Chapter 13 | PoV: Sanya
Mai immediately recoiled from the impact. She lost her balance and fell to the cavern floor, landing on her behind.
She put a hand to her forehead and rubbed it. “Oww.”
The girl she had collided with remained standing, but no longer walked. She stood at the doorway, glaring daggers at Mai with her vividly blue eyes, hands at her hips.
“Hey!” she yelled. “Did someone use abyss magic on you? Are you blind!?”
Mai focused on the girl in front of her. “N-no. Sorry. I wasn't looking.”
Mai shook her head vigorously. The girl froze in thought for a moment, squinting at Mai, as if trying to understand a strange creature.
“Hmph!” She crossed her arms. “Pay attention next time, dimwit!”
For someone who was either picked off the streets or from an orphanage, she carried herself with an air of irritating arrogance. Her normal, long black hair, face empty of makeup, and time-worn, simple dark-brown dress seemed to matter naught in the face of her narcissistic aura, as if channeling some sort of noble blood that made her appearances look like some aristocratic fashion choice.
She navigated around Mai. Only as she turned into the hallway did she see Sanya and the others.
“B-Barakat!” She gasped. “You're back.”
Mai still sat on the floor, dazed. Sanya maneuvered around the haughty girl and offered Mai a hand.
Mai's face turned red and took Sanya's offer, standing up. “Thanks.”
“I am,” Barakat raised an eyebrow at the girl that Mai had run into “Aaliyah, this was just an accident, and Mai apologized. No need to act so harshly."
“Yes, Barakat!” Aaliyah turned towards Mai. “Mai, was it? I'll remember that.”
Something told Sanya that it would be better if Aaliyah did not remember Mai's name. She would live on in Aaliyah's memory in infamy, or malicious intent.
Maybe Sanya should permanently blind Aaliyah the first chance she got—
Erm, okay maybe that was too mean.
Anyway, was Aaliyah one of the ones with abyss magic already?
Aaliyah turned to look back at Barakat, hopefully unaware of the murderous gleam in Sanya's eyes moments ago. “Maybe choose more attentive scholars next time?”
She strutted down the hall. She must have had some audacity to say those words to the face of who was essentially the second headmaster.
Although, yeah, Sanya was starting to think that Barakat was a pushover.
Wait a minute, Barakat had choked Ismael the day before.
Barakat cleared his throat. “Shall we get introduced to Diuskel Academy's fine chefs and satisfactory dining?”
“Satisfactory?” Zahira echoed flatly. “You're trying to win us over with the word ‘satisfactory?’”
“I was being humble, dear student.”
The group walked into the dining room. A vast, open space revealed itself before them. Picnic tables mixed with what looked like hurriedly cut slabs of stone for impromptu tables and stools. It was as if they realized they needed to accommodate more seating and rushed with all haste to do so. There were actually, like, twenty or so other students at the tables currently. Some exclaimed greetings to Barakat, others waved.
In the back, a long, flat stone protruded up from the floor up to waist height. Beyond it, chefs worked on various appliances to create foods. Counter space and plenty of various things that burned and cooked food with flame. Pots hung above some, while others had metal racks and the like above.
The chefs placed dishes on the counter between them and the dining hall when they finished preparing them.
Sanya bit her lip at the thought of smoke filling the room. It appeared that there were some tiny holes above, probably leading to the surface.
Sanya could smell the fires and smoke, but above it all, great scents of food wafted over from the kitchen. Nice fruity smells and eggs and other yummy breakfast things. How did the academy have access to all these foodstuffs?
“Aren't we under the old ocean by now? Are the ventilation shafts new?” Ismael noticed. Sanya had to give Ismael points for asking the questions she wanted to ask but didn't want to speak for.
Barakat stroked his neck. “I don't actually know! For either of those! Maybe they come up to a little island. If this was new, I wasn't in charge of this. This would have been between the chefs and the thermal mages!”
“Why the thermal mages?” Aw, he was dense. W-what did that say about Sanya if she had wanted to ask a few of his questions?
“To melt the stone and create the shafts,” Zahira said. “Dummy.”
“Hey!”
“Children,” Barakat chastised. “Keeping everyone in one piece this first semester is going to be tough . . .”
His shoulders seemed to slump. He recovered his posture swiftly.
“Well?” He said. “Who is going to get breakfast?”
Mai made quick work of the ground between the entrance and the kitchen. She picked up a plate and soon found herself at an empty table. She waved to Sanya.
“Where does the money for the food come from?” Zahira asked. At this rate, Sanya wouldn't need to say a word! Bliss!
Barakat frowned. Then he removed it and winked. “From a verygenerous, anonymous sponsor.”
“Hmm.”
They all eventually grabbed plates of food and found seating.
Sanya, with a lack of reluctance, sat beside Mai. Surprisingly, Zahira joined their table from across.
“Hey, Z!” Mai chirped. “Nice of you to join us!”
Zahira scowled at her. “Call me that again and I'll leave the table.”
Ismael went poking around other tables and eventually, actually finding one with other people to sit with.
