POV: Melody, Benny, and Gabby
~Earlier, Back in the Headmaster’s Office, before Cynrik, Brance and Selene chose their Chaperones.~
“Due to the nature of the Passing Down Ceremony, students MUST have a Chaperone. There are no if, and, or buts; that is how things are done, and if you don’t like it, hand back all of the materials you have been given for free.”
“I already anticipated you would fight me on this decision. That is why instead of assigning your chaperone personally, I have given you a list of professors I have personally vetted, many of which you already have some form of relationship with, so knock it off and choose your fucking chaperone.” As Headmaster Rivia asserted his authority using Killing Intent and Aura, Cynrik’s heart dropped.
Soon enough, Melody made a slight noise and looked up happily at the Headmaster.
“Headmaster Rivia, my Mom is on the list! I wanna choose her, is that ok?” Looking up at the man with hope in her eyes, Melody asked.
“Mhm, that is fine; she was on there for that purpose in the first place. When she discovered how much you’ve grown and that you were about to go through your first Passing Down, she was adamant that she would be your chaperone. Still, I had to tell her it was up to you who you picked, but I am sure she will be happy that you chose her.” Feeling the urge to reach out and pet the girl’s head, Headmaster Rivia chuckled at Melody’s overly excitable attitude.
“Headmaster, I would like Instructor Garrison to be my chaperone,” the next person to speak was Benny. The instant he located Garrison on the list, it was a no-brainer for him; thus, he chose quicker than the others.
“Approved; the two of you can gather your stone and head down to floor B-22, where the Passing Down is held for Tier-3 hopefuls.” Melody and Benny stood up, but they looked to Cynrik for permission before they did.
“Go, keep on your toes and be weary of anything that seems too good to be true. Remember what I taught you and listen to your chaperone; you should be fine since both have already surpassed Tier-3.” Shooting the two a glance, Cynrik issued his order and sent the couple on their way.
“I will choose Instructor Alistar,” up next was Gabby, who chose her chaperone the way her brother had. Since she had sparred with the man several times and was even taking his archery class, Gabby had built up a teacher-student relationship with him to the point she felt comfortable in having him guide her through the Passing Down.
With Headmaster Rivia’s approval, Gabby ran out of the office after getting a similar speech from Cynrik as he had given Melody and Benny.
After exiting the Headmaster’s office, Gabby quickly sprinted toward the elevator. Half running, half skipping, she noticed Melody and Benny, who could be seen standing inside the elevator with the doors open from across the hall and sped up.
“Hey, Guys, hold the door for me!” Reaching the open doored elevator in the blink of an eye, Gabby slid in beside Melody and noticed Benny staring at the button panel on the right side of the entryway in confusion.
“What’s up?” Realizing that the door wasn’t closing and Benny’s hand was hovering over the numerous buttons representing each floor of the building, Gabby asked as she peeked around her brother’s large torso to get a look at what he was doing.
“Apparently, Headmaster Rivia forgot to tell us how to get down to Floor B-22; the elevator only goes from the lobby up to this floor, 27. There aren’t any basement level floors on the buttons panel.” Melody explained while holding Gabby by her shoulders and gently pulling her back so she didn’t fall or disrupt Benny.
“Huh? What are we supposed to do then?” Tilting her head to the side as she allowed Melody to drag her backward, Gabby’s voice was barely audible while speaking.
“For now, we will have to go down to the lobby; Melly, can you text your mom and see if she has already arrived?” After failing to figure out how to reach the basement of the building, Benny pressed the elevator’s “L” button, which caused the doors to close and descend to the lobby.
“Sure thing,” nodding her head, Melody began tapping away on her Watcet and sent out a message, and by the time the group reached the lobby, she had already received a reply from her mother.
“Mom says she was already waiting downstairs but is coming back to get us. She wants us to stand by the elevator out of the way until she arrives.” Letting her left arm fall to her side after reading the reply text, Melody said before looking at Benny, who was showing signs of being nervous.
“Babe, don’t get all freaked out; my Mom isn’t going to bite your head off. It’s like the millionth time you’ve met her; how come you are still so skittish?” Fighting back a giggle, Melody teased Benny, who appeared to be two seconds away from pacing like Cynrik does.
“I know, but still, she is a Professor on top of being your Mom, not to mention she always glares at me like I’m a hungry predator who stole her cub away.” Shoving his hands in his pockets as he spoke, Benny tried his best to calm his rapidly racing heart.
“Pfft, Big Brother, you look like you need to go to the bathroom; relax, will you? Auntie Claire is a nice lady; since when are you such a wimp.” However, unlike Melody, who was trying to comfort Benny, going so far as to rub his back, Gabby quickly went on the attack and began teasing him.
“So says you, Gabby; the last time I saw her, all I did was pass by her food stand, and I got all kinds of cooking utensils hurled at me; I ran away in fear of my life!” Feeling wronged, Benny pulled one hand out of his pocket and delivered a flick onto his sister’s forehead just as the doors opened.
