The Games Heroes Play (5 page)

They had stopped walking for a moment, and Lieutenant Johnson was telling them about classes and the study rooms.  Jay was not listening, but instead was trying to figure out the new pictures he had.  He decided to try focusing on one person, and seeing how large he could get their pictures.  He picked out someone he saw through a window into a study room, and he began to concentrate.  He let his body relax, and focused just on the thoughts of his mind.  The pictures began to grow. 
That’s it!
Jay thought in excitement.  They got larger and larger, thoughts of advanced tactical maneuvers. 
That must be what he’s studying.
  Jay looked forward to taking that class.  The pictures were almost as big as they had been when it was just a small stream. 

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!
  Jay almost stumbled backwards.  The words suddenly jumped out of the picture where the tactical maneuvers previously had been.  With his concentrating on the pictures, he had not noticed until now that the boy was no longer looking at his work, but instead was looking right back at him, scowling angrily. 

“Jay!  It is rude to ignore someone who is talking to you, and even ruder to move into someone’s mind uninvited
,”
Lieutenant Johnson declared in a strict tone.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking, it won’t happen again.”  Jay was embarrassed to have been caught in his experiment. 

“This is your first day, and as such your first offense.  These actions will be reprimanded if you are caught doing them again in the future.”  Jay noticed she was not really angry with him, but rather was enforcing the rules that she was required to enforce.  Nevertheless, Jay was sorry that he gave her a reason to become strict with him.

“I understand
,”
Was all Jay could say.  He turned to look at the boy in the study room, but the boy was looking down at his work again.  Lieutenant Johnson had turned to
Zahrah
to answer one of her questions, so Jay tried for a moment to send a mental message to the boy apologizing.  The boy was either not reading Jay’s mind or was ignoring it, and Jay realized he can only read others thoughts, not force his own into another’s head. 
I guess I’ve found a limitation on this ability,
he thought.

Jay made sure to pay closer attention to Lieutenant Johnson for the remainder of the tour.  Before long the tour was over, and they were in the section of the school designated to the dormitories. 

“…and here we have the dormitories, which are divided by gender first, then by class, and lastly by ability.  Jay, this is your room – male, first year, Prometheus.  It is getting late, and classes begin in the morning, so you’d better go in and find an open bed.  Your resident leader is Duke; he is a fifth year student.  He is the one with the beard in the bed by the door.  He will tell you what you need to do next.  Your belongings should be waiting for you inside.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Johnson; it was nice to meet you. 
You too
Zahrah
.”
 

“And you, Jay
,”
Zahrah
responded.  The two of them walked off down the hall, and with their fast pace it was not long before they were out of sight.  With a deep breath Jay opened the door and stepped through.  The room was full of first year students. 
So here they all are
,
Jay thought to himself.  He had wondered why he had not seen many his age around the school.  Jay turned to the bed by the door, but there was nobody there.  He looked around, but nobody he could see had a beard. 
Duke must be out.  I guess I’m on my own for a while
.  Jay began looking for an open bed.  He quickly realized there was only one left, and it was on the top bunk next to the entrance to the bathroom.  Jay moved over to it and climbed up onto the bed.  He wondered where his things were – they were nowhere in sight.  Jay lay back on the empty bed to relax.

It did not take him long to realize why nobody wanted this bed.  Every time the bathroom door opened, a light that was just inside shone out onto him.  He really hoped there would not be many late night bathroom trips.

CHAPTER 5

JAY AWOKE THE next morning still lying in the same spot where he had first laid down.  The bed was still bare, and he was still in the same clothes he had worn the night before.  The only difference was that his things were now sitting at the foot of his bed.  He looked around, and noticed that the rest of the boys were all asleep.  He could have figured this out without looking around at the other students if he had thought about it.  His mental collage was full of obscure thoughts and scenarios, and he knew these must be the dreams of the other boys.  The only other person awake sat in the bed by the door,
itching
the scruff that passed for a beard as he looked over some papers. 

Jay, realizing at once that this must be his resident leader Duke, climbed out of bed as quietly as he could and walked over to introduce himself.
  Before Jay could say a word, Duke swung himself out of bed and motioned for Jay to follow him.  He led Jay to a door across the room from the bathroom.  Jay had assumed this was a closet, and from the size it most likely had been a large closet at one point, but it had been converted into a small office just large enough for a small desk and two chairs.  They went inside and Duke shut the door. 

“Ok, so you’re Jay.  You got in late last night, I wasn’t there, so you went and found a bed, and fell asleep.  You aren’t sure what you’re supposed to do.”

“Umm…well yeah
,”
Jay responded.  He figured Duke had probably read his mind, as this was exactly what he was about to say.

