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Author's Chapter Notes:

I felt inspired by NotSirk latest entry of the main M/m story, and wrote it in one go. it's mostly a chapter were Alejandro get the best of MAJORS in his way, so I hope you'll enjoy. It's also the last stop before at least two really... intense, chapters, the first of which may or may not come out this week-end.

As always, please leave a comment ! :)

Chapter 9: Course correction

“I’m deeply sorry, but I’m afraid it won’t be possible.”

“Why not?” asked Alejandro.

“Well… our History courses are all during the afternoon” explained James X. Gordon with his deep, rich, baritone voice.

The old MAJOR, probably nearing his nineties, looked barely over twenty-five, his true age being only betrayed by his grey hair and beard. His almost black eyes were clearly visible behind the heavy frame of his glasses, a sight that the young Minor had never thought he would see one day, MAJORS being, after all, supposedly superiors in all realms of endeavor, including eyesight. Apparently, some found themselves still riddled by inferior vision. But perhaps what’s myopic for a MAJOR is better than what I can see, he realized.

“But can’t you at least put one in the morning? You’re the Headmaster!” interjected Lindsey, strangely forcefully.

“Indeed I am, but here, at BFHS, even if our professors take pride in the quality of their teachings, we cannot go against the law of our beloved country, young Miss Ferrand” explained Gordon. “And it is mandatory that all History courses shall be held in the afternoon or during the days where Minors don’t attend. To go against the law could lead to our school being closed for an indefinite amount of time… and myself suspended, at best. You’ll understand that in those conditions, you can’t take those courses, Mr. Ferrand.”

“Yes… I get it…” replied a dejected teenager, looking down at his shoes.

Somehow, he had hoped that he would be able to avoid those pitfalls he had heard so much. In a whole school year, Izzellah hadn’t had a true History course. Sure, in her Minor classes, she had been lucky enough to learn a bit about the Dark Age and all. But he loved History, all those anecdotes, all those names, those peoples since long dead and yet leaving a mark… but also those billions of unnamed souls, forgotten, destroyed, only ever alluded to, whit whom he felt a kinship.

As a Minor growing up in Old Creek, after the Incident at least, he had come to term with the fact that he would be a nobody forever. He would die like he had been born, in the general indifference of the world. Shannon had offered him a possibility to be a footnote in the great pages of History, and it was already something he was thankful for her. He hadn’t those delusions of grandeur many a MAJOR his age had, that he would change the world, become a rock star or a billionaire… even if he was the soon to be official boyfriend or someone who basically was that special unicorn snowflake princess rainbow warrior.

“I’m really sorry to quash your hopes like that” said the Headmaster, with deep sincerity. “I can’t stress how much it hurts to tell a brilliant young man such as yourself to give up on something he so clearly likes.”

“Don’t be sorry… It’s not your fault” sighed Alejandro. “But how could you know that any of us is brilliant? I mean, it’s not as if we hadn’t basically bought our places here…”

“For starter, your sister is a MAJOR, it means that she has potential, and I suspect that being the recipient of a full scholarship to our school, she’ll do her best to be one of our brightest element. I expect no less for her, may I add”.

Lindsey’s skin became even darker than usual and even Alejandro couldn’t help but feel the need to promote his sister’s qualities. It was, after all, the duty of all capable and good elder brother, even if one was as strikingly smaller, weaker, and with less rights than her, as was the case for them. But when it came to family, Alejandro had long since decided that his nature as a Minor wouldn’t prevent him from doing what he felt was needed to help. That it probably made Mac Ferlan’s wraith or whatever could exist –or not- after death, madly angry was a useful bonus in his eyes.

“I can assure you that my Little L… sister is quite capable, sir. When I she was barely five years old, she grasped in seconds concepts which eluded me… and I was eleven by then! Don’t let her looks deceive you, she’ll put at least twice the amount of work on her studies than she’ll develop her muscles, I’m sure of it!”

