5: TO IDENTIFY AN APPOSITE
//
8:33 A.M. // 8 - 29 - 2023 // ARC
Starring Gwen Olynn
Featuring Avil Daniase, Zendolyn Ato, and Serene Goldwin
//
Isn’t the teacher supposed to be in the room before the students?
I glanced at the watch. Three minutes late. My fingers tapped impatiently against the desk. In front of me was the sound of a synchronized tapping foot against the floor, Zendolyn Ato was not having it as well.
Finally the door burst open and Professor Justin burst into the class. He didn’t pant, but his neck sparkled with sweat as he approached the podium.
“Hello everyone.” His voice betrayed a small amount of tiredness, but he settled in and adjusted quickly. “Does everyone have a watch?” He looked around the room, and nobody said anything.
“Let me rephrase this, who doesn’t have a watch?” Again, nobody said anything.
“Good,” he sighed, “remember to bring your watch everyday, as we’ll be doing this everyday we meet. Now everyone, pull up the ARC app. It should be telling you right now that class is in session, and an option that says ‘Attendance’. Press that.”
I pulled up the app and did as I was told, and so did everyone else all around me in relative silence. When I pressed Attendance, my blank-ish profile appeared like it did yesterday when I checked my room, as well as three options which said Present, Tardy, and Absent.
“Once you guys get here, press Present and raise your hand. Once I accept it, you may put your hand down. Most of this is just procedure for making sure the door did its job right.”
My hand raised in the air. After a moment my watch buzzed slightly, and the screen lit a green that said ‘Approved’, and my hand fell back down.
“Good,” he repeated himself. “Everyone’s here. All right, get up, we’re headed for the armory!”
The sound of rustling filled the room as everyone began to leave the room. A quiet muttering resumed, and Avil besides me got up to do the same. I followed suit and walked down the steps of the staircase. It really felt like I was in some sort of college, but for younger people. A slight zipping noise came from behind me and I turned around, irritated.
“Hey, don’t open my backpack,” I said with a voice to match my expression. Then I let out an ‘oh’ when I saw Zendolyn behind me.
“Sorry,” he said nonchalantly. “It was unzipped.”
He had a nice singer’s voice, I thought and turned away. Chatter began to rise up as everyone walked out the door and followed the professor.
The pleasant sun bathed over our head as we walked. It was a nice break from yesterday’s onslaught of heat.
The campus was mostly empty as everyone was probably in class, but then to my right another glass door suddenly opened and another professor walked out. I remembered seeing her at the beginning ceremony, she was the older professor who stood in the back and didn’t say anything. We made eye contact and she smiled. Her face was covered with wrinkles and smile lines. She seemed very nice. I nodded back with my own smile and held back a slight bow. My Asian bones and habits shivered in pain.
Then a board of students emerged from the door behind the professor like a wave of hair and faces and clothes and shoes, all mashed into a conglomerate of teens. They were a much rowdier group compared to our hushed class, each person worth a glance, and one girl in particular caught my eyes. The gorgeous girl paced warily at the edges, her silky and off-brown hair fell to her chest. Her minimalistic and fashionable clothes definitely made her stand out, but even more than that was the horribly dangerous face she was making.
I caught wind of what some of the girls were saying.
“Did you hear—”
“Yeah, Serene, you know, Ced’s—”
“Mhmm, shut up. I know.”
“When I got there, there was still blood on the floor and mirror.”
“How violent—?”
“Yeah, they fought so viciously that it flew that far. Isn’t that—”
“—so crazy!”
I looked back at the girl they were clearly talking about. Serene didn’t bear any scars, instead she had a ferocious glare that could give scars. They all knew she could hear their every word. They all were cruel.
“Wow,” I remarked out loud. “The medical care here must be good.”
“What?” Zendolyn and Avil said at the same time. Zendolyn tore his eyes away from a nervous green haired boy and stared at Avil. They both gave each other a funny look. I acutely noticed how short all three of us were compared to most of the other kids. It was a crippling reminder of myself and my friends in the real world.
“Never mind.”
Soon we reached the armory, which conspicuously stood near the training grounds, a massive expanse of dirt, machines, and holograms. Words failed to describe the insaneness and scale of everything, as usual.
Well, it made sense that it was so close to the armory.
A soft breeze grazed my cheek as the door opened, eliciting many gasps from the students all around, including me. It was menacing to say the least.
I was very surprised to know that when I walked inside there was enough wiggle room for me to stretch my arms out and still not hit anyone. The room was huge.
