14 :: The Same Mistakes

As Adam exited Cogitan’s office, he was surprised to find the cheerful Minea still waiting in the reception.

“There you are!” she exclaimed upon seeing him, “You like father?” Adam was a bit taken aback by the frankness of this question.

“Yes,” he replied carefully. “He seems like a very smart man.”

“Father is smart,” she replied, “but Minea more smart!” she added with a chuckle, a hint of smugness tainting her usual boyish grin. Although her English proficiency seemed to scream otherwise, when one considered the fact that her father had been able to polish his English by directly absorbing the knowledge from the minds of his classmates, Adam was forced to consider that she may have a point. It was certainly impressive that she had been able to get this far in such a short time. Adam doubted he would be able to do the same in her shoes.

Suddenly, he came to the realization that these were almost the exact circumstances he was facing. He needed to complete a report on the nation of Umbrian in the course of a week by collecting information in a world where he didn’t speak the language. He either needed to learn the language very quickly or he needed to find another way to collect information. Surely, there must have been some kind of a way for Cogitan to transfer his knowledge to Adam. The fact that he hadn’t probably meant that this was also a part of his test.

Adam was about to ask Minea if she had some kind of a dictionary or language textbook that he could borrow when he was struck with an idea.

“Minea, what is this?” he asked, pointing to one of the chairs in the reception.

“That ‘seril’,” she quickly retorted, followed by a short lecture on the verb ‘to sit’ and how conjugation worked in Umbriel, their language.

Cogitan had told him to make use of his resources. So far, Minea had been the most valuable resource he had encountered in this world.

“Do you think you can walk me back to the school? I’m worried I’ll wander off and get lost,” he asked her, a pleading look on his face.

“Of course! Minea is pleased!” she answered with alacrity. Adam stifled a chuckle at her broken English. There was something inherently charming about her broken grammar and the confidence with which she recited it.

Minea and Adam sped off down the hallway. The trip down was much easier than the trip up and it took the two a significantly shorter time to reach the bottom. As they spilled out into the street, Adam took the initiative and ran off on his own toward the market. The school was in the other direction, but he wanted to take the long way. At first, Minea had shouted at him to follow her, but it wasn’t long before she got pulled into his pace.

Every time Adam wanted to know what something was called, he asked and Minea would tell him. From there, he would start substituting that word in with his own words until it became familiar to him. He would also point out words on signs and have Minea read them to him. In this manner, he started to develop a basic understanding of Umbriel. This friendly girl was a far better teacher than any book.

After an entire evening spent dragging her down cluttered alleys packed wall-to-wall with stalls, Minea finally managed to navigate them back in the direction of the school. Before Adam knew it, they were back at the gate. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to see Minea again and he was unwilling to let such a useful person leave like this.

“I had a lot of fun today!” he admitted. Minea smiled upon hearing his words.

“Fun is ‘tivan’,” she informed him.

“I have fun today,” he replied in broken Umbriel.

“Me too,” Minea agreed.

“Do you think you could show me around some more another time?” he asked hesitantly.

“Of course!” she answered. “Father let me out of classes this week to help you!” Adam inwardly groaned. He had thought himself at least a bit clever, getting Minea to teach him the language herself. Apparently, that had been Cogitan’s plan the entire time. Somebody should have said something. This sure made things more convenient though. Now he could bring her with him to the library to help him read.

“That’s great!” Adam sighed, relaxing a bit. “Do you think we could visit the library tomorrow?” he asked.

“I am pleased!” Minea answered simply.

“I’m looking forward to it!” he replied. Minea’s expression betrayed a hint of confusion at his words and he corrected himself. “I can’t wait!”

“Me too!” she said, resuming her usual smile. “Goodnight!” she waved as she turned around and faded back into the chaos of the city.

Somehow, Adam managed to find his way back through the curving, labyrinthine hallways of the school to his dorm. After spending a moment relaxing on his bed, he decided that he should probably catch up with his peers for a bit. In addition to their rooms, the class had also been allotted use of a small lounge where they could congregate and converse. Adam headed out of his room and meandered down the hallway until he found it.

The lounge was large enough to fit several sofas and coffee tables. One corner of the room contained a small kitchen that they could use when they were hungry. Meals would be provided by the school cafe, but this could be used for snacks or by those who liked to cook their own meals. Adam was surprised to find the room mostly full. It seemed that nobody wanted to be alone in this strange new place. He felt a pang of sympathy. Perhaps that was why he had been reluctant to part ways with Minea.

Several eyes followed him as he made his way over towards an empty couch. Apparently his absence had not gone unnoticed. Most of the students still hadn't forgiven him for siding with Nora during the classroom brawl and he received a few hostile glares along the way. Without Nora around to pick on, he supposed he had become the scapegoat. He hadn't been the only one on Nora’s side though, and as he neared the empty couch, he heard a voice call out his name.

It was one of the other boys who had defended Nora in the fight, a skinny guy with a shock of red hair named Sean who was said to be decent at computers. It seemed like the entire group that had stuck up for her had been banished to a set of couches in a corner of the room. Adam didn't hesitate to alter his course and join them. He didn't know Sean too well, but he wasn't in much of a position to be shooting down invitations to socialize.

“What's going on?” Adam asked as he sank into the plush red cushion of the sofa.

“Waiting for you,” Sean replied. “One of the last guys to get tested said he saw you get carted off by a guard. The school didn't seem to know anything about it. We've all been waiting to find out where you've been.” Adam rolled his eyes. They were in another world, for Christ’s sake. Didn't these people have anything better to gossip about?

