“Thanks for the help!” She grins.
“No problem, see you around!” I reply, and start walking away. That's weird. The hallway in front of me is filled with older people. Not who I would expect to live by the knight wing of all places. Suddenly unsure of myself, I quickly ask the girl for a second opinion before she leaves.
"The knight's bunks are this way, right?” She looks extremely confused. Suddenly, she seems to understand my question.
“Knight headquarter's thataway,” she exclaims, stifling laughter. “That's the senior's wing."
“Wait, really?” She nods. “Yeah, I’m not…the best…at directions…”
She brushes it aside. “Don’t worry. I can take you!"
We set off for the knight wing, and I almost immediately lose her. She walks extra fast, but I don’t think it’s on purpose. Once she notices, she waits for me to catch up. Even with the noise of passersby and the echo of both of our feet on the stone hallway, it feels strangely quiet.
“What’s your name?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“I’m Camellia, but you can call me Cam,” she answers. “You?”
“My name is Celestine, but you can call me Celly! Are you in knight training too?”
She bashfully tucks a lock of hair behind a large, pointy ear. “Well, sorta. Not to brag, but I’m actually a captain. I’ve still got a lot to learn, though.” Wait, what? How did I not recognize her?
“What are you the captain of?”
“Scouts. It’s a demanding job, but it’s also rewarding in how important it is. Practically everyone in the Warren depends on us for deliveries, messages, and sometimes even breaking up fights. I know these tunnels like the back of my hand. Speaking of, I know a shortcut.” She takes my wrist and pulls me into one of the many hydraulic elevators we use to get around. This one I’ve been in thousands of times, since it’s the main way to get between the layers that make up The Warren. Cam takes out her badge, and places it against the reader. Hers has a carving of an envelope winged boot, surrounded by both the metallic casing all knights have and a golden laurel wreath around the edges. My own is just a book, as is the usual for students.
“What’s it like being a captain?” I ask as the elevator starts going down.
“I spend most of my day teaching classes, delivering things, and teaching classes about the best ways to deliver things. You’re a knight student, right? What class are you in?”
“Spy captain training! Do you know the teacher? He’s a friend of my mom’s, but I’ve never met them.”
“Captain training? That’s awesome! Aspen-Captain Grant to you-should be your teacher. He can be a lot sometimes, but most of the time, the class is even worse.” Cam must see the nervous look on my face, because she immediately adds something.
“It’s just a bunch of drama kids and quiet kids. They’re all talk.” That's a relief.
“Us captains have weekly meetings to check in. When I first got promoted, after the collapse, the others basically taught me how to teach. I also know all the hot gossip.” Before I get the chance to inquire further, the elevator door hisses open. To my surprise, the room in front of us is the laboratory. Scientists gather around quartz tables and test tubes.
“Are you sure we’re supposed to be here?” I know the lab and other research facilities are off-limits for people who don’t work there. Cam looks unfazed.
“Perk of being a captain! My badge lets me access all the shortcuts, lounges, and restricted areas in the Warren! Oh, hey Knox! How are you doing?” She waves to someone in the back corner, where the animals are kept. It’s a handsome man, with strong arms that are currently holding a panda cub. His fluffy black hair is buzzed on one side and long on the other side, and he’s wearing a short sleeved emerald jacket and cargo pants. I get the feeling I’ve seen him before, but I don’t know from where.
“Hello! I’m doing well! Who’s that with you?”
“I’m Celestine Alegre, but you can call me Celly! Cam’s taking me to the knights headquarters. I’m going to start training to be a spy when classes start back up.”
“Don’t ‘Cell’ yourself short! Hehe. She's the new knight who was placed in Aspen’s class for year 1.”
“Wow! If you ever want some extra practice with the combat unit, just let me know! I can help.” Now that he says it, I realize where I recognize Knox.
“You’re the captain of the guard! I saw you at the Grand Tournament last year!” Knox looks away.
“Yeah, it’s really nothing special.” He says shyly.
Cam lightly elbows him. “Aww, you’re so humble.” The panda squeals, and licks Knox’s chin.
“It’s her lunchtime. It was nice meeting you! And Cam, when you get a chance, could you please bring me more bamboo shoots?”
“Yep! I'll drop them off at the meeting tomorrow! See you then!” Knox takes the cub into another section of the lab, and Cam brings me into the next hallway. Although it’s not restricted, I’ve never passed through here. The knight students can be really intimidating, and the other rooms, like the post office and high-tech farmlands, are not places I ever need to visit.
“Alright! The knight's headquarters is just up that elevator. I have to go to my office now, it's down that other elevator if you want to stop by. Bye!” She quickly darts away, and I follow her directions. It’s almost lunchtime, so I might as well drop off my backpack and check out my room for a little before going to the food court.
----
“Room number seven, right?” A man with strange looking hair and horns asks me. “It should just be down the hall. I think I saw somebody else your age go in there some time ago. Probably your roommate.”
