Alex Tesla and the Academy -Chapters 1-5

ALEXANDER TESLA AND THE ACADEMY
CHAPTER I

It was just like any other day for sixteen-year-old Alexander Tesla. Waking up at 7:00am and lay in bed for the next hour saying to himself "Just one more minute, just one more minute." After finally dragging himself out of bed, he'd pull on his school uniform, one that Alex found to be one of the worst designed things he'd ever seen; An ugly button-up brown shirt with tiny brown shorts that looked like they belonged on someone attending Mardi Gras.

Alex got over the sheer dreadfulness of the uniform by customizing it in his own unique way. Hats and caps were not allowed with the school uniform, so Alex wore one. Sunglasses were not to be worn in school ground as it made you look like a "hoodlum" to the outsiders, so Alex wore a sleek black pair. Rolling up his sleeves and wearing board shorts instead of the short-shorts, Alex was ready for school.

Alex looked at himself in the mirror. He had the same characteristics as any other 16 year-old boy; tall, just shorter than six foot with short, brown spiky hair and dark brown eyes to match. White teeth and a charming smile, Alex was quite the handsome young man. He only asked for one thing in life; for his parents to overlook every bad thing he ever did as long as he brought home straight A's.

Checking his digital watch and seeing it was time for school, Alex rushed downstairs where his parents sat at the breakfast table. His father, Paul, sat with a piece of toast near his mouth, looking as though he was about to bite into it, but he wouldn't for another few minutes as he was too distracted with the morning paper.
"Bloody soccer, I say, no one plays like they did fifty years ago. They were the pros," Paul snarled as he tossed the paper to the side.

Alex's mother, Jenny, was quietly sipping from a large mug of coffee, her eyes barely open. She was not a morning person.
"See you later, guys," said Alex walking out the front door.
"Bye, mate," said Paul with a wave.
"Have a good day at work, honey," moaned Jenny.
Alex re-appeared at the front door. "School, mum."
Jenny nodded as she realised her mistake. "Right...school."

Alex just shook his head and bounded off down the path towards his school. On the way, he met up with his best friend, Timothy James Kyle, or simply TJ. TJ did the same as Alex, wearing all the things with his uniform that he shouldn't have been.
"So how are we this morning?" asked TJ as he sipped from a foam cup of coffee.
"Just like my mum," chuckled Alex.
"Great. So, you hear about Brian?" asked TJ curiously.

Alex thought for the moment. TJ was referring to Brian McGarb. Brian was in year 10 with Alex and TJ. Last week he looked the wrong way at someone's girlfriend and was now in hospital with a broken jaw, arm and two cracked ribs. Everyone knew who did it too, but with no evidence, the school bully went free. The bully, David Post, had beaten the absolute crap out of poor Brian, and now the word was out that Alex was next and all because Alex loaned David's girlfriend a pen in math a month ago.

"Yeah, that's pretty harsh. His parents were freaking apparently," replied Alex.
"You do know he's going to try and fight you today? Everybody knows it. Hell, I've heard of a pool going of around ninety bucks that you're gonna lose," said TJ.
"If he does want to fight, he is going to lose," countered Alex confidently.
TJ burst out laughing. "How are you going to do that?"
"You just need to know how to beat your opponent. David is five foot nine. He weighs a hell of a lot more than me, so punching his torso is going to do nothing, his fat cushions him. I've just got to find his weakness and I'll be able to beat him with one strike."

"Care to put money on that?" asked TJ with a sly grin.
"I've only got a twenty," replied Alex.
TJ smiled. "Done."

The pair continued on to school, arriving just as the bell went. As names were marked off the role in the different rooms, Alex received a Uniform Detention. After roles were marked, first period began: math. Alex sat himself down in his normal seat. TJ came in and sat down next to him. The lesson began with teaching algebraic equations. Alex then noticed something in front of him, More precisely, someone in front of him. It was Tasha Jenkins, David's girlfriend.

