The whole thing felt like a dream to Arsène: the battlefield, the bear, the Mech Aegis and Demon King Purson's fight. And the fact is that this 'armour' appeared and formed around him when he was at death's door. But the question is, why did Yami throw Arsène into the battlefield? Did he know about this armour? About this ability? Or was he trying to kill Arsène? None of it made sense, there is no way Yami could have predicted all this. Unless this 'armour' has something to do with the 'prototype' spinal cord.
Arsène followed the pilot of Mech Aegis X-01 and the one who saved him from Demon Purson. Arsène walked behind him as he led him through the Mech Aegis hanger. Arsène looked around, watching as workers walked around with equipment, doing maintenance on the Mech Aegises. Arsène watched as they elevated platforms to reach the height of the colossal titan-like machines. He then looked in front of him, scanning the pilot from behind.
"So, Kami. What are you like outside of your job or outside of piloting the mech?"
Arsène asked, a bit hesitant at first but decided to spark a conversation to ease the tension. Kami turned his head around, a wide smile on his face.
"I am a university student, studying at the university branch of Atyria Grand Academy. You probably won't see me as much since I mostly chill out on the roof."
"The roof? Why the roof? Don't you have classes?"
Arsène looks at Kami as he asks, curious about why he chills on the roof rather than being in classes.
"Oh, I just don't care about the classes. Sometimes, a person is better off when left alone."
Arsène chuckled nervously, not knowing how to reply to Kami's reason for skipping classes.
"But still, isn't attendance mandatory? And isn't education paramount?"
Kami chuckles, taking a glance at Arsène.
"Hey now! Just because I don't attend classes doesn't mean I don't study."
Kami replies as he looks forward again.
"And your point about the attendance is correct. However due to my role as a pilot of the Mech Aegis and Yami's influence. I get to chill and relax during classes. Plus I can just lie to the lecturer, saying a demon is attacking and I need to go! And I need to relax ya know? Piloting the mech isn't easy."
Arsène looks at Kami's back, thinking for a moment. Kami is indeed a pilot of a mech and needs to relax from time to time due to strain. But does he need to abuse his power by skipping lectures? Sure, he is probably tired and strained from battling the demons. But that doesn't mean Kami can just relax whenever he desires to. Then again, Arsène isn't someone who gets to judge Kami or tell it to his face.
Arsène halts as Kami does too. Kami then turns to the side before placing his palm over a panel. The panel lights up, scanning Kami's hand. Then it retracts back into the wall. There is a moment of silence before the 'wall' which is a massively metallic door, opens up. Kami then takes a step inside, as Arsène follows him. The room was dark and silent, with no light source being on at the moment. Then the metallic door behind them closes, leaving them in complete darkness.
"Umm, Kami?"
There was no response from Kami, Arsène could make the faint silhouette of Kami in front of him but chose to stay silent. There was an awkward silence before the lights flicked on. The room lit up as Arsène's eyes tried adjusting to the brightness and imagery. Then it came into view, a medbay.
Arsène looks at Kami, who just puts his hand on his shoulder before walking to the changing room. As Kami disappeared behind a hydraulic door. Arsène was then pulled by something. He looked to his side to see robotic or mechanical hands grabbing and pulling him.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
Arsène screamed in pain as the mechanical hand pulled over the curtain, running god knows what experiments on Arsène. There was a period of screaming and pushing around, but it slowly subsided.
Kami, now properly dressed, walked into the room. He then spotted a half-dazed Arsène sitting in one of the chairs, looking dull and tired. Kami laughs, before extending his hand.
"Sorry about that, the tests can be a bit exhausting and painful. Should have warned you earlier buddy."
"Y-You really should have.."
Arsène replied, grabbing Kami's extended hand as he was pulled onto his feet. Kami chuckled and smiled widely at Arsène, Arsène in return, smiled back.
"Now then, it's about to be nighttime. Wanna head to the dorms?"
Arsène looks at Kami with surprise.
"The dorms?"
Kami nods, before handing Arsène a small device. At first, Arsène rotates and looks around the object. He then puts it in his palm, noticing a small button. He then presses it, and a hologram of text appears.
'Dear Arsène, it is your father, Yami. I would like to further inform you that I have decided to make you stay in the dorms. It is a good way for you to make friends and socialize. And as for Ai, she will be staying with me at home. Take care, you will be staying in Kami's dormitory with his friends.'
