A Different Beginning (Ch. 7)
Since it’s long, I’m placing the text under the read on link. If you’re having trouble reading, just send me a note!
If you need to catch up, here is the first chapter: Chapter One
I also have a tags list on my blog to help locate the rest of the chapters.
Chapter Seven
The sun blazed over the lawn of SFIT’s campus, the grass a sparkling neon green, and the gates repainted fresh red. Tadashi looked up as he passed underneath the gate, Hiro skipping around him, unable to contain his glee. He was like a puppy new to the world, wanting to sniff and bite on everything. If his brother kept this up for much longer, he might need a leash. But the sheer enthusiasm was practically contagious and Tadashi couldn’t help but smile himself. It was a new year. Another chance. Hiro hadn't stopped talking since breakfast, not even when his mouth was so full it spilled cereal everywhere, not even when they were zooming through traffic so loud that Tadashi couldn't even hear him if he tried. Tadashi thought Hiro might've worn himself out by now, but his little brother seemed to have a never ending stream of thoughts that needed to be voiced. "I can't wait to see what classes they have I hope I can meet more scientists you think it'd be okay if I asked for their autographs because I'm definitely asking for autographs especially if it's Stan Cobs and if I can't find paper I'll use my shirt and I'll never wash it ever and it'll be the most important thing I've ever owned and I'll keep it forever and pass it on to my children and grandchildren and tell them all how I met one of the most important programmers on Earth and how I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for my older brother who's a complete and total nerd and still manages to be the coolest guy around!" Tadashi laughed, ruffling a hand in Hiro's hair. "Thanks, bro. It's nice to know I'm appreciated." "You think we're going to have any classes together?" Hiro asked, skipping up the last of the steps. "Probably not, I'm two years of classes ahead of you," Tadashi replied, shaking his head. "You're might be smart, but you're not that smart. We'll probably be working in the same lab, though. All the Applied Sciences majors work there." "You mean you and the rest of the gang?" Hiro asked with a grin. Already he considered Tadashi's friends as his own; which was what Tadashi intended. "Awesome!" Most kids Hiro's age weren't mature enough to handle the company of a tiny kid with big brains without bullying him - even fewer who were in college. And while Hiro wasn't very mature himself, he still looked up to people older than him, and the others were great at keeping a rational mind in case Hiro wanted to do anything crazy. Besides, they all had a good influence on him, and Tadashi had rarely seen Hiro so consistently happy without the reliable social life they brought.
Tadashi didn't want Hiro to stay locked up in his room, staring at a computer screen with no interaction with the outside world for over seventy-two hours. He definitely didn't want Hiro to spend his time competing in illegal bot-fighting in back alleys, either. This just so happened to be a happy medium. "Do you think I'll get an office like you?" Hiro asked. "Not yet. The board waits until you get on the Dean's List before they offer anything like that. You also have to present your capstone project idea beforehand, to show them what you'll be using it for. You'll probably have a workspace with everyone else in the main lab." "Neat!" Hiro didn't seem discouraged in the least. He tugged on the straps of his new backpack, red of course, as he looked up at the sky and grinned. "When do I get to set up? I can't wait to start working on my micro bots again." "After your classes are over." Tadashi glanced at his watch. He, of course, had memorized Hiro's schedule, mostly because he wasn't sure if Hiro would be able to remember it himself. "Speaking of which, your first one starts in ten minutes. Vector Calculus I. You remember how to get to Dashburg Hall?" "Yeah sure," Hiro nodded, giving Tadashi a quick salute before heading down the path to the right. "I know this place like the back of my hand." "Really? Because Dashburg Hall is that way, genius," Tadashi replied with a smirk, pointing in the opposite direction. Hiro paused, turning around with a bewildered look, then shrugged and said, "I knew that. I was just testing you." Tadashi wasn't going to fall for it. "I'm not the one who needs testing, bonehead. So I'd hurry if I were you. Professor Herring likes to lock the doors after the bell rings." That wasn't true, but he took particular delight in watching the look of panic cross Hiro's face before he took off running. "Gotta go! Text you later!" As Hiro disappeared down a hill, Tadashi just shook his head and laughed to himself. These next few years were going to be interesting. Tadashi had yet to realize just how right he would be.
