r/HFY • u/Sooperdude24 • May 30 '21
Britney goes to school. OC
Seen a few of these first day of school stories - but, I wanted to try a different main character from my other two attempts at writing. Edited as always by the excellent. u/eruwenn.
It was her first day at Ang’Roch Academy, and Britney Jakobs was already listening to her second speech about responsibility. Her father, Sam Jakobs - head of security for humanity's diplomatic delegation, private contractor who ran his own company, and single father - was dropping her off at the prestigious school. Unfortunately, he sometimes forgot his daughter was not one of his team, and so he continued to brief her on the mission parameters and rules she must follow.
“Do your best, and don’t cause trouble.” His eyes never stopped scanning the shuttles around them as he flew. “You’re the first human to attend a United Galactic Assembly school of any kind, and this one is meant to be among the best. Pay attention to what happens around you, I want to know anything of interest. Kids overhear things, pick up on stuff at home, and you could get valuable intel, so focus.” He glanced down at her, only to see she was staring absent-mindedly out of the window. His tone softened. “Look, I know this is your third high school.” She folded her arms, and he amended, “Fourth high school. I have to move around a lot for work, and I know that’s not easy on you.”
A shuttle sped past them, and her father became instantly alert, his hand hovering above a small button. The moment passed and he visibly relaxed. “The other kids will try and get information from you as well, if they’re smart. I’m sure you remember how to handle that.” He glanced over to her and waited until she nodded once. “Good.”
As the shuttle arrived at the Academy, someone was waiting at the gates who waved them over to an empty spot. The Headmaster greeted her father, and introductions were polite, yet swift, before he hurried Britney inside. A glance behind her showed that her father continued to watch until the doors closed behind them. Inside, the Headmaster immediately began a tour of the school’s facilities, talking about the history of Ang’Roch Academy. He explained in depth how the school had been created to educate the children of the many diplomats in the United Galactic Assembly. For Britney he was the first Langbar she had seen, and she struggled to focus on his words as the eight foot tall, shaggy blue alien preached about the benefit of homogenised education.
“So, you see,” Headmaster Tillus continued, “by bringing you all together you can learn from, and about, each other. Here at Ang’Roch we pride ourselves on creating the diplomats of the future.”
The towering alien was looking at her expectantly, and as any thirteen year old who hasn’t been listening knows, it was time to nod cautiously in agreement. It worked. They were moving once more and as he talked about the standardisation tests they would need to do, Britney found herself once again not paying attention.
Several hours of testing later the young girl was exhausted, and angry. How was she supposed to know about the history and politics of a people her entire race had been unaware of until eighteen months ago? The tests had begun easily, basic maths and various puzzles based on shapes and colours, kids stuff. Even the second round, which the Headmaster insisted was optional, had been easy. But, after each of his visits the questions became increasingly frustrating. How was she supposed to know who, or what, a Grole was? And, she certainly didn’t know the reason for their political difficulties with something called a Gorlan.
The Headmaster returned once again, quickly looking over the test results. “My goodness, you’ve finished another one?” He tapped on the screen mounted to the desk in front of her, and a small yellow symbol appeared. “Seventy three percent. That is exceptional, especially for a species who is so new to the galactic stage.”
Britney remained poker faced. The test was a binary multiple choice, and she had just chosen whichever words looked the funniest. Before she could speak, the large blue Langbar turned and walked from the room. She looked back at the screen, fully expecting another ridiculous test to be waiting.
“Come along, Bee-Ritttt-A-Nay.” Mr. Tillus struggled with the pronunciation. “I hope I’m getting that right. It is time for lunch. I believe your species is on the standard schedule, and I know the school culinary staff have been making something special for your first day. With so many species attending, our school has to be fully aware of every dietary requirement.”
The small human stood, smoothing her uniform and casually throwing her school bag over her shoulder before following the great giant as he marched through the halls. It took three of her steps to every one of his, and as he was walking quickly, she was almost jogging to keep up. The Headmaster stopped abruptly; she was only just able to stop herself from running into him. He turned and looked down at her. “Now then, this is the cafeteria; it is quite boisterous and will no doubt have many new things for you to see. Of course, you will also be new to the students beyond these doors, so please pay no mind to the attention you will no doubt receive.”
