The moment Diana left, everybody sat in silence. The whole room is quiet, for nobody dared to move an inch. Without further ado, Natalie broke the silence and stood up. "I am Natalie Sylph from the East, and it is nice to meet all of you." Unfortunately, everybody responded with a silent nod. She then awkwardly smiled and continued, "May I know who all of you are?"
"..." Nobody replied. 'Why wouldn't they answer? She's giving her best, yet they don't care.'
Enough with my old selfish thoughts! Natalie is not open herself. Everyone can feel the distant mood she's expressing, and I shouldn't turn a blind eye to that just because I like her. I kept pointing out to others for not minding her, but I am the same. I couldn't let this go on.
I stood up and confidently smiled, "My name is Raphael Olphiticus, and I am from the West. I'm looking forward to a smooth year with all of you." Natalie smiled in relief the moment I spoke. The awkward mood among us started to loosen up. I walked in front of the class and continued, "I am not forcing you to befriend each other, but at least it'll be easier for our section to cooperate if we know one another." I expressed an optimistic expression, uplifting the dull moods of the many. I had good practice at manipulating Victor's knights. Thus I can easily persuade all of the students inside this hall to talk.
Alhan then introduced himself, then the others, but there was this one student who caught my attention. 'Wendall Cythe' He's a student from another continent and doesn't belong in any nations. He's basically a foreigner, so his odd name makes sense. Well, what interested me is that I don't remember him appearing in my life. I couldn't be wrong. He's the only one I don't find familiar in this section. Let alone someone from my past.
Lia was the last to introduce herself. Lia doesn't look shy but rather uninterested. If it weren't for Natalie asking her to speak, she wouldn't.
In the end, everyone was able to introduce themselves thanks to me. Although an awkward silence followed after that...again.
---
It's already afternoon, and most students are heading to the main hall. This time, the students of higher levels will handle the orientation for academy organizations.
When all the early-level students arrived, the head of the student committee introduced herself; however, I did not care. I do not remember her, nor am I interested in getting to know her, and it was just Victor and Lia that I remember as the student committee leaders. Getting myself involved with such people whom I'm unaware of will drastically change the future I'm from.
It's best to be apathetic and kill Lia as soon as possible.
"You look perplexed." A few moments later, the familiar voice of a young lady startled me. She spoke behind me, and it felt nostalgic for some reason. I glanced at her and expressed a down expression because she's Lia. She gave me a snigger as if she was already anticipating my reaction and continued, "You've been like that ever since. Is something troubling you?" She looks concerned despite the cold approach.
I can't say she's troubling me enough; I'm still planning to kill her. Although I have failed twice already, I can still try other approaches. What makes me wonder is that she seems confident enough to be the Lia standing before me. It feels like she has already experienced a lot, but in her current state, she shouldn't have.
My thoughts always make me ponder whenever I talk to Lia; she always had to snap me out of it.
"I'm alright. Why do you think I'm perplexed?" I asked with a curious expression. "It seems like you want to do something, but you have a different goal in mind." Her answer's correct. I want to kill her, but my goal is to dominate all nations turning all royalties against me.
"Let me give you some advice. Whatever's stopping you from reaching your goal will always stop you, even if you get rid of it. It's best to ignore it and do something productive."
The atmosphere tensed up, and Lia's aura changed. It isn't very comforting.
There's something strange about Lia's statement. It's as if she's telling me I can't kill her, and it's as if she knows that I'm trying to kill her. She's just not the same Lia I knew. I asked about what I wanted to do because her advice was missing that information. Lia directly looked me in the eyes and provokingly replied. "Why continue doing something you can't?"
I quickly backed off away from her. I don't know if she's bluffing or knows something, but I can tell how sadistic her intentions are from her eyes. What's going on? Who is this Lia before me? Lia has never become like this in the past, even after we graduated from the academy.
She's just thirteen as well. Her age and current actions don't match. Not unless she's someone from the future like me. I can't jump to conclusions; I have to stop overthinking.
"You always ponder to yourself. I apologize for my bothersome concerns." She slowly averted her gaze away from me. The tense atmosphere started to loosen up, and before we ended our conversation, Lia told me that I have a thing for misjudging others. I don't understand what she meant, but I just let it slide because the orientation for the academy organizations is already starting.
Early-level students can check any organization they think would best fit them. That's why the only schedule written for this afternoon is orientation; however, they do not have the freedom to choose. It will be the heads of the organization to accept or invite them.