The light in the room was a hushed blue, a constant color all throughout ARC and its logos shining beneath each table leaving the ceiling a pitch black. Perfect for setting the grim implications that nobody cared for. Weapons of all kinds were hung on the wall, from impressive greatswords and épées to the bows and guns lying in neat cases. I spotted and walked past whips and rifles, shields and spears, even brass knuckles and knives decorated the walls.
It was a full on museum of things that could kill people; clearly everyone knew this as well, as most people kept at least a couple inches of distance back from the display cases.
A sudden knocking on the door silenced the whole room of chatter. It was Professor Justin. “Here is, obviously, the armory. In a moment, you guys will all be choosing a weapon. Your first weapon is free of charge, but it will cost a hefty price if you break it. Mind you, these are points we are talking about, not money,” he explained clearly. His voice carried louder, “Later on you can use points to exchange your weapon in the armory, rent a weapon, test it, or even buy and gift it. As you guys can clearly see, there is a price tag on these weapons. For now, you guys are only allowed weapons worth 50 points or lower. Any questions?” He paused and looked around the room. He seemed to have a habit of doing that.
“S-sir, Professor,” a girl called out hesitantly, “I have a question. I’ve heard that Ethereal Weapons are sold here. Are they available for purchase right now?”
This time the older professor spoke up. “Young lady, great question. To put it bluntly, you guys do not have the points to buy a growth-type item, much less one that is so convenient such as an Ethereal Weapon. They cost a lot. 1000 points, to be exact.”
I shook my head. That wasn’t worth it. That many points, if I remembered correctly, was worth about a hundred grand in real money. 1000 points was enough to live comfortably in the wealthier housing area for about a year or two. Not worth it.
“No more questions? Well,” the older professor said for the first time. Her voice was high and distinctly southern. “What are you guys waiting for? Go get a weapon, and do be serious and civil about it. When you’ve chosen the right weapon, open the ARC app and raise your watch against the weapon, then accept when it prompts you.”
Excitement, already present, exploded in one fell swoop of a command. The quietness died to make way for the noise of teens making a huge decision for their future, and realizing the weight of the situation. This was a big, big deal.
It didn’t really feel that way for me. I had a sort of disconnected feeling instead, like I wasn’t meant to be here. Or maybe I had just stolen Gwen’s future instead.
I watched the room and clearly people gravitated towards the swords and spears. In every fantasy they were always going to be the most popular. But interestingly enough, I saw Avil go the opposite way instead. Now whenever I looked at him, something serious was always going through his mind. Very different from when I first met him, the goofy little kid, to the serious young adult. He was over by the shields and whips section.
Zendolyn however made no such hesitation and immediately grabbed a crossbow case which he then took out and unfolded the small equipment in there into the large form of a crossbow like it was origami. He gave it a quick scan with his watch which made a small beep sound, then stuffed it back into the case and picked it up, making his choice with a satisfied nod. The people around him paid no mind unlike how all eyes were usually plastered on him, so it seemed like they knew he was a crossbow user. A few of them rolled their eyes in disgust however.
Over at the guns and modern weapons section, there was absolutely nobody. It was completely empty, save for one girl, a girl with luxurious not-quite brown hair and a shining face. I glanced around and noticed everyone placing their eyes on Serene.
“What is she doing in the—”
“—she used to use a sword, right?”
A girl beside me muttered, “No way, everyone knows that…”
“She’s unawakened but she’s looking at guns! Is she crazy?”
What was going on? The kids all around me seemed to have a vendetta against guns. I thought back to my research while I was in bed. Wikipedia, I realized, and then I remembered.
Guns were an undesirable weapon in this world. People had swords and bows, weapons of history, because with training and skill one could master the weapon. All weapons of history had a high skill ‘ceiling’. Guns, however, could not be trained along with the user. Sure, the gun could be aimed better, but then the gun would still have the exact same firepower, with no ‘real’ effort from the user. According to Wikipedia, in layman’s terms a gun was not a growth type weapon, therefore it was an inferior weapon. According to everyone around her, it was for wusses and weaklings.
The room tensed as she placed her hand on a case, then opened it and inspected the gun and rounds. Everyone held their breath, and she looked up, confused by the sudden hushness. Then she noticed the eyes on her and blinked. She closed the case with a loud thud, and everyone released a dramatic exhale, then another gasp-scream as she picked up the gun case. She placed her watch against the gun case, and then promptly accepted the weapon.
