Sci-Fi Story #1- “The Secret Life of Students”

 

 

 

Hi.  I’m Jason, but most of my friends call me Jay. You can call me anything you want, I guess.  I attend the Quasar School of Higher Science- wait, make that “used to attend”- along with my sister Sarah, and my friends, Nick, Jaclyn, Dustin, and Alex.  I put the “used to” part in there because of a little secret we found one night after sneaking out of the dorms.

 

You see, Quasar is a boarding school for those students with “hyperactive-imaginations”- to the point where they can use some sort of power- some referred to it as “magic”, but most just call it “Mindforce”.  It comes in all elements and flavors- fire, ice, space, thunder, that sort of crap.  Anyways, I’m getting off the subject.

 

Before admittance to Quasar is granted, potential students are analyzed in almost every detail- from your normal school subjects, they are also analyzed in physical and mental health- even to the point of blood tests to determine how much power a student would eventually have at his disposal, and what elements would be contained in it. 

 

But what people didn’t see is what the school wanted to hide.  Not only was Quasar rated high on the academic standards, the guys who rated the school for “parties, drinking, girls, and all-around fun” gave it a decent grade, too.  But if only people knew what had been going on behind the scenes for as long as the school had existed.

 

You see, Quasar had a backer- one that provided as much cash as they would need- a bottomless pocket of one-hundred dollar bills, it seemed like.  It was a genetics company- Biolife, if I recall.  They were interested in the Mindforce energy and everything connected to it. 

 

And that’s where the entire thing started.

 

“…therefore, your assignment, for over the weekend, is to study up on the Elemental Properties theories and work on incorporating at least one new element into your arsenal.”

 

Mr. Gann’s class- Mindforce and Elemental Properties 101.  Boring stuff.  It was once rumored that he even put a Guardlight to sleep- and those things are designed to never stop moving.  But it’s required.  Just like every other boring class in my schedule.  Except for one- “Mindforce Use in Combat Situations”.  Now THAT class is cool.  Where else can you blow a simulated tank into a million pieces with a shot of “Crimson Cannon”?

 

BEEEEEEEEP!  What the?! Oh, only the bell.  Thank God.  Friday afternoon, and the only thing left on the schedule is “Combat Situations”.  Sometimes I really believe in fate.

 

I folded up my laptop and walked toward the door. 

 

“Hey, Red!  Wait up!”

 

THAT is my friend, Alex.  As for him calling me “Red”, well, I’ll tell you a bit more on that later.  He was strolling down the hallway behind me after getting out of his class.  We both have Combat Situations this period, and so do a few others.  It’s actually the smallest group in that subject- mainly because the other students were tired of being humiliated.  We’re all pretty good- to call us the best in the place wouldn’t be out of the ballpark, either.

 

“Red!  I said, wait up!”

 

I slowed my pace and let Alex catch up.  “Hey, Cube.   Ready for today?  I heard they’ll even have a few bigwigs from Biolife there- wanting to see what they’ve come up with.”

 

“Who cares about today’s Situations?  I’m throwing that mega-party tomorrow night.  The whole dorm’s invited- and there’s going to be a bunch of girls there.”

 

“Cube, look.  I told you, I’m only holding out for Blazer, and that’s it.  She’s pretty much the only reason I stay in ‘Social Behavior’ apart from the fact that I need it.  So stop razzing me over not having the experience yet.”

 

Alex snorted.  “Give me a break, Red.  I know you- and I also know that maybe five girls are pining for you.  You could have the proverbial ‘great time’.  Blazer’s not going to want to see you- not when she has that dumb Mind-jock Flare all over her.”

 

I turned and offered a patented grin to him.  “So what?  All right, listen.  The party’s Saturday night, right?  Today’s Friday, and it’s only four in the afternoon.  If I can’t get her to notice and agree to come to the party with me by then, I’ll just say ‘screw it’ and go for it.  Would that get you off my back?”

 

Alex gives me one of his stupid grins back.  “Now THAT’s the Red I used to know.”

 

All this time, we’ve been walking towards the central block of elevators. We found an empty one and hit the ground floor button. 

 

Combat Situations happens to be one of the only classes that enables you to legally unleash your most powerful Mindforce techniques.  That means the potential for things going wrong and destroying various parts of the property is rather high.  So, Combat Situations makes use of the large backyard of the school.  Not only does that keep Administrator Lynx happy, it keeps us rather happy because it allows us to do almost what we want as long as it’s in the course guidelines.

 

Walking out to the area used for Situations, we subconsciously warp into our uniforms- self-designed, of course, for maximum comfort, but some students left little to the imagination.

 

Take me, for example.  I took the usual uniform- a dress shirt, dress pants, and one accessory- and went wild with it.  After I got done with it, people kept stopping and staring.

 

A white shirt under an unbuttoned dress uniform shirt.  The uniform shirt I customized with various shades of red- graduating from dark at the shoulders to almost blindingly bright at the cuffs. Combined with dress pants in the same fashion, you couldn’t miss me in the dark.

 

I cut somewhat of a decent figure in that outfit- me being about six-two, close to 180 pounds, and deep brownish hair with a hint of red. 

 

Alex, on the other hand, went crazy with blue and white.  His uniform looks like a snowstorm hit it while it was still in the wash. With his blonde hair and beanpole-like stature, he can draw girls to his arms almost just by looking at them.

 

On the way into the small building, we caught up with a few of the other members- namely, the two most pined-after students in the whole damn academy- Flare, and his then-girl Blazer.

