22 The End? (2/2)
After a second Celes nods. ”We need to get them away from here. For the others, there is nothing we can do.”
At that I take my first look into the cafeteria and see a few burned bodies. Attendants, students, teachers. Those guys didn't really care whom they killed.
”Fuckers! …. Follow me. We go to the shelter where Tongord is.” I start to walk the way I came back.
”You are not hurt?”, I ask while we walk. Celes shakes her head. Hm. Well that's how the world turns, is it not?
Celes you should know better than crying for a single person.
As we walk over the school yard, Celes suddenly holds me back. ”Hide!” And we duck behind one of the bushes, which are aligned along the path.
Eleven black robed guys run past us, into the direction of the fighting at the school gate. After Celes nods we continue on our way without further incident.
At the shelter, Tongord receives us and takes Iris from my shoulder. As soon, as we are inside the large underground room with other students and teachers, I take another look at Tanja and start to pour my remaining Mana into healing her.
Soon after this, some healers appear and take care of her from there. I sit down at a wall and just feel tired. I close my eyes, maybe I should dream of better times again?
”Tongord said you were already at the shelter? But you still ran off to get us?” Celes suddenly asks besides me.
”Don't get the wrong idea. I am no white knight for the maiden. I just would have felt bad if the few people I know in this world were hurt, while I was sitting around.” I answer.
”Hmp! You are still a stupid hermit.” She calls out, but I don't answer.
And so we sit in the shelter and wait.
***
The following day, everything is like it never happened. Yesterday, the school was closed for the rest of the day, after the terrorist attack was repelled. All sixty attackers were dead and no sign of their affiliation was found.
Neither their aim could be discerned. Apparently they just tried to kill as many people as possible, while abducting a few selected individuals. Though they never managed that, because the schools security managed to slow them down until regular forces from the city arrived.
There were quite a few deaths, but luckily nobody we knew. It was the worst where Celes had been. Apparently a small group had used flying magic to invade from the sky.
But the school did nothing more than to hold a short minute of silence and a few words for the dead by the director. Apparently the people here are still hardened by the war.
Celes has already received her negative mark in rune magic. Teacher Mirgurd had no mercy with her.
The other subjects were no problem for us.
Right now I am waiting for my negative mark in art. I couldn't think of anything that would please Jeniva. I have to try my luck with Samarin like Celes.
”Angrod your are positive by a hairs breath. Next time work harder!” Jenvia shoots at me.
”HUH? But I didn't have ANYTHING!?” I scream baffled.
”I took your work in the school yard into account.” -Jeniva
”THE SNOWMAN!?” -Me
”I have watched you while you created that -wonderful ice sculpture- in the school yard. You may be a lost case as a painter. But as a sculptor you may have some talent. Though I think that the use of magic for this is cheating, you shouldn't be self-deprecating yourself. Your work had emotion. Something I unfortunately never felt from your other works.” -Jeniva
”Hoh, I must take a look at that Snowman.” Celes grins at me, she has recovered pretty good from yesterdays shock.
Celes own work for the art class is a nice painting of a landscape with fields and a little house of wood at a lake. It looks very peaceful.
So after Jeniva declared the end of the class, we went for Samarin's test.
And for everyone, who wanted to know how Samarin's test worked. After we entered the class it went like this:
”Soooo.... I don't like tests, so I will make this fast.... Sven, how many suns are there in the sky?”
”...One?”
”Wrong, Failed. Margerie? What's the square root of 676?”
”26”
”Right, Pass. Stephen? How many times will you take my test, until you give up?”
”Huh!?”
”Wrong,”
”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
”....Failed. Angrod? Why do you know so much about science and magic?”
”Because I am much much older than you mwhahaha!”
”....Failed.”
”What?”
”Celes? What is the annual income of Stricc and Tirna together?”
”2.345.678.786 Crown Coins this year!”
”....”
”YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW, YOU JUST WANTED TO BAFFLE ME!!!!!!”
”Pass.”
And that's how Celes and I somehow managed to pass our first school-year. After saying our goodbyes to everyone, I leave the class and walk off into the direction of the school gate.
But Celes takes another corner. ”Hey, Rose and the car are waiting!” I follow her.
”I know! But I want to see the snowman!”, before I can stop her, Celes runs off onto the school yard.
I sigh and follow her, to take a look at the creation I made so absent mindedly. Ah. Now I remember, what I thought about, when I created it.
On the school yard are a few people, who are gaping at a wonderful ice-sculpture of a whole family in life-size. A bearded man holds a small child up in the air. Both are laughing. A beautiful woman with an infant in her arms is smiling at them. She has long hair, which looks like it is waving in the wind.
A small girl tugs at her skirt. They look like a happy family of ordinary people, who don't have to worry about a thing in the whole world. Just being happy to be together.
It is almost as if you could see a field and the wonderful nature around them. If you watch a little longer, you think they could start to move any second.
Hmmm. A hopeless memory, nothing more.
”Angrod? Who is that?” Celes asks
”Nobody... just... a wonderful, lost dream”
I turn around and walk into the direction of the car.
But Celes still stands there, staring at a long forgotten memory.