Ian lost his interest in the whole assessment process and even in the concept of life itself as he buried his head in his hands and remained like that, brooding his misfortune. While others kept their eye out for potential strong students, he lamented his fate and cursed himself.
"Thank you, everyone," the examiner's voice announced, pulling him out of his reverie.
He let out a heavy sigh, that expressed the weight of his problems as they weighed down on him. He would have loved the assessment to never end since this is the only time he would be free from bullying for the next three years.
"The assessment is finally done, and we appreciate your patience through it," the examiner continued. "But from this point forward, you have all become soldiers of the academy and we would be treating you no less than that."
As he said that, the soldier, Max who had been in the assessment area with him came out and stood on the podium.
"On your feet, soldiers!" Max yelled, his voice someone reaching the ends of the massive hall. Everyone stood up at the order, both boys and girls standing upright with their hands and feet in perfect symmetrical order as their bodies. They've all gotten some sort of preparatory training in high school so it came naturally to them, including Ian who couldn't care less but was doing his best not to stand out.
"With the assessment done, I will now welcome you as full-fledged students of the military academy," he continued. "I congratulate and thank you for your service to humanity and I implore you all to do your best and make a name in whatever field you end up in. I will advise you to desist from any act that would jeopardize your future and I would encourage good conduct for the duration of the three years I have with you. Is that understood?!"
"Yes, sir!" everyone yelled in unison.
"Now you can all retire to your rooms," he said. "Your room numbers have been updated in your system watches so please go to the allocated numbers. A change of rooms would need a formal application to the relevant authorities and no, you can't change your room in the first week of your stay. Do you all understand?"
"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison.
"At ease," he said. "Make your way to your dorms immediately and acquaint yourself with your roommates. Use tomorrow as you please but make sure to be ready for classes which start by 8 am tomorrow. Tardiness would not be condoned. The curfew is 10 pm and it is inexcusable. There will be no pardons for breaking curfew."
There was silence this time as they were unsure whether to reply in unison or not.
"You are dismissed," Max concluded as he also began walking back inside the assessment area.
"Oh, well," Ian sighed as people began moving out and shuffling through the crowd. "Let the hell begin.
His system watch beeped and his room number was displayed on it, boldly.
He blended into the crowd but made sure to stay a little distance away from the door when it got rowdy with everyone pushing each other as they try to leave through the door at the same time.
"So uncivilized," he heard someone scoff but he was too uninterested in their actions to care. He just hoped he can make it to the dorm room and get some rest.
Once outside, the watches lit up with a map that led them towards main entrance of the school which stretched extensively, covering about three-fourths of the massive expanse of the school's land.
Walking through the entrance felt like stepping into a different city in itself. All of the space was put to good use with the buildings widely spaced and a lot of greenery and beautiful glass garden houses placed at different areas to maximise beauty.
There were open gardens and garden houses for nurturing delicate plants. They were neatly spaced and tended to with cobbled streets in between them leading up to an oval fountain in the middle of it all, with beast structures carved around it, and water pouring out of their mouth. It was a good place for relaxing.
Different other sights, like a sports arena to the far left of the fountain, a VR gaming arcade just beside the arena, and more were neatly and strategically placed around the dormitories to ensure the comfort of its students.
The massive school building itself was placed at the far end of the space opposite the entrance, standing proud and intimidating, with two equally massive buildings with high walls standing on either side of it. The buildings by the side were the living quarters for the school's major staff. The rest just lived in the Dome City provided by the school. The dorm buildings are then placed strategically around it with indicators, Red, Blue, Green, Purple, White, and Black, in no particular order.
Students are assigned randomly to any dorm with the corresponding colour and they are expected to stay there for the rest of their years. White, purple and blue are reserved for the girls while black, green and red for the boys.
Ian was assigned to the black dorm which was coincidentally the farthest from the school but closer to the entrance. The dorms were not surrounded by any gates unlike the staff's living quarters. Boldly inscribed on the dorm's entrance was the slogan the military used often.
"For Humanity's Sake"
Ian stared at the slogan for a few seconds and shook his head as he walked past, his silver hair dancing along with him.
"For humanity's sake, my foot," he scoffed. "All they are doing here is promoting power above all and dictating our future."
The dormitory building was also massive, and as high as three storeys, with each storey representing the year and the third years living at the top floor.
"They sure splashed a ton of money on this place," Ian thought as he walked through the halls of the first floor in search of his room number. The place was neat and well kept with beautiful drawings lining the walls and the floor was quite reflective. So much so that he could see his tiny frail reflection as he walked on it.
"Let's see, " he said as he stopped at a door located at the end of the hallway with the number 1000 on it. "I guess this is it."
He placed the watch close to the door handle let and it was scanned by the door. Once the scanning was done, he heard the clicking sound and opened the door.
His eyes widened as he saw the person already in the room.
"You?!!!!"