The next morning, I opened my curtains to let the sunlight in. The room was decently spaced. It had a bed and a nightstand with a lamp on it, which I still didn't know how to turn on. A TV was placed on the opposite wall and it looked like the newer ones you would see in a store. A bathroom was right near the door to the room, which is really uncomfortable since the doors would bump each other. I guess the designers didn't think of that when they were doing the rooms. It also had a desk with a device that I had no clue what it was for. It was strange and I was scared to touch it so I pushed it to the side. I unpacked my things and placed them in the wardrobe which was unnaturally placed next to a small sofa. I can't say that I didn't have problems with the room but it was better than sleeping in the streets. I had to plan out my day since tomorrow is the registration test.
"I might as well go and explore the city a little. I don't know what's going to be on the test so it would be pointless to start studying now."
I went to the bathroom to check on myself before leaving. I put on my blue sweatshirt and under it, I had a white and red T-shirt. My black hair was a bit messy but I made sure to comb it with my hand. My green eyes were like emeralds but I never bragged about them. My physic was alright. I was just in the middle between buff and slim and I was fine with it.
"I think that's good enough,"
I brought my key card with me and made my way to the lobby. Surprisingly, I didn't see Kagatani in his place. He must have gone to the bathroom or something. I was going to ask him what the price was for the room.
"Oh well," I shrugged.
I roamed the city without a real goal in mind. I bought a croissant from a bakery and sat down on a bench. Finishing up my breakfast, I mashed the paper and I intended to throw it in the trashcan a few meters away from me. Just when I was about to throw it, I noticed the sign next to it and stopped myself. 'If any piece of trash lands outside this bin, you will face consequences. Beware!' It stated.
I wasn't ready to take the risk. I heard a tale back in the village that one of my classmates that was in the city threw a piece of chewing gum paper on the ground and in the space of 10 seconds, cops arrived and arrested him. Luckily for him, he was underage so he couldn't get put in jail for it but his parents paid a hefty fine. That wouldn't be a case for me though. If I miss, I would be put into handcuffs and straight to jail. I gulped at the thought.
"I shouldn't do anything that would cause me trouble," I figured.
A robot came down the path where I was sitting and stopped right in front of me.
"Hi there," The robot spoke.
I noticed it and in its hand, it had some posters. It had a neutral face integrated and unlike the other robots, it had arms and three wheels as legs.
"This robot seems indifferent about things," I thought.
"A festival is coming up and here is an invitation to it, " It gave me one of the posters which were colourful. I didn't know what it was for but it looked cool. It had some hoverboards with people shooting paintball and food stands with delicious meals.
"What is this festival about?" I enquired.
"It's The Hovercraft Festivities. A well-renowned festival, that is held once every two years, has one of the best hoverboards from all over the country in one place. And it's not just hoverboards but any vehicle that is deemed to be a well-built hovercraft. It starts today at noon and ends in 5 days from now."
"Sounds interesting enough, I'll check it out," I responded.
"Have a great day," The robot speed off in the direction that I came from.
"At least this will keep me entertained for the day," I viewed the poster again. It was just about noon so I got up and travelled to the festival. It wasn't too far from the park where I was previously at and it was already jam-packed with people. It was in an open field which most likely was a large car park before it was redecorated. I walked under the sign that was the entrance and wandered around.
"Hey, you!" A man at one of the stands shouted. I looked around and pointed a finger at myself.
"Yes, you... Come here, " I slowly approached as the man's face became more clear to me. He was an older gentleman in his early 50s if I had to guess. He didn't have much hair and the hair he did have was white and it was in the front of his head. He had a short but sharp moustache that was well taken care of. His casual black shirt and grey pants combined with his round glasses made him look smart and tactical.
"What do you need mister?" I asked.
"It's not what I need young man, but it's what you need and desire," The man adjusted his glasses.
"What I need?" I tilted my head, confused by his twisting of words.
"Why of course. How about this?" He leaned his arms on the standing table.
"What if you could control time? What would you do?"
"That's a rather difficult question. I don't know what I would do with such power if it existed." I answered.
"Well my boy, let me show you something," He searches through his junk behind him. He threw a bottle at the floor breaking it along with an old doll, a small clown car and a pack old marketable cigarettes before finding it.
"Aha, here it is,"
He said excitedly.
He placed it on the table and I looked at it intriguingly.
"What is it?"
"It might seem like an old pocket watch but it's much more than that. This has the power to change the world for better or worse. Trust me on that, you won't regret it," He said a bit too excited for my taste. I wanted to leave since everything he said sounds crazy and would put you in a mental hospital.
"Okaaay, thank you mister, but I'll pass, " I started walking away when he grabbed my shoulder.
"Wait, just take my word for it. I will sell you it for cheap, " It almost came off like he was begging to get rid of it.
"Ugh, this guy is a pain," I sighed and turned around.
"How much do you want?" I was clearly annoyed but I tried to stay composed. I figured since I don't have a phone or a watch, I can use this to keep track of time even though it was old. If I don't like it, I could give it to my father as a gift.
"5 Zel and it is yours, "
I pulled out my wallet and gave him the money. He gave me the watch straight after.
"Thank you so much, you are a lifesaver," He said gratefully.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go now, "
I quickly speed off.
"That was bizarre. What the hell was he talking about? Power to control time? There's no such thing,"
As I was trying to collect myself from that encounter I wasn't paying attention to what was going on in front of me. I accidentally hit a guy as he was walking past.
