Behind the Mask

"Hi your name is Miya, right? I saw how Headmaster Krewe was looking at you."

His voice sounded mechanical, the metal mask on his face making sounds as he spoke. Miya tried to relax as his mannerisms contradicted his suspicious look, but he continued to speak, his words too fast to understand completely.

"... Really spooky stuff. Everyone's talking about you. 'Oh my gosh she's so cute. I wanna take her home.' That kinda stuff."

The boy's legs patted the ground beneath him with incredible speed.

'I can't understand a word this guy is saying. He talks way too fast.'

"Umm...hello. Could you speak a little slower? I'm having trouble keeping up."

"Sure thing."

He had long white hair that hung over his face, and the collar from his long, white cloak covered the mask, making it even harder to understand him. His attire made it hard to give details on any of his physical appearance, but the real question Miya had was how he got all the way across the auditorium so fast.

"Sorry about that. I tend to talk fast to people I like. My name's Kem; just Kem. Sorry about that show the headmaster put on earlier. He must be excited to see you, huh?"

"But, why would he be so excited about me coming to his school?"

He waved his fingers before her, leaning even closer. He seemed to disregard the concept of personal space completely, nearly touching Miya.

"Probably because you're the last known survivor of the Sleep Clan. Those guys used to be a real big deal, governing Hinansho and stuff. Well, now that I think of it, you and yo-"

The Headmaster approached Kem with a smirk on his face, looked at Miya, then looked back at Kem. His footsteps had a weight that she couldn't understand.

"Kem, shouldn't you be heading somewhere? You are not a first year, if I remember correctly... Actually, now that I think of it, why don't you guide Miss Miya around the campus a bit? At least until she meets her guide."

Miya's head angled toward Mr. Krewe.

"I thought maybe he was my guide."

Kem stepped forward.

"Sorry for giving you that assumption, but I actually know who your guide is supposed to be. You'll know who he is right away. He's sort of a rare natural with 4 arms; two in their normal positions and two coming from his shoulder blade areas."

"What's his name, and where can I find him? Are there any other definitive features that I should know about?"

The headmaster's hand reached toward his chin, rubbing lightly before he decided to input.

"He's a dark-skinned boy with bright red eyes like mine, but he has pupils and an iris. 'goes by the name Bo, no family name nor middle name, much like Kem here. I believe the two of them have been good friends for a while now, so Kem could help you identify him, but enough chatter. You two should be in the same homeroom class, if memory serves, and Bo should be in there as well."

Kem's feet patted the ground again in excitement, his voice coming through the mask again.

"Bye-bye, Mr. Krewe!"

Kem waved toward the Headmaster, and he waved back at them as Kem pulled Miya away and toward the auditorium's exit.

...

"Sooo... What'ya in for?"

She laughed, but when her eyes returned to him, he looked at her, his expression blocked by his mask and goggles. She had troubles understanding his emotions, but he continued to talk, not caring if she was listening or not, but it seemed natural to him. He seemed like he had too much energy to know what to do with.

"With a power like your's, I feel like you'd rank pretty high..."

"What do you mean?

"You've never heard about the school hierarchy, huh?"

She just looked at him, and he understood. He proceeded to explain as the hall remained empty, all students seemingly already at their classes.

"The hierarchy is a system based off of a mixture of test scores and combat ability. The higher you are on the hierarchy, the more things you gain access to around campus, and you gain more freedoms."

"What kind of freedoms do people at the top of the rankings get?"

"Oh, tons of stuff! You can visit whoever's dorm you want at any time, you can form your own club, tutor students, teach, or even go on missions without a teacher getting in the way. It's awesome!"

"Missions?"

"Oh yeaahhh, Headmaster didn't tell y'all. You guys are supposed to have your first missions in a week or so. Must suck bad; You'll be stuck doing police work... I hated police work, especially taking orders from Dola... It angers me just thinking about it."

'Dola? That sounds like a foreign name.'

Kem spoke, almost seeming to respond to her thoughts.

"She's nothing close to foreign, but I wish she was in some other district. I hated every second of freshman year."

"Who is she?"

Kem sighed, his mind clearly hung on this woman.

"Police Chief, and an Aunt of one of my friends. She's the parallel opposite of him though."

"I see..."

They arrived at the classroom door but didn't open it. The voice of a woman could be heard beyond the door, but Kem payed it no attention and continued to speak.

"So, you got a boyfriend?"

"N-no..."

"Hm... Surprisi-"

The door burst open, and a blonde-haired woman barged through the door. She was visibly angry, especially upon looking at Kem, letting out a yell that echoed through the halls.

"HOW LONG ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO YELL RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THE LECTURE ROOM DOOR?! GET THE HELL INSIDE, AND LISTEN TO THE LECTURE!"

Kem began laughing obnoxiously while the class was trying to stop from doing the same, upsetting who Miya assumed to be the teacher.

"Would you just get inside the room, please? I'm trying to lecture."

Actively restraining herself, the woman urged Kem into the door, her eyes avoiding him as she attempted to control her temper, but as she looked upon Miya, her expression changed.

"Welcome."