"I feel like having some fun," whispered Alex to TJ.
Alex leaned forward out of his chair and tapped Tasha on the shoulder. She turned around and looked at Alex with her dark brown eyes.
"Can I help you?" she asked politely.
"Yeah, can I please borrow a pen? Mine has run out," said Alex innocently, but it was clear he was being an idiot about it.
Tasha tossed him one of her spare pens and turned back to her work.
"Thank you, sugar!" he said loudly as he picked up the pen, making sure the whole class could hear.

On the other side of the room, glaring menacingly at Alex was David Post clenching his fists; his knuckles were as white as snow. TJ leaned over to Alex.
"You do realise you just signed your death wish?" asked TJ nervously.
"Yep," replied Alex with a smile, not taking his eyes off David.

For the rest of the period, David didn't break his stare at Alex. Alex spent the entire period trying not to laugh. The bell rang and the class streamed out into the playground. A large circle was formed in the quadrangle of the school already. David entered the center and flexed his arms, showing off his muscles to the girls. Alex casually strolled up to the circle, TJ talking to him from behind.
"Don't do this, this guy's going to kill you," said TJ, trying to get Alex to not fight.

Alex didn't pay any attention to TJ and stepped into the circle. David turned and faced him, cracking his knuckles as he did. Alex could hear the crowd talking. He heard comments like "Alex is dead" and "Five bucks on David." Alex ignored them and waited for David to make a move. A student walked out to the center of the circle.
"Ding, round one!" he said, quickly exiting the circle.

David didn't waist any time. He came at Alex from the front, arms up ready to strike. One punch was let loose, Alex casually leaning out of its path. A second punch came hurtling towards Alex at break neck speed, but he easily dodged the assault. David started swinging furiously as Alex, but Alex knew how to dodge each and every punch David sent flying his way. After a minute, Alex noticed a pattern that David moved in and worked in his own movements around that.

The crowd was cheering for David and booing for Alex who hadn't even attempted a punch. Alex thought he give them something to cheer about. David let his guard down for a split moment. Alex moved towards him and in a split second, raised his knee up forcefully...right into David's crotch. David yelped in pain and fell backwards, landing hard on the ground, his eyes tearing. The girls in the crowd laughed while the boys moaned, feeling his pain.

Alex just smiled and walked out of the circle and over to TJ, who stood with his mouth open, completely shocked.
"You owe me twenty," said Alex cheerfully as he casually patted him on the back and walked off to second period.

CHAPTER II

Alex and TJ walked home that day feeling proud. TJ was now twenty dollars poorer and Alex was twenty dollars richer...and heavy one suspension note. Apparently a teacher had been watching the whole thing from across the quad and decided to blow the whistle on Alex. The pair came to Alex's house.
"See you later, dude," said TJ as he continued walking off.

Alex nodded and walked inside. Jenny was sitting at the kitchen table working on taxes by the look of it. Alex pushed his suspension note in front of her. She picked it up and read it to herself.
"Oh...Alexander," said Jenny as she read.
"Mum!" Alex yelled.
"Sorry, I know you don't like it, Alex," she replied with a smile. "Only a five day suspension this time."

"Yeah, the school system must be getting slack," joked Alex as he ran upstairs to his room.
Alex was happy that his mum didn't hit the roof like she did when he brought home his first suspension note. She'd been so mad she went out driving for an hour and a half and came home with a speeding ticket. Alex had laughed so hard he thought he'd pass out. His mother had a good laugh also and said if she couldn't keep out of trouble, what hope did he have?

Alex went into his room and clicked on the TV and started watching. Then he heard his mother calling out once again.
"Alex, something came in the mail for you!" she called out.
That was odd, though Alex. He never received mail.

Alex trotted down the stairs and saw his mother holding an A4 sized yellow envelope. In big black letters on the front was marked ALEXANDER ALEX. That was it, no address or sender.
"This was in the mail?" asked Alex curiously.
"Just came through the slot," said Jenny pointing to the mail slot in the door.
Alex went to the door and looked out, but saw no one. Alex didn't think about it and took the envelope up to his room and tossed it on his desk. He'd open it later; he had more important things to do, such as getting a new high score on Dungeon Master on the computer.

Alex played hours of competitive gaming on his computer, exchanged quick curious glances at the envelope that lay next to him. Finally, curiosity got the better the better of Alex, snatching the envelope and ripping it open...only to find it was empty. Looking closer, Alex saw it wasn't empty; a small post-it note lay inside. Alex quickly picked it up and read it.

