Chapter 6.

Part 25. Monday morning.

The dorm kitchen offered breakfast from 7 to 9 am. Everything was served with a slice of melon, if you wanted it or not. Helt got up at 8:30am, had a quick shower and grabbed a bagel on his way out the door to the first class. Serena, who had been up at dawn to go swimming, enjoyed a more relaxed breakfast with her bleary eyed roommate Emma, who mostly just stared at her food and drank coffee.

New students were divided into 3 classes of about 20 each. This offered more direct interaction with the teacher, it also allowed rivalry between classes, which the Dean encouraged. As fate had it; Emma, Serena and Helt found themselves in the same room. At 9am they would begin their study of History – as the world knows it.

The professor, a small man with very thick glasses, walked in at 2 minutes before 9. He stood silently watching the students until 9:01am. “Good morning. Will someone close the doors, please?” he said in a sharp clipped tone. When the doors were shut, he continued “I am Doctor Franco Deneto Mak. ‘Big Mac’ jokes will not be tolerated. If you arrive after the doors are closed there is a $20 late fee. Questions in class are always welcome. Interruptions are not. Be curious.”

Professor Mak wrote on the old black board ‘As The World knows It.’ “In this class we dogmatically stick to the mainstream knowledge of history and culture. Everything is explainable by physics and psychology. All religious and supernatural ideas are beliefs, possibly powerful but nothing more.” He went on to outline the course an its assignments, before stressing again that wild ideas were not welcome in serious academic circles. Class ended at 10am.

After a half hour brake, during which time Emma scarfed down a late breakfast, the next class began. At 10:30am the trio sat down for a very different sort of history lesson. Professor Petter Wuz-Ling was a carelessly dressed middle aged man with a limp. He hobbled into class with a big stack of papers. “Morning, uhh. These are secret, don't touch them. I forgot my tea, so I will be right back.” having said that he walked out on the class. Most of whom looked rather amused and confused.

As some students chatted, Emma walked right to the front and looked at the top page of the pile. Then she took a photo of it with her phone. Everyone was watching her. Someone asked “What does it say?”

“Sorry, its a secret.” she answered as she walked back to her seat. This prompted a few others to go up and look for themselves. It read ‘This is a test. Don’t tell anyone.’ then a lot of text is very very small print about curiosity killing a cat.

Professor Wuz-Ling gave an entertaining speech about the way truth is often hidden in history. “In the past people liked to believe in the fantastic, but today they will construct elaborate proofs to avoid it.” he said this 3 times during his rambling introduction to his History – hidden truths. Class ended at 11:30am and lunch began.

Part 26. Monday afternoon.

Lunch time ran from 11:30am to 1pm. Many students clouded into the cafe rather than taking lunch at the dorm dining room, others got their food to go and ate at the tables on the common square. Serena spent most of her time in line at the admin desk waiting to file the club application. Helt took a nap under a shady tree. Emma made copies of the club recruiting poster and tacked them onto the various old style announcement boards. In almost every way the University was not living in the digital age.

The third class of the day, starting at 1pm was Myth & Reality by Professor McGriffon. The well dressed instructor, who greeted most students as they arrived at the University island now stood at the front of the class, “Every myth has some foundation in reality. The problem we face is determining how much is true and how much is distortion.” He opened the long case that was sitting on his desk and withdrew a sword. “Academics can argue over legendary accounts of a werewolf, but if you are faced with a big hair creature chasing after you, you need to think clearly and quickly. You need to recall details of myth and mach them to what you see first hand. Your judgment may mean life or death.”

That is how McGriffon started his lecture. He caught and held everyone’s attention, even when he switched to the dull but necessary details of the course outline. By 2pm most students were excited for more.

The next class ran from 2:30 to 3:30 pm and was held at the gym. Survival was taught by a big old man named Arnold Lagone, who must have been a drill Sargent at one time. “Listen up. All that fancy learning don't mean shit if you get your dumb selves killed. I dont’t care about your fancy credentials or your special needs. In my class you learn to survive and overcome tough situations. If your out of shape, best be doing some exercise on your own time.” He walked slowly back and forth in front of the students who stood in a flock.

