Katché, the King of Goldfish

The autumn fields are starting looking real pretty as of recent. That's a good thing, by the way. It means that another year's gone by smoothly without incident as planned.

Thank you... well, um... hmm...

I gave up trying to find someone to give thanks to after about a minute of deep thought.

I shut my eyes and sent my heartfelt thanks to no one in particular. Not like there was anyone upstairs to receive my feelings, anyway. God just had to go off and die, didn't he?

"So what you do guys wanna do after class? I heard that the beta for Malorant came out yesterday. Wanna try it out today?"

Oh, I heard about that, too. Not that I'm too interested in it, though. Seems pretty shitty from what I've seen of it. Don't really see what the fuss is about it. Then again, I haven't really been keeping up with that sort of stuff for a while.

"Nah, sorry. I got other plans today. You guys are gonna have to play without me."

Well, I'll be damned. You, Pesvin? You have something else to do aside from playing video games today? What's the world coming to today? It's the end of the Age of Reason! The final prophecy has been fulfilled!

"What could you possibly have to do today that's more important than playing with us, man? Come on now, we all know you ain't got shit to do today."

Preach, brother! Lay the cold, hard truth on this rebellious upstart and smite him where he stands!

"Well, today's different. Sival's invited me to hang out at the Sensdome. I couldn't turn that kind of offer down, man."

"That's some hot bullshit right there. You? At least try to make your lie somewhat convincing, dude."

"I bet he's gonna tell us that he's also scored with his sister, Mirawyn, too!"

Asir and Volen laughed their hearts out, but I couldn't really muster the same enthusiasm as them.

Ah, I really thought that these three idiots were going to prove me wrong. Guess not.

I stared outside at the ever-distant autumn fields and guessed that it wouldn't be long before the trio turned into a duet.

Two weeks, at best.

But if we're talking about someone like Pesvin, then a week should be more than enough. Once the weakest link in the chain breaks, the rest will end up following not too long after.

Swallowed up by the white whales of this academy — those who had no natural predators.

That's just how things worked in this blue-blooded academy, Afon O'Mir. Not that I knew about the school's unique culture when I first applied to it, though. I just thought it looked way prettier than all the other schools I had on my list.

Sounded fancier, too. It's Elvish for 'Nature's Bounty,' but I still don't get why they named the academy that. Is it because this place was built to nurture the crème de la crème of the district? To serve as the basket where all the shiny, picturesque apples were meant to be kept safe and secure?

If that's why it was called Nature's Bounty, then I'd be fine with it. Made perfect sense, even if it was a bit on the nose. I'd take that answer any day, over the more depressing alternative.

Anyhow, I'm positive that Pesvin isn't lying. How can I prove my claim? I've got proof. To be honest, it's a personal piece of evidence. And yeah, I know. Anecdotal evidence won't hold up at court or in the lab, but I'm not that invested in proving this ugly little truth.

Let's just say once upon a time, I was on the receiving end of a similar offer, too. Happened a while back, but that's not important. In any case, that's how I know Pesvin's telling the truth.

The student culture here is pretty warped. It's like a reflection of the distant past, to put it bluntly. Let me explain myself properly before I get carried away, though.

This academy was made for the gifted, sure, but that's just a filter to keep unwanted interlopers out, like me. Paradise, this place was not for the common man.

And I'm not talking about the distinction between the wealthy and the poor. At least, not of the monetary kind that most people think about when they hear the word 'wealth.'

That isn't what's important to the people in this goddamned school.

It's blood; That's what they value the most. To them, pure blood is power, status, and wealth all rolled into one. A powerful bloodline is akin to liquid gold in here.

You can get into this school with your scores, or with your blood. Take a guess which one is easier to do.

Getting admitted for the first reason is nice and all, but it doesn't mean jack shit compared to the second one. Being somewhat bright is expected in here, you feel me? No one in here is gonna treat you like you're special just because you're scoring above ninety on every test.

That's expected of you. If you can't at least do that, then you don't belong here. Tough shit, I know, but that's the general consensus of the student body.

People, like me, who got in based on their scores and not through their blood, are considered commoners here, on the down-low.

It's not as if we're called commoners outright, but the feeling is there whenever you talk to one of them. You can just tell by the way they look at you, I swear.

And yeah, the school doesn't make a distinction, but the students do. Those who got in because of their bloodline (the unspoken path) are considered the shot-callers in this school.

They're all grandchildren of former nobles, famous heroes, great wizards, and powerful archdemons from way back in the day during the Age of Worship.

If we're commoners with mundane parents, then they're aristocrats with golden families. Hmm, I guess these days the word 'celebrity,' is a better fit, though.

Everything starting to make a little more sense now?

Afon O'Mir's like a reflection into the world's ancient past, which is why it's bad news for a modern guy such as myself.

Kings and Queens; Nobles and Knights; Commoners and Beggars.  All of those old, dusty roles still exist within this academy's grounds, believe it or not.

But it's not as if they're all tyrannical, spoiled rotten children. The aristocrats, I mean. It'd be highly remiss of me to dump them all into the same boat.

Don't get me wrong, some of them are genuinely up their own ass, but most of them are okay-ish. Semi-decent people, I guess.

Haven't met a decent one yet. They're all still complicit, even if they don't actively partake in what their counterparts love doing.

It's beyond pathetic.

I've no doubt that Pesvin will join the herd and enjoy the rest of his school life in bliss, though. Asir and Volen will surely follow in his stead, even if they don't know it yet.

They'll make the class change from 'Goldfish' to 'Piranha' and enjoy the benefits that come from casting off their old roles. Good on them.

Hell, they might even become friends again after they all end up on the other side. That's a distinct possibility, for sure. But I'm sure it won't be like before, like right now.

Today will probably be their last day as real friends.

Tomorrow, they'll be acquaintances.

The following day after that, they'll be nothing more than strangers.

Brushing shoulders with celebrities, that's the main issue here. The three of them won't be able to handle it. How could they?

What's a goldfish supposed to do when it meets a killer whale? Act as if it were it equal to it?

The same applies to all of the other commoners in this school. They're in the same boat; to be honest, most of them have already fallen.

I want to stress this point, though. My goldfish and killer whale analogy isn't bulletproof. I'm sure there are expectations to the rule that I don't know about. 

Somewhere in this school, it probably exists. A  relationship between a commoner and a member of the aristocracy that isn't grossly imbalanced. A relationship that isn't tained by blind worship, admiration, and envy.

I know, I know. It sounds farfetched, but I'm sure that they're out there in the wild.

Not that I plan on searching for them. As far as I'm concerned, it's not worth the effort. And most importantly, I want nothing to do with them or their 'friends.'

I stood up from my desk and passed by the chatting trio for the final time. They did not call out to me, nor I to them. In fact, we didn't even know each other.

Well, that's not true. I know them, but they don't who I am. To them, I'm probably akin to the plague, given my reputation at school. None of the commoner classmates have even tried to converse with me since the end of my first year at Afon O'Mir.

Even the new first years are warned not to approach me, you know. That's how powerful I am these days. I walk unhindered wherever I go in this school. My reputation has grown so large that it precedes me these days.

Not to brag or anything, but I'm a celebrity too, by the way. In this school governed by little kings and queens of ages past, there's a single king from modern times.

Me.

The King of Goldfish, Katché Wisfern.