Academy Routine

Children's laughter drifted in from outside the window.

Chu Hang opened his eyes and walked to the window. Several teenagers were playing on the lawn. One girl raised her hand, and dew condensed into ice crystals. Another boy fired red beams from his eyes, slicing a leaf neatly in half.

They were all mutants.

He turned around, washed up, and changed into the clothes Erik had prepared: a black T-shirt and jeans. The man in the mirror looked utterly ordinary, without the slightest hint of anything unusual.

When he stepped out of his room, students were already passing through the hallway. A boy with a mohawk walked by, faint flames flickering over his body. The energy within him was highly unstable.

The boy did not look at him and headed straight downstairs.

Chu Hang followed him. The dining hall was packed, with people gathered around the long table eating fried eggs and bacon.

Charles sat at the head of the table. When he saw Chu Hang, he smiled and waved.

"Good morning, Chu Hang. Come, sit here."

Chu Hang walked over and sat to Charles's right. Across from him, Erik was slowly cutting the fried eggs on his plate.

"Everyone, this is Chu Hang," Charles said. "He arrived yesterday, and starting today, he'll be studying with you."

Several students looked up at him. The mohawked boy stared at him for a few seconds before looking away. A brown-haired girl smiled and nodded at him. In the corner sat a teenager wearing sunglasses who never once raised his head.

Charles pointed at the mohawked boy. "This is John. He can control fire. Over there is Kitty. She can pass through walls. The one in sunglasses is Scott. His eyes can fire Havok."

Chu Hang noted each of them down. John's flames