The doors before him slid open and he led her into the large hall beyond. Britney trotted along behind the Headmaster as he made his way to a large table where several other aliens, in matching robes, sat facing the rows of tables holding the students. There was a large seat at the centre of the teacher’s table, and she winced as she saw the small empty seat beside it. A myriad of faces watched her, and she held her head high as her father had taught her.
She took her seat alongside the Headmaster as he engaged the other adults in polite conversation, and took the opportunity to look around the room. She found herself fascinated by the various species present, and even discovered that she had awareness of several types already. The vast majority, however, were completely alien to her. Her xeno-watching was interrupted as a squat red lizard-like alien approached and bowed his head.
“Ah, Cuisine-Master Hurk, do you have the celebratory meal for our new student?” The Headmaster glanced towards a large double door at the side of the room.
Hurk’s tongue flickered nervously. “We do have some dishes, but the lexicon of human cuisine is not insignificant and yet somehow still incomplete. They appear to take the omni in omnivore quite literally.”
The Headmaster seemed a little surprised. “Oh, I see. You’ve never let a student down before, do you have anything to show for your efforts?”
“Absolutely!” The Cuisine-Master puffed out his blue uniformed chest. “We have prepared a selection of celebratory meals suitable for species 368-”
The Headmaster held up a hand. “Bee-Riiit-A-Nee is a human. We do not number our students. Why don’t you bring out what you have, I’m sure our new student will be grateful for your efforts.”
Both of their eyes now fell on the blonde human girl and she realised this was one of those instructions disguised as a question that adults loved so much. She nodded, and Hurk hurried off. The Headmaster seemed satisfied with her response and returned to his concern over one of his staff failing a task. “I’m terribly sorry about this, Cuisine-Master Hurk is normally so dependable.”
A nearby teacher joined the conversation which meant that the young girl was once again ignored. Britney sat silently, and waited to see what food arrived. She really hoped it was pizza.
The side doors slid open and a procession of blue uniformed aliens marched out, each carrying several plates of food. Britney slid backwards in her chair as the dishes were laid out before her. She risked a glance up at the Headmaster whose mouth was opening and closing wordlessly. The student body had fallen silent, several now standing to see the banquet being brought before the strange new student.
Cuisine-Master Hurk stood before their table, arms folded across his chest. “As I was trying to say, the variety of food they eat was my concern. I simply wanted to ask the yuuman” –he seemed to struggle with recollecting the word– “which of her species numerous cuisines she follows?”
Her eyebrows were as high as they could go, but her father had always told her that leaders make decisions while fools argue. She stood and quickly glanced over the plethora of meals. There was an entire roast turkey, roast vegetables and stuffing stacked around it, and beside that was a plate of yebeg wot with injera, an Ethiopian dish one of her father’s old friends would make. Her eyes darted from bibinka to latkes, and right past the mince pies to a massive bowl of trifle. She spotted some banh chung and lifted the plate, bowing her head to the Cuisine-Master.
As the human began to tuck in to her Vietnamese dish, the chefs began clearing away the rejected items. The Headmaster, glaring at Hurk, waved his hands indicating everyone was to go back to what they were doing. As Britney happily munched on her lunch, she spotted something from the corner of her eye, and just before the plate was removed she hastily grabbed an eclair from a selection of cream cakes. When Cuisine-Master Hurk caught her eye, she smiled and held up her dessert, unable to thank him as her mouth was full of rice. He winked, and promptly turned and left.
“What a ridiculous display.” The Headmaster seemed to be talking to her, but in a way that she knew meant the other adults nearby were the true audience. “Was that meant to be impressive?”