"Hey, Tadashi, come see all the fresh meat!" GoGo said, popping her head into his office. There was a mischievous grin on her face. "Look at how tiny they are!" Tadashi just sighed and hung his head. Every year they did this, and every year it was the same. They spent about thirty minutes watching as the professor guided the sinew students around the room and showed them to the empty workstations, where they would eventually set up their various projects. GoGo liked to make up funny back stories for them, Honey liked to take selfies with them and pretend not to notice how many were intimidated by her height, while Wasabi critiqued their organization and well-kemptness and Fred got to show off his neat board tricks to the awed freshmen. He'd rather just work on Baymax at the moment. Tadashi was starting to feel tired again, even though it wasn't even noon yet. It was like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all last night. “I-I’m kind of busy right now, GoGo. Maybe later?” “Oh, come on! This only happens once a year! You gotta live a little, Tadashi.” But there was no resisting the power of GoGo, so Tadashi just heaved a sigh and got to his feet. “Oh, all right. But just for five minutes. I’ve got a lot of work to do.” He didn’t really want to leave work, considering how much he already had. Tadashi’s new programming class was killer, and considering it was just the first day, he knew it was going to take up a lot of his time to just to get a passing grade — even more if he wanted an A, which he definitely did. They already had homework, lots of coding to parse through, as well as three chapters to read in the two-ton textbook that was worth more than Krei-Tech’s new top of the line tablet. But he might as well get a little break now before diving waist-deep into code, so Tadashi followed GoGo into the main lab, where everyone stood back and pretended to work while a large group of tiny freshmen bustled around, chattering and oohing and ahh-ing as they were guided around by a woman with clicking heels. It was Professor Holgate ahead of the charge, waving a stiff gloved hand around the various inventions and discussing what students at SFIT were capable of doing. Tadashi didn’t expect to see her here. This wasn’t the building she worked in. She was the head of the Computer Science program. What was she doing in Robotics? She was a prim little woman, always perched in high heels and dressed to the nines in a black pinstriped pantsuit. A little older than Aunt Cass, Professor Holgate had piercing blue eyes that made you wish you went to a different school, guarded behind horn-rimmed glasses that sometimes flashed ominously under the right lighting. Tadashi didn’t think she’d be covering her hands, though. “Is she wearing latex gloves?” Wasabi glanced at Tadashi before squinting at Holgate. “Oh, yeah, she is. Maybe she’s protecting herself from germs. I should try that sometimes.” “What, why? This is Robotics, not Biology. We’re not dissecting anything and we don’t experiment with chemicals,” Tadashi said, then remembered Honey Lemon. “Well, not most of us. But if it were chemicals, wouldn’t she be wearing rubber gloves instead?” “I don’t know, man,” Wasabi just shrugged. “All geniuses have their quirks, like me, and this must be hers.” “Yeah, I suppose,” Tadashi nodded to himself, still feeling a little skeptical. It was unfair to criticize when his own friends were a little weird, and weird was never bad. But Tadashi had met Holgate a few times before (even had a class with her — thankfully just one, which took many a sleepless night to pass), and he’d never seen her wear gloves before. “Maybe it’s a new thing.” Geniuses and their quirks were not an unusual occurance, and Tadashi was quite familiar with them himself. There was, of course, Wasabi and his habit of extreme organizing and subsequent freak-outs when anyone (particularly GoGo) messed with his stuff; GoGo’s obsession with speed, unsatisfied with anything short of Mach 3. Honey Lemon liked to add colors and doodles to everything, to the point that the school board had to issue a new rule stating that unsanctioned painting of school property would be dealt with heavy fines. And, obviously there was Hiro, who would eat all red foods, no matter what they actually tasted like. Then there was Fred. Fred was...well, he wasn’t a genius. But he was Fred. He had enough weird to fill the whole state. Tadashi couldn’t think of any of his own quirks, although that may be because he felt almost boring in comparison to everyone else. He was sure that if he asked, they would be able to come up with a bunch of things, and Tadashi decided to avoid the embarrassment if he could help it. “Explore at your leisure,” Professor Holgate said, holding out her arm in a gesture of go-ahead. “We’ll meet again in ten minutes.” As the new students dispersed to examine inventions more closely and ask questions, the tiny professor turned and headed towards the door. Tadashi did a double-take when he realized, no, she was not going to the doors, she was making a beeline to him. “Ah, Mr. Hamada, I thought I saw you earlier,” Professor Holgate said, peering up at him through half-lidded eyes. Tadashi couldn’t fathom what she was possibly thinking at the moment. “Hiro’s brother, correct?” “Uh, yeah, why?” Tadashi frowned, crossing his arms and leaning back, immediately going on the defensive. Whenever adults asked him if he was related to Hiro, it usually meant one of two things: one, to remark on Hiro’s intelligence and aptitude for robotics; or two, to inform Tadashi of yet another misdemeanor his little brother may or may not have