-Your Loving Father, Yami Ushinawareta.
"Loving Father my ass, almost got me killed today."
Arsène hisses through his clenched teeth as he turns off the device and puts it in his pocket, before sighing and looking at Kami.
"So I will be staying with you then?"
Arsène asks, trying to sound nice. Kami in return nods, grinning.
"Don't worry, staying with me and my gang isn't so bad."
"Your gang?"
"Yeah, I stay in the dorms with a few other friends."
Arsène nods, trying to get all this information into his head. He then smiles and looks at Kami.
"Well, lead the way."
Kami nods, turning on his heel.
"Alright, let's go then."
⋈
Later in the dorms, Arsène followed Kami as they walked through the corridors. It wasn't necessarily late, just 8:30 p.m. The dorms were quite nice, they had proper security and all the essential commodities like a cafeteria, public baths, restrooms and even a gym. But Kami said the public baths are not used much since most dorms have those installed.
Kami then halts in front of a door, before sliding his hands into his pocket, searching for something. He then pulls out two cards of sorts, he then hands one out to Arsène.
"Here, this is your school ID card. Its your form of identification in this campus and also your means of getting some stuff."
"Stuff like what?"
Kami smiles, before swiping his card over some read. In a split second, there is a click. Kami then grabs the handle and pulls it down, the door opening.
"Like for entering your dorm or getting lunch."
Arsène nods in response, before following Kami into the dorm. But Arsène quickly steps back as Kami comes crashing down onto the floor, being tackled by a young girl. The girl nuzzles her face in his chest before looking up at him, both mad and worried.
"Kami! Where have you been?! You're never this late!"
Kami chuckles, slightly coughing before patting the back of her head.
"Was just busy doing something, Alya. Nothing too concerning!"
An older girl walks to the doorway, sighing as she leans down and pulls the girl who tackled Kami up.
"Alya, don't just tackle Kami like that, what if he gets hurt?"
"I was just concerned, ok?"
The young girl pouts. The older girl sighs again before letting go of the younger one then extending her hand to help Kami up. Kami gets onto his feet and quickly rubs the dust off himself, even though there isn't any dust to begin with. Arsène looks further into the dorm and sees another person standing behind the older girl, looking quite nervous. Kami then claps his hands.
"Alright, in we go fellas! We have a special guest today."
They look confused at first but then turn to me, for a moment there is an expression of extreme shock on their faces. They quickly start pulling Kami inside of the dorm. Kami chuckles as he is being pulled in, then looks at Arsène.
"Just take a seat while I talk to these three, ok?"
Arsène nods nervously, entering the dorm. His eyes widen at the clean and well-sophisticated dormitory. The entrance to their dorm was quite nice, it was wide and spacious. Then you take a turn to the left, which is directly connected to the common area where they can chill or watch something. It wasn't necessarily 'massive' but it was considered quite big by Arsène's standards. There were couches with a holographic television with the news playing. The room was shaped almost like an octagon, with each face or angle leading to a room. On the other side of the common area was some other big room, most probably some sort of either a balcony or activity area. It was hard to tell since the door was closed. Arsène took a moment to take a breather and calm down as he sat on a couch. He took a moment to remember everything that had transpired that day. The attack, the battle, the mech and demon clashing. It all seemed too surreal for him, almost out of a fantasy novel. He sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. It was quite well built with bright LED lights. Arsène looked back down, watching as Kami and his friends walked out of the room after what felt like some time. Arsène then rose from his seat, then turned to look at the others. Kami then claps his hand as he steps forward.
"Alright everyone, time for introductions. One at a time."
The young girl from earlier steps up first, seeming enthusiastic.
"Sup twerp! My name is Alya and I am probably the best out of every single one of you here, I am also a good artist and a poet! Though most say my poems are too corny.."
The older girl sighs, before looking at me.
"My name is Kamui. If you ever need help with studies, call me."
Then the other person from earlier steps up.
"H-Hello! My name is Paz, but you can call me whatever you want. I don't mind any nickname! Really!"
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Arsène nods as he smiles and looks at them. Slightly bowing as he introduces himself.
"My name is Arsène, I am 17 and I am pretty chill to hang out with. I hope we all get along."