“Thanks a lot!” I can’t wait to see who it is. I’m friends with most people in my grade, so I’m sure we’re going to get along great. And even if we don’t, according to the knights handbook, switching bunks is really easy as long as you have the proper bribe, so I don’t have to worry if it happens to be one of the few people I hate. I’m perfectly prepared for either reality, and that’s what catches me off guard when it’s someone I don’t know.
They’re hunched over a strange mechanism, screwing in something with a wrench and a screwdriver. What I assume to be their backpack is lying limp on the lower bunk bed, looking like it just threw up a couple notebooks. They don’t even look up from their project when I close the door, despite the loud slam I made trying to get the huge, heavy thing to shut properly.
“Hey, new roommate!” I try to sound as friendly and cheerful as I can. They simply mutter back what I think to be a ‘hey’, although I can barely hear them. Well, that’s… fine. Not everyone likes talking. I continue my attempt at a conversation anyway. “Nice to meet you! I’m Celestine, but you can call me Celly if you want. What’s your name?”
“People call me Squid. Not really sure why.” To my surprise, they actually look up. Their sapphire hair is in a loose ponytail tossed over their shoulder. Their eyes are covered by mechanic’s goggles, and the rest of their face is pointy, dotted with freckles. They look somewhat deer-like, with pointy ears pierced with snake earrings and a pair of tiny horns. They yank off one of their work gloves and reach a sand colored hand out for me to shake. At that moment, they catch a glimpse of my face, snapping it back. “Oh. You.”
Huh? I could have sworn that I’ve never seen them before. How could they recognize me? I mean, I did make a little bit of a scene in the mall, even if unintentionally. I guess that means I’m famous now, and every famous person has their haters. Maybe they’re just sore that I didn’t earn my position naturally. Assuming that’s the cause, I try to clear the air. I don’t really want my roommate to hate my guts, after all. Even if I can switch rooms, I don’t really want to. It could be worse.
“I can tell you’re upset about something… and if you’re mad that I didn’t earn my captain traini-”
“Why would I care about that?” They interrupt.
“I just thought… that’s what you were mad about?” I have no idea why they’re being like this, let alone how to get them to like- scratch that, tolerate me. I can’t tell if they want to laugh or punch the wall.
“Are you kidding? Do you seriously not remember me?” I slowly shake my head. What am I missing? Who are they?
“Oh gods. You completely forgot.” They take off their goggles, revealing their familiar, round, black eyes. “How could you forget credulous Pegasus, the lying horse?” Oh. Wait a minute. It all comes rushing back to me in a flood of regret.
I don’t even know how we figured out what the word credulous meant, but back in middle school, Fran, Toni and I somehow knew. And most everyone else in our grade. For as long as we could remember, Squid spewed conspiracy theories about the admins, trying to get people against them. So I made a joke about their last name, mashing it with ‘credulous’ to show how they would believe anything if it painted the admins in a negative light. And Toni made a joke about how majestic pegasi are supposed to be, compared to them, a weird “horse” that just told a lot of lies. And Fran joked about how they were called Squid because just like squid tentacles, they sucked. And just like that, everyone was in on it. It’s not like I thought that it was ok; I didn’t say anything past that first joke. But when I say ‘I didn’t say anything’, I mean it. I didn’t think once to tell my friends to stop and apologize. I thought that by the time the school year ended, everyone would have moved on. Unfortunately, things only got worse.
The school year was almost over when Fran started to get physical. She and Squid would get into fights at least once a week. It took a sleepover at my house for Mom to notice the bandages, and it took her incredible spy lie detection to get the truth out of Fran. One hour later, everyone's parents knew what was happening.
“Oh… I remember now.” They just give me a look.
“Congratulations. You can remember things. What do you want, a medal?” They snap. I want to say something else, but all I can find the dignity to do is shake my head and climb up to the top bunk bed.
After the adults found out, they made each and every one of us apologize to Squid in person and cut it out immediately. Thankfully, the latter happened, but not the former. Thanks to me. Since I hadn't actually said anything mean, I thought I was in the clear. When it crossed my mind that maybe, just maybe, I had a part in it, they skipped a grade and I never saw them again. Until now, that is. I guess my memory blocked them out after the mess had mostly been cleaned up. It just so happens that the space left messy was mine to clean. And now, that apology I forgot about is years overdue.
“Squid? I… never got a chance to…” I start to trail off, but quickly flip straight to the point. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything. Can we please move on? Maybe even be friends?”
They pause for a moment, look down, and suddenly burst into a cackle.
“You really think a ‘sorry’ is gonna fix everything? You think we’re gonna be friends now?” They sarcastically chirp before jerking back to the cold state they were in a couple seconds ago. “No way in hell. I’d rather have no friends than be one of yours. And I would know, because I lived without them. For years,” they snarl. “And you could’ve done something. You could’ve nipped it in the bud. But you didn’t. Now, who has to deal with that now?”
There’s no point in persisting anymore. “I know,” I solemnly say. I slide my backpack off my shoulders and leave it on the bed, heading back out to smother the guilt in my stomach with something to eat.
Comments (1)
See all