Luminary Institute

1: Don’t Shit Your Pants On The First Day Of School

“Don’t be nervous, you’ve been to the academy many times before,” Nyssa repeated to herself as she brushed her hair in the mirror. Today was her first day of... well, actual class. Unlike every other time she had gone to the academy with her father, she was now dressed in the institute’s white and blue uniform. 

Slipping on her shoes, Nyssa looked around a couple times before cracking the door open. Seeing no one outside either, she spun on her heel and stood by the door while pulling out her phone. 

It was still two minutes before she and her father had agreed to leave... 

A long two minutes later—that she spent scrolling through social media—Nyssa looked up to see her father, Kaiser Ravenstein, walking down the stairs. Dressed half-formal, black suit, he, as always, walked with an unusual amount of purpose. 

To Nyssa, whose favorite activity was napping in the sun, Kaiser’s perpetual ‘I’m about to walk into war’ walk was almost unnerving. 

“I still think you need to wear a larger suit,” Nyssa tapped her chin as Kaiser sat down to put on a pair of shoes. “It’s practically ripping from your muscles. Wouldn’t it be awkward if it ripped in the middle of an assembly?” 

“Don’t worry. I can move however I want.” Kaiser chuckled as he stretched upward. “See? My suits are rated with durability similar to high-level flexible armor.” 

... Well, Nyssa knew that. Obviously. She felt like Kaiser mentioned it every other day. She just felt it was a little awkward for him to show off his muscles so much! He was old! He had a head full of white hair and enough wrinkles to pass as an expired fruit!

“Let’s get going,” Kaiser patted her on the back. “Don’t be so nervous. I’ll walk you to class, okay?” 

“... Thank you,” Nyssa murmured as she followed Kaiser out to their car. Clutching her school bag as they walked, she ran through her little introduction a few more times until they sat down in the car. 

Disturbed from her thoughts as the car’s engine roared to life, Nyssa shook all the thoughts out of her head. With the car roaring down the driveway, she clung on for dear life as Kaiser drifted the car onto the road before racing down the street towards the academy. 

Why was she nervous anyway?! She knew the academy like the back of her hand already! She had wandered its campus more than anyone else...

Of course, she had done it from the perspective of a cat, but she had wandered nonetheless! 

“You’re nervous because you’re meeting new people.” Kaiser interrupted as they came to a stop at an intersection. Holding Nyssa’s fidgeting hands, Kaiser accelerated once more as the light turned green. “Your thoughts are clear as day. Painted across your face like a master artist’s canvas. We’ll be there in ten minutes or so. Just take some deep breaths and appreciate the scenery. Connect your phone and play some music if you’d like.” 

Taking him up on his offer, Nyssa queued a couple of her current favorite songs before sitting back and sinking into the seat. Zoning out as they zipped through the streets at dubious speeds, she made some idle conversation with her dad until they pulled up at the huge gates of the academy. 

With a sign labeling it as ‘The Luminary Institute,’ Nyssa patted her chest as the butterflies in her stomach threatened to turn it inside out. Was this how new students felt? If so, she felt bad... What a horrendous feeling! 

Skipping the line of cars carrying students, Nyssa and Kaiser drove through the staff entrance, curled down the ramp into the underground parking garage, and made their way up the stairs and into the main academy. 

With what felt like crowds of students trying to find their classrooms, Nyssa remembered why she never enjoyed coming on the first day of a new term.

Well for one, she was lazy. Going outside was hard! Therefore, every time a break ended she had to ease herself back into life. Because general education was all done through artificial intelligence now, it wasn’t like she had to go outside. 

But the main reason she didn’t enjoy the first day of new terms was well... the crowds! If she wandered around the school as a cat—her favorite ‘avoid all interaction’ style of traversal—the crowds would always push her around!!

And the one year she decided to wander around as a tiger to avoid getting pushed around didn’t work too well either... For obvious reasons in hindsight. 

Keeping her bag close to her, Nyssa stuck next to her dad as if she was glue. Yet, as people cleared the way for him to move forward, she realized it wasn’t as necessary as she thought it was. Navigating through the huge complexes of hallways, they first made a stop at the headmaster’s office. 

Once Kaiser had put his stuff down, he patted himself down. “I was going to say luckily the Class 0 building is right next to the administrative building. However, I put them there on purpose so it’s not really a lucky coincidence.” 

“Why? Don’t you say they don’t cause much trouble?” Nyssa fiddled with her bag as she shifted on her feet. 

“Well, that’s compared to both my expectations and how much they did in the past. Many decades ago Class 0 was causing huge amounts of damage and trouble on the regular. Now? Not as much. It’s like the people have mellowed out over the years.” Kaiser chuckled while cracking the door open. “After you.” 

Nodding in thanks, Nyssa walked along Kaiser as they made their way down the stairs, past another group of students trying to find their classroom, and through a breezeway. 

Of the Luminary Institute’s buildings, it was probably the smallest, but it was still equipped with all the training areas, rest areas, meal areas, restrooms, and the rest of the utilities. What made it the smallest though, was the fact it only had one true classroom.

Entering the building, Nyssa felt Kaiser back off a few steps. Getting a few pats on the back, Nyssa stumbled forward as Kaiser smiled. “I’ll let you lead the way. No need for me to guide you right?” 

“... I mean, yeah, I have been here a lot before...” Nyssa looked around with a nervous edge creeping into her voice. Whispering to herself, she fidgeted with the strap of her bag. “Where to first... probably the classroom right? But should I use the restroom first?” 

Frozen in her thoughts, Nyssa stood in place as she fought the urge to find a corner to nap in. Life was a lot easier when one was asleep. That was the motto she lived by.

“Headmaster, didn’t expect to see you here today,” A cheery voice interrupted from behind them. 

“Well, I thought I’d walk her to class on her first day,” Kaiser shook the woman’s hand with a smile. “Good morning though.” 

“G-Good morning! Yes!” Nyssa whirled around on her heel as her brain rebooted itself. “Oh wait, Angelica? Why are you here?” 

“Oh, did you not know? I’m the teacher,” Angelica reached out and shook Nyssa’s hand. “Welcome~ I’m looking forward to teaching you! Let’s get going shall we? I’ll introduce you to everyone!” 

With Angelica’s statement, Nyssa felt herself get dragged forward as Angelica guided her up the stairs and towards the classroom.