A RELECTION CAN REVEAL MORE THAN YOU

Alex frowned at the post-it with the seemingly pointless message. "A reflection can reveal more than you." These words repeated themselves over and over in Alex's mind. The only thing that Alex could think of was the reflection of a mirror. Moving over to the mirror, Alex held up the post-it note to the mirror and looked at the reflection. He almost couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at the mirror. The words on the post-it note were moving about simultaneously on the post-it! It was like watching a TV show on a piece of paper.

The letters twisted and re-formed into different letters, others disappearing completely. A new message was suddenly formed after a few seconds.

CHECK THE ENVELOPE

Alex could not believe what was happening. A mysterious envelope shows up with nothing but a post-it note that has shape-shifting words on it. If Alex said that to anybody he'd be in an asylum. Remembering what the card said, Alex turned and looked for the envelope. He found it back on his desk...only it wasn't empty anymore. Something was now inside of it, making a small mound in the envelope. Looking inside, Alex found a small brown, wooden box. It was actually a nice looking box; cleaning carved and brightly polished with golden lining. A large gold ‘S' sat on the lid of the box, which Alex carefully opened.

Inside was a collection of papers. Alex picked up the first one. It read as follows:

To Mr. Alexander Tesla,
I, Headmaster Jepp Falcon, have been watching you with some great delight over the past few days. I have noticed you to be quick thinking and smart when put into dangerous situations, such as your encounter earlier today. You are exactly the type of person we need for our training programs here at Slate Academy.
Therefore, you are being recruited to join our Academy at the start of this school year, which commences on the 15th February. You should be told that Slate Academy is a boarding school and that under no circumstances can you tell anyone that you are attending this particular school, not your parents, not your friends, anyone. Some brochures of other boarding schools in your world have been included in the box for you to give to your parents as a cover.
If, which I hope you do, choose to accept this generous invitation, go to 1234 Boarder Street on the 14th of February. Wear the bracelet.
Yours Sincerely,
Headmaster Jepp Falcon

Alex had no idea of what to think of this strange letter. Several things plagued him about it, such as how did this Headmaster know of the fight at school? Something even stranger than that was a few words used in the letter; "in your world." What was that supposed to mean?

Alex looked inside the box and saw the boarding school brochures that the letter had indicated. Beneath those was a small silver bracelet with another ‘S' on it, just like the one of the box. Alex guessed it must've stood for Slate, the name of the academy mentioned in the letter.

Alex thought about the letter. It said to go to Boarder Street on the 14th; tomorrow. Alex thought more and more about this opportunity. For some, they would've been scared to death by the sight of the words on the post-it changing and shifting. Some would never have even considered going away to some strange academy with absolutely no knowledge. But for some, the unknown was just too great to resist.

Alex picked up one of the boarding school brochures and went downstairs to where Jenny and Paul sat eating their dinner. Alex slid the brochure in between the pair.
"I'm changing schools."

CHAPTER III

It'd taken half the night, but Alex had finally managed to convince his mother to let him go away to Military School. Paul was all for the idea from the beginning, after all, he was ex-army. After packing a single suitcase and putting on the bracelet that he found in the box, Alex said goodbye his mother, father and TJ, then made his way to Boarding Street.

Alex arrived at 1234 Boarding Street and found that it was literally deserted. All of the houses in the street were old and abandoned, some where even boarded up. Alex walked cautiously down the street, looking for a sign of where he was supposed to be. Perhaps he'd gone to the wrong place, he thought.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. It was a small manhole in the center of the road at the very end of the street. Roughly a foot and a half wide, the lid appeared to be sealed tightly. But that isn't what got Alex interested in this. What got Alex interested was the ominous blue glowing that was coming from underneath the manhole. It was a bright blue light that could almost be described as white. It was continually pulsing and flashing, making the manhole stand out on the otherwise dark street.

