Amani departed two days later, and I counted her visit as a success. Through carefully casual conversation, I had managed to pry loose crucial details about the original Zahara's life.
The good news was that Zahara was an introvert who didn't have like to socialize so that saved me the energy of trying to fit in if she were to have had many friends.
I had just finished training and advanced to level 9! My past training and familiarizing my self with the Combat Simulator and the weapons in this place has been helpful. I had finally gotten a hang of things.
Sweaty but satisfied, I went to the utensil board, retrieved a glass, and filled it at the water dispenser. After draining it, I headed for a shower, the cool water washing away the physical exertion on my body.
Once refreshed, I settled onto the soft woolen carpet in my room, cross-legged and set on making a decision. With a flick of my wrist, I summoned the holographic folders containing the schools sent by Jabali's mother.
Ten copies of documents floated in the air before me.
This is one of the undeniable benefits of the advanced technological advancement of Aetheris, it was efficient and fast, gone were the old days of printing out documents or viewing document per document.
Now, I could clearly see the benefits of each school compared to the other while viewing them simultaneously. After viewing all the ten slides of documents, my focus was however locked on three schools.
1. Watu Wengi School of Arts: This school has the most prestigious history program, located in the heart of district A. It also has a direct access to the historical and all educational archives and elite scholars to it's students. They were also very selective with people they admitted.
2. Mwezi Frontier Historical School: A school on the literal edge of the continent in region C. Its history program is less renowned but has a strong focus on geological history which caught my attention.
Since I wanted to find out how Aetheris came to be in the first place, this school could really be of great help, plus, it appeared that it had Less scrutiny as it was Remote. No one seemed to focus on it very much.
3. Anga laSchool of Arts and Sciences: This school was very famous, known for producing four current sitting members of the federation, popular musicians and entertainers, and top scientists.
What caught my attention was a scandal of one of the teachers, he had been arrested for demonstrating against the federation for some unrevealed reasons but because of the protests of the students, he had to be released and is still teaching today.
Furthermore, this school was surrounded by a military school and a military base on the north and south which although seemed not to be that important as there were several schools which were also surrounded by military schools due to some military students having to take some lessons in return in those schools, this time however, the military school besides Angala was one of the best in Aetheris which wasn't a coincidence to me.
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Two days later, I had made my final decision on which school I would like to attend, coincidentally, a message was sent on my school terminal by the school administration, telling me to check out the results on the school board forum.
My heart raced at that. Zahara was good at sciences but what if she wasn't with history and arts? I immediately rushed to check but before I could do so, my mother's call came through.
"Hello," I answered.
"Congratulations, my dear!" Her voice was warm, brimming with unmistakable pride. "You were ranked first in Region D… and fourth on the entire continent!"
The tension drained from my shoulders, replaced by a cool wave of relief. It seemed my fears were unfounded; Zahara's academic excellence was a undebatable.
"So, tell me, have you chosen the school you would like to attend?" My mother's voice pulled me out of the moment.
Sometime over the past days, without even realizing it, I had begun to fully acknowledge this kind woman as my mother. The thought felt natural now.
"Yes," I replied, my decision conclusive. "I would like to attend Anga la School of Arts and Sciences."
"I had a feeling you might choose that one," she said, a knowing smile in her voice. "I have some friends on the board of governors. I'll give them a call and express your interest. I know they will be absolutely thrilled to have a student of your caliber."
"Thank you, Mum."
"When did you develop this habit of thanking me for everything?" she teased lightly. "I am your mother. This is what I'm supposed to do. Don't you worry about a thing. Now that your results are official, Tutor Amanda will provide you with a definitive timetable to follow until the semester begins."
"Alright,tha... I will do my best" I hurriedly said before a word of thanks could escape my mouth.
The woman on the other end of the line let out a soft, melodic laugh. "Okay. It will take about two weeks for the semester to begin. Your father and I will accompany you when you report to school."
"It's alright," I insisted. "If you're too busy, please don't trouble yourselves. I can just input the coordinates into the Zephyra. I'll get there easily.
"Nothing is more important to us than you," The woman replied.
Hearing her say that, I felt like a profound liar, playing a cruel game with these people's deepest affections. How would this kind, devoted woman feel if she knew her daughter's body was inhabited by an imposter?
After saying our goodbyes, I slowly sat on the sofa and turned on my terminal as I viewed Anga La school structure and foundation.
My tutor Amanda arrived the following day. She gave me a detailed timetable that I would be following.
Seeing as I only had two rest days, I wasn't discouraged, If I could quickly input all the knowledge about this place in a short period of time, that would be the best.
So for the following fortnight, I focused on madam Amanda's classes and didn't sulk off, I discovered that she was really good at what she did. I quickly pin pointed why she was regarded as one of the best. She possessed a rare gift for untangling complex historical theories and making them not just understandable, but fascinating.
By the time the second week drew to a close, I could finally say, with hard-earned confidence, that I was properly equipped. I now possessed a firm grasp of the official history of the current Aetheris and also well-equipped to answer most of the questions surrounding this place as of the current status quo.