Editing Bleeding Out (Warhammer High) (section)

===Academic Questions===

Remilia stumbled out of bed the next morning, glad she had thought to set an alarm before falling asleep.  Finding her clothes cleaned and neatly deposited by the bedside by a servitor in the night, she ignored them entirely for the favor of the set of much nicer formal uniform clothes in her bag.  Finding them suitable, she laid them out on the bedspread before starting her bathroom protocols.

Freya was busily devouring a stack of bacon and eggs in the kitchen when her cousin emerged, already in her nicer uniform.  “Morning, Remilia,” she mumbled through a mouthful of toast.  “You ready for your thing?”

“Well, it’s an early one, so I’m a little nervous, but I’ll be okay,” she replied.  “How about you?”

“I’m good.  Wide awake.  You always sleep this late?  I was up at 0530 to go work out,” Freya said.

“No, I’m usually up much earlier, but I was really tired.”  They didn’t need to discuss why, of course.  “What’s your workout routine, anyway?” Remilia asked, examining the obscene amount of food in front of her cousin.

“Mmph,” Freya said expressively, then forced herself to swallow before continuing.  “Start with a four mile run around the lot, then a one-seventy rep hauler’s circuit.  Usually do some free weights too, but I skipped that today.”

“…Uh huh,” Remilia said, eyeing the stack of food.  Suddenly such a caloric intake seemed much more reasonable.  “Where can I get some of that?”  Freya jerked a thumb over her shoulder to the cooking servitor, and Remilia walked over to place her own order.

By the time Freya’s driver had announced that it was time to depart, both girls were ready, and climbed in.  Freya noted that Remilia wasn’t turning on her vox.  Remilia shook her head silently, when Freya asked why, and her redheaded cousin decided not to press the issue.

“So, when’s your presentation?” Remilia asked.

“Thursday morning,” Freya said, “and it’s Wednesday now, so I think I’m going to just chill here and work until I can call this paper finished,” she grumbled.

“Okay.”  The two of them clambered out of the car and walked in, Remilia nervously straightening her formal uniform.  “How do I look?”

“You look fine, you’ll handle it perfectly,” Freya shushed, following her down the hall to the classroom they had chosen for the presentation.  “Now go, knock ‘em dead.”

Remilia managed a little smile.  “Thanks, Freya.”  She was reaching out to grab the door when a thought struck her.  “Wait, wasn’t Alex with you last night?”

“He had to go home early,” Freya said regretfully.  “You just missed him.  Practice for the semis.”

“Ah, okay.”  Remilia drew in a deep breath, let it out.  “Okay.  Wish me luck.”

“Luck,” Freya said happily, closing the door behind her cousin.


Omegan picked up her envelope and sighed under her breath, trying to dispel last-minute nerves.  She knew what grade she had received, down the point.  Alpharia had already gone, there was nobody else in the room but the proctor.  So why was she nervous?
Irritated, she brushed the nerves aside.  She grabbed the envelope, pulling the paper inside out, and scanned the first few lines.  A shiny, red A decorated the top of the page.  Omegan relaxed.  “Excellent.”

“You did very well, Omegan,” the proctor said.  “The visuals on your paper were very clever.”

“Thank you, Miss Cortel,” Omegan said, sliding the paper back into the envelope and dropping it into the bag.  “I admit to some nerves beforehand.”

“You wouldn’t be the only one,” the art teacher noted.  “I was nervous when I did mine, too.  And I picked a much broader topic than you.”

“What did you pick?” Omegan asked, as she picked up her things to go.

“I picked ‘The Negative Effects of Hive Cube Stratification on the Economic Future of Terra,’” the teacher said.

“Cheerful,” Omegan noted.  “Well…I guess this is goodbye, isn’t it?” she asked, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot in the empty classroom.

“It is.  Have a nice summer, Omegan,” the teacher said, waving slightly as her student moved to go.

“You too, ma’am,” Omegan said as she closed the door.


Alpharia and Victoria were waiting in the lobby, under the watchful eye of a pair of beehives.  A few well-wishers and sycophants were dispersing as she arrived; clearly, they’d been there a while.  Alpharia noted her sister’s approach with a smirk.  “See?  Nothing to worry about.”

“How do you know how it went?” Omegan asked.

“I have my sources,” Alpharia said happily.

“Yeah, and they’re loud and annoying,” Omegan grumbled.  “How did you do, Vicky?”

“I scraped the visuals.  But the speech went perfectly, and the paper was fine, so whatever,” Victoria said, shrugging.  As per her usual tastes, she had somehow contrived for the buttons on her shirt themselves to be loose enough for the motion to set up some interesting echoes in her ample cleavage.  “A-.”

“That’s still good,” Omegan said.

“Yeah, the paper was really just an end cap, I’m done with this place,” the platinum blonde said airily.  “I’m looking out for the trip.”

“Trip?  Where are you going?” Alpharia asked.  Victoria turned wide eyes on her cousin.

“Wow!  Really?  I managed to get a piece of intelligence past the Twins?  That’s a first,” she said.


Alpharia sighed patiently.  “You going on summer vacation?”

“No, I’ve decided to take Mom up on her offer,” Victoria said, pushing the door to the outside.  “I’m taking a year off.  She wants me to start learning how to run the Foundation.”

“Huh.  I thought you decided to go to college and get that degree of yours first,” Alpharia said.

“I did.  Then…Morticia happened,” Victoria said, climbing into the stretch limo in the parking lot.

“Why did that change your mind?” Omegan asked.