Again, there was a hint of surprise and shock on everyone but Kami's face. The surprise quickly disappears as Alya steps up to Arsène and looks at him with curiousness.
"So what's your tag number?"
Arsène's eyes widen, tag number? What's that? Kami then steps up, putting his hand on Alya's shoulder.
"Arsène here was in a coma, so he doesn't remember anything about the tag or the Numbered Children."
"Numbered Children?"
Arsène asks with curiosity. He has never heard of such a term before, though it may be due to his amnesia. Kami walked to Arsène, standing beside him as he put his hand on Arsène's shoulder.
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain. But most of us go by tag numbers."
Kami points to Kamui.
"For example; Kamui here goes by the number of 538, or 'The 538th Child'. That is how most of us are identified or differentiated. Of course, we still use names."
Kami then points to Arsène, who looks confused.
"And you, my friend, are 925, or 'The 925th Child'. Try remembering the number or title, sometimes professionals like teachers tend to call us using that instead of our names."
Arsène nods, trying to get all this into his head. But why? Why would they give some students numbers as their titles? Why not just use their name?
Kami then steps forward, looking at everyone.
"Alright everyone, it's time to eat dinner. Who's hungry?!"
Alya immediately starts waving her hand, as Kamui puts his face in her palm and Paz chuckles.
"Me! Me! What are we having for dinner?!"
"I am gonna cook something, just wait another hour!"
"Awww.. Then why did you announce it so early.."
Alya pouts as she gently punches Kami, who just shrugs it off and laughs. This time, Kamui and Paz are also laughing. Without realizing it, Arsène also started laughing. Perhaps this isn't so bad.
Later, after eating dinner. As everyone is going to their room, Kami pats Arsène on the shoulder. Arsène looks to Kami, who points to a corner of the common area.
"That right there is your room. If you need anything, just ring the bell on my door, my room is just next to yours."
Arsène nods and watches as Kami walks away and enters his room. The lights in the living room or common area dim as the clock hits midnight. Arsène looks around, realizing he is the only one left in the area. He sighs and then starts walking to his room. He stands in front of the metallic door for a minute, then pulls out his school ID card from his pocket. Then he swips it slowly on the scanner. The scanner then beeps as the door opens, sliding to the side and into the wall. Arsène then enters, the door closing behind him. As he stood there in the darkness for a second, the room lit up slowly. The room was not as big as the common area, not that Arsène expected it to be. It has a floating bed, a wardrobe and soundproof walls. With a small study station by the corner. Arsène walked over to the other corner of the room, then another door opened, it was a small bathroom with a proper amount of space. Arsène stepped back a little and the door closed, then he turned on his heel and walked over to his bed. He then took off his slippers and lay on the bed. He took a deep breath as he finally felt relaxed and safe. His body felt exhausted, and getting some proper rest was mandatory for him. He then looked to the left to find a phone lying on the side of his pillow. Was this phone always there?
Arsène picks the phone up and turns it on. Then a message pops up.
'Dear Arsène, its your father, Yami. I would like to apologize for not informing of you being a part of the 'Numbered Children' earlier. It was my honest mistake and I should have explained it properly to you. I left a document at the corner of your study station. So if you have time tomorrow, make time to read it.'
-With love, Yami Ushinawareta.
"The fuck do you mean? 'With love' my ass.."
Arsène mutters under his breath before putting the phone on the side of his pillow. He then pulls the covers over himself. He takes deep breaths before slowly calming down. The lights in the rooms dim and everything goes dark. For some reason, Arsène felt uncomfortable, he felt like he was being watched. A few more minutes pass as Arsène tussles around in the bed. He shivers as he starts hearing whispers and undistinguishable voices. He quickly hides under the covers, trying to block out the whispers. The whole night, Arsène had a hard time trying to fall asleep. But in the end, he falls asleep.
⋈
The light was quite bright. It was the lights on the ceiling of the room, they were on and were disturbing his sleep. Arsène yawns as he sits up in his bed, looking around and trying to remember what happened last night.
"Oh yeah... I sleep in the dorms now.."
He remembers how he moved to the dorms, and how he ate dinner with Kami and his friends. For a moment his eyes widen, remembering the voices and whispers from last night. But he shakes his head, just shrugging it off as his mind playing tricks on him or probably Alya blasting some music. Then again, the latter seems not possible since the rooms are soundproofed. Arsène turns and sits on the bed, thinking for a moment.