“The test didn't work on me,” Adam explained loud enough to satisfy the eavesdroppers. “The guard told me it happens sometimes. They're going to make me take another test since I was resistant to the first one, but for now I have to sit tight. They said I won't know my strength for another week or so.”

“That blows,” a kid named Derek chimed in. “I'm about done with this place already and I even got one of the good affinities.” Derek was known for his bad attitude and blunt manner of speech. He usually hung out with a different crowd, so Adam was surprised to see him in this setting. It looked like recent situations had upset the old classroom cliques.

“What’d you get?” Adam asked, wondering what he meant by ‘good ones’.

“I got ice,” he answered. Adam thought it fit him pretty well. Cold, blunt, abrasive, and above all, transparent. Derek wasn't the type to hold anything back and it gotten him into trouble more times than he could count.

“That's pretty nice,” Adam muttered approvingly. “How about the rest of you guys?”

“Well, the only other rare one in our little group is Lisse,” Sean said gesturing to the sole girl in the group. She was a short blonde who had always seemed to follow Sean around back at school. The girl nodded her head in confirmation and stuck out her two index fingers about three inches from each other. Adam’s mouth dropped as he watched an arc of electricity crackle into being between them.

“I spent all day in my room trying to figure that out,” she added with a proud smile as she set her hands back onto her lap and the energy disappeared.

“She's the only one in our group who's been able to manage anything yet,” Derek stated. “She's probably a prodigy or some shit.” Lisse flushed a bit at his words but said nothing.

“Anyways, I got water,” Sean finished. Adam nodded and turned toward Clayton, the last kid who hadn't spoken yet.

He and Clayton had been in the same class for four years now and knew each other pretty well. He was a big towheaded kid who was always picked on. His mom had enrolled him in competitive wrestling at a young age, but he refused to use his wrestling to defend himself from the bullies.

“I got air,” Clayton stated simply.

“Yeah, cause his head’s full of air,” a voice called from across the room. A couple of chuckles could be heard from the same direction as the voice. Of course Ryan had to toss in his two cents.

“Who gives a fuck about Ryan?” Derek muttered to Clayton. “Don't bother listening to an asshole like that.”

“I don't,” Clayton replied with a grin.

“That's my man!” Derek exclaimed, softly cuffing Clayton’s shoulder.

“I heard you failed the test, huh?” Ryan taunted, marching himself over to the corner where their group sat. Unwilling to be rebuffed so easily, he had decided to bother Adam instead.

“They're giving me a different test,” Adam explained.

“Well, that should be interesting,” Ryan replied dismissively, sarcasm lacing his words. “Walk with me,” he demanded suddenly, heading towards the door of the lounge. Adam hesitated for a moment before following.

“Look,” Ryan began, “I've been meaning to talk to you about what happened back at school,” he continued, his tone suddenly becoming serious. “Why did you stand up for that girl? Don't you know what kind of family she's from?”

“Of course I know,” Adam scoffed. “I guess I just don't like the idea of people being judged for their parents actions.”

“Her parents weren't just bad people, Adam. They're crazy. Crazy is genetic. If we left her type alone, she'd end up just as bad as them,” Ryan protested.

“She never seemed crazy to me,” Adam shrugged.

“Neither did her parents,” Ryan retorted. “I went to the same elementary school as her, you know. Ben and I were best friends. We were inseparable. It could just as easily have been me instead of him.” Ryan sighed deeply, his expression solemn. “I can never forgive that family for kidnapping my best friend. I blamed myself for a long time. I thought that if only I had been with him we could have escaped somehow. It's not my fault though. And if her parents weren't going to take responsibility, I decided that their daughter would have to do. If Ben hadn't gone to visit her, he wouldn't have been taken. It's her fault for luring him in.”

Adam could see the determination in Ryan’s expression. It wasn't just that he wanted to pick on Nora. He needed to punish her in order to relieve himself of his own guilt. It was a twisted way to go about things. Adam knew though, that in Ryan's eyes, Nora was absolutely guilty and he didn't feel a shred of remorse for giving her what he felt she deserved. Ryan had a fair bit of crazy in himself as well.

“That's all in the past though,” he continued, a calm smile replacing his scowl. “Do you know why I'm bringing this up now?” he asked, leaning in closer.

“No,” Adam replied, raising his eyes to meet Ryan’s.

“Because this time we’re the ones who were taken,” he whispered gravely. “This time it is all of our families who will be crying themselves to sleep for the next month or so. This time though, we weren't snatched by some lunatic parents. We were snatched by a lunatic nation. They stole us from our loved ones with no regard for our happiness.”

“They needed our help!” Adam exclaimed.

“Our families needed us,” Ryan countered. “These people are just as crazy as Nora’s parents. They committed a crime. We may not be strong enough now, but someday they will need to take responsibility! Someday we will have to punish them!” he spat, eyes wild.

“I saw you at the gates with that guard girl,” Ryan murmured softly, his voice in sharp contrast with his expression. “It seemed like the two of you had a pretty good mood going on. You made a mistake once before by standing with Nora. I want you to think long and hard about whether or not that's the kind of mistake you want to make again. Think about your family. Think about the futures these people have stolen from us. We cannot submit to them. We cannot befriend them. This entire world is our enemy. I don't want you to forget that. This time, I'm going to make sure we escape, but in order to do that, we're going to have to work together. We can't have any bleeding hearts in our group. If you're going to start sympathizing with the enemy, we're going to have a real problem. Think on it.”

With that, Ryan turned and left, leaving Adam alone with his thoughts.

***

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