Chapter Two: Graduation

“I’m an idiot, Maribelle.”

My leg shakes as I look down over the audience, my eyes searching for the scouts that were there yesterday. I realized an hour or two afterwards I had forgotten to talk to them after my win, losing an opportunity to steer them towards choosing me. I ended up spending the rest of the day sulking over that in my apartment, and I still haven’t really gotten over it.

{“You’re not an idiot, you were just excited.”}

I shake my head, “They were right there, and I just did something amazing!”

{“You also had just scared the shit out of them. There’s a good chance they won’t have wanted to talk in the first place.”}

Opening my mouth to argue is my initial instinct, but then I deflate. “Ugh, you’re probably right. Suppose I have to wait for them to come to me then.”

{“Minea, it’ll be fine if you’re just patient. The ceremony hasn’t even started yet.”}

I can’t help but mutter, “You make it sound so easy…”

The current distribution of seating for the graduation ceremony is… unfortunately typical. I’m alone on the right side of the stage, while the ten or so classmates that passed sit all the way on the other side, occasionally stealing nervous glances at me. This sort of became the norm after a situation during an assembly. Maybe for the better in the end, but it still kind of hurts.

“You okay, kid?”

I turn my head to see Professor Baxter stepping up onto stage alongside the other faculty and staff. He walks over to me while the rest of the teachers rush a bit ahead towards the kids on the other side of the stage. None of them even try to greet me.

If there’s one thing I appreciate Baxter for, it’s the fact that he seems mostly immune to my stupid aura. It’s something that I’ve only really seen from the rare times that I’ve interacted with truly strong people, and even then they’re usually a bit disconcerted at first before they get used to it. This man, on the other hand, never hesitated once to talk with me and only ever treated me differently when I might affect other people.

I brush a lock of my hair behind my head as I look up. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep.”

The professor chuckles, putting his hands into his pockets. “I understand, I was pretty psyched after I graduated from bootcamp all those years ago too, but it’s a bit of a different circumstance for you I suppose.”

After taking a moment to stare at him, I quietly elaborate. “I’m stressed about finding work that needs me immediately… I planned this out to an extreme, so the lease on my apartment ended today.”

He snorts. “Right, you live in that building. Where are you keeping your stuff in the meantime?”

Raising my bag up into the air, I get a very confused look from the professor. He looks at me, then at the bag, then back to me.

“That’s it? I knew you were poor, kid, but this is pushing it.”

I awkwardly chuckle as I scratch the back of my head. “I don’t have many worldly desires?”

He snorts, shaking his head. “Yeah fucking right! I don’t believe for a second you wouldn’t live just like everyone else if you had a chance.”

My eyes shift away from his face. “I will neither confirm nor deny if that is true.”

“You a politician now?” He reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. “Look. If worse comes to worse, you can crash at my place until you sign a contract. I’ll make sure to send some of the more desperate scouts to you as well in the afterparty.”

The smile that rises on my face is genuine. “Thanks Professor.”

He waves me off, then steps away towards the rest of the faculty as they approach the podium at the front of the stage. The entire room goes silent as the headmaster of the school steps up and clears his throat into the microphone, causing a loud feedback that makes just about everyone flinch.

{“Hello, and welcome everyone to the ceremony celebrating the graduation of Trinity River’s Engine class of 2103!”}

There's some cheers and applause that lasts for a few seconds, at least until the headmaster raises a hand.

{“Now I have something to note. This is a bit of a strange year, as you can see, where we have only about 40% of the students graduating as we usually have, but with some particularly standout examples among them.”}

I feel almost every eye in the auditorium shift to me, and my face heats up as I flush. There’s an awkward second where their gazes linger, but most eventually look back at the Headmaster.

Most.

I swear I can feel a few people continue to stare at me, and that makes me more than a little uncomfortable.

