Chapter 1

Lani sat in the front row of the classroom, surrounded by thirty of her peers. Minus one. Brevan stood in front of them, atop a stage and podium with parchments and a prepared speech. No matter how many times Lani sat with Brevan to build up his confidence, no matter how many times she proofread his work, he continued with his uneasy voice—his sweat building up like a dammed stream, and rolling down his cheeks, as he squeezed out his final lines, “… and that is the current state of the Bramphians—A major contributor, weakened by its religion and spirituality.”

Still, the Professor Kindly—a tall, twiggish professor—had told his students to applaud at every speech, and if he found a student not doing so… they’d receive poor marks on their final orated report, which decided their grade.

So once Brevan bowed, the students applauded as loudly as they could. Maybe for a second he had forgotten that they were incentivized to do so, because he gave a smile and walked off the stage.

Lani couldn’t help but be earnestly happy for him. Not for the performance. No. But it was the first time she’d ever seen him proud of his own studies.

Professor Kindly looked to the students. “I know some of you sit in the front row as an attempt to go first and doze off, checkmark this last grade, and go off and enjoy your short time away…” He mumbled afterwards. “Not that I get the excitement. I’m here every year.” Then he continued, “Anyways, the front row is now unbanned from volunteering to go first.”

Lani immediately raised her hand, and Professor Kindly sighed. The rule had really been for her, and the rest who happened to filter in the front were merely collateral.

“Yes, you’re allowed now,” Professor Kindly said.

Truth was, although he never told her, he was very proud of her. So much so, that he had to hide his excitement with scoffs and muted comments. An even deeper truth was that Lani knew this.

“Thank you, Professor Kindly,” she simply said and walked to the podium. She didn’t waste any time clearing her throat, or organizing her notes.

“As Hafordians, we live with comforts unbeknownst to any other nation. At the peak of every magical discovery, and implementation. And at this summit, we’re blinded by our cloudy comforts—that we’ve climbed the wrong mountain.

“No. It’d be wrong to say that we’ve climbed. Rather we rode on the backs of our brethren—the Laeriens—and we’ve marked them, and threw them back down to the base of the mountain, so that we’d remain at the top.

“The wood that’s pressed against your bottom, the table that you rest your head and arms once you’ve been taught to boredom, and the walls that vault the knowledge here—all built by our brethren.

“Where are they now? Are they here with us?

“No—because we haven’t pulled our heads out of the clouds, made our way back to the bottom, to gather ourselves as equals, and work towards an honest journey—the journey towards the right mountain. Together.”

Once the rest of the students completed their speeches, professor Kindly brought himself to the podium. He rubbed his hands and said, “Thank you all for your final submissions. You will receive your marks shortly after deliberation, and you will be notified of the results.” He eyed the students. “Yes, you are released. Begone. Except you Lani. Except you.”

Everyone filtered out. Brevan looked back inquisitively, but Lani waved him off. “I’ll see you in the courtyard.”

Lani walked to the stage. Heels on her boots clunked on the stage, despite the heeled shoes, she remained a foot and a half shorter than the Professor. “Did I do anything wrong? Perhaps too much intonation.” She looked up to see a reaction. Nothing. “…or breathing?”

“No. The speech was adequate.”

“Adequate?”

“Sorry,” Professor Kindly said, “it was perfect even.”

“So… am I free to go?”

“Thats an interesting word, you know, free.”

“Renem help me, Professor,” Lani said exasperatedly. “I did your stupid assignment. I did it flawlessly. What’s the issue? It’s not like it’s about you.” She took a second, then raised an eyebrow. “It’s not about you… right?”

The Professor shook his head. “Did you learn anything with this assignment?”

“Of course.”

“Ah yes,” he said. He fixated on dirt in his nails, and cleaned it out as he spoke. “Then you’re free to go. I just—I just expected something more… oh, I don’t know. More insightful, perhaps. More nuanced, maybe. At least inspired. Something of your usual work. But…” He placed his hand back to his side and his gaze floated to the white-painted walls. “I suppose you’re right, it’s adequate work.”

“You said it was perfect.” Lani had to stop herself from gritting her teeth.

“Did I? Oh that’s right, that is something I say to my students. In the scheme of things, next year will bring me brighter students.”

“Brighter—I know what you’re doing, Kindly.”

“Tsk. Tsk. That’s Professor Kindly to you, young lady.”

“I’ve completed your class already, professor.”

He gave a sinister smile. “Not quite. You see, I haven’t finished grading your efforts. The Hafordian Academy, has sculpted the greatest and most insightful minds in all of… well, ever. How do you think we’ve done that?”

“You can’t be serious.” Lani stomped across the stage. “You’re going to fail me? I’ve excellent marks across all the other professors. Once I bring this up—”

His smile only grew. “Don’t waste your time. I already have. Isn’t that right?”

A woman’s voice responded, deep from within the stands. “You don’t have to be so dramatic about it.”

Lani squinted and recognized the woman speaking. The same woman framed in a tiny painting, and underneath, it was usually labeled: Veran, The Dean of Haforpormophic Studies.

Veran stood, then swept her long black hair behind her ears and fixed her circular glasses in a swift motion. She spoke while making her way to the stage. “We’re very committed to our mission.”

“So failing me is a part of your mission.”

“Professor Kindly is overstating that part. It’s very, very overstated. We decided—as a whole—that you attending our academy is a little… redundant for someone like you. Instead of waiting for students like you to uphold the mission here, we decided to make it apart of your curriculum. So we’ve come to offer you a very special opportunity, miss Lani. One, where if you finish within the summer, you shall graduate upon its completion. If you don’t, no harm—but you’ll continue your studies like the rest of your adequate peers.” She stopped just shy of Lani, handing her an enclosed folder.

“What is this?”

“Hopefully,” the Dean said, “your last assignment.”

“What do you get out of me graduating so early? Wouldn’t you want me perpetually in the program to challenge the other students?”

Professor Kindly scoffed. “I know you don’t think my assignments are challenging, but they are in their own right. Maybe if you, yourself put more eff—”

“What he means to say,” Veran interjected, “is that we’re confident with the curriculum in place. However, we feel that it’d be more rewarding for students like yourself to be more thoroughly challenged to our standards, and accomplish the academy’s mission at the same time.”

“Which is?” Lani asked.

Professor Kindly rolled his eyes with the question. But the Dean ignored it. She said, “It’s what’s written on the archways as you walk in everyday. If you’ve forgotten, I suggest a trip around the academy.”

Lani definitely remembered it. Something so perfunctory, she assumed the school hammered it in without serious regard. Annoyingly, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Everywhere in the school, the words:

For A Better Tomorrow