“Well…maybe I’ve just had enough of school for a while.  But I also want the chance to spend some more time on my own, you know?  Learning how to run the Foundation,” Victoria hedged.

Omegan and Alpharia didn’t need to exchange a sly grin.  They both knew the other had one.  “That’s your choice to make.  What does Uncle Fulgrim think?” Alpharia asked.

“He’s happy with it, too.  But I think he would have been happy if I didn’t wait, either.”  The aircar lifted off, soaring into the heart of the noble district.

“I’m not taking a year off.  Straight to college with me,” Omegan said.  “Already got accepted at Newbanks.  Political Science.”

“Same for me,” Alpharia noted.  “But I’m going to Kouthry, like Venus and Cora.”

“Really?” Victoria asked, looking back and forth between them.  “Different schools for the first time?”

“Yeah.  It’s about time,” Omegan sighed dramatically.  Alpharia couldn’t help but grin.  She’d have said the same thing.

“What program, Alpharia?”

“Education, for now.”

Victoria leaned back, idly passing her envelope between her hands.  “Since when are you even remotely interested in teaching?”

“I’m a multi-faceted girl, Vicky,” Alpharia said mysteriously.  “And I think I would do it really well.  I was always good at finding out everything I need to know to talk to people for the first time.”


Morticia knelt, lifting the little metal cube off of the floor, and stood straight up, shifting her weight through her knees as instructed.  Her therapist nodded.  “Good!  Any pain in the back?”

“No, it feels fine,” Morticia said, experimentally working her shoulders.  “No pain, no shortness of breath…”

“Then, my dear, in record time…I think you’re ready,” the therapist said, smiling indulgently.

Morticia beamed.  “Fantastic.  No offense, but I’ve had enough of this hospital to last a lifetime.”

“So I would imagine, my Lady,” the therapist said.  “And just in time for graduation,” she added.

“Yeah, I was really hoping that I would get out of it,” the gray-eyed teen said dolefully.

The therapist cocked her head.  “You…wanted to miss graduation?”

“I HATE ceremonies,” Morticia grumbled, swapping out the thin surgical shirt for a thicker black and green number she’d had sent from home.  Grabbing the pile of clothes, she scooted behind the privacy screen while the therapist politely averted her eyes.

“I’d think that going to your graduation after you were told you couldn’t would be something to look forward to,” she said, turning her attention to the paperwork.

Morticia snorted, pulling her own pants back on.  “For you, maybe.  I’m going to be gawked at by reporters and various other bottom-feeders for months, starting the second I set foot outside.  I’ll pass.”

“I think it would make your family very happy to see you walk across a stage,” the therapist said.  When Morticia didn’t answer, she backpedaled.  “Though of course it’s your decision.”

Morticia sighed quietly as she finished dressing.  “I guess you’re right.  It’s only a few hours long of a ceremony.  I just wish people didn’t attach such importance to it.”


Remilia walked out of the classroom in which she had made her presentation, checked to make sure nobody was looking, then let out a sigh of relief.  She had aced it.  She had NAILED it.  And now…she was done.  Bar a few exams in the coming week, she was well and truly done at Imperator.  She straightened up, a giddy squeal escaping her lips.  Looking side to side, she didn’t spot any of her usual cohort of friends and relatives, so she took off for the library, hoping to catch Freya.

Freya herself was buried in a Calculus textbook when Remilia nearly tackled her.  “Gurf, geddof,” she managed through her cousin’s headlock.  She swatted the offending arms away, and stared up at her cousin.  “Well?”

“I aced it!” Remilia squealed happily, throwing her arms around Freya again.

“Yeah?  Good job!” Freya said, finally returning the hug.  The student behind the counter looked over at her pointedly, tapped his lips.  Freya took the hint and lowered her voice.  “Do you want to head out now, or stay and get ready for the test?”

“Might as well stay,” Remilia said regretfully.  She sat down next to Freya and dislodged her textbook from her bag with an effort, opening it up the Review section.  “The presentation was tricky, but I think I got the point across.”

“Good.  How many judges?”

“Only three,” Remilia said.  “I thought there were supposed to be five.”

“That’s for the honors students only,” Freya said.  “Roberta had five.”

“Oh.”  The two girls sank into silence as they worked, passing notes back and forth as required, until Freya glanced at her watch.

“It’s 1600.  Want to head home?”

“Yeah, I’ve had enough of this for one day,” Remilia said irritably.  Checking to make sure the student at the desk wasn’t looking, she opened her vox and checked.

She looked over the tiny screen and sighed.  “Two messages.  One from Mom, one from…also Mom, but using her office vox.”

“Are you going to call her?” Freya asked, as they packed up their stuff.

Remilia thought for a moment, her eyes downcast.  “I think I have to.”

Freya nodded in sympathy.  “If you want to wait…”

Remilia’s grateful smile betrayed much weariness.  “Thanks, but I need to get this over with.”  Both girls trooped out of the building in silence, climbing into the car that had sat patiently in the lot for them.  Once they were in, Remilia engaged the vehicle’s soundproofing, and started to dial the number for her mother’s office…and stopped.  She fidgeted a bit, then hit the END button before the call could go out.

“I think I need to wait,” Remilia said.  Freya looked at her, her heart aching.

“Take your time.”  The car zipped over the noble district, depositing the pair at the Russ mansion.  Remilia paused at the driveway, then looked down at the vox.

“Freya…can you take this in?  I want to do this out here,” Remilia said, hefting her bag.

“Sure.  I’ll be in making a snack if you want something,” Freya said, taking the bag, with one last worried look over her shoulder before she walked up the steps.