Season 1, Episode 4 - The Microwave XV - "The Two for Five"

Last Monday. Class 1-D, the last period the day. Sitting at her desk, Louise pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and blinked to keep herself awake as her teacher droned on about Basic Rddhi Theory for Practical Applications. Almost everybody at West Narragansett Technical Academy learned Rddhi Theory, though the type of class depended on the grade and power level. Basic was for first-years like Louise, second-years took Intermediate, and third-years took Advanced.

As for power levels, Rddhi users with unique powers, like that second-year who beat up the New York spy with some sort of kung-fu clone fist power, got to take Theory for Individual Applications, referring to how the Rddhi applied to a particular user's particular power. For those who could only manipulate the basic elements - the flame flickers, the spoon benders, that bitch who played practical jokes on her classmates by offering them a stick of gum, only to zap them with electricity when their hand touched it - those normal students got Theory for General Applications.

As for everyone else in the school - all those without any powers - they took Theory for Practical Applications. Those students had two paths available to them - the first was that they could excel in their Practical Applications classes, which let them join the Support team for the Academy, which let them get a cushy job after graduation with the Academy, or an easy route to acceptance to most colleges in New England.

But many students simply didn't care about the Rddhi. They attended the Academy because they lived in Elizabeth Pond and either had relatives working at the Academy or tested out of being assigned to the Pond's vocational school. Why should they, as non-powered students, care about the Rddhi? That type of student didn't do that well in Rddhi Theory. Not everybody wanted to spend the rest of their lives working with it, after all. Many students wanted to be engineers; some wanted to be officers in the military; several wanted to work downtown under the big city lights in the financial district; most simply saw school as teenagers are wont to do and just wanted the last bell of the day to ring so they could go home. So, that second path of Rddhi Theory involved going through the motions and going to a normal job or college after school.

Louise belonged to the first path. She remembered this past September and her first few weeks of school fondly, the way her eyes widened when she read the school newspaper article about that kung fu clone guy, saw the black-and-white photo of him delivering the final uppercut to the spy (Louise always wondered who that girl in the back of the photo was, and why she was eating bread, or perhaps why she was even in that photo in the first place).

"I think I figured it out," Louise declared the day after seeing the article, speaking to her twin sister Claire as they walked down the steps of Tsukishima Station, almost right outside the school. "I want to work with the Rddhi here at the Academy."

Claire stoically drank from a juice box. "You don't have any powers, though."

"Who says you need any?" Louise asked. "The Rddhi is the cutting edge of modern science. I want to be a part of that. I want to discover things like scientists are supposed to do. But all the scientists nowadays are just rediscovering things. Our chemistry, our model of the solar system, those are all rediscoveries. I want to find something completely new. And there's nothing newer than the Rddhi."

As they passed through the school gates into the courtyard, Claire didn't say anything, the sucking of a straw serving as the only noise coming from her.

"Ah, who needs you!" Louise playfully pushed Claire on the shoulder. "You got Leonardo da Vinci, you got Albert Einsten, and one day, you'll have Louise Walsh!"

Claire emptied her juice box then tossed it away in a long arc all that ended with it falling perfectly into a nearby trashcan. "Well, Louise, let's see who ends up more famous, Louise the scientist, or Claire, the greatest collegiate basketball player of all time, the first female player to tell her courageous story on the News at 9. Chuck Banner would love me."

"But we're comfortably middle class," Louise reminded her. "You don't really have a courageous story."

Claire shook her head. "Keep that up, and you'll find yourself being left out of it."

Their thoughts of fame and fortunate were interrupted when a girl with an aggressive grin stepped in front of them. "Hey, we're raising funds for the Academy's soccer teams," she explained. She held up a small box in her hands. "Would you like a stick of gum?"

"Sure!" Louise reached for the box. "You know, that's awfully nice of you guys-"

Back in the present, back in Basic Rddhi Theory, Louise let out a long sigh with a smile, remembering exactly how pissed off she got when that girl zapped her. But even the (alright, relatively minor) abuse of power by a Rddhi wasn't enough to deter Louise from her goal.