“This ain’t the army, Im not here to teach you discipline or combat, but you damn well should learn those things somehow. My class will focus on physical and mental skills for surviving normal and para-normal dangers. Lost in the woods 101, followed by Lost in a forest full of killer bunnies 202.” He paused for the usual chuckles and smiles, “I ain't kiddin, there will be killer rabbits on the test.”

When class ended many of the students gathered into small groups to make plans on how they would train on their own time to be better prepared to face Arnold’s challenges. Just as he hopped they would.

Part 27. Monday evening.

The dorm kitchens served dinner from 4 to 7 pm. After that, leftovers were available until 10pm. The two cafes did not offer much in the way of serious meals, but did serve snacks until they closed at 10pm also. The Quick-E-Mart was open till 11:30, for junk food. The only thing open till midnight was the Professor’s Pub.

From 6 to 7 pm elective classes were held for first year students.

Professor McGriffon offered the popular; How to become friends with it 206 class, that explained various ways one could made friends with mythical creatures. Both Serena and Emma were interested in it. Although the big blond American was also considering Professor Arnold’s class; How to kill it 202. Which obviously enough, explored the many ways that monsters could be put down.

Emma was no pacifist, but she wanted to do more than the previous generations of her family had done in regards to making co-existence better than the way it was done now. Idealistic, sure, and proud of it. So she finally signed up with McGriffon’s class along with her roommate. It was of course very relevant to what the club was all about.

As for Helt, he could not find the class he really wanted. It was not listed anyplace and no student would admit that it even existed. He suspected it was in the second volume of the Handbook. He considered being more forceful in his questioning, but quickly dismissed the idea. It could cause a lot of trouble and he was not really in any hurry. So he signed up for Feng-Shui 242 with Professor Millisa Ming.

It came as no surprise that his roommate Yue Mefong was also in the class. Although Helt had not spoken a lot to him, the course seemed to be exactly what Yue was interested in. He was on his may to becoming some sort of mystical martial arts master. Possibly a good person to have around in the club.

Part 28. Afternoon Surprise.

It was Tuesday afternoon, the Survival class with Prof Arnold was almost done. Everyone was tired, he had worked them hard to see what they were capable of. First he had them run the obstacle course as a group, free form. This let him see not only how fast people were, but how they interacted with their teammates. Then he had randomly selected pairs run the course with times recorded. Last he selected pairs and had them do the course with backpacks weighing 20lbs.

Now with the class assembled in the training village square Prof Arnold stood with cigar in mouth and clipboard in hand. The village was at the foot of the hills, behind the university sports field. Made up of a dozen rundown buildings it was used for a wide range of activities. Today it was about to be the site of an ambush.

Suddenly objects were flying at them from all directions. Water balloons, so they seemed. Most students were taken by surprise, several were hit in the first volley. A few stood there and asked “What is going on?” Others belatedly ran for cover.

To Helt’s surprise Serena was one of the first to duck and dash, almost like she knew the attack was coming just before the bombs began to drop. Narrowly avoiding one, he sprinted for a nearby doorway. Now even those who had been hit were mostly seeking cover. No one was screaming in pain, so the balloons did not contain anything like acid.

Emma had gotten hit in the leg by one of the balloons before she could find cover. “What the F-ing monkey nuts is this?” she exclaimed. Then the shooting started.

Six gunmen with paint pellet rifles opened fire on the first year class, while a few other elder students tossed fire crackers to add to the confusion. It was tradition.

Through it all Prof Arnold stood there taking notes on his clip board. He used this as part of his evaluation too.

The attack lasted one minute then stopped. “Any one not hit?” he demanded.

Serena raised her hand, peeking up from her hiding spot. Helt standing near her said nothing, still trying to maximize his cover. Another guy stepped out of a doorway “Ha Ha, Im fine.”

Thwak – a paint ball hit Serena,

Thwack – another hit the fine guy as he tried to get back into the building.

Both shots had come from a far hilltop, Helt noticed.

“Ok, now the class is over.” Prof Arnold yelled.