Upon opening the gates to the academy, Kayden and John were astounded by its sheer size. While photos on their phones had given them glimpses, seeing Chaos Academy in person was a different experience, akin to envisioning multiple normal schools combined into one colossal institution—a sprawling expanse equivalent to 198 football fields.
"Follow me," the man instructed. Kayden and John trailed behind, suspecting they were headed to his office.
Inside, they settled into chairs as the man sat behind his desk, sifting through letters to find their recommendation letters.
"Ah, here it is," he exclaimed, licking his fingertip before unfolding the letter. "Hello Peter, It's Addison. I'm sending this letter to recommend someone named Kayden, he's also my husband, so take good care of him."
Placing the letter on his desk, he asked, "Which one of you is Kayden?" Pointing at John, he inquired, "Is it you?"
"No." John replied.
"Is it you?" Peter asked Kayden this time.
John and Kayden exchanged glances, with Kayden remaining silent. John, with a touch of sarcasm, responded, "No, he's not Kayden."
Peter, perplexed, looked at John. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Yes, in fact, you did. If you had to take a very educated guess, who else in this room could be Kayden?"
Peter positioned his chair towards John and laid back in it, staring John dead in the eye he said, "So, you're John. I usually never remember letters, but your letter caught my attention. It said, 'My idiotic son who loves making random outbursts is who I'm writing this recommendation letter for.'"
Sarcastically, John responded, "Oh, he said that, huh?"
Peter confirmed, "Yeah, he said that."
John wanted to say something else, but Peter spoke first.
"For the disrespect shown, you'll have to find your classes by yourself," Peter declared, ushering them out without letting them utter a word.
As the door slammed shut, Kayden faced John, contemplating the chaos John had caused.
With the door closed behind them, Kayden questioned John, "How are we gonna find the room now?"
John suggested, "How about we split up to cover more ground?"
Kayden agreed, "That might be the smartest thing you've said for the past couple of hours I've known you."
As they parted ways, John called out, "How are we even supposed to know what class we belong to? I mean… we can walk by every class in this school and still not know the exact room."
"Do you regret acting like a smartass?" Kayden retorted.
"Yeah, but I hate it when people ask a question with an obvious answer."
Kayden only shrugged, leaving John to ponder his actions.
***
'I've been walking for about 10 minutes and still haven't found my class,' John thought, wandering the vast halls.
Hundreds of classrooms passed by, each labeled with letters and numbers. John, in the A section, reached the end but found no sign of his class.
Near A-1, a voice called, "Are you John?"
Approaching the room, John answered, "Yes, I am. Who are you?"
Aiden Young, a red-haired man, stepped forward, "I'm Aiden Young, your teacher. The headmaster notified me that you may be wandering around the school looking for your class."
***
On the other side of the school in the Z section, Kayden walked by class Z-50, and a voice called his name. The teacher introduced himself, "I'm Keyon, nice to meet you."
Kayden introduced himself to Keyon and entered the class, surprised by the despondent atmosphere. Every student had their heads down, disengaged from the class proceedings.
"Is the class supposed to be like this?" Kayden inquired.
"No. They stopped paying attention a couple of months ago when their class was dropping in rank. They thought they couldn't do anything about it because they weren't as talented, but in reality, they're all just weak-willed students who quit when it gets hard," Keyon explained.
Kayden sighed in agreement, finding it pathetic that they gave up due to a drop in class rank. He took a seat in the middle, catching some admiring glances for his looks.
"Alright class, we have a new student. Please introduce yourself from the middle of the class," Keyon announced.
No one moved until the threat of losing lunch prompted quick introductions.
***
John entered the class and introduced himself with a simple "Hi, my name's John." The students stared, expecting more.
John believed introductions should be short and not excessive.
Walking up the steps, John noticed a beautiful young girl with dark black hair with brown highlights that enhanced her beauty even more, and her hazel colored eyes that captivated John's heart. Fixing his clothing, he approached and sat a seat in front of her since seats beside her were taken.
"Hi name's John as you already know. What's your name?"
Before she could respond, her red-haired friend interjected, "She already has a boyfriend, so if this is your attempt to hit on her, stop it."
"Relax Scarlet, it's not that serious. My name's Vanessa, nice to meet you John."
Undeterred, John greeted Vanessa, the girl he initially addressed, with a smirk. "Nice to meet you too, Vanessa, but not so nice to meet you, Scarletttttt."
Scarlett responded with a dismissive middle finger, leaving John in shock.
"Enough chatter," Aiden clapped to regain attention. "John, we were discussing the upcoming school event in a week called Chaos Games."