Cordyceps Ten
Cordyceps Ten
“Did you see your class list?” Montgomery asked.
“My class list?” I repeated. “No, I didn’t.”
“Mine was on my dresser, yours should be in your room too. On top of the rules. Which, I think we’re supposed to memorise.”
“Oh,” I said. “Well, give me a minute?” I only took a few seconds to dip into my room and return with my schedule, as well as the dormitory rulebook. Montgomery had fetched his list too, and I saw that a few others were comparing notes.
My schedule listed all of my classes and electives at the very top, then spread them out across the week. The Academy year was split into two semesters and so the main classes were also split. One group would have three courses one semester, then they’d switch with the next. It seemed like a reasonable way of limiting the number of students each teacher had to deal with.
Kilue, Gunther
Semester One, Dragons
Main courses
-Maths
-Geography
-Language
Major electives
-Herbology and Botanical Magics
-Introduction to Clockwork and Gears
-Music
Minor electives
-Wandsmithing Club
-Inventor’s Guild
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Geography
Maths
Language
Maths
Geography
Herbology and Botanical Magics
Geography
Language
Herbology and Botanical Magics
Introduction to Clockwork and Gears
-Lunch-
-Lunch-
-Lunch-
-Lunch-
-Lunch-
Wandsmithing Club
Introduction to Clockwork and Gears
Music
FREE
Wandsmithing Club
FREE
Music
Maths
Geography
Language
My main courses were simple enough. Geography would be tricky, since I didn’t know mine all that well despite tutoring on the basics, but Maths would be a cakewalk, and Languages was going to be a joke. I had the experience of someone with a doctorate on my side. I could bullshit an essay with ease.
The major electives and minor electives were more interesting. They’re what allowed a student of the academy to really narrow the scope of their education into some specialised fields.
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The major electives were taught by a professional in that field, someone with experience and who could teach.
The minor electives were more... social clubs that worked together to accomplish something while also allowing students to hobnob.
I would never have picked the electives that I had normally. In fact, I had picked exactly one of them. Herbology and Botanical Magics. The rest had been picked for me by the Union.
The reason was rather simple. My targets would be in those classes, and if I wanted to get close to them, well, I needed to be close to them. Sharing a class twice a week seemed like a no-brainer.
“Oh, your electives are all over,” Mortimer said.
“I’m trying a bit of everything,” I lied.
He nodded along. “Yeah, I’m really excited for mine. I’ve got Music too though.”
“Do you play an instrument?” I asked.
He nodded. “The piano. I’m pretty good. It’s my favourite pastime. I can manage on the violin and flute, I suppose.”
I didn’t comment on the fact that my [Lie Detection] skill had gone off at that. If he didn’t like the piano that was his problem. “I don’t know any instruments, and I think I might be tone deaf, so maybe you can give me a hand with that one.”
He grinned. “Sure thing. Double Languages on Wednesdays is going to be torture.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I said. We talked for a bit about our lessons, then he flipped over to the rules and started to scan through them. I did as well, mostly out of idle curiosity. Then something caught my eye.
Rule Nine: On the first day within the dormitory each student must obtain a singular sock and place it in their front breast pocket, else face a dire punishment during roll.
“Wait, what’s that?” I asked as I pointed to the paper.
Montgomery squinted at the rule, reading it slowly. “That has to be some sort of misprint. Or a joke.”
“Or it’s something they’re doing to make sure we’re paying attention,” I said. “Do you have spare socks?”
He grinned. “I do. Should we be sneaky about it?”
I smiled back. “Sure.”
Soon enough, we slipped in and out of Montgomery’s room, a sock stuffed into each of our inner breast pocket, then we found one of the benches in the corner--which was sized for an adult, so we could both easily fit on it, even if Montgomery was unusually tall--and read through the rest of the rules.
Most were common-sense things, but a few, like where to put our dirty laundry, were actually nice to know. I didn’t have many outfits to spare. Eventually though, we reached the end and there was nothing about where to get food, only that we were very much not allowed to have any in our rooms.
“Do you think we can sneak off to the cafeteria?” I asked.
“Might get in trouble,” Montgomery said.
“Right. Better to stay here then. They’ll have to serve something eventually, or call us to get food.”
“I hope so,” he said. “I regret not taking up the maid on the offer to bring some snacks along. Even just a few pastries or something.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, even if that felt entirely out of touch. It had only been a few hours, he couldn’t be that hungry. Then again, something told me Montgomery had never gone hungry for an extended period before which... yeah, I couldn’t be angry about some kid not going hungry. Being envious, however, was fair. “I should have thought of that too. So, where do you live?”
“Oh, just over in East Town,” he said. “It’s one of my family’s homes and the one closest to the school. It’s just me and my mom right now. Dad’s over in Seventeen. He does trading.”
Once Montgomery got started it was easy to keep him going. He told me about his dog, Mollikins, whose opinion he seemed to care more about than his parents’ at the moment, and about his favourite games and chocolates. It was a little strange, but I kept him going just by nodding along and asking a few more questions.
It was far too easy not to let him know anything about me.
And then the door to our little part of the dorm opened up and Mister Drake stepped in. “At attention, year one!” he snapped.
A few students seemed to know what that meant, and they ran over to stand next to the door into their rooms. Montgomery and I did the same, and soon everyone had sorted themselves out, standing awkwardly next to their individual doors.
I couldn’t help but notice all the faces in the doorway, second and third year boys looking into the room with obvious glee.
“It will soon be time for dinner, which I’m certain you are all looking forward to,” Mister Drake said. “But before that, I am here to inspect your rooms to see that all is neat and tidy, because they are not your rooms, but the property of Eden-Powell, and so you’ll treat them with due respect for your betters who came here before, and stayed in these same hallowed halls, and one day your own sons will be staying in these very same rooms.”
Drake marched around the room, opening doors and poking a few students in the chest. When it was my turn he peeked into my room, looked at the front of my uniform, then nodded. He nodded with a few students, and someone by the door was taking snickering notes.
“Those of you with a sock in your blazer, please hold it out,” he said.
I reached into my coat and tugged Montgomery’s sock out. Of the twenty-or so of us, only eight had socks in hand.
“Boys! Come and welcome the first years!”
A bunch of older kids poured into the room. They were divided into two camps, some rushed over to Montgomery and I as well as those with socks, and I found myself the centre of some strange attention. Someone patted my head, another pushed a few things into my pockets, and when I looked I discovered a few chocolate bars.
“Uh, thanks,” I said to the well-wishers.
Then I caught on to what was happening to the others, the sockless.
They were being mocked, with some boys wrestling them to the ground to steal their... well, socks, while others danced about with small cans.
“Alright, enough,” Mister Drake said, and the older students retreated. “Well done. Those of you who weren’t so keen on reading the rules will learn an important lesson today. The rules are important. Each year the challenge is a little different than the last, to keep everyone on their toes, but the punishment is always the same. You will find your lunch within the cans before you.”
The now-sockless boys stared in horror at the cans. Some nice students had left them some can openers and large spoons.
The snickering continued to pour into the room.
“The rest of you, follow along, I’ll show you to the cafeteria.”
That was an important lesson to take in. Not that I had to know the rules and listen attentively, but that the school was more than willing to allow hazing and this kind of sanctioned bullying of its students.
I ignored the sour looks of the sockless first years as I followed Mister Drake out of the dorms. It sucked to be them, and maybe I’d try to help, but that would come after I ate.
***