The Tracker Hive Academy Year One - Avery Song Page 0,21
insulted for being forced to attend."
"It's not that bad," Bianca comforted.
"Why do rich people go there?" I asked. "Is it one of those 'I'm rich but don't study so I bought myself admission with my parent's credit card' situations?"
"When she gets things right like that, it actually impresses me," Tanner admitted, putting on a dry white shirt.
"It's not like that," Bianca groaned, giving Tanner the side-eye. "They want to graduate from Tracker Hive."
"Ah," I replied with a nod. "And they found a loophole that allows them to simply pay to become a Tracker."
"Dad wouldn't fall for the petty machinations of the rich, but alas, we live in a society where money makes the world go round— not the power blessed to us from the person up high," I dramatically replied, raising my hands up in praise. "If Dad truly had a choice in the decision-making process of who would be accepted as a Tracker, I wouldn't being going to school."
Tanner walked back to us. "And he’d totally ignore the fact that she's almost gotten her partners killed due to her recklessness, or the reality that she ignores their very existence like they're a walking brick wall."
I kicked him in the back of his left calf, but he didn't budge. "Your kicks need more oomph in them," he whispered with a taunting grin. "Make sure you're on time for my class."
"Alright, Mr. Asshole," I replied, blinking my eyes innocently. "I'll be late every day."
"You never learn," Bianca sang while Tanner rolled his eyes and began to walk away.
"Training same time tomorrow. Bring your uniform. We're going straight to school after," he declared. Once he exited the room, I looked at Bianca.
"I still hate him."
"He wants the best for you." Bianca sweetly grinned. "Even if it’s in a harsh, trainer kind of way."
"I still hate this idea of going to school. Does that mean I can't take assignments?" I inquired, walking over to my training bag to get my red water bottle.
"You should be able to, but your restrictions will remain. Until you officially graduate, you'll be receiving junior missions. Only when you're doing one for a school assignment will it be adult-level."
"Marvelous," I replied. "Babysitting delinquents will be fun. Maybe I'll make a friend. Or even meet a sexy hunk."
"You sound disappointed."
"The chances of me finding someone who can stand my dark-humor-crazed self is like locating another person like me or Alaric with all eight elements. Not saying it’s impossible, but I'm stressing the probability of discovering such level of acceptance to be slim to non-existent," I concluded.
"There may not be someone exactly like you who carries all eight elements, but there are people who together as a team do. You'd fit in nicely somewhere there."
"Did you forget to acknowledge the level of jealousy and the dangers of students in the same competitive environment finding out I have such capabilities? Even six elements are a tough package to ignore. Me? I'll be the limited-edition candy apple on display for the world of students to fight over. If they don't try to eliminate me first."
"Your negative viewpoints are going to bring you down."
"My realistic viewpoints of how people use and abuse the power system and connections they have will ensure no one does the same thing to me. Been there, done that," I replied, taking a long gulp of my water. "Do I need to break down the child aid system and its inability to keep kids like me safe from selfish goons who want to buy kids for their own reasons?"
"Jade," Bianca's voice was soft. "I get it."
“Negativity is something to embrace. Everyone loves to be positive because that benefits them, while negativity doesn't. I'm not stupid enough to embrace one and not the other. When I did, I almost got sold on the Black Market."
Shadow Jade got up and walked over to me. She pointed to herself. "Negative?"
I stared at her for a second. "Positive," I replied, reaching out to pet her head. "Darkness is perceived as a negative trait filled with evil. If people accepted darkness as a trait like any other element, it wouldn't be perceived as something that brings an individual down," I lectured, which, in my honest opinion, felt like lecturing myself.
Shadow Jade and I had the same values. Even if she questioned herself for being a dark element that was considered bad in the outside world, she knew in our heart that I acknowledged the goodness within her.