“Ugh,” What the hell just happened? As I opened my eyes, I could faintly see stars orbiting in my vision. I am currently sprawled on all fours and my insides churned like hell. If I were to simplify it, then it feels like a really, really bad hangover. Not that I know what a hangover feels like in the first place. Cheers.
I tried moving my body, but the feedback that I received were purely intense pain. Ugh, god. It hurts so much that tears started forming in the corner of my eyes. I tried turning my neck sideways, but it had never felt so taxing before. It hurts so much that I began doubting whether my neck was still fine or not. ‘Is my neck… broken or something?’ I thought, ‘....I just hope that I won’t die because of this, it would be far too tragic’. Still, when I saw the scene before me, the pain I was experiencing immediately lessened. My awful mood also turned for the better. Why, you ask?
It’s because that idiotic acquaintance of mine, along with his 3 other lackeys, are in a state way more miserable than mine. Their poses are so awkward that just by looking at them caused my eyes to burn. There is also the fact that they are producing indecipherable groaning sounds, and their complexion got worse as time passed.
As a side note, please don’t lump me in with those brainless imbeciles. Even acknowledging them as my acquaintances feels rather degrading, so please don’t consider them as my ‘friends’. I even sincerely hope that they would all just die in a ditch somewhere ah. So, please don’t call them my ‘friends’. This fact is so very important, that I have to repeat it twice.
But, I digress. It seems that seeing such a beautiful scene had made me lose sight of my main objective. Back to the matter at hand, where exactly am I right now? Since even slightly shifting my neck almost made me black out, I could only try to make do with the tail of my eye.
From what I can see, those guys and I are dumped in some sort of a big white room. The ceilings, walls, and even the floors were dyed in a pure white color. Not to mention, it’s completely bare without any kinds of furnitures or at least something to mark this room as theirs. Umm, what could I say? Whoever owns this room, their taste must be very… unique. Wonder if they had a grudge against every single damned thing that are not white in color?
But, really. What happened? The last thing I remembered before I blacked out was walking somewhere when I heard a voice of someone shouting from behind me.Then, my shoulder was grabbed by the owner of the voice. Of course, who else could it be, except for that brain damaged idiot? However, just as I was to smack his hand away, my vision blurred and then I blacked out.
As expected, nothing useful could come to mind. Shame on you memories of mine, you have failed me horribly, how disappointing. That being said, ...were we abducted by aliens or something? Hahaha. It seems that even being in close proximities with those idiots could infect me with their idiocy. Mental note made: Have to keep my distance from them for fear that I become a complete moron.
While I was once again lost in my collection of useless thoughts, one side of the wall suddenly crumbled. Yes, you did not see it wrongly.
THE. WALL. BROKE. DOWN.
What. the. Hell!? This scene caused me to be very confused and my previously calm mind started to turn chaotic again. Why would, a perfectly fine wall, suddenly crumble down? Wait, no, that’s not the point here. But, before I had the chance to reorganize my thoughts, the sounds of footsteps could be heard.. In roughly 10 seconds, the identities of those footsteps became clear.
Again, what? A lot of people wearing heavy armors are standing straight behind a girl, seeming to be protecting her. The girl was probably around our age. Sadly, I couldn’t really make out her face since my neck isn’t responding. But, looking at the dress and those slender legs, this person must be a girl. Well, might be a fake…
*Cough*
...I really should stop this line of thought. It’s very unhealthy and it gives me chills. I should be more concerned about those weird armor-wearing guys. Who the hell still wear those kinds of attire in this time and age!? Talk about weird cosplay taste.
More importantly, what are they doing right now? I mean, they’ve been standing in front of us for quite some time now. Sadly, the uncomfortable feeling started to come back and I couldn’t make out their expressions. I think they’re… panicking? The girl seemed to be talking to those people with the armors while making a lot of hand gestures.
...Can’t you all just save the discussions for later? Ugh, my eyelids are getting heavier…
I’ll just take a nap for a moment then...
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Some time earlier.
Obnoxious ringing sounds could be heard from the inside of a certain person’s apartment room.
*Ring Ring Ring*
The alarm rang noisily, but the figure under the blanket that was wrapped like a cocoon did not show any signs of waking up.
*Ring Ring Ring* *Ring Ring Ring*
The alarm snoozed for a moment before ringing again. Fortunately, this time the youth seemed to be awake as he smacked the alarm dead with the utmost precision.
“...Just 5 more minutes,” he yawned, “...but I’m pretty sure I’ll end up oversleeping that way...”
He then shoved the blanket that was previously wrapped around his body away, and lazily walked towards the bathroom to take a bath and do his morning routines. When the youth came out, the figure that was wrapped in a towel was stunningly ambiguous in gender.
When the youth opened his wardrobe to take his uniform, he couldn’t help but to take a second look at the figure that was reflected in the mirror. With a height around 160cm and smooth skin, if it weren’t for his obvious adam’s apple and slightly masculine face, he himself might have mistaken his identity as a bonafide man. Looking at his fragile reflection, he started to feel some irritation. However, he eventually let out a sigh and decided not to care about it anymore.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
After wearing his uniform, he went to make some toast and ate it very quickly before heading out.
The distance between his apartment and school was neither too short or too long. It was just perfect to be used as an after meal exercise. Roughly 15 minutes later, he arrived at the school gates.
The guard, who was obviously on shift since yesterday night, greeted the boy when he saw him.
“Ohh! If it isn’t Ivan, so early in the morning as usual, huh? There’s still an hour to go, you know?”
Ivan smiled wryly and said, “Of course, I just don’t want to meet that guy on the streets. If I dally any longer, I might bump into him and I definitely wouldn’t want that to happen. So, in a way, the thought of not meeting him motivated me to come earlier.”
