[color=darkgray][indent]The crowd before him roared like thunder before a lightning strike. He had to admit to himself he felt like a lightning rod, there to take the full brunt of the oncoming storm. Senator Garcia de León looked through the curtains at the room full of reporters, concerned citizens, angry parents, scared populations with questions and pitchforks armed in equal measure. Garcia took a deep breath and then another one. Lupe Tillman, Garcia's advisor, knew that signal. "Sir, it will be all right. You know what questions to answer and which ones to redirect. You have your talking points. It's going to be all right."

Garcia chuckled half-heartedly. "Am I that easy to read?"

"When you have been working together for a few years, you pick up on each other's tics."

"I shouldn't be so easy to read. This is going to be a bloodbath."

"Sir, with all due respect, the nature of this is-"

Garcia held his hand up. "Tell me honestly Ms. Tillman, how would it look to you to see a representative of your home, one who has been very vocal about the hyperhuman issue, have a child who obliterated the town square in what can only be described as, and I am quoting the paper here, 'Christmas Gone Serial Killer'. Ice swept up everywhere, the fountain exploded, and snow on the ground in the middle of Summer. Then, have your child sent to Canada to some school for hyperhumans in a clear vain attempt to appease people's fears while also coming across as an asshole for essentially kicking your child out of your home. The very home that was on the cover of magazines with their family front and center, looking picturesque and who now dons the cover of the National Enquirer. Honestly, Ms. Tillman, would you vote for that person again?"

Lupe stood quiet, debating the answer, which she knew was the wrong thing to do. Garcia took that as an answer. "I am already kicking myself for what I was forced to do to my daughter. I already lost my son, I do not want my daughter to hate me too."

"With all due respect sir, I don't think she hates you."

"You didn't see the look in her eyes after I told her what I had to do. A father should comfort his child when she is scared. And here I am sending her away."

"Sir," Lupe started, "It is, by all accounts, a great school. She is smart and dedicated. She'll thrive there."

Garcia had wrestled with those very same points in his mind. "If this continues, I will be going to war against my own child. These people were scared of hyperhumans before the events in the town square, now they are even more concerned. What do I tell them?"

Lupe looked at her clipboard, filled with responses to various questions. She had no real answer for this. "Tell them the truth sir. You are scared and confused also. You clearly love your family and anyone in your shoes would see this as a tough decision. They'll back you up."

Garcia nodded. "I know. And that is what upsets me most of all."

Garcia moved the curtain aside and stepped out to the podium as questions were hurled at him. Flashing lights from cameras blinded him. He heard racial slurs mixed in with fear-dosed statements. He held his hands up to silence them but it only seemed to drive them wilder. He waited for a beat before slamming his hands on the podium in front of him, silencing the masses.

"You have questions and I can only hope I have the answers. We are in a crisis that does not seem to have an end in sight. Most of you are scared, worried, anxious, stressed. I sympathize. I understand. I also have concerns. Concerns that don't seem to be cared for by those in office. Hyperhumans are a threat. I said that before when I was first campaigning and many have asked if I still hold that to be true given recent events. I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that I firmly believe hyperhumans are a threat. And I plan on tackling this threat head on."[/indent][/color]

[hr][sup][h1][center][img]https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1660102810270915462/89963B5EF78D66011C5CAC5EFE9FCE43ADCCAAB3/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] C A L L I O P E[/color]
[color=F796A9]C A L L I O P E[/color]
[/center]
[/b][/h1][/sup][indent][sub][COLOR=SILVER][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=SILVER][b]he Homecoming Trials #1.01: [/b][/COLOR] [I]I expect perfection[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][sub][color=SILVER][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]N/A[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=SILVER][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]N/A[/I][/right][/SUP]

[indent]"Now, do you know why I called you in to see you, Calliope?"

[color=darkgray]Calliope sat across from Jonas Lehrer after stepping foot inside his office. A young man had stepped out before her and Calliope gave him the once-over. He reeked of what she supposed he might have considered "Bad Boy Appeal". Calliope had seen it time and time again. As soon as he was out of eyesight she forgot he existed.

It was a survival instinct. Calliope knew she was a fish out of water here. That was odd considering the school was for hyperhumans like herself. But she knew she would be judged by others and that thrilled her. She wasn't here to make friends and form long-lasting connections to her peers. She was here for one purpose: to learn all she needed to and help change the world's view on hyperhumans. That already made her public enemy #1. Add on top of that her destruction of her hometown's city center, her father's view on hyperhumans as a whole, hell even her gender, her race, her sexual orientation, made her a target in many circles.

[color=F796A9]"I expect this isn't simply to get to know a promising new student so let's cut through the bull. Respectfully, Mr. Lehrer"[/color]

Jonas chuckled lightheartedly. [color=white]"A breath of fresh air, Miss de León. I liked to get to know the new additions to my school and, as I told the last young man you briefly met on your way in, that question often tells me much about the student. I already have your file, Miss de León, so you and I both know why you are here. The youngest child of a U.S. Senator who grounded his platform on the rhetoric that hyperhumans were and are a continued threat. What is it with America and using perceived threats as stepping stones for power?"[/color] 

Calliope let the question hang there because she knew no answer would be satisfactory for either of them. 

He continued. [color=white]"It was rhetorical. It's not like this country isn't without its issues. Be that as it may, this school is an environment where I hope to see the students thrive. Arm them with the tools necessary to achieve their goals."[/color]

[color=F796A9]"Arm them for war, you mean?"[/color]

[color=white]"What do you mean?"[/color]

[color=F796A9]"I looked into this school before my father even considered sending me here. I know its history. It used to be a military academy correct? Just how much of that old history has been changed or has it just been altered, polished up, and painted with new colors?"[/color]

Jonas smiled. [color=white]"A good question. And one I hope you find the answer to in your time here. We are done. Can you send the next one in on your way out?"[/color]

Calliope took a second to meet his eyes. She couldn't read them, not right away. She decided that could wait as she stood up and stepped out, allowing the next student to walk in. She couldn't help but feel like she just went through her first test here, even before classes started.

[hr]

"It's basically ensuring the teacher you are assigned with has all of the tools they need. Copying, stapling, grading. If they ask for coffee, you get them coffee. This isn't like the movies where the teacher's aide helps change the lives of the students. You do the work quickly and efficiently. Understood?"

Calliope hadn't figured the job would be a cakewalk. Though she was still not thrilled at the prospect she would have to put in work to a school that, by all accounts, should be able to afford to hire the staff necessary to meet these needs. But Calliope bit her tongue. She nodded to the administrative woman in front of her.

"You should find out who you are helping soon as classes will begin quickly. Got to get through the Homecoming Trials first though. Big deal around here."

Calliope had learned all she could from the school, but she had to admit there was much she did not know. The Homecoming Trials was one such area with limited information. She understood the basics, of course. Word got around. 

It was just one more hoop to jump through.

[hr]

The opening ceremony was everything she expected. She stood for the national anthem of a country she didn't call home and listened as Mr. Lehrer droned on about the Homecoming Trials for the new students as Calliope scanned the crowd in front of her. Faces ranged from a mix of excitement to boredom. Soon they were let out to meet with their teams before the event. As she got up, she heard a voice call out asking about sacrificing. Calliope couldn't help but smile at the question. She looked to see where the voice came from and caught that it was the same guy she saw leaving the Chancellor's office before she went in. Mr. Bad Boy himself. Well, at least it tracked.

Perhaps this school would be entertaining after all.[/color][/indent]