"Ah right, I got school today."
He says out loud as he gets up, stretching his body. He relaxes for a moment before looking at the wardrobe. He walks over to it and opens it. There they were, his clothes properly arranged for him. Did Yami do this? Or did he order someone to do it?
He didn't give it much thought and looked through the clothes. And he found it, the uniform needed for school. He quickly took it out of the wardrobe and placed it on the bed.
"Huh.."
The uniform had a white shirt, a cropped blazer of sorts and pants. Both the blazer and the pants were sort of indigo blue in terms of colour. Arsène sighs before walking out of the bedroom. The door opens and slides into the wall as Arsène steps out, taking a breather. Then he smells the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. He looks around the common area. In the other corner of the common area, the door was open and smoke was flowing out of the room. Arsène slowly walks over and peaks through the door, finding Kamui brewing some coffee and making something else on the stove.
"Enough peaking. Come out, Arsène."
Arsène chuckles nervously, before entering the room.
"Is this the kitchen?"
Arsène asks, looking around. Kamui, not bothering to look at Arsène, just nods in response. Arsène watches as she pours coffee into three cups, then puts two cups on saucers before handing it to Arsène.
"Go through the game room and into the balcony. Kami is sitting there, give him one cup."
She instructs before walking over to the stove. Arsène, unable to refuse the command, does as she says and exits the kitchen. Arsène then enters the room he couldn't see last night. So this was the game room. He walks in and sees the room is dark and barely lit. But he could make out the silhouettes of arcade machines and billiards table. He smiles and walks through the room. Then he walked onto the balcony, the breeze was cold and the view of the crops was visible from here. He looked to his left to find Kami sitting, looking at the view.
"Took you long, champ."
Kami turns his head to look at Arsène, smiling. Arsène smiles back, handing Kami the cup of coffee, which Kami carefully takes. Arsène then takes a seat beside Kami, taking a sip of the coffee as he looks at the view. The coffee was well-brewed and the smell of wet soil was reaching them. The feeling, the smell, the taste. Everything felt peaceful at this moment.
"Hey, Arsène."
Kami calls out, still looking out to the fields. Arsène turns to look at Kami.
"What you did yesterday was good. You took down the bear and saved a lot of soldiers from getting hurt."
Kami says as Arsène listens. Kami's smile then turns to a frown.
"But not everyone will perceive that as a good thing. Of course, we will keep your identity a secret but. Not everyone will be grateful for what you did. Some people will mock you, and judge you. Sometimes call you a monster or even a demon."
Kami then turns to look at Arsène, before smiling wide.
"But whenever you feel down, whenever you feel like you're alone or whenever you feel like nobody trusts you..."
Kami raises his fist slightly.
"I am here for you buddy, Through thick and thin, just tell me their names and I will personally beat their ass for you."
Kami and Arsène blink at each other for a few minutes. Before Arsène smiles and fist bumps Kami's fist. Kami chuckles, then drinks the rest of the coffee before getting up and stretching his arms and legs.
"Alright! Time to get ready!"
Kami says as he starts walking into the game room and he waves his hand.
"See ya later, Arsène. Go get ready for school!"
He says as he puts his hands in his pockets and walks away. Arsène smiles, then chugs down the last bit of remaining coffee and takes the cups.
Arsène then enters his room after handing the empty cups to Kamui. He then quickly heads to the bathroom, undressing and throwing the clothes away.
"Oh... I forgot I had a body like this."
After taking a bath and dressing up, Arsène stood in front of the mirror, checking if everything was right. He quickly pushes a bit of his hair over the weird eye before nodding and turning around. Arsène then catches a glimpse of a file on the desk of his study station. Is that the document Yami mentioned last night? Arsène walks over before sitting down in the seat and positioning himself properly. He then quickly takes the file, opens it and pulls its contents out. He clears his throat before reading the contents.
Log 300.
'It's nearly been a millennium since the demons descended unto our planet. Ever since then, almost every decade would bring a new demon and a new battle for our existence and survival. Recently, however, we have found strange bodies of beings or creatures that have not yet been identified. For name sacks, we call them USOS. They were found, almost fossilized and trapped in what seemed to be amber. It took us half a decade to first take the bodies out of the amber. Now it merely takes us a year to take out 10 bodies.'
