Chapter Two
Exo Academy: Secret Institute For The Skilled And Powerful
Chapter Two
Symbols
You sat behind a large tree outside Heejung's house the next morning. Since you didn't know why she suddenly switched schools, you at least wanted to know where it was located so you could still visit her.
You searched for information about the school on the internet but no results showed up. It was pretty weird indeed so you wanted to investigate a bit.
An hour has passed by and Heejung finally got out of her house. She brought 2 suitcases and a large bag with her. She was a wearing a uniform that you had never seen before and just from the uniform itself, you could tell that it was a fancy school. It was black, white and red, and there was a logo with the letters 'EA' embroidered on her blazer. There was a car waiting outside and the driver opened the door for her. Once she got in they drove away in an instant.
Once they were far enough, you got out of your hiding spot and took out the bike that you have brought along with you. You immediately hopped on it and pedalled as fast as you could. The car was moving so abruptly that if it weren't for stoplights, you could have lost them.
Later on, the car took a turn to an isolated road that led to a forest. Trees covered the whole area which made the forest look dark and uninviting, but you know you had to do this just to take your curiosity away.
You followed them deeper into the place until it reached a huge black gate that was covered with bushes and leaves. There was a small guard house nearby.
The gates opened and the car was granted permission to enter. You attempted to act casual and tail behind but unfortunately, you were caught.
"Whoa there. You can't come in." The guard called you over. "And why not?" you asked. The guard closed the gates and turned to you, "This is private property. You have to have a purpose to get inside."
"Well, in fact, I do have a reason. I'm here to visit one of my friends. This is Exo Academy right?" you asked. But the guard pointed to a sign nearby. You barely noticed the sign because it was written in weird symbols. You looked at it real good but you couldn't understand the writing.
"Um, I don't really understand what it says--" He cut you off, "If you can't understand it, then you're not supposed to be here. It means 'no visitors allowed'. You better head back because nosy people like you aren't allowed to be here."
"Hey, I have a question, how do you get admitted to this academy?" You asked him, hoping that the guard will answer your question. "That is information that we can't tell. You better scram now or you'll be in big trouble."
You sighed in defeat and turned around. "No visitors allowed." You mocked in a funny tone. I highly doubt that it translates to that. A sign can't be that fancy. Tch, mean guard. You rolled your eyes and made your way back to the main road and decided to go home.
Once you entered the front door to your aunt's house, you took your shoes off and sighed. Your aunt, Ilhwa, was cooking lunch for the both of you. While waiting, you plopped yourself on the couch and put a pillow over your face.
"Is there anything wrong dear?" She asked as she poked her head through the kitchen doorway.
"Heejung switched schools." You answered as you put the pillow on the back of your head and tried to make yourself comfy. You felt really tired from finding the school and failing to get in.
"That's very sad to hear." Your aunt came in the living room and sat next to you. "You girls were almost never apart from each other."
"What was my parents' high school life like?" You suddenly blurted. You really missed your parents a lot and you frequently asked your aunt about them and how their life was like before.
Ilhwa had been close with your parents since they were kids. Your mom was her sister but your parents were much closer to one another since they attended the same high school.
"They went to a very peculiar school. I couldn't get in but your mom used to tell me stories about it like how the people there had many amazing powers and how they would challenge theirselves to duels and--" She was cut off.
"You should stop telling me fictional stories. I'm not a kid anymore." You faced the other side of the couch. Ilhwa just smiled softly.
"If only I could get into that dumb Exo academy.", you groaned.
Ilhwa sighed and stood up from her seat. She went inside her room and rummaged through the shelf of books that she would sometimes read. In one of them, she pulled out an old, faded envelope and sighed to herself once again. I never intended to give this to her, but she might find out about it sooner or later.
"Here." Ilhwa went back into the living room and handed you the envelope. "What's this?" You wondered.
"Since you're feeling lonely, here's something your parents left you. They told me to give it to you on your 16th birthday but you're already 17. It kind of slipped off my mind. My, I'm starting to get old." She put a hand to her chest. You chuckled a bit and hugged her aunt. "No you're not."
Once you pulled out of the hug, you opened the envelope and unfolded the paper that was inside. "What does it say?" your aunt asked.
"It only has some weird symbols on it. I can't understand a thing." You frowned and looked up at her. "But thank you for giving me this. It means a lot to me." Your smile returned.
