It was a standard living quarters fit for a school environment, but to my standards it looked like a hotel room. The walls were painted a dark beige, and the bedding and blankets were made of a white linen cloth. The bathroom was on the smaller side but spacious enough to where you wouldn't complain, and near the bed was a circular window that could view the vast cityscape behind it. Overall, it was a really nice room.
I rummaged through my backpack and procured a small plastic bag. There used to be 50 pills in here when Katalina gave them to me, but now all that remained were 4. I let out a sigh as I opened the bag and took out two of the four remaining pills. Without a shred of hesitation, I tossed the two pills into my mouth and swallowed them whole.
"Bleh, they still taste bitter." I shook my head a couple times before I put the remaining pills back into my bag.
I had a couple hours to kill, so I needed some way to fill this time before Lights Out. Once Lights Out is in effect students won't be able to leave their dormitories, which means that it's the perfect time for me to get some study sessions in before classes start tomorrow.
The school has a vast amount of literature and other various learning tools, so it would be a waste to not use them.
I rolled up the sleeve on my left arm and fidgeted with the small steel plate embedded inside my shoulder. I slid my fingers across the plate until I found a small round button and pressed it. In an instant, the button I pressed flew out of the augment and hovered in front of me. The small sphere opened a small panel from its side and projected a small orange screen onto the open air that read:
"Augment Host: Grayson Harris.
Fragmented Augment | Celerity | (2).
Ascension Max Level: Lvl 5.
Default Ascension Level: Lvl 3.
Virantium Level: 1%"
I read off all of the stats from the static orange text.
"Hmm, I should probably lower my Ascension level for classes tomorrow."
I swiped my fingers across my level counter until the number showed "1" and then turned off the projector. The small sphere sailed back into its rightful place as I got up from my bed. My fatigue was completely gone and I was brimming with energy, which meant it was time for some exercise. I rummaged through my bag, took out a small foam mat and tossed it onto the floor.
Core was the name of the game today, so I laid on the mat and started doing push ups. I cranked out 20 with ease and moved onto one of my favorite core workouts: Russian Twists. You sit down with your legs elevated and rotate your waist left and right, twisting your body to tap the ground left and right with both hands. I did this for 45 seconds before taking a quick break, then I was back onto push ups. It wasn't the hardest routine, but it was the least I could do to stay healthy.
My breaths started to hasten as I finished my final core workout, which was plank. Once the three minute timer I set for myself rang, I dropped to the floor in exhaustion. Sweat droplets trickled down my face as I laid on the ground for a couple seconds to catch my breath. After a couple moments, I slowly stood up and walked into the bathroom to take a shower.
As I walked inside the bathroom, I got a whiff of my body and instantly gagged. Katalina's clothes could only mask my heinous body odor for so long, and once its effect wore off the beastly smell of a man that hadn't showered in weeks was released.
"Sheesh, oh my god. I smell like an ogre. "
I quickly took off my clothes and slid open the glass shower door, revealing the most perfect looking shower I'd ever seen. The shower itself was very simple, yet very modern as well: sleek beige walls, shiny silver handles for hot and cold water, and two digital number indicators that displayed the current temperature for both modes. I reached over to the cold knob and turned it up to the max. Cold frigid water sprayed out of the shower head and cascaded down my body as I leaned onto the wall next to me.
"Phew." I exclaimed as I ran my hand through my soppy brown hair, the moan echoing throughout the entire bathroom.
"This is niceeeee." I muttered to myself.
After spending 30 minutes soaking in the ice cold water I turned off the shower head and stepped outside, grabbing a nearby towel to dry myself off.
'9:58 PM.'
The clock embedded inside of the wall above the sink read those numbers.
'Hmm, perfect timing.'
I tossed away my towel into my laundry basket and walked outside to put on some clothes. The warm air of the room latched onto my wet skin as I grabbed a set of clothes from my bag. I threw on a cyan t-shirt and khakis pants and as I tightened my belt around my waist a familiar tune rang out from the loudspeaker.
"Attention Students, Lights Out is now in effect. Please return to your rooms at once. Failure to adhere to this message will result in swift punishment. Have a good night."
That was my queue to leave. I waited for all of the commotion outside to quiet down until not a single voice could be heard before opening my door and walking out. I quietly made my way through the dimly lit hallways of the male dormitories, passing by security personnel who didn't even try to stop me and other teachers who were also taking advantage of lights out.
By this point it was already late at night, so I was surprised by the amount of teachers who were still awake. It was normal for me to be up this late but I didn't think it would also be the same for them, as the people I passed by did not even seem tired. I guess being a teacher in this day and age required a lot of sacrifices.
When I finally arrived at the school library, I found that people were already there. Surrounding one single lamp, 4 teachers from other classes were there discussing future lessons and other curricula. They each had piles of books next to them and notebooks which had various notes and resources written in them. I was the only International teacher in the school, so they all had to be Domestic Teachers.
"So, what are you guys teaching tomorrow?" One of the female teachers with long dark brown hair wrapped in a pony-tail and sea blue eyes asked the group.
One of the male teachers—who had jet black hair and auburn eyes—leaned over and picked up one of his sprawled folders. "Well I'm teaching this, but keep in mind that my class is slightly ahead of yours Vivian."
"There goes Nico with another subtle diss." The other woman who had dazzling blonde hair and piercing blue eyes chuckled.
The man named Nico quickly turned to the woman who called him out. "What do you mean Lillias? I was just telling Vivian just in case she forgot."
"Nico, do you honestly think that I'm stupid enough to forget what you just told me?" The woman named Vivian retorted.
"Three years ago, I think I recall a certain Vivian Brown repeatedly annoying the teacher about a question he quite literally answered a minute beforehand." The last unnamed teacher, a Filipino man with short black hair and brown eyes, said in a condescending tone.
"Oh zip it Lance, you were just as stupid back then." Vivian snapped.
"Oh but I've changed since then. I've almost memorized all my students' names." Lance quipped back.
"Like I care. You forgot your own damn cell phone passcode the day after you bought it."
Nico raised his hands. "Ok guys, let's stop fighting and get back on topic."
Vivian turned to Nico. "Shut up Nico, your beard looks stupid."
That last remark broke me. It wasn't particularly funny in any way but its sheer abruptness and its straightforwardness made a single laugh escape from my mouth.
"Pssh."
The group instantly stopped talking and stared at me as I was in the middle of grabbing a book. I stood there like a deer in headlights for a couple seconds before saying,
"Uh, hi there."
Nico awkwardly glanced at Lillias before turning to me.
"Uh hi." He looked me up and down, assessing my posture, clothing, and face.
"I've haven't seen you around. Are you a new teacher?'
"Oh me," I pointed to myself. "Yeah, I'm Grayson Harris. The International Class teacher." I walked towards him and extended my hand.
Looking back, I really wish I didn't say that, because the moment those words left my mouth the peaceful night I had envisioned for myself was then stomped on and pummeled into the ground.