So paying attention is important!

Louise chided herself for zoning out, but she yawned all the same. Basic Rddhi Theory could be so...boring, at times. She couldn't wait for Advanced Rddhi theory, since that one incorporated 19th century German teleological theories, attempted to provide a mathematical explanation of the soul, and had its Friday class off in favor of a free study. Well, to be honest, Louise didn’t know what any of those meant (outside of Fridays off), but she knew that they sounded interesting.

So you need to pay attention now!

Louise rubbed her eyes and tried to focus. She wished she could have the attention span of the girl sitting next to her. Tall, long black hair, beautiful – Esther Adzinoki. Only two months into the school, and everybody knew Esther as a genius. The genius.

Louise leaned over to sneak a peek at Esther's notebook; she saw rows and rows of detailed notes (along with, for some reason, a drawing of what looked like soldiers hunkering down in their trenches, though Louise couldn't tell if the trench and soldiers belonged to that old World War I war or the First American War). Louise sighed and slouched in her seat.

If only I could have that level of focus...be that smart...

Of course, Louise had no way of knowing that, when class ended and her friends gathered around her desk to talk, Esther slouched in her seat, sad for a reason she couldn’t explain, yet she knew it always came when she realized how alone she was.

That’s why it took a great deal of courage for Esther to reach out to Louise after class ended.

After the bell rang, Esther shuffled out through the classroom doors and saw that Louise was already heading down the hallway. She followed, swallowed nervously, then spoke up.

“Um...h-hey, Louise...”

Louise stopped and turned, surprised at the source of the voice. With the last bell of the day already rung, hundreds of students flooded by them in the hallways, off to clubs or sports or work or home. Louise and Esther stood still among the mass of the peers, however, speaking for the very first time to each other. Both girls were tall and – as did every other girl in the school – wore the green blazer and gray skirt.

Louise waved. “Oh, hi, Esther.”

Esther sighed in relief. Fortunately, she was able to approach Louise while she wasn’t surrounded by her friends; an obstacle like that might have been enough to give Esther a heart attack.

“Um...are you doing anything on Sunday?” Esther asked, already knowing the answer (she spent a long time planning this conversation and possible contingencies out).

“I’m manning the front desk Sunday.” Louise shrugged. “Down in the lobby. It’s only a few hours, and it pays the bills.”

“...you have bills?”

“...no.”

“...oh...” Esther refocused herself. “Um, anyway, I, um...I need a favor.”

“Sure,” Louise supposed. “What’s up?”

Esther sighed in relief, not needing to use the seven possible contingency plans for answers of no and maybe. “Thank you...uh, you see, I help out with the school, sort of like you do by being at the front desk, and, uh, I have some paper work I need to do, but, uh, I’m going to be busy this weekend, I'm visiting my, uh..."

Esther didn't really want to say sister. Esther surprised herself by agreeing with Audrey's request to see her this weekend; for the past two years, Esther hadn't wanted to say anything about a sister at all.

"Um, visiting a visiting friend...yeah, so...it’s not a lot of paper work, but it’s about Rddhi stuff, and I thought, you know, since you like Rddhi Theory, uh, if you could help me with it, that would be great...”

“Oh, sure, no problem.”

It took Esther a moment to realize that another five contingency plans were no longer necessary. “Really?”

Louise shrugged. “Sure. I’ll already be at a desk Sunday, and it’s a Sunday so it’s not like I’ll be busy. I can either listen to the radio behind the desk all day or learn something about the Rddhi. Heck, I can do both. I don’t mind.”

Esther let out a deep sigh. “Thanks, Louise. Um...” Esther reached into her blazer’s pocket. “I didn’t really know what to give you as thanks, so I have a coupon to Stop N Go. That's the, um, the grocery store near Furukawa Station. They have a premade meals section, and the coupon is good for two chicken caesar wraps for five dollars...I’ve never had them, chicken doesn’t really agree with me, but I thought they looked good, and a two for five deal, in this economy..."