Alex leaned down to lift open the manhole and pulled it off the ground with ease. The light was blinding now, forcing Alex to shield his eyes from blinding light. Peering through his fingers, Alex felt himself being drawn towards the light. He couldn't control his movements as he started moving towards the light. It was as if an unseen force pulled him closer and closer. Finally, Alex was emitted in the white light and he was surrounded by bright pulsing white light for a split second and then it disappeared in an instant.

Alex's eyes had to close from the total brightness of it all. When he slowly opened them, his mouth dropped open with them. He was no longer standing at 1234 Boarding Street. Right now, Alexander Alex was in the middle of a large grassy field. He couldn't believe where he was. Looking around quickly, Alex quickly noticed that the manhole was again at his feet, sitting embedded in the grassy ground.
His head was spinning. Alex felt dizzy and nauseous as the world around him started to spin. It felt as though he'd just been on a rollercoaster a dozen times with his eyes clothes while sitting backwards. As his vision went blurry, Alex could make out several dark figures moving towards him. They were calling out something but Alex couldn't understand the words. Finally, Alexander Tesla dropped to the ground and threw up, just before passing out on the soft ground.

* * * * * *

Alex slowly opened his eyes after what felt like an eternity. His eyes stung as the light hit them, forcing him to snap them shut again.
"Easy now," said a pleasant young voice. "Take it easy."
Alex slowly opened his eyes once again. He looked around to see where the hell he was. He was in a bed in what looked to be like a hospital. The room was a bright white and blue with several windows in the wall looking out at a calm, blue ocean.

Alex noticed a young woman standing next to his bed; a nurse.
"How are you feeling this morning, Alexander?" asked the nurse politely, smiling at him.
"It's Alex," he replied quietly. "Where am I? Who are you?"
The nurse smiled again. "I'm Louise Hazel. I'm a trainee nurse here at the academy."
Alex frowned to himself. "Excuse me, the academy?"
"Yes, Slate Academy. Actually I suppose you have no idea where you are. Traveling like you did is very jarring on the senses. Most pass out for a few days," explained Nurse Hazel politely.

"Back up a bit. Traveling like I did?" asked Alex, completely confused as to what she was going on about.
Hazel sighed. "The Headmaster will explain it. He wants to see you as soon as you can walk. There's your uniform on the end of the bed, put it on when you're ready to go and see him."
Hazel smiled and then left the room. Alex guessed she didn't like explanations too much. Either that or she was just plain weird. Not wanting to waste any time in getting answers, Alex got dressed into his uniform that Hazel has left for him. At least it was better than the one at his old school. Long grey cargo pants and a white t-shirt with a black or gray jacket to go over the top; Alex looked more like a street kid than a student, which was why he liked it.

Exiting the infirmary, Alex found himself in a long hallway. Looking at a sign on the wall, Alex followed the arrow the said "Headmasters Office." After a few detours and wrong turns, Alex finally found the Headmasters Office and knocked on the door.
"Come in," said a kind voice on the other side of the door.
Alex entered the office and saw a man sitting behind a desk on the other side of the room. The man wasn't old, but he wasn't exactly young either. He had brown hair with several grays mixed into it and dark brown eyes.

"Alexander Tesla, I presume?" asked the man politely.
Alex nodded and stepped up to the desk.
"Take a seat," the man offered. "I'm Headmaster Jepp Falcon, Headmaster of Slate Academy."
"It's nice to meet you. Um, sorry, where am I, exactly?" asked Alex slowly.
Falcon exhaled slowly as if preparing to give someone bad news.
"Alexander, you must understand that there will be things that you won't...understand right away. It may come as a shock to you, so I'm going to need you to stay calm. Can you do that?"

Alex nodded slowly and braced himself for what Falcon had to say.
"You are at Slate Academy. We are a school which specialises in teaching young boys and girls to become capable in combat. We are a peace-keeping faction, with the sole purpose of training peoples to keep the peace in the world; If a town is overrun by street thugs and assistance is called, we'll go there and set things right. Now, that's part of where you are. This next part will be a little weird for you. You are both on and off Earth," explained Falcon.
Alex starred blankly at Falcon. "I'm Sorry, what?"
"Do you remember coming through the manhole?" asked Falcon.
Alex nodded.
"Well, when you came through it, you stepped out of your world and into ours. Where we are now is what we call a Parallel World; an entire world that runs parallel with your own. Your world is called Earth, while ours is called Heart," explained Falcon.

