TWO things happened at the same time.
A wall of ice rushed past Isaac and stopped in front of Adrien. At the same time something wrapped round his waist and pulled him back.
Reyna and Audrey's doing.
What was he going to with the circle?
He clenched his fist tightly as he rolled on the floor. A foot stopped him from rolling. He looked up and saw Payne's furious face looking down at him.
"Detention for Gomez and Reed," he said.
"Could today get any worse?" Isaac muttered and apologised to Reyna.
The next class was History but not your regular History.
Isaac would have noticed the different subjects sooner if he didn't vanish from society when normal subjects were done. He recalled wondering where everybody else went when normal classes were over.
The different subjects were Practical Exorcism, History of Charismata, History of Exorcism, Demonology, Theoretical Exorcism, Philosophy of Charism and many others.
So the next class Isaac wasn't your typical history class.
The class was noisy until their teacher walked in.
Mr. Rochester was a blind man in his early thirties. He had long black hair and cloudy eyes which had a tint of blue. His tanned skin told everyone how much he enjoyed the sun.
Also like all teachers in the school he had his own share of weirdness. He didn't use a walking cane and no one has ever seen him use one. It was as if he could see like everybody else. He was also very lively for a blind man.
He hardly got angry and no one ever offended him.
Once he entered the class, he took attendance and faced Isaac or rather looked at him.
"Mr Wade, I presume this your first class?" he asked.
Isaac looked up from the textbook he'd been staring at.
"Yes sir."
He was sitting at the edge of the class beside the window. It still bugged Isaac that the man had spotted him among the full class of students where students sat down randomly.
"So let's test your knowledge on exorcism," he said. "You can use your charism but your understanding of being an exorcism is essential to be a full-fledged exorcist."
Isaac shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"What do you prioritize in an exorcism?" Rochester asked. "The victim, the wraith or your life?"
Isaac furrowed his eyebrows. When exorcising what would he prioritize?
His life was out of the question. So it was either getting rid of the wraith or not exorcising the victim because the wraith may be too strongly attached. Either way the victim would die sooner or later. If he exorcised the wraith the victim may survive or not.
"There is no need to ans-"
Isaac sighed. He knew his answer.
The class went silent.
"Yes?" Rochester said smiling.
"The answer is my life," Isaac said boldly.
All hell was unleashed in the class and Isaac smiled slyly.
"He doesn't deserve to be an exorcist," a voice yelled.
"Heartless motherfucker," another yelled. The insults came from all directions but he was used to it. What did he expect from them?
Leo wasn't part of them. He just put his hands on his headphones like he was in pain. Reyna didn't say anything. She'd been quiet all day. Adrien couldn't muster the courage to join them since he'd humiliated him earlier but his sister just smiled at him.
"Let's calm down everybody," Rochester told the class.
This was the first question that everybody was asked when they became exorcists.
He liked Isaac's reply. Since he'd been teaching no one had ever chosen that option. They either chose the wraith or its host. The logical reason to chose that answer would be that the person was a coward but he didn't seem like one. He wanted to know the reason for that answer.
Even the people watching them virtually would be curious as to know why he chose the least expected option.
"Why did you chose your life?" he asked Isaac.
"It's actually pretty simple," he said. "Being exorcists doesn't make us any different from human beings. Just because you're an exorcist doesn't mean you should throw you life away."
Rochester pondered on that. The answer was understandable but still lacking something.
"What if the only way to exorcize the wraith is to sacrifice yourself?"
The question came from the back of the class.
It was Audrey.
"I would still prioritize my life," he replied. "You might think I'm a selfish conceited person but the problem is your question. Anything can happen in a 'What if' scenario. You're still missing the bigger picture."
"And what is that?" Rochester asked.
"If you die who would exorcise the wraith?" Isaac replied. "Even if you fail to exorcise the wraith or the host dies, shouldn't you survive to atone for your crime of not doing your job. Death is the coward's way out. Plus it wouldn't hurt to live a little bit longer?"
"That makes sense," Reyna said beside him. "Never thought of it that way."
"That's a unique answer but the reason was valid," Mr Rochester said. "A reason yet following exorcist customs. Well let's move on shall we?"
* * * * *
Isaac yawned and dropped on his bed after taking a shower.
Detention with Payne was exhausting. He kept them busy cleaning the mess they'd made during his class. If only Audrey had made her ice wall shorter, smaller and thinner. They'd spent one hour breaking the wall into pieces without their charisms. The next hour was spent melting it.
"If this is how tired I am from one day of exorcism school, I wonder how I'll feel after a week?" he grumbled from under his pillow.
Leo closed the door and stared at him.
"It gets worse," Leo said and dropped his bag. "You also have some explaining to do."
He looked up from his bed. Leo was staring at him with his hands on his waist like a mother demanding an explanation from her child.
What could he have done that needed explaining?
