**Yawn**
Bart continued doing stretches as he massaged his ears. “You know, I think we should head to class.” Bart looked towards the four people trailing behind him. “Right guys?”
Alpha grabbed the bridge of her nose as she let out a long sigh. “For the last time, we are already heading to our homeroom class. You should check to see where you are supposed to go.”
Bart stared at the android for a bit before halting. He looked around as he struggled to figure out what was said. He then immediately slammed his fist into his palm. “I’m sorry, but I have a girlfriend.” He paused then looked away, keeping his back to Alpha as he fell to the floor. “I would only end up breaking your heart.”
Alpha’s face contorted as she froze with disgust. “How do you even come to such an awful conclusion.”
“I know, my looks are irresistible, but I must remain strong. After all…” Bart pulled out a shojo manga from his back pocket. “My heart can only belong to the so called ‘wi-fu’. Someone like you couldn’t understand.” A tear fell from an eye. “Yet another heart will be crushed today.”
“Either you are the most self-centered man in the world, or the most oblivious.” Alpha continued walking while the others merely gave a glance towards the two before continuing onwards to their destinations. Surprisingly, all of them had the same homeroom so far. Bart still hadn’t checked his homeroom teacher yet, so it was still up for debate whether they would be sticking together. “By the way… Rose was it. What are your plans for the evening?”
Rose was a bit confused. “I haven’t planned anything yet, but I suppose it would only be natural for me to explore the premises to familiarize myself with my surroundings.”
Alpha looked at her phone again. “That’s great. It looks like we must bunk with a roommate, so I was planning to register you as my roommate.”
Bart’s eyes flashed as he lunged and hugged Alpha from behind. “Ooh. That sounds like fun! Let me bunk with you! Please!”
“Pass. I would prefer a complete stranger.”
“Haa?!” Barts face contorted in disappointment. “Then where am I supposed to go. Look-” Bart pointed at Jace and D. “They are clearly going to be bunking together. D has that mysterious aura around him, so he’s bound to be stuck to the protagonist. There is also some drama between them.” Bart then released the hug nodded to himself with his eyes closed and a conceited look on his face. “Besides, the best friend can’t bunk with the protagonist.” Bart then pulled out another manga as he started religiously reading the pages aloud while adding his own interpretations. However, the others ignored him and continued to their destination. After around five minutes, Bart finally looked up from his manga. “Ha.” His eyes shot open as he looked around. “Where did everyone go? Hello?!”
***
“Welcome class. My name is Mark. No last name, so feel free to call me professor Mark.” A tired man wearing slippers and pajamas was standing at the front of a university lecture hall. All of the rows faced a giant white board with ‘Professor Mark’ written on it. “Now, I have a lot of work I need to do and I’m never paid for overtime. I’m here until the bell so let’s get this over with.” Mark took a sip from a mug labeled ‘World’s Best Doctor’. “For starters, I’m the head doctor slash nurse here. Although I’m the only doctor. The previous nurse also left after getting married. That bastard actually managed to get together with such a pretty girl too. Although I’m pretty sure she pursued him.” Mark took another sip as he scratched his nonexistent beard. “Or was the nurse a girl? I’m not sure. I never paid attention to them.” The man took another sip before flipping through a small pamphlet on his desk. He then grabbed a marker and turned towards the board. “Now th-”
**BAM**
“Sorry. Phew. Ah, Jace! Hey it’s me! Hey! Your best friend is coming! Sorry. Excuse me. Coming through.”
Mark turned around to see a man speaking German climbing over a bunch of people. Literally. [What the heck is that guy doing?] Mark continued to watch the spectacle of a person climbing over the rows instead of using the aisle. [It looks like another one has shown up.] Mark looked at his near empty mug. [I should have made coffee earlier. This tea isn’t helping my nerves as much as I hoped.] Mark downed the last of his tea before looking at his class. “Now that everyone is here.”
**BAM**
Mark slammed his mug on his desk. [For the love of… Not today. I have had enough. Please, anyone but him!!!] Mark collapsed onto his desk. He refused to look at the abomination that just walked into the room. He didn’t have nearly enough energy to deal with what he was likely to bring into his class.
“Yo! Old man. I came to fulfill a request.” A man walked down an aisle with an irritated maid behind him, but she was hardly noticed. Instead, everyone was staring at the man casually strolling down the aisle with a pair of sandals and socks. The man then casually took a seat in the front row between a group of people that fled immediately. “So, old man. Care to fill me in?” Maximum was sitting in the middle of the front row with a fat grin. There was also a cat maid that Mark recognized.
