"Are you ready?" Alice said.

Ellowyn checked her items, a small satchel holding an Epad, her phone and the shield bracelet on her arm. "Yeah, I think."

"Let’s go." Alice urged her to walk faster.

"Why are we in a hurry? It is still earl-"

"Good morning Alice"

Ellowyn turned around to see the figure of Bob leaning his back on the wall.

"Morning to you too, Bob."

"May I ask where it is that you ladies are going at this early hour?" A smirk lined his lips.

"Oh nothing, just a jog in our garden, right Ellowyn?" Alice nudged her shoulders.

"Umm." She hadn't a clue on what to say.

"Oh don't drag her into this. Now give me a good reason why you're trying to stop me from coming."

"It’s just, " Alice twiddled her thumbs and looked down. "I just wanted some time between us girls."

He gave her a knock on the head. "Do you know how dangerous it is, oh you probably do."

"It’s not my fault! I thought you weren't coming since you never showed up."

"I was too tired from trying to put the new recruits in order." He sighed. "So I overslept a bit yesterday."

"It’s mostly your fault then." Alice grinned.

"Don't tell Tom okay?" He returned in impish smile.

I'll never get used to this. Ellowyn stared absentmindedly at the Armadillo as her limo made an approach to land.

Perhaps the tension from the assessment day had waned for she noticed a significant decrease in the presence of armed security. A brief system analysis, however, showed that they simply rearranged the guard and drone patrol routes to make the lack of security an illusion. Some people were probably scared by their display of force yesterday. She shrugged.

"Let’s see, outdated turret models, impractical patrol routes and subpar security drones. If there's a siege, I'd give it around 10 minutes before outer defense fails, another 5 minutes for minor infiltration..." Bob whispered ominously.

"Stop that, you're making Ellowyn panic!" Alice smacked his shoulder.

"Did I at least managed to scare you? Don't worry, we'll live." He laughed.

Ellowyn raised an eyebrow, Bob was trying to lighten the mood, but his eyes weren't laughing.

Entering the school, she could see the atmosphere had loosened a little, for everyone's expressions were much lighter than the day before. Some were chatting and laughing merrily while others simply stared at their phones.

The first class took place in her last exam room, only the twenty to thirty blue booth walls were removed, each leaving a u-shaped table and chair facing the front podium.

Most of the bodyguards including Rexis sat on the same desk with their VIPs, while Bob and a few others walked towards the back of the classroom.

She and Alice each chose a table next to a waving Sophie.

"I had to pull some magic to get us the same class schedule. Aside from Ellowyn's afternoon robotic class." Sophie said excitedly.

Shortly after everyone had taken their seats, a short and thin man in his seventies entered the room. There was a distinct frown on his face and he walked at a slow pace in a low posture.The pristine militaristic green uniform of the Armadillo staff looked disheveled and awkward on him.

"Ahem, good morning class." He swept his melancholic gaze around the room. "I am Professor Gibble Stanford."

A series of giggles echoed throughout the room.

"You may call me by Stanford. Before I get started on our class material, which is General History if you have not read your class schedule, I would like to go over a few things."

She tilted her head, the laughters mocking his name did nothing to change the cold somber air surrounding him.

"I know well that some of you would rather not be here right now, if not for the new fancy policy. That is why I will make some changes to my teaching methods to perhaps lighten your workload. However, I have to remind you that this is a formal education institution and you will need to act accordingly. Any violation of school rules can be considered a misdemeanor and you may be prosecuted according to the law. Please keep that in mind."

"As much as I'd like to listen to you treating us like kids, we paid you to teach this class, not to bumble around with your annoying little nagging." A redhead at the back of the class said. She crossed her legs on her table and tossed her hair back while chewing gum.

"I'm sure he is only giving advices for our sake. Please calm down and keep your composure." Alice said with a soft and tranquil voice.

"Miss Alina, I'm afraid I may have to have you leave our classroom if you disrupt our class again. And Miss Alice, I understand that you want to give me support, but it is unnecessary. Now let us begin our first lesson in General History." He began to teach in a composed manner, as if Alina's previous jab had never happened.

"Wait." Alina stood up and pointed at Alice. "You, you're Alice Price! How many poor little critters have died today for the sake of your 'science'? How many victims have had a wretched piece of animal ears stitched to their heads because of your foul marketing scheme?"

"Do you know I hate every single moment with these floppy dangling pair of flesh just sitting on my head?" Another girl joined the quarrel.

