Loter's room was rectangular, with broadloom carpet covering the floor. A desk and a chair were next to the door. A clock puzzle lay before it.
Across the room, Loter's bed was beside the drawer. The alarm clock on the drawer had been ringing incessantly since an hour ago.
Loter scratched his belly through the white quilt. He changed from facing right to left. His snoring continued.
It was not until Strikelet's poster fell off the wall and covered his face that Loter regained consciousness.
Rolling down his bed, he squinted his eyes at the window, where sunlight shone in.
What time is it?
Loter stood up with a hand propped on the drawer. He took a bit longer than usual to read the clock due to his still foggy mind.
7:20… What time does the first class start? I think Hiroku told me last night…… Oh, fuck… 7:30!
Loter quickly put on his white hoodie and brown khakis. He slammed the air conditioner switch as he sprinted out of his room. His speeding ability could not be activated on campus. Every step made his breath heavier.
When he finally went up to the floor above the dining hall, he was already shuffling toward the classroom.
"Mr. Spawman. Late on your first day, hm?" the teacher said from afar.
He was a brown-skinned man. Wavy black hair ran down his neck, and a thick layer of beard was connected to his horseshoe mustache. They covered the lower half of his face. For the upper half, the teacher had a pair of shades and two headbands. One was red. The other was blue.
Outside his black shorts, he wore a white wrap robe with its lapels and cuffs colored in red and blue. Toned, the man was not as muscular as Key but at least a head taller than Loter and Hiroku.
Loter had to tilt his head to meet his eyes when standing before him.
All descriptions fit. He must be Rag Dowii, the mentor of our squad.
"Excuse me, Mr. Dowii." Loter paused to take a deep breath and continued, "This is my first time."
"You also need to apologize for scratching Key's arm."
"I did."
"Not to me."
"Sorry," Loter panted, "for stalling your plan on his training."
Watching Loter apologize in sincerity, Dowii let out a short, friendly titter. He patted Loter on the shoulder and said, "It's alright. Just messing with you. I'm chill. Come in."
Only four classrooms were on the second floor, and only the one that Dowii led Loter in was in use. The classroom had two adjacent rows of five desks and computers. One row had its back facing the windows. The other had its back facing the doors.
Hiroku sat in the center of the window row with his backpack and Glacia neighboring him. Key was alone in the center of the door row. His satchel was on the seat beside him. He gave Loter an up-nod, and Glacia gently waved.
"Is someone missing?" Loter asked Dowii. He knew there were four members in the squad before him, yet the fourth one had not shown up.
"Ramiron is in the art room. You don't need to fret about her," Dowii answered and requested, "please, pick a seat."
Key repeatedly tapped on the desk next to him and called, "'Ere, 'ere."
"Okay," Loter replied.
"I will show him the rope," Key told Dowii after Loter sat beside him. The artificial skin was still on his arm, but not much care was given to it.
Key cleared his throat and began, "Okay, pal. What you are looking at is the home page of the school's education website. City Weaver, wait. You know the corpse of City Weaver is—"
"Yeah, Hiroku told me that part."
"Great. The computer is already logged in for you. You can see. 'Ere are four main subjects: Literature, Math, Science, and Electives. For the first three, you need to tick boxes to show what you 'ave already learned in your old school. Then, the system will assign video lectures and assignments for what you 'aven't learned yet. I've already finished 'igh school calculus, so the system gives me college-level calculus."
"'Ow, How about the last one?"
"For Elective, you need to tick boxes for what you want to learn. At least there, and one of them must be Hero Ethics."
"We don't have mandatory art class?"
"We don't have mandatory art class."
"Oh, nice. I've been bad at drawing since elementary."
"Ha, ha. Me too."
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Clicking on the word "Literature," Loter said, "It feels much easier than my old school."
"'UeCam Academy is more like a superhero CTE school, so it makes sense." Key focused back on his screen after he finished explaining. Then, he abruptly turned back toward Loter. "'Ow's your math, by the way?"
"Math?" Loter shifted his eyes away from the screen and met with Key's gaze of anticipation. "Good?"
"I mean where you're at. Like geometry, algebra, trigonometry. That kind of stuff."
"Oh, I just finished triple integral. Well, I can do quadruple, but it takes some time."
"Good." Defeated, Key turned his frozen face away.
There were three 10-minute breaks between the morning periods. This self-study type of education was no problem for Loter and Hiroku. They could stare at screens for hours nonstop.
For Key, it was somewhat painful. He constantly clicked on other websites and switched back when Dowii walked by. Glacia fell in the center between the extremes.
