Chapter 3: Welcome to White Day High!
Lucas had his feet inside the school's gateway. He stood his ground, with eyes wandering through from the gateway beside him. As he roam with his vision, he started to feel a little excitement at least. To familiarize himself, he stared at the whole area his eyes can ever reach.
It has huge prompter monitors that posed billboards about students' achievements. It was less modern than Aspho, but still has good qualities. There were high story buildings that were higher than Aspho's but were unexpectedly clean. Those students walking back and forth on the gateway… it felt like the White Day High he used to collect information about from hearsays.
Nostalgia hit Lucas all of the sudden. How he entered Aspho High before flashed before his mind. If it wasn't because of Moon and his forbidden magic power, he wouldn't have had any chance of entering a school, especially the renowned Aspho High who was the leading school for years.
However, this school was more prestige compared to Aspho. He didn't expect this difference. Canopies were wide and clear and was not the usual canopies that were narrow and long.
However, it was a picturesque disorder. Elegant to the eyes but imperfect to the feel. It has long and strong pillars that were painted white. Those were embedded with unnecessarily intricate designs. At least, even the highest pillars have no dirt.
Guess the utility staff always have a hard time cleaning all of these infrastructures.
He had so many to stare at and it started to feel tiring. Many of the wandering students wore the same black jacket that Doll wore when they saw her at the bus. Underneath that, it seemed to be desired colored shirt that they wore.
The gateway was bigger that what he expected and has to expect to be. Plants were occasionally placed inside vases that were scattered impressively in equal distances. Grasses seemed to be not growing inside every pot's soil.
As he felt that he had satisfied himself with everything inside the White Day High, he heaved a loud sigh and started walking further. It truly felt like a new beginning. It made him feel refreshed at least a little. The bottom line was Mister Vacio wasn't here.
Moon and Doll began following him, as his cousin slowly wandered the whole area with Doll. There kept themselves together —a weird thing to do since they had just only met today. It was just an entrance hall, but his cousin was so ecstatic as seen from his eyes.
What was he thinking? Was he amazed by all this? They had seen more of these from Aspho. Why was his cousin looked so happy as he held his backpack tighter? He even stood straighter than before as they walk.
To his comfort, Doll seemed to have no novelty at all with those infrastructures since she was a student here at the first place. She looked a bit bored with seeing it every day. That was the expression he wanted to see with his cousin, who kept his eyes on this girl all this time.
"Lucas, I, and Doll will go to our respective classes to study. I have chosen mine." Moon tapped on his left shoulder, smiled and started to walk away. "Do you choose one of yours?" his cousin almost shout.
Doll stopped his cousin from walking and she faced him. He let an airy laugh out as a response. What classes would they take? They didn't speak a word after they left the bus. Despite having no clue, he has a good grasp about what class Moon would pick.
As he recalled it, Mister Vacio decided to let Moon study for free at Aspho High because of the skill he saw his cousin possessed. Mister Vacio knew it was quite one of the rare powers in the city but Moon didn't have the guts to use it, or should he say he cannot have the people he wanted to use his powers for.
Mister Vacio let Moon studied at Aspho and Moon asked if he can accompany and let him study at the school as well. They were young back then. They weren't even at the age of a high school student. But they were keeping contact with Mister Vacio due to his cousin's power. He always warned Moon to not use it.
However, what class should he pick for himself? If there was something like Fire Starter Class, it will be his very first bet. Now that he found out his skills and now that he has the power just like Moon, he has to practice it well.
"I can manage my life!" he replied fast to what his cousin asked him and prepared to leave. Moon narrowed his eyes and instead held Doll's hand. She stared at him.
"Goodbye, Lucas!" Doll high-pitched shouted. His turned was to force a smile to the two.
He put his hands on his pocket and started to walk again. The gaze given to him by his cousin meant something. He knew that.
"WELCOME TO WHITE DAY HIGH!" Doll added happily as the two ran off.
Tracing them back intricately as they walk in unison, he saw Moon dejectedly gazing at him. He knew this attitude of his cousin very well. It seemed to hint him his guts were right, that he picked that class for his powers. But it may not be. His attitude now wasn't easy to read.