—beep
“That crazy motherfu—”
“Shut up,” Serene said loudly. This was the first time I heard her voice. It was a loud, strong, and high voice. “You guys know nothing.” With that she stomped out of the room.
I raised my eyebrow. That was a weird phrase to hear, ‘you know nothing’. Well, wouldn’t you like to know something, Serene? I’m not from this world. Avil also gave her a glare for some reason, but Zendolyn seemed shocked instead. Then his expression returned to neutral.
Everyone’s eyes remained on Serene as she walked out of the room behind Zendolyn, who had already checked out a weapon.
I also noticed something that Avil held very obviously, a large shield, and I realized I still hadn’t made a selection as watches began to beep and people began to leave. My eyes darted around the room again.
Then I came across a peculiar weapon. “Swift Boots and Buckler? Is this two in one?” I stared at it. A small arm-shield and matching boots. I lifted up the bottom. It was studded with spikes. One touch and I knew this was a very hard material, but when I lifted it up expecting it to be heavy, and, well, it was really really light. I took a good look all around me again, but nothing caught my attention like the boots and buckler. With the buckler, I wouldn’t be at such a disadvantage against ranged weapons and could fight back against swords. And with these boots, I could kick the hell out of someone, and the boots would even be good protection for my legs when I went in up close.
I thought it over some more. A sword would be impossible to use for a noob like me. A gun would bring too much attention. Glancing at the knuckles section a few had already been taken. If they could use fists without getting attention, why could I use feet? Besides, I knew how to use my legs very well.
That was final, then. I flinched when I noticed some people looking my way, but I grabbed the combo of weapons and sprinted out the door.
Now that I was thinking about it more, I realized there was basically nothing stopping someone from ‘accidentally’ severing someone’s arm or killing them. I shivered, and hoped that I didn’t have enemies.
When I got out nobody was loitering around, but the sounds coming from nearby to my left made me realize they were probably testing out their weapons in the training fields. I walked around and leaned against the side of the armory building in the cool shade, then pulled off my shoes to put on my new boots. I finished adjusting the straps, and felt a sudden rush of energy. But just then the old professor came up to me as I got up.
“Well, haven’t you made a peculiar choice,” she smiled. “Swift boots. Usually kids go and choose mighty swords in hopes of finding better ones in dungeons and markets, but you can only find so many boots, eh?”
I didn’t really know how to respond, so I tried, “Thank you?” My toes edged against the inner linings of the boots, but the same odd feeling kept tugging at me. It felt like my own energy was being drained even as I stood still. What was going on? I lifted my leg up, and with astonishment it felt as if the energy flowing out of me and tiring me by the moment was relieved for a single moment, sucking back into me. I wasn’t sweating, but I was definitely on the verge of panting for breath until that sharp and good sensation of energy flowing back in. With a step?
“Wait, what are these?” I said with difficulty. I lifted my other leg, and then progressed into a stand-in-place jog. “Woah.”
I couldn’t describe the extraordinary feeling, like moving felt effortless, it felt good even, but if I didn’t I might just collapse out of the effort of… standing still.
She chuckled flatly, her voice slightly strained from age. “Bahh, I’m taking your time. I think you’re getting the hang of them already,” she waved her hand towards the fields and slowly walked away.
I kept my mouth closed with an equally slow nod, my feet lightly tapping against the ground. I was already about to do that.
As I entered the field, my peripherals and ears were filled with the sounds of steel into metal, and the distinct shink noise of an arrow hitting its mark. Target dummies made of steel and metal stood in place of targets on the battlefield, each target with a person in front of them slashing and hacking away. They never seemed to break even with the practiced and precise hits of the weapons against them. To her right a guy loudly grunted and fell backwards, sweat covering him like a waterfall. Then he looked down at his watch and nodded, panting tiredly, and collapsed on the ground soon after.
I found an unoccupied target and shifted around there, unsure of what to do. I had the boots on, loosely hopping about, the buckler on my wrist, and Avil behind my back wooAHH!
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Hey, why are you doing that?” he asked and I flew backwards with a gasp-shout. Quickly I regained my composure.
“What?” I asked, slightly ticked off. Avil unaffectedly pointed with his shield-free hand at my legs, which were dancing about.
“Oh. Nervous energy?”
“That’s weird,” he commented, then he moved to the dummy to her left, unfazed. I watched him stance up to the dummy.
—beep
Avil huffed in and ran, then slammed himself into the dummy with his shield out, then failing so due to his awkwardness in stature and an almost uncomfortable grip of his shield. It was more of a clumsy tumble than a ram charge. He looked inexperienced, I noted, even wincing afterwards and rubbing his shoulder.
