"You… don't need to be so close, Riley."
"How else would I learn your amazing knife skills, Ms. Pauline?"
Professor Jordan Ramsay had just finished demonstrating how to fully butcher and fillet a chicken. And to everyone's surprise, the class was able to provide each student with their own carcass to practice on.
Pauline had just finished slicing the breast and was neatly arranging the parts across her station. But she wasn't done—despite most of the meat being stripped, she returned to the chicken, focused on extracting every usable piece. Riley, of course, had his face almost unreasonably close to her work, leaning in even further as she skillfully scooped out a morsel from beneath the thigh.
"Oh? What is that part you are cutting, Ms. Pauline?" Riley narrowed his eyes with intense curiosity.
"Uhm…" Pauline carefully adjusted the knife, mindful not to bump into him. "Most people call it the oyster of the chicken."
"Hmm. Do you think humans also have them?"
"What…?" Paulin's knife froze as she blinked at him. "I… don't know?"
She quickly filleted the second oyster, placing it with the others before setting her knife down. She let out a breath before turning to check on Riley's progress… and a loud gasp immediately escaped her lips.
How could she not, when his apron was soaked in blood? Splattered, dripping. His knife was wet, its red trail pooling onto the floor.
"How…?" She stammered. She hadn't even thought chickens contained that much blood—especially when the school had already drained them.
"I do not know, Ms. Pauline," Riley sighed, calmly placing his knife beside his… work.
If it could still be called that.
The chicken on his cutting board was completely annihilated. Not just butchered—dismantled. Pulverized. The bones had been chopped through like wood.
"H-How did you even chop the bones with a slicing knife?" Pauline didn't know whether to laugh or be worried. "And… Professor Ramsay didn't even chop anything during the demo."
"I do not know," Riley repeated, "Maybe I would have done better if the chicken were reacting to being sliced, Ms. Pauline. The last time I did it was with a screaming subject, so I knew where to cut."
"...Huh?" Pauline muttered, quickly removing her apron and heading to the sink. "Just… take off your apron before it gets on your clothes."
"Yes, Ms. Pauline."
He was just about to turn when Professor Jordan Ramsay suddenly strolled over to inspect their stations. Riley blinked, then returned to his side of the counter, standing at attention.
Jordan quickly gave Pauline's work an approving nod. Then his eyes landed on Riley's massacre.
He froze. And then, nodded again.
"Still got a lot to learn, young man," Jordan said as he crouched slightly to meet Riley's gaze. "Next time, just relax. Let the knife do the work."
"But the knife is an inanimate object, Professor."
"Mm. Practice. Practice. Practice," Jordan smiled, backing away. "You'll understand soon enough."
He clapped his hands twice. "Knives down, everyone! Time's up!"
He then returned to the front of the class, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet as he moved.
"I hope today was eye-opening," he said, addressing the room. "Butchering is one of the most important things you'll ever learn in a kitchen. Respect the animal. Use everything it gives you. Even the bones—don't throw them away. You turn them into broth. Nothing goes to waste."
"Oh." Riley gave a small nod, considering his words. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but the bell rang before he could speak.
"Class dismissed! Just in time," Jordan clapped again. "Now, before we leave—what do you all want to learn tomorrow?"
Almost immediately, Riley was the first to raise his hand again.
"You again?" Jordan chuckled, the already deep lines on his face deepening even further. "Alright, what is it this time?"
"I would like to learn how to decorate the plate, Professor."
"Plating?" Jordan blinked. "That's… jumping a few steps, young man. But you're the only one with a suggestion, so…
…Plating it is."
***
After their regular class ended, Riley and Pauline wasted no time heading to their superhero course. It was held in a completely separate building—underground, no less. As for the academy's reason for putting them there, well, they said it was for everyone's safety.
Despite being underground, the hallways were even wider and surprisingly more luxurious than all of their hallways above. With sleek metal walls and decent lighting, the space felt more like the set of a sci-fi film than a school.
"We… didn't actually cook anything," Pauline whispered, her voice echoing softly through the cavernous metal corridor.
"You should have raised your hand faster than I, Ms. Pauline," Riley replied, shaking his head. "There was no need to be shy."
"That's…" Pauline let out a faint chuckle. She couldn't argue with that—not with Riley, anyway.
After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at their classroom. Very much like most of the academy, it was spacious, with reinforced walls and brightly lit. The ceiling soared above them. If anything, it resembled an indoor gym more than a classroom. Especially since there weren't any seats at all.
This time, however, they weren't the first in the class. A boy stood in the far corner, staring out a large window that overlooked what seemed to be an indoor garden. The light bathed his chiseled face as he dramatically brushed a hand through his blond hair while looking at Riley and Pauline.
"The morning looks bright, doesn't it?" He murmured, tilting his head as his hair cascaded to one side. "And yet, it feels… as if trouble brews. One must always be ready."
"Is… he saying something?"
None of his words, however, reached the two. Pauline raised a hand hesitantly—only to freeze as the boy winked at her from across the room.
"Wha—" She quickly yanked her hand down. "Let's… ignore him for now, Riley."
"Okay," Riley shrugged.
Pauline would have wanted to go to the back again, but with the weird boy already claiming that spot, all she could do was follow Riley again. They chose a spot near the center of the room, close to a wide, raised platform that looked like it would be used for demonstrations or combat practice.
And then, a few minutes later, Hannah and Bella were the next to arrive. The boy in the corner brightened at the sight of them, smiling—only for that smile to falter when the two girls walked and joined Riley and Pauline.
"Ah! I told you we should've walked faster—they beat us here!" Bella pointed at Riley and Pauline.
Hannah just sighed. "One thing you should know—if Riley doesn't get lost on the way, he'll always be the first to show up."
She paused, glancing over her shoulder to look at the boy at the corner of the classroom. "Also… that guy's been staring at us since we walked in."
"What guy?" Bella turned to look.
"Psst! Don't actually look!" Hannah hissed, tugging on Bella's arm. But it was too late.
"S—shoot. He's coming this way. Everyone, act natural. Pauline, who even is that giant?"
"I… I don't know," Pauline murmured, lowering her head as the boy began walking toward them. "He was here when we arrived. He was… talking to himself."
"Great," Hannah muttered. "Another weirdo."
The group instinctively tightened their circle, with Hannah even pulling Riley in to form a human barrier to keep anyone away. But it didn't work.
The boy stopped just outside their group and spoke, far too loudly, "It's fine, children. You may ask me for my name."
"Huh…?" Hannah blinked, stepping back from the circle with an eyebrow raised. "What?"
The boy placed a hand on his chest and gave a small bow. And now that he was right in front of them, the difference between their heights became obvious as the boy towered over everyone while he introduced himself.
"My name is Gary. Gary Gray. It is an honor to be my friend. Feel free to introduce yourselves."
"Oh god…" Hannah muttered, turning away from him and toward Bella. "Yep. Definitely another weird dude."
And surprisingly, it was Riley who was the next to greet Gary. He turned to him and stared at him from head to toe, then shook his head in disappointment at his sister.
"Please do not be cruel to him, Sister," he said, before giving Gary a small wave.
"My name is Riley Ross. I didn't expect to meet someone else on the spectrum in this class, Mr. Gary."
"W-what…?"