After my conversation with Emi, I went back to the men's dorm, thinking about the conversation I had just had with her. Although I had invited her, I really didn't expect her to accept. To tell you the truth, I am still finding it hard to believe it.
(Could this be considered a date... right?)
I thought as I opened my bedroom door. For some reason, just thinking about it was already getting me motivated. As soon as I opened the door, Eric greeted me; he was lying on the bed and raised one of his arms in greeting form.
"Hey, you took a while to get back"
Eric said as he looked at me.
"Well... yeah"
I said, still a little confused by what had just happened. Eric noticed this and raised one of his eyebrows in doubt.
"Dude, are you okay? You seem a little off. Did something happen?"
Eric asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine"
I said, pulling myself together. After that, Eric and I stayed talking for a while until it was time to sleep. The next day, Eric and I got ready and went to our rooms. As soon as I entered my room, I saw some familiar faces. Although I didn't talk to almost anyone in my room, it was still comforting to know that everyone was okay.
As I walked to my seat, I noticed that Emi had also already arrived in the classroom. She seemed to be taking some notes, but since class hadn't started yet, it was unlikely that this was class-related. This made me think that Emi was a person who really enjoyed studying.
"Good morning"
Emi said, turning towards me. Somehow, it seemed like she had seen me, which is honestly quite strange since she was totally focused.
"Oh, good morning. I didn't think you noticed me"
I said as I looked around. I was still a little embarrassed, not knowing how to interact with her. But seeing how calm she was made me feel calmer too. As soon as I sat down, I also put my notebook on the table and started taking notes.
But instead of taking notes, I guess the right thing to say would be that I was jotting down the main points that I would use to build a greenhouse. While I was doing this, I noticed that Emi was glancing at my notebook. In her eyes, it was easy to see her curiosity about what I might be doing.
"This is called a greenhouse"
I said, making Emi look at me.
"Greenhouse?"
Asked Emi, confused.
"In this world, people don't use greenhouses. They know you need water and sun to make plants grow, but they never thought of making something that absorbs the heat of the sun"
(Well, it is only recently that glass has been introduced)
I thought about how to explain the purpose of the greenhouse to Emi.
"The greenhouse absorbs the heat coming from the sun and keeps it conditioned inside. It also protects the crops against possible external threats, keeping the internal temperature controlled according to the incoming solar radiation"
Hearing my words, Emi looked surprised for a few seconds before asking.
"That's really interesting, but why do that?"
Emi asked, looking genuinely confused.
"As you may know, there are some plants that only grow in specific seasons, aren't there? With the greenhouse, I will probably be able to plant them at any time of the year as long as there is sun"
I said while looking at Emi. Hearing my words, Emi seemed to have understood the point I was getting at. After my conversation with Emi, the door was opened again. As soon as Susy-sensei entered the room, she placed her bag on the table and looked around the room.
"I'm glad everyone is okay"
Said Susy-sensei. Normally, she would have no reason to worry about this since we are still children and can't enlist. But just like in my old world, the army can sometimes forcibly enlist you if they are understaffed. After that, Susy-sensei went on with her class in the normal way. Just before the class ended, Susy-sensei gave us a group assignment.
"Before we end the class, I will pass a group assignment to all of you. The assignment is to be handed in next Monday"
Susy-sensei said as she looked around the room.
"The assignment will be related to the war that happened recently. I want you to tell me the reasons why a war arises between two countries and if there is any benefit in the war. Besides that, the groups will be chosen randomly in a draw"
Said Susy-sensei, taking out a small urn from her bag. After that, she wrote letters from A to D and put them in the urn.
"Very well, now I want everyone to line up and take a letter"
As soon as she said this, we all lined up and started to get our papers. As soon as it was my turn, I put my hand inside the urn and immediately took out my paper. On it was written a capital C. As soon as I got back to my table, I saw that Emi was also already holding her paper, but since it was folded, I couldn't see the number.
(I hope we are in the same group)
I thought as I turned my attention back to the teacher.
"Now that everyone has picked up their papers and knows what their letter is, let's see who fell into which group"
Susy-sensei said.
"First of all, everyone who is in group A, raise your hand"
Hearing Susy-sensei's words, three people raised their hands, indicating they were in the same group. This continued until I reached my group.
"Who is in group C, raise your hand"
As soon as she said that, I raised my hand and looked around, trying to see the other people who were in my group. Unfortunately, it looked like Emi was in group D.