All of you have gathered underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, just as
your mysterious letter said too. It had only been a few minutes
before you noticed that someone was under the bridge. He stepped
out, and you now see that he is a short man with an auburn beard
and tattoos all over his face, neck, and arms. He wears a regular
outfit of a plaid shirt, dress shoes, and slacks. But that's when
you notice the tattoos are lifting themselves off of his skin and
moving around. "Welcome. I am Kelvar, the Academy's caretaker. My
boss has requested that I take you to the school." He turned around
and led you deeper in. It is dark, dank, and a little smelly.
There's trash scattered here and there, and graffiti on the walls.
Is this a joke? Just then, Kevlar says something in a strange
language you've never heard before and makes a parting motion like
pulling away from a curtain, and the messy scene before you melts
away to be replaced by a large luscious green lawn leading to a
huge white school. All around you are students of all shapes and
sizes. Kevlar turns to grin at you. "Welcome to Red Ruby Academy."
Benjamin had nearly scoffed at the original scene, but then stood
awestruck, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. His
small frame was nearly run over multiple times, but he was able to
step out of the way of a few larger students. Glancing at the man
who had brought them here, Kevlar by the sounds of it, he took a
few nervous steps forwards to look around. Glancing behind him, he
didn't see any signs of the filth that had been there earlier.
Kevlar leads you across the lawn. This is normal for the other
students, so nobody even gives you a glance. At the huge front
doors to the school, you see a taller man with smooth blonde hair
in a suit and tie. "Welcome, future students. My name is S.
Ferrigan or Principal F. For obvious reasons, I have sought you out
so that you may properly learn of the fullest potential within you.
All of you are born with special powers that make you peculiar, but
here at Red Ruby Academy, Peculiar is the new Normal. Now, our
Student Body president, Kyleen, will give you a tour of your new
school." Suddenly, out of the shadows steps a slim black haired
girl with glasses and a stern expression. "Hello," she says
briskly. "As you know, I am Kyleen, and I will be guiding you
through this wonder of a school. If you'll follow me?" She turns
around and pushes open the doors, leading you inside.
Benjamin slipped quickly through the doors, then caught up to
Kyleen. "Erm.. 'Scuze me? Is this a geographical place or is this
just..." He trailed off, glancing around the area they'd just
entered. "Unreal..." He had a curious little grin on his face, and
his eyes were fixed on the walls, the ceiling, anything that he
seemed interested in. Which, in turn, was everything. Scratching
the back of his neck, a few grey colored hairs fell from his hood.
To somebody normal, that might have seemed strange, due to his lack
of any grey hair. However, and he smiled at this, nearly nobody
seemed to care.
Kyleen looked at him coldly. "If I understand what you are trying
to say, then yes, this place is real. It is simply existing within
an already existing area. Think of it as, say, an overlap in
dimensions. On one plane there is a dirty underway underneath the
Brooklyn Bridge, and on this one there is a school for those gifted
with magical power." She turned back to what she was doing. She
first led them to a huge room with a ceiling that seemed to go on
forever. There were couches and a huge fireplace. Students lounged
around, floated, flew, whatever struck their fancy. "This is the
Meeting Area. It is the main place for," she said with a
disapproving look, "recreational activities. You are not allowed to
be in here past lights out, and the harpies get testy if you're
"hanging out" when they are cleaning. Any questions?"
"Yeah. What are we really learning here?" Boreas stuck a hand in
his pocket and glowered at Kyleen. "I thought this place was a
place to master our powers, not this stupid 'recreational' waste of
time."
Kyleen stared Boreas down with a nasty glare. "Yes, this school is
intended for the purpose of improving your powers. However,
Principal Ferrigan believes that "recreational activity" is good
for the student's mental health. But do not worry, you will spend
plenty of time learning about and enhancing your powers."
Jay
Thudding footsteps followed the group as a certain invisible
character rushed to keep up. He was sure that nobody had noticed
him yet - though people never noticed him - and he was desperately
trying not to get trampled on. Eventually, he reached the back of
the group, and heard their 'tour guide' ask if there were any
questions.
"I have one," he perked up, which must have seemed fairly strange;
they could hear him, but couldn't see him. "Do you have specialised
teachers?" He asked, projecting his voice so he could be heard over
the chattering of nearby people. " 'Cause I doubt many teachers
know anything about this." At this moment, he pointed to himself,
before realising that they couldn't see that. "Invisibility," he
finished, blushing slightly. Of course, they couldn't see that
either.
Kyleen jumped a little when Jay spoke, but she was used to
invisibility by now so it did not faze her as much as the others.
"Oh. Yes, we do have teachers prepared to deal with your situation.
Your power is uncommon but not unheard of. We have teachers that
are trained for things like that." She shot Boreas one more look
before continuing down the hallway to a large dining hall with long
white tables with benches on either side. "This is the Cafeteria.
Of course, this one more necessity, so you'll spend less time here
so that the harpies can clean. I suggest you take your meals in the
Meeting Area, or the library, which we will get to soon. Breakfast
is at 7:00, Lunch at 12:00, and Dinner at 6:00." She stopped and
looked at Boreas. "Any questions?"
Elizabeth's emerald eyes glimmered, a smile erupring on her face.
Then she seemed a bit disheartened by something. She shook it off,
hugging Skyhopper closer.
Benjamin had pinpointed his gaze on where he though the voice from
the invisible student might have come from, but he suspected he was
either staring at their chest or a few inches above their head. He
blinked, resetting his gaze to focus on the tour, more on the
cafeteria. Quickly, he took in the view of the area, then turned to
look around, down the hallways and at the ceilings again.
Scratching his neck, a few more grey strands of fur fell from his
hood. Muttering to himself, he said, "Remind me to take this off
when Munch gets here..."
Benjamin looked down from the ceiling, hearing soft footfalls.
Glancing in the wrong direction first, he blinked, then turned and
looked the other way. Glancing across the other student, he dug his
hands a little deeper into his pockets. He looked calm, but his
mind was buffeting itself with a thousand questions, specifically
about why the other student was walking towards him.
Kyleen pursed her lips. "There will be plenty of time for
socializing later. For now, I insist that you follow me." She
continued walking until she reached another large room, this one
with large bookshelves. This is the Library. We allow research and
some school activities here, but it closes an hour before lights
out. It does open early, however, and will be open all day. We do
ask, however, that you refrain from bothering the Glowworms, no
matter how fascinating they may be. Any questions?"
Kyleen paused. "There is no rule prohibiting the usage of
electronic devices on campus, but I'm afraid that you won't have
any kind of data or service here. So if you wish to use your phone
for anything other than anything that requires those things, yes, I
suppose. But do be warned that if you are using it in class, most
teachers will take it away from you."