"Ah!" I jolted awake with sweat pouring down my face.
Thunk-!
"Fuck!" I recoiled from the bottom of my bed as I grabbed my forehead in pain.
Groaning, I rolled out from underneath my bed.
Knock-!
Knock-!
"You good man? I thought I heard a scream." came a groggy voice from behind the door.
"All good Eric just slammed into something," I replied reflexively.
"Okay, well if you need an ice pack, I'm pretty sure there is ice in the freezer and you can just grab a towel," he said, before shuffling back to his room.
Thud-!
Hearing his door shut, I sighed in relief as I got up.
It seemed ever since my battle with the monster I had been having nightmares of my past.
Needless to say, this didn't sit well with me.
I mean my life already sucks enough during the day, does it really need to suck at night?
I shook my head trying to clear away the dream, then quickly went through my morning routine.
Today was the beginning of the weekend and also my promised 'Date' with Vera.
Groaning at this incomprehensible arrangement, I scratched my head in annoyance as I got ready to go out.
Opening my wardrobe, I began emptying out my few sets of clothes besides my school uniforms.
"This... it's pretty pathetic isn't it?" I shook my head in disappointment as I stared at the clothes strewn on my bed.
Knock-!
Knock-!
"Come in," I said as I swiveled around to face the door.
"Oi, have you seen my running shorts?" asked Eric, a toothbrush hanging from his mouth, his eyes naturally focused on the mess on my bed.
I watched as his expression morphed into what appeared to be somewhere between ridicule and disappointment.
"Wow... this is just..." he mumbled as the toothbrush nearly slipped from his mouth.
"Out!" I shouted furiously, raising my slipper as I rushed him.
"No! stop! not La Chancla, anything but that!" he screamed as he ran for dear life.
I had nicknamed the slipper after a famous saying by mothers in my previous world, at this point Eric knew better than to mess with the slipper.
After a few minutes of messing around we finally settled down and Eric helped me pick out an outfit.
"Are you sure...?" I asked hesitantly as I stared at my sharp reflection in the mirror.
I was wearing a sweater over my school uniform, however, instead of the blazer I usually wore I had put on a navy blue overcoat.
"It looks fine. just remember to bring back my coat when you're done!" Eric said cheerfully as he examined his handy work.
I grumbled as I turned in every direction to see if it looked bad.
"Ah wait..." he suddenly said, snapping his fingers.
Stretching his hand out, he attempted to fix my hair however I quickly dodged with deft reflexes.
"Not the hair!" I warned him as he reached for it again.
"No, Stop! it's too messy. It needs to be fixed." he chastised as I kept dodging him.
"No, it's naturally messy it looks fine!" I argued as I began running away.
"Just wait a minute, stop! hang on! where are you going, get back here!" he shouted after me as I ran for my life and the self-preservation of my hair.
After finally managing to escape from the clutches of the hair demon, I made my way down to the lobby of the dorm building.
Greeting the receptionist politely, I made my way toward the meet-up point.
"Huam..." I yawned as I walked by the crowds of students sprinting to the exit from the academy.
I had personally never had any reason to leave on the weekends so I was unused to the sight of a mass of students trampling each other to be the first ones to escape the academic prison.
I watched as several of the seniors in the second and third years abused their ability to cast flight magic and sped past the heads bobbing in the crowd.
The reason for this giant buildup was that everyone wanted to be the first to get out of here and utilize the weekend to their fullest. The rules stated that all students had to be back by midnight on the second day.
Besides, that students were free to do as they wished, so many would run and stock up on supplies such as makeup or sweets.
If students came from a more destitute background, then they could use their credits to purchase what they needed as most stores accepted the school's credits.
These credits could be earned by achieving merit points for various things such as competitions.
This allowed those with a poorer background to be able to enjoy a similar quality of life to
those who came from a more prestigious background so long as they worked hard for it.
As I walked towards the elevators, something colorful landed on my nose.
A pink and orange butterfly had landed on my nose, stretching its wings wide as the rays of sunlight shined brightly upon it.
Its delicate black legs trembled as the windy morning draft threatened to push it off my nose.
Don't butterfly's symbolize something?
Hmmm... what was it?
Change or something?
I don't know whatever I guess...