“Rando….” whispered the young MAJOR, clearly torn between embarrassment the like of which she had never known and a beaming pride at seeing him uplift her like that.

“I don’t doubt she will” replied the Headmaster with a smile. “As for you, well… Youa re a Minor seeking higher education than almost any other member of your kind and, while this great “Equal Rights for Minors” campaign and the #minorthingsmattertoo movement before it have begun to change how we MAJORS see your kindred, I highly doubt it has lasted long enough for someone like you to come from a more… let’s say traditional family when it comes to a Minor’s place in society.”

Alejandro had to admit that it made sense, even if it hurt him to hear someone as progressive as Mr. Gordon putting plainly than most of his kind was comprised of either vapid television idol or stay-at-home pet with neither inclination nor possibility to pursue something better for themselves. But at least, the second category didn’t know better, while the “stars” obviously had the means to learn something, and instead favored the adulation of their fans, which more often than not translated into a craving for the Minor’s booty.

“In any case, I would like to know if you’ll have chosen your courses, or if you need more time. Being a Minor, you won’t need too much accommodation, no matter what you’ll pick, but I think that the professors who will teach you will need to be made aware of your presence. Remember that you don’t have to pursue the same classes than your sister, Mr. Ferrand, even if I truly urge you to do so?”

“Why?” asked Alejandro’s sister, before he got a chance to ask.

“Well… I have the utmost confidence in our students, but I’m not stupid. There is several hundred young and wealthy MAJORS in the throes of puberty out there, and you’ll be among them from next Monday onward.  Accidents will happen, some of them will want you as their bond-mate, and won’t be subtle about it. You’ll probably be manhandled more than a fair share, despite repeated attempt to inculcate them the idea that such a behavior is extremely invasive and not at all enticing. Having your sister with you at all time would greatly help you in that regard, only the most brazen of our body of students would then try to pry you from her.”

“So, are you telling us that being bonded with her won’t do much good when it come to my safety?” the young man asked, looking up at Lindsey’s with his subtle “I told you so” face.

“Indeed. Most of us MAJORS understand such bonding as being mostly a safety protection, indicating that the Minor isn’t yet ready to fly away from his nest or in need of a strong hand, both characteristics which will attract considerable attention, I’m afraid.”

It was exactly what Alejandro had hoped to hear. He had pretended with his family that he wasn’t seeing the glaring holes in the idea that a false bonding –or even a real one- with Lindsey would make the other MAJORS go away, mainly because he really wanted to meet Shannon again and at least try to go to a High school, even one as far away as Benjamin Franklin. But now that the air had been cleared, he could try to upset all those biggies who thought they knew better than him. He smirked.

“Well, then it’s a good thing that we aren’t bonded, Lindsey and I!” he chirped a little mockingly.

“You aren’t bonded!?” suffocated James X. Gordon, just as Lindsey screamed something which sounded a lot like “Randowhatareyoudoingareyoucrazy?”

“Nope. And before you ask sir, I have no intention to be bonded to anyone during the school year. I’m against bonding as a practice, expect in some very intimate situations, with… with a very special person. And the fact that you hadn’t noticed that means that my mental defenses are strong enough to fool most MAJORS. Wouldn’t you agree that it means that the need to pretend that I am bonded to be safe is in fact a fallacy?”

“I… Are you asking me that I let you wander the school as an unbounded Minor?” asked the Headmaster, at a loss of word.

Meanwhile, Lindsey seemed on the verge of apoplexy, and even if he knew she wasn’t truly in danger, Alejandro couldn’t help but think that, perhaps, he had gone too far by not telling her beforehand what his intentions were. On the other hand, MAJORS do that all the time with me and they clearly don’t care one bit about how I feel when they do that so… We’ll call it a necessary lesson for her. She’ll thanks me later!

“Well, you can lie to your students and your staff if you want. Or bar me from school, because I must say that I’m not too hyped about going to Lindsey’s courses. It’s been a really long time since I stopped dreaming about becoming a scientist or something. I’ve far less lofty ambitions for my life. But I would still try to at least do a whole High School year, to experience it. But if you feel that it’s too dangerous, I won’t be angry or anything.”

