Alex considered his words before finally saying, “Perhaps the lollipop was wrong?”
Jarvis shook his head. “The testing is foolproof, I’m afraid.”
“You can change it though, right? You can put me in a lower level?” Seeing his regretful look, she cried, “No way—I don’t know the first thing about offensive fighting!”
“I understand your unease,” Jarvis said soothingly, “but if the results say you’re at this level, then that’s what you are. The testing doesn’t ascertain how capable you are at the subjects, but rather, it judges how good you’ll be if you apply yourself to the training. According to your results, you have a tremendously high level of potential for these subjects.”
Alex scowled at the piece of paper. “Lucky me.”
“Hey, at least you’ll have Bear and me in PE,” Jordan said, reading her results again. “And me again in Chemistry. That’s something to look forward to. We can blow stuff up together.”
“Whoopee,” she responded dryly.
He nudged her playfully and she smiled despite herself.
“It’s getting late. I think we’ve all had enough for the night,” Jarvis said, covering a yawn. “Unless you have any other questions?”
“Dozens, but none I can articulate right now,” Alex admitted.
Jarvis looked at her with understanding. “My office is always open if you need to talk. Rest assured, everything you require for your stay will be provided for you. Your dorm room is ready and waiting, and your classes will begin first thing in the morning.”
He handed her a new sheet of paper which showed her class schedule.
“Any problems, you know where to find me,” Jarvis said, before turning to Jordan and Bear. “Do you mind showing Alex to the dorm building since you’re going there anyway? She’s on the third floor, room seven.”
Jordan made a choking noise. “Are you serious? Room seven?”
Jarvis appeared puzzled. “Is there a problem?”
“You’ve put her in with D.C.?” Bear asked, his eyes wide. “Is that… wise?”
“I’m sure they’ll get along splendidly.” Jarvis covered another yawn with his hand. “Eventually.”
Jordan snorted. “If you say so.”
Alex wasn’t sure what to make of their reactions. What was wrong with her roommate?
“Oh, and one more thing before you go,” Jarvis said. “It’s probably best if you keep where you’re from and how you came to be here between us.”
“Why?” Alex asked.
“Being from another world is quite the anomaly. There could be… certain complications if your story was to become well known. Only tell those whom you trust will keep your secret.”
“All right,” Alex said, accepting his judgement on the matter.
“I’m sure we can count on your friends to help you out as needed,” Jarvis added.
“Definitely.” Jordan smiled at Alex. “We can say you’re the queen of some forgotten civilisation who demands that we all bow down to you. Except for me—I found you first so I get to be your right-hand man.”
“You’d make a better court jester,” Bear said with a grin.
“Perhaps something closer to the truth,” Jarvis suggested mildly, “such as Alex being a transfer student?”
Jordan’s face fell with disappointment. “That’s just boring.”
“But so much easier to remember,” Alex said. “And besides, you can still be my right-hand man if you want.”
“I suppose I’ll take what I can get,” Jordan happily agreed.
“It’s almost curfew, so you better all get along now,” Jarvis said, dismissing them. “Let me know if you have any problems settling in, Alex, but I’m confident you’ll be fine.”
Alex barely had the chance to call out a quick, “Thanks, Jarvis!” before Jordan and Bear pulled her from her seat and dragged her out of the office.
Four
“Allow us to be your tour guides,” Jordan offered once they were outside again.
The sun had long since set during their time with Jarvis, and now that her adrenaline had worn off, exhaustion was beginning to seep into Alex’s mind and body. Nevertheless, she nodded her agreement.
“The academy is made up of eight main buildings,” Jordan said. He then pointed to the medieval-inspired building they’d just left. “This fine construction is called the Tower. Most of the professors have their offices and sleeping quarters inside, so if you’re trying to sneak around after curfew or anything, stay away from this area.”
“Noted,” Alex said.
“There’s also the Stable Complex, which is pretty self-explanatory; the Arena, which is where Combat classes are held; the Clinic, for Species Distinction; the Sir Carsus dorm building, where first through to fifth year students live; the Lady Omar dorm, for the apprentices; and then there’s Gen-Sec—the General Sector building—which is where most of the boring classes are held.”
“By ‘boring’, Jordan means they’re intellectually challenging rather than physically demanding,” Bear cut in. He pointed off into the distance, but it was too dark for Alex to see anything. “Gen-Sec is the massive U-shaped building you probably saw earlier. One length of the ‘U’ is for Chemistry-related labs and workrooms, and another length has normal classrooms for History, Core Skills, and SOSAC. The middle part of Gen-Sec is for the Medical Science labs and other research rooms.”
“The Med Ward is also in the middle section,” Jordan said. “It’s like our very own hospital, and it covers the entire ground level. You’ll probably be a frequent visitor there, especially with your high potential classes.”
Alex sighed. “Yay.”
Jordan grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. “We won’t show you around the entire campus tonight because it’s late and you look like you’re about to drop on your feet. But as long as you know the most important building, I think you’ll be all right.”
Bear snorted and Alex wondered where they could be taking her. When Jordan brought them to a stop in front of a large square building, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes when he said, “This is the food court. It’s a very important place that will see to your nutritional needs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don’t forget where this building is and you’ll be fine.”
“You’re such a dork.” She smiled at him to take the sting out of her words.
“I’ll have you know that I am no such thing,” Jordan argued. “I am the epitome of all things awesome.”
“I can’t believe you just used the word ‘epitome’ in a sentence, let alone in that context,” Alex marvelled dryly as they started walking again.
Before Jordan could offer a comeback, Bear jumped in and said, “Can you tell us about Freya, Alex? We already know the basics, since our technology is much more advanced than yours and we have people who spend their whole lives studying your world. But I want to hear it from your point of view. What’s it like there?”
Surprised by what he’d just revealed, instead of answering, Alex asked her own question. “There are people here who study my world? Could they have a way to get me back home?”