CHAPTER 11 - Life on Mars (2)
After dinner and a light bit of homework, she completed a circuit around the campus.
Her roommates did not join her on the final run because they were completely exhausted by the first day. Halle was knacked because she was overwhelmed by the workload, and Ava because her routine was torn to shreds by the Dance Chair.
As the Junior had put it succinctly, good is enough is good enough—but it sure as hell ain’t Guilliam's audition material.
This was a new bit of information that Eppie had learned about her friend. Ava’s original goal had always been Guilliams, but she wasn’t good enough for their junior division. She did, however, make it to LAPA, and if she could graduate with honours, then she had a chance for the real Guilliams—their college conservatory located in Manhattan.
Curfew at LAPA was very generous, with campus students allowed to return as late as 10 PM. Eppie returned to her room at 9, showered, then sat down to perform a ritual she had not engaged in almost two decades.
Homework was… surprisingly effortless.
Her first task was to finish Antigone, which she had done a few decades prior.
Her second task was to isolate three instances of Hamartia, which she did in about thirty seconds.
She had a journal entry due in the morning. She did this in 10 minutes.
The same went with World History and Algebra,
At 10, Mama Josefina came knocking to check that the girls were at home and safe, then went about her patrol of the rest of the building.
Eppie then lay in bed, plotting the information she had gathered thus far.
The gazelle girl.
The redhead.
A boyfriend from… China?
They were certainly a multi-cultural array of villains. The gazelle girl was clearly terrified of both herself and the redhead. The redhead was clearly surprised to see her alive and well, and held enough grievance to pop a vein when she smiled. As for how the boyfriend might feature into the story, Eppie had no idea, but the cliche was right there.
And how should she approach all of this?
Years of experience in corporate conspiracy had informed her that she should feign innocence and do nothing until more information revealed itself. Her knowledge of the school, her role within it, and the role of the people within it, remained far too incomplete. Until she had a better idea of what to expect, it was safer to be reactionary than take action.
Besides, with the [System] on her side, she could probably outrun cars…
“[System],” she said to the darkness. “Raise [Physicality].”
| Trait Acquired [Physicality] Causality Tier (B+) You have acquired a rare talent for body control, creating vivid actions through fine motor manipulation. This trait is modified by your [Agility] statistic. This trait can be improved through training, performance, and Karmic Causality.
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