"Shit!" Dax yelled as he ran, having swallowed the contents of his mouth. "I can't be late on my first day!"
The early morning of the city was bustling. The sidewalks were lined with students all dressed in their academy's uniforms. There were three academies in the city. Each served a different type of student.
Airheart Academy teaches those who were hard workers. They achieved their place in this prestigious school by passing the strenuous entrance exam and have above average grades. Four years of intense work and fulfilling education awaited them. Their students were adorned in a standard issue uniform that was a gray shirt and pants with a brown stripe along the sleeves.
Econ Tech Academy teaches students who cannot afford to go to an academy and did not qualify for a scholarship. Their laxed rules on attendance and lower standards for learning placed them as the city's resident problem school. However, it allowed those students the ability to work full time jobs while attending, to pay for their studies. Those who attended and graduated know exactly how difficult this juggling of life and academics actually was. They also had the standard gray uniform, but their stripe was blue.
Excelsior Academy was the most prestigious of all the academies, not only in the city, but also within the country. Only students with wealthy or powerful parents were permitted to learn here. The school had a one hundred percent job placement rate after graduation. This gave the academy certain privileges the others did not possess. Their uniform was of the purist white with a red stripe.
Dax's academy was Excelsior, and it was located on a hill that overlooks the city. He looked down at his watch as he approached the front gate. He made it with a few minutes to spare.
"Hold there, kid." The guard at the gate said while holding up a stop sign. "White hair, scrawny build, running late, you must be Frank's kid."
"What? You know my father?" Dax said while he tried to catch his breath. He was not much of a runner and this morning's excursion had drained him of what little stamina he had.
"Yeah, graduated with the guy." The guard said. "I am surprised he let you come looking like that."
"Like what?" Dax asked, he then had the sudden realization that he did not fix his hair before he left. "My hair!"
"Yeah." The guard said. "Don't worry too much about it… It's not like this is the most prestigious school in the country filled with the most vile and repulsive students."
"Samson!" A woman yelled from behind the guard. "Let this messy boy through, he has a ceremony to attend."
"Yes mam." Samson replied. "I am sorry to have delayed him, Administer Ordeen."
"Run along boy." Ordeen commanded.
"Yes mam." Dax said as he went through the gate and into the academy grounds.
"Now Samson I think it is time we had a talk about you calling our fine upstanding students foul names." Ordeen said in a very sinister tone that sent chills down Samson's spine.
"Yes, mam." Samson said as he closed the gate and went inside with her.
Dax made his way into the main building, following a line of students that appeared to be his same age.
The entrance of the academy was massive. Two doors made of stained glass depicting the sun standing twelve feet tall and eight feet wide combined marked the entrance. The exterior walls of the academy were made of a pure white marble. Its surface was so polished that Dax could see his reflection as he walked by.
Inside the floor was an aged wood, polished to perfection. The walls were white, matching their uniforms, and the doors of the classes were red. Dax looked into one of the classrooms as he walked by. They were crafted like an amphitheater with the teacher standing on the bottom and the students sitting in ascending rows. Four students to a row Four rows back.
"Hey!" A student whispered loudly from behind Dax. "Don't stare, you are new here, right? You should go to the assembly hall."
"Sorry." Dax apologized. "I haven't been getting much sleep."
"Don't really care." The student said. "I just don't want to see the mess the administrator will make out of you if you aren't where you are supposed to go. I will never forget you Yulee."
"What?" Dax asked.
"Just go." The student replied. "Down the hall to the left. You can't miss it."
"Thanks!" Dax said as he darted off.
After he left the student laughed to himself. "Have fun trying to find a room in the wrong direction, loser." He then went back inside the classroom.
Dax took a left where the student had instructed him to and was so focused that he did not notice the group of new students to his right. Seeing no one in the hallway in front of him he panicked and rushed forward.
A teacher with a free period saw him dart past the door and suspected something was amiss. He poked his head out and shouted to Dax. "Hey kid!"
Dax stopped in his tracks and turned around, making eye contact with the teacher. The teacher could see the stress and fear in Dax's eyes.
"The assembly for new students in the other way." The teacher said, "Hold on."
He went into his empty classroom and scribbled down something on a piece of paper. After he finished, he walked outside of the classroom and met Dax in the hall. "Take this with you kid." He said as he handed the paper to Dax. "You should make it on time but here is a note just in case. Don't want you getting in trouble on your first day."
"Thanks!" Dax replied, giving the teacher a slight bow. He then rushed down the hallway and made it to the assembly room right as the doors were closing. He opened them back up and looked around for an empty seat. Unfortunately, the only one he could see was near the front of the room. He swiftly made his way to it as Administrator Ordeen made her way to the podium on the stage.