"While it was my grandfather that started the trend, he only did it as a personal request. Never had he any intention to turn it into an international trend. Please contact my office after class if you have any other questions. You are disrupting our class."

Ellowyn had to marvel at Alice's calm response, it seemed she was completely used to handling those kinds of situations.

"Oh shut up bitch, I bet that your pretty face was also made by genetical mojo."

"Please excuse Miss Alina. We'll be taking our leave." Alina's bodyguard bowed before bringing her outside of the room while restraining her with his arms.

"You know, it was thanks to the deaths of those test animals that my aunt was saved from Rout, it’s a genetic disease to which the cure was made by Alice herself." A male student at the back stood up.

"So? It doesn't excuse the fact that many more are sacrificed for the sake of some exotic new engineered pets." The second girl continued the loud bad-mannered debate.

"Why do you value those animals so much anyway? The guy said.

"You're defending her because you just want to get in her pants!"

Ellowyn face palmed, the discussion was going nowhere and no one was stopping it. Even the professor only stared with his arm folded, there was no change to his sober expression.

"With all due respect, I doubt this discussion is of any beneficial to our class." A student next to Alice spoke up. He had falcon's nose and attentive eyes on an artist's face. His burgundy hair was of a darker shade of red than Alice's fiery crimson.

"And another white knight decided to come forth to save our princess." The girl mocked.

"If anything, I'm only defending her because we are of the same profession. My name is Jake Daniel, I'm the son of the CEO of Xenetic Corp."

"Then you also helped in the vile spreading of the animal ears marketing campaign. It’s people like you and Alice that put a stain in our history and culture."

"I believe the spread of the Animal Ear Attachment procedure helps give a much more colorful variety to cultures around the world. I've seen very many creative and beautiful ways it had been done. Now I understand to some family, this procedure has been made mandatory despite the unwillingness of some of the family members and I want to express my sympathy. But there are laws to prevent the abuse of such proceedings and independent individuals of over eighteen are free to remove them."

He continued, interrupting the other girl who was about to talk back. "While our discussion is very interesting, I think it would be much better for everyone here if we do it at another time. Our class had already been interrupted for too long and professor Stanford needs to continue with his teachings."

The angry girl stood up and left the room.

"Thank you." Alice smiled, her eyebrow raised with interest.

"It’s my pleasure to be able to meet you. Perhaps we should have a talk after class?" Jake said.

"Certainly."

The professor continued his teaching as if the previous commotion had never happened.

"Usually I'd have left around five to ten minutes so you can have time to change classes but we ran out of time today."

Everyone had to leave class quickly to make it on time in their next one.

"Its too bad that there aren't time. Lets meet at lunch?" Jake asked.

"Sure, see you around." Alice said.

"Are you alright Ellowyn? It must have been rather stressful back there." Sophie said.

"I'm fine. I already knew well the polaric nature of Alice's work after some research. Though I wasn't expected for that to happen so suddenly."

"Yeah, even I who work in the weapon manufacturing firm don't receive such public outlash."

"Is Alice alright though?" Ellowyn asked in concern.

"Oh it’s fine, she is used to these kinds of things all the time."

Alice must have been through a lot huh. . Ellowyn contemplated.

Boom, boom! Many loud explosions shook the building as they were halfway to their destination.

"Take cover!" Alice and Sophie yelled in unison as they ran into the nearest classroom and hid under the desks while deploying their shield bracelets. The tables themselves also deployed into their defensive positions, with the middle part opened and covered up their U-shaped openings.

"While there is no immediate emergency, it is recommended that all students take cover and try not to stay in the open." Alarm bells rang and the scenery around Ellowyn flashed from red to yellow as the school speaker roared.

"What is happening?", "I don't want to be here!", "Please make it stop." Ellowyn could hear the panicked yells from the other students hiding under their tables.

After a few minutes, the explosions stopped but everyone still stayed under their tables.

"This is Mitchell, the attack is over and we have made sure that everything is safe. Please make your way to the speaker hall for further instructions. There is no need to worry as our school is completely safe. This is Mitchell..."

"Let’s go" Sophie stood up first to beckon Alice and Ellowyn.

"Are you sure it’s safe?" Ellowyn asked, her voice shaky.

"Yeah, it was just a missile strike, possibly from an underground source that just opened up a tunnel near here. Based on the sounds I'd say those were mid ranked VS models, nothing this school missile defense system couldn't handle." Sophie answered smugly.