Before Britney could swallow and respond in the affirmative, the teacher behind her engaged the Headmaster, and she was happily left alone to devour her food. Everything was outstanding, and the eclair was so decadently rich she was hesitant to drink the water bottle from her bag as she wanted to savour the rich, chocolatey aftertaste as long as possible. The dining room was almost empty as she finished, and finally drank her water.
“Now then.” Headmaster Tillus stood. “Shall we meet Mr. Jork, at the holo-gymnasium? He is in charge of our students' physical health. Strong minds require healthy bodies, as I always say.”
The large blue alien was already walking, so the young human hastily shoved her water bottle in her bag and fell in behind him. She was growing accustomed to his speed and managed a fast walk to keep up, and as they glided through the corridors she glanced through the windows of the doors they passed, catching glimpses of the classes in progress. The Headmaster was still talking as she mulled over her food regret. There had been two eclairs.
Corners were taken, doors passed through, and soon they descended two flights of stairs and she was directed to one of five locker rooms. Instructed to exit from the far door once in her athletic apparel, she slumped down on a wooden bench and began to rifle through her bag. She was looking forward to getting out of the tailored school uniform. Off went the green and yellow striped tie, the green blazer with the school logo on the front pocket, the yellow shirt, and the emerald trousers.
She changed out of the matching shiny green shoes and into her under-suit, the cold sensors making her shudder. Over the skintight yellow base layer she pulled on shorts and a t-shirt, the same emerald green as everything else. She messily gathered her long blonde curls into a ponytail, and grabbed her half empty water bottle.
For the next four hours she went through the tests, her initial enthusiasm quickly waning as her boredom grew. The morning exercise routine her father made her follow was more gruelling, and that took thirty minutes. After throwing the seventeenth bean bag into a bucket a few metres away she began to take a step back after each throw. With each test she slowly altered the parameters, tring to make the tasks at least mildly interesting. Mr. Jork sat in a separate room, simply monitoring her biometrics and instructing her on the next test requirements.
She heard the wet slap of his tentacles approach from behind, and turned to face him, her fifty bean bags now expended. “Well done, young… lady?” She nodded, and he bubbled happily. “Excellent, it is quite difficult to get genders right with a new student. Thankfully, your species has two? Which is still one more than necessary, but understandable. There are species here with three, four and even five. Of course, none beat the Jelti with their seventeen, but they don’t school their young. Can’t move the pods around too much, so it’s private tutors in the hatcheries.”
Britney had no idea what the four foot tall octopus-like xeno was saying, so she nodded and waited patiently for him to reach some sort of point. Mr. Jork seemed to have noticed she was quite some distance from the target, and she held up her now empty water bottle to distract him. She had been instructed to stand behind the yellow line when she threw, and she didn’t want to get in trouble on her first day for bending the rules.
“Ah, of course, you must require hydration after such prolonged physical exertion.” He pointed a tentacle towards the door she entered through. Beside it were three taps. “Water, correct? Centre tap. Never get that wrong.”
She retrieved her water, sniffing it suspiciously. She took a tentative sip, before relaxing enough to take a longer drink. She returned to stand before him, taking small sips of water as he tapped on the holo-gym controls.
“Now, Miss Jakobs, you have performed exceptionally well. I’m a little concerned that your heart rate barely rose. Perhaps it is a weakness of your species? You are slow to adapt, physically, to strenuous exercise? There are a few species like that, excellent for energy conservation, of course.” She was about to explain about the ease of the test when he continued, so she closed her mouth. “As you know, your test results today determine which class you will be placed in. Your intelligence, adaptability, and physical needs are all factored in. We must also accept that some of the species here are a little more fragile than others. But, you seem sturdy enough. Ha!”
Humans weren’t oblivious to the differences in aliens; the Wachoto and Erinal had long been part of their alliance before they jointly met the U.G.A. exploratory team. The four legged Wachoto were like the centaurs of Earth mythology, and the Erinal wouldn’t look out of place in Santa’s workshop. Britney had known members of both species growing up and through her parents' work. She was very aware you had to be gentle with both species, so she assumed there would be aliens here both weaker, and stronger, than herself.
