The conversation seemed to die down and I began to think about what I could do to pass the time. However, before I could do anything the teacher spoke up once again. "Now, about that translator... Come with me, please."
I was led into a small, private room. It seemed like a sort of cleaning closet, filled with an assortment of supplies for a janitor to select from. I didn't have much time to investigate the room in its entirety since my teacher closed in on my head. "Now, which ear was it in?"
"Th- the left, sir." The body part in question proceeded to feel uncomfortable. The device was so far embedded into my ear that I had not noticed it for the longest time. Now, though, I was now consciously aware of its presence.
Deciding not to be too intrusive, my teacher elected to instead use magic to pull out the device. I sensed a telekinetic force pulling it out, albeit fairly slowly. Still, it came out and drifted into the clutch of my teacher's hand. "Interesting..."
I rubbed my ear. "Do you know where that's from?"
"Yes. Of course." My teacher swiftly pocketed the device and looked back up at me. "And it's nothing that you should lose sleep over. What does matter, though, is that you know where those people that captured you are. If it you're up to it, may we probe you for anything that might benefit the investigation?"
"Probe? You mean... look through my memories?" I immediately pondered several trains of thought that I considered highly private. A few seconds later I was wholly against the idea.
"Don't worry," my teacher shook his head. "We won't dig too far. We'll only search for specific memories that meet certain criteria. Otherwise, we would be searching for hours."
This only slightly reassured me. "Still..." I peered at my teacher's unwavering gaze. I knew what he would pester me until I accepted. "Never mind. I'll do it."
"Thank you." The elderly creature bowed. "I know you'll help us significantly. It'll take a while before I'm able to contact the man experienced enough to carry out the procedure. In the meantime, perhaps you can have some time to yourself?"
My teacher left the room and once again I was alone. Instead of heading to my room only to sit around for hours in anticipation of the oncoming test, I elected to instead look around the hotel. Of course, I still needed to go to the room to shower and review my workbook.
Upon opening the door, I found company in the form of one other creature: they sported purple, spotted skin, a thin build and smooth skin. Upon turning around, I also determined that they had an exceptionally long nose.
"Ah-!" They started. From the tone of their voice, I assumed that they were male.
"Hello," I greeted as kindly as I could, navigating around them to get ready for my shower.
"Aren't you the guy?" He continued to stare at me, noting how dirty my scales were. "The one that got kidnapped."
I sighed. Of course they were going to ask that question. "Yes. It was rough." Now with my spare set of clothes in hand, I confronted the alien. "What's your name?"
"Er... Chaz." He scratched the back of his head. "And... I already know your name. Feste, right? With the 'e' on the end?"
I nodded. "Chaz... Well, I'm going to take a shower. Are you okay with that?"
Chaz nodded approvingly. "Well, I was going to go in, but you really need one."
Coming out of the shower, I noticed that Chaz had left. Sighing, I exited the room and decided to look around the hotel. Using the elevator to descend to the ground floor, I quickly noticed a sign that indicated the directions that I would need to head in to get where I needed. Inspecting it, I turned right in the direction of the swimming pool. I was conscious of the fact that I didn't bring my swim shorts, but I figured that I should check the room out at least once.
My expectations held up, as the pool was mostly populated by my classmates. The majority of them seemed to be built for swimming, with webbing between their digits or fins on their bodies.
The pool itself was fairly stereotypical, as it had a sizable lane pool, a larger leisure pool and a waterslide flowing into it, with a hot tub on the side. I was in awe from the size of the slide, as its length was maximized given the limited amount of space. I had to tear my eyes away from it and force myself to head back. If I had brought my swimming gear, I would have an opportunity to have some fun.
Looking back at the sign, I noticed another spot that I would be able to visit: the games room. To go here, I turned left and started to climb some stairs. At this point I was considering what I would do if I was somehow forbidden access to the room; I would most likely head back to my room and go over my notes. I figured that I could ask Chaz to give me some hints to answer the questions that I had left. After all, tomorrow was going to be our last day.
The games room, like the swimming pool, seemed to be filled with students, although it had some more aliens that were of the native race. At the numerous tables that were present were players hunched over in anticipation, some with cards in their hands. Most were playing games that I had probably never heard of, while some were clones of ones that I had.
Something in the corner of my eye had caught my attention. Looking over, I saw a screen that seemed to display another type of game. One that I hadn't heard of before. It seemed to be played using sticks that were held with buttons and joysticks affixed to them.
Curious, I approached it. Quickly, someone noticed that I was interested. "Hello!"
I peered at the source of the voice. It belonged to a thin, short alien. They had horns that were in the style of antlers, large, beady eyes and a toothy grin. Paradoxically, it seemed as if they were a woman. "Hello."
Their smile slowly dissipated. "What? You wanna play?" They waggled the stick in front of me. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
"What're you...?" I was interrupted by the alien shoving the stick into my chest. I reflexively grabbed it, my hands seeming to gravitate towards some particular gripping points. "What is this?" The object in question was made out of a hard material, one that seemed to have an amount of sweat present on it.
"Pssh, what a novice," the creature dismissed. She attempted to stifle a laugh but managed to keep her composure as she pointed towards the small device. "That's called a controller. Have you ever played a game before?"
"A game?" I looked back at the alien, still holding the controller. "Yes, but not this kind."
"A video game," she went on. "Does that ring any bells?" When I shook my head in response, her mouth deepened into a frown. "Well, I'm just going to have to teach you how to play."