Several steps could be heard. Quagmire walked behind a huge line of people, hoping the steps would drift further as he wanted to avoid unnecessary communication with the Huritys.
They passed through countless rooms until they reached a huge library, there were countless shelves full of recently published books and others that came from the old society before Ground Zero. The impressive thing is that they were arranged in a way that even with countless books there, it was still possible to know where everything was without any problems. Quagmire watched each scenario with curiosity, taking the opportunity to memorize the path and prioritize shortcuts in the future.
However, his inner peace could not last much longer than that, as it was impossible to continue to ignore the pink haired girl who constantly pestered him, asking questions almost without pause.
"Which district do you come from?" Alice asked.
"Lower City District 1, Átomo Street near Proton Street." The boy responded precisely, hoping to end the conversation.
"Átomo Street, Átomo Street..." Alice repeated the name of the street where Quagmire lived over and over while tapping her index finger on her lips, it was as if she was trying to memorize the information.
''Not wanting to be intrusive...''
'No use saying that, you're intrusive as fuck' Thought the boy.
"...But how old are you?" When she asked, she held out her hands, intertwining their fingers.
''19 years old, I'm one of the people of the Brigade 03 public fertilization bomb. Born exactly at 18:34 in the afternoon of 11/07/0034, along with countless other Landra.''
The boy responded so accurately that Alice had some difficulty processing the information, remaining silent for a few minutes. The other three who accompanied the two observed the situation in silence, but were impressed by the precise responses of the Landra boy.
Alice gestured to ask another question, but was interrupted by Quagmire, who kept walking, looking straight ahead as he spoke to her.
''About how I lived and how I ended up here...'' The boy spoke thoughtfully. ''I came here because of an invitation, I was recently informed about my 'special situation...''
Quagmire stopped talking abruptly again; the more he forced his mind to his lost memories, the more confused and lonely he became.
"As for my past, well, my past is anyone's guess," he said firmly, clearing his mind of the complicated thoughts that were giving him a headache.
Alice was silent for the next few minutes trying to understand what Quagmire meant by that statement, remained that way until the moment the line started to climb a few steps.
"I don't understand." Muttered the girl.
''What?''
''I don't understand how anyone can be deprived of their own memories. It's just… very sad.'' Alice said as she tried to disguise the pity in her voice.
"You don't have to worry about that." Quagmire answered her in an expressionless tone, as usual.
Thereafter there was no further conversation, the other three remained silent and Alice had finally fallen silent, now only glancing at Quagmire as she formulated something in her mind.
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A few minutes later, the line arrived at a place filled with decorations that were certainly expensive. The architecture was similar to the test room, but less vertical than it, making it extremely beautiful.
"Here we are." Professor Ana stopped abruptly, turning to the line of more than fifty people.
''Welcome to the dorm! From now on you will be known as members of the Veritas class.''
The teacher smiled at the large number of cadets who had chosen her class, and her smile grew even wider as she checked on Quagmire and the people who accompanied him.
''Each one of you has a selected room, to find out which one is yours, just look at the electronic board next to the door. '' She pointed her finger at a white screen on the wall, just as a name written on it appeared.
"Lindsey Ina Harley, this is your room." She nodded to a blonde girl with blue eyes, who was in the middle of the line.
The girl went towards her room excitedly, opening the door and closing it, making the other students not being able to even catch a glimpse of her room.
''Well, now it's up to you. Good night and good luck on tomorrow's written tests.'' The teacher said, walking in a straight line and stepping into a door on which the sign had written her name, who knows when.
All the people who seemed to know each other started to say goodbye and wish goodnight, it was no different with the group of 4 people that accompanied Quagmire, but none of them noticed the boy stealthily sneaking through the doors while they were distracted talking.
"Where are you going?" Alice asked, placing her hand on Quagmire's left shoulder as she smiled menacingly.
"To my room," He replied without any qualms.
