"I know you're all happy about your new gifts, but we have an announcement to make. From today onwards, we will be having a new teacher, considering recent events..." the homeroom teacher announced, no one really surprised.
Many schools had already begun changing their tutors, as having ordinary people teach superpowered humans might cause trouble.
They were not surprised but excited, their gazes shifting to the door.
Yet no one walked through.
"There is more than one, in fact they are taking over the school," the homeroom teacher sighed, his gaze solemn.
He didn't really like being a teacher, but to lose it that easily felt bitter.
He wanted to protest, wanted to say maybe he could do something for the children too, but the truth was clear.
An ordinary salaryman had no place in a superpowered class.
"Sigh, follow me, the rest of the school should be heading to the auditorium..." With his head drooped, the homeroom teacher stepped out, the class bustling with whispers and murmurs.
Excited about the prospect of a superpowered academy.
Luke only followed quietly, he wasn't one for small talk in the class, and everyone was used to it.
If Arthur were here maybe they would have conversed, but he was in another class.
With his hands in his pocket, he strolled behind them, thinking about the ability he would awaken.
They arrived in the auditorium, the majority of the school present.
The school, being a cluster, had an unusually large auditorium, it was more like a stadium considering it was roughly half the size of a football field.
Hundreds of students stood in rows, looking up at the large podium in front of them.
Luke joining them, the elevated podium allowed everyone to see who was on the platform, not to mention the large screens at the sides.
Luke at the far back, considering he was in his third year, looked up at the giant screen, displaying those on the podium.
The ceremony began as the principal gave his speech, surprisingly short and brief, not that anyone paid attention, their gazes on the people who sat behind the principal.
Men clad in military attire, their bands and stars proof their ranks were high.
"... Then, as a new era has begun, I relinquish my position to Lieutenant Commander Atem..." The principal stepped to the side, a bear of a man standing behind the lectern.
Luke quickly recognized him as the soldier who had visited him a few days prior.
Boris Atem.
"All of you already know me, so there is no need for introduction..." His voice reverberated through the hall, the place dead silent as they all paid attention to him.
When the principal spoke, they were quiet alright, but not as attentive as they were now.
"We know him?..." Luke was taken aback, he had never met Boris before their encounter at the hospital.
How would the whole school supposedly know him?
He was unaware Boris, who had been dispatched to the district a few months ago, had made a name for himself.
He had become to the people something akin to an emperor.
Considering his quick work in handling the Starborns when the chaos began.
The district being one of the fastest to contain the chaos, fast enough to provide reinforcement to other districts.
Luke, who didn't know any of this, couldn't bother to think about it, he knew he wasn't even aware of Starborns until after his discharge. Getting another new info wasn't surprising.
"...A new era is here, the era of Starborns, we are here to make you shine brighter, here to make more of what you are..."
The speech continued in the background, Luke's attention on it.
He wanted to know if there would be any mention of reevaluation, he hadn't been tested yet.
But nothing of that was mentioned, maybe they believed everyone was tested, or it wasn't time for that.
"...I would like to introduce you to one of your own, a Starborn who has helped us a lot in bringing peace in these unknown times..." Boris paused, turning to a young girl who stepped forward.
Luke's pupils dilated as he recognized the pink-haired, oval-faced girl, the same girl he had almost died saving.
"I am Sophia Ofori, a Psionic, a Starborn just like you..." She spoke, her voice unnaturally soothing.
Everyone felt in awe at her voice, which seemed to melt their anxieties away.
"I was fortunate to be on the front lines, and I am aware of the dangers of other Starborns like us, people who have chosen the path of darkness..." She muttered intelligible words, yet to the audience they were words that seemed to resonate with them, convince them that being here was the right choice, and to Luke, who had a bit of a hero syndrome, these words resonated with him.
"I didn't know she was here..." Luke smiled, glad the girl was alright.
The girl continued to talk, for a long time, much longer than any of the speeches the principal had ever given, and those speeches were hours long, the girl continuing to speak.
"Wwohhk, lilevsy, kiwvkna, hiiwa, jowhw, giwnsvdyco, iwgzbk..." After the second hour or so, her words, which were resonating with Luke, began to glitch, the words losing their meaning, unintelligible mumbles.
"Huh, what the f*ck is she saying?" Luke raised his brows, staring confusedly at the young lady.
He wanted to ask the person beside him what the girl was talking about, but paused as he noticed the one beside him focused, eyes nodding their head in agreement as if they understood each word.
"What is she saying? I can't hear her," Luke tapped the girl standing beside him.
"Shush..." The girl shushed him, Luke taken aback.
From her reaction now, it showed she could understand these unintelligible words and didn't want to be disturbed.
"Did they change the language or what?" The confused Luke could only look on, eyes narrowed, ears perked as he tried to make heads and tails of what he understood a few minutes ago, now a bunch of gibberish.
Clap!! Clap!! Clap!! Clap!! Clap!! Clap!!
The crowd clapped their hands fervently, Luke further confused.
It seemed he was the only one who didn't understand what was going on, further reinforcing his thoughts of a change in language, though that should be impossible considering he was only absent from the world for less than half a year, most of which was chaotic.
The crowd began to disperse, each leaving to their respective classes, the confused Luke deciding to follow them, but then...
"Wait behind."
~~~
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Won't publish tomorrow, see you the day after