{“I will make it clear that this is not due to the quality of our students dropping, but rather the opposite. Our standards were raised this year, and it shows. Every single student you see here has more than earned their place among the Engine community during their time at our school.  As such, I hope you will give each and every one of them a chance, regardless of any particular eccentricities .”}

Some gazes return to me, and I feel myself shrink a tad as they do. Damn it, Headmaster…

{“Now, normally speaking I should at this moment be calling up our Valedictorian, Hector Bremont to receive his callsign, ‘Meridar. However, due to certain… extenuating circumstances… he was unable to be here today, and as such we have given out his diploma and callsign separately.”}

Uhh. I certainly didn’t hear about this beforehand… Wonder what's up with that? It’s a bit disappointing Hector couldn’t make it though.

{“ With that being as such, I would like to invite our salutatorian, Miss Julia Reynolds, up to the podium!”}

Um. Who? I look over at the other graduates to see a rather tall blonde woman absolutely caked in makeup rising from her seat. One of the popular girls? She’s wearing the same boring uniform as the rest of us, but somehow it seems almost ostentatious in combination with her jewelry.

{“Miss Reynolds has been our top performing duelist for several years now, and she has struck all of us with how consistently her strength has grown during this time.”} Bullshit, Hector exists? He must have to butter her up to not completely embarrass the school for the valedictorian not showing up. {“After much, much deliberation, I would hereby like to assign her the callsign of ‘Tur’!”}

The room erupts into claps and cheers, even the students and faculty joining in. My fingers lace together as I find the grain of the wooden floor quite interesting. For a moment of what seems like joy and excitement for most everyone here, why does it feel so damn hollow?

{“It is truly an honor to be able to make a speech here at my graduation, awkward as it is that I am not up here as the Valedictorian…”}

Tuning the girl out, I look away and out over the crowd, my eyes wandering for anyone that I recognize as I tune the boring speech out. It takes me a few seconds, but I eventually do notice one or two of the scouts from yesterday present here today. When I feel a gaze from near that area though, I end up locking eyes with someone who makes my mind go completely blank.

Looking remarkably better than the first day I met her ten years prior, her long crimson hair braided over her shoulder and her blue eyes as bright as they were that day, is Sorcha fucking Walsh. She winks at me when she notices I see her, then claps politely as someone is called up to the podium.

Why the fuck is she even here?!

We aren’t supposed to know each other! Couldn’t this blow the thin veil of a cover that I have? I mean, I suppose I wouldn’t mind just signing a contract to work with the Californian Union…But she would have contacted me indirectly beforehand, there’s no way she wouldn’t have. That means she's not here for me at all, and this is a coincidence? Maybe a convenient one if it is, but still could cause problems in the future.

I zone out a bit, my mind going off on a few different tangents that don’t matter in the slightest, until I feel a lot of the attention in the room move to me again. I look up to see a short blonde striding up confidently to the podium.

{“...For her great efforts in developing her power while attending Trinity River, the Faculty have decided to give Liv Dahl the callsign of ‘Gullin’!”}

There’s more applause as the salutatorian hands the girl her diploma, who bows to the crowd before rushing back to her seat.

{“Now, as I’m sure some of you have noticed, in the typical Chinese Zodiac, as is the theme of our class, the Dog would be coming before the Pig. However, as is obvious, there is a bit of a good reason to swap the order here.”}

Wait, Chinese Zodiac? I find myself flushing as I look over the other students, counting out exactly ten, eleven including me, twelve including Hector who isn’t here.

Oh.

{“Minea Rafflesia, if you would please come up to the podium?”}

I gulp, then stand up and slowly begin to walk up to the front. The room goes very quiet as I near the front, and a quick glance at the salutatorian has me notice her clenching her hands tightly around the wooden podium.

{“N-Now, do not get us wrong. Minea has earned her place among us more so than almost all of us, but her main strength is well, a tad bit difficult to handle for most people.”} I have to work hard to hold back the snarky laugh I want to make. Not appropriate for the moment, Minea! {“It is because of this that the faculty has chosen a call sign that is still technically on theme, but different from the rest in a way that is undeniable.”}

Eh? What the fuck does that even mean?

{“I would like to congratulate you personally, Minea Rafflesia, and it is my honor to give you the callsign of ‘Grim’!”}

Taking the diploma as some of the crowd awkwardly claps for me, I glance at Sorcha for a moment. She’s slowly clapping with a small smirk on her face, seemingly nonplussed by the situation. Deciding that it’s in my best interest, I immediately flee back to my seat. As I sink into the chair, I nearly flinch as Maribelle’s quiet voice enters my ears.

