Shaking my head at Lynx’s antics, all I can do is follow behind them. Maybe this tour will show me the door that threw me into this mess and I can plead my case. Yep, plead my case. To. A. Door. In what world does that make sense?
* * *
Moni bobs up and down, gripping her Java Chip Frappuccino with four extra espresso shots like it’s life. The cup extends the length of her body, almost from her shoulders down to her hips.
Is that a gallon? Do they make those? I don’t know about anyone else, but I believe she might have just a teeny weeny addiction.
She didn’t even have to order. Gus, the coffee shop owner, started fixing her drink with his magic when he saw her floating around the front window. He was super friendly, offering me a free ham and cheese croissant, and Lynx got a bag of nuts. I consider him a saint since he didn’t once yell at me for staring at his appearance. I’ve seen pictures of a Sphinx, but I obviously had never seen one in real life. The Egyptians had depicted him pretty well with a face of a human, body like a lion, and eagle wings floating behind him as he moved.
Moni’s a pretty decent guide, albeit the fainting spells slow us down, as I had to promise to save her coffee when she crashed. We’re up to seven now, but at least I’m getting the gist of where the essentials are. According to Moni, we had to start on the eastside since Gus’ coffee shop, Sparks, was located there, and it was a must-have before we began. Sparks is the only shop on this side, since it’s a residential zone, but since Gus lives above his shop, he was the exception. Apparently, he was an important figure to some extent at one point, but Moni didn’t go into details.
As we walked, she pointed out that most of the shops started on the northeast side and continued around in a circle to the west. Small cafes advertised everything from burgers to exotic foods. All the furniture and decor stores were closer to the West and featured a Ms. Teal poster in every other store window. When I asked Moni, she rolled her eyes, waving off my question, and mumbled something I didn’t catch.
The westside held most of Nova’s cultural aspect, and I was shocked at how much it reminded me of home. Live musicians lined the streets while the smell of Cajun spices reminded me of home and Mardi Gras. The only difference was the roads weren’t covered in spilled drinks and urine; definitely an improvement.
City Hall, or the Hub, was the center of Nova and was surrounded by a park in all directions. To the south of Nova were mountains that the giants, trolls, and goblins occupied, so we took a shortcut. Cutting through the park to head to this infamous school, Moni finally piques my interest when she decides to explain more about the academy I have to attend.
“Children learn about the supe world at Purgatory Junior, or PJ, as we like to call it,” she giggles, sounding like tiny silver bells. “They study the basics like reading, writing, math, and so on. They also read all about the human world and pick the four languages they are interested in. Most kids just choose the languages their parents did before them,” she says like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Four? Are you serious?” I only knew one, if you didn’t count sarcasm, and I gave up learning a second one. Creole French was a bitch, and she hated me. Talk about feeling inadequate. I start running my tongue ring over my teeth as I begin to panic. What if my learning these languages keeps me from getting back home? How do they even check if we know the languages?
‘It’s okay Rezzi-Bear. You’re a fast learner. You’ll pick it up,’ Lynx encourages, wrapping tighter around my neck, giving me a hug knowing where my mind was going.
‘Hello, have you met me, Lynx?’
His chuckle is the only answer I get in return.
“Yep,” Moni answers, oblivious of my internal anxiety attack. She smiles back at me and motions for us to head to the covered bridge crossing a massive lake.
“Anyways, once you start showing signs of gaining powers, it’s a different age for everyone. You need to attend Purgatory Prep or one of the other schools, but ours is the best out of all of them. Until powers manifest, you’re at your family’s mercy. Sometimes we shadow what they do, find a job, or just veg out until our powers manifest. Once you learn enough and the Fates have deemed you worthy, you can run the Gauntlet. And once you pass that, all that’s left is going through the ritual to gain the ability to travel to Earth—”
I wave my hand in front of her like an idiot to get her attention. “How long does that usually take? I should have asked Levi but I was a little overwhelmed,” I interrupt. Tucking my hand back down to my side, I bite my bottom lip waiting for her answer. I’m terrified that I’ll get an answer I won’t like, yet I have to know. How long will my life be changed? How long will I be forced to adapt to this new world?
Moni takes in my worried look and gives me a pitying one in return, “Well, I’m a first-year and some people pass sooner than others. The longest documented time in school was seven years.”
What?My nervousness quickly slides into horror at the mention of seven years.I might be here for that long?Realizing that I’m about to lose my shit, she quickly continues. “Hey, no need to panic. Like I mentioned, it’s different for everyone. Someone passed after their first year, but usually, it takes about four,” she reassures me.
“Mind if I continue explaining how everything works?” she asks, giving me a cheeky smile. I nod and zip my lip as she continues her explanation of school and the process I found myself in. “Like I was saying. We have a ritual that’s performed for us to travel to Earth. I don’t know all the details, but I know the higher the score you get, the better your job placement is. Some supes will be able to live there on Earth permanently depending on rank or the type of position they end up with,” she says with giddy enthusiasm just thinking of the prospect.
“Though,” she continues as a frown graces her pale green lips, “your status quo gives you more points and a better chance of the career you want.” Her eyes turn dark gray, like pregnant clouds, and her mood plummets, bringing a chill to the air.
Seeming to want to comfort her, Lynx jumps off of me and lands on Moni, almost knocking her out of the air. She grabs onto him like a life jacket, rubbing her cheek against him and her mood quickly brightens considerably. She changes into her taller form to hold his weight and continues to explain.
“From what I’ve learned, Purgatory Prep, or PP,” she giggles, “is going to be just a little different compared to the type of school you attended. The first half of the day, everyone must attend our mandatory classes.”
“Mandatory? What do you mean?”
“I was getting there, Curly Sue,” she teases. “Mandatory classes are the ones everyone takes, like Magic History, Defense 101, and Cultivating Cures. Then after lunch, we’re off to our assigned positions according to what we specialize in,” she gives me a cheeky grin as we step onto a covered bridge.
Specialize in?I didn’t specialize in anything. Hell, I’m not even a damn supe. My heart sinks. This school is sounding worse the more she talks. I know she’s trying to help me out, but I swear it’s just proving how much I don’t belong.
Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I continue following her over the bridge. It would be peaceful here if not for the chaos taking place in my head. Four languages? Magic history? The Fates? And what the hell is the Gauntlet?
I feel myself spiraling out of control, and I take a few deep breaths, focusing on my exercises.What do you hear, Rez?Voices drifting over the lake, the water lapping under my feet, the footfalls on the bridge, and finally the steady sound of my own breathing. The exercise used to take me close to thirty minutes to work through, but I’ve got it down to seconds over time. Thank you, Dr. Fisk, for that one.
“Since you don’t have one, you’ll be on a rotation with the specialties courses and observe at first. We’ll take a look at your schedule when we get to the dorms,” she tells me. I sigh in relief as she explains, the tension releasing in my shoulders. Thank fuck, they don’t expect me to be at the same level as everyone else.
We make our way out of the center of the park and drift towards the edge. Watching the sun filter through the leaves reminds me of home, back when I was with mom. I was in love with it. Autumn was my favorite season, and I had missed it while living with my grandparents in the swamp. Southern Indiana had some of the best color changing leaves. Too bad I didn't get to experience it much before getting stuck here.