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
Leo turned his head towards the door and counted down from ten. When he reached zero there was a knock on the door.
Isaac got up and opened the door.
"Reyna?!"
The white haired friend of his looked at him intently. "Impressive."
"Why are you here?" he asked.
She was dressed in casuals which meant was strange seeing as school had ended not long ago and she had to come all the way from her dorm which was on the other side of school. She walked in and Isaac closed the door.
"Come in," he stammered.
"A little late for that," she said and turned around. "Also wear a shirt."
Isaac then realized why she was looking at him that way before she came in. He'd forgotten to wear a shirt after the shower. He was lucky he'd remembered to wear shorts. He quickly ran to his wardrobe and grabbed a sweatshirt.
"Nice room," she complimented after taking a look around. "Tidy and simple."
"Thanks," Leo said as he came out of the bathroom drying his hair.
"Isn't there a rule saying we should stay out of each others dorms?" Isaac asked after he'd worn the sweatshirt.
"Correction the rule is no intimate shenanigans," she corrected. "Why are you so nervous? Are you hiding anything?"
"No," he replied quickly. Technically he had a lot of secrets but he was nervous around Reyna for some reason.
"You are!" Leo insisted.
"What could I possibly be hiding?" he replied nervously. They were onto him. Reyna already knew and Leo was close to figuring it out.
"Yeah I've been meaning to tell you guys -," Isaac started to explain. There was a bang outside.
"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" asked Reyna ignoring the ruckus. "The footwork was impressive. It was almost as if you were dancing."
"But it was clear in the fight who was weaker," Leo noted. "Isaac just had the element of surprise. Adrien lost the fight the moment he underestimated him. If he wasn't so cocky he might have stood a chance."
"Big emphasis on the 'might' Leo," Isaac said. "You just had to ruin the mood, you mop. Well, you're not totally wrong. He seems to be more experienced and his charism fits that feisty attitude of his."
"Nice strategy but that stunt you pulled just made the target on your back bigger," said Leo.
"Here I am thinking you were showering me with praises," Isaac sighed.
"Let's not forget the number of people who want to obliterate that target have increased too," Reyna added.
"Not you too."
"Even the seniors have started to take notice of you," Leo said.
"Yeah I recall seeing John looking for you on my way in," Reyna said. "And he was furious."
"Who's John?" Isaac asked.
There was a knock on the door.
Reyna got up to answer.
"I'll get it," Isaac said and headed to the door.
Before he'd taken five steps, the door shattered into a million pieces. He closed his eyes expecting the pieces to hit him but opened them when he didn't feel anything.
They were suspended in the air as if time had stopped. He took a closer look and saw that they were vibrating so fast that they almost seemed to vanish.
Isaac turned to see Leo with his hand stretched out.
"I had it Leo," he said and turned to see the figure in the doorway.
"How can we help you John?" Leo asked.
John had spiky jet black hair and black eyes. He wasn't much taller than Leo but his build was intimidating. Isaac gaped at the thick trunks that this teenager had for thighs.
"This should be the third door today," Reyna yawned. "Barbaric way of greeting, don't you agree?"
"I have no business with you Reyna. I'm looking for the cunt who beat Adrien," he said and walked inside.
Everybody had a name for him. Well not everyone. Adrien and Audrey called him 'halfbreed' and his classmates did the same. Most of the school avoided him, so 'cunt' was a new one.
"How nice would it be to hear my own name for once."
"What did you say to me, cunt?" John asked. He would have moved closer if not for the splinters in the air. "Little Blanc be kind enough to drop the dirt."
"The 'dirt' you're talking about was my door two minutes ago, so no thank you, the splinters stay where they are," Leo said softly.
Damn! Leo's got guts for someone who doesn't talk much, Isaac thought. Talking like that to a senior who was two years above them required courage or maybe they were already acquainted before.
Isaac looked at Leo. He understood and lowered his arm which caused the splinters to drop.
"So what do you want?" Isaac asked.
John rushed over and stopped in front of him. He was so close that Isaac could feel the heat radiate off him.
"I want to know how you beat Adrien," he whispered in Isaac's ear.
"Could you please expatiate?" Isaac asked without looking up.
"I want to fight you," he said bluntly.
What did Isaac expect?
"What if I refuse?"
"It'll just get worse for you," Reyna replied. "Either way it'll get worse for you. If you don't fight people will call you a coward and if you do fight they'll call you cocky."
"Don't worry," John said with a smile. "If you accept, I'll have your back even if you lose, but if you don't -" The smile slowly became a scowl, "- I'll be one of your worst enemies."
Was he threatening him? Or was he reassuring him?
This was definitely a threat.
"Fine," he sighed. "So when is it?"
"About -"
"Attention students," Blanc's voice echoed around in the room. "All students are to gather at the chapel in their uniforms."
Isaac smirked. "Well let's postpone our discussion."