MYSA AKITA AGUSTINE
If someone was to ask me how my first day in High school was going. I would describe it as slow. The most anticipated class had turned out to be a huge disappointment, and the rest of them weren't even worth mentioning. But still, they dragged on for far too long.
Even now as I sat in the Math class listening to a moody middle-aged man ramble on about the sides of a triangle, my eyes couldn't help but fix upon the clock stationed on the front wall of the classroom, just above the blackboard. Just waiting for the clock to tick away and signal the end of this boring class.
And it was just the third period now. How could I possibly sit through four more of such classes?
In our first period, we had the Mana Arts class that people were so excited about, but it turned out to be just a sham. In fact, in the beginning, even I had been affected by the exciting murmurings around me so I had paid close attention to it, but it just turned out to be something I had already heard thousand times over.
Even the book that I had gotten from Ellie, "The Introduction To Mana", was nothing but a book filled with every other page cautioning you against the use of mana.
I have briefly flipped through it and if for the first year all we are going to be studying is coming out of this book then I can confidently say that I am not gonna be learning anything new this whole year. I had already been through enough of such cautionary lessons from my mother. In fact, compared to my mother's lesson these classes could even be described as fun. After all, my mother is something of a freak when it comes to warning me about such stuff.
Her lessons varied from showing live examples of the tragedy that unfolds when Mana goes berserk in someone's body. To shouting out absurd advice as I tried to regulate Mana in front of her. My one such favorite advice was, "Don't breathe too much! You are going to explode!"
Anyways focusing back on the matter at hand, the math class had just ended. And then the next class swiftly began as a robust old man entered the class, introducing himself as the History professor. At first, I was planning to continue scribing on my notebook and not pay any attention but the story the History professor opened with hit me with a wave of nostalgia and I knew at least this class was going to be a bit exciting.
"Yes, that's right! We used to rule over all the world. Sometimes it baffles my mind how some of you don't know about the Grand history of the empire."
That was in response to his short talk with a commoner student. He had questioned him about the events of 600 hundred years ago. But it seemed that the student was ignorant about the story of the Sinner Emperor.
That truly was baffling. There have been hundreds of plays, storybooks, and songs about that story. Although I had heard that plays were a commodity that the commoner couldn't afford, there were still many storytellers ready to recite all the history out for you. But I suppose within this school that accepted commoners, there were such cases where even the illiterate ended up here.
"Listen closely now. For about a thousand years, The Empire reigned across the whole world. In fact, the very origin of Mana can be traced back to the roots of the Empire. Our great ancestors were the ones to discover Mana, to explore it, and found the very basis of Mana Art. We were the mightiest! No one could even dream to contend against the Empire. And we with our profound knowledge of Mana Arts set about a great mission, To teach all the countries about the wonders of Mana. And we succeeded!
From the north to the south, from the east to the west, to the lands beyond the sea. We governed and spread the bible of Mana Arts across all those lesser lands. We accomplished that thousand of years ago. But alas, things changed in the past 600 years."
The professor had been excitedly talking until then, but with that last sentence, his voice went a few octaves lower. He had pained look on his face and spoke in a grave voice as if he regretted the next words that were about to come out of his mouth.
"600 hundred years ago, all the countries united in their rebellion against the Empire and formed the Republic. A war was waged and the Sinner Emperor fell against the Republic's hero Lynx. And with that, the Grand Empire that had stood tall for Thousands of Years was defeated."
The atmosphere in the room grew tense. I had heard the same words a million times over but I guess there would be some commoners who hadn't heard such phrasing.
It wasn't like they didn't know about history. After all, What kind of a person wouldn't know about the glorious history of our land? Who wouldn't take pride in it?
But to hear the Empire being called 'Defeated' was something that the commoners were shocked to hear. They stood on the land of the Empire, heard about its glorious history, how then could they be called 'defeated'? That was a question I heard from one such person.
But for the nobles, it was something they needed to hear. That's what my mother had taught me. To know and to realize and then to improve. That is the duty of the greater nobles of the Empire, such as myself.