Unlike what he wanted, Benny’s words only sufficed to cause his sister and girlfriend to laugh at his expense. When the doors opened, their laughter was loud enough to draw the attention of several adults and staff members actively going about their workday.
Dropping his head and exiting the elevator, Benny hid in a corner nearby in embarrassment, causing the two girls to laugh even harder.
Three minutes later, the elevator dinged, and a pretty Silver haired lady stepped out before looking around the lobby, eventually spotting the two girls picking on a bashful-looking muscular boy. Professor Claire walked over and snuck up behind the girls, smiling at their antics, then replacing the expression with a mischievous look.
“Well now, this sure is an odd sight, two short, pretty girls picking on a beefy muscular boy, that isn’t something you see every day.” Standing only a few centimeters behind Gabby and Melody, Professor Claire stuck her head between the two girls and spoke, causing all three students to freeze in shock.
“MOM! Don’t creep up on us like that; you nearly gave me a heart attack.” Whipping around and batting at Professor Claire’s shoulder in anger, Melody complained nearly in tears.
“Hehe, I couldn’t resist. Seeing my adorable and precious little daughter picking on a boy bigger than her with her galpal was simply irresistible. Hello Gabriella, as always, thank you for being such a good friend to my little girl.” Stepping back, Professor Claire then crossed her arms and glared at Benny.
“Gremlin.” Using the nickname she had coined for the boy who was actively trying to steal her daughter away, Professor Claire’s line of sight lingered on Benny for only a second before she ignored his existence.
“Hello, Professor Claire,” Benny replied, but he soon fell silent.
“We can’t keep the other Professors waiting; let’s get a move on.” Professor Claire said as she caught both girls by the wrist and dragged them toward the elevator.
Stepping into the still open doors, Professor Claire barely waited for Benny to enter the elevator before retrieving a shiny silver key, putting it into the slot on the button panel, and changing the button display on the shiney metal panel.
Once the buttons changed to reflect the many different underground floors, Professor Claire pressed B-22 and began explaining things to her daughter and Gabby while continuing to ignore Benny’s existence.
“Gabriella, Melody, don’t be caught off guard, but the lower we go into the bowels of the planet, the higher the gravity will become. The Reason for the increase in Gravitational pressure is due to the density of the planet’s core; for every 100 meters below the surface of the crust we go, the gravity multiplies by 0.5g. Floor B-22 is located approximately 800 meters below the surface. So you two will be put under 4g of gravitational pressure.”
After explaining the shift in gravity the further down they went, Professor Claire explained the rooms they would be entering, saying a similar summary to the one presented to Cynrik and Brance by Headmaster Rivia.
“Every chaperone has a speech they have to give to the student under their care, and Melody, I will be giving the same one to you once we get into our room. Gabriella, who did you choose as your chaperone?” Tossing the youngest Sanford a curious glance, Professor Claire asked.
“Instructor Alistar. I have him for Archery, plus he was the one who conducted my test after I reached Tier-2. Since I already knew him, I figured choosing him was a good idea instead of a Professor I didn’t already know.” Gabby replied, smiling and rocking back and forth unhindered by the rapidly increasing Gs on her body.
“Your faction’s situation is a bit different since all of us chaperones had to sign a contract to be allowed to help you with your evolution. Still, it is always best to pick someone you have previously encountered.”
“You have arrived on floor B-22; please watch your step as the gravity has increased by 4gs compared to the surface.” A pleasant Artificial voice chimed through the elevator speakers as the doors opened, revealing a contrasting hallway.
As Professor Claire finished speaking, the elevator slowed to a stop, and everyone exited into the rocky hallway.
“Melody, you and I are in Room C-03, Gabriella, you are in Room C-02, and tsk, Gremlin, run along to room D-01.” Keeping her back to Benny, Professor Claire continued the act of hating Benny as she dragged the girls along to their room, leaving the boy with his head hanging.
‘Sigh, I wonder when she will stop being so mean to me. It’s not like I make a bunch of aggressive advances on Melly, if anything, she is the more proactive and bold one of us.’ Shuffling his feet, Benny made his way toward the numbered room Professor Claire had indicated, keeping his distance from the girls.
Although ignoring Benny, Professor Claire didn’t slack off in doing her job and briefly stopped by Room D-02, punched in the code, opened the door and continued on toward the next two rooms.
“Benny, stay strong, ‘when we get done we can go out to dinner tonight, My treat.’ Looking back and blowing a sneaky kiss to her boyfriend, Melody said the first part out loud but mouthed the latter part of her statement silently so that her Mom didn’t hear it.
“Good luck Big Brother!” looking over her shoulder as she was dragged by the hand, Gabby shouted while waving at Benny.
“You too Little Sister, and Melly, you’ve got this.” Wearing a worried Smile, Benny straightened his back and walked into the cave-like room before the door shut.
A few seconds later, the sounds of two more stone doors echoed down the long hallway, indicating that everyone had made it into their rooms to begin their Evolution and the Passing Down Ceremony.
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