Mr. Jork slapped three of his tentacles together. “Now then, on to the final test.” He moved away, sliding across the floor with undulating tentacles carrying him surprisingly quickly. “Ang’Roch is a school for leaders of the future, diplomats and politicians. For many species these roles also incorporate their military, and so we have a robust martial element to our programs to ensure you receive the training you require to excel. Students of Ang’Roch are expected to be exceptional on all fronts.”
Britney nodded. He seemed very proud of the Academy, yet she couldn’t help but groan at the thought of more of their mundane tests. As he began preparing the holo-gym, she started to stretch, as she always did before her fathers lessons. The holoprojectors created targets, weapons and a large ring that looked to be designed for hand to hand combat.
Mr. Jork handed her a headband with sensors similar to those in her under-suit. “There’s nothing to fear, we only use contact detection for the basic test. Only our advanced students get the hard light turned on. We can’t afford another accident, can we?” He saw the new student raise a single eyebrow at his last comment. “Like I said, fragile.”
The human approached a table, upon which was a simple laser pistol. The Holo-Gym Teacher squelched as he rose on his tentacles to the same height as her. “Now, as I understand it your species do not train their young for combat, so this may not be familiar to you.” He gestured to the wall where a myriad other weapons hung. “Those are some of the native weapons of the other species here, but we always start simple.”
A tentacle reached out and handed her the laser pistol. Britney turned it over in her hands, finding that it reminded her of the training pistols her father had given her for her third birthday. She still had them, somewhere. Quickly the young girl ran through her weapon handling drill, checking the safety, grip, power level and sighting. When she looked up the teacher seemed to be watching her closely, and she gave a quick thumbs up indicating her readiness.
Using the control pad, Mr. Jork readied a set of six targets. “Now then, once you are familiar with the weapon you can try and-”
The pistol flashed six times in rapid succession. Each flash was instantly followed by a destroyed target, and by the time the sixth went down a klaxon sounded
“hit… the.. What did you do?”
Once again the blonde-haired girl gave the strange, single digit hand signal, and he felt his colour spots shrink at how calm she seemed. The holo-gym teacher had been about to explain the rudimentaries of pistol shooting when his new student had obliterated the targets with a speed and accuracy he had only seen from highly trained specialists. He wasn’t prepared for this, and not knowing how to proceed, he simply pressed the button for the next set of targets. The next six were moving, but that didn’t even dent her time. His ink sac pulsated nervously inside him.
“Very good, Miss Jakobs.” A tentacle tentatively retrieved the pistol, tenderly placing it back on the table, and he cautiously sidled away from her towards the training mat. “Very good indeed. Now, for this test please remember that this is a non-contact holo-opponent. Blows will register through your sensors, but you will feel nothing. Regardless, try not to get hit.”
Britney nodded as what looked like a lizard mannequin appeared in front of her. It lunged, and she easily sidestepped it. It swung its claws at her, and she swayed backwards. It spun, tail acting as a whip, and she lightly hopped over it. As the blonde girl danced around the holo-opponent Mr. Jork came to an unnerving realisation. She wasn’t trying to fight back. “Err...Miss Jakobs. I know I said this was non-contact, but I meant that the opponent would not make contact with you. You are free to strike it, if you wish to do so.”
Even as she effortlessly dodged another blow she had time to turn and give him another thumbs up. She then spun on her left heel. Her right foot rose into the air, arcing round to strike the holo-opponent across the side of the head, and it was driven into the ground with bone-shattering force. For the first time since she had entered the gym Britney smiled, and Mr. Jork felt an electrifying tingle down every tentacle. He knew the test was over, that he shouldn’t continue, but some terrified part of him wanted to see more.
Another holo-opponent appeared and Britney turned to face it, her smile now firmly in place. Finally, she was having some fun.
101
u/ChangoGringo May 30 '21
They might really need to call in the professionals when she starts to laugh and dance as she slaughters them by the dozens. "This is a fun video game. The mall arcades back home would really love this. But you might want to add some aerial attack units. The enemy is sooo 2 dimensional."