Mark decided to get up and address the obvious issue. “So, Max… Care to explain why you strolled into my class as nude as the day you were born.” Mark squinted but refused to wait for his answer. Mark was more concerned with going back to his infirmary, since he still hasn’t finished dealing with the patients from the previous tournament. “Now then cla-”
**SLURP**
An unusually loud slurping sound filled the room just as Mark was starting to draw on the board. He then turned to face the culprit. “So, can I assume you were paid to do this?”
Maximum was holding a teacup and continued to drink his ‘tea’ through a straw. “Naturally. Although, you seem to be getting a tad too old, old man.” Maximum tossed his straw at his maid and downed the rest of the drink. “I’m clearly wearing socks. Therefore, I’m not as naked as the day I was made.” Maximum turned towards Casandra and raised the empty teacup. “More please.”
“Tch.” Casandra reluctantly poured Maximum tea while making a furious expression.
Maximum shrugged while turning back towards Mark. He closed his eyes as he took a whiff of his drink. “You were the one that wanted a rematch. Also… MMM. THIS COFFEE SMELLS SO GOOD!!!”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Mark crushed his marker sending black ink all over his hand. “Max. I’m ha-”
“AHH. Oh no, there is soooo much here.” Maximum opened his eyes. “If only there… Oh, wait. I hate sharing. Never mind.” He then proceeded to flash a genuine smile towards Mark. “How have you been old man. I haven’t seen you around for a while. I was starting to worry. Though not enough to visit your little clinic. Afterall, the strongest doesn’t need such facilities.” Maximum then climbed over his desk and handed Mark the tea. “I hope you enjoy.”
Mark took the tea while keeping eye contact. He narrowed his eyes. “What’s the catch?”
“Glad you catch on, 20 credits please.” Maximum held out his hand as Casandra gave him his phone. “Credits before delivery. I’m nice-” Maximum dropped the smile and stared at Mark with a hostile expression. “but not that nice.”
Mark hesitated for a second before pulling out his own phone and clicking a few buttons with his free hand. “There now sit down… Or better yet, go back to your dorm and get some clothes.” Mark took a sip, only to realize what Maximum was trying to do.
“It’s decaf. I don’t like caffeinated coffee, or coffee in general.” Maximum gracefully jumped on the desk before hopping down to the other side. “Now then old man. Care to start the lecture, I would hate for you to have to work even more over time.”
“Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHA.” Mark burst into laughter as he threw the teacup at a wall. “You really are the biggest fucking asshole of this school. Why the fuck can’t you leave me alone for one bloody minute.”
Maximum leaned back in his chair without a care in the world. “Glasses please.”
Casandra grunted and ignored the command. “Glasses please.” Maximums tone didn’t change, but Casandra seemed to jump back a bit, only to pull out a pair of sunglasses. “Thank you, maid. See, you just have to listen to me for a month. Besides, I’ll probably be bored by the end of the day and forget about you. Heck, I’m not even sure who you are anymore.” Maximum stared at the ceiling while Mark was busy calming himself. “Haaa. I could use a drink. I should have saved a bit of money.”
“You should have.” A new voice appeared behind Maximum. Max didn’t turn around, but beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. “What’s the matter? Don’t feel like greeting the friend you ditched?” Larry was staring at Max with a somewhat annoyed expression.
“Well…”
“Don’t bother.” Larry let out a sigh. “You were probably paid to mess with Mark again and jumped at the chance to torment him.” Maximum remained silent. “Max, this isn’t what we talked about.”
Max started to play with his fingers. “You know-”
“No! We are going to class to meet with the others. You can’t be so anti-social forever.” Larry started pulling Max out of his seat.
“Argh. I don’t want to!” Max pouted despite not putting up any resistance. Casandra followed a few feet behind the duo.
“I don’t care, stop bothering Mark. Also, we need to get you some clothes.” The trio then vanished from the room, only for Larry to show up 10 seconds later. “Apologies for my friend’s behavior. He… probably means well.” Larry then left the room and shut the door.
***
D had been watching one scene after another. He was genuinely starting to wonder whether he was stuck in a different dream this time. D then turned towards the eccentric of the group.
“Wow. Talk about a drama queen, am I right?” Bart elbowed D.
D looked at his arm and sighed. “I guess not then.”
“Hmm?” Bart gave a confused expression as he stared at D. “Not what?”