“You may not be, but Shannon will!” seethed Lindsey, finally managing to get her voice back.

“By Shannon, I supposed you mean Miss Matthewson?” asked Gordon, both confused and a little frightened now.

“Yes. And I’m sure I would be able to calm her down if I had to leave the school. I’m sure she would even be happy about it, since she would get more ti… more of what she wants.”

Alejandro almost wanted to slap himself now. He had almost slipped and revealed that he and Shannon were an item, kind of. Surely James Gordon knew that something was amiss with them, since a billionaire had paid for their stay at this very highly sought after school. But it didn’t mean that the young man wanted to blow his cover and reveal to the world that he had somehow ensnared Shannon’s heart, somehow. That she was even attracted by his crippled body still left him wondering.

Thankfully, the Headmaster seemed far too shocked by his intentions to realize what he was saying. For the first time since the Ferrand had entered his office, he had truly lost his calm and controlled face for a look of utter stupor. It took him almost a minute to get his bearings, during which neither Alejandro nor Lindsey dared speak. Better to let him the time to deal with it, thought the Minor. It’s probably not every day that he hears something like that, it must sound incredibly far-fetched or crazy, even for someone supposedly progressive when it comes to Minor’s rights.

“Well… Are you aware that Miss Matthewson is our school biggest benefactor? Has been for years, ever since her little brother attended our institution. I know that it isn’t exactly very moral, but I really wouldn’t want to displease someone like her, it would be a very bad press for our school. Therefore… I… I would still strongly recommend you to be bonded with your sister, for your own safety” finally said the Headmaster, rather weakly.

“Yes, it would be for the best Alejandro” tried Lindsey, with a blatant lack of enthusiasm, knowing full well that he would refuse it by now.

“I respectfully disagree. There is at least one Minor in the U.S. to have underwent a whole year of High School unbonded and nothing atrocious happened, so I think it’s safe to say that MAJOR teenagers aren’t as bad as even I think they are. Furthermore, it would be an invaluable lesson for them to mingle with an unbounded Minor in today’s climate, since it would allow them to experience firsthand interactions with a more independent minded Minor like myself. It would be a mutually beneficial situation, Sir.”

“I haven’t heard of such a situation, Mr Ferrand, which makes me think that it’s a rather local one, in California. But we’re in Louisiana and I’m afraid that the Deep South isn’t the Golden State, especially in regard to acceptance. Even if I chose to let you attend unbonded, the very first incident where you would be involved – and believe me, you’ll be involved in some- could mean the end of this school and possibly great bodily harm for yourself. You’ll understand that I can’t agree with such a proposal. For your sake, I strongly recommend that you form a bond with your sister and, if it’s truly something you are uncomfortable with, I’m sure that such a handsome and dashing young man such as yourself wouldn’t have difficulties finding a partner willing to help you navigate the school-grounds.”

Alejandro let out a little sigh. It wasn’t unexpected from Mr. Gordon, but he was a little disappointed to have to resort to it. It was, after all, his ace in the sleeve, something he would have hoped he could keep a secret a little longer. But right now was probably the best time to reveal it. The young Minor thus removed his jacket with the school emblem and revealed his toned right arm… and his metallic left one.

“What have you done to your prosthesis!” yelled Lindsey, making both the men in the office jump a little on their seat.

“What do you mean, what have I done? I’ve arranged it to my liking!”

“But it doesn’t even look like an arm now!”

“Glad to hear it I would have hated to toil on it for so long for nothing” laughed Alejandro, glancing at his metallic arm.

He had removed all the foil and foam and the plastic which covered the metallic parts days ago, before welding more scrap on it, to make it look bulkier and more natural when covered by some clothes. It was something he had wanted to do for a long time, since he found the original shape really uncanny. It looked realistic, sure, but also like some sort of dead meat. By removing all the non-metallic portion, he had been able to reshape it a little, especially with the addition of more plates of light metal to complete the main frame.

