Feeling the light caress my eyelids, I open my eyes.
As I try to get up from the wooden bed, it creaks, showing its age.
After a few seconds, I finally get up and head to my room door. When I open it, I see my mom lighting candles on a cake.
I watch her for a moment; she's muttering something under her breath.
As she's placing the candles on the cake, she sees me and quickly positions herself between me and the cake, flustered, saying,
"Akash, when did you wake up?"
I smile and say,
"Not too long ago, just a few minutes."
She keeps fidgeting, clearly hiding something.
"Son, I think you should sleep a bit more. It's still early for you to be awake."
I smile back and respond,
"But mom, I've slept enough. I don't think I need more."
My mom crosses her arms and, with feigned anger, says,
"I said, go back to your room and close the door behind you."
"But..."
My mom cuts me off quickly and says,
"No buts, go to your room and close the door right now."
Without trying to convince her more, I go back to my room and close the door behind me.
I lie down on my bed and try to organize my thoughts.
When I enter the academy, I should attend and participate in classes to gain skills in areas I lacked before.
For example, I am skilled in swordsmanship but don't know much about spells and magic.
So, it's better to attend related classes.
Sure, being a specialist in one thing is better than being mediocre in many, but I've already mastered swordsmanship and now want to learn more.
So I don't face problems in different situations.
Summoning classes could also be useful since I already have a summoning ability to call shadow creatures.
Lost in my thoughts, suddenly my door bursts open, and a loud voice says,
"Happy Academy Entry Dayyyyyy!"
It was my mom's voice, and moments later, my mom, dad, and little brother came into my room with a cake in my mom's hands.
Who even celebrates something like this?
Well, it's the second time they celebrate this for me, so I should cherish these moments.
In my previous life, I realized their value only after losing them.
So, I need to appreciate and protect what I have.
I smile at them and say,
"Oh, so you made a cake for this?"
My mom smiles and says,
"What? Did you think I'd let my son go to the academy without a celebration?"
Dad laughs and says,
"Well, your mom is always like this. You might not believe it, but she even made a cake for your first pee. The cake looked exactly like pee, and we couldn't even eat it."
Hearing this, I laugh a little involuntarily.
After dad finishes talking, mom, with feigned anger, turns to him and says,
"Oh really? Since you have such a problem with my cakes, you won't get any."
Dad starts to beg mom, but she refuses. In the end, she gives him a piece when the cake is being served.
We spent a few happy hours together, but it was almost time for the academy to start.
Despite my objections, my whole family came with me to see me off.
At the academy entrance, mom gave me lots of advice.
Like, never eat fast food, don't hang out with bad friends, sleep early, and so on.
Then dad came forward and gave me a dagger, saying,
"Son, although this place is under government supervision, problems can still arise."
I took the dagger from him and said,
"Okay, I'll be careful."
Finally, my brother came to me with teary eyes, saying,
"Bro, I don't want you to go."
I smiled and patted his head. Even at 14, he's still emotional.
"Ayan, don't worry. The academy lets families visit their kids every month, so we're not completely apart. You can come see me every month."
Hearing this, he wiped his tears and, with a sweet, childish smile, said,
"Really?"
I smiled back and said,
"Really."
Then he reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and said,
"Bro, I made something for you. Hold out your hand."
When he said that, I extended my right hand without questioning, and he put a handmade bracelet, a mix of black and mostly purple, on my wrist, saying,
"I made this last night for you so you won't forget me."
I smiled and said,
"I'll take care of it for the rest of my life."
He gave me a sweet smile in return.
After all the goodbyes, I finally entered the academy yard and headed towards the assembly hall building.
This is a new beginning for me.