I followed my new homeroom teacher around for the next few hours. I didn't learn anything interesting about him. Despite his looks, he was nice to most people he crossed path with. He didn't smile a lot but he treated everyone with the same respect.
That night as I logged out, I noticed that I received a mail. I was to be in the headmaster's office tomorrow at 8. I bet he would be asking me the reason of my absence. It wouldn't be too bad to tell the truth but would he even believe me? Even though it happened to me, it was still hard for me to believe it. .
The next morning, I arrived 5 minutes earlier than the asked time. I sat in front of the secretary waiting for the headmaster to receive me. I waited a solid 20 minutes before I was asked to enter. I opened the door. I looked at the headmaster. My eyes bugged out and I stopped moving. It was my new homeroom teacher. He was exactly like his avatar in the game minus the sword. I felt chilled as his blue eyes were fixed on me.
I didn't move. I stared at him. At first, his eyes stayed cold but then, he smirked and then, outright laughed at me. I tried to speak but nothing came to mind. I just opened and closed my mouth like a gaping fish. I got red in the face. I was beyond embarrassed. It didn't make things better that he was still laughing at me. First impressions were usually deceptive. Weren't second impressions supposed to be better?
And then, my mind clicked. I had forgotten that Hayes was the last name of the old headmaster who retired last month and left his son to take his place. It was stupid of me not to have made the connection between Mr Hayes the new headmaster and Mr Hayes the new homeroom teacher. It could have prevented me from getting embarrassed.
“Come in Mr Kirihara.” I moved without thinking. I stood in front of his desk. “Close your mouth and sit down.”
I snapped out of the shock I received at his sharp tone. I sat down and waited to know why he asked for me.
“Yesterday, you were absent...”
“I was there, Mr Hayes, I swear.”
“Are you seriously lying to my face?”
“I'm not lying. I got killed. It's all that old bast.. I mean librarian's fault. He killed me!”
“You got killed...in town...by the librarian? Can't you at least try to make a better lie.”
“I'm not lying! He killed me! I didn't do anything to him and he just killed me.” I followed by telling him everything that happened. Well, most of everything. I didn't tell him about Mrs Johansen and how that video of hers appeared on the school website. I wasn't that dumb. He still didn't believe me.
I couldn't blame him. Inside of a town, players weren't supposed to be killed. They couldn't even get into a fight. It was an automatic feature of the game to permit the creation of true safe zone. Moreover, I got killed by a librarian, not an assassin, not a warrior but a librarian. It was unbelievable.
Out of ideas, I suggested that he watched my game play as it was registered by my head gear and he finally believed me. He let me go and told me that he would see me later that day. I wasn't sure I wanted to see him again but I wasn't brave enough to say it to his face. I left his office in a rush and went back to my place.
I thought about what I was going to do. Wouldn't it be better to just delete my avatar and create a new one? I hope like hell that he wouldn't force me to do this. I kind of liked being able to observe others without them knowing. I got to see things that I wouldn't be able to see if I was visible.
It was true that I didn't know anything about my race but it had possibilities. I could just feel it. If I just knew how to gain skill...Oh my god! I was stupid! How to gain skills? I knew that. I wasted time for nothing. I was going to log back in the game but I changed my mind and went to research which skill I should try to learn.
All of a sudden, I heard a knock. I looked surprised at the door. I lived in the penthouse at the top of the dorm building. Before I moved in, it was used as a storage. I cleaned up the place and threw away most of the garbage that was there. With the help of the teacher in charge of the dorm, I was able to have the necessities I needed installed.
When the dorm was built, the penthouse was supposed to house the school's elite students. As such, it had six bedrooms, each one with their own bath, an equipped kitchen, a gym, a library, air conditioning, the phone and internet. It was a mansion at the top of the building with its own terrace and garden.
After it was built, the school had difficulties deciding who was worthy to live there. Some wanted the seniors to move in to promote their studies to enter a good college. Others wanted the top student