A New Direction - Chapter 1?
By Misty Steppes

Note: This is a story set in the Whateley Academy Universe, but it is non-canon, and written without explicit permission - that being said, I'm going to do my best to remain within the bounds of the canon stories' events. Many thanks to Maggie Finson and all of the wonderful WA authors for this playground!

Welp. WS and DQ both have chapters sitting mostly done, but my muse decided it was heading over to Whateley-land today, and this puppy appeared out of nowhere. I'm considering this a Preview chapter - I don't know if I'm going to continue this story, but I want to know what y'all think. (I have also taken a mite of inspiration from a certain relatively new video game... if you recognize it, kudos!) All that being said, it's time for A New Direction!

“With those expenses subtracted, we’re left with just under $800 remaining in the budget. I suggest we adjourn with that amount untouched, leaving room for projects and suggestions during the year, once the REAL new member rush starts.”

I flipped my notebook shut, and glanced around the table in front of me. Polite nods all around came in response to my summary, and I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Good summary, Treasurer Davies. Thanks for your quick work.” I smiled - that would be John Andrews, president of our little club and the one who recruited me in the first place.

Let me put things into context a little.

Best as I can remember, this is the day it all began. I was sitting in a club meeting for the Forge, Blackmoor High’s resident makerspace and hangout for the particularly STEM-inclined. At the time, I was actually an incoming freshman, so I wasn’t even a student yet - but the previous Treasurer had been kicked out for “dereliction of duty”, and John knew I had a way with money.

John was my neighbor, as it happened. When we were little we used to put together “businesses” around the block, lemonade stands, lawn mowing, you name it - and no matter what it was, we always seemed to turn a tidy profit. I seemed to have an eye for what someone was willing to pay, or earn, so even back then I would change what I charged or what I offered to pay for our various goods and services - still have all the notebooks from those days, I think.

Anyway, John apparently still remembered those days, so as soon as he heard I was going to BHS, I got a call…

“Ethan! Phone’s for you!”

“Coming!”

I slid off my bed, leaving behind the pile of notebooks I’d been sorting through. I glanced at the one still in my hand - Favors, H-M… I’ll sort it later. - and tossed it onto the ever-growing stack. My door slammed shut behind me, and I took the dark wooden stairs to my left a few steps at once, hopping the railing once I was most of the way down. My mother awaited me at the bottom, her typical mix of a disapproving glare and a bemused smirk greeting me. What can I say? Time is money.

She handed me the phone without a word, though the look on her face before she turned away told me what I already knew - it was something to do with my business endeavors.

“Ethan, this is John. I’m calling in my last favor.” Yup.

“Alright. Whaddaya need, chief?” I started walking back up the stairs with the phone tucked between my ear and shoulder - need to write down this transaction before I forget.

“I need you to be the Treasurer for BHS Forge.” If I’d been drinking anything at the time, I would have performed a flawless spit-take. Excuse me?

“Real quick: First of all, I’m not a student yet. Second of all, officers of BHS clubs are almost always upperclassmen. Third of all, what the HELL makes you think you can use a favor on THAT?”

“Well, as for the first two, neither one actually breaks the club rules - convention has never bothered you before. And if I remember rightly, your exact words were ‘A favor can be used on anything both sides agree on’...” I didn’t know you could hear a smirk, but in that moment I definitely could. My poor doorframe took the brunt of my annoyance in that moment, as I once again slammed the door behind me and plopped down onto my mattress.

I started rummaging through the stack of notebooks still laying askew on my bed, grumbling quietly to myself before I finally responded. “Exactly. I have to agree to it. Sell me on it.””

“Being an officer will give you a better platform to set up your other services,” he pointed out, the grin on his face almost audible, “and you’ll get free Forge membership and manager privileges, not that you have time for such things with your business stuff.”

I hated that I was actually considering this. There was a reason I was sorting through all my notebooks - most of them were lists of favors owed either to or by me, sorted by the debtor/lender’s last name, and I had been planning to get out of the game before high school. I’d call in all my favors with people in the area and people going to Blackmoor High, just exchange for cash if they didn’t have anything I needed, and go join some clubs like a normal student. The last thing I needed was a platform to boost my influence as a fixer.

Oh, the pull of the free market…

“Goddammit Andrews. Fine, but I’m charging you two favors for it, so my debt is clear and YOU owe ME one now.” Finally locating “Favors A-G”, I flipped over to John’s name, where a long list of previous transactions took up almost a full page.

“Done. Pleasure doing business, Mr. Treasurer. Meet me at the West entrance of the school on Monday.”

“Excuse me? It’s still summer, you piece of sh…” The low buzz of the phone’s dial tone cut me off more effectively than the glare I received from my mother in the other room.

Shit.

T-0, current memory flow

The meeting came to a swift end, the rest of the board ultimately approving my spending plan for the space, and soon the room was all but empty - with two weeks left in summer, everyone had places to be. I tucked my notebook into my backpack, briefly admiring the shiny BHS Forge logo on its cover before it disappeared from view. I stood up, leaned over to bump the lightswitch on my way out, and started to head home.

I had just made it halfway down the hallway leading to the exit when I felt a familiar nudge against my back.

“You had any new business lately?” John had always taken a casual interest in my activities, though I guess no more than a lot of other people. My line of work wasn’t exactly common around here, after all - people in the business of getting things done are unfortunately rare.

“Not really. Thanks to you, my summer’s been plenty busy anyway,” I glared at him, earning a smirk in reply, “but without school drama and classes to get people worked up, I don’t really get many people asking for help.”

“Sorry,” he chuckled, no remorse whatsoever in his eyes. “I know it’s a hassle, but The Board can really use your help.”

I stumbled all of a sudden, and my vision started to blur. I opened my mouth to respond to John, but before I could get a word out everything went dark.

Going from a total blackout to a landscape of pure white was a weird feeling. An endless sea of emptiness… a weird dream?

“Ahem.” I spun around, revealing the mysterious cougher… coughers?

Interrupting the pale void sat nine dark figures, silhouettes evenly positioned around a U-shaped table. I couldn’t see their eyes, and yet somehow I could feel their gazes boring into me. The silence of the space was interrupted by unintelligible muttering. I tried to speak up, but I found that I couldn’t - I started to panic, started to back away from them, and the world faded to black once more…

I groggily opened my eyes. The familiar beige walls of the school hallway were back.

The hell was that?

“You good, E?” John reached out a hand, pulling me to my feet.

I grinned sheepishly, “I’m fine, I’m fine. The heat must’ve gotten to me.” I doubt it, but no use worrying him over nothing.

“If you say so…” He looked skeptical, but eventually shrugged and kept walking towards the door.

“By the way, have your eyes always been grey?”

~To be continued?~

Yes, I know it's short - my muse is already pushing me to do a re-write that may almost triple the word count of these scenes alone, and I'm having to tell it no quite forcefully. As always, comments, concerns, complaints, questions, and kudos are always welcome!