The Academy Of Space And Time

"Why," Jeff asked Vitaly, as soon as he was done speaking. "Why didn't you defend my father's name?"

"I've always found it very unfair, what happened to him, but there was nothing I could do," Vitaly sighed. "Being three years younger than Sam, I observed him and looked up to him. And I noticed that, while we were getting older, he was becoming weird and obsessed. I still viewed him as a hero, but there was no denying he was acting strangely.

He was obsessed with finding the Empty Mirror.  Maybe he knew something that I didn't know, because it turned out the threat was real enough. They came looking for him. And I didn't know what to do anymore, I loved him so much."

"You ran away!" Jeff replied, angrily. "People believe that you are dead."

Vitaly looked very embarrassed, as if he didn't feel like explaining his point of view in all of this.

"Well, as I told you before, the Reapers caught me after that," he explained finally.

"That's good enough for me," I offered.

Jeff did not look too sure. "Perhaps we should call my grandfather and tell him about the lessons..."

"No!" Raegan interjected. "Please, Jeff, we can learn something, this way. He'll put an end to this."

"Go ahead, call your grandfather, send him a speed letter," Vitaly shrugged. "If he finds out, it's worse for you than it is for me. That man is very fond of giving out punishments."

"Breaking the rules every once in a while is not bad," Edgar interjected. "And it pays off, when it's about learning new things."

"Learning, reading theory... knowledge isn't everything," Vitaly reminded him. "The reason why we will attempt the spell... Well, it's because being there in the moment, knowing what to do, is a much more important thing."

I felt almost relieved Edgar had been corrected. The look on his face was more open, more vulnerable... I didn't relish it, but it showed me had an armour, and that something could get past it.

"Yes, doing the right thing at the right time," Edgar struggled to admit. "It's been an issue of mine, as of late."

"Really?" Vitaly arched an eyebrow. "The fact that you admit it makes me respect you more."

I didn't want to throw Edgar under the bus — not exactly — but I couldn't help but feel sad at the idea that the teachers who treated me as if I was dumb soon took a liking to him, his faults included.

"Before you can start your lesson, we have to decide with whom you'll be sharing a room," Vitaly said.

"I'll keep on sharing mine with Jeff, and Raegan and Edgar can each have a room, just like we did last night," I hurried to say. 

"There aren't enough rooms," Vitaly said. "All of you will have to share with someone else... Two of you in a room, and two in another. I hope it's not an issue for Raegan."

"But this place is huge!" I exclaimed. I hadn't had time to explore the warehouse yet, but there was another floor below us, going further under the ground. It seemed spacious enough to have even more rooms.

"The room on the floor below are not bedrooms," Vitaly explained patiently. "They are for meetings, mostly. And I give you only one rule: never go there. For any reason at all."

"If we're sharing, I want to keep sharing the room with Ryan," Jeff exclaimed.

"No, I want to share the room with Ryan," Edgar said. He said it carelessly, as if he had chosen me randomly. However, his decision sounded final.