Louise laughed and started walking. Esther realized that Louise meant for her to walk alongside her, so she did.

“It’s alright,” Louise said. “It’s just a favor. Maybe when it’s exam time you can help me or something.”

Esther nodded. There was a feeling in heart she couldn’t describe.

“And funnily enough, I already get a lot of discounts to Stop N Go,” Louise explained. “The boss there is my dad.”

“Oh, wow,” Esther answered. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, he runs the local branch, so that’s why we live here,” Louise explained. They headed down the hallway, passing by groups of students excited for their clubs or to get home. “And that’s why I’m at the Academy,” Louise continued. “I tested out of the Vocational school and went here instead.”

“Oh, I see...” Esther knew that the local Vocational school had a less than stellar reputation in the Pond, though Mr. Stockham seemed to like the new principal there, who took on the role when the school year started.

The pair headed down the spiral staircase that would take them to the lobby and their lockers.

“And what about you?” Louise asked. “How’d you end up here? I heard you went to middle school here too.”

Esther nodded. “I was recruited.”

“Wow, recruited! Even without any powers?”

“Um, yes...I wrote some essays at my old school in New Hampshire, and I guess the Academy noticed them...and, um, here I am.”

“Academy’s not that bad of a place, all things considered,” Louise supposed.

Esther agreed. "It really isn't."

“How come you’re still in Basic Rddhi Theory?” Louise asked. “I mean, I know you’re a first-year like me, but you always get a hundred on the tests. I figured you’d be moved up to one of the more advanced classes by now."

Esther wasn’t sure how to explain that Mr. Stockham enrolled her in that specific class simply to keep an eye on its teacher, Mr. Wright, who was known for declaring some rather dissident views when he and his coworkers went out for drinks. Esther didn’t really mind it, anyway; it was something she could do to help out, and she was the one who wrote the curriculum for Basic Rddhi Theory, after all. She wanted to examine her own work from the perspective of a student.

“Um...I don’t really know,” Esther lied. “I don’t mind, though. Everyone there’s really nice.”

Esther never interacted with any of them beyond the current conversation, but Louise certainly seemed nice.

They arrived in the lobby. “I’m going to meet my sister at the basketball court, want to come?” Louise asked.

Esther shook her head. “Thanks for offering, but I have a few meetings today.”

“Meetings too, huh?” Louise said. “You got a real busy life. Don’t forget to save some time for friends.”

Friends.

“Ahaha, yeah...” Esther rubbed her neck. “Well, thanks for doing this, Louise.”

“No problem. Enjoy your meetings!”

Louise waved and walked off.

Esther reached her locker and let out a long sigh as she leaned against it. Every now and then, even Esther knew she needed some help with carrying the weight of work, maybe even life. Lockers, some of the other administrators, and hypothetical conversations with prominent figures of the industrial era (no Tsar Ferdinand, don’t overextend the Bulgarian army by trying to take Constantinople!) all provided her with a relief of some of that weight.

But lockers couldn’t do work, relationships within the support network of the Academy were rather...cold...since the Firmament incident (and Esther already had issues talking with them (or anyone) beforehand), and getting help from Tsar Ferdinand would be tough...for a number of reasons.

That left a girl who sat next to Esther in class, who seemed to have a few interests in common. And fortunately, it worked.

Still leaning against the locker, Esther pulled a notepad out of her backpack. She looked at the last note she left for herself:

Should she initiate conversation after she said she’ll help, you need to answer back. And maybe you'll even want to answer back.

And Esther supposed she did.

But there’s many possible conversation topics to talk about. Try as you might, you can’t plan out everything. So, for lack of a better phrase, you’ll have to wing it.

Esther pulled out a pencil and added to it.

When talking with someone you find yourself wanting to talk to...winging it isn’t so bad after all.