{“Grim, huh? A bit rude that you got something most would consider a monster when the rest got undeniably mythological beasts.”}

“A monster huh…” I mutter under my breath as I sit back down. “Maybe it’s true, at this point.”

{“Oh don’t be like that, you’re just misunderstood.”}

“Sometimes, I’m not too sure of that.”

{“If you keep self-deprecating, I’m not going to buy you dinner tonight.”}

Immediately I respond, “Sorry, I’ll stay quiet.”

{“Good girl~.”}

For the nth time, I’m so glad she’s not here in person. The shudder I got from that… I’d never live it down.

Grim though… Aren’t those the black dogs that protect church’s graveyards in British folklore? As I mull over the name for a few moments, the ceremony as a whole ends kind of unceremoniously. The other graduates all swiftly move down to chat with their families and the attending crowd, while I stay seated alone upon the stage.

{“Honestly, Grim is too edgy of a callsign for you.”}

I blink. “Pardon?”

{“You should have had a more cute dog name, like Hachiko!”}

It takes me a moment to remember what that one actually referred to.

“The Japanese dog that was unwaveringly loyal and waited for its owner for years even after he died? How in the world is that fitting for me?”

{“You’re a big softy, so obviously that name fits you better!”}

I look for the nearest camera, and stick my tongue out at it. She laughs in my ears, and I can’t help but smile.

“I think Grim is fine, Maribelle. It’s not even inherently negative, as far as I’m aware.”

{“It’s a bit mixed honestly. They’re guardian spirits that are seen as negative omens whenever you see them. So sort of good, but only if you never encounter them.”}

“Figures…”

I close my eyes and lean back in the chair, letting the chaotic sound of multiple conversations flow around me. I sit there for what feels like minutes, but is probably only a few seconds, before a voice makes me open my eyes.

“U-Um, you’re the one who received the callsign of ‘Grim’, correct?”

I look down to find a somewhat meek looking woman in a pantsuit, nervously wringing her hands as she tries to look at anything but me.

“I am…” I glance up to find Baxter grinning at me, his arms crossed at the side. Did he set me up with this? “Can I help you?”

She nods frantically. “I-I was wondering if you had signed an employment contract with any corporations yet?”

Sitting up, I look at her a bit closer. The woman has her brunette hair in a frankly huge bun, which when combined with the bags under her eyes makes her look extremely overworked. Her hazel eyes are nervous as they shoot to me, then away, then back to me again, over and over and over.

“I haven’t.”

She brightens up immensely at that, her fear dissipating surprisingly quickly. “Really?! Oh, fantastic! I’m Beatrice Kelly, a representative of the North American Express Railroad, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to sign on with us?”

Wait, seriously? She’s a scout for NAER?

“Depends on a few things… Do you have an I.D or something so I know you’re not trying to scam me?”

She pauses, muttering “Uh, yeah!” under her breath, then seems to realize something before she quickly fumbles with her purse to pull out a wallet. From within she pulls out a lanyard with an I.D card on it that seems to be legitimately from NAER. I think?

I glance over at the other graduates, many of which talking to a scout themselves. “What’s the catch? Why go for me?”

Beatrice fidgets, then looks away from me awkwardly. “Well, I was at the exam yesterday… If what I saw and experienced there and what I am feeling now is real, then you’d be a perfect candidate for an Escort Guard Engine for our trains. ”

“Oh.” Please let this be real! This is even better than I hoped for! “Okay. Sure, why not? Do we need to go somewhere more private to negotiate this?”

The scout looks back at me in surprise. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re surprisingly pretty when you smile?”

Wait, I'm smiling? Reaching up to brush my hands against my lips, I flush a tad, looking away. “No comment?”

She giggles at that. “Right, sorry. How about I buy you lunch, and we can work out the contract there?”

I can’t help but mutter, “I won’t turn down free food. Lead the way.”

Maribelle sighs in my ears. {“Glutton.”}

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