Wasn’t this supposed to be Arc, where only the most talented come to learn from across the world? Well, the Carmela lady or whatever her name was did say something about diversity… never mind that, how did Avil, how did I, get into Arc?
It was getting hard to watch Avil sweat in place, and not being able to question him. I needed to act like I knew him all my life. He yelled and charged back in, his shoulder pressed against the shield and his head tucked in. This time there was a definite bang noise, much louder than before.
And then another bang, but not from Avil.
And then a hiss in pain behind her as someone dropped a sword, the clattering of steel against ground turned her backwards to a girl on the ground. She clutched at his hand as if hurt.
“Hey, are you oka—”
I looked at the sword on the floor, and felt a sudden urge to throw up.
There was a little blood on the sheen of glistening steel.
A horrible flood of feelings washed through me. I took a shaky step back, and my next breath was very difficult.
My vision flickered.
[[It was a dark and humid night. Clouds were painted across the eerie sky, and the moon was nowhere to be seen.]]
Reality switched back, every pore on my skin oozed fear of something I didn't understand, waves of agonizing, bone-shuddering feelings. I didn’t understand.
[[There was scratching, there was itchiness, then there were horrible screams. The blood streaked the sky in a beautiful rainbow, every color of red and black. The colors of two faces grinned at me.]]
I realized something was wrong as soon as my knees hit the floor, and my hands clawed at the dirt. These weren’t my own feelings, were they? Were the tears that tumbled down in a flood my own tears? Did I accidentally use an Overtake Guide? I had seen blood before, and I was okay. So what was going on? Why the quick gasps, the ringing in my ears, the yelling all around me?
[[“I didn’t mean to, it wasn’t me, that wasn’t me!”]]
Was that horrible noise coming out of… me?
[[“I was inn0%en(, ! swear, G0d, pl#@2e, pl#—…”
Gwen was on the floor, desperately grasping at the ground for something. Anything.]]
Each static was like a shock that stabbed the side of my head.
[[“PLEASE!”]]
I buried my head into the floor and wailed as Gwen did. It hurt so much.
[[“I’M INNOCENT! IT’S NOT MY FAULT!! SAVE M—”]]
I felt someone’s hand tap my shoulder, incomprehensible words in my ear, a shake, each I couldn’t respond to. The crippling feeling, the overwhelming mess that tangled and took over my mind from nowhere, was all I was in that moment. The horrible headache like a drum, the sharp pains in my abdomen, like a wave from two weeks ago had just caught up, and yet I knew that wasn’t the reason. And the noises and visions in my head. Why? What was it?
I knew I wasn’t hurt, and that something freaky was going on, and that it wasn’t my fault. It was Gwen’s fault. She’s a liar.
It was Gwen’s fault.
Each involuntary and wretched gasp, each bullet of sweat told me to, screamed at me, to… to…
Was it the thing watching me?
…
…
Something was watching me?
My head spun in a terrifying arc behind me, past a concerned Avil and the old teacher who tugged at my hands, past the onlooking students confused at my sudden outburst, past… to the shiny screen behind them.
[Synchronized]
Oh. I understood.
//
8:35 A.M. // 8 - 28 - 2023 // ARC
Starring Serene Goldwin
Featuring Cedrance Manamune
//
“Stop,” I moaned, “please, stop.” Stop. Put me down. Let me die.
The world was flashing lights. Please, stop it. Go away.
The red, the blue, the blood, the wind. Lord, help. Make it stop.
“Cedrance, please,” I begged. The world was stomping feet. Kill me, now.
A screen in the corner of my eye read ‘Reward’.
Damn the screens to hell.
His panic and panting intensified, the faint sound of shoes on pavement echoed as my back rested in his arms. It hurt. God. Or Satan. Hurry up.
The world was shaking earth. Take me. Anywhere but here.
“God, please.”
The lights dimmed.
//
8:35 A.M. // 8 - 28 - 2023 // ARC
Starring Zendolyn Ato
Featuring Reyenal Ato, ???, Ben Roswell, ???, Aythe Siena, and Cedrance Manamune
//
The stadium was filled with people and with silence. Every freshman looked down at the center stage, made of tiled and sleek white stone. A fleeting thought. Maybe it wasn’t marble because it kept getting destroyed. That meant it was probably where I would have to duke it out with someone one day, if I survived long enough.