But he was unlike him at every aspect. He was more of a cold one that hated all the people within his vicinity, but wanted affection and attention. He also has the ability, but not willingness, to befriend people sometimes. Yet, once he started building connections, he would just get bored all of the sudden and decided to abandon them.
As he continued to walk away, his cousin's gaze was fixed at him still, not walking anymore. Doll was also far from him. It felt like he was musing. The moment he saw Moon snapped back, he was far enough for his sight. Maybe he wouldn't see him given their distance.
What's that?
He decided to walk slowly and started to gaze at some buildings there. Each corridor has students conversing with their companies. He didn't have one to accompany with, but that's okay for him. The important thing with him was honing his skills.
He tried to find a class that will suit his interest. He always tends to lose his patience when forcing himself on the things he hated. He continued walking on the hallway but stopped with a sight he saw.
He gasped, as he stood in front of a red-haired girl, trying to mimic a model's ramp walk, still near the school's entrance. She wore huge tinted eyeglasses and an elegant light blue dress. It shared most of her thigh and chest.
Everything's fun and games, not until the girl tripped in front of him. What's with this girl? He chuckled silently, as the girl tried to stay fierce, acting as nothing happened.
Have mercy for this girl!
He has no choice when he walked past through that girl but to bow his head to prevent being caught giggling. If that was him, he would lose all of his dignity and die out of embarrassment.
Hmph.
But almost after an hour of wandering, Lucas almost forgot about what happened to that girl. He was now with a professor, heading somewhere.
"SO YOU WANT TO ENROLL IN THE FIRE CLASS?"
The professor asked Lucas inside a laboratory room. His hair was pitch black, but some of it already wore off to reveal a portion of his shiny scalp. Funny though, it wore off before turning gray. Lucas tried hiding his laugh, using his hands to fake a cough and conceal his lips using it.
"Why?" The professor ended, as he cleared his throat.
Lucas tried to become serious. But as he walked and gazed at the professor's bald scalp, he can't help but giggle. He was lanky and looked like a cartoon character: like Rick and Morty, the meme he saw. That one was the meme peeling the wall.
Hands behind him and walking gleefully, Lucas waited for the professor to speak. He tried walking slower, to hide his small laughs. Surprisingly, Moon was absolutely right! Lucas enrolled into something with fire. Maybe he will apply for the Fortune Telling Class for this skill in guessing things.
With Lucas now behind, he can't help but stare at the scalp of the professor. The old man looked like he had a grasp of what Lucas was laughing about. He gave him a narrow stare.
"I'm a Fire Starter. I want to improve my skills." Lucas abruptly replied as he walked with the professor on a tiptoe. He felt a pang of sudden guilt after finding his appearance funny. But still, he can't help it. That Rick and Morty meme peeling the wall… it reminded on his mind.
The awkwardness of their walking intensified as the old lad started reading his book instead of replying to Lucas.
Lucas' face gradually changed, as he stared at the man with his brows arched. He cleared his throat for some embarrassment release. He started to felt irritated. When will this man reply?
He started moving his palms and clenched them. He started to felt this encaged feeling that he needed to burst out. He bit his lips in frustration.
"Fire Starter, huh…" the professor told lamely and walked inside the inner rooms. Lucas felt relieved. If he wouldn't reply, he must've punched him in the face. He can feel sorry later, but it was still the professor's fault for replying too late.
Once they entered, the balcony has many rooms at the sides, concluding the area they were walking on as the pathway.
"According to what I've learned, that's a very rare condition," he stared at Lucas.
Lucas followed the professor down the room as they walk. It was dim at the place. They both looked down as they walked downstairs. It looked like a hidden chamber by it's very unlikely to be such. The professor looked back at Lucas.
"Very rare…"
Lucas gazed expressionlessly. "Then what?"
"We already have two of the same condition as yours!"
Huh?
Lucas can't help but gasp. He almost froze on his position after learning that they were now three in this school. Who could be those two? He started to become serious, and more curious.
"Who are the two that were similar to me?" he asked in excitement. This school has gotten interesting from this point. He started to build respect towards the professor with him.
"They are training their skills right now," the professor answered. They continued walking and the lit end was almost a few meters away from them. It was an open door.
They continued walking outside. He guided Lucas into a populated hallway full of rooms. It was fully lit, warm, and not humid. White walls with usual windows occasionally.