"You better keep that away in your room. Lunch will be ready in an hour. Run along now." Ilhwa went back into the kitchen to prepare their lunch as you went inside your room.
That night, before you went to bed, you looked at the envelope again. The symbols looked awfully familiar but it doesn't ring a bell. Ugh. You just groaned and threw it on your study table and lied down on your bed.
Hours later, you were still staring at the ceiling. You couldn't sleep at all. You suddenly thought of the events that happened that day and remembered how you followed Heejung's ride and fought with the guard earlier. You chuckled at the thought of how dumb you acted.
But remembering how the gate looked like, you suddenly shot up from your bed. The huge sign. You reached over for the envelope and looked a the symbols.
"So that's why it looked familiar." You said to yourself. The symbols on the sign and the ones written on the paper look alike. Minutes later, you sat on your for a long time, deciding if you should really do it. After thinking about it for a little more, you stood up and reached for you old, large, dusty suitcase that hasn't been used for a very long time.
It was 5am in the morning. You walked out of your room, with your suitcase and school bag in hand. You tiptoed down the steps and left a note on the refrigerator explaining to your aunt where you were going and reassuring her that you were going to be fine.
You then headed towards the front door but stopped when you heard someone approaching.
"I already called a cab and made some packed breakfast for you. And don't worry, I already called your old school and told them that you'll be dropping out." You were surprised to see your aunt handing you some money and packed food. "How did you--"
"I expected this to happen. Don't worry, it's okay. Get out there and find yourself." Ilhwa smiled and gave you a small 'fighting' pose. You stuffed everything inside your bag and pulled her into a big hug.
"Thank you for everything." You said and she ruffled your hair. You opened the door to see a taxi waiting outside.
"One last thing, there's something you need to know about your parents." She held you back for a little while. "What about them?" you asked.
"Your parents, well, they weren't really normal." Your aunt said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" You gave her a puzzled look and Ilhwa just chuckled. "You'll know when you get to their high school."
You got down in front of the gate of the school and paid the cab driver. Once it drove away, you approached the rude guard from yesterday.
"Not you again." the guard groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you that this sign over here says--" You slammed the paper you got from your aunt the other day in front of him.
"Well, it doesn't really read 'no visitors allowed' to me." You smirked. The guard's jaw dropped and grabbed the paper. He looked at it closely and then he looked back at you. "So you're here to report to the school." He suspiciously handed it back to you.
You just nodded nervously, hoping that he would let you pass easily. But the guard asked you one thing.
"What's your power then?" He asked you. "P-power?" You croaked.
"Your mom used to have a really good time at her school. She used to have friends who could shoot ice and stretch their arms as far as they could. They were really powerful." Your aunt told you.
"Yeah right, things like that don't exist." You said back.
You suddenly remembered how your aunt loved telling you old stories about the people your mom met. But you never believed in them, thinking that they were all just made-up bedtime stories. Only now did you realize that all the things your aunt had told you must have somehow been true. Well, you'll never know unless you get in.
"Oy, I was asking you a question." The guard snapped you out of your deeep thinking. "Yes, right um..." You didn't really know what to do since you don't have anything to show him. Heck, you didn't even know that the school was for people who had powers.
"So what's your power?" He asked. How am I going to get through this?
"Umm, I have a power. And it's cool." You nearly facepalmed yourself for saying something as silly as that. You just stood there nervously, waiting for a miracle to happen.
"Yes, but what is it? Demonstrate it or I'm not going to let you in." He threatened. You started to panic in your mind. You looked around for something that could miraculously help you, but there was nothing to prove that you did indeed have powers. Not even a fake one. You started to become hopeless.
"Got nothing to show? Then go away before I call the admins of this school." He snapped at you.
You were about to give up but you noticed that the rocks and leaves behind you on the ground suddenly started to float. You were amazed for you had never seen anything like that in your life. You stared at it for quite a while.
As the rocks floated around you in mid-air, you started to realize the situation and face the guard. "Th-this is my power." You tried to say it proudly, waiting for the guard to hopefully buy it. The rocks started to get pulled by gravity and landed back down on the ground.
"Ok then, welcome to Exo Academy." He said. The guard didn't really want to believe it but you somehow already proved that you had supernatural powers. You finally had the right to enter the school and he couldn't really do anything about it. He opened the gate as you picked your suitcase up. You gave the guard a small salute and smirked as you walked down the long road ahead.
I'm in.
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