committed, and perhaps place the onus of responsibility on Tadashi himself. As if anyone could control Hiro. While Tadashi loved Hiro, and would do anything for him, he was not his brother’s keeper. “I saw him earlier today, making bets with other students on the outcome of the upcoming baseball game,” Professor Holgate said, her expression unchanging. Tadashi felt the others shift around him, switching their attention from the students to the teacher now talking directly about a friend of theirs. Holgate pretended not to notice, merely tilted her head as she gazed at Tadashi, measuring his reaction. “He doesn’t have a problem, does he?” “What? No, of course not,” Tadashi snapped back, perhaps a little too quickly. Inside, his gut filled with dread. The day had barely even started and already Hiro was finding himself in a heap of trouble. Aunt Cass was not going to like this. “He knows better than that.” “Good,” Holgate sniffed, lifting her chin in a manner that said she won even if Tadashi had been telling the truth. “Because, as you all know —” she cast a side glance at the others, who stiffened at the almost-insult — “Gambling and any other related activity is illegal on campus, and would result in immediate expulsion. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, Mr. Hamada, but take care. I’d hate to see such potential wasted.” “Right,” Tadashi’s voice was strained and he had to keep himself from glaring at Professor Holgate walked off. “Thanks for the memo.” “She seems a little...uptight,” Fred finally spoke once the woman was out of earshot. He cast a conspiratorial glance around the group, saying in a hushed whisper, “You think she’s onto us?” “Onto what?” GoGo asked with a skeptical eyebrow. “We’re not doing anything.” “Maybe she knows we’d help Hiro,” Wasabi pointed out with a shrug. Of all of them, he seemed the most relaxed, while Tadashi was absolutely seething on the inside. “Maybe she thinks he’ll cheat and come to us, because he’s not ready for college.” “Of course he’s ready!” Tadashi exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air and gathering the looks of a few passerby. He felt his cheeks heat up and dropped his shoulders, feeling a little self-conscious. Get a hold of yourself, man. “There’s no way he’s spending any more time on his own. He can’t go back to bot-fighting.” “We’re not disagreeing with you, Tadashi,” Honey said, a little disapproving of his outburst. She raised a hand in consoling, resting it on his shoulder. It felt comforting, a feeling helped by the fact she was several inches taller than him, and thus carried an air of authority. “This is just what Professor Holgate might be thinking. Hiro’s so young, and sometimes he likes doing things the easy way, rather than the right way. We might have to help him, after all, if Holgate’s serious in wanting him expelled.” “She’s gonna be in for a big surprise,” GoGo muttered, punching her fist into her palm. She, out of all of them, would probably actually punch a teacher. Actually, she might already have, but Tadashi couldn’t be sure. “It shouldn’t be too hard.” Fred commented, flopping down in his favorite seat. “I mean, the classes here are gonna have him buried for weeks. He’ll be too busy to do anything crazy or fun.” “Yeah, because you, of all people, would know,” Wasabi said with a snort. “You don’t even go to this school.” “So? Doesn’t mean I can’t love and appreciate what you guys do here.” Fred said, reaching for his soda. Food wasn’t necessarily allowed in the lab, but at least Fred sat far enough way that it probably wouldn’t interfere. “Besides, San Francisco State is boring. Their mascot is whale. How lame is that? I’d rather be Godzilla.” “Our mascot isn’t Godzilla,” Tadashi said. “It’s a dragon.” “What? I’m allowed to take liberties.” “Anyways,” Honey said before they got lost in a discussion about mascots. “I think Professor Holgate’s the new dean of Robotics. If Hiro gets into trouble, she’ll get to deal directly with him.” “Wait, since when was she the dean?” Wasabi asked, walking around his work station and fixing a misaligned tool. It wasn’t actually out of place, it was just something Wasabi did when he got anxious. News like this could make anyone anxious, really. “I thought she was in Computer Science.” “She was,” Honey said, holding up her phone. Its screen showed a miniature article from the school’s online newsletter. “But she was the only one that qualified for the job. She has three PhD degrees, you know. One of them is in Robotics. She’s spent twenty years working in that field before moving on to computers, but she still has the credentials. I guess it must have been an easy pick for the board.” “I miss Callaghan,” Honey sighed, then went silent, as if realizing what she just said. Everyone went a little still, perhaps stunned that she said the name that had been haunting everyone’s mind since the fire. Callaghan’s death hung in the air like a silent, constant reminder. They hadn’t openly discussed it since the funeral, a fact which Tadashi was glad for until this moment. There still seemed to be some unspoken words on the matter, but the way his gut tightened and his jaw clenched, Tadashi knew it wasn’t something he wanted to deal with right now. “This sucks,” GoGo said finally, popping a bubble gum and accurately describing everyone’s feelings on the matter. Then her head switched to the right, eyes widening slightly. “Yo, can I help you?” Everyone turned around, surprised to see a freshman standing there, watching them with big, almost fearful eyes. She clutched her new books to her chest, almost in protection, intimidated by the large group of