Chapter 10
After two days of blackout, Rey woke back in the teddy bear. He didn't know how much time had passed nor did he know what caused it. But he knew one thing, if he didn't solve the mysteries around it, he would disappear forever. The only place he could find any clues regarding his hypothesis was in the school. But right now he seemed to be confined in a tight stuffy confined dark space. The only thing which seemed normal in this place was his senses which made him uncomfortable. But a light sliver of light entered that dark area illuminating it partially.
"I'm in a school bag. Rily probably slipped me in her school bag" thought Rey partially opening up the zipper of the bag.
It was a pleasant morning, bright and sunny. The temperature and humidity were just right. A perfect day for school which exemplified that nothing wrong could happen. He could also see many students looking at Rily with awe and respect.
"Just as expected, society treats each person differently," thought Rey.
They reached the school's entrance. There was a huge board which was hung up on the entrance. It read as Fresher's Day. It's a welcoming ceremony hosted by the management of schools to welcome the first years into the school. A special programme would be conducted in order to give them a feeling of belonging.
Just as they entered the premise of the campus, Rey's toy-heart started beating harder. "Why is Rily going to a high school?" thought Rey puzzled. But his confusion was cleared at that moment. He could never mistake her voice. He heard Reena talking with Lily.
"Why am I with her instead? Why is everything blurry?"
The combination of school and Reena caused his mind to go hazy. Rey couldn't control his fear anymore. He almost forgot that he was a toy. He could hear the voices of all students mocking him as a pervert! Groper! His days as a toy had made him forget that traumatic experience. But the arrival at the campus had stimulated that memory to bounce back lethally. Rey closed the zipper of the backpack and closed his ears. Fortunately, his toy bear body wouldn't tremble but that fear and the panic caused him to blackout again.
Rey woke up in the backup after some time. Now to the person who was gathering evidence for his hypothesis of dream-world, this frequent blackout phenomenon had caused to snap back into reality with a jolt. His gut instinct told him that he would find some clue regarding his current transformation if he goes to that area. Rey slowly sneaked out from her bag. He was free to come out, but there was still CC TV surveillance monitoring the movements in the school. Fortunately, he had discovered the blind spot of the cameras. Thus he slowly sneaked out of the classroom to the corridor and slowly moved towards the staff room. He arrived at the place where he was falsely accused of groping Reena. The place had crushed all his hopes in high school. His hopes for romance, friendship, bonding and most of all trust in society were completely destroyed. After that day, he would never be the same. He could still hear the voices of people falsely accusing him.
"Society is toxic! Everyone here is toxic! Hypocrites! Egoists! Baseless accusers! I'm never trying to make friends ever again! This society can perish!" plunged Rey into a state of panic recollecting those memories. This was the moment he had confirmed the opportunistic and business-tier behaviour of the society. But this wasn't the real reason why Rey approached this place. He needed to regain some crucial parts of his lost memory which would have some clue about his present condition.
"After that event did I come back to school the next day?. People were talking ill of me! I remember closing my ears and running out of school. What happened next?" analysed Rey.
A sudden picture of an accident came forth within his head.
"Did I have an accident? What kind of accident could have happened?" thought Rey. After remembering the scene of an accident, Rey's distraught thoughts and fear subsided. His gut instinct would tell him over and over that this world was the world of his original body.
Thus Rey moved towards the auditorium to collect further information about the accident and clues of his life. The fresher's day would be the best moment to collect information about his real body.
· * * * *
New Hope's International school, an incredibly prestigious institution with the highest cut-off rate of 97.5 percentile is one of the most difficult institutions to get in without monstrous capital donation. Excelling both in academics and sports, it was one of the most sorted out high-school in the perimeter of city Z. The programmes and functions held by the institution can't be compared to any other schools in the city. The fresher's ceremony was one such ceremony that attracted a lot of attention in the school. It was a very grand ceremony where important state-level dignitaries, media and many VIPs were invited to show off its splendour and majesty.
The ceremony was coordinated by Ms Lina and anchored by the student council President and it turned out to be very successful. There were many important cultural activities, followed by speeches from the dignitaries. Rey sneakily snuck into the auditorium making it as discreet as possible to avoid people from recognizing a moving toy. He patted his back for successfully sneaking into the auditorium without causing anyone to notice him.
Rey was proud of himself for getting admitted into this successful institution. He came here to determine his whereabouts. Having scored top 1 in the examinations, he not only earned a 100 per cent scholarship but was also eligible to take the top student of the year award. Even it meant that he had an accident, it would be announced on stage. Rey was proud of himself for determining the solution for his theories.
"I'm the smartest guy in this auditorium". This feeling of superiority over these masses was delightful to him. "Not bad! Not bad at all!" Rey boasted
The main programmes of the fresher's day events were over. Finally, it was time for the award ceremony. Mrs Rita had the names of the top scorers of the school. She invited the honorary dignitary Sir Reiners Rao to award the students. He was an alumnus of the institution and presently he was the president of Reins technologies. It was a 300 billion-dollar company with thousands of daughter companies and one of the chief architect of the country's economic advance. It laid its weigh heavily on advanced weapons and defence technologies leading the world in arms export.
Rey was shocked to see this person. "Why is grandfather here? He never accepts request to these events. What made him change his mind? Did he come here knowing that I was the topper" thought Rey. Since Elena had cleared up the misunderstanding he did not need to worry about Ms. Lina or his expulsion. At this moment, Rey was filled with a greater anticipation. He always sought his grandpa's acknowledgement. If he was awarded the top student of the school, he had greater chances of being acknowledged by his grandfather.
Mrs Rita started to call out the name of the top-scorers.
"Ranking third in the school's examination is Lily and Steyn" said Ms Rita. It was followed by a loud cheer from the audience.
"Tsk. Tsk. It's her! How can a dumb lady like her earn the 3rd place? It doesn't matter since she's still below me" thought Rey.
She collected her medal and certificate of honour from the dignitary with Steyn having scored 596/600"
"Ranking second in the school's examination is: Leroy" said Mrs. Rita. This time it was followed by massive outburst of cheers from the girls.
"Leroy rocks! Leroy rocks!" chanted the girls.
Steyn walked up to the stage to receive his medal and certificate of honour.
"He has scored 597/600 to firmly secure his place"
At this moment, Rey tattered his claws at him but was a bit confused. He thought that this place would be definitely taken by Reena.
"Is Reena dumber than Lily. That can't be right?" thought Rey.
"Any guesses about who took the first place?" Mrs Rita.
There were loud noises from students shouting out the names of top 1.
"The first place is being shared by two students" said Mrs Rita
At this moment, Rey was quite relieved. For a moment he considered is Reena's sense of diligence and superiority was a farce. But he was quite astonished to find out that she tied with him. "It's my time to shine"