Erika heard a beeping sound faintly, almost like it was far away. She opened her eyes and as she awoke the sound got louder and louder. Rolling over in her bed, she looked to the source of the sound.
8:00am, the electronic clock read by her bedside.
Eight huh, well I guess that's not too... Her thoughts trailed off as it had dawned on her that eight was her back-up alarm.
I'm an hour late! Oh crap, oh crap... Her thoughts became a frenzy as she jumped out of bed. And in a chaotic frenzy got dressed, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and stuffed everything she thought she needed for the day into her school bag.
Alright, just got to get out the door and to the harbor to help usher the students applying to Al-Revis. She had gathered her thoughts, and figured she was in the clear.
Erika opened her room's door to find a tall, dark haired man standing at her door. His hair was swept around as if he brushed it swiftly. He was dressed formally, as per his usual. It rather suited the academy's old fashioned architecture. His deep green eyes communicated a sense of sympathy. It was Alister, an Al-Revis graduate serving as Teacher's assistant while pursuing his own research.
"Ms. Walker, in a rush?" The man questioned her with a smirk.
Erika huffed.
"I got up late alright? Geez, and don't call me Ms. Walker. It makes me feel old." She scolded him. She figured he was just messing with her, the two knew each other pretty well. Mostly because he was assistant to Erika's 'favorite' teacher. She sighed,
"What is it you want? I'm running a bit late today."Alister chuckled at her comment about running late.
"As usual." he quipped. Erika shot him a glare, then he sighed and figured he should probably get to business.
"Anyway, Mr. Akira wanted me to ask you if you got all the classrooms cleaned and prepped for today's events." He questioned, half expecting her to have forgotten.
Erika put her hands to her sides and puffed out her chest.
"I got that all done last night in fact! So tell that to Akira-sensei!" She said with a heavy amount of triumph in her voice.
"Anyway, am I going to be seeing you today, or are you going to be running around all day?" She asked, half hoping he'd be free to help her out today.
Alister scoffed,
"Well, good to hear you got your work done." He paused, eyeing Erika suspiciously after her next question.
"Well, I got some documents to run around. But that shouldn't take more than 20 or so minutes, why?"Erika laughed and patted Alister's arm.
"What's with the look, I just want to hang out with you buddy." She put her hands up behind her head.
"Y'know, look around the city, greet the new students, just stuff like that.""So basically you have to help out the new students and you want me to come with you." Alister remarked instantly.
He had discerned Erika's true intentions.
"Please Alister!" She pleaded, hugging him.
"You know directions around the city better than I do." She added.
"How about I buy you lunch?""Alright, alright!" Alister relented, sighing.
"You're hopeless you know that right?""Yes." Erika responded solemnly.
"That's not something you should agree with so easily!" He chided her, pushing her off him.
"Let me go finish up, and I'll meet you by the gate."Afterwards, Erika left the main building and headed to the gate. She waited around, and soon realized she had left her watch in her room. So after some unmeasurable amount of time Alister showed up to head out with her. They took off from the school and made their way through the city. Weaving through the various crowds and finding their way to the train station, they rode the train for another unmeasurable amount of time. Which bothered Erika since she had no idea how late she actually was.
Stepping off the train, the two finally made it to the harbor as students new and old were piling off the pristine boats. Erika smiled, the looks of so many new faces, all excited to find a place to learn and hone their abilities and skills. Maybe it was just her, since she had lived here all her life. But Academy City was certainly, to her, a very welcoming place. And she was going to be sure that the new students would feel the same.