"Raphael, which organization are you planning to join?" Victor tapped my shoulder from behind with a grin. I shrugged in response to his question, depicting an action I hadn't really thought about, even though I was aware he would invite me to join the student committee. His recommendation is the reason why I got accepted into the committee.
"We don't have a booth to showcase our organization, but you can see what we do. If you're ever interested in joining, just tell me, and I'll make sure to recommend you. You'll certainly be a good fit for the student committee." Victor certainly flattered me. If only I could tell him that I'll be stuck with the committee with him until Core Academy, then I would.
I thanked him, and he was suddenly gone in the crowd. I looked around, and the hall sure was lively. I can't recognize everyone. Their faces are blurry, and the hall is like an ant nest! It's troublesome, so I decided to look for a place with a few crowd. It took me a while to find one, and unfortunately, the booth of Student Counseling is the only spacious area left.
Of course, I have no choice but to orient myself regarding the said organization. I sat on the seats provided for the listeners, and the people sitting with me were countable.
"One, two, three..." I counted out loud with an ironic expression. Only three of us are willing to see what this organization has to give: Me, Alhan, and Wendall, the international student. I muttered a sigh. This was why I'm not familiar with the existence of student counselors. Sarah was undoubtedly an inadept leader. I wonder how these two got so interested in such an organization.
Sarah then introduced herself, and again, she looked pitiful of herself.
"I am delighted that the three of you joined. There's no need to prove yourself. I will welcome you as a member of student counseling with open arms." Even her statement lacks confidence—no wonder no one is interested in joining. She continued, "As you all know, I am only a commoner, and I..."
Before Sarah could continue, Alhan interrupted her and explained how the academy and its students treat each other equally, ignoring the social statuses. Well, the future Lia tried giving her some sense and still failed. I wonder how Alhan will handle her.
Unexpectedly, Wendall asked a sudden question, interrupting the noble and commoner topic of Alhan and Sarah. "May I ask, what's the difference between the student committee and the student council?" Wendall's question dumbfounded everyone in the booth. He couldn't read the environment's mood, more so with his question's simplicity.
"Student committee handles tough things for the school while we do nothing," Sarah answered. With how she is, I expected nothing more. I took a deep breath and responded to Wendall correctly. "Student committee is the intermediary of the school heads, and they organize school activities, concerns, and many more like a mini-government. On the other hand, student counselors help students mentally and are mostly the ones handling student relationships. They can also serve as advisors whenever someone needs personal help regarding their feelings and emotions."
My explanation amazed the few people in the booth, but it left Wendall confused. "I thought student council makes decisions?" He asked. Nobody understood his point except for Alhan. "Student council and student counseling are two different terms, mister."
With Alhan's statement, everyone, including myself, understood Wendall's confusion. He mistook the student counselor for council and thus also made me realize why he's in this booth. Thanks to Alhan, Wendall's confusion has been cleared up. Expectedly, Wendall looked uninterested, waiting for the so-called orientation to finish. Alhan, on the other hand, is invested.
"I expect the three of you to join this organization on your second level." Sarah pitifully expressed herself. From what I noticed, she is short on members, which can be a hurdle to being accepted at Core Academy. There are no second-level students who are joining her this year as well. If none of us joined her, the student counselors would cease to exist.
Hmm, I don't think no one would join. She managed to enter Core Academy in the future. That's enough evidence to say she successfully recruited members in her last year in this academy.
---
Moments passed, but nothing happened. Sarah ended the orientation a while ago, but I decided to sit down and just wait for the period to finish. It will end in a few minutes anyway. Coincidentally, Alhan had a similar peeve which is not liking crowded places. Although our noble statuses require us to always socialize in the crowd, it is also annoying and exhausting.
"Excuse me for interrupting, but I need to announce something urgent for the early-level students." Someone who looked like a student committee member entered the booth uninvited. "There will be an examination for the section representatives. Early-level students should return to their assigned study halls after the orientation period."
What?! Isn't it going too fast? I was not informed. I did not remember taking any exams this day as well. The same scenario must have happened, but I might have forgotten about it. Yes, that's it!
So I'll be re-taking my examinations for the past thirteen years?! I haven't thought about that! I MIGHT END MY LIFE HERE AS WELL! Going through the trouble of my student years again sure is exhausting, and I'm only just thinking about it.
I thought I'd die at twenty-seven, but then I transmigrated. Not only did I fail to kill the person I hate most, but I also had to go through my student life...again. Things indeed are tough.