The stadium was completely and utterly quiet as if a sense of anticipation had fallen over everyone. The sun pricked my skin. The air smelled like sweat, and tasted as sweet as fear.
It was a huge, beautiful stadium to say the least. I could clearly see the instructors and professors at the bottom front row seats. Well, that wasn’t as cliché as the box way up to the right that had empty seats, most likely a VIP area that had eyes over everything.
Sitting in one of the higher seats, I had a vantage point overlooking the entire stadium. Reyenal, who sat to my left, seemed almost unfazed at the grandness of the situation.
I poked at her.
“Hey,” I whispered. “You still haven’t told me what you saw.”
She didn’t budge, but I didn’t push either.
The clacking of footsteps echoed into the audience and surrounded us all of a sudden. My attention quickly turned to the stage.
A woman—a woman of a woman—had left her front row seat and approached the steps to the stage. Her clothes, though that of an instructor, stuck tightly to her body like a second skin. She was voluptuous in figure, a young and tan woman graced with storm-cloud eyes and spun, bouncing brown hair. She knew she was beautiful.
Muffled chatter spread throughout the audience and died as fast as it began when she raised her hand for silence.
Immediately I disliked her. Tropes blurred through my mind and landed smoothly. She was the seductive and biased young prodigy type.
But it seemed like everyone already knew who she was. I glanced to my left and looked away as fast as I could, straight down at my feet. Ew, ew ew ew. The guys beside me were blushing furiously. Ew.
A noise like crackling static screeched in my ears as if someone was adjusting a microphone. Looking back up I saw the woman take a strong stance on the floor.
“Young talents gathered here today,” she began slowly, her voice glassy and classy, clear and sharp, “I am Professor Jennifer Carmela from the Agent Preparations class. Welcome to ARC.”
A pause of silence. Then the whole stadium burst into cheers and whoops and claps for a brief moment.
Professor Carmela continued, and the applause hushed again, “I commend you all for proving that you have the right to study here at ARC. We expect highly of you all. After all, we only accept the best.” She looked around, and I followed her gaze but couldn’t pinpoint who she was looking at. Then her gaze fell in my direction and my heart slowed dramatically. Me? I glanced over at Reyenal. Or her? Reyenal stared right back at the professor.
“As a welcoming gift, you will each be receiving a holowatch if you don’t have one already. They will be provided at any establishment on this island.”
“By now, everyone should have a firm grasp on the concept of Awakening. It’s also a clear fact that not everyone is Awakened yet. That,” she said pointedly, “will change very soon for many of you.”
Over in the far end of the stadium, I realized that there were also many people who didn’t look my age. In fact, a couple of them were seniors. I noted a couple distinct badges and uniforms, all of them I had no clue about their affiliations.
They were probably Agents or Heroes that ARC invited to attend the ceremony. I also found a couple people with notepads and laptops, like they were taking notes. Were they already scouting us? With what information?
“Let me explain the point system.” I zoned out, disinterested. I already knew what a point system was, especially if it came from my mind. Actually, the world felt like my dreams came to be. A truly fantastical world that could be the future of the real world under the turning events of catastrophes and creatures.
The point system, a classic academia feature taken to a higher level. Money is made irrelevant. For everyone, the power balance starts off on equal footing. Points would be the reward for achievements or any other actions deserving of them, and with points everything on the island was possible. Buying housing, food, tickets into venues, blah blah.
I yawned as she continued droning on, and only heard bits and parts of the ranking system. Nothing was sounding very interesting.
Maybe my world was a bit too cliché.
…
Professor Carmela’s voice boomed. “Finally, I will announce the top rankers from your placement test.” Startled, I woke up. My eyes flew around, then I audibly released a sigh of relief. Everyone hadn’t moved from their seats, and everyone seemed bored. Nothing had changed. “These individuals will start with more points than everyone else, as they have demonstrated skill and capability to us. We professors reviewed thoroughly and agreed to each candidate’s placement.”
A nervous and excited chatter spread across the stadium, and then was silenced by her soft reminder of a grunt. “If your name is called, please join me on the stage.”
“In tenth place, we have Ben Roswell.” Suddenly a huge projection appeared overhead the stage, like a four-sided hologram. On it was a picture of the student Ben Roswell, his ranking, and his age. He was 16 like the rest of us, but he looked like a beast of a man in the photo, all muscular and very stupid looking. At best he looked like a grunt.
Because at worst, he was a no namer. Ben Roswell. I didn’t recall naming a character that.