"Heart?" asked Alex curiously.
Falcon nodded. "It's just an anagram of Earth."
"Right..." said Alex, not the least bit convinced of anything Falcon had to say.
"A Parallel world like ours works the same as yours, with all the normal rules like gravity, oxygen and bouncy. Some worlds, like Heart, have different limitations on those rules and other new things entirely. Do you understand?" asked Falcon.
"So you're saying that gravity is limited? So, if I were to want to fly, I could do it?" asked Alex curiously.
"No, flying has never been successfully achieved. Small heights of levitation on the other hand, have," replied Falcon.

"What do you mean by new things?" asked Alex.
"Well, it is something that you have never seen in your world. Not the real thing, anyway. Magic," explained Falcon.
"Magic," said an unenthusiastic Alex, rolling his eyes.
Falcon suddenly flicked his hand up into the air and almost instantly a book on his desk went up into the air and started to hover. Alex's jaw dropped as he watched Falcon keep the book in the air.
"How are you doing that?" asked Alex amazed.

Falcon just smiled. "Magic, Alex."
Falcon lowered the book back down to the desk and sat down in his seat.
"If you still want to be apart of this Academy, undergo the training to become an elite soldier and learn magic skills. Simply say so. If not, we can return you to Earth and erase your memory. You'll never know you left. What's it going to be?"
Alex nodded and smiled. "I'm in."

CHAPTER IV

Alexander Tesla sat on a seat next to a long row of seats, each filled with a young boy or girl of about 16, in a waiting area outside the infirmary in Slate Academy. Seeing as how Alex has agreed to become apart of the Academy, it was mandatory to get a health checkup to see how an individuals body was coping with the transition from one world to another. It turns out traveling between parallel worlds is one hell of an assault on your body, making you sick for some time, which was why most of the students in the row of seats held buckets in their hands.

A young boy sitting next to Alex extended out his hand.
"Hiya, I'm Drake O'Malley," said the young boy as he introduced himself with a strong Irish accent.
Alex shook his hand. "Alex Tesla."
Drake acknowledged the introduction, looking up and down at Alex. Drake was also sixteen, as were all the students in the row. He was slightly taller than Alex with thick blonde hair, green eyes and a large smile which seemed to be permanently on his face.

"You excited?" asked Drake curiously.
"What about?" replied Alex, wondering what was so exciting.
"Ha! What about? We're starting school in a different world for crying out loud! We're going to learn how to fight properly, how to use magic!" exclaimed Drake, so energized and ready to begin.
Alex smiled and nodded. "You know what? You're actually right, this is exciting!"

As the line moved along, Alex found himself and Drake talking non-stop about how amazing it was to about to learn all these things that they'd never even dreamed of learning in a million years. For the first time ever, Alex was excited and eager to start school. It seemed that everyone else in the waiting line was eager too, everyone engaged deeply in conversations about what could happen.

It finally came to be Alex's turn to get examined. Walking into the infirmary, Alex was greeted by Nurse Hazel once again.
"Hello, Alex," she said softly, nodding to the chair. "Take a seat."
Alex sat down comfortably in the chair and waited for his checkup. Hazel turned and grabbed a large silver box. Alex noticed that Hazel struggled with the weight of it; it must've been fairly heavy for its size. What made Alex even more puzzled was the fact that the box was shaking...a lot. There was something inside that box.

Hazel opened up the lid and brought out a silver sphere. It was the same size as a tennis ball, but it was completely silver and made of metal. Hazel moved over to Alex and set the silver orb on the table next to him.
"What is that thing?" asked Alex curiously, looking at the orb in awe.
"It's called an EHSS. Pronounced just like the letter S. It stands for Electric Health Scanning System. It will check you over. Try to relax, it can be a little scary but it can't hurt you," explained Hazel.

