Page 16 of Akarnae

“We can see that,” Jordan said, his eyes still alight with humour. “Classes start in less than an hour, so you’d better hurry up or else we’ll miss out on breakfast.”

“How long does it take you to eat?” Alex grumbled, but she headed to her closet. It was full of clothes, all in her size. She wasn’t sure whether to be creeped out or just plain grateful. Jarvis had mentioned that everything would be provided for her, and so far he was right.

Alex marvelled briefly at the strange assortment of clothing—was that a cape?—before she grabbed a pair of jeans and a fitted green T-shirt. Jordan saw her selection and shook his head, taking the jeans away and pulling out a pair of stretchy black yoga-style pants instead.

At her questioning look, he said, “We’ve got PE first up and denim chafes. Trust me, you’ll want something you can move comfortably in.”

She shrugged and moved into the bathroom for the fastest shower ever. When she came back out, Bear was standing by the window and Jordan was sprawled across her bed, clearly bored.

“Finally,” Jordan muttered. “I’m starving.”

She didn’t bother pointing out how quick she’d been. “Do I need to take anything with me to breakfast? Textbooks?”

“What classes do you have today?” Bear asked.

She looked at her timetable. “Um… after PE it’s Archery, Medical Science, and then Combat.”

“Med Sci is the only one you need stuff for and you can grab everything after lunch,” Bear told her.

Jordan held out a pair of running shoes and some socks. Seeing Alex’s amusement, he defended, “I know what girls are like when they have to figure out clothes. It takesforever!I’m about to die of hunger, so just put them on already so we can leave.”

She laughed and did as he said before pocketing her timetable and following them out of the room. On the walk through the dorm building, many students called out to Jordan and Bear and sent curious looks in her direction. The boys returned the greetings but didn’t stop to talk to anyone, much to Alex’s relief. She still wasn’t sure how she was supposed to fit in and not draw attention to herself.

“Hey, guys?” she said as they stepped outside and into the crisp morning air.

“Yeah?” they answered in sync.

“How are we going to do this?”

“Do what?” Bear asked.

“This whole, ‘I’m new here but I’m really just from out of town, not from another world’? People are going to notice that I don’t know how things work around here.”

Jordan didn’t look concerned. “Don’t worry about it, Alex. I doubt anyone will care if you say or do something strange, but even if they do, you already have an excuse because you’re new. Everyone will understand that you need time to settle in.”

His words made her feel better.

“And besides, if it all blows up in your face…”

“Yes?” she prompted when Jordan didn’t continue. “What then?”

“Well… we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.”

Alex sighed. “That’s reassuring.”

They entered the food court and she was surprised to find tables and chairs of different sizes, colours and shapes scattered throughout the room. There was absolutely no logic to the set-up, and she felt as if she’d stepped into a grown-up version of a kindergarten play area. She shook her head and followed her friends over to a triangular table, taking a seat between them.

“I’m starving,” Jordan said, again. He picked up what looked like a menu and motioned for Alex to do the same. She glanced over the list of options, surprised by the variety. Everything from a continental breakfast to toast and cereal was available for selection.

Alex looked around the food court. People everywhere were eating but she could see no sign of where the food came from. She wondered where she had to go to place her order and turned to ask when her question died in her throat.

Jordan pressed his finger to a circle beside one of the menu options and almost immediately a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon appeared in front of him, complete with knife and fork. He then pushed on another circle and a stack of pancakes arrived. A third press brought a glass of orange juice. Apparently satisfied, he placed the menu to the side and looked up, taking note of her wide-eyed expression.

“What?” he asked.

Bear chuckled and slapped Jordan on the back.

“You’ll have to forgive Jordan. He’s a bit clueless sometimes, especially on an empty stomach.” Bear indicated to the menu. “It’s a TCD—a TechnoConnectivity Device. Just press the circle beside what you want and it’ll be transferred here through the connection.”

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