At 11:30 a.m., morning periods thoroughly ended. Key let out a sigh of relief like usual; Hiroku had a single strand of tiredness on his waveless visage; Glacia yawned and stretched while rubbing her eyes; Loter did not catch the bell and kept staring at the question on his screen.
"Time to go, Lot." Key patted him on the back.
"Oh, yeah."
While Loter was turning off the computer, Dowii said, "We'll meet in the training center at one p.m., alright? It's the same every day."
After Dowii left, Loter looked toward the rest of the squad. "An hour and a half for lunch. What else can we do after we finish eating?"
"I play basketball with the other squads. You can join if you want," Key invited as he stretched, putting an elbow behind his head and pulling it with the other hand.
"Uh." Loter blinked at the other two without answering the invitation.
"Don't follow me." Hiroku gave the expected response.
"I just hang out with other girls on the campus," Glacia said.
"Yeah, I can try basketball." Following Key out of the classroom, Loter warned, "Don't go too harsh on me. I'm not a sports person."
"You can start being one now."
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Hiroku went up the stairs alone when everyone else had left the floor. His upper ponytail bounced slightly as he slowly strode up.
The third floor contained two casual classrooms and an art room. Since one of the two other rooms was occupied by his cousin's squad, Hiroku would never come to this floor in the morning. He only did it this time to check out Ramiron.
The hallway was empty and gloomy, with the only light source being the sun shining window-to-window through the three rooms. Hiroku leaned against the wall. He quietly watched Ramiron painting her night sky in the art room, slightly brighter than the hallway.
Dark blue and black were almost undistinguishable in the dimness. Yet, the yellow dots of stars appeared brighter. Ramiron softly but deftly nudged her brush on the oil paint and laid another layer of blackness on the lower half of the canvas.
She was wearing an apron outside her huge sea green polo. The heavy apron would be oversized for anyone but her.
Interrupting, loud, continuous footsteps came from the staircase. Hiroku scratched his lower ponytail as he glanced toward. It was the squad led by Krick Mold, a black-skinned man capable of drawing powers from the Teratiak star signs.
Seven 14-year-olds, each wearing a color of the rainbow, rushed down the stairs. Their bald, dark-skinned mentor slowly strolled after them. He had a hand in the pocket of his white pilot jacket and gave Hiroku a two-finger salute.
"How's it going?" Mold leaned against the railing beside him.
"Fine. Everything is normal," Hiroku replied tepidly.
"So the new kid doesn't have any effect?"
Why are we having this conversation right now? Can't he just talk to Loter himself if he is so interested?
"You've seen him?"
Mold chuckled, "Yeah, walked past him once. What a good kid. He waved at me."
Not really wanting to respond, Hiroku glanced toward the art room and found it empty.
The door abruptly opened. Ramiron came out and greeted, "Hey, Krick."
Mold nodded. He left upon hearing his students calling him.
Afterward, Ramiron teasingly looked at Hiroku. "How sweet of you to wait for me, Hiro."
"You don't want to keep drawing?"
"Not with a creep watching."
I'm not— Whatever.
Hiroku, scratching his upper ponytail, went straight to the staircase. Ramiron laughed and started unfastening her apron, "Wait a sec."
Catching up, Ramiron leisurely said, "I haven’t met the new kid yet. How’s him?"
Can't people stop being so gossipy? Just talk to him yourself—
"Ha, just joking," Ramiron teasingly poked Hiroku's shoulder with her elbow, "I will never get bored of your frustration." She guffawed.
Arriving at the first floor, Hiroku shoved his hands in his pockets. "You and Glacia are the two most annoying gir—" He halted before the disempowering term could escape his throat. "Women I've ever seen."
"But you have to admit, without us, you are just a loner, Hiro."
"There's nothing wrong with solitude." Hiroku increased his pace as he headed toward the entrance.
"You know people can tell the difference between an actual maverick and an edgy teenager." Ramiron nipped Hiroku's purple crop top, forcing Hiroku to slow down. As Hiroku stopped his steps, Ramiron lunged past him. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "I will initiate my plan in the cross-sparring this afternoon. Be prepared to enjoy the show."
"Hm? Wait!" Hiroku stepped forward, trying to grab Ramiron by her polo. Yet, the tall girl vanished before him, leaving some glimmering particles in the air behind. Ramiron just messed with Hiroku again.
Why can she not just tell me what she is doing? It is not like I am suspecting her of doing anything evil. I just want to know what she is doing… Whatever.
Deciding not to bother, Hiroku went straight to the training center and turned on one room on the first floor. He was too annoyed to walk up the stairs and use the reinforced ones.
Normally, Hiroku would not want to waste his time on this. He just could not find a proper rage room on campus, and he did have cross-training in the afternoon.