05/07/2047
(Past)
"I'm sorry, sir, but we can't accept that our son gets paired with someone who comes from the shires."
The woman's voice snaps against the office walls.
A heavy silence falls, quickly shattered by the headmaster's sigh.
"Come on… All of them aren't dangerous. They're human beings just like us. They just grew up with less resources."
"That's it" another parent says, their voice trembling with anger. "Many of us think it's dangerous that a person like him came across the Promised Lands border to enter one of our schools."
"Are you serious?" the headmaster finally asks. "He's just a child."
"You're the one not being serious", the woman curtly cuts him short. "The standards of this school are falling, and it's only been a month since he's here. Students are leaving the school one after another."
The door of the office shuts a few seconds later. Parents and their children are carrying on with their protest outside, as if they were trying to gather as many voices as possible before the decision comes.
"You're not helping your cas by saying nothing", the headmaster says, finally looking at me. "Teachers keep telling me that your talent, in every class, seems to only widen the distance between you and the other students."
"I barely look up.
"Is my place here really at stake?"
That's the only thing in this whole fuss I'm interested in.
"Cedric, you clearly aren't welcome here. I hope you understand. You may have to change your attitude."
I finally look at him.
"Could my attitude bring me trouble?"
The headmaster hesitates a moment before answering, apparently disheartened by my lack of concern.
"I can't expel you, but I can't protect you either."
"Very good. See you tomorrow, then." I say while heading to the door too.
***
10/12/2048
(Past)
"You can come in!"
"You wanted to see me?"
I keep my eyes down.
"Yes. It's about your oral presentation. You were supposed to think about yourself while doing this work, and to show results proving you changed as a person."
Mrs. Falken waves at me when she sees I'm not going to sit down.
"I think the analogy of love I made shows that I grew up living its repercussions through time" I answer, confused by the reason why I have been called to her office.
She looks down and sighs.
"You're not wrong, Mr. Knows-it-all, but is growing up a negative thing?"
"No, it's an objective one that brings about consequences, both positive and negative."
"Tell me, Cedric. Your mother. Is her love for you a weapon?"
Knock knock knock.
"Yes, you can come in!"
"Ma'am, I don't understand why I'm called here again. I didn't even fall asleep today."
Our eyes meet.
There is not a word anymore in the room.
Sincerely, there is a time where probabilities aren't a matter of chance anymore. And it's been a long time since I left it behind me.
"Seeing your faces, I can assume that you know each other. Things will be easier, then!"
I don't answer right away.
If I say no, it'll be a lie.
If I say yes, it'll become… complicated.
What a pain.
I let a faint sigh away, almost imperceptible.
"We sometimes ran into each other."
Leïla sits down next to me, saying:
"We could say that."
Our eyes meet, and we quickly look away.
"Ha ha ha… Okay, then" Mrs. Falken says with a playful smile. "So, the reason you're here is that your position to progress to the second year is quite critical. Although you're performing in other classes, this one should be working on your feelings and your personal development. Honestly, you're both failing after this last classwork, but I've got a suggestion that could make up for your last fiasco."
"What ? Mine, ok… But Cedric's one was really good, wasn't it? Love as the oldest weapon of the world, that's really interesting!"
I didn't expect Leïla to stand up for me but, unfortunately for her, I have to make things clear.
"I have to stop you here, Ma'am", I say. "Why do you compare my results to hers?"
Leïla turns towards me, visibly annoyed.
"Hey, I just stood up for your work and you're judging my academic abilities?"
I let a brief laugh out, humorless.
"Let's be honest. You're probably at the bottom of the class. You're only sleeping in class. Honesty, I don't even know how you get into this school."
The teacher interrupts me right away, her voice calm.
"It's true her grades have dropped since she started sleeping in class, but she remains above you in the rankings."
Leïla slightly arched her eyebrow.
"Ha… You didn't see this one coming, didn't you?"
I don't answer. I've got all the information I need.
Behind her desk, the teacher goes on in a neutral tone:
"You still fell far down in the rankings. You aren't at the bottom of the list, but you're not outstanding either. We'll discuss it next time. Now, let's leave it at that work you'll have to hand in at the end of the trimester so you won't fall at the bottom of the rankings… and won't have to possibly be expelled."
Nothing good will come of this work. It will not be a simple research project, that's for sure.
"You'll have to explain what life is, according to you. I warn you: if the class ends up silent or embarrassed, then you'll have automatically failed."
She takes a key out of a drawer.
"This is the key to a room where you could work together."
"No !..." Leïla says when she sees the key.
She gives us only one key with a little smirk, then she pushes us out of her office, saying:
"Good luck!"
Neither of us moves. No words either. I start walking towards the rooms reserved for teamwork, but she interrupts me.
"You're not going in the right direction."
I keep walking and answer her:
"What are you saying? Teamwork rooms are this way."
"I thought you were quicker", she sighs.
She starts walking in the opposite direction, without even checking if I'm following her.
I walk a few feet but she doesn't turn around once, so I don't really have other choices but to follow her. Going in two opposite directions would lead us nowhere.
I'm wondering where we're going. We go past the cafeteria, then past the gym. I don't understand: there are no classrooms that way, only storage spaces and rooms where school equipment is kept.
After a good five minutes of walking, she stops in front of a door where the room tag has been removed.
She takes a bunch of keys out. The jingle reverberates in the empty corridor. Without a word, she opens the door, comes in and goes straight away towards a desk near the window.
I stay in the entrance, again totally overwhelmed by the situation.
Did she already have the keys…?
She ends up sighing and saying to me:
"Don't just stand there, make yourself at home. We've got three months here."
I don't understand why it seems so difficult for her. It's only a presentation… Why is she dramatizing things like this?
When I come in, I see a sleeping bag under the window. I freeze when I notice an open suitcase, clothes scattered everywhere. I really don't want to be dragged into this business. I'm here to work, nothing else.
"Don't worry, I don't think it will really take us three months to do this presentation", I say, trying to convince myself that's not what I'm thinking.
She looks at me.
"This presentation? I think you don't understand… This is not only teamwork."
"What are you saying?"
She sighs again, this time loudly.
"I thought you were so smart… It seems I have been mistaken!"
I look at her without saying anything. I have an idea of what is happening, but I want to hope at all costs that's not true.
"But… What did I miss? I don't understand", I finally say.
"Let me make it simple for you: from now on, this room is our own space."
She pauses.
"We're going to… sleep here."
"Wait, what?!!"