Making New Friends

"We meet again."

Jordan looked up to see the same kid who talked to him during the wait in the hall. However, he wasn't just going to jump to the annoying conclusion that he was assigned the same room with him. They were the only ones in the room. The room was very spacious as it was designed to accommodate 5 people. The boy was busy with his bed.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Jordan asked, earning a confused look from the boy.

"This is my room. Why else would I be here?" he answered as he continued to lay his bed with a golden-colored bedsheet.

Fuck!

"Fine," Jordan sighed. "Fate is a fucking bastard!" he said under his voice, not loud enough for the boy to hear. Jordan wasn't really superstitious, but somehow, he could tell that seeing this guy twice in one day wasn't a coincidence. "Remind me your name again."

"It's Richter… I'm Richter Michaelson. What's yours?" Richter paused what he was doing and stretched his hand out to Jordan for a shake.

"Jordan," he replied simply, accepting the shake.

"Cool name."

"Where's everyone else? I heard it's 5 to a room," Jordan questioned, studying the room with his eyes as he looked around.

"It's just you and me, Jordan. The other guys haven't come," Richter replied.

"Good." Jordan walked over to the only free bed that wasn't in a bunk. "I'll be staying here."

There were two bunks and a single bed. Jordan had never shared a bunk with anyone before. He wasn't a fan. It didn't take long for Jordan to settle in with his belongings. Just as the instructor had said, he found his bags in the big ceiling-to-floor wardrobe in the room. After putting his things in order, Jordan brought out the Rubik's cube he had bought for Jack and held it in his hand.

"Hey, I want to go check out the Academy. You want to come with?" Richter asked, exchanging his flip-flops for a pair of sandals.

"No, thanks," Jordan answered instinctively, all of his attention on the 10cm cube in his hands.

Richter headed out and after a while of twisting the sides of the cube around, Jordan submitted to sleep. He held it firmly by his side. He woke up a few hours later when he felt someone trying to snatch the cube from him.

"Take your bloody hands off my stuff," he scolded the boy in front of him, yanking the cube with force.

Jordan quickly got up, sitting on the edge of his bed. The kid who just tried to snatch the cube was someone he hadn't seen before. He was taller than Jordan and Richter and by his athletic physique, Jordan could tell he was at least 17 years old. He had black hair, but those at the sides of his head had been shaven down.

"Don't ever do that again," he threatened.

"Jeez, sorry. I just wanted a look at it," the kid replied, raising his hands in the air.

Jordan sighed and then looked around to see the other three people in the room. Not long after, they had become well acquainted with each other; Jordan, Richter, Ralph, Blake, and a Mexican kid named Rodrigo. Jordan checked the time, it was a few minutes past 7 PM. Dinner was by 7:30. He freshened up and headed to the cafeteria, accompanied by the others.

As one would expect, it was pretty noisy in the hall filled with hundreds of kids. Jordan and the others got a tray of food from the counter and sat on a table to eat. They were served spaghetti with a piece of chicken.

"Am I the only one who feels a little creeped out by the fact that the General's having us stay longer than usual?" Ralph asked, putting down a bottle of water.

"There's nothing suspicious about it. I'm guessing the Academy wants more time to train us so we can be better than our predecessors," Rodrigo answered then took a bite out of his chicken. Jordan couldn't help but hold back a laugh. He found Rodrigo's accent amusing.

"Nah, it can't be just for training. My uncle is a soldier at the front. When he came to visit some weeks back, he told me there hadn't been an attack in almost a year. If the war is already ending, why would the Academy be so keen on training us for that long."

While they chatted away as they ate, Jordan didn't say anything. One, because he was too busy enjoying his dinner, and the other because he could tell the conversation wasn't anything he wanted to involve himself in. From what he could gather, none of them really understood what he was saying.

"Hey, Jordan where are you going?" Richter asked, seeing Jordan leave the table.

"A walk. I'll meet you guys back in the room soon enough."

The instant Jordan walked out of the building, he was greeted by the chilly wind of the night. He walked around, making sure to stay within the vicinity of the cafeteria. It wasn't all dark as there were streetlights around. He looked up in the sky at the shining moon, enjoying the peace and quiet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue-red checkered handkerchief.

It belonged to Xavier and was one of the few things he possessed that reminded him of his family. After the investigation, Slyvie had given him a few items in the house that survived the explosion.

"I made it bro," he whispered into the air. "I really wish you were here with me."

Jordan strolled around for a few more minutes before managing to tire himself out. Rachael had filled him in on a lot of areas concerning the program. He needed his strength up for his first day as a Muggle Private. It was when he wanted to head back that he found out he was completely lost. He tried tracing the faint noise coming from the cafeteria but tripped on something on his way.

"What the?" he picked himself up and turned to see what he had tripped on. "Fuck!"

Jordan had tripped on someone's leg. It was a girl and by the slow but regular heaving of her chest, he could tell she was still alive. Just unconscious. For fear of what might happen if he left her there in the fields, he lifted her from the ground unto his back.

"Somebody help!" He yelled into his watch. "It's an emergency!"