Log 420
'We have discovered that these bodies are corpses, of beings of unknown origin. However, their internal organs were still operating. We had decided to dissect the organs and then store them and the blood in cryo containers.'
Log 453
'We have decided to do some experimentation. We messed around with the blood and DNA of the USOS. With that, we were able to generate a sperm cell. Then we conducted IVF tests. At first, there were mostly errors and miscarriages. Most IVF sessions failed at the beginning. But nearing the end of the second trial, we had a successful delivery. The child was healthy.'
Log 623
'The child has grown up to some extent, he has shown abilities and prowess greater than we expected. Quick learning, fastened speed, quickened agility, heightened reflexes and great strength. We call him:
"The First Child". Unfortunately, we lost the data on how to produce such perfect subjects. We will keep trying until we get another successful result.'
Log 0
'Essentially, HK-36, the city and its officials clone children after using the DNA and fossils of USOs.'The Numbered Children' or children produced by using the DNA and remains of USOs go by tag names like 'The Seventh Child' or 'The Fifteenth Child'. The civilians in HK-36 are not allowed to bear or give birth to children.'
'Both the citizens of HK-36 and the ones in the slums are forced to undergo surgery so that neither females nor males can reproduce.'
'The Numbered Children are given names but their data and government information strictly use their tag number when giving them some form of identification.'
'Numbered Children' technically are products of normal birth. They are delivered when a woman does give birth. But the thing is, the children aren't products of love and reproduction. They are products of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The scientists create a sperm cell using the DNA of the USO.'
'In a sense, they do have mothers but they never meet their maternal figure due to the risk of the 'Numbered Children' getting distracted from the stressful and heavily influenced study and academic routine. As they are meant to be the 'Perfect Subjects' and are meant to handle the neural link between themselves and the Mech Aegises.'
'Essentially, the Numbered Children can age and die.
'But their fate is already decided at the age of 10.'
'If a certain number of Numbered Children aren't or don't meet the IQ of at least 120 by the age of 18 and don't show signs of Super-Human strength, then they will be 'deleted'.'
'Essentially, The Numbered Children who dare reject and rebel against the system, are executed.'
Arsène puts the document down, his hands slightly trembling. He quickly covers his face with his palm, Almost his whole body trembling. He then lets out a scream as he tries to process this information. The Numbered Children are born through IVF? They have never met their parents? They are the products of USOS and another human? What the hell is all this? And Arsène is also part of The Numbered Children. Is he also an experiment?
Arsène lets out a deep breath, closing his eyes and thinking for a moment.
"No... No.. This is just a prank by Yami, this isn't real.."
Arsène says, making himself think none of what was documented was real. He sighs, but then takes the document and throws it into the dumpster with force as he pants. He then takes a deep breath and tries to calm down.
'This is all a prank, none of this is real.'
He thinks to himself.
'Right..?'
⋈
Arsène walked through the corridor, feeling dizzy and light-headed as he made his way to his classroom. His face was a mix of dullness and irritation. He felt like going to Yami's office this instant and punching him. Unfortunately for Arsène, he had school. Arsène quickly opened the door, walking abnormally as he made his way to his seat. He then spots Zorome, the bully who wanted to fight him, wounded and looking at Arsène with fear. Arsène hisses lightly before sitting in his seat.
He covered his ears, yet he could hear every whisper in the class with perfect clarity.
'Hey, isn't that the ugly kid who beat up Zorome?'
'Yeah, I heard he has this weird eye...'
'Weird? I think the hair over his eye makes him look emo and hot!'
'Is that dye or highlight?'
'No idea man, but that purple hue on the endings of his hair looks rad awesome!'
Arsène covered his ears, trying to block out the voices.
"Shut up.. shut up.."
He muttered under his breath.
"Arsène."
Why won't the voice stop?
"Arsène?"
Just stop the voices!
"Arsène!"
Arsène immediately stands up in his seat, panting. He looks around the class and then to his front. In front of the class stood an older girl. She was young, she looked like the age of 20 to 21.
"Y-Yes..?"
"What's the answer to the Multiple Choice Question number 13?"
Arsène stays still for a moment, trying to process the question, he looks to his benchmate's side and quickly grabs the textbook from his desk.
