Note: This takes place in October of Ace's (second) Junior year of high school. Technically, this is a couple months ahead of any joint RPs currently going on.
When the school year started up again, Jim still mostly got his way in
the whole school drama between him and his children. Ace was switched
the to new school and set back to repeating his Junior year of high
school.
Drama at home or not, the first several weeks at the far preppier,
achievement-oriented school went as a new school year always did for
Ace. Some age-old agreement with his father left him behaving as if
he, along with his kid sister, was a model student. Of course, being
new with high expectations thrown his way and without his usual goof
buddies made it all the easier.
This time though it wasn't a massive prank from bad buildup that
threatened to end the model streak. It was an ethics class, and out
popped their first serious discussion: Evolveds.
It so happened that everyone in the school knew there was a correct
answer to this question, should they wish to live a tolerable life.
It wasn't a difficult thing to pick up on, and Ace already suspected,
if he didn't know with certainty, the truth of the matter. But,
really, it wasn't Ace's practice to actually follow social cues.
And now he found himself the sole person on the opposing side of the discussion:
"Listen, the very word evolution suggests improvement, NOT degen---"
"Evolution takes billions of years, and nothing just miraculously
gains special 'powers.' This... outbreak would be called freak
mutation, likely due to--"
"The ONLY freak on this planet is the person who refuses to acknowledge---"
"Get out of my class."
"WHY? It's an ethics class, you should be prepared to be in a disagreement!"
"I will not have the blatant disrespect in---"
"ME? You STARTED the name calling!"
Ace was answered with silence now, and a glare. Most of the other
students were either shifting uncomfortably in their seats, making
certain not to meet eye contact with either side. A few of them were
leaning forward with interest, the draw of a possible fight catching
all of their attention. One poor girl whose desk was between the two
sides tried to make herself as small as possible. After a moment of
locked eyes, the teacher turned to his projection screen.
"Since it appears we have an evolved---" his pause was just too long
"---sympathizer in this class, allow me to match up the brain patterns
and actions of psychotic patients to those of varying mutated humans."
"Bring it." Ace grumbled under his breath.
It didn't take too far before Ace was against loudly protesting what
was being claimed, drawing on a surprising amount of his own
research-based reading. But neither was it much longer that the
office was getting called.
"I'll save you the trip!" Ace snapped, and headed down tot he office himself.
What commenced was his getting a verbal slap on the wrist and a clear
warning lecture. The administration would stand 100% behind their
teacher, and if Ace was going to continue his disruption with such
destructive talk---There wasn't much clarity on the "then" part, but
it was clearly not going to be in the teenager's favor.
But worse than that was what was going on in the classroom. A teacher
continued to miseducate hiis children, encouraging the prejudice of
the evolved humans. A rumor among them and the already converted
souls in the rather large anti-evolved following began floating
around, and growing.
It was going to be a tough year.
