Young Ari woke up to pure calm and tranquility. The boy yawned like a newborn toddler, opening his mouth to its fullest. He rubbed his eyes with both knuckles and began stretching his youthful body. Ah, the daily routine of young Arsalan, always making sure his body and legs were in adequate condition.
His red eyes scanned the room. Confusion crept into his mind as he failed to locate any of his roommates.
Huh, where is everybody?
The boy rubbed his eyes again, making sure this was no dream. His grin widened in pure youthful ecstasy as his legs carried him toward the bath quarters of the boys in the academy.
Empty. Not a single cadet in sight. Ari jumped with joy, fists thrown up in jubilation.
Usually, the boys' bath quarters overflowed with rowdy children on the verge of adolescence. Profanity, bickering, and in some cases, outright fights filled the cramped space.
But today was Ari's lucky day, it seemed.
The silly boy took full advantage of this supposed "miracle." He brushed his teeth twice and took a long bath, scrubbing until his blonde hair gleamed and his fair skin practically sparkled. All while belting out popular songs from his nomadic culture with gloriously butchered lyrics.
The goofball returned to his room to get ready for daily classes. That's when his jaw dropped. His eyes locked onto the big analog clock in his room for the first time this morning. Spoilers, but he was late. Extraordinarily late.
The boy hurled open his closet with such force the wooden door barely held together. He rifled through it, searching for his white uniform. His eyes scanned the interior. Again. And again.
What the... Where's my f**king uniform?!
Realization crept in. In his short time at the academy, Ari had made some rather fond enemies. But the boy wasn't going to let this "prank" slide. He cracked his knuckles. His fingers were itching to teach those bullies a lesson.
He grabbed a spare hooded sweatshirt from his closet and bolted toward his class. He ran like a boy possessed, his strides increasing to frightening levels.
The blonde boy kicked open the door of his classroom, announcing his attendance to everyone. Mixed reactions followed. Some cadets who'd been keenly paying attention to Instructor Vela gritted their teeth. Precious time of military education, stripped away from them. While others who'd been on the brink of sleep woke up with amusement and laughter.
"Have you no respect for the class, for your peers, for this crucial education ARMADA is providing you, Cadet Karayel?!" Instructor Vela's glare could have melted steel. "And why are you not in your uniform? Answer me right now, Cadet Karayel!"
She had distinct turtle features, with a large shell attached to her back. Chelon was the name of her sapient species.
Young Ari completely ignored the fury of his livid instructor and pointed his finger at a group of boys sitting in the middle row.
"Real funny prank you pulled there, assholes!" Ari's voice exploded through the classroom. "Too bad you're gonna get your f**king heads kicked in right here, right now!"
Ari was not playing around. The threat was crystal clear.
"Look miss, I don't know what this delinquent is talking about." The boy in the middle, Rikan, stood up and spoke with calculated calmness. "He's out of his mind, miss. First he disrupts the class, then goes around throwing accusations at us with no evidence. You must teach him a lesson, miss."
A hint of mockery laced Rikan's voice. The bully gave a quick sneer at the angry blonde boy before Instructor Vela could notice. Ari clenched his fists.
First this rat-face pulls a shitty prank on me and now he starts smooth talking to the instructor? What a sorry-ass excuse for a "future soldier"!
Before Instructor Vela could launch into her long rant at her misbehaving, potty-mouthed pupil, Ari dashed forward toward Rikan. The speed was tremendous for a boy his age. As if he tore apart the wind itself the way he closed the distance.
Ari extended his leg for a roundhouse kick that looked devastating. Rikan managed to block his head with his muscular arms just in time, eyes squeezed shut. Ari's well-educated kicks had earned quite the notoriety in the academy.
To the surprise of all the cadets in the class, Instructor Vela included, Ari stopped the momentum in his leg right at the point of contact.
Yo, what's the blondie up to?
Kick his smug head off, blondie. What you waiting for?
Thank the stars for giving some sense to this senseless boy.
The other cadets had mixed thoughts on this bizarre turn of events.
The goofball Ari grinned with mischief. His smile widened as he waited for his bully to open his eyes. Without further notice, the blonde boy yanked down Rikan's pants, revealing red underwear with pink hearts and bold lipstick marks imprinted all over.
The whole class erupted into a frenzy of laughter. Young Ari grinned, giving a cheeky thumbs-up to Rikan. "Cool design, man. You got some different tastes, but I dig it." His tone dripped with sarcasm and mockery.
The hilarity doubled when even Rikan's own buddies laughed at him, though their amusement died quickly under a single glare from their "leader."
Instructor Vela's whole body, including her shell, twitched with what could only be described as pure fury mixed with bone-deep annoyance at the juvenile behavior of her mischievous pupil.
"DETENTION, CADET KARAYEL! GO IMMEDIATELY!"
Instructor Vela's sharp voice cut through the fiasco, leading to immediate silence in her disrupted classroom.
"Sure thing, teach!" Ari's grin never faded as he bolted outside like a free-spirited animal.
Instructor Vela shook her head.
What a disappointment. If the rascal could actually behave well and listen in class...
Her thoughts mirrored those of a disappointed parent watching their child waste away his potential.
At the library, Ari sat hunched over a stack of books. Most probably fictional novels. But not the kind of stories you might have anticipated. No, no, no. Romance-themed novels. Yes, you heard that right.
I don't really get why Mom likes reading this stuff. But oh well, beats doing useless homework, I guess.
His reading was momentarily cut short, however, as a girl interrupted him. Same age. Same academy uniform. A girl whom Ari had never met in his life.