"Can we come in?" I asked as Amanda, Sammy, and I knocked on the door.
"Yes, come in," Alex replied in his soothing voice.
"Greetings, Headmaster. I, Amanda, along with my two friends Rudra and Sammy, am here as you instructed," Amanda said calmly.
"Hello Amanda, Rudra, and Sammy. Good morning to all of you," Alex said cheerfully.
"Yeah, right. Good morning only until the moment you dragged us here," I whispered to Sammy in a hushed tone.
"Um… did you say something, Rudra?"
"No, sir. Must've been Sammy. He can be a little… troubling."
Everyone in the room stared at me like I'd grown a second head. Sammy was glaring, growling even—was he a dog now? Whatever. Handsome men like me attract attention anyway. Oh, my beauty.
"Ahem, Headmaster, please continue with the reason you called us here," Amanda said, snapping everyone back to the main topic.
"Oh yes. Listen carefully. Since this academy was built a century ago, every year the student who came first in the practical examination was sent on a mission to find the hidden temple of Lord Vishnu. Normally, we wait until the second year, but this time we received a divine revelation. It said this year's winning students must be sent immediately."
The room fell silent. Sammy broke it.
"Okay, so Rudra and Amanda will be the only ones going, right?"
"About that… you and one more girl will also be joining them."
"Who is that?"
"You'll find out soon," Alex said with a smile.
"So, when are we leaving?" I asked, sensing the seriousness of the atmosphere.
"Tomorrow morning, sharp at 8. If any of you are late, there will be consequences." His eyes locked on me.
Why does everyone like me so much? I know I'm handsome, but still—man, not oldies. I like girls.
"Yes, sir," we all said in unison.
"Good. Now go. I've arranged the necessary things you'll need for the journey."
---
Leaving the office, Sammy nudged me.
"What do you think? Will the new girl be pretty or not?"
"Oh, so you have those kinds of wants… weird," Amanda said with disgust.
"Hey, it's not like that! Come on now, man. And you…" Sammy looked nervous.
"You really don't love your life, do you?" I said, smiling as I pulled a knife from my pocket.
In my defense—it's for self-defense, okay?
"Where the hell did you get that?" Sammy asked, backing away.
"My dear, where do you think you're going? I'm not done with you yet." I laughed hysterically, chasing him down the hall while Amanda shook her head, wondering how we survived with no care in the world.
---
"Today we're going to talk about the families and their histories," Sophie announced.
"Don't we have better things to do than this?" a student asked.
"It's for the plot."
"What?"
"Never mind. Let's start." Sophie smiled terrifyingly after Adam slapped her on the head.
She continued, "There is the royal family, and five other important families: Finn, Salt, Rice, Stone, and Patel. The royal family's surname is Ashforde. And in recent history, there was another family with wealth and power greater than the royals."
"Ohhh…" I was genuinely intrigued. My memory was fuzzy, but thanks to Sammy, I'd managed to recall some of it.
Seems like handsome men have memory problems.
"No, you're not handsome. And yes, you have memory issues," Sammy said, perfectly guessing my thoughts.
"Fucking idiot," I hissed.
"Okay then, everyone continue your studies. Amanda, Sammy, Rudra—come to my office."
"Okay, mama, we'll be there shortly," Amanda said calmly.
"Come on, Sammy," I nudged him.
"Yeah, sure. Let's see what she wants now," he muttered, annoyed.
Amanda guided us to Sophie's office. I knocked softly, and a voice called, "Come in."
The room was a disaster—books everywhere, chocolate wrappers littering the floor. Amanda's eyes locked on a mango. A freaking mango.
I picked it up, waved it around, and noticed her eyes following it. So I pulled out my knife (again, self-defense!) and cut the mango, placing it neatly on a plate.
"What… what are you doing?" Amanda asked, flustered.
"You were staring at the mango. I thought you wanted to eat it, so I cut it for you," I said with a smile.
"Oh… thanks. I don't eat it every day, just now and then," she said, her face red with embarrassment.
"No judgment. Everyone has their preferences," I reassured her.
"Yeah, like how he likes women with great proportions," Sammy added, making it worse.
Amanda laughed after a moment, wiping tears from her eyes. "I was scared you'd judge me."
Before we could continue, Sophie spoke up.
"Ahem. Stop showing youth to an old lady—I'm jealous."
"First of all, ma'am, you're 25, not 85. Stop acting like one," I snapped, while Sammy kept pestering me.
"My, such anger. It will lead to your downfall."
Amanda cut in, saving the day. "Ma'am, why did you call us here?"
"As you know, your adventure begins in a week. You'll need training to survive. Adam and I will be your teachers. Keep this secret."
"Okay," we all said in unison.
"Now go. And remember—tomorrow morning, 8 a.m. sharp."
---
"Fuck my life," I muttered as we left.
"I can, you know," Sammy teased.
"Shut the fuck up, man."
We continued our banter all the way back to the dorms. Amanda shook her head like a disappointed mother of two idiots. Finally, we said goodbye and went to sleep.
And just like that, the night ended—with curses, laughter, and the looming thought that in one week, we'd be chasing gods, temples, and probably our own sanity.