"Umm... Choice D!"
Arsène answers, trying to sound calm and composed. The 'teacher' nods, before turning and starting to teach on the board. Arsène sighs before handing the textbook back. He realizes his benchmate wasn't even paying attention to the class, but rather just playing on his phone. Arsène leans back a little to see what he is playing. It was some sort of anime game. Arsène hesitates but pats the boy on the shoulder. The boy almost immediately turns to look at Arsène, looking almost surprised.
"Yes?"
Arsène scans the boy, he has brown skin and curly hair. Arsène smiles, before extending his hand.
"My name is Arsène. What's yours?"
Arsène asks, expecting the boy to shake his hand. Instead, the boy turns his attention back to the phone and replies.
"Mukyu."
Arsène leans closer to take a look at Mukyu's phone. He then opens his lips to ask.
"What do you like in this game?"
"The little cute anime girls."
Arsène takes the distance between him and Mukyu. Trying to not sound judgemental.
"L-Little cute anime girls?"
Mukyu realizes what he said and looks at Arsène with widened eyes.
"No! Not like that, I just prefer short anime cute girls over real ones."
Mukyu says in a low tone, trying to make it sound like a whisper. Arsène sighs, before smiling.
"You should have said so! I thought you were a creep!"
"In that context, you're a creep for peaking in and looking at my phone without my consent."
Arsène just chuckles before turning forward and paying attention to the class. The voices have stopped, surprisingly. As he looks at the teacher, some part of Arsène feels.. nostalgic. The woman seems so familiar as if he knew her. Yet he has no memory of her. Arsène leans towards Muzu.
"Psst.. Who is she?"
Arsène asks as he points. Mukyu looks forward, then again at his phone.
"That's the substitute teacher, she is a university student who comes from time to time to teach us. Her name is Vanessa."
"Vanessa.."
Arsène mutters, looking and scanning the women. She looked normal and he didn't have any memories of her. Could this be due to his amnesia? Perhaps he met her before he lost his memories?
"Alright class. Stay seated till the next teacher comes. No bullshit."
Vanessa says as she grabs her bag and starts walking towards the exit of the class. Suddenly, Arsène feels tensed up and like he needs to do something. He starts panting and gasping, and all of a sudden he stands up in his seat as he calls out.
"NESSA!"
Vanessa, who was a step away from exiting the class, looks back with surprise. Both Arsène and Vanessa look around the class. Everyone, including Mukyu, was surprised. Vanessa clears her throat, before asking.
"I am sorry. Do I know you?"
Arsène realizes his mistake, looking at Vanessa and Mukyu, he quickly gets out of his seat and walks up to her. He takes a deep breath before looking at her.
"I need to talk to you."
Vanessa's eyes widen more, looking surprised. Gossip and rumours spread across the class.
"I am sorry but are you the new transfer stu-"
"We need to talk!"
Arsène says as he grabs her hand and drags her out of the class.
"Hey! Let go!"
Vanessa says as she tries to pull away, but looks surprised as even with her full strength, she couldn't pull her hand away. When in a deserted and isolated place, Arsène lets go and turns around.
"I wanted to as-"
He couldn't finish that sentence as a slap rang out. Arsène puts his hand over his cheek as Vanessa slaps him.
"What the fuck is your problem, kid?! You think you can just drag me around?"
She points at Arsène.
"Do that shit again and I will get you suspended."
Arsène looks at Vanessa, realizing what he did. But he breathes in before looking at her.
"I am sorry, but have we met before?"
Vanessa looks confused and angry.
"I don't even fucking know you, brat."
Arsène cringes a littel but shakes his head.
"I think I know and met you somewhere. Yet I don't know if I know or met you before."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"
Vanessa asks, angry. Arsène tries to explain but halts as his phone rings. He quickly takes it out. It was a call, from Kami. He picks up the call and puts the phone close to his ear.
"Arsène, come to the rooftop."
"Huh? Why?"
"Another demon was spotted."
Arsène's eyes widen. He quickly cuts the call and runs through the corridor.
"Let's talk later, Nessa!"
Arsène says as he runs through the corridor, Vanessa looks at Arsène and shouts.
"Don't ever contact me, asshole! And it's Vanessa!"
She stomps her way back to her lecture hall. But a part of her wonders, how does this kid know her nickname?
⋈