Why does this place love paper so much?
After a peaceful night's sleep, before which I set only one plausibly deniable trap, I met up with Naomi and found a once-again moody Tala before heading to the cafeteria. The breakfast period was a full hour in length, but even I was surprised to see the students ahead of us in the semester, including a certain duckboy, running around in their normal clothes while we were all in uniform.
Oh yeah, it's still summer for them. They probably get to choose their courses at the end of the semester.
School didn't officially start until Monday. Jhaydun sat with a rather avian squad, and it looked like Basil had made friends, so it was just us girls as I indulged in some biscuits in gravy while Naomi had something that looked like red kibble and Tala wolfed down a pile of steak and eggs.
I felt like someone was missing until I noticed the pile of girls at Fiona's table. After that, I just felt bemused.
I wasn't sad! You're sad!
But back to the present. The most important decision of my unwanted high-school career is right in front of me...
"Do I take PE in the morning, before lunch, or evening?"
Leaning over me, Tala peeks at my personalized class selection... which has almost every basic course greyed out to indicate what my GED covered.
"Oooh, do morning and evening," she grins wolfishly.
"So you're saying I should work out before I sleep, only to wake up and work out?"
"That's how I do it!" she says. "It's great for burning off excess energy!" And then she leans in, whispering, "And if you want to become the school alpha, it means you can challenge people more."
I want to point out that "alphas" are a myth. Wolves have power couples, not alphas, betas, omegas, and whatever. Even the guy who thought up that hierarchy disowned his own work, and yet here we are, almost three centuries later, spewing the same nonsense.
Because wolves don't have alphas, humans do.
Was it Tala's glittering eyes and wagging tail that made me sign up, even though it meant staying an extra hour that could be spent scheming or recovering before club activities?
Okay, yes, dammit.
Cursed hormones... Damn cute oversized puppy...
I didn't realize it until just after I turned in my sheet, which consisted of the five mandatory morning courses and five selected courses that alternated by day. I wound up picking:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays:
Chemistry II (In case I need more sleep after PE).
Intro to Supersocietal Ethics (A prereq for the two I needed to get close to my old stuff).
Nutrition (which was basically a cooking class).
Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Beginners Workshop (I fully intend to prove my way up to the advanced course right away).
Talent Development 1A (AKA "Hero Class")
Thus, my schedule was:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays:
P.E., Homeroom, History of Heroism, Language Arts, Lunch, Chem II, Intro to Ethics Soup, Nutrition, P.E.
Tuesdays and Thursdays:
P.E., Homeroom, Math (Algebra, probably, so more sleep for me!), Lunch, Beginner's Workshop, Talent Development 1A, P.E.
I looked over my choices, hoping I wouldn't regret them. Next week was when club selections started, and I knew exactly what I wanted to pick...
After a brief introduction to each of our core course teachers, which oddly was absent one Talent Development 1A teacher, everyone left to ponder their decisions with regret on their walk back to the dorms. Looking at the block for TD 1A, I saw the name on it was Mr. Bohdi, which was reassuring.
"Wow! How'd you get to pick so many college credit courses? And why are you picking up P.E. twice?"
I wasn't about to tell Fiona I got charmed by a good fluffy girl.
"You know how hard it is to fit the same super suit when you don't have literal abs of steel? No, you don't." I scowl, hoping she'll drop the subject.
Instead, she giggles and says, "Sure, whatever you say, Ash." She winks. "But you still haven't answered my other question."
"Remember that 'big test' I said you should take?"
"Uhh... Oh! The Ged test!" She says it like she says "GIF", in the way that annoys me most.
I facepalm. "It's 'G.E.D.', but the test is called the C.H.E.A.T., and it's why I have credits and you don't."
"Oh, so you admit you are a cheat?" PR Friend One arrived on the scene.
"No, I said the test is spelled like it. Probably so people like you forget how to get ahead," I reply.
"Why would we want to get ahead when we get four years to enjoy ourselves?" PR Friend Two backed up her... Colleague? Co-worker? They did seem to share the same brain cell.
"Oh, I don't know, why don't you think about it for a couple of semesters. Or just think."
"Ash!" Fiona snaps at me.
"What? I like thinking and not wasting my time, what's wrong with that?" I smirk back at her.
"You know what you're doing!"
"Precisely. Which is why what I'm going to do next is enjoy my weekend. I stand up, turning my sheet in to the registrar - a woman with her hair in a silvery bun and a satyr-like appearance - and leave the classroom.
And of all the things on my schedule, I'm especially proud of not seeing Asshole's name anywhere on the list of teachers.
"Waaaaaait!" Fiona tears out of the room behind me. "Where are you going?"
"Uh, to get supplies for my room?"
"Awesome! Us too! Let's hang out together, and you can get to know Victoria and Stephany! As I'm cringing, she twists the knife, "And remember, you owe me for losing the Quit-Off!"
My mouth twists in a grimace as Tori and Phany file out of the room, looking like they don't like this plan either.
"Fi~ne," I say, knowing I'm about to become my sister's dress-up doll. We're still the same size, so she knows anything that looks good on me will look good on her. "Drag me to hell."
"Yeaaay!" she claps her hands together rapidly. "You won't regret it!"