Chương 2: New Chance
The sun had already risen on Átomo Street, on the outskirts of the lower town.
In a completely torn apart apartment complex, with black walls that showed the building was not properly maintained, an alarm went off at 8 am.
The sound was coming from a relatively tidy apartment, compared to the rest of the dwellings in the same location, with rather grimy white walls and an old, grimy tile floor that had some parts missing.
The apartment was not even of an average length, having about 45 m2, and having almost no furniture and appliances to serve as anything. A long wooden bed with a few holes due to its age, sat in the corner of the living room next to a desk also made of old wood with an alarm clock on top of it.
Beside the bed were several books scattered randomly on the floor, as well as a few boxes full of canned food and instant noodles.
A slender-bodied boy could be seen slowly arranging himself in front of a mirror with several spots and a crack in its corner, he got up from the chair he was sitting in and pressed the alarm button, stopping the annoying sound it made.
"It's about time." The person said while knocking on the alarm clock.
He was a young man, apparently 18 or 19 years old, who was pulling down the sleeves of his dress shirt as he walked towards a brown suitcase with a faded leather part. He started to pick up some books that were once on the floor, putting them neatly inside the suitcase, where there were already some changes of clothes that, even old, were still the best he had.
When he finished, he went to the bathroom sink and used the water to brush his teeth and when he was finished with it, he washed his face quickly. Then he grabbed his suitcase and opened his desk, where two envelopes layed, one white sealed with tape where he'd kept his previously earned money and the other with some gold embellishments that told him where to go to get to the academy.
Quagmire took an upright posture as he checked the time on his wristwatch and left the apartment in a hurry.
It didn't take long for him to walk from the apartment complex to the wall that divided the upper and lower cities from each other. There he came across several signs that said: 'Landers are only allowed with Documentation' and 'Respect queues and monitors'.
At the same moment he walked to a small line beside a construction in progress, the young man heard the voices of the monitor and the girl with black hair and red eyes in front of him.
"B-but I need to work, sir!" The woman sounded desperate, her eye showed that a little more and she would break down in tears right then and there.
''Unfortunately, I cannot allow you entry into the upper city. Your paperwork is overdue, so please return after you resolve this issue.'' The man motioned to a tall burly security guard, who soon came and pulled the woman out of the line.
"Next!" Yelled the monitor responsible for gate A-04, the gate that Quagmire was at.
Arriving in front of the monitor, which was behind a bench covered by a wall of thin glass, probably reinforced, the man quickly extended his hand towards the boy.
''Documents and name, please.'' He said in a dull, expressionless tone.
"The name is Quagmire, I'm a Landra and I came here to participate in the academy's initiation ceremony." The young man said as he brought the documents from the suitcase, along with the envelope in which the academy's official letter was.
The man responsible for passing the gate was in disbelief, he had never seen anyone of the 'inferior' race of the Landra summoned to the academy, not even the influential Landra researchers were allowed to do so. He took the documents and quickly analyzed them, confirming by speed dialing the phone pinned to his desk that the boy wasn't lying.
''Y-You may pass.'' The mere mention of a Landra being summoned by the council itself to the academy, left the man completely in shock and he was not the only one, as all the people who had been able to overhear that conversation were now staring Quagmire getting ready to go through the gate.
"Well then thanks, I guess?" He said confused, in his head, nothing could spoil this day. It was the day of his second chance, his redemption from whatever he did to get kicked out of the agency and lost everything he had.
Thereafter, Quagmire took a subway powered by a technology that he himself had perfected in his heyday as a researcher, taking him to his destination in a matter of a few minutes since he arrived in the city.
He had to deal with several Pyrope (the name given to surviving humans from the ancient society) and Hurity (artificially created children with the ability to use neural energy) who stared at him, as there was a Landra in the upper city walking as if was nothing.
He arrived on foot in front of the academy, which was a huge institution, there were even parts of the place flying over the buildings on the ground, and he was sure that someone had explored the article he wrote about flying with the head of the technology department, some years ago.
It was an extremely advanced and new world compared to the old and finished lower city, where only archaic technologies and soot were to be found. Wasting no time, the boy walked towards a huge silver gate, the young man heard a voice beside him saying ''Documents, please'' with a suspicious tone towards him.
Not hesitating, he explained everything and was soon released to enter, where he saw numerous people just like him walking towards the waiting room, inside the premises. However, rather than just being faced, this time the situation escalated in a way he didn't want.
"What's a piece of shit like you doing here?" Asked a rather chubby boy with dark blue hair, armed with the covering of 3 other boys who also had strange colors in their hair.
''Since when did the academy accept insects that do not have neural energy? You're just leeches, so go back to the hole you came out of.'' The bony-cheeked boy said fiercely.
''Look, sorry to say, but I really don't want a problem. I only came because I was summoned.'' Quagmire said, reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out the envelope, which confirmed what he was talking about.
Many gasps of shock could be heard around the situation, people were startled at the simple idea of a Landra being an academy student.
At the same moment the boys made a move that referred to a possible aggression, a teacher with extremely beautiful red hair appeared, she positioned herself between the boys and Quagmire, holding out her hand
''Come in, or do you intend to miss the chance to become pilots?'' Said the woman firmly.
"B-but teacher Ana, he's a Landra!" The chubby boy snapped.
''I don't care, come in everyone, without exception!'' The woman said in a loud voice and a stiff tone.
At the same moment, even those who were not part of the situation but were close, also entered immediately. Leaving just the boy and one woman standing in front of a huge door to the exam waiting room.
''Thanks.'' Quagmire said in a harsh tone, regaining his true rotten personality. Because his happiness was completely drained after remembering what the people of the upper city were like.
He intended not to stand out, but he forgot that he was a huge unknown in the already fixed structure of the upper city and the academy. However, he will still keeping his skills repressed, with no intention of standing out from the crowd.
"You're welcome." The woman turned her face to him, showing a gentle smile and an extremely beautiful face with some freckles on her cheeks. Quickly, she reached out to Quagmire in an attempt to socialize.
''I'm Teacher Ana. Ana Maria Lousado, I believe we'll see each other a lot from now on.''
Quagmire with an expressionless face stretched his arm too, shaking hands with the teacher.
''I am Quagmire. Only Quagmire. '' He said.
The woman chuckled, but quickly followed that it was nearing the beginning of the initiation, offering to guide and escort Quagmire safely.
The boy accepted and the two walked together towards their new big break. The restart of all his mistakes, a kind of ground zero in your life. He couldn't miss this chance, for nothing, he had to maintain it by any means.
'I'll make it' he thought as he hurriedly walked towards the room.
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