≪ Oh! ≫

Jia jumped out of the water.

≪ It disappeared! ≫ she exclaimed, looking at us amazed.

≪ What was it? Did you guys make it? ≫

Jia… that Jia is talking to us?

The girl walked towards us, but we were all standing still like statues, too embarrassed to move a muscle.

I feel like in that moment we were all thinking the same thing – please, please don’t think we’re a bunch of losers playing around chasing a cat like little kids…!

Giving a first impression of yourself like that to a pretty girl is probably a crime in at last ten planets around the galaxy, or should be.

Though, Marta’s illusion was super cool, and if Jia was really interested and not making fun of us then she deserved to get all the credit for it.

I noticed Marta was super shy and hesitating, so I pushed her forward.

≪ She did it ≫ I said with a big smile, pointing proudly at her.

You go girl… right?

Marta gave me a death stare, and I gulped nervously, hoping I made the right choice.

Luckily, Jia was enthusiastic.

≪ Really!? ≫ she exclaimed, clapping her hands and smiling brightly. ≪ That looked so cool, wow! ≫

≪ Hehe… ≫ Marta giggled.

She stepped with one foot over the other, blushing, and timidly tucked her hair behind her ear.

Huhhh? All that??

Mark and I leaned forward to stare more closely at her, raising an eyebrow each, than looked at each other and nodded.

≪ Suspicious ≫

≪ Very suspicious ≫

Marta punched us both in the stomach.

≪ Ouch! ≫

Jia was staring at us curious and amused – she tilted her head to the side, then chuckled.

≪ You guys are weird… but anyway, that cat was so pretty, I never seen it before! ≫

Mark and I made an unsure face.

≪ Pretty? ≫

≪ That creepy thing? ≫

≪ Right?! ≫ Marta exclaimed, happy, again pucnching us both in the stomach.

She told Jia about the illusion.

≪ So basically it’s like an hologram, but made with En? ≫ Jia asked.

Marta scratched the side of her face.

≪ I guess you could say that… ≫

Jia looked at Mark.

≪ Isn’t it kinda like those holograms you do with the planets and the stars and the other things? ≫

Mark’s eyes widened.

≪ You know… that? ≫ he asked, genuinely surprised.

Jia raised an eyebrow like the question didn’t make sense.

≪ Of course I do… ≫

She smiled.

≪ I was following your lesson very closely last time when you took over Astronomy class ≫

She made a fierce expression and clenched her fists.

≪ And actually, I wanted to thank you for that… I hate when those f**king idiots of our teachers don’t even care to teach us, and then we gotta go make a complete joke of ourselves in front of those as**oles at Lochwood… ≫

≪ Oh, wow… ≫

Mark blushed a little bit, glad, then he smiled brightly.

≪ Well, thank you, then I guess! ≫

I knew exactly what Jia was talking about.

We only have two hours of non-martial-arts classes a day, which is ridiculous because it’s not enough time to learn anything.

But the worst thing – or the best thing, depends who you ask – is that often the teachers don’t even bother to teach us those classes.

They say that we’re all just a bunch of dumb idiots anyway that are only good for throwing fists and beating each other up, and that we don’t need to go learning anything else.

Basically, they treat us like lesser humans, unworthy of even being given a chance – and, I gotta say, many here are pretty happy with that.

Many others, like me, just don’t care, because we’ve never had anyone help us with anything and we are used to do things on our own anyway.

Almost everyone here, thought, seems to consider having to lose every time against those “snob f**kers” (that’s what everyone calls them) at Lochwood Academy like the worst thing in the world – so, sometimes we help each other.

For example Mark, who is good at Astronomy, often teaches Astronomy classes to everyone else, and he uses that trick that he does that creates illusions of planets and orbits and stars with En.

Mark scratched his head and then pointed at Marta.

≪ But my illusions, or holograms like you call them, are much smaller and simpler than hers, because I cannot gather that much En, and I sure cannot control it that precisely ≫

Most of the En control that we’re taught here us is aimed at creating simple, kinetic power to use it to throw powerful strikes, and, also, to strengthen our bodies with – definitely, not for something as complex and, at the same time, beautiful but kinda useless like creating illusions.

≪ Right… ≫

Jia looked at Marta, thinking.

≪ You are one of the strongest at En control here, after all ≫

This time it was Marta’s turn to be surprised.

She turned to us, mouthing: ≪ How does she know that…! ≫

Suddenly I looked at Jia in a new light.

As the stereotype goes, we all thought Jia was a cold, snobbish and self-centered girl, but know I realized that, instead, she was much more interested in others than anyone of us could’ve probably ever imagined.

I smiled.

Yet again, I was reminded that, especially in that place, stereotypes and prejudices about people simply didn’t work, and meant nothing.

And, the idea that most adults had of us – that we were all ungrateful, useless brats – was just bulls**t..

≪ But you don’t use it for fighting, tho ≫ Jia said, not asking but rather like she was stating a fact.

Marta turned a bit red, embarrassed.

≪ It’s true… I’m not really good at fighting… ≫

≪ Hm… ≫

Jia shrugged, and sat down cross-legged.

She smiled, and slapped her knees.

≪ Well then, I wanna see it again! ≫

Naturally, we all sat back down and started conversating like normal.