As Nathan walked away from the coffee shop, he placed his hands in his pockets and started thinking. 'Cocky bastard. Just because he's a little strong, he thinks he can do anything.' He clicked his tongue, and began walking towards the gym. Whilst walking, he brought out his phone and started texting in a group chat: [Almost there].
After walking for another minute, Nathan arrived in front of the gym, where 3 people were waiting outside. They all seemed to be in their mid-teens, much like Nathan himself, they were his fellow first years as well as his classmates. They consisted of 2 girls and 1 boy, each of them possessing distinct and impressive appearances.
"Yooo, have you guys been waiting for long?" Nathan joined the trio, now making it a quartet, greeting them with a little wave. Looking at them, it was clear to see that they would stand out. The boy was slender, with handsome features; strong hollow cheek bones, a pronounced jaw line, not a blemish could be seen on his well sculpted porcelain face. His eyes were a cloudy grey, like a morning fog and his short hair as black as the feathers of a raven. His attire consisted of black sports wear; slim fitting tracksuit bottoms and a tight long sleeved compression shirt, which stuck closely to his lean, athletic frame.
"Not really, Nathan. How was your talk with your big brother? Isn't he pretty famous here?" The pale boy, 16 years of age, spoke with amusement, a casual smile laying across his face.
"Oh I heard about that, apparently he's been ranked first in his year since he enrolled, I saw one of the videos of last year's tournament, he's like crazy strong." A girl with long, wavy pale blonde hair, with a colour reminiscent of wheat ready for harvest, her voice melodic and containing evident enthusiasm. Her vibrant blue eyes were shining, her plump lips were curved up in a smile with dimples visible and her hands joined together behind her back. She wore a pair of tight black leggings, which accentuated her curves, a thin black cardigan that covered the black sports bra that she wore underneath.
'Damn she's hot.' Nathan, much like most hormonal teenage boys his age, he was interested in the idea of romance and the opposite sex. He snapped back to reality. "Jon's alright, a bit of an annoying perfectionist, but otherwise he's fine. We were just talking a little bit about what we did today, nothing serious." Nathan waved his hand slightly and turned to the other girl in the group.
"Let's head in now, it's cold outside and I need to get active to warm up." The final member of this group was a girl of medium height and a thin frame, her caramel skin shined from the little sunlight that peered between the afternoon clouds. Her eyes a rare hazel, gazing at the whole group in a commanding manner. It was clear that she was suited for leadership, evident from even the simplest of interactions.
"Yes ma'am!" Nathan gave a sloppy half-hearted salute, letting out a playful chuckle as he did so.
The small group entered the building, which seemed pretty typical compared to other gyms, though this one was of colossal size. This was the gym for the 1st years, as such it would need to be of considerable size to accommodate for the 400 first year students. They used their student ID's, which also functioned for on-campus services like gym memberships and library cards, to get into the gym itself. Inside were impressive facilities, a vast array of equipment including; machines, free weights, punching bags, sparring gear, and plenty more.
"So, any of you guys got any siblings?" As they walked to one of the many sections for cardio, Nathan decided to speak up and start some small talk.
"I've got a little brother, he's only 2 years old and still getting potty trained." The blonde haired girl, Claire, said whilst letting out a playful chuckle.
"That's cool." Nathan was pretty pleased to hear that, he liked hearing stories about people and their siblings, as a sibling himself it resonated with him. "What about you Ray? Any brothers or sisters?"
The slender boy, named Ray, looked back at Nathan and opened his mouth. "Unfortunately not, or fortunately, I wouldn't be able to say, I am just an only child."
"What about you, Razz?"
"Hmm, I do. She's a fourth year at this school. A successful one at that, though we're not terribly close, I do respect her. She's just... cold, not one to open up." A tinge of longing and regret could be found in the voice of this teenage girl. "Let's get started then, let's warm up for 20 minutes and then we'll get to lifting."
She quickly composed herself and moved onto one of the many treadmills. The group mimicked her and also got on treadmills of their own, they then proceeded with the rest of their workout. Three hours had passed, now early in the evening, they had completely finished their workout, working on both weight training and cardio in separate intervals. Having showered and changed clothing, they left the gym exhausted and hungry.
"You guys wanna get something to eat? I know some good places near the campus, I've got a friend in the second year and he told me about it, the prices are pretty good there as well." Ray wanted to alleviate his hunger, inviting the rest of them, whom also seemed hungry.
A few minutes walk away from the grounds of the academy, a variety of different food places and bars were lined up along the street. These included various different cuisines from all across the globe; Italian, Mexican, French, Indian, as only a few examples of what was on offer. The group was now standing outside of one of these restaurants, to be precise a shabby looking burger joint, one that Ray had insisted was a hidden gem.
He was not lying, the burgers were indeed something to marvel at, possibly the finest burger that Nathan had ever tasted. As they ate, they began discussing about school matters.
"You guys hear about those rewards for the 3rd and 4th years? Like the MOON, MARS, even ANTARCTICA. Crazy isn't it? Just how rich is this school, that they get to do that every year?" Claire spoke enthusiastically, with a bright sparkle in her vibrant blue eyes.
"I know right. Crazy that students are able to get these opportunities. It's like they're made of money, guess the prestige of being the most acclaimed school for supers, isn't for nothing." Nathan added with a bright smile, grinning from ear to ear.
