Chapter 32: Tales Over Tea
"Is the place far?" I asked, walking alongside my friends.
"Not really. It's about as far as your dorm, just in the opposite direction," Chris replied.
After school, the four of us—Chris, Arthur, Alysha, and me—were heading to a nearby café they'd talked about. They said it had an amazing view.
The school bell rang, and we met Arthur. Yesterday, Arthur asked for permission to take some free time, and luckily, Vain also agreed. By the way, I didn't have any student council duties and had also borrowed Alysha for the day. That meant I didn't need to meet Imelda.
Aside from reminiscing, this meeting could also help me memorize the surrounding area. For someone like me who was still unfamiliar with the area, this gathering was certainly useful. Since the place we were meeting was nearby, it wasn't long before we arrived at our destination.
The café was located at a three-way intersection. Since we were still in the hilly area, the surrounding view was quite good. The city below was clearly visible.
"Here it is," Chris said, pointing uphill. "By the way, my dorm's just straight ahead from here," Chris pointed in another direction toward up hill.
"That close? I'll drop by sometime."
"You better!"
We stepped inside and found a cozy corner spot by the window with a direct view of the city. The atmosphere was calm, with trees and a few scattered buildings around us.
"Can we use ID coins here?" I asked curiously.
"Of course," Alysha said. "By the way, how much money do you have on your ID?"
Judging by her grin, she was fishing for me to treat her. That was already my plan if ID coins worked here, so I didn't mind.
"You wouldn't believe it, Ely," Arthur chimed in, clearly ready to stir things up.
"How much?" Alysha asked eagerly, taking the bait. Judging by her expression, it seemed she wanted me to treat her. I didn't mind because, from the beginning, that was my intention if could use the coins on this ID.
Arthur, you really didn't have to start this, I thought.
"It's a lot. Just don't shout," I told her.
Alysha had a habit of reacting dramatically when something caught her attention. It's why I felt the need to warn her.
"Sure!" she said, practically bouncing with excitement.
I leaned closer and whispered, "One million coins."
"WHAT?! One mil—" Alysha started shouting but cut off as I clapped my hand over her mouth.
"I told you not to yell!" I said, exasperated.
"That's a lot!" she managed after I let go.
"Yeah, it is."
This money was likely compensation, so I wasn't too thrilled about it. The issue was whether this only applied to me. If so, wasn't there someone else who suffered even more than me? Thinking about it made me slightly annoyed with the government.
"It's probably compensation," I muttered.
Alysha's excited expression shifted to guilt. This wasn't the vibe I wanted for our meetup, so I quickly changed the topic.
"Forget about it. Let's order. I'll pay."
"Are you sure?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah. I planned on treating everyone anyway."
"Well, thanks then," he said with a smile, opening the menu.
"I'm sorry, Brother. I didn't mean to upset you," Alysha said softly.
"It's fine. Just pick something you want," I said, handing her the menu.
Chris, however, was unusually quiet. "What's up, Chris? You're awfully quiet."
"You guys were quiet, so I stayed quiet too. I'm not great at reading situations, so when no one talks, I don't either," he admitted.
I noticed how much he'd changed in the two years since I'd last seen him. He used to be blunt to a fault, speaking without much thought. Maybe life had forced him to adapt.
"Nothing's wrong. Order whatever you'd like—my treat."
"Alright then, thanks," Chris said, picking up the menu.
Once everyone had decided, I waved over to the waiter. "Excuse me, we're ready to order."
The waiter, a young man in a neat uniform, approached. "What would you like?"
Chris went first. "Spaghetti, ice cream, and this juice."
Arthur followed, though he seemed indecisive. "I'll have the steak, pudding, and... uh... chocolate."
Alysha ordered next. "I'll take Set 1—cheesecake and tea." Alysha's sweet tooth hasn't changed since we were kids. I wondered if the food would meet her high standards.
The waiter noted each order using an electronic panel he held. Arthur handed the menu to me. I glanced through it, wondering what would suit me right now. I wasn't too hungry, so I decided to order something light.
"I'll have the salad with iced tea."
The waiter confirmed our orders and headed off. While we waited, I broke the silence.
"Thank you all for your attendance; it is sincerely appreciated."
"Relax, why so formal?" Arthur teased.
