Luminary Institute

102: Return To The Academy

Nyssa ended up spending the rest of Wednesday and the entirety of Thursday laying around at home. Sleeping, eating... and more sleeping. With only Kaiser at home, she spent most of her time in bed, living the same life she lived before attending the academy. 

Staring up at the ceiling while in bed with her blankets up to her chin, she let out a long sigh. I kind of miss this life... Except the boredom. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

By Thursday evening, Nyssa just laid there with empty eyes. She had slept for maybe—probably—ninety-percent of the past five days. So bored, in fact, that she had rated how interesting the different sections of ceiling were, and based on their results, chose to lay in a diagonal position in bed to stare at the number one winner. 

And I miss the rest of them more than I miss this life! Nyssa rolled over in bed. Now facedown, breathing nothing but pillowcase fumes, she flailed her arms and legs a little. Especially Celeste! Why can’t I go back sooner... 

Wishing for time to pass faster, she closed her eyes, curling up in bed once more while pulling the blankets over herself. Unlike the usual though, thoughts came flooding in. 

What if I lose control of my powers again? Did I get worse? Is something different about my subconscious now? It used to be a big cat, but this time it was so abhorrent? Am I becoming less human? Or was it a stress marker? The other times I wasn’t fighting something as dangerous as this after all... I don’t know if being a big cat would’ve let me win after all... It might’ve let me destroy the gymnasium as a whole if I kept growing? Otherwise I would’ve been easy pickings. So, would it be better for me to lean into that side? Should I do research into eldritch gods?

Tortured by her own thoughts, spinning in circles and repeating through similar tracks for a couple hours, Nyssa, for once, had to wait before sleep whisked her off to dreamland. 

--- 

For once, Nyssa beat Kaiser to his car in the morning. Having set an alarm fifteen minutes earlier than usual, she lumbered out of bed, rubbing her eyes and stretching. Next came teeth-brushing, face-washing, and skincare, before she returned to her room and pulled open her closet. 

“What would look better? Green, or beige?” Nyssa stood in front of the mirror, holding two different tops against her torso. “Well, beige does match Celeste’s hair, and is a little less eye-catching...” 

After tilting her head side-to-side, she ended up hanging the green top back up and slid the beige one over her head. Electing for a pair of pants instead of a skirt, she grabbed her bag and left for the garage, beating Kaiser to the door by a hallway’s length. 

Once in the car, they exchanged a couple words, but Kaiser, eating a breakfast sandwich, couldn’t talk much, and Nyssa, herself, lacked the social chops to carry the conversation—leaving them to just bid each other a “have good day” as they left the car. 

“Deep breaths,” Nyssa told herself as she made her way across campus during the morning rush. She stood out in the crowd, her white hair and lack of uniform drew gazes and whispers, but just as quick as they came, they left.

“Who is she?” 

“Go up to her bro.” 

“Is she even a student here?” 

“Isn’t she the baddie from Class Zero, the one in our year.” 

“I heard she’s the only one this year. This could be our chance, there’s no one else she’s talked to in her year-” 

“Oh shit she looked over here.” 

“Shut up.” 

“She must’ve heard us...” 

Nyssa, shooting them a glare, kept walking. Yeah, and I'm not even single either. Weirdos. I wonder what class they’re in since they’re first years...

Her pace quickened as the bell rang. The crowd, having thinned as she left the main area of the academy, began to rush as well, with everyone sharing a collective realization that they’d all be late. Nyssa, herself, hurried along the breezeway, entered the Class Zero building, and slowed as she came to a stop outside of the classroom. 

Her hand paused midair, just a hair’s width away from the door handle. 

In. 

Out. 

One breath later, she slid the door open, peeking her head in with an awkward smile before stepping in and sitting down at her usual desk. 

“Welcome back, Nyssa,” Angelica greeted, nodding as she marked her down as present. “Don’t worry you didn’t miss anything, Ryker and Conrad were just arguing about what dinosaur they’d be if they were transformed.” 

“WHICH IS IMPORTANT!” Conrad huffed, crossing his arms before turning to Nyssa. “Welcome back though, glad you seem to be well.” 

“It’s not, because if you were transformed into dinosaurs you’d have much larger problems at hand,” Angelica countered before pausing for a second. “No uniform?”

“Yeah, they’re all in my dorm’s closet, not at home,” Nyssa scratched the back of her head, murmuring a “thank you” to Electra as she complimented her outfit. 

“Ah, I understand, no worries, I won’t write it down,” Angelica set her sheet back onto her desk. Leaning over her desk, she opened her laptop, typed in her password, and began navigating through her files. 

In the meantime, Nyssa, having sat back next to Celeste, waved. A slight smile tugged at her lips as Celeste covered her own smile before waving back. Ignorant of Conrad, Titus and Albion’s sour gazes coming from the side, she leaned over, putting her hands over Celeste’s. 

“Your hands are really cold, are you okay?” Celeste raised an eyebrow, covering Nyssa’s hands with her own. “... Or is it that mine are really hot?” 

“Yours are really hot,” Nyssa bowed her head with a laugh, feeling her hands already beginning to perspire. “It’s okay, I don’t mind the warmth, it's comforting. Think of it as a representation of just how happy I am to see you.” 

“I’m happy to see you too,” Celeste whispered in a quiet voice, one almost inaudible to Nyssa herself. As she spoke, a faint hint of worry leaked through her voice. “How are your transformations? Everything alright in that regard?” 

“Ah... well, I haven’t tried much,” Nyssa confessed. “I was going to do some more comprehensive testing with Angelica later today. I only transformed into a cat once, and then transformed back immediately because I got nervous...” 

“That’s understandable, take your time with it,” Celeste patted Nyssa on the back, rubbing her back a few times before Angelica cleared her throat to grab everyone’s attention.