The Grand Auditorium

Cron and Lia walked with the other students. The gathered students follow along a stone path into a fantastic open field. Greener grass than that is natural, with trees that twist differently, creating a different look for a tree.

The entire crowd of students was amazed at the landscape before them. They had never seen such wild beauty before. The students chatted about their scenarios. When one student wanted to be brave and touch a tree, a teacher stepped out to address the gathered learners.

"Hello, students," the teacher said in a sing-song voice. She wore a long robe full of clocks and the color cyan. "I am Professor Dura. I teach about the earlier history of our great province."

The students looked at her in awe. She wasn't old, but at best, mid-age. Plenty of students were still rowdy when Professor Dura arrived. When she noticed certain students weren't listening to her, she calmly approached them and used her ability, Stop.

Instantly, the students froze, but somehow, Professor Dura was still moving. "Please stop speaking when I am speaking. Do we understand each other?"

She released the rowdy students from her Orgone. The students were mid-sentence, but they understood every word. They stopped talking and paid attention to Professor Dura.

"As I was saying," Professor Dura continued. "I teach history, and many of you will be in my class, so I expect the best behavior from all of you. But this is not my classroom; I am here to guide you to our Grand Auditorium. Everyone, please, form a straight line and follow me."

All the students stood in one big straight line. The crowd of students followed along, talking amongst one another. Cron was excited to see this Grand Auditorium. He could only assume it would be outstanding.

The Gran Auditorium was revealed through a massive double wooden door. It was vast and had a beautiful hand-painted ceiling depicting the history of New Onyx Province. 

There were massive bleachers to the left and right side of the students. The wooden benches were carved into a beautiful pattern that looked like it took hundreds of years to master, but in reality, they may have only taken mere moments.

Towards the further wall was a giant stage. It could be used for many things, such as plays or meetings, but whoever stood on that stage was definitely important.

In the auditorium were these massive flags that symbolized each time's ability. All flags had a circle, and inside the circle was a ball showing which ability it belonged to. Slow were the three dots, one in the middle of the circle and another on top and bottom. Stop was a shape of a circle and a dot. Speed had dots, forming a vertical line within the circle.

Without instruction, each student started to gather to their respective abilities. However, Cron knew he could just pick one because he lacked any kind of time abilities.

"You wanna be with me in Speed?" Lia asked as she dug out her robe from her bag. It was wrinkly as Cron thought it was, but Lia put it on anyway.

Cron shook his head. "No, I think I will go to Stop. It was my dad's ability, after all."

Lia nods, understanding Cron's choice. "Well, if you change your mind, just hop on over."

As the duo split, Cron could hear something familiar. He hoped he wouldn't hear the name again, but it looked like it would always follow him. 

"Hey, is that Timeless?"

"You're right; what is he doing here?"

"Isn't this academy meant for people with talent?"

Cron ignored their chat and blended into the crowd. Professor Dura stepped onto the stage and looked at the gathered students. The crowd slowly stopped talking. Once everything calmed down, Professor Dura pulled out a smooth black ball.

"Alright, everyone, this is what we like to call the Bouncy Ball. I know it's a silly name, but there isn't any other way to describe it. Because unless you grab the ball in mid-air, it will continue to bounce forever."

She demonstrates the ball's capability by letting go of the ball and allowing it to bounce next to her. The ball bounced continuously; it never dipped lower than when she first dropped it. 

"Come along," Professor Dura said, gesturing to the crowd. "I want a student from each time, Stop, Slow, and Speed, to show off their Orgone and explain how their time works."

The gathered students talked amongst each other, deciding who should go up first. Many were shy, and others didn't feel like going up. Without a second to prepare, Cron was shoved out of the crowd he was in.

"Yeah, come on, Timeless," A bully said, shoving Cron out.

"Yeah, Timeless, show us how to use an Orgone," Another bully snickered.

"What are you waiting for, Timeless? Show off to the entire academy." The third bully taunted.

Everyone was starting to step aside for Cron. But Cron wanted to hide; he didn't want to be exposed to everyone. It was too late, and Professor Dura looked at him with excitement.

"Oh my, how excited are you?! Come to the stage, young man."

With shaking legs, he stood up. He didn't want to walk up to the stage, but he wasn't sure what the repercussions were, telling a teacher no. Cron gulped, worried about every student learning that he was Timeless.