Hearing his explanation, the guard laughed until his eyes narrowed into slits. He patted Ivan’s shoulders and looked at him with eyes full of pity, “Must be hard on you, son.”
The corner of his eyes twitched several times. While it was indeed true, being told in such a straightforward manner still made his heart feel a bit miserable. In the end, he could only weakly agree, “...Yeah.”
They exchanged some more words before Ivan went to his class. When he arrived at the classroom on the fourth floor, it was still empty. Well, it was to be expected. He then picked the seat beside the window and sat there before casually throwing his bag to the side.
Feeling the wind softly blowing on his face, his expression turned drowsy.
“So comfortable ah,” He stretched his arms and leaned down on it before he quickly fall asleep.
--------
After a while, students began filling up the originally empty classroom and as the numbers of students keep increasing, their loud chatters also got louder in volume. Disturbed by those sounds, Ivan finally woke up from his small nap.
Being in a same position for quite a while caused his body to be slightly stiff, so he started stretching for a while. His actions however, was stopped when he suddenly felt that someone was staring at him. He then slowly looked up only to see the face of that idiot right in front of his face, with a smile so wide that it almost reached his eyes.
With hundreds of flowers blooming as the background, he cheerfully greeted, “Ivan! Mor–”
Unfortunately, his words were cut off when Ivan suddenly grabbed his face. His exceptionally stunning smile, which could win the hearts of men and women alike, did him no good in front of Ivan.
“Ow, oww, oww. That hurts!” The idiot complained in a slightly aggrieved manner.
Without hiding even an ounce of his displeasure, Ivan coldly uttered, “Scram,” before tossing the idiot back to his seat, producing a loud sound. The others did not mind it at all, in fact, this had became a daily occurrence in this class. At first, they were slightly shocked by Ivan’s somewhat brutal actions, but after losing count of how many times the exchange had happened, they became too lazy to bother about it.
The idiot then rubbed his nose feeling a bit wronged, and just as he was about to open his mouth again, the bell rang. Not even a second after, the door was opened and a strict looking teacher came in.
“The class is starting! Everybody return to their seats, open your books, and no more talking!”
“Rise! Bow!”
Thus, the class started as per usual.
----------
*Riiing* *Riiing* *Riiing*
The bell rang thrice, signalling that it was time for break.
“Remember to revise what I just taught you, and don’t forget to study for the test next week. Class dismissed,” The teacher reminded before leaving.
“Rise! Bow!”
The class in unison said, “Thank you, teacher!”
Now that the class had ended, the idiot immediately searched for Ivan. But, when he turned around, Ivan had already disappeared from his seat like a gust of wind. The idiot was confused, and the person in question himself was now walking in the corridor while rubbing his temple, constantly sighing.
‘...Am I supposed to spend my next 2 years in highschool with a shithead like him? ...I might even end up in a mental asylum before the year ends…’
He was thoroughly annoyed. That idiotic childhood acquaintance of his had always been like this for as long as he could remember. Repeatedly sticking to him like a glue, no, more like a parasitic leech. Now, it was getting worse.
‘Does the word ‘privacy’ even exist in your dictionary!? Also, constantly flashing a smile here and there, do you think that you’re a celebrity!?’
But, as much as he hated the guy, he couldn’t deny it. After all, that idiot’s looks were top notch. With a height of 180 cm, shortly trimmed blonde hair and almond shaped eyes, coupled with his well-defined face, his beauty was on the level where it could cause the world to crash and burn.
‘Can’t you see that every single girl in class will blush and turn beet red whenever you smile? Even the teacher also cleared her throat every now and then. Also, faced with those hateful glares from almost all the other boys in the class, how could you not realize anything!?’
Distressed, he found himself arriving at the school cafeteria and quickly started to line up before the others arrive. After buying some food and a box of milk, he quickly left the place.
‘Don’t want to meet him again, after all. Especially not when he’s with that troublesome party of his. Even dealing with him alone is already so troublesome… would I not be sending myself straight to hell if I force myself to deal with those crazy bunch?’
Fortunately, he was able to find a quiet place on the stairs without being spotted by the idiot. It was quite an easy task to avoid him. After all, his good looks was like a magnet that attracts girls no matter where he went, so Ivan just needed to avoid the places that had a lot of girls in it.
After quickly finishing up his food, he threw the wrappers into the trash bin and began walking along the corridor.
However, his peaceful times did not last long. He suddenly heard the sounds of girls squealing and obnoxiously loud chatters from the other end of the hall.
“Hahaha, Felix, you’re so funny!” A clear voice of a girl was heard.
“Hehe,” said boy embarrassedly laughed.
“Yeah! Yeah! It’s Felix after all~,” another girl added.
“He's just that dumb. Haha,” yet another boy entered the fray.
Ivan, who recognized the voices, immediately stiffened up. He then quickly turned around and tried to walk away from the place. Alas, for the better or worse, Felix’s, or rather, the idiot’s eyes were just too sharp.
“Eh…? Ivan! Wait up! I’ve been searching for you everywhere!” He started sprinting from his original position and said something that could have been misunderstood as a love confession.
Unfortunately, despite his headstart, Ivan was clearly not a match for his speed as Felix grabbed his shoulder not so long after. Bubbling with rage, he was about to smack it away when suddenly…
The ground started shining. Under the figure of 3 boys and 2 girls, round circles filled with weird runes appeared.
“What!?” “Huh!?” “Kyaaa!”
Surprised cries were heard, and before they were able to do anything, the light engulfed them. After a second, the light dimmed down. There, not even a shadow of those figures could be seen.
The other passersby were thoroughly dumbfounded by the sudden development. They just stood there rooted like a bunch of scarecrows.