When Evan awoke, he was sitting in the same sitting position. He lifted his hands, noticing the dried blood under his fingernails and sighed, wondering what he should do. He knows the old Evan would be rolling in his grave if he didn't take the invitation and attend the academy, but he still had conflicting feelings.
On one hand, he'd be following the old Evan's dreams, however this is not some novel where the mc has a system and HAS to follow certain wishes. On the other, the depression that he has ignored is slowly making its way back into his thoughts and he feels as though he needs a bit of a break.
Problem is, he can't have that break because the academy starts up in a month, according to Evan's memories. He'd need to refocus on learning all that the old Evan ignored or failed in, so that when he arrived at the academy, he wouldn't feel like an idiot.
The only real plus to going to the academy is unlocking one's magic nodes, something that is becoming increasingly intriguing to Evan. With a sigh, he slowly stands up and walks over to the desk right next to his bed. He opens up the bottom drawer and searches for an ointment to put onto his tiny injuries, as he planned to remove the scabs. He also needed to find bandages.
As he ripped off his tiny scabs and watched them bleed, he carefully rubbed the ointment over them, hissing a bit as it was painful. Once that task was finished, he placed white bandages around his knees, hoping no questions would be asked by his parents. Actually, none would be asked considering the fact that they ignored the cuts on his arms.
Next thing he needed to do was wash his hands as the blood under his fingernails was beginning to bother him. "God, this is such a mess." He laughed, sounding more hollow than ever before. He groans and walks out of his room, gently opening the door. He quickly scurries to the bathroom, washing off his hands with maybe lavender soap? He honestly wasn't sure what it was because it hadn't been within the old Evans's memories so he assumed it was a new addition to the household. With the blood off his hands, he took a deep breath and stared at the mirror in front of him.
"Ok ok, I can do this. If I reject the invitation and decide to go later, I won't be able to and living with that kind of regret is awful." He attempts to hype himself up in a way but feels like an idiot for talking to himself. He turns the sink back on, throws water onto his face, and uses a towel to get rid of the water. Feeling far more refreshed than before, he decided to leave the bathroom and head downstairs. It wasn't surprising that neither of his parents had come to check up on him as they lived in blissful ignorance most of the time.
Once he arrived back to the kitchen, he noticed both his parents were in the living room cuddling up and watching the news on tv. He keeps forgetting that despite the fantasy setting, the world is still modernized. Despite the modernization, Evan did not own anything similar to that of a cell phone, most likely due to the lack of funds his family had. When they escaped persecution, they built up their home in the middle of a forest to avoid questions being asked, as well as because they had limited funds. He turns around to face the kitchen table itself, spotting the invitation innocently laying there. He walks towards the table, before hovering over the invitation.
As he grabs the invitation and opens it up, he is surprised by what is stated on the letter itself. It states:
Dear Mr. Renelli,
We at the Magic Academy of the Hopeful are proud to accept you to our establishment! Through your outstanding grades, hard-working determination, and stunning recommendations, we find you to be a perfect fit for us.
In the future, more information about supplies, dorms, and dates will be sent through a digital rather than a physical one. Please note that it is imperative that you do not rid of this letter as it is proof of your attendance. In the past, we have had people attempt to steal other's places in our academy through forgery.
We truly hope you accept our invitation. We look forward to your attendance.
Sincerely,
Yonin Park
Director of Admissions
Evan stared at the letter, baffled by its content. Outstanding grades? The old Evan had utterly failed the entrance exam and his grades through schooling were something to scoff at, not praise. Hard-working determination? As the old Evan's depression increased throughout the years, he began to lose the motivation to really try hard in anything. The last portion confused him the most, as he had NO clue who'd recommend him. The old Evan was basically friendless, his parents had no colleagues that he knew of as they wanted to live on the down low, so who could possibly recommend him? He sighed, feeling a headache coming on. He'd admit that he was awful at adapting in most situations, but things happened so fast in this new world that he honestly had no choice.
"Dad, do you know who recommended me for the academy? I can't really think of anyone at the moment." He asked, wanting answers before it ate him up from within. "Hm? Oh! Yeah, that was me!" He grinned, ruffling his son's hair.
"Eh? W-what do you mean you recommended me?!?" He exclaimed, wondering what the hell was going on. In all the memories he had recalled, not one of them showed his father being more than just that, his father. Either the old Evan was oblivious or his father never hinted at him being someone of a higher status of sorts.
"Don't worry about it. I'll tell you when you're older." He chuckled, watching as his son spluttered and became far more flustered than before. His son was just so cute, just like his lovely wife. He'd have to protect him for predators once he made his way to the academy.
His father then sauntered away, right back towards where his mother was. It felt as though his brain had malfunctioned and he could no longer distinguish reality from fantasy. Evan decided he needed to sleep and just take a second to figure everything out. He might as well write a timeline of sorts in order to better understand what was going on.
As Evan walked up the stairs, his thoughts went blank in a sense from tiredness. It hadn't clicked at first how tired he was, but the closer he got to his room, the more sluggish he became. The second his bed was in his sight, he closed the door to his room and flopped onto the bed.
He could care less about changing his clothing or taking a shower, it has been a real stressful day, hopefully tomorrow would be much better.
He had plans to go around the nearest town and simply explore. He was most excited about discovering new delicacies and finding books on information about the academy.
With his eyes slowly closing, he fell away into the most peaceful sleep he'd had thus far between his life as Jacob and now his life as Evan.