“Attention please!” Mark called out for everyone in the classroom. “I would like to finally get started, so I hope we don’t have any more disturbances.” Mark’s eyes were visibly twitching at this point. “Now then…” Mark started writing on the board. “As I’m sure you’re aware, we have gathered you here to learn about how to be a better member of society.” Mark turned and pointed to a raised hand. “Yes, annoyance 1.”
Bart raised from his seat with a proud expression. “Professor, no one mentioned that.”
The professor looked at Bart, then looked back at the board. “Since Max was supposed to explain what you were doing here and how you got here, I will ignore your comment in favor of getting out of here early. You will be allowed to partake in numerous classes and extracurricular activities. However, we strongly recommend you take classes that make you a better member of society. You only have four years in this place before being released into the outer city. Again, you aren’t supposed to leave this school’s premises during your 4-year course. Report anyone who leaves…” Mark stopped his marker for a second before turning around with an annoyed expression. His forehead was wrinkled. “With the exception of people like Max. They are already too far gone. We will keep everyone here for the four years, or until you perish should that happen first.”
“Teacher!” A student with glasses and black hair shouted after raising his hand. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties.
“Yes?”
Upon receiving the teacher’s permission, he stood up. “You mentioned something about being here to be a better member of society? What exactly do you mean by better?”
Mark released a sigh as he switched his marker for a small clipboard on his desk. “Mu Fan, CEO of the megacorporation STEEL. You embezzled millions. That isn’t a great look.” Mu Fan’s eyes widened. “If you believe you’re here by mistake, I assure you are not. Also, that goes for all of you.”
The man was about to refute, but Jace was faster. “Professor are you sure everyone here really deserves to be here. I mean,” Jace pointed at D. “this one deserves it, but the other one.” Jace shifted to using his thumb as he directed it towards Bart. “This one is deviant at best.”
D didn’t refute Jace’s words, instead he wanted to know. However, a part of him refused to accept it. [It’s now or never.] “Jace wh-”
“Ahem!” Mark intervened. “I am not here for your personal drama. As for Mr. Evergreen, I assure you that EVERYONE is here for a reason. Some need more guidance than others.”
**RING-RING**
For the first time since the start of the class, Mark smiled. “Finally.” He then packed up the items on his desk into a duffle bag that was beside his desk. “It was fun dealing with all of you, but I have wasted enough time on this.” Without waiting for any replies, Mark left the room.
***
D looked at his hands. They were trembling. “Jac-”
“JACE!” Bart jumped on Jace and started rubbing his face on his. “How could you leave me all alone in the hall after everything we have been through. Were all of your words sweet nothings?” Jace’s face grew grumpier by the second. “I was so afr-gah.”
Jace pried Bart off of his face. “Enough, give me some space. You’re too clingy.”
“How coul-”
The noise of Bart and Jace bickering faded into the background. D continued to look at his hands. He then pulled out a knife that had been in his possession since he first arrived here. It was a stainless-steel knife with red veins along the blade. The handle was pure black. It perfectly fit his hand. No, it had been made to fit his hand. He somehow knew that, but he wasn’t sure why exactly. It didn’t feel like he had been told. It was something else. It was an unmistakable bond he felt. Although this wasn’t the first time he felt like this. However, it brought him comfort. [You were there at the beginning. You knew who I was. So tell me? Why am I like this? What happened?] D looked at the blade but received no confirmation nor response. Instead, he shifted his gaze to a ring on his left ring finger. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but he felt something similar about the ring on his hand. He also felt that he should never remove it. No, he couldn’t remove it. For some reason or another, the ring had to remain on his hand. Even after his memories were sealed, he knew. Or perhaps…
D looked up at the two next to him. He wasn’t sure where this was going to take him, but it was obvious that things were going to get far more chaotic. Although, a bit of chaos would be a nice distraction from things. “Hahaha.”
Bart looked at D and shrugged. “Ahahahaha.” Bart awkwardly joined in on the laughter with his chest out and his hands on his hips.
D stopped and looked at Bart. “Why are you laughing?”
“Why not? When given a choice between laughing and not laughing, it’s always better to join in.”
Bart’s response caused Jace’s face to form a small, barely noticeable grin. “So you would join in even when people laugh at you?”
Bart’s demeanor remained the same as he pulled out yet another manga. “Of course! Regardless of the circumstances, it is always better to smile. Especially when you are feeling down.” Bart gave a wide grin as he faced D. “Come on D. Give us a smile!”
D looked at Bart before giving in. [Yeah. Things are going to become quite interesting.]