“You first years always think so loud at the beginning,” Duke said with a laugh.  “I put your things at the foot of your bed.  You should probably use this opportunity to take a shower as
soon as we’re done here.  It’s 6am now and classes start at 8.  That means all the other students will have the bright idea of getting up between 7 and 7:30 and trying to take a shower all at the same time.  You're off to a good start kid.” 

Jay decided Duke was a good enough person, and started to ease up.  He also decided it would be best to let Duke do all the talking.

“Good choice, I’ll talk and you listen.  I like
your
thinking kid.  Alright, here’s your class schedule, and a map of the school.  And here’s your schedule for the first week, since it will be a little different than normal.  The dining hall is open 24 hours a day.  Not really something we Prometheus take advantage of often, but those Hermes and Titans sure can eat.  If you get lost around the school, just ask a fellow Prometheus how to get where you need to go.  Don’t be loud at night, don’t eat in your bed, don’t bother the older students unless you have to, and don’t read minds outside of class, and only when instructed to in class.”

“Don’t read minds?”  Jay was surprised by this rule.

“Yes, don’t read minds.  I realize you’re new and can’t control it most of the time, but really try not to.  It’s offensive to those who you read, and it’s obvious when you do it.  If they can read minds they’ll see you in there, and if they can’t, they could probably tell by the goofy look that will be on your face while you’re trying.”

But you were just reading my thoughts.
Jay thought to himself.

“Yes, I was reading your thoughts.  The rule is for you first years, not for me.  And if I ever catch you trying to read my thoughts, which I will if you ever tried, you would severely regret it.”  Duke’s demeanor was suddenly fierce and firm.  Jay knew he meant what he said.

Duke brightened up again and continued, “other than that, just find me if you have any questions.  I won’t be in here all day waiting for you to need me, but at night I will, so approach me then.  Or wake up early, and we can have more delightful meetings like this one.”

Jay realized the conversation was over, so he thanked Duke and went to gather his things for a shower.  Jay had not looked at his class schedule in the hopes of not seeming overly excited, but now that was away from Duke he pulled the sheet out.  It listed the time, place, and instructor for just three classes; Introduction to Mind Reading, Introduction to Defensive Tactics, and Introduction to Physical Preparedness. 
They certainly want to give us an introduction
, Jay thought to
himself
. 

JAY TOOK AS quick of a shower as he could.
  He had planned to take a relaxed shower since he had gotten up so early, but he was uncomfortable with the fact that the shower room was just one big room with faucets around the outer walls.  He had always been on the shy side, and he did not like the idea that if anyone else decided to take a shower now, there would not be any curtain or wall between them.  Jay dried himself off and dressed in the bathroom outside the shower stall into the uniform that had been sitting on his bed.  He had noticed most of the students wearing them around the day before, so he figured they must be the school uniforms.

Jay stepped out of the bathroom and put his things in the bag that hung at the foot of his bed. 
At least I don’t have to walk far to and from the bathroom
, Jay thought to himself, reflecting on his bed location.

“Hey, looks like Decathlon is ready to start his day.”

Jay was surprised to hear someone speak so loudly when there were so many still asleep.  He looked over towards the guy who was speaking, and noticed there were actually more than he thought that were already getting up, and that they were all looking over at him. 

“Hi.”  It was all Jay could think to say.  Somehow this made the situation even funnier for them, and those who were still asleep woke up from the noise of the laughter.  Luckily the event was not dragged on, as people started racing to get their things together in order to get a spot in the shower. 
Decathlon?
Why did he call me that?
 

“Because of the dream you had last night.”  It was the boy sitting in the bunk right under his bed.  Jay had not noticed him there while he was standing by the bed getting his things ready.  Jay was not sure if he should be upset that this kid was reading his mind without permission, but he quickly decided he did not care.

“What dream did I have last night?  I don’t remember having one.”

“That’s always how it is.  A reader can see the dream and remember it while they’re awake, but the dreamer is asleep, so the dream often never converts to their conscious memory.  You really shouldn’t have gone to bed so early, being such a loud dreamer.  Honestly, it’s probably the only thing most of us could see last night.”

Jay got a distressing thought of all these guys sitting in a circle around his bed, laughing at some bizarre dream that he had been having. 

“What did I dream about?”  Jay finally asked the boy, who did not seem in a rush to get ready.

“A decathlon
,”
He said simply.  The boy must have noticed Jay wanted more information, so he continued.  “You dreamt that you were at the school track, and were competing in a type of decathlon.  You were running faster than all the Hermes, lifting heavier weights than the Titans, and outthinking all the Prometheus.  One thing’s for sure, you don’t lack confidence.” 

