“I envy those guards. They are as young as us!” Jiro pouted. He was sitting on Aaron's bunk, punching the ladder. The frames shook, barely holding the impact of Jiro's fists. Jiro didn't have a punching back so he resorted to punching ladders. Aaron was reading a book, a fairly voluminous book in particular. Calvin was on his bunk, performing his tai chi relaxation rituals. The initiation ceremony took a huge toll on all the students' stress levels. Wu Chun was practicing his judo, deep in thought.

“But, they also have their gems chosen, jobs assigned, and they graduated early,” Aaron pointed out. His eyes never left the page he was reading. It was a book on ancient techniques of the sword.

“But we are the BEST students in the school! I haven't even seen them fight!” Jiro argued.

Calvin, amidst his concentration, said, “They each have their own weaknesses, but as a team they are virtually unstoppable.”

“And I heard they are kind of stupid,” Wu Chun added.

“What does that have to do with anything! Ah, well, at least they are from our school! Did you see the looks on Da Go's faces? And they thought that their best students were going to guard the stone. They wish!” Jiro changed the topic. The ladder was misshapen already.

“Uh, I think they are okay,” Calvin projected his voice.

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Aaron drops his book, and Jiro stops in mid-punch. Chun turned his head. They all stared at Calvin as if he was a rock in a pile of gems. Calvin quickly added, “When they are defeated by our school,” Calvin nervously smiles, and the guys resume their activities.

If anyone was paying attention to Wu Chun, they would have noticed that he stopped practicing his judo and clutched onto the small amulet around his neck. But of course, nobody was looking, since Jiro was ranting, Aaron was reading, and Calvin was meditating.

“And what's up with their uniforms? Red? Really opposite from our school colour, blue,” Jiro continued.

The rest of the guys just ignored him. Jiro usually went on rants when he was envious. He once went on a rant about bandits when the girl he liked had looked at another guy. But then the girl went to Da Go and they lost contact ever since.

“I can't wait until we leave this school,” Aaron said. He closed his book.

“I hope we go on a quest,” Wu Chun sighs, “Every great hero goes on an adventure. Have you heard of the Legendary Healers and Fighters of Wu Xiong?”

“Yes. They even cured small pox,” Calvin exclaimed.

“And my father,” Jiro included.

A quietness took over the room as they continued their actions. Suddenly, warning sirens boomed through the speakers and a voice appeared on the intercom.

“We are under attack. Students report back to dormitories until further notice.”

The message repeated continuously. The speaker was the principal. His voice was monotone and contained no emotion at all, but a lot of authority.

“Why do we have to stay in? We're not kids for gods sake! Plus! This is a combat school!” Jiro shouted over the intercom.

“Because the parents will sue the school!” Aaron answered, equally as loud.

The pager finally stopped repeating the message. Calvin chuckled, “Only one hour after initiation and they have a major job. I think that's a new record."

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Hey, SharShar again! Thanks for commenting, guiwang. I'm sorry, but this was a boring chapter to supply background information and introduce the personalities of Fahrenheit. Anyways, new readers comment, and have a nice day! That was weird, I went back to add something and my author's note went in the middle of my story. Anyways, if any of you were wondering, the gems actually match their jobs, like, healing stones, or power stones, or luck stones and whatnot. I'm just that busy.