Page 23 of Jinxed

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Page 23 of Jinxed

Thankfully Carter and I are separated into different groups, and we head off on our classroom tour separately. If there’s anything that could take my mind off Carter and his comments about my dad, it’s discovering all the wonders of Profectus.

Even the normal classrooms, the ones for subjectslike Maths, English, French and History, are equipped with state-of-the-art e-ink desks and leashes that the bakus plug into during classtime – so that they’re under control, but can still help with assignments.

Another cool thing I find out is that each one of our professors is an actual employee of Moncha Corp. It gives them a little break from the high intensity work environment of their regularjobs, while enabling them to keep an eye out on the next generation and help to foster new talent. Our advanced coding teacher, Ms Watson, normally works on emotional AIs and gamification within the software engineering sector. After seeing the facilities that Profectus offers, I’m not surprised that employees don’t mind taking some time off to teach. The coding classroom has floor-to-ceilingscreens, and Ms Watson seems to delight in showing off all the customizations she can make to the walls and ceilings – while teaching us at the same time.

I’m equally blown away by the materials testing lab, which includes a gigantic universal testing machine (it looks like an old-fashioned guillotine, except it’s used to test the strength of different materials), the huge wind tunnel, for studentsstudying aeronautical engineering, and the drafting classroom, with extra-wide desks and skylights that allow in lots of clear bright light.

Everything is even better than I could possibly have imagined. The vision board did not do it justice.

But there’s one class I’ve been waiting for even more than all the others.

Companioneering.

The classroom is almost disappointingly normal-looking,with a blackboard in front and several neat rows of desks. I take a seat at one of the desks near the middle and attempt to get Jinx to leash up. He doesn’t.

The door opens and I look up in anticipation. But it’s the team captains who enter, filing in one by one with their bakus. I’m glad this is the one that they’ve come to observe us in – I know that I can prove myself here, and Carter isn’tin this class to distract me.

Jinx stalks around the classroom as if he were lion-shaped rather than a house cat. Most bakus don’t roam as far from their owners as he does to me, and I keep willing him back, tugging at the leash on my ear to call him. But he ignores me. I’m learning that nothing I do will make him stay where I want him to, so I resort to begging.

Please come back.

He doesn’treply.

The classroom door opens again and a man in a plain white T-shirt and jeans (and maybe an oil-stain on his shirt too?) hurries into the room, an owl baku – the standard, I’ve learned, for teaching staff – flapping behind him. The owl lands on the desk and projects his name on to the wall behind him: DEREK BAIRD.Thisis our teacher? He looks more dishevelled than any of the students, butthen again we’re all forced to wear a uniform.

He must have some sort of authority though, as the other students quieten down and settle into their seats. Jinx still hasn’t returned to my side, which makes me uneasy. He’s supposed to help register me for class. I don’t want to mess everything up in front of the team captains.

Mr Baird claps his hands together and then rubs them fiercely as ifhe’s trying to start a fire. ‘Right, guys, right! Welcome back to day one of the rest of your lives! And here in the best class of all – companioneering!’ He has a lilting Scottish accent that somehow makes me want to sit up even straighter in my chair.

There’s a rumble of laughter around the room, but my stomach clenches. This man’s casual attitude to something that I’ve wanted my entire lifeis freaking me out.

No one else seems to care though. There’s a girl next to me, her auburn hair cropped short on her head, leaning forward on her hands, as if she’s trying desperately to soak in everything that she can. Her posture is almost the mirror image of mine. I’m leaning so far forward, my belly is pressed up against the edge of the desk and digging in. I sit back a bit and try to relax.

I look down at her feet and see a tabby cat baku at her feet, leashed up to the desk and streaming information about companioneering on to her desk. Ahelpfulcat baku.

>>Instead you’re stuck with me.

Oh, so now you’ll talk with me. Come back here and behave like that baku and maybe I’d be happy. Will you?

>>Not a chance. Her name is Nalini, by the way, and her baku is Ginger.

I roll my eyes,but then catch Nalini looking at me, a frown on her face.Oh no,I hope she doesn’t think I’m rolling my eyes at her. I smile weakly and try to say hi, but Mr Baird starts talking.

‘So, hands up, who’s interested in companioneering?’ Mr Baird looks expectantly around the classroom.

Nalini shoots her hand straight up and mine follows, more slowly. I take a quick glance over my shoulder and seethat there are only about five hands out of the twenty-something first years in the classroom. The team captains look at us appraisingly, taking notes, and as I glance around, I catch the eye of Tobias – who is now staring straight at me. My throat feels like it’s swelling up and I find it hard to swallow – caught in the light streaming into the classroom, his dark green eyes look light, the colourof moss in early spring. I look away. He almost caused Zora to lose Linus. I cannot like him, no matter what the light does to the colour of his eyes.

‘Well, we only have a few minutes together today and I’m sure you’re all feeling completely overwhelmed by everything you’ve seen so far. If you’re not, you’re not normal.’ There’s a titter of nervous laughter from the classroom. ‘You’ll noticewe’ve got visitors,’ – he gestures to the team captains standing by the wall – ‘but don’t worry about impressing them; they’ve made their selections already. Remember all that hard work you did trying to getinto Profectus in the first place? Well, that’s all been sent straight to the team captains’ bakus. Your fates are sealed, young ones. But if you don’t get picked – don’t worry. You’ll havethe chance to prove yourselves before next year’s selections, when the real fun begins.’

I frown, disappointed at Mr Baird’s news. That’s my shot at being selected over with. I barely scraped an acceptance into Profectus.

‘Now, if you could all please ask your bakus to bring up the first—’ But Mr Baird doesn’t get to finish his sentence. There’s a loud crash as books, files and an old globeare sent tumbling from a high shelf above the heads of the team captains. Everyone watches as the team captains shield their bakus from the falling objects. But I look up to the shelf, a sick feeling turning my stomach. My heart lurches. Yep, standing stock still as a statue, staring at me as if I didn’t knowexactlywho was the culprit, is Jinx.

>>What, me?I can almost hear him say. The wideeyes and uplifted tail say it all.

He flicks his tail now, nonchalant about the chaos he’s just caused, and leaps down off the shelf.

‘Stop that baku!’ Mr Baird shouts.


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