“How… how did it happen?” asked Mr. Gordon, his voice suddenly hollow, a look of sorrow and pity on his face now.

“Have you ever heard of the Mac Ferlan Incident sir?” asked Alejandro, curious somehow.

“I… I can’t tell I have. The name ring some bell but…”

Gordon shrugged, showing that he hardly knew more than that, which wasn’t surprising at all. Nobody would have wanted the world to know that in a peaceful and remote rural town of the United States of America, a MAJOR teenager could bond-rape and cripple a Minor, assault his MAJOR twin with the intention of killing him and then being killed by the aforementioned inferior specimen of human.

“Well… without going into too much details… I was the victim of the Incident when I was eight. My left arm was grinded and crushed beyond salvation by a fourteen year old MAJOR who tried to forcefully bond me and make me into his pet. Therefore, I can assure you with utmost certainty that nothing, absolutely nothing, that the other students could do to me would ever come close to the horror I’ve already experienced… So…”

“So please! Let him be unbonded here, please! Please!” suddenly asked Lindsey.

Alejandro looked up to be greeted with watersheds falling from her eyes. He suddenly felt a little guilty, even if he knew that it was probably the result of their upbringing and familial history combined by pre-puberty volatility which explained those huge tears on his sister’s face. He jumped from his chair, a rather considerable jump for one of his kind and quickly went to lean against Lindsey’s calf, cooing her to calm her down.

“It’s okay Little Lind. It’s not your fault…”

“I’m sorry… I’m… sorry-y-y…”

“Herm…” said the Headmaster, rather embarrassed now. “Well… regarding your circumstances, I guess it would be okay to let you attend unbonded for a time… I’ll let the teacher and the other employees here know what the situation will be. However, the school board will have to be notified and will be the one taking a decision. I can’t prejudge which way the wind will blow, but I’ll… I’ll try to at least present your case so you’ll be allowed to remain… unshackled, so to speak.”

It was a generous offer, and Alejandro thanked Mr. Gordon sincerely. The three of them then agreed that he would follow the same courses as his sister, if only because it would still be a safety for him, and also a way to perhaps contain Lindsey’s aggression at times. The Minor wasn’t too optimistic about the second goal, but said nothing. He fully expected his Little Lind to be in a lot of brawl, and after all, it was apparently common for those overgrown bullies who populated the Earth alongside his kind, so…

“Oh, while I’m thinking about it, would you like to be excused from the First Day’s Revelation, Mr. Ferrand?” asked the Headmaster.

“The what?” asked the two teenagers in tandem.

“The First Day’s Revelation. It’s a very old tradition, apparently going as far back as the original French settlers of New Orleans. When arrivals came in town, they had to removed their shirts and coats, to stand bare-chested, so the authorities would search for mark of infamy, such as the brands used on Minor’s stealers back then.”

“And what happened if a mark was found?” asked Lindsey, once more taking the young man by surprise, asking the question he wanted to ask before he could.

“For minor transgression, such as courting a girl of a higher status and being found or some pickpocketing, the offender was allowed reprieve if he swore to serve one of the settlers’ family. For dire offenses, the MAJOR was expelled out of town or even killed… and for those most grievous offenses, such as stealing a Minor and somehow earning the right to live despite it, it was slavery.”

“And it’s still a tradition here in the Big Easy?” asked a dumbfounded Alejandro.

“Oh, it has become something a lot less grim, I can assure you. Today, it’s only a way for our students to show off. New arrivals have to face up the crowd and overcome their shame or embarrassment to be accepted. Usually, everyone play a part in it, even Minors, but in your case, I’m sure I could ensure that an exception be made.”

“It won’t be necessary, and it could in fact be counterproductive” replied Alejandro, rather calmly despite the fact that he had the sensation that bees were now roaming in his stomach.

“What do you mean?” asked James X. Gordon.