 

Flare’s the biggest guy in the academy.  There’ve been rumors that he wasn’t really raised by parents, but was raised as some lab tech’s closet pet.  The girls think he’s absolutely to die for, just like some of those stupid holo-stars that only act and talk.  I personally think he’s one of the biggest assholes in the entire world.  He’s got eyes only for himself- and with the muscle to back it up, and his mastery of non-elemental magic, he’s got big plans for himself.  His uniform doesn’t leave much to miss.  Just an old shirt- a tank top in the old fashion- and tight jeans.  His real name is Jackson, but everyone calls him Flare because of the way he mastered that certain spell.  Sure- it’s one of only two he knows- the other being an extremely weak thunder spell- but when he nails anything with Flare, you can usually kiss it goodbye.

 

Blazer, on the other hand….

 

I think she’s God’s gift to male students.  She likes white, and that extends to her uniform.  A white cloak with basically a white swimsuit top and shorts.  Combine that with the most awesome figure I’ve ever laid eyes on, and brunette hair down to her butt.  She’s been hanging onto Flare for as long as I can remember-but I know she’d rather be with me.  Only problem?  Flare may be a little slow in the mental department, but he knows when he doesn’t want to let go. After seeing what his Flare spell can do to a scarecrow dressed up in camouflage, I’m kind of nervous.  We searched for days- and only found one bit of sawdust from that dummy. 

 

However, by looking at the message board, we see today’s assignment is:

 

“How to defeat Reflect”.

 

Finally, my big chance!  I’ve been studying like crazy, and I KNOW this assignment.

 

It’s easy once you get the hang of it.  One theory of Mindforce is that it can be reflected once, with no loss of power or speed, but it will zoom through barriers- even another Reflect- on the rebound.  Flare always goes into his training alone.  I prefer to take a group of three- and I managed to draw Alex and Jaclyn (Jaclyn is Blazer’s real name.).

 

My strategy?  Simple.  Alex calls me Red mainly because of my preference for the color red.  But it goes further than that.  My Base Force is fire. I know a few devastating spells- power ranging from toast a marshmallow to make a hole in a steel door.

 

Alex’s Base Force is ice.   He has a penchant for always encasing a defeated foe in a rather large ice cube.  We work rather well together- Cube being the straight logical thinker; me being the barrel-into-anything-and take out the problem.

 

Blazer happens to have a Base Force of Thunder, but she’s been concentrating on learning Wind force techniques.  I’ve suggested to Blazer we try to combine two attacks, and she gave it a lot of thought. 

 

My mind is so focused on the conversation I had, I fail to see I’m walking towards Blazer’s workstation.

 

“RED!  WATCH OUT!”

 

“Huh?!” I stammer, as I take that last fatal step.  Everything goes everywhere; my notes and diskettes fly all over as I stumble over the station (actually a modified desk that was refurbished about three years ago), my equipment going everywhere.

 

“Nice form, Red.  But, leave flying to us Wind-users.”

 

I wince as I hear the voice.  Blazer.  And here I go, making a complete ass of myself.

 

‘Nice going, Don Juan.  She’ll never go to the party with me now.’  I think, blushing as I clean up my stuff.  Luckily for me, Cube managed to catch my laptop before it hit the ground.  The only problem is, I knocked over a pile of diskettes that had been sitting on Blazer’s station. I picked up and sorted them, placing hers on the station.

 

“Sorry, just thinking rather deeply- about today’s lesson.  Did you remember the ring?”

 

Blazer raised her hand and showed me a ring with a ruby set in it.  “Yes, I remembered it.  But, are you sure it’ll work?”

 

“That’s a Reflect Ring, isn’t it?”  I asked, looking at it closer.

 

“Yes- it cost a bundle, but I’m happy you and Alex kicked in a third from each of you.”

 

Blazer was about to reply when a big hand knocked me off my feet from behind.

 

“What’s this about you buying my girl a ring, lightweight?”

 

‘Aw, shit!  Flare!  He’s going to try to kill me for messing with Blazer!’

 

“Look, punk, Blazer is MY girl.  Don’t buy her ANYTHING.  I’ll do everything for her.  Including take her to the dorm party tomorrow night.”

 

“Look, Mister Fat-Ass, I don’t care if you turn yourself into a mannequin made of cheese so she can have cheese and crackers, I’m asking her to go, and I’m doing it right now.”

 

Blazer’s hand flew up to her mouth, and Flare’s neck veins started to bulge out ominously.  Flare would have liked to take my head off at the knees, but then, the bell rang.  No sound will ever sound as sweet than the classroom bell that prevents a big lug from pounding on his enemy.

 

Instructor Miaka raised her hand.  “Quiet, everyone, time for lessons.  Everyone outside.”

 

Everyone got up and filed out of the room, except for Flare, Blazer, and myself- mainly because Flare had a hand on my shoulders.

 

“Look, Tiny Little Drummer Boy, she’s MINE.  Nothing can take her away from me. I-“

 

I heard a sharp ‘smack’ sound and Flare actually shut up in mid-sentence. 

 

“Flare, this is getting REAL old.  I’m not your possession, I’m a woman.  And I’ve made a decision.  I’m going to the party- but with whoever does the better on this assignment.  If it happens to be Red, I’ll go with him.  If you win, I’ll go with you.  Until then, keep your hands off me and don’t try to talk me out of it.”

 

Flare and I both stared open mouthed as Blazer walked out of the door. 

 

‘Whoever scores higher on the assignment?  Careful, Jason, don’t fuck this up.’

 

We both walked outside, staggering a bit as our minds considered the possibilities.