The third of their group that Sanya still didn't know his name found this opportunity to sit alone. Even he couldn't put up with Ismael, it seemed. How long until those other kids rejected him?
Sanya almost felt pity for him. Almost. He had a lot of character development in the bigotry department before then.
The three dug into their fancy breakfast—the most diverse and well-cooked breakfast Sanya had probably ever had.
Seriously, why was this all wonderful? All too good to be true?
She would have food, shelter, and learn to grow as a mage! She might even gain some friends. Mai had been very accepting, and Zahira didn't seek to mind. Although, she had her own issues. Not that Sanya would complain, she herself was more silent and moody than Zahira. How could Mai put up with both of them?
This did not mean this stuffy (that wasn't fair, the air actually felt perfectly crisp) cave was free of nasty individuals, though.
Ah . . . Where would Sanya be in a month's time? Or three?
Would the academy's focus be on only magic, or would it come with math and language too? If there were seventy students, then according to what Barakat had said, there would only be four or five teachers in attendance.
Would they get more at a later date?
Class was starting tomorrow, though. Maybe later on in the semester they would get those teachers? Or the four or five they had would be so well-rounded that they didn't need more.
Who would be the teachers? Nur? Barakat?
Mai cleaned her plate. “That was yummy!”
“This was probably an exception, being our first meal here. I bet the quality will go down from now,” Zahira said flatly.
Mai looked at Zahira like she had just killed Mai's dog. “L-let's go ask the students who got here first if the meals are always good!”
Mai bounced away from her seat and dashed over to another group. All the while, students entered and left the dining area for breakfast.
Sanya finished her food. She took Mai's plate and headed to the counter, where people were placing their dirtier plates and utensils.
She set them aside. A few paces away, a glass pitcher of water sat next to a stack of stone cups. No one stood and poured. She took this opportunity to take a cup and pour herself water.
She chugged it. She realized how awfully parched her mouth felt. She decided to use this opportunity to pour a refill.
Then a second refill.
One of the chefs glared at Sanya and the empty pitcher, and took it away.
She frowned. Oops.
She looked further down the counter of stone.
Her frown deepened.
More space away, sat pitchers of differently colored juices. She had chosen the water when there was juice. Hmph. This was where the students gathered when they wanted to drink.
The chef returned the pitcher, filled with water once again.
To see so many liquids and a refill of water really reinforced the idea that this was all too amazing to be true. Did the water ration not exist here? They really were in wonderland! Or heaven. Maybe Sanya had died.
She wouldn't be surprised.
But then, why would heaven be a cave, where up above, a storm of death raged?
Sanya took her used cup and set it aside where all the other dirty dishes were. Some had been taken away to be cleaned.
It seemed there was a room beyond the kitchen, where the occasional chef disappeared into. Getting to the entryway required descending a few steps. Sanya couldn't see beyond it.
Sanya moved her gaze elsewhere.
Mai waved to her.
Sanya made her way over to Mai, making sure not to rush. If she ran, she might look desperate to be near Mai.
Was she?
She was.
“The food really is always good!” Mai said. “We get to eat like queens!”
L-like queens. Not kings, as the saying normally goes. How is Mai is so precious—
Barakat had disappeared at some point, because he just now entered the dining room. Tons of students stopped to look whenever he neared. He was almost like a celebrity. Or a father figure everyone desperately wanted the attention of . . .
He waved to Sanya upon meeting eyes, then called over Ismael. The third seemed to be named Sakhr. Barakat waved to him and called his name. Jahira dropped her dishes off and headed towards Barakat.
Sanya followed. Mai wordlessly noticed, and walked alongside her.
Sanya pretended not to notice Mai's right hand twitch repeatedly for Sanya's left. Mai's hand hesitated for a long moment, and she glanced up at Sanya.
She really wanted to take Mai's hand. Yet, Sanya wasn't the romance type of person, she didn't even have friends yet. Weren't friends supposed to come first? Wasn't she, herself, supposed to come before that too?
How could she like other people and let them be in her presence if she didn't even like herself?
How would others see her with Mai? Would they look like a heterosexual, cisgender couple? How did others see Sanya when they didn't know who she was? Would they just look like good friends? No one would assume they were two women together . . .
Wait. Why was she even thinking about this? They had just met . . . One. Entire. Day ago.
I should flay myself.
So, in short, she couldn't take Mai's hand. Not yet, anyway.
Maybe she would find someone else soon, anyway, once she got settled in.
Argh, hadn't she had that thought before, and why did it hurt so much?
She didn't know Mai. At all.
The five of them gathered around Barakat. Sanya's heart pounded like crazy. She took deep breaths and tried to calm it, hands clammy. She wouldn't get anywhere near Mai's hand now!
Did Sanya look really red now? She probably blushed like mad. Ugh ugh ugh blegh.
“Who wants to see your new rooms!?” Barakat cheered.
Why did Sanya's stomach churn? Where would she be placed? In the women's dorms? In the . . . other? What would they consider her? How would they accommodate her?
She somehow knew that she would not like the reveal. She wanted to run away and hide. Maybe she'd skip this and go sleep in the lounge area that temporal mage had been in, outside the dining area.