After a second I noticed the same person stomping down the stairs to my far right. He looked a lot more impressive in person, and a whole lot more stupid and cocky. A rattling applause broke loose, dimmed by the almost intimidated nature of it. When he reached the stage, Professor Carmela motioned him to take his place nearby her.
“Ninth place, Olivia Jones.”
More clapping. Who was she?
“Eight, Julia Kim.”
Nope. Not a name I remembered.
…
“Fourth, Nolan Faust.” I sat up in my seat. Nolan Faust? Who was that again…
I wandered in my head a bit. He was one of my more forgettable characters, or that’s how I think I wrote him. But the whole point was that I wrote him.
He was my character.
So who was he? I couldn’t remember for the life of me. Maybe he was one of my first few, uninspired characters.
I saw him get up from his seat to go to the stage before I saw the picture. I had a funny thought. Nolan Faust, about three rows in front of me, had the face and build of a main character… of a high school bully-turned-criminal. Yep. That kind of character.
First and foremost was that he was very handsome, in a rugged but refined gangster type way. My immediate impression was a buffer and probably taller take on the mastermind of a crime syndicate. That was Nolan Faust. He had relatively short black hair, calculating red-hued eyes that burned with something maybe not so deep as anger, and a very strong and defined body. He would make any athlete jealous with his ripped, well everything. That all screamed suspicious, yet appealing to the untrained eye. But my eyes were trained in weeb. Even yet, everything about him screamed to me that he was something… different.
Different. The confidence in his stride. The ease in his eyes. The smirk, the front.
Different…?
Oh. I understood.
I blinked down at him as he walked up to the stage. Now I saw him in a new light.
Fake. He smelled fake.
I’d be keeping an eye out for him. Over at the far side, the recruiters and talent scouts were furiously writing down on paper and screen everything they saw. This was what they were waiting for.
“In third place, we have Reyenal Ato.”
Her face appeared on the screen. I clapped earnestly for her, yet she seemed almost unfazed and almost expectant as she stood up to go down.
“Hey,” I called to her, but she didn’t look back and kept walking down. Somehow she tolerated all the eyes on her when normally a regular person would have crumbled. Clearly the people here weren’t regular, but she had just come to this world. What did she see in that Memory?
“Second, Aythe Siena.” I flinched. I had forgotten about him. Aythe Siena was the rival to the main protagonist. Now that I was thinking about it, him being second place sounded about right. I spotted the flecked curly brown hair and the shimmering eyes of Aythe from on the screen to my left, who stood up very tall. He was also very handsome (I was catching onto a pattern), but in a more high-class way that screamed ‘I’m better than you’, and less mean, and instead mean. His colors were subtle but detailed and complex which conveyed a tone of superiority just as well as his expression showed his thoughts.
Even his photo on the hologram showed his ego.
When he reached the bottom I already knew the next name that would leave the professor’s lips.
“Finally, in first place is Cedrance Manamune.”
I looked up at the screen.
He was…
Wow.
Wowwwww.
“Goddamit.”
Hot, handsome, beautiful, whatever he was he was a Deity of Desire. Before there had been the sound of swooning girls. Now there was the sound of swooning fanfare, the almost collective thought of “Oh no, he’s hot” on a level that not even Hollywood actors or Asian idols could bring, and the screams of the simps. Why?
Because my world followed webtoons and manga logic.
Actually, the entire ceremony I was scanning the audience for him, a face which stood out amongst the rest. However, I used to have bad eyesight so my discernment skills weren’t particularly developed. I blamed that for the reason I didn’t see Cedrance.
But now, I was confused.
Where was Cedrance?
By this point, all the boxes in my head were being checked off. Not in the audience. Not in the VIP box. No one was standing up. Those were the three boxes.
Was he going to pull some sort of tropey cliché where the protagonist runs in late, possibly with plain toast in his mouth?
My patience was growing thin, as was with the rest of the students and people around me evident of annoyed grumbles and muttering voices.
Seriously, where was he?
“If Cedrance Manamune is not here today, then so be it.” I returned my attention to the clearly irritated Professor Carmela. “Cedrance will not receive his points for his absence, but he will still be our first place candidate for this year.”
And seriously again, this silence was repetitive.
A man, presumably another professor, rushed up the stage discreetly behind Carmela and whispered something into her ear.
“Oh, yes. Congratulations to our ten top ranked freshmen, and to all you here.” She slowly backed away from the microphone, her hands drew together into an audible clap, into two, into applause from the whole stadium.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Really, I’m tired of this.
And honestly slightly disappointed.