"If you say so"

They proceeded to walk cautiously to the speaker hall. Looking around, Ellowyn saw many students still hiding under their desks while the rest walked slowly and turning their heads restlessly. Fear, surprise and caution were few of the many expressions on the countless faces she saw.

"Please be at ease, we have handled the missile attack with no trouble at all. It was a surprise attack aimed towards our parking lot, but our defense system took down every single invading missile. The slight vibration you felt earlier was because a few of the missiles got deflected and landed on the ground 300 meters away from our walls."

"I bet that the attackers were aiming at those who were leaving." Sophie whispered.

"You mean the two students that left our class?" Ellowyn was shocked, How could they have known their targets were in the parking lot. Then she realized a simple reconnaissance would have done the job.

"No we can't be sure of that, but it is a possibility." Alice pointed out.

"While I understand that some of you are scared. I am sure, with all my heart, that we are safe right now. There are no other threats, no one has been hurt and nothing has been damaged." Mitchell continued.

Ellowyn can see well why the woman was hired, her soothing gentle voice gave calmness to even the most agitated of students. She also knew why Mitchell wanted to gather everyone to the speaker hall, not to give an important speech -she could do that with the school speakers- but so that everyone could see her serene expression, the brilliant smile on her lips and her glistening crystal eyes . Even the tiniest shred of fear inside Ellowyn's heart vanished at the vivid sight.

"Now that I have everyone's attention, I'd like to say that classes will continue with a slight delay in schedule. I do understand some of you would like to leave for today and I will not stop you. However, please do mind that too many absences can lead to serious problems and even prosecution by court. Please be careful and I hope that our day go smoothly from now on." Mitchell bowed and left the podium.

Ellowyn could hear the various objections in her surroundings.

"How can she expect us to study with all that explosions?", "What if my head gets blown off in the middle of the lecture!"

"Are we going to continue classes?" She asked.

"I don't see why not." Sophie shrugged.

"From what I can see, it was probably a probing attack. They wanted to test out the waters before throwing in the real thing. Of course I doubt that would happen today though." Bob crossed his arms.

"Then let’s continue with classes. I don't want to miss a day if I can help it. We need to leave the backup absence days just in case." Alice said.

The next few classes were much less interesting, as teachers and students alike were in a frightful mood. Ellowyn could sense the trembling voice of her teachers and the constant shifting of legs in the students around her. Many still looked around uneasily, expecting another attack.

After lunch period began, she could feel the mood became lighter as students started talking to each other in a more relaxed manner. There were three long lines in the lunch hall, but they moved quickly. The students would pick out the food they wanted from the menu and receive their meals prepared by hand from the cooks.

"Excuse me, coming through!" A rude voice sounded behind them.

She turned around to see Alina running up and cutting through the line right in front of Alice. Whether she saw Alice or not, Ellowyn wasn't sure. Alice decided to take a few cautious steps back.

"Ops!" After Alina received her lunch tray, she pretended to trip and threw the tray behind her towards Alice.

Ellowyn wanted to face palm, it was such a deliberate action that no one aside from the girl herself would think it was an accident. Unfortunately based on the tray's trajectory, it'd hit both Alice and Ellowyn.

Unfazed by the incoming food rain, Alice immediately grabbed Ellowyn and threw her towards Bob, she then jump forward into a roll and stood up again just a fraction of a second after the food landed where they were.

"Wah!"

"Easy there." Bob caught Ellowyn and pulled her into a hug.

"Genetic freak."

Ellowyn could hear Alina cursed under her breath as she left leaving the tray on the floor. A series of claps and cheers rang throughout the hall and all the attention came upon Alice.

"That was some impressive display." Jake said and sat down at their lunch table.

"Please be more sensible. We are at school, not a circus." Alice returned a faint smile.

Jake had a curious look on his face, his eyebrow was raised and his lips closed.

"Is there something you want to ask?" Alice said.

"I'm very curious about something and please forgive me if I accidentally offend you, but why did you withdraw from the new trend of wing implants on humans? I know it has to be more than just a moral code."

"This is our first meeting ever, why would you expect me to reveal a corporation wide secret to someone I've just met? And even the son of my major competitor at that." Alice chuckled.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I just thought it was a minor reason. Forgive me."

"It’s fine, I've had to answer that question quite a few times last week. I'm not angry at you or anything."

"That’s great, because it'd pain me very much if I make such a beautiful lady mad."

Alice returned another chuckle at his broad smile.

And they are hitting it off. Ellowyn stared incredulously. Though she had to admit the two would make a great couple.

