The Academy: Detective Stories - Part I

Chapter 2. No Difference

Their classes started the following morning. Elisa walked into the classroom side by side with Jackie. Today she wore a black cadet uniform with a small golden dragon embroidery on the shoulder. Her hair was prudently brushed in a horse tail in the hope she would look more serious and not get too much attention. The hell it worked.

When the heavy doors of the classroom slammed behind, all the heads turned to them. There were ten young men who stared at them. A loud whistle mixed with laughter filled the room. Jackie gave her a worried look. Today her eyes shimmered like two emeralds.

"Watch and learn," Elisa winked. She clapped her hands, and the room fell silent. "Maybe someone has a question? Ask carefully because I'll answer only once."

The male cadets exchanged their glances. A young man with red hair who sat closer to them arose. He was tall and looked her up and down with clear blue eyes. "What did you ladies forget here? The perfume shop is on a trade street!"

The rest of the class busted out in heavy laughter.

Elisa grinned. Perfect, one more silly boy who tries to test me. And the first one who was brave enough to speak first. Maybe he wasn't a bad guy, though, but boys understood only one language - shameless honesty.

Elisa passionately looked at his stern face. "Finished?!"

The men got tired of laughing, and now everyone looked at her in silence, expecting a continuation of this drama.

His eyebrows twitched. "Stubborn, then."

"Don't play with the fire." She took a step toward him, but he didn't move back.

"Oh, you know nothing about the fire." His eyes got darker, and the pupils became red.

Elisa gave him a scornful look. "Sorry pal, it's not a high school anymore. Can you behave like a real guardian?"

He gasped. "A real guardian?! What do you possibly know about it?"

"All right, I'll show you how to behave." Elisa looked around the room. "First, thank you for giving us directions to the perfume shop. We might buy something there, right, Jackie?"

Jackie locked her eyes with hers. "For sure."

"And secondly, we came here because we want to make this world a better place." Elisa shifted her gaze to the red-haired cadet. "Personally, I want to punish the bastards who think they can kill innocent people. Is that clear?"

He nodded. His eyes suddenly filled with interest.

Elisa touched her horse tail which lay on her chest and moved it to the back, where it was supposed to be.

"Well," She said, "I answered a question, so if you excuse us, we'll take our seats."

A cadet sat down and opened his book, pretending to be entirely into reading now.

Elisa snickered and proceeded to her desk. She didn't pay any more attention to anyone. Instead, she took her notebooks and supplies from her bag and put them on her desk.

Jackie smiled and placed her palm on her chest. For sure, studying at the Academy was supposed to be an uneasy path paved with misunderstandings and many other obstacles she couldn't yet imagine, but at least she wasn't alone. She watched how Elisa sat down and took a heavy book from her backpack. In the bright light of the morning sun, her golden hair shone like a little beacon that illuminated this dark place.

Jackie was at her desk when the other cadet stood up. He walked straight to her, his hazel eyes giving her a sly look. His skin was naturally light-brown, meaning he was from the South. He wasn't tall but had broad shoulders and a funny haircut. He looked like an urchin that she used to find in the bay, and this memory made her smile.