"Yah!" exclaimed a voice behind me as I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Craning my neck, I narrowed my eyes in annoyance at her attempt to scare me.
"What..." she pouted as she grinned slightly.
Scoffing slightly, I continued walking as she began walking in step with me.
"Why do you have a butterfly on your nose?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
I shrugged helplessly.
"So why exactly did you need me to come with you?"
"Hmm... well it's a secret okay?" she said with a smirk, placing her finger over her mouth with a shushing motion.
"Just play along for the day will you?"
"Hmpf, fine I suppose," I grumbled, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets.
However, suddenly her face turned serious as an icy chill swept over both of us.
"Just... whatever you do stay close to me, okay?" she said, her fangs were slightly protruding and her golden eyes had turned blood-red.
My back straightened slightly, as the cogs began turning in my mind trying to figure out what was so special about today.
I grunted slightly in affirmation, raising my finger to point at my lips.
"Huh? oh ah." she let out a series of sounds as she realized what had happened.
As we arrived at the line to the elevators I continued ransacking the vault of precious treasures that were my memories in search of this day.
Hmmm...
Hmmmmmm...
Hmmmmmmmmmm...
Monster attack?
If I wasn't mistaken today was the day an undetected portal would open in the middle of Market street in Elpis city.
Thousands would die before the Mages Association managed to arrive and close the portal.
Hmm?
However, that couldn't be what she was referring to, after all, how could she know when and where a portal would open?
Unless...
No, it couldn't be.
Could it?
Aghh!
Shaking my head in denial, I glanced up to find her staring at me.
"Do you do that often?" she asked, her eyes wide and staring at me almost a little too close for comfort.
"Do you?" I asked, leaning in to demonstrate how close she was.
"Ahk!" she leaned back as she realized how intimately close we were and the tips of her ears burned slightly red.
"Are you a pervert?" she yelped, causing several heads to turn in our direction.
Ughh, great like I needed a bad reputation.
"It was your fault," I muttered.
"So? you still leaned in so it becomes your fault!"
"What kind of logic is that?" I grumbled as I watched her snicker slightly, easing the tension that had been generated.
She was probably having a good laugh at my expense.
Grumbling, I turned my gaze forward and noticed that we were almost at the front of the line.
"Lighten up will you, we're going to have so much fun!" she said cheerily, slapping me on the back.
Jolting from the force of the shock, I stood ramrod straight.
"Oi..." I began.
"Oh, look we made it!" she exclaimed before grabbing my hand and dragging me into the elevator.
As the crowd of students entered the elevator and the doors dinged shut, I began lamenting not writing a better method of transportation.
In order to get off the island students would take these elevators down from the island to Elpis Central Station which was underneath the island.
Staring out the clear glass panes, I gazed at the immense view painted before my eyes.
The city architecture seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions, towering skyscrapers dotted the maze of buildings that formed the core of the city.
Millions of citizens bustled in the busy streets from place to place. It was an amazing display.
Humans were very similar to ants, especially from this height.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" whispered a voice next to me.
"Indeed," I grumbled, my mood ruined by the cold-hearted woman clinging to my arm.
"So much food walking around just waiting to be eaten," she whispered in my ear, causing me to shiver slightly as an icy chill traveled up my spine.
"And I suppose I'm a delectable dish or something along that line?" I asked sarcastically, familiar with the trope from TV shows and books.
"Pfft!" she nearly burst out laughing as she doubled over causing other students to look at us weirdly.
Some of the spittle from her mouth landed on my shoulder and I flinched in disgust.
"That was a good one!" she mouthed as her eyes bent into crescents.
"What?" I asked defensively not understanding what was so funny.
Quirking her lips into a grin, she whispered in my ear.
"Your more like a dish that fell on the dirty floor that no one wants to eat for fear of what disease they would catch."
Rolling my eyes and sighing dramatically, I pushed my way forward as the elevator dinged signaling we had arrived.
In my haste to escape the elevator, I didn't hear Vera whisper to herself.
"But your my dish."
*YO*
A bit of a more light-hearted chapter to chill off from the darker last chapter, hope u likey. also srsly need ur guy's opinion on uploading times like does this time suck? idk I remember a comment about it but I need more opinions. anyways hope u had a great day as always, Hugz <3