Alex frowned. What did she mean by that? Suddenly the orb sprang to life. Its shiny outer surface folded inwards and out came long mechanical legs, four of them. The orb picked itself off the table. It now looked like a metallic spider, beeping and humming with electronic signals. It saw Alex and moved towards him. Alex braced himself in the chair as EHSS climbed on top of his chest and moved along, pale blue lights scanning all over his body. After a few seconds, the EHSS stopped and retracted its legs, returning to its orb, lifeless form.

Alex breathed heavily. He never wanted another one of those on him again; even though he knew they were safe, they still freaked you out quite a bit. Alex sat up in the chair and looked over at Hazel.
"You did well, the last student sent the EHSS out that window," laughed Hazel pointing to a shattered glass window behind her.
"What's the verdict?" asked Alex curiously.

Hazel turned to a computer screen and studied it.
"Classic case of Phasing Sickness, but other than that you're fine," explained Hazel. "You can go now."
Alex shook his head. "Phasing sickness? What's that?"
"That's what it's called when you travel from one place to another. You're just a bit ill from coming to our world. It'll happen when you go back too, but after that you'll be fine. It gets worse when you start to do it within a world," laughed Hazel.

Alex hated it how everyone already expected him to know all of their jargon terms.
"Within a world?" he mumbled.
"Eventually, you'll learn to shift your whole body mass through solid objects, its called phasing. I'll see you later, Alex," said Hazel as the next student, Drake, came through.
Alex went for the exit and patted Drake on the back as he went.
"Don't freak out," he warned with a smile.

Alex chuckled as he exited the infirmary building and came out into the main courtyard of Slate Academy. It was a large paved area with benches to sit on, grassy areas with trees to sit under and places to play some sport. It was a very inviting and comfortable environment.

Alex was suddenly knocked into by another student and they both fell to the ground. Alex picked himself up off the ground and watched as the second student picked herself up. Alex's mouth dropped open when he saw her. She was beautiful. Shoulder length black hair and brown hair, with a cute little button nose and pink lips, Alex could only stare and sigh.
"Sorry about that," she said sweetly. "I'm in a bit of a hurry, got to go get a health check."

Alex smiled. "I've already been. I'm Alex Tesla."
The young girl smiled, making Alex weak at the knees.
"I'm Abby Mist," she said. "I'll see you later, Alex."
Abby walked off gracefully, Alex watching her until she'd gone into the infirmary building. Alex took a deep breath and sighed with a smile on his face.
"I think I'm going to like it here."
All of a sudden, the sound of a window shattering could be heard, and an operating EHSS landed on the ground in front of Alex. Turning back to the infirmary, Alex saw Nurse Hazel and Drake standing at a shattered window frame.
Drake yelled out with an embarrassing look on his face. "Sorry about that!"

CHAPTER V

After the students had all been checked out by Nurse Hazel in the infirmary, all of the new students gathered around in the courtyard where they waited for the teachers. Alex found himself again sitting with Drake O'Malley in the courtyard on one of the stone benches. The pair looked around at the first year students, numbering to around forty. Alex looked through a brochure that he'd found in the infirmary of Slate Academy. It said that there were over four hundred students attending Slate, with another one hundred around the world of Heart on missions; some in war zones, others helping out local merchants with troubled customers.

After a few more minutes of waiting and reading, Headmaster Jepp Falcon arrived with another five individuals; teachers and Professors of the Academy. The forty students gathered around the six as Falcon began to talk.
"Welcome to all of you. Today, you start your training in Slate Academy to become a fine tool in the troubled world. Allow me to introduce you to those you will be helping you during your time here at Slate," said Falcon, pointing to the teachers behind him.

"Teaching First Aid and Health will be Professor Laura Malloy. Professor Patricia Chain, teacher of standard magic skills. Instructor Otto Warwick who will help you with tactics on the battlefield. Specialising in weapons and combat training is Professor Eric Marsh. Finally, Instructor Jeremiah Vaine who will teach you all of your driving skills."

The teachers and Professors nodded or waved to the students. Some of the students returned with waves or nods, but most just stood still.
"Professor Malloy will sort you into your classes and then hand out your schedules and at the next bell, you will be shown to your dormitories. Good luck to all of you," said Falcon, who then nodded and left the courtyard.

