"Okay, now let me show you the classes," Meca said, her fingers wrapping around his wrist and pulling him from the tranquil sanctuary of the garden. The sudden physical contact made Edwin flinch, a jolt of alarm shooting through him before he could stamp it down. He forced himself to relax, letting her lead him back into the controlled chaos of the school corridors.
They arrived at a fork in the hallway where two large, imposing doors stood opposite each other. The air here felt different—heavier, charged with a palpable sense of purpose. Engraved on a polished brass plaque on the left door were the words: "CLASS B: STRATEGIC DEFENSE & SUPPORT." The right door's plaque read: "CLASS A: ADVANCED OFFENSIVE APPLICATIONS."
"We only have two main classes," Meca explained, gesturing to the doors. "It's a hero course school, of course. They sort us pretty early on. Class B is for... well, the support types. Healers, shielders, strategists. The essential, non-flashy stuff." She said it with a hint of respect, but Edwin could tell where her allegiance lay.
"And Class A is for the front-liners," she continued, her eyes glinting as she looked at the door on the right. "The heavy hitters. The ones who get the spotlight and the bigger paychecks one day."
She pointed down a separate, more heavily guarded corridor that branched off from their junction. A shimmering energy field pulsed across the entrance. "And that's the senior section. We're not allowed to go in there. They're doing actual field work, real missions. You don't want to get caught wandering in there; they have permission to use 'necessary force' on trespassers." She winked, though the warning in her tone was clear.
Edwin just nodded, his throat dry. A hero course. The irony was so thick he could taste it. Him, the boy who had hurt people, the boy who was terrified of his own power, in a school training to be a hero. It was a cosmic joke.
"So, the schedule..." Meca pulled out her phone, her thumb scrolling impossibly fast. "I have your student ID right here... let's see... Edwin... ah! Here it is." She looked up from the screen, a grin spreading across her face so wide it looked like it might split.
"Guess what," she said, her voice buzzing with excitement. "You're in Class A!!"
Edwin's heart plummeted. *No. Not there. Anywhere but there.*
"You're with us!" Meca practically vibrated with glee, grabbing his arm again. "Can't wait to show you to my team... err, my friends." She caught herself, a slight blush rising on her cheeks. "They're going to lose their minds. A new transfer in A? That almost never happens."
Edwin managed a weak smile, but it felt like a mask made of cracking porcelain. Class A. The heavy hitters. The place where he'd be expected to use power, to show off, to be strong. He was an imposter, a fraud walking into a den of lions, and he had a sickening feeling that his camouflage was about to be torn to shreds.
"Umm... so Meca," Edwin began, his voice barely above a whisper as they stood before the glowing leaderboard. "What sort of stuff do they teach here?"
"Well, offense training, mostly," she said, pointing at the massive screen. "They run tests, make us have friendly fights between two students. It's a ranking system." She tapped a section of the display, and the list of names came into sharper focus. "The more you win, the closer you get to earning your hero license. See? There are 50 students in A."
Her finger slid down the list until it stopped next to her own name. "Here's me, sitting at 15th." It glowed a soft blue. "And Gunn and Sophie are sitting on 6th and 11th. They're my friends I told you about. You'll like them... well, mostly Sophie." She grinned conspiratorially. "The guy on 1st place is Denki. The strongest in the school. Teleportation and super strength." She swiped to his profile, which showed a confident-looking young man crackling with energy.
Meca's finger continued down, down, all the way to the bottom. "And here you are... on 50th? Wait... your power space is blank?"
Edwin stared at the empty slot next to his name. A cold dread washed over him, sharp and suffocating. *Oh shit, I'm cooked. Mom, what have you done?!* The words screamed in his head. *How am I going to hide my identity in this situation?*
"Hey!" Meca snapped her fingers in front of his face, the sharp sound pulling him back from the edge of panic. "Are you okay?"
"Umm, yes," Edwin stammered, shaking his head slightly. "Just... thinking."
"What are your powers?" Meca asked, her curiosity plain. "If you don't mind me asking?"
*Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.* His heart hammered against his ribs. *What am I gonna do? I can't tell her. I mean, I only met her today.* His mind raced, a frantic scramble for an escape route. *Okay, Edwin, think.* An idea, desperate and reckless, began to form. *How about I just ask her for her help? I mean, she might help, right?*
"Earth to Edwin! Wake up," Meca said, snapping her fingers again, her brow furrowed with concern.
"Sorry," Edwin said, taking a shaky breath. "Hey... I'm going to tell you a secret, and you're going to help me?"
Meca's eyes widened. "Okay... umm, what's your secret?"
He looked around the empty hallway, then lowered his voice to a near-inaudible whisper. "At my old school... I didn't have any powers. Not really. I was bullied constantly. One day, they... they went too far. And something inside me just... snapped. I fought back, but not normally. I took the bully's power. I didn't mean to, it just... happened."
He swallowed hard, the memory still raw. "But I couldn't control it. The power I borrowed just exploded out of me. It hurt a lot of people. Students, teachers..." He stared at his hands. "I got arrested. I spent a year in a juvenile detention center." The words hung in the air between them, heavy and suffocating. "My power... it's power manipulation. Or stealing. I can borrow someone's ability for a little while. That's why my profile is blank."
Meca was silent for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Edwin braced himself for the fear, the disgust he knew was coming.
Instead, her eyes lit up with pure, unadulterated awe. "Omg, power manipulation? Or stealing? Wow, you are awesome!"
"Okay, okay, keep it down," Edwin pleaded, glancing down the hall. "So... you're gonna help me, right?"
"Okay, Mr. Power-Thief," Meca said with a grin, crossing her arms. "How am I gonna help you exactly?"
"You said they do weekly friendly test matches, right?" Edwin explained, his words tumbling out in a rush. "So, I'm thinking... you'll lend me your powers. I'll lie to the teachers, tell them I'm a superspeed too? Please?"
Meca considered it for all of two seconds. "Okay."
"Wait, really?" Edwin asked, stunned.
"Why not?" she shrugged. "You don't take it away from me, yeah? You just borrow it? For a few minutes? And I'll still have it meanwhile?"
"Yeah, that's how my powers work," Edwin confirmed, a wave of relief so powerful it almost buckled his knees.
"Of course! You can have my superspeed whenever you need," Meca approved with a decisive nod.
"Thank you so much," Edwin blurted out, his relief exploding into pure, unthinking joy. He launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug before he could stop himself. He quickly pulled back, his face flushing. "Oops... sorry. I'm just... happy."