"Yeah, we're just hanging out," Chris added.
Despite some changes, like Chris's new thoughtfulness, they were still the same friends I remembered. It felt good to reconnect.
"Okay, first off, I want to hear from all of you," I said, leaning forward. "It's been so long since we last met face-to-face. What have you all been up to?"
Did they keep up with the adventures we used to have? Exploring, discovering? I still wanted to go on those kinds of adventures with them again.
"Well, I'll go first," Chris volunteered.
"Sure, go ahead."
"I was the first one from our group to move away during middle school. I didn't want to leave, but my parents decided. When I first got here, it wasn't anything like it is now. Back then, the facilities were new, the teachers were new, and everyone was still adjusting to the Power curriculum."
Being one of the first, they had to pave the way for everyone else. It was like they were the test subjects. If something went wrong, they'd bear the brunt of it; if it worked, they'd set the standard.
It sounds harsh, but after everything the government messed up, I can't help seeing it that way.
Most of the Floater's group had stayed at our old school back then. We were called "pioneers," but we hadn't even scratched the surface of this city. Everything about Pillar City felt new and strange to us.
Chris must have been lonely when he first arrived, especially since he came here alone.
"When I first arrived, there were only a handful of schools. Pillars 6 and 7 didn't even have regular schools back then. The only ones available were power-based schools. Magic didn't even exist yet."
"That's true," I added. "Magic wasn't discovered until halfway through third grade."
At that time, all we knew were espers with superpowers. But wait—didn't Violet's group already go to school here? How did they manage before regular schools were set up?
"Hold on," I said, puzzled. "Then how did FairyTale discover magic? They weren't espers, right?"
FairyTale. That was the nickname for the first group that discovered magic. They were the pioneers of its use. Violet was one of them, along with Evan. That's why she earned the title
"At that time," Chris explained, "we couldn't tell the difference between espers and non-powered people. Anyone could join, hoping to gain abilities. It was like gambling."
"There were a lot more adults in Pillar City back then compared to now," he continued. "Shouldn't this kind of stuff be in the history books?"
When Pillar City first opened, people flooded in to try and acquire powers. But after age limits were set, adults lost interest. Still, some researchers and entrepreneurs stuck around for the opportunities.
History lessons barely touch on this period. They just call it the "single school" era and move on without much detail.
Then something clicked. Didn't everyone get their powers recorded when they entered the city?
"What about the IDs?" I asked. "Shouldn't their powers have shown up on them?"
My question made them laugh. Clearly, they thought I was joking.
"What are you talking about?" Arthur said. "The power status feature wasn't added to IDs until we started high school."
Wait, what? Their response threw me for a loop. Either I misunderstood something or my memory was playing tricks on me. But I was positive about this. I won't forget something as amazing as this.
"No, I'm sure," I insisted. "I knew my power status when we first entered Pillar City."
Now they were the ones looking confused. Silence fell as they processed what I said.
Initially, it wasn't until a few months after this discovery that such information began to be recorded in research. Power detection technology wasn't as advanced back then. The ID cards merely recorded something and revealed the truth, so if they didn't know it, it would be useless.
They also had the first generation of ID cards, but we had only shown our cards to each other once. After that, we returned to our normal lives, and after the discovery of powers, our ID cards were collected by the government for further study.
Now that I think about it, I didn't see their cards back then, right? I didn't check theirs because I assumed they were similar to mine and that there would be another chance when we got home, but apparently not. That was my own mistake.
"Are you serious? You really didn't know?" I asked, trying to confirm they weren't joking.
Arthur and Chris nodded, with Alysha chiming in, "Seriously?"
So they really didn't know. I only just found out they discovered their power statuses in high school. How had I missed that?
"Well, at the time, I didn't want to draw attention to myself either," I said, thinking back. "Maybe the hiding feature was there from the start."
"That makes sense," Arthur agreed.
It probably did. The power status and hiding feature must have existed all along, just unnoticed. This technology was so advanced it felt almost otherworldly. People from the past must have been geniuses, creating things like pyramids and this ID system.
"Anyway," I said, waving it off, "let's not get sidetracked. Chris, go ahead and continue your story."
Chris nodded. "You're right. Let's get back to it," he said, picking up where he left off.