Axel skipped over to the astounded Wolfe, jumping over the clothes sprawled over the floor. He extended his hand outwards, waiting for Wolfe to shake it.
In his confused state, all Wolfe could do was comply. Axel smiled gracefully and turned to his bed without another word. Wolfe laughed nervously as he accepted the hellish 4 years he was yet to face alongside Axel.
With his mind occupied with Axel, Wolfe ignored the clothes and walked into the room. He locked the door behind him as he fell onto his bed, one hand on his forehead as he came to terms with the situation.
"Maybe it isn't such a bad thing," he told himself despite knowing very well that he was completely wrong. "Maybe he's not always like this."
Sleep quickly came over Wolfe after the long day he had been through. He slept well that night despite how messed up his bed was - despite how messed up his room was.
Back at the Arena earlier that day, the teachers had informed the students about their schedules. A bell would ring to awake the students at 7:00 AM, followed by another at 7:15 AM.
Breakfast would be served at the Kitchen until 8:15 AM, after which the students would go to their respective classes. Classes began at 8:30 AM, each lasting for 2 hours, with a 30 minute interval between them.
Lunch would be served between 1 and 2 PM.
2 more classes, lasting an hour each, would be held after lunch, with no break between them. In total, the students had 4 classes a day with ample free time throughout the day.
After 4:00 PM students were allowed to do whatever they wished. They could go visit the towns, or stay cooped up in the library. Many chose to exercise and play in the Arena since the school provided all the necessary equipment for many sports.
Dinner would be served from 8 PM to 9 30 PM.
The dormitory doors and the main gates would be locked at 12 AM sharp, so any student staying out after that would have to fend for themselves.
Wolfe slept through the 7 AM bell, barely able to lift his aching body out of bed even as the bell rang for the second time. Finally at 7:30 he awoke to the sound of a suitcase being slammed shut.
Wolfe shot up on his bed, eyes still weary with lingering sleep. He got out of bed expecting to get his legs tangled in a mess of t-shirts and pants, but to his surprise, the room was tidier than ever. Wolfe's clothes were folded and placed neatly near his bed while the other clothes had been packed up by Axel.
"Good morning." Axel announced as he pushed his suitcase back under his bed. Wolfe, still appalled, greeted Axel back weakly.
Axel's slick hair stuck to his face, still a little wet from the bath. He rubbed it intensely against his towel, drying it while also sending a few droplets of water splashing onto Wolfe's face.
"Why don't you get ready so we can head to breakfast already. We have less than an hour left, so make it quick."
Wolfe faced the bathroom mirror in confusion as he brushed his teeth. Axel knew nothing about him but still acted as if they've been friends for years. Maybe he was just extremely extroverted.
"Or he's plotting something", the cynical part of Wolfe's mind suggested., but Wolfe doubted it.
Spitting out the foaming toothpaste and rinsing his confused thoughts away with it, Wolfe decided to follow Axel's lead. He doubted he'd ever get to change roommates, so he figured being friendly with the one he was given was the right path to walk down.
He looked at himself in the mirror in shock after a warm shower. Since the bathrooms in the servants quarters didn't have mirrors, Wolfe had never seen his developed body properly. The last month of training and proper nourishment had changed Wolfe from an emaciated, feeble child to a healthy, slightly muscular teenager.
He could clearly see the lines of his developing abs crease his abdomen, and his biceps bulge as he curled his arm in. A brand new sense of accomplishment fell over Wolfe as he tried to hold back his excitement.
For the first time in 16 years Wolfe felt strong and capable.
The two roommates reached the Kitchen at 7:50 AM with only 25 minutes of breakfast left. They munched down hungrily on a couple slices of toast and drowned their throats in a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice.
Compared to the previous night, the Kitchen was bustling with new faces. The loud chaotic chatter rose and fell as people entered and exited the building. Wolfe looked around for Nova who, unlike Wolfe, was very strict when it came to punctuality and was nowhere to be found.
Leaving the Kitchen at 8:15, Wolfe and Axel walked to the Academic building for the first time along with a bunch of other students. The first year classes were situated on the ground floor and held simultaneously in both lecture halls present there. The students were divided into two groups at the Arena, denoting which lecture hall they would study in.
Wolfe was put into group A along with Nova and Ray, while Axel was part of group B since he had arrived late to the campus. The two parted ways and headed in opposite directions to their respective classes.
The hallways were mainly concrete with wooden support pillars and the occasional flower pots. The clapping of shoe soles against the tiled floor rang throughout the building.
The noisy lecture hall was no better than the equally noisy hallway leading to it. The lack of an authoritative figure gave the students leeway to speak at the top of their voices. Cascading rows of seats followed through the room, the ones at the back end higher than the ones at the front.
Half of the students in the room went silent at the sight of Wolfe, while the other half continued chattering without care. There were approximately 70 students in here, Wolfe being the last one to arrive.
Wolfe looked around for an empty seat, but none came in sight. He squinted harder, making his way through every row and finally came upon one seat.
But anxiety gripped him as the thought of sitting there crossed his mind.
He had no choice but to spend the whole day there.
No choice but to sit next to him.
No choice but to sit next to Ray.