“Well… peoples will ask questions if I don’t take part in this little party. Then someone will get really curious and will try his damned best to see what I’m hiding. So, not only would they discover sooner rather than later that I’ve lost an arm, they would do so at the moment of their choosing, probably leaving me in a really precarious position. Better to reveal it myself and try to make use of it to navigate the troubles ahead, don’t you agree, Sir?”

“Hum… yes, it’s not too bad an idea” admitted the Headmaster. “Well, if you’re okay with it, I guess we’ll call it a day and I’ll bide you farewell. I’ll see you Monday, to supervise the ceremony. Enjoy the end of the holidays!”

“Thank you Sir” replied the Ferrand in unison.

------------------------------------

“I went rather well, right ‘Rando?”

“I’m still a little miffed that I can’t go to History classes, but overall, I got what I wanted so…

“Wait a minute! What you wanted?” yelled Lindsey, even as they slowly walked home.

“Yes. I mean, I know the legislation surrounding Minors in school and all. I knew that it was next to impossible to get what I wanted to study, but it didn’t mean that I couldn’t get other things out of the school…”

“Other thing… You don’t mean… Oh my God, ‘Rando!”

“What? It’s fair game, you biggies do it all the time!”

“It’s not… It’s because… We are… You… Ah!” stuttered his Little Lind, to his increasing hilarity.

It hadn’t been easy to keep his head clear and calm, but he had managed to outmaneuver a really old MAJOR today, and it was something he was rather proud of. I was almost certain that Mr. Gordon wouldn’t have allowed him to participate in this ceremony he had already learnt everything about before moving to the Crescent City, or, even more crucially, the right to remain unbonded at school and make it public.

That’s why he had presented the idea that he wanted History courses. It was the truth, and if he had been able to attend, he would have been willing to sacrifice the other potential gains, but how it all turned out was pretty much how he envisioned it anyway. All that remained now was to make sure that he would be able to endure the year with all those horny and rather boneheaded MAJORS around him all day long.

Thankfully, Izzy was coming down in a week and a half now, which meant that he would get some much needed advices from her regarding his situation. She had managed to endure without anyone to guide her, so in that respect, she was perfectly suited to help other of their kind. He knew that she wasn’t too comfortable with this kind of praise, thinking that she was rather average, but he kept disagreeing with her on that. Hopefully, she would see how awesome she was by dealing with Shannon, Lindsey and all the other wackos out there.

“Don’t look so stunned, little sister. I may not be able to grasp everything like you guys do, but I’m pretty crafty when I want to… But you could do worse than remember it, you’ll never know when I would be playing you!”

“You wouldn’t!” she shot back, looking rather stunned.

“Why not? I told you, you guys do it all the time without even realizing it, I bet. It’s high time that us Minors got back at you, right?”

“But… It’s not kind!”

“Yes, because trying to pressure me into accepting to take your courses was kind” replied Alejandro really sarcastically.

“It’s not the same thing” whimpered Lindsey looking dejected.

“Yeah, of course! It’s as different as fire and ice, right?”

His little sister growled but did not respond. He knew he had won this round and he couldn’t contain his laugh any longer. He had be happy like that in a long, long time. Lindsey stopped to grumble to look at him, then smiled and laughed with him, before crouching as if to take him into her arms. To Alejandro’s surprise, she managed to contain herself, simply petting his hair a little, and kissing his forehead.

A buzz suddenly brought Alejandro’s attention to his phone. Retrieving it from his pocket with some difficulties, he look at a text message from Shannon.

“Tomorrow, 6 p.m.; at my place. Jim will pick you up at 4:20, okay? Come in casual, it’ll just be you and me baby. Love you, Shan.”

“I’ll be there. Love you too, big girl” sent back the Minor.

“So… today’s the big day?” asked Lindsey, who had glanced over his shoulders.

“You could say it, yeah” replied Alejandro, feeling the bees in his stomach go a lot wilder.

 

Chapter End Notes:

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