"Well, at least say goodnight first." Alice said, but seeing the boy wouldn't say anything, she decided to speak for herself.
"Good night for you, we'll see you tomorrow!" She spoke cheerily.
''Good night to you too, I guess…''
''For you guys too.'' The boy completed shortly after, turning and walking in a straight line until he found the door on which was written 'Quagmire V., Cadet 223'
Normally he would instantly walk through the door, but he hesitated for a second, looking for clues to where Alice and the others had settled.
He spotted Alice in a room about 5 doors away from him, and she waved before entering the room.
Wasting no more time, Quagmire entered his room. The sight he witnessed was much more luxurious than he had expected, it was a huge room compared to his 45 m2 apartment. It was likely that place was around 90m2 or even more.
Not only that, the place was completely covered with jewels and a white paint on the wall accompanied by a round wooden pillar with marble.
There was also various furniture arranged in an orderly way, two white armchairs placed so that they faced each other, a sofa that faced the side where there was a huge flat-screen television, probably from the last generation, and countless other things that Quagmire never thought he would see again in his life.
He felt refreshed and went in search of the room where his bed would be, at the same moment he saw her, he threw himself in it, taking off his shoes with his own feet. The bed was heaven itself compared to the one he had at home, Quagmire couldn't describe the pleasure he'd felt lying in that bed, probably made of foam and maybe something else.
It didn't take him long to fall asleep, but unlike what often happened in the last two years of his life, he didn't have a restless sleep. The boy slept like an angel for the first time in years.
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A noise could be heard from the accommodation facilities near the right corner of the academy. A boy was getting up from the bed refreshed, however, his clothes completely wrinkled and his hair disheveled.
"Ugh" Quagmire moaned lightly, already standing and stretching.
He looked several times at the table beside his bed, checking to see if he had been drugged at some point, as it was very strange that he had slept so peacefully.
"And I thought the bed commercials were a lie."
The first thing he did after finishing the stretch was to look at his watch, confirming that it was 8:30 am and about an hour and a half to the written tests. Confirming this, Quagmire quickly headed to the bathroom, hastily stripping out of the previous day's clothes and taking a seat in the tub that was being filled with hot water.
Quagmire breathed a sigh of relief, his muscles sore from the countless battles and the extremely hard bed he slept in were now more relaxed due to his new way of sleeping and the hot water that probably contained some built-in medicine.
He washed properly, getting rid of all the grime and sweaty smell that had encrusted him, stepping out of the tub quickly as he dried off to save time.
He looked again at his wristwatch and confirmed that it had been 30 minutes since he entered the bathroom.
"There's still time" He said calmly.
He went to the living room, where the exit door was, and there he found the suitcase he had left in the ceremony room, under the instructions of the staff. Apparently, they took his clothes and sent them now fragrant and clean to him.
He opened the suitcase, noting that all his belongings were actually there. Soon, he began looking for a change of clothes that was not fully worn, opting for a black vest that resembled a waiter, over a red dress shirt accompanied by a pair of black pants.
Finally ready, Quagmire decided to leave his room, having confirmed that it was 9:30 and there were 30 minutes left until the start of the written tests.
Upon leaving, he came across Alice and the others who were standing in silence in front of the girl's room, there looking at Quagmire at the same moment he closed the door.
"Let's go together!" Alice yelled, running towards Quagmire as she waved her hand.
The boy just shook his head without saying a word. He knew it was smarter to walk around the academy with a group, especially as a Landra, as he would avoid most of the fights that awaited him.
It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the place that said 'Class Veritas', the place designated for the exams.
"Good luck!" Alice said excitedly, walking quickly into the room.
"Good luck" Said the other three, stepping behind Alice.
Quagmire stood there, watching everyone enter, as he thought about how he would handle the responsibilities and consequences of what he planned to do.
"Whatever" He thought, entering the room relaxed and with a strange smile on his face.