The Slate Of Vale

"That's the word Matt, if they catch us." Raz said stressing the last part. He wiped his mouth with a clean towel and stood up. "We meet at nine in Donald's fountain, fifteen minutes before the meeting commerce. Anybody who is interested to know the cause of this quake should meet me there." He finished and walked out of the hall. Leonard and Sandra followed him reluctantly; they wore unreadable looks on them.

"Guess we've fried the big fish" Ham chuckled "The grade one are meeting in the field, are you guys coming?" he dusted himself and looked out the window.

"Yea, not for the Grays I guess." Matt said with a frown and gulped down the cold sugarless coffee. It tested bitter, the way he liked it.

"This Campter guy didn't say the grays are exceptional in today's training. Look, the whole students are heading there." Pinna said

"No uprooting of weeds today Matty, get you junk-a** to the training ground or I would report you myself" Isaac and his friends laughed and pass by. They must have heard Pinna.

Matt shook his head and stood up. He stared at the now departing features of Isaac and frowned. The boy was almost the same height as him, but his rudeness seemed to be growing each day. Matt sighed, wondering the day he might snap and give it to Isaac in full dose.

*********

The training ground was filled with students in grade one. They were all in black jumpsuit, with streak of their extractor color running on each side. Any other day, the Grays would have been missing, but not today.

The first inquisitor of the rhombus court stood at the center of the semicircle with his hands folded behind him. He was in black jumpsuit now. Emblazoned on his muscular chest was Anadan's coat of arm and running on each side of his diaphragm and cuff, was the trend of gold. The air around him was calm and his yellow lovely skin, seemed one with the morning sun.

"Most of you might be wondering who it is standing before you. Well, my name is Campter Tethat. I am the first inquisitor of the rhombus court and the right hand man to the king himself." The pomposity in Campter's eyes erupted as the students clapped with respect and admiration. He adjusted his belt which needed no adjustment and cleared his throat for yet the third time. The deepness of his voice blended well with the hard cheek bones on his skull.

"I was appointed by the king himself to guide you on the art of extracting from the sun and glowing. We would continue this training exercise for the next two weeks, but if you impress me by learning fast, I might promote you to the next grade with a scholarship." His statement brought some vibe on the face of the students, and someone like Isaac, who was the most brilliant in the class, smiled and nodded to his friends as though extracting and glowing depended on one's IQ.

"Today we shall work on your endurance and after..." Campter cleared his throat but his searching eyes widen this time; he almost lost his teaching posture.