So I knew exactly where this speech was headed.
The professor banged his hand on the palladium and then spoke once more with renounced vigor.
"600 Hundred years ago, the Empire suffered a loss. Was it because of the strong bonds of the Republic?"
"No." I couldn't help but softly mummer along with the rest of the class.
"Was it because we committed injustice?"
"NO."
"Was it because of the supposed strongest mage of the republic, Lynx?"
"NO!"
Everyone shouted out the answer to the question that undoubtedly burned the heart of every citizen of the Empire.
"NO, It was because of the sin committed by that accursed Emperor! Do you know who named him the Sinner Emperor? It wasn't Lynx, who defeated him, Nor was it the Republic that cheered at his death. It was the Empire that named him that! It was the nobles of the high court bestowed upon him that title.
Cause the Emperor was slothful, weak, and unfaithful to the Empire. Had the ten families not stepped into his shoes after the Emperor's downfall, then it would have been a catastrophe. The Emperor was a lesson for us to learn. The Empire doesn't need the land of others to be glorious. Nor does the Empire need a weak ruler who can't lead it to its destined greatness. With the Almighty Sun shining down upon us, The Empire shall be immortal!"
Cheers resounded across the whole classroom. I couldn't even distinguish my shout from the rest as I raised my hands up in the air like many others. I couldn't help the emotions overtaking me. That's just the way I was raised.
***********
All things considered, the first day at my school wasn't all that bad. It was a bit boring, as expected, but at least I didn't run into any trouble. Plus, the students were acting more docile than I had thought. I think they might have been scared that I was going to do something like yesterday but they didn't need to harbor such worries.
I might have acted excessively yesterday but for now, I had no immediate plans regarding them. For now, all I had to do was wait and keep a strong front on for others to fear.
Anyways the classes had all ended and me and Ellie were making our way back to the girls dorms. I felt surprisingly relieved and tired after the classes had ended, and as I let myself relax my thoughts ultimately led me to him.
I wondered what he was doing now? Maybe he was thinking about me just like how I was thinking about him. It felt like a bubble of emotions had burst open inside of my heart. Emotions, I was still a bit unfamiliar with. But it felt exciting nonetheless.
It was only a matter of time and work until he and I meet again.
"Miss Mysa, the path to the dorm is from the left of here." A small uncertain voice spoke up behind me, breaking my chain of thought.
I looked back to see Ellie nervously pointing in the left direction, and I could see that the dorm was just a bit ahead from there. I was so lost in my thought that I had continued walking straight ahead, without registering my surroundings
An awkward silence issued as I stood there, trying my best to hide my embarrassment. After a few seconds, I turned left and walked towards the dorm. I could see Ellie fidgeting from the corner of my eyes, but thankfully she didn't bring up that embarrassing moment again.
I hurried on the way, taking longer strides than before, and soon we reached the stairs leading up to the third floor where our rooms were. After that flash of embarrassment, I wanted nothing more than to be alone right now, so I almost ran up the stairs.
When I reached the door to my room, I adjusted the bag on my shoulders and reached in for the key. I had bought the bag and my books from the stationary during the lunch break. I had first let Ellie carry it for me, but after seeing the pitiful image of Ellie lugging two bags around her shoulder, that were bigger than her whole back, I just couldn't let it be.
As I unlocked the door, I looked over behind me to Ellie, who was clearly out of breath.
"Bye-bye."
"uhmm...Yeah, bye-bye!"
We bid each other a short farewell, and then I was inside my room and slammed the door shut. I dragged my feet to the bed and then plopped down on it.
There wasn't much to do in this plain room. No sort of entertainment whatsoever. It just had the bear necessity a person needs to survive. Well, that didn't bother me as much. I had a lot of work to do. It wasn't like I would be troubled by something as simple as boredom.
I went to the washroom to wash up a bit, and after seeing that it was just 5 PM right now, I decided to take a long shower before my evening run.