"Sor-"
"Move, kid!" He said sternly and I stumbled and hit another guy which caused him to spill his smoothie onto the girl next to him.
"Ack!" She yelped.
"Ooops," The boy's eyes widened.
"Thanks a lot, asshole, now my bra is showing," She was clearly pissed at him. She covered her chest with her hands so nobody would see.
While they were arguing, I rubbed my head and glanced at the guy that pushed me in the first place. I didn't see much other than he was wearing a dark grey hat and black sunglasses that were on it.
"That was rude! Then again, I did bump into him," I muttered to myself.
"What am I going to say to these guys now?" I thought as I turned my attention towards the boy and girl.
"It was an accident," The boy said calmly.
"Accident! You will see an accident when I punch you! You ruined my favourite shirt and my bra is on display!" She responded quite angrily.
"I better step in before I feel guilty about ruining their relationship," I noted. I took a deep breath, feeling a bit nervous about taking the blame but I knew that it was the right call.
"Hi there," They turned their attention towards me.
"Here goes nothing," I thought.
"I was the one that pushed him. I am the reason he spilt his drink on you and I apologise. I don't want to cause feud in your relationship," I said nervously. They looked at each other and then at me. They started laughing which startled me a little.
"What did I say?" I laughed with them but my laugh was more cautious and held back unlike theirs.
"Did you actually think we were lovers or something?" The boy with square glasses wiped the tears off his eyes.
"He didn't know but it's still funny, " the girl followed up.
"It's no problem though, accidents happen," The boy patted me on the shoulder and smiled. He was slightly taller than me but we looked to be the same age. He had short black hair and green eyes that were more leaning towards being yellow. He was wearing a blue T-shirt and in the centre was a pixilated character I couldn't recognise. It looked to be from a video game but that is as far as I could guess. His square glasses were also a bit unusual. I never saw anyone with those types of glasses that I couldn't stop staring at them.
He noticed that.
"You are probably wondering about my glasses, " he said. "I gave my own prescription and I came up with these, " he tapped them and proudly puffed out his chest.
"He is also one large turd brain, " the girl jumped into the conversation.
She had black hair with a shade of red and yellow on the front that resembled a fire sticker. She had a white shirt which had a stain because of the smoothie and a semi-long, checkered, red and black skirt which served as a precaution in case a strong wind blew and revealed something that would make her embarrassed. Her face was someone who had confidence. Her smile and her look gave away that sort of aura. She also seemed a bit cocky but maybe it's just me.
"Damn it, Nara!" He shouted at her.
"As you can see we aren't in a particular relationship. We are cousins, isn't that right, Araya?" She eyed him maliciously.
"Hmph, I wish you weren't my cousin just because of that attitude you have," He turned away from her.
"Oh come on Araya, " She whacked him across his back which made him jump because of the pain.
"Why do you hit so hard!?" He rubbed the place where she hit him.
"Anyway, what's your deal?" She asked me, raising an eyebrow.
"Who? Me?" I acted surprised.
"I'm just a normal kid, strolling the streets, looking for stuff to do," I was a bit nervous saying that but it was true.
"Hmm, can't say we weren't doing the same. It was mostly me since he only wanted to play games," She said it like he was some couch potato.
"Hey! I told you I had an update to run and you dragged me out of the apartment because you wanted to go shopping," He reacted to her slandering behaviour.
"A girl has to have more clothes to choose from," She rotated her head, pouting a little.
"Whatever, let's just go home. We have been outside since morning and I have to update my game."
"Fine," she muttered, " Maybe we will meet again sooner or later but it's goodbye for now," She gestured a wave while keeping her other hand close to her chest.
"Okay, bye," I waved back as they disappeared with the crowd of people.
"Is it just me or are the people here just strange altogether?" I could definitely tell the difference between the village and this massive city. And it wasn't just the technological differences but how people act as well. Maybe it was just me running into people that come off odd but I genuinely felt like I was an alien in another world.
The rest of my day was fairly uneventful. The festival kept me interested and I saw some impressive hoverboards that were on display and some of the owners even rode them around the place and demonstrated their skills while doing so. Some of the owners looked like surfers and others like bikers but they all had their unique styles and hoverboard designs. I did eventually notice that it was getting late so I passed by a fast food restaurant and bought myself some dinner. I returned to the hotel and I didn't see Kagatani again.
"He is not here again? Maybe he has the day off but who is running the hotel then? I don't want to think about it right now."
My room was still as dark as it was yesterday but thankfully the street light outside was working so it lit up my room enough for me to walk around and not trip over everything.
I ate my dinner and went straight to bed. I didn't fall asleep immediately though. I took a little bit of time to think about what to write to my family.
"I said that I would write to them. Hmm, I should send a letter tomorrow. The entrance exam or whatever is also taking place. Well, I should have the morning to do the letter before going to take the exam, " I yawned a bit.
"I almost forgot about you," I took out the pocket watch from my sweatshirt which was on the chair next to me. It was ticking and showing me the time.
It was a few minutes late than the actual time but I didn't mind it that much. I put it back in my pocket and turned my back towards it. The man's words came back in my head. 'If you had the power to control time, what would you do with it?'
"It doesn't exist. I refuse to believe that. That guy was crazy and that's that." I closed my eyes and fell asleep with that mindset.