"I'm going to get some ketchup." She stood up and left the flirt scene awkwardly.

Her eyes sparkled at the sight of an odd boxed machine next to the sauce dispenser. Wow, they actually have a food printer. After a few button presses, she stepped back and marvelled at the scene of a hamburger being materialized from a tiny nozzle that circled around it.

"I'll have Jane get you a food printer if you want." Bob said.

"Okay." Ellowyn was excited. I'll get to print my own snacks.

Because food printers relied on food cartilages that could last for months and years, people considered them no more price worthy than canned foods. They were much more popular in middle and lower classes.

"You don't have to follow me here."

"Do you think I'm comfortable staying with those love birds?" Bob shook his head.

"You too should get a boyfriend, Ellowyn." Sophie arrived and said.

"I don't think it’s the best time." She gave a confused smile. "I'm still a little disoriented with everything."

Sophie gave her a hug. "Aww you poor thing. At least promise me you'd get one before this semester is over, please?"

"You're making her uncomfortable." Bob laughed.

It was the afternoon that she was looking forward to, for the period after lunch was robotics. The first thing that she noticed was that no one aside from her had animal ears on their head. Various gazes fell upon her, some of surprise and bewilderment while others fear and even hate.

"Are you sure you're in the right class, this is robotics." One of the students said.

"Yes, I am aware." She took a seat.

"Damn those rich kids turning our fucking school into a death trap." A guy sitting behind her mumbled.

"How did you even managed to pass the test? It was designed so rich snobs like you don't get in here." A haughty girl stood in front of her desk.

Another student put his hand on the girl's shoulder and stopped her. "What she mean is the test was designed specifically for students who took prerequisites classes from the last semester or from AP high school graduates. I'm Paul by the way."

"Her family probably paid the school to put her in here." The guy behind her said.

"Thanks Paul, I can assure you that I passed the exam by my own accord. You can call me Ellowyn."

"Why are you here anyway? It’s probably because your family wants to buy you a robotics degree isn't it?" The girl mocked.

"Please don't be rude Jenny. Also Ellowyn, you can always ask me anytime if you have questions." Paul winked before pulling Jenny away.

Was that supposed to be a flirting attempt? She tilted her head. Aside from a few sickly months in high school, her social experience with those of her peers was nearly nonexistent.

"Robotics class right?"

Ellowyn turned around at the smug voice. There stood a small flaunt kid around fifteen with a mohawk wearing a black and blue pair of shirt and jeans. He reminded her of the time she first met Alex.

"Yes, though aren't you a little young to be in our college?" With everyone looking at him in a daze, she was the first to recover.

He strode in and took a seat next to her. "Yup, My parents paid for me to be in here." There was sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh look, another rich snob." Jenny grumbled.

"I can do better than you though, probably." He nodded to himself.

"You think a sniffy kid like you know more than me? I spent years studying this stuff."

It was his turn to laugh. "And I spent my whole life being with the damn people who invented the stuff you're studying."

"You're Tommy Tarkon?" Ellowyn blurted out. She had read about him in her search for the online component manuals.

"What a surprise, am I that famous on the net already?" He gave her a wolfish grin.

"My name is Ellowyn Price, it’s a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand.

"The Price huh, I thought you would be more interested in genetics, not in carving moving hunks of metal." He kept his arms crossed.

"Alright then..." She pulled her hand back. "My passion lays more in technology."

"Cool." He reached out his hand and shook Ellowyn's, only that her hand was already pulled back and it was very awkward for her.

I'll just ignore what happened I guess. She shrugged and noticed the professor entering.

"I am Professor Damion Larington, while our class is named Intro to Robotics, we will be covering quite a lot of material over our short semester. So please be advised that any missed classes can potentially throw you out of grip on our subject matter. In regards to our two international competitions at the end of the semester, yes, we will be attending both of them. I'm sure some of you are here solely for that and I don't mind."

"What competitions?" She asked.

"Are you sure you're in the right class? Most students should already know by now if they're in this major. The two are the Robotics Racing Competition and the annual Metal Brawl where two robots will engage in combat." Damion continued his lecture, completely ignoring Ellowyn's sparkling eyes.

I'm so gonna beat every one. She rubbed her hands under the desk while chuckling darkly.

"Are you alright?" Tommy's question dispelled her crazed daze.

"I'm fine, totally fine."

Not edited yet, I have a site to present this afternoon ;~;

GDoc link please comment for any errors and mistakes I made