Chapter 5: Kaori Shimomura
The second member of the circle was Lyra. She sat back with her arms crossed, frowning at the two boys. “Fer fook’s sake, when will you two learn?” she said, glaring at them from behind messy strawberry-blonde hair.
Byron tipped his hat and sighed. “We have to make the most of what beauty comes our way. It’s not our problem if you’re too lazy to embrace the opportunities available,”
“Yeah, live in the moment why don’t you?” said Doyle as he inched his way towards Phantasia. Lyra kicked him. Given her feeble stature, and Doyle’s physique, Phantasia was surprised to see him stumble into a nearby chair.
Joel ignored them as he flicked a flame-producing device in his hand. “No point thinking about a future that probably won’t exist,” he said with a sigh.
Even Kaori, who was brimming with renewed hope, was dragged into the pessimistic miasma that surrounded the group. Phantasia didn’t say anything. She felt queasy from the negativity, but endured it with a smile.
After the break, Phantasia had a Survival class. Their teacher, Azarat Haan, was a hard-looking man with several scars etched across his dark face. Unlike his brother, Azarat spoke with a slow, deep voice, and one hand never stayed far from the sword at his side. He spoke at length about the volatile nature of the world’s oceans, and how Torsten had once been flooded, before forcing the students to endure conditions in freezing water. Phantasia didn’t understand why her classmates were so reluctant during the exercise, and was the first to slip into the pool.
“Our new student surpasses all of you already!” said Mr Haan, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as he stared at his reluctant students, “How will any of you survive in the wastelands outside this town? You’ll be dead by twenty!”
Joel mumbled something. Mr Haan moved in a flash, and before Joel could explain himself, he found himself flailing into the water. He cursed his teacher under his breath as he clutched himself tight.
“Would anyone else like to raise a complaint?” asked Mr Haan, his narrow eyes sweeping over the downcast faces of his students.
Phantasia trod water as the other students lowered themselves into the pool. It wasn’t until Joel asked through chattering teeth that she realised how strange she looked to everyone else. They were all suffering the cold, but as a faerie it had no effect on her, and it was too late to feign an act!
“I had lessons before,” she said with a smile, whenever anyone asked.
As the afternoon wore on, Phantasia grew disheartened as her timetable of lessons neared its conclusion. Though her peers were tired and hungry, she wasn’t, and was disappointed to learn she was meant to go home for the rest of the evening. To tide her over, Mr Payne approached her at the end of lessons and gave her a bag full of textbooks to read.
Hope, fear, admiration, malice. Phantasia had experienced a lot of different reactions from her first day. There had been so many things going on that she had found it hard to concentrate on anything. It was much quieter, much simpler in the Innerworld.
“Humans are strange creatures,” she said to herself as she walked up the path to the church.
***
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