowsills give the room an outdoor feel. It's like entering a whole new plane of existence and this room fills me with delight every time I come in, it feels like home.
I’m seated on the second row, third chair. I open my guitar case and place it on my lap. I raise it in a playing position and pluck each string and listen to check if the guitar was in tune and adjust accordingly. As soon as I was done, I notice my classmates looking at me. I start to feel flustered as I feel there was an eerie sense of tension around the room.
We hear the door open and see the Maestro enter the room, what great timing to break the tension. I was ready to rush outside the room just to get away from everyone's piercing eyes. Everyone was calm and relaxed moments after. We place our music sheets on racks in front of us simultaneously as we prepare to play.
“Right, first seat to fifth, start playing,” the Maestro said.
The first to fifth seats start to play in full synchronization, no beat was missed, not a note was dropped. For each row, we get to play a single song. The Maestro called it “Fair Competitive Learning” in which each row will be given a single song each month and the five students in said row will have to master the song by heart. He said that it’s fair game because everyone can prove themselves better than their peers within the same level without prejudice of song choice or genre, the playing field would be fair and equal to everyone in that specific row.
The only problem with this format is that it's repetitive and uninspired. I understand that you must learn how to follow before you can lead but I want to become a musician, a singer. I want to create songs and inspire people, leave my mark, and be remembered as a very admirable person. Maybe these are just my first steps, maybe after I graduate, I can compose and create my own music, my own lyrics. For now, I may just need to hang on and hold on tightly to my passion.
I have Fifth Avenue as my stage for now. The people who can appreciate me there are my strength and driving force to get better each day. I just need to find better inspiration for my songs, wherever that inspiration may be. I need to develop newer and better lyrics that will leave a mark in people's hearts.
“And second row, start,” a voice said as I was lost in my thoughts.
I hear the four on my row start playing, they were synchronized and on point as well. I try to follow along and pick up from the last note that was played but then I just froze there in the middle of everyone. I'm out of focus and had been left behind far too long for me to be able to follow the chords they were playing.
“All right, I guess Miss Inara's seat will be up for grabs by the end of the day,” the Maestro said.
I couldn't say a word out of my embarrassment. I heard the bell ring, signaling that it’s lunch time. Everyone in class already left but I was just sitting here, guitar at hand and looking straight at a void. I hear footsteps enter the room and I see that both Katherine and Imori stand beside me. They both place their hands on my left and right shoulders as they comforted me.
“It's alright, Riza, don't get too down, we know you'll get back to it soon,” Imori said.
“Maybe you just had too fun of a day yesterday, too much excitement, you know? That's why you're out of it today,” Katherine added.
“Maybe you're still exhausted? Isn't that right, Katherine?” Imori said while nudging Katherine's shoulder.
“It's fine, I'm fine. At the back of my mind, I got bored of the trivial stuff we do every day and wanted something new and exciting. Maybe I wanted too much from my life and I got my wish,” I said in a gloomy tone.
“Well, life can't get any more exciting now, can it?” Imori said in a playful tone.
We all laugh and try to forget about the problems that lie ahead. Imori suddenly opens my blazer revealing the unclosed buttons on my blouse. She clips something on it to close the opened gap. I saw she put a Sunshine Sundries pin to close it, my favorite band.
“There, that looks better now does it?” Imori proudly said.
“But still keep the blazer closed, we don't want to break any more academy protocols,” she added.
I smile at her and nod my head. They help me gather and fix my things so that we can get lunch in the cafeteria.
“We know you've kind of dug yourself a hole, but, knowing you, you just have to focus and pull yourself together again, you'll climb your way back,” Katherine said in an assuring manner.
“Yeah, just don't let all the gossip distract you,” Imori added.
“Gossip?” I confusedly asked.
“Yeah, you know people here are like lions waiting for their turn on the throne. You have the third seat in the second row of the guitar class, you're basically a few seats away from the door to moving on to Class II,” Imori expounded.
“Yeah, everyone in your class is out to get you, especially with that new guitar of yours, but don't worry, we won't let them get you,” Katherine said with delight.
“We’ll help you stay on track, we already made a tight schedule for you, so you can't wander out of your mind anymore,” Katherine added with gusto.
“Wait, what's up with my guitar?” I asked.
“Well, you see, the gold on that guitar is real, that guitar's rare and in most cases, we all can't afford it. Well, not unless you get high enough points in your Labor Power Output Meter, plus, the Highwood brand that guitars of yours has is pretty hard to get a hold off.” Imori whispered to me.
“I mean, even the people from Class II can't afford one yet,” she added whilst looking around to see if anyone is listening.
“Is that so,” I replied to her.
“But where did you get—” Imori was about to say,
“Riza Inara, follow us accordingly,” a man said.
We look forward and see two men clad in black and gold one shorter than the other. They seem to be Ward Smiths but as far as I can remember, these two were not a part of Atalia's group. Both of them looked young, they seem to be average in body mass, but their eyes look intense like they’re prepared for action.
“There seems to be a mistake—” Katherine said before she was cut.
“No mistake, she is Riza Inara from The Settlements fifth sub frame, studying under the String Class mastering Guitar Acoustics. We are certain of her identity. Please move aside as we escort her to the detention vehicle,” The taller man said.
“But—” Imori exclaimed.
The shorter man puts his hand on his left side, holding the grip of his rapier. I stop Imori as I look towards the two men.
“Please tell my mother about what happened here today. She'll panic but I ask you both to comfort her the best that you can,” I said to Katherine and Imori, holding back the fear that I felt inside to reassure them both that I am fine.
I go with them without restraints. As I walk away, I look back at my friends as they hold hands. I try to keep myself calm but ultimately, I couldn’t hold back my tears. From a distance I see them both crying which made me cry harder as well. I'm confused and bewildered as to what I did. Everything was happening too fast and the questions just keep piling up. I’m in for something I haven’t even imagined, I dreamt of excitement, but it turns out, I might just have woken up to a nightmare.
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