older, smarter kids all staring at her. “H-hi,” she said, tucking a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear, slowly pulling her gaze from the group to GoGo, who waited patiently. “I-I was, uh, just wondering, um, why your b-bike doesn’t have any wheels?” “Oh, right,” GoGo glanced at her project and rolled her eyes, as if annoyed with herself. She tapped her skull with the palm of her hand, saying, “Doi. Yeah, the wheels aren’t attached right now. I’m still trying to get the right design to make it go faster.” “How do the wheels work?” The girl said, drawing nearer to the project to peer at the wheel wells. She pressed a finger to the smooth metal. “There aren’t any sockets or hinges. Are the wheels magnetized?” “Essentially, yeah,” GoGo nodded, looking pleased to have someone understand without needing a heavy explanation. She wandered over to the wheel-barrow filled with discarded wheels, yellow and made of light material. She picked one up and tossed it over. The girl gasped and ducked; it seemed as though GoGo meant for her to catch it, but with the books in her arms, the girl couldn’t. But that didn’t seem to be GoGo’s intention at all. Instead, the wheel bounced off the floor once before shooting up into the nearest wheel well of the bike, catching to the magnet in one swift motion. Tadashi had to hide his smile from the awed look on the girl’s face; GoGo’s aim was impeccable. “See? Completely frictionless,” GoGo wandered back, taking her finger and spinning the wheel. It made a soft hissing sound as it cleaved through thin air. “Must have good suspension, too,” the girl remarked, finally getting over her surprise to smile at the still-spinning wheel. “The gears won’t get worn out so quickly, and it’d maximize the amount of power the rider puts into the machine. Less energy, more work.” “Yeah, pretty much.” “What? You’re telling me someone actually understands what the great GoGo Tomago’s doing?” Fred laughed, earning an annoyed look from GoGo. “Your name’s GoGo?” the girl asked, her eyebrows shooting up. “It’s a nickname,” GoGo replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “And that’s Fred. He’s the one who comes up with them. Who’re you, by the way? You must be a freshman.” GoGo stuck out a hand and the girl reached for it, nodding. “Oh, I’m —” “Gather up, freshmen!” Professor Holgate’s piercing voice cut the girl off, making her spin around. Professor Holgate was standing at the doors, her arms raised to get everyone’s attention. “We’re heading to the Biology lab next. Let’s let everyone here get back to work, shall we?” “Oh, gotta go, sorry,” the girl said with a sigh, hanging her head before giving them a final wave. “But thanks for the lesson!” “Hey, any time,” GoGo said, crossing her arms and watching as the freshman gathered like little ducklings in the wake of Professor Holgate. She jolted just as the girl disappeared from sight. “Oh, crap. She didn’t tell me her name!” “Hey, I’m sure she’ll be back,” Tadashi said, not sounding as concerned as GoGo. She cast him a curious look. “What makes you say that?” “Her books. They were on Robotics and mechanical engineering. She’ll probably be working here later.” “Oh, good eye,” Honey grinned. “Does this mean I’m allowed to make a nickname for her, too?” Fred asked, leaning forward in his seat and sounding hopeful. “No.” everyone said, frowning at him. While Fred was pretty good at coming up with nicknames, he also had a tendency to make people angry when he called them things they didn’t like. Especially with people he didn’t actually know. “Aw, man,” he pouted, flopping back in his seat. “So, what were we talking about again?” Wasabi asked, leaning against his worktable and everyone gathered around in a tight circle, so their discussion wouldn’t be overhead. “Hiro,” Tadashi answered, because who else could it be about. “I think we should keep an eye on Hiro, in case he does anything...criminal.” “Or anything that looks criminal,” GoGo added. “I don’t trust that Holgate woman.” “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine, guys,” Honey replied, looking a little disturbed. “Why do you all think he’s going to do something bad?” “Because he’s Hiro and doesn’t know any better?” Tadashi shot back. He appreciated Honey’s optimism, but he couldn’t afford to think the same way. If Hiro’s stay was as much in jeopardy as he believed it to be, then they had to be careful. “Just watch out for anything, okay? I don’t want him to get in trouble. I especially don’t want him to get hurt. If anything happens, just stick with him and make sure he’s safe, okay?” “I think this calls for a hand stack,” Fred said, before sticking his hand out in the center of the circle. “We all agree to defend Hiro’s honor with our lives?” “Oh, please,” GoGo rolled her eyes at the hyperbole, but surprisingly was the first to add her hand to the pile. The rest followed suit, with Tadashi resting his hand on the top of the pile. There was an air of agreement, of solidarity in this, that made his gut flutter with pride. “You guys sure about this? I don’t want to ask too much —” “Its fine, Tadashi,” Honey gave him a reassuring smile. “We know what we’re doing. Hiro’s as much our family as he is yours.” “All right, on three,” Fred said, an infectious grin on his face. “Protect Hiro. One, two, three!” “Protect Hiro!”
Sorry for the months long wait! I had severe writer’s block and didn’t know how to continue the conflict when the next few chapters are probably just going to be about them in college. It’ll be a little while before Hiro runs into Yokai.
But this is still relevant! I have it all set up, so don’t worry :)
Chapter Eight