"Alright maggots! How is everyone doing today?" Instructor Selvon bared his fangs and grinned.
Ahh! This was the life!
Nothing would beat scaring innocent wide-eyed freshman students who just entered university.
A few murmurs were heard in the crowd in reply as all the students who were part of the training camp were suddenly overcome by some unpleasant memories resurfacing.
Most of the students in the regular class were a bit nervous at the prospect of speaking up so an awkward silence ensued.
"ARE YOU WORMS FUCKING DEAF?!" came a loud bellow which startled everyone.
One brave student replied that he was feeling good and Instructor Selvon gave him an approving nod.
"Now that's what I like to hear. Okay maggots today will be your first day of pilot training and ship navigation classes."
"A requirement to graduate is to pass this course so I hope that you will pay attention and pass, so we don't waste my fucking time or yours."
Instructor Selvon fumbled around the insides of his pockets for a moment before withdrawing a tiny silver remote.
[Click!]
The spaceship nearest to Selvon hummed softly as the lights inside began to turn on and the engine powered up.
It was a basic model from the X-847 series that was the perfect choice for beginner pilots to learn how to fly.
The specific name of the ship when translated from the manufactures' native language was something along the lines of 'Hyper Phoenix.'
The ship was around the size of a small room with two black seats made of memory foam for the pilot and one passenger.
The exterior of the ship was semi circular in shape with three thrustors and powered by a nuclear fusion core.
It's sleek and shiny exterior made from a variety of metal alloys found on the Planet Solariae made it almost seem like a luxury car.
All the ships in the spaceport were donated by the same kind student who had built the spaceport using his own money.
Sophie did admire whoever this mystery alumni was as he was clearly someone who believed in repaying kindness to the institution that had trained him.
"Ohhh!! It looks so cool!"
"Damn baby if you think that look's good… I can buy you one next year."
"Aren't you broke though?"
"That's why I said next year!"
"Bro you can lie to me but…. don't lie to yourself."
Whispers broke out among the students as everyone was impressed by the X-847 Phoenix model.
Instructor Selvon puffed out his chest in pride as he saw the gazes of admiration directed towards the vessel.
This was his first year teaching the ship navigation course, so he spent several weeks designing a personalized course schedule to train his new students.
These first couple of classes would just have demonstrations with him flying short distances and showing off the different controls.
Gradually he would split the large class into smaller groups and get the teaching assistants to give him some help providing them with individual training.
The final test of this course was sending them off to successfully take the licence exam.
"Okay maggots! I will now demonstrate how to perform a simple hover and then we will go over the safety precautions," Instructor Selvon pressed another button on the remote and a mechanical ding was heard.
Lift off!
The thrustors emitted blue flames and the gravity stabilizers pulsated gently to prevent the ship from tilting over.
What was fascinating was that the ship activated these devices without making a single sound.
The X-847 Phoenix rose slowly into the air around twenty feet off the ground like a majesty eagle getting ready to spread its wings and soar through the sky.
"Nice," Sophie whistled in appreciation as she even she could tell that this was a fancy model.
"Now I will make it hang in the air while I continue the…." Instructor Selvon was about to finish his sentence when something unexpected happened.
[Crash!]
The spaceship that was floating quite confidently in the air suddenly lost control and plunged headfirst into the ground.
Instructor Selvon: "....."
Students: "...…."
The Spaceship: :(
(Ten minutes later….)
"Fuck… why can't I figure this out?" Instructor Selvon grumbled to himself while he opened up the wall plate and examined the engine.
He told the class to standby while he tried to figure out what went wrong.
The students silently looked at one another but when it became obvious that the instructor was paying them no mind, they conversed quietly amongst themselves.
Sophie yawned sleepily when out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the familiar silhouette of an acquaintance.
"Hey Terrance," Sophie patted the Mendolesa boy on his shoulder and gave a friendly smile.
"Where's your friend Ethan? I always see you two together."
"He's busy hanging out with the Delta Omega Phi Gamma," he replied with a weary sigh.
"Huh?" Sophie tilted her head with a confused expression.
"It's a fraternity house and apparently the initiation ceremony for new members is during the first week so he's skipping all of his classes other than home room," Terrance explained.
"From what I heard…. it seems that he's in for some hazing by the senior boys in the group."
Zrudread University was also willing to allow the existence of a number of fraternity and sorority groups that students could form.
They were basically underground groups within the school with limited supervision and fairly autonomous governance over their own affairs.
As for the purpose of these groups... it varied wildly.
Some groups were formed to create student networks and connections for when graduates entered society.
Others were created to make teams to complete assignments and tasks given to them by the professors.
And others were just for the purpose of partying and getting wasted.
Delta Omega Phi Gamma was one of the latter.
Ethan had also wanted Terrance to join but the sensitive nose of a Mendolesa was nothing more than a curse when walking into a den that smelled of alcohol, drugs, and certain white liquids.
Plus, the constant music being blasted out of the speakers around the house at all hours of the night made it clear that no one was interested in a healthy sleep schedule.
Terrance had taken one step inside of the base before immediately turning around and heading back to his dorm.
"Yeah I got an offer to join the Ionia Eta Alpha Sigma society," Qiana joined in the conversation.
"The girl who gave me the flyer seemed nice enough but it's way too tiring to be around so many people."
"Frats and Sororities aren't really my thing, but I did get a few messages from current members sent to my communicator," Cleo chimed in as well.
"Wait… why didn't I get an offer?" Sophie frowned as she realised that new information.
For heaven's sake, she didn't even know that Zrudread University had fraternities or sororities!
"Oh? Do you want to move out of our shared dorm?" Cleo asked innocently but Sophie felt a heavy pressure coming from her gaze.
"No honey!" Sophie smiled harmlessly as sweat rolled down her back.
Must pamper wife so she doesn't get upset!
She took a quick peek to confirm that Instructor Selvon was still fixing the engine on the spaceship and briefly pressed her lips against Cleo's cheek.
"You two have a very good relationship," Terrance spoke up as he observed the two girls with a strange emotion in his eyes.
It seemed that his friend Ethan was destined to experience some heartbreak. The poor boy had a mini crush on this terrifyingly attractive hybrid girl.
Sophie was about to reply when a loud cry of joy was heard from behind the spaceship currently laying on the floor.
"Son of a bitch I finally fixed it!"
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