Professor Laura Malloy then stepped forward to address the group. Malloy was 25 years old, with long red hair and green eyes. She was tall and wore a black lab coat, which Alex found slightly unusual to the normal white coats found on Earth.
"Alright guys, gather round!" she ordered in a loud but non-threatening voice.
The group gathered around as Malloy pulled a small device from her pocket. It was known as a Brobe; a tool used to calculate a persons skills and attributes. Slate Academy had altered it to help sort the students into their classes of Advanced, Average or Novice.
It was simple to use, all a student needed to do was to press their thumb down on a small white tab for several seconds as the Brobe recorded their information.

Malloy read from a role the students names.
"Gale, Lex," called out Malloy.
A young girl emerged from crowd; Lex Gale. Tall with long fair hair and blue eyes, Lex was quite good looking. Alex noticed that Drake seemed to think so too, noticing him nearly drooling.
"You okay?" asked Alex with a chuckle.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Fine..." muttered Drake, all while keeping his eyes on Lex as she walked over to Malloy.

"Press your thumb down there please," said Malloy, pointing to the small white tab.
Lex held her thumb down until the Brobe beeped. It started to read out in an electronic voice.
"Lex Gale, IQ: 124. Allocated Class...Advanced."
Lex smiled as she heard her class. She was the type of person that liked to be told that she was smart, but never actually said that she was smart herself.

"Ok, Very well. Mist, Abby!" said Malloy next.
Abby Mist emerged from the crowd quickly and approached Malloy. This time is was Alex who stood with his mouth open and speechless.
"Are you alright?" asked Drake.
"What? Yes, of course," muttered Alex.
Abby put her thumb to the tab and waited for the Brobe to analyse her information.
"Abby Mist, IQ: 132. Allocated Class...Advanced."

Abby went and joined Lex in the advanced group. After more and more students were sorted through, it was finally Alex's turn. Placing his thumb on the tab of the Brobe, Alex was nervous as to what class he was put into.
"Alexander Tesla, IQ: 119. Allocated Class...can not be specified."
Alex raised an eyebrow and looked up at Malloy, who also had an odd expression on her face.
"What's that mean?" asked Alex curiously.
"I'm not sure, it's never happened," replied Malloy, shaking the Brobe in her hands.

The device started talking again.
"Alexander Tesla, IQ: 119. Allocated Class...Advanced."
Malloy smiled. "Ah, there it goes."
Alex smiled and went into the advanced group where Drake had also been sent. Each group was then given their schedules. Alex looked over his to see what classes would actually be going on.

Monday:
1 - SM - Chain
2 - T - Warwick
3 - ST
4 - WC - Marsh

Tuesday
1- SM - Chain
2- WC: Marsh
3- DP - Vaine
4- FAH - Malloy

Wednesday
1- PW - Falcon
2 -WC - Marsh
3 - T - Warwick
4- ST

Thursday
1- DP - Vaine
2- SM - Chain
3- PW - Falcon
4- FAH - Malloy

Friday
1- FAH - Malloy
2- T - Warwick
3- PW - Falcon
4- DP - Vaine

WC: Weapons and Combat Marsh
SM: Standard Magic Chain
T: Tactics Warwick
DP: Driving and Piloting Vaine
PW: Parallel Worlds Falcon
FAH: First Aid and Health Malloy
ST: Study Time -

Alex had never heard of any of these classes, especially standard magic and parallel worlds. They all seemed a bit weird for him. Drake came over and held his hand up for a high five. Alex just looked cock-eyed at him.
"What? Fine, be boring. Isn't this just so cool? I mean, parallel worlds, weapons training, driving lessons and beautiful girls," said Drake with a large smile.
"Anyone I know?" asked a soft voice from behind him.

Drake turned around to find himself face to face with Lex. Drake nearly fainted, hoping she didn't know that it was her that he'd been referring to.
"Um, n-no, no one you know. Absolutely not," said Drake nervously.
Alex casually leaned in beside Drake.
"Good cover up," he whispered sarcastically to Drake.
Drake just raised his eyebrows. "Shut up."

One of the teachers, Professor Jeremiah Vaine, stepped forward to the large group.
"It's time to show you to your rooms," he announced. "Boys follow me, girls follow Professor Malloy, let's go."