Luminary Institute

119: Losing One’s Student ID

Once the theatrical performances began, Nyssa and Celeste snapped back awake, sitting upright as they watched from above. Others, once they saw the pair of them on the roof, came to join—but they had already claimed the prime viewing position. 

Flames came jetting out of a student’s hand, propelling them into a somersaulting flip and carrying them over the spikes placed in the center of the stage. 

““Oughhhhhhhhh!!!”” 

A wave of cheers resembling a gorilla’s call filled the air as the students gathered in the humanities building’s central area mushed together to try and gain a better view. Some windows on the humanities building had also been pried open, with the more resourceful students using them as pseudo-private boxes to get the aristocratic experience. 

With two streams of fire shooting out over the crowd—and then dissipating into a sparkler-like shower—Nyssa leaned over and whispered into Celeste’s ear. “I can’t be the only one who feels like they look like a living amoeba... Like they move and shift around in their little groups and bounce off each other, well not really, but you see what I’m saying?” 

She pointed downward. The group she pointed at consisted of three friends. Lost in conversation, they danced to the music being sung by the performing. Without any clear markers on the grass, they wandered, coming into slow contact with the group next to them. First, one of the girls bumped backs with a guy. They turned, they apologized, and the groups separated once more. 

“I can see it...” Celeste squinted at the group while stroking her chin. She tilted her chin left and right, leaning backward and forward a couple times before nodding. “Yeah, I get what you’re saying.”

Nyssa hummed an agreement laced with a slight tinge of smugness before closing her eyes and leaning on Celeste’s shoulder. The piano started for the next piece, its quiet notes bringing a hush over the crowd as its delicate chord progression struck a mournful tone. 

Together, they swayed left and right as the singer began her melancholic love ballad. Celeste pantomimed the arpeggios with her hands as Nyssa just savored the melody and lyrics, mouthing the few parts she recognized. 

---

“It’s over already?” Celeste sighed, clapping along as the final singer took a bow. The crowd below had broken into a rousing standing ovation, but her and Nyssa’s position held them back. Like the few performances they had enjoyed together in the past though, it had ended before they knew it. “I wish we could spend the rest of our lives like this...” 

Sitting side-by-side, fingers laced together, legs pressed together, and heads leaning against the other. Staring at the now orange-stained sky, streaked with the purple-pink of the oncoming night, she let out a slow sigh as Nyssa, beside her, yawned and stretched her arms out. 

“What’s after this?” Celeste reached into her pocket, grabbing her phone. “Is it dinner?” 

“It’s the formal dinner, I think we have an invite since we’re Class Zero, but I think it’s more of a cover. They were gonna give me an invite no matter what since, well, I’m me, but to not show favoritism and reveal my identity, this is the solution they’ve come up with,” Nyssa answered without opening her eyes. “I think the festival will also be handing out free food for the uninvited.” 

“I... see, we should change then shouldn’t we?” Celeste looked down at her school uniform. “And you mean ‘them,’ as in the school administration and your father, right?” 

“Yeah, dad decided it,” Nyssa pushed herself backward, scraping her but against the roof to pull her legs up. Once in a crouched position, she took two deep breaths to hype herself up before pushing down on her knees to stand back up. “School uniforms should be fine. It’s semi-formal, and we’re not there as the centerpiece. It’s mostly a dinner for the big investors. We’re just there to... I don’t know, fill space. Talk and hang out. Be the student representatives. Boring stuff.” 

“Well, I’m sure it won’t be boring if you’re there with me,” Celeste floated up into the air. She flew high enough to get her feet above the roof and let herself fall back to solid ground with a faint huff—all in a matter of a couple seconds. 

Caught off guard, Nyssa choked out an “... I’m honored before offering her hand out to Celeste. “Want to start walking then? I wanna get there early and maybe uh... take a micro nap...” 

Laughing, Celeste took Nyssa’s hand as they began walking across the rooftop towards the staircase back down to the ground levels. Their footsteps echoed against the pavement as they took a secluded route through campus into the administration building. Up an elevator they went before exiting in a cramped hallway filled with two tables. The tables, staffed by... some people Celeste and Nyssa had never seen before, guarded a set of double doors. 

“Student IDs please, we need to make sure you’re on the invite list,” the rightmost staff member tapped a pen against a clipboard. @@novelbin@@

““One second,”” Celeste and Nyssa answered in unison before noticing a certain pair, Ryker and Electra, also digging through their bags for student IDs. Finding their student cards before their upperclassmen did, Celeste and Nyssa handed over their cards to get scanned before passing through the checkpoint without a fuss. 

Standing in the doorway, they watched as Ryker began a stream of cuss words. Each started with “Fu-” or “Shi-” and didn’t paint a kind picture of past-Ryker who packed present-Ryker’s bag. Electra, on the other hand, began sparking with electricity as she began digging through the bag at a speed faster than the human eye. 

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s with those two, I always just keep mine in my pocket...” A tired voice jumpscared Celeste and Nyssa from behind. 

Whirling around, they smiled. “Oh hi, Olivia, didn’t realize you were invited too.” 

“I’m kinda getting treated as a Class Zero student now that I’ve given a verbal confirmation that I’ll be joining the graduate division... so I guess maybe that... or maybe it’s because I’m mildly famous. My family’s known after all, and I’m this generation’s most prominent contractor,” Olivia shrugged. Her next words though, ended up getting swallowed as she watched Nyssa and Celeste look around. “Alecto’s staying in my mind today, she doesn’t like these types of formal events.” 

“Oh... that makes sense,” Nyssa tapped her chin, stopping her searching and looking back towards Olivia. “Do the angels like them then?” 

“... Not really, I don’t think anyone does. They get objectified too much and treated like tools,” Olivia motioned for them to walk inward. “We shouldn’t stand by the doorway though. We’re not blocking those two since they can’t find their IDs, but more guests are coming. Come get some food with me.”  

“Smart smart...” 

“My nap though...”