Having finally been freed from the crazy people outside of the club, I was now quickly making my way to the bar, not caring about any of the looks I got from the people around me.
As there weren't all too many people in the club, as it was currently only inhabited by the freshmen, there was no problem getting the bartender's attention.
"Yes? What would you like to drink?"
Rather the problem began afterward because I had no idea what I should order. As it was an open bar, it wasn't an issue of being able to afford it, it was an issue of me having never consumed alcohol before.
It was really hard to find an opportunity to go out partying when you were in a coma.
Not wanting to look like a fool, I just said the first thing that came to mind. A drink that I very much could understand why it was the first thing that I could think of.
"A glass of red wine, doesn't matter what kind."
"Coming up."
I was quite glad that the bartender acted like a professional and ignored both my stature and the fact that I couldn't even name any red wines.
After about a minute of seeing him open what looked like quite an expensive bottle and pouring the red liquid in front of me, I could finally turn around and take in the scenery.
It was... not as special as I had imagined it.
Though the facility was no doubt extremely luxurious it still wasn't the awe-worthy place that my head had fabricated. Or, it could also be because seeing all of the other freshmen socializing and having fun made me remember what kind of position I was in.
Even more so as they kept throwing glances at me. From Lydia who seemed to have been drinking a bit too much, to Celina who frowned to...
"Yo, Aarick! What's up?"
Wearing a very neat black suit, it was of course Astor who was the only one to approach me while smiling widely. Craning my neck to look the energetic youth in his eyes, I knew that even though I wanted to run away, I had already promised Dona to give this evening a fair chance.
That being said, I still felt like I needed to at least warn him about hanging out with me.
"Hey, Astor. I know that you are..."
"Oh, look! Here they are, the main characters!"
Suddenly, everyone's eyes turned to the entrance, and looking as if it was a movie, two beautiful humans had entered the vicinity. On the right, a tall red-headed man was walking proudly in a suit that matched the color of his hair, and on the right, was the most beautiful lady that I had ever seen.
Except for Lucifer and Dona, of course.
Wearing a blue dress that sparkled under the lights, with her own blue strands neatly put up in a bun with two luscious locks framing her face, Levi was no doubt the star of the night. Skin as pale as mine, and skin as smooth as mine...
'Wait...'
Catching myself comparing her to me, I stopped myself before I came to the conclusion that I was more effeminate than Levi.
Still, no matter how brilliantly they shone, I still felt like the reactions were overly exaggerated. In the end, they were just students like the rest of us, even if they had talent, money, and power and were astonishingly handsome and beautiful.
'Yeah, maybe not...'
"Man, they look really good tonight, don't they? If not for Will, I would absolutely have wanted to try my chances with Levi. I mean, god, she truly doesn't look like she belongs in this world."
Maybe it was because I could still see her younger self when looking at her, but even though I understood that she was unfathomably attractive, I still couldn't quite feel it. Not that I didn't see it, but there was no sense of gravity-defying attraction that drew me in.
Taking a sip of the wine, which didn't quite ease my current craving, I just turned away from them, not wanting to look at them any longer.
"Oh, look over there! Hey guys!"
To this, Astor followed suit, and before I knew it, he was suddenly pulling me towards a table, a table surrounded by a couch where four girls were sitting. Four girls that all had very different reactions to seeing me getting dragged there by Astor.
Celina looked at me with an annoyed look, a look that screamed that she wanted me to not bother her anymore. Which, frankly, hurt a bit. Because even if I had been subjected to quite an embarrassing situation, she was still someone I needed to interact with in the future to get my end of the deal.
Then there was the green-haired girl, Stella, who simply just looked like a frightened animal, probably scared that I was going to do something rash or unexpected while Sophie didn't seem to care much at all. Something that brought me immense happiness as that suggested that our non-verbal conversation during the monster elimination course had been successful.
Lydia, however, had a very particular reaction. A reaction that appeared to be a hefty mix of confusion, agitation, and, though I was patting my own back, a little bit of interest.
"Hey, Astor..."
"You having a good time? Man, this place is impressive, isn't it? I mean, just look at all..."
Knowing that she had to at least force herself to act in a proper manner, Celina somehow became the representative of the girls, now talking with Astor so as to not lose face.
At the same time, I finally found my key to freedom. Even if I didn't want to disappoint my teacher, things had already started to spiral out of control. So taking my chance, I turned around but just as I was about to walk away, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Let's sit down, Aarick!"
"I should probably just..."
"Don't be like that! Just sit down and relax for a bit! If you keep acting so stressed out, your hair will become wh... Anyway, just relax for a bit!"
Unable to resist the force of his hand, I was suddenly shoved down onto the couch, with me now sitting next to Lydia and Astor taking his spot next to Celina. And things became... more than awkward.
Although Astor kept talking, and Celina persisted in politely responding to him, everyone else was silent, just wasting the time away while sipping on our drinks. And that would have been fine, I would have been more than happy if that was the end of it.
Sadly, it wasn't. Because the yellow-haired man didn't seem to know the meaning of social cues and conduct.
"So, Aarick! Why was it that you picked a fight with Levi as soon as the school year started?"
Even after asking such a ridiculously insensitive question in front of all these people who didn't know me, he was still smiling innocently, not even close to understanding how absurdly he was acting.
Looking down at my glass, I tried to find a good way to explain it without revealing the truth.
"That was..."
*Bam!*
"Hey, Aarick!"
All of a sudden, a hand from another freshman made an impact on the table, not wanting to let go of the slightest chance that he wouldn't get my attention.
Hugo had arrived, wearing a very nasty grin on his face. So, I did as anyone would have done in that situation.
Standing up, I took a quick bow at the people sitting at the table and walked away.
"Stop! Where do you think you're going?!"
"I'm going home! Why should I stay here when you're obviously going to make me get in trouble?!"
"Because..."
Then, the lights suddenly went off, and in the middle of the dance floor, a single spotlight lit up two very familiar people. Because there were our homeroom teachers, with Dona in her elegant black dress and Mr. Ainsworth in a navy blue suit.
As it had surprised me enough to make me stop in my tracks, I was also able to hear Hugo spouting some final nasty words.
"Just watch the show, punk. After all, it's a show where you will become a big star! Hahaha!"
Then, Mr. Ainsworth started the show, his nasty smile plastered all over his face.
"Welcome everyone to the annual freshman celebration event! As always, I hope that you are having a good time socializing with each other, and more importantly, that you are making good comrades. Because that's what's..."
As he kept blabbering on and on about us freshmen, how great we were, and all sorts of useless stuff, it wasn't until his final words that I got my head in the game again.
"... and as always, we have a special event planned for the beginning of this semester as well. This year, we will be having a show match between one student from 1-A and one from 1-B!"
'Oh no...'
"And the students that will be dueling this Monday will be Aarick Laupier and Hugo Riley!"