Jay was relieved to hear that his dream had been so tame, but he was also a little surprised at its content.  For one thing, he had never been confident.  Even now, he was petrified that the collage of read thoughts that were currently going wild through his head would come to a halt just before classes, and he would make a fool of himself.  He also could not recall ever seeing the school track.  He’s sure Lieutenant Johnson must have shown it to him during the tour, and he just does not remember due to his wondering thoughts, but he is still surprised that it would show up in his dream. 

Jay decided it did not really matter, so he gathered his things to head to class.  “Wait up Decathlon, I’ll walk down to class with you, we have the same schedule
,”
The boy said, still lying in bed.  Jay wanted to ask him how he knew they had the same schedule, but figured it really did not matter.  The boy swung his feet out of bed and threw his uniform pants and shirt on right over his pajamas.  “Alright, I’m ready
,”
The boy said, grabbing the top sheet from his bed and throwing it over the rest.  “They like when we make our beds.”

Jay smiled.  This was not the type of person he expected to find at the Academy, but he was nevertheless happy to have made a friend.  They turned to leave.

“So are we actually going to class Decathlon?  You know it doesn't start for another hour right?”

Jay had been so preoccupied he had not noticed the time.  He realized the boy was right.  “How about we get some breakfast?”  Jay suggested.  He was not sure why, but he was starting to get surprisingly hungry.

“Sounds good to me.
  I’m Michael by the way.  If you want you can call me Mike.  Or Mickey, or M, or hey you, honestly I really don’t care what you call me.  I figure I’ll get a nickname at some point, everybody does.” 

Jay was surprised this boy, Michael, could be so relaxed while having such a firm understanding of what was going on.  “My name is Jay, but you can call me Decathlon,” Jay said jokingly.  He figured if that was the name they were going to give him, he might as well get used to it.

JAY WAS DISSAPOINTED when he walked back to the dormitories that afternoon after classes.  All three classes consisted of the same thing; the professors introduced themselves, tried to intimidate the students into taking the class seriously, explained how things worked at the school and in the classes, tried once again to intimidate the students, and then were dismissed.  Jay was looking forward to learning more about his ability, and how to use it properly.  Jay liked the way the classes were set up though; they allowed for students to go at their own pace, and made sure the students learned the material before they could go on.

Each class was one hour and fifteen minutes long, and met Monday through Thursday.  Fridays would be set aside as testing days to see who had successfully learned the previous
week’s material.  The tests were graded on pass or fail, but the professors would only pass students if they had the material down perfectly.  If a test was not passed on one Friday, the student would have to retake the test on a later Friday until it was passed.  The professor would continue teaching class at the normal time as if everyone had passed, then would hold an extra session in the evenings for each class, where students can come in and go over past material.  Once a student passes every weekly test for a particular class, they can take the class’s final assessment, which consists of material from the entire semester.  When a student successfully passes this final assessment, they can go on to the next class for that particular subject.  There are two weeks between semesters where students can attempt final assessments.  If they pass, they may begin the next level at the start to the following semester.  If they do not pass, they repeat the same class they had previously taken. 

Jay was glad to see there were not many second year students in his classes.  He was excited to learn, but he was also still nervous that he would not be able to keep up.  He decided he would attend the evening sessions even if he were passing the tests, just to make sure he knew what was going on. 

The one thing Jay wanted to learn more than anything else was how to control his ability.  He liked that he was a reader, but the constant flow of pictures going through his head would never stop anymore, and it was beginning to cause him headaches. 

“How do you deal with the pictures?”  He asked Michael while they got dinner that night.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you appear to be so relaxed, how can you be relaxed with so many pictures going through your head all the time?”

Michael looked confused.  “Have you tried just not looking at people?”

Not looking at people?
  Jay could not figure out what this had to do with mind reading.  He looked down at his food, but the images did not change in the slightest.  “I’m not looking at anyone right now, but it hasn’t changed.”

Michael stopped eating.  “Describe the pictures.  What does the one in your head look like right now?”  Michael’s attention was caught, now that he realized there might be a difference between their abilities.

“There isn’t just one picture in my head, there’s a million.  They keep racing around.  It’s like a collage of small pictures, some moving, and some stationary.  If I focus on someone, their pictures get bigger.”  Jay gave his description as if this was common, but the confusion on Michael’s face said otherwise. 

After a few moments of thought, Michael got an idea.  “Read my thoughts, Decathlon.  What am I thinking right now?”

Jay liked the idea of giving the pictures a purpose, so he looked at Michael to make the pictures larger.

“No, look down at your food and read my thoughts, you said the pictures were the same
,”
Michael told him, not believing Jay would be able to see the pictures like he said he could.  Jay knew which pictures were Michael’s, since he knew which ones had gotten larger when he looked at Michael.  Jay looked down at his food, and focused on those pictures.  As he did, they began to get bigger.  Once one of them was large enough, he began to describe it.