"This is the first time Antarctica has opened their doors so openly, usually they like to keep to themselves. Though I'm sure the reason why is obvious, since the daughter of the Ice King will be graduating this year." Razz decided to join in on this topic. "It seems the King of Antarctica wants to do something special for his daughter. My older sister is pretty close with the Ice Princess, she told me a bit about it." A hint of pride could be detected in her voice. Razz gave the impression of a serious and stoic person, though it seemed there was more to her than just that.
"Oh really?" Ray's brow raised with surprise. "That's pretty cool isn't it? Do you know anything about these rewards? Like what they'd be doing on those trips to space and the frozen continent, surely it can't just be for sightseeing. For this sort of school, they'd definitely have a purpose, they wouldn't go out of their way for mere tourism, would they?" Putting his sharp mind to use, Ray surmised that there was more to it than there seemed.
"Of course, in fact my sister went to the Moon and Mars last year." Razz continued, seeming to be enjoying the current topic. "On the first couple of days, it was mainly the tourism stuff that you'd expect for a vacation. She said that things got very interesting after that, it was far beyond anything she was expecting. She didn't go into detail or even share any information on what those 'interesting' things were, that went on at the Moon or on Mars." A sigh escaped from her mouth, as she finished sharing her part.
"That sounds pretty exciting. Anyways, you guys wanna team up in the second semester? Since that's when we have to form our teams, and when we start doing team events and exams." Nathan resolved himself to ask the question that he'd been waiting all day to ask. Even though they had only just met today, Nathan felt comfortable with these people, he formed a bond with them in this short time.
"..." An awkward silence lingered in the air for a good 10 seconds.
"Duh. Do you even need to ask?" It seemed that everyone had already made their minds up. "We'll need to get two more members. Though we don't really need to rush it, do we? Since the team events are all in the second semester." Claire added, with her chin resting on her hand, clearly thinking about something. Both Razz and Ray nodded along with her statement, all of them clearly in agreement.
'Day 1 and I've already found myself the foundation of a team. Not bad if I do say so myself.' Nathan thought to himself, feeling slightly proud.
"I think it'd be a good idea to form a team earlier on and get to know each other better and build chemistry, this would allow better synergy and coordination." Razz gave a logical reason to support the idea, though she did seem to enjoy their company, her hazel eyes seemed to sparkle gently.
"Yep, that sounds like a good idea to me." Ray once again nodded in approval. "I'm tired as heck, will be seeing you guys tomorrow." With that, he rose from his seat and left, as did the rest of the group, following his example.
***
Walking back to his dormitory, Nathan reflected on the events of his first day of school. The sky was now a dark shade of blue, the faint sparkle of stars could be seen and the moon was now partially visible with a crescent shape. The air was refreshingly cool with a gentle breeze, not a sound could be heard, apart from that of Nathan's steps. He was in a jolly mood and soaked in the calming atmosphere, his eyes gazed upon the sky and then his surroundings; on his right were the modern school buildings that each served their own purpose and on his left were various kinds of shops lined up along the street. It was a peaceful night, a few students could be seen here and there in small groups, though that didn't really change anything.
The dormitory appeared into his line of sight, the building looked more like a high-end apartment complex, with all the modern features and architecture that gave of a stylistic impression. This was one of the many dormitories that were on campus, the students were allowed high end and spacious living accommodation, after all this was the most prestigious school in the world.
He stayed in different dorms than the others, hence them going in different directions. He walked into the building and took the elevator up to the third floor, where his new residence was located. This will be his home for the next 4 years, except for during holidays, where you are free to visit your home or go anywhere you like in that period.
The interior was as modernistic as the exterior, having all the the facilities one would expect of a luxury apartment. This academy was created for the nurturing of top talents of the next generation, and they were treated as such. The price of attending this prestigious school was greater than that of even the most reputable universities, and the education provided was even comparable to them. The selection process being extremely strict, one could not simply buy their way in, though the average student did come from wealthy families, that raised them to be proficient in their powers and trained to be elites. Each year scholarship students are enrolled, with the most exceptional prospects securing a position, no more than 15 are able to secure these positions. Nathan was one of the scholarship students who had enrolled this year, whilst his family was not necessarily poor, they did not have the wealth to fund such expensive tuition fees, both brothers made it in via a scholarship.
Nathan's room had a monochromatic interior, the black and white gave a clean feel and ambience, a small but functional open concept kitchen, that joined on to a compact living room, comprising of an onyx sofa and a flat screen television of respectable size. His bedroom included a king sized bed and a wardrobe of considerable size, there was a set of drawers and a bedside cabinet, the walls and furniture shared the same monochromatic colour pallet as the rest of the apartment. Connected to his bedroom was an en-suite bathroom, which had black and white tiling and a simplistic layout, consisting of a regular toilet, shower and sink. Nathan's living accommodation was exceptional, much like that of all the other students that attended this school, whom each receive the same high-end apartments.
Nathan sat down on his sofa with a sigh.
"This is even better than Jon described it to be. I've also managed to find some pretty cool people as well." Nathan wore a giddy smile, he really did enjoy his first day.
'Jon's been living like this for the past few years. Lucky bastard. He really is lucky.' A somber expression crept up on his face. 'I know I'll never be as good as him, heck I don't think anyone will. He's just so lucky. It's not fair.'
Though he was proud of his brother, Nathan struggled to hide his resentment.