"Room 3004 is the Fire Class Room. You can easily get there if you ride an elevator through the 32nd Floor."
Lucas' shock became evident as he gasped.
32nd Floor? That was way too huge! There's no way this building is a school if it has the 32nd floor.
He just searched for an elevator to ride in.
Many students ran off the hallway as they talked to each other. Lucas looked back and no professor was guiding him anymore. He probably ran off.
Lucas stared at the corridor where those students came from. They came from an elevator, and it was left opened but no one was inside.
Lucas rapidly ran and stood inside the elevator. He tapped 32 as the floor he would stop at, as he watched the door slowly closed. If he gazed at it correctly, maybe there were 50 at the buttons. This school was so huge.
Then, a hand hindered the closing of the elevator door and forcefully tried to enter inside it. It started chaos and made Lucas and the insider panicking at the sudden havoc. That was a timid girl, bumping onto Lucas' chest out of clumsiness. Lucas stepped back, as the girl looked up at him for she was just a small girl.
The girl shook her blonde hair, as she stepped back and stared at Lucas with some tired and messy face. "I'm… Sorry, Mr. Pink Hair—" the girl uttered slowly, as she wiped her school uniform.
Lucas looked down at the girl. He can't understand, but he found it cute —how the girl messed up. Before, he has to be angry about these messes, but this time, it was calm for him. "It's okay. Where are you heading?" He cleared his throat and shook the girl's hair.
"I'm… I'm going to the 32nd Floor," the girl replied, as she bowed her head as to remove Lucas' hand out of his head. "I'm Ghaile Deus. And I want to visit the famous swordswoman on that floor."
A student of White Day… she looked like an elementary student. But that was his height before when he was a junior student. And what? Famous swordswoman?
A weird silence made Lucas and Ghaile felt awkward. While they stood and stared at each other with embarrassment, the floor they were heading on was going nearer and nearer. Ghaile stared directly at Lucas, which made him felt nervous.
"I'm Lucas—" he stared in disgust, "that's all I can say…"
Ghaile faked her smile, as the elevator rang and the elevator door finally opened. It revealed a floor with somewhat steel on it. Were those rails or what?
They both walked outside and took a look at the surroundings. Lucas saw rooms after rooms, looking like a hospital. Still, the walls were white. The rails on the floor were painted beige just like the floor. It was strange. Why would railings be on the floor? For what use?
Lucas ignored it and walked first, leaving Ghaile behind him at Room 2687—
Room 2687? That was far enough!
"HERE'S THE CART!"
A student shouted from behind, shocking the two. Lucas looked back. With great speed, a cart swiftly glided on the floor's rails. It was as if a minecart from Minecraft. The cart was quite long. The boy riding it reached for the both of them, and lifted them, letting them ride the cart.
Lucas felt the neck of his shirt choking him, as the man lifted him all of a sudden. The force used by the boy was quite strong and he had released them once they got in.
"Ugh!"
Ghaile and Lucas were gotten hurt. Lucas saw Ghaile shook her head. The cart was big enough to occupy another person if ever. That was a surprise for Lucas.
"So this is the transportation for fast allocation?" Lucas asked the boy.
The boy removed his black cap, to reveal his very white hair to him. It suited his skin tone. "Yes," he replied in a thick voice. It wasn't deep but rather rich. "I'm Scottie, one of the racers here."
As Ghaile and Lucas stared at Scottie, the cart then stopped. The two were cringing hard with how fast the ride has ended. Ghaile's face was more of a disappointment. Maybe because she was used to this kind of ride.
"Room 3000 and beyond. Vicinity where physical training happened." Scottie announced and pointed towards those plenties of rooms behind them. He comically threw the two on the floor, out of the cart as he goes escaping —fast.
Lucas gazed at how Scottie fled the scene with his cart. The metallic sound of the rails cracking with the cart was still heard. After this, the two stood with difficulty.
Lucas shook his head, as Ghaile didn't even walk, but headed directly, as she entered Room 3000.
"I will finally see her!" He heard Ghaile whispering with excitement, as he stared at her.
Flattered with how excited Ghaile was, he walked slightly towards Room 3004 and prepared to enter, his hands on his trouser pocket.
"This was the room that I wish to enter…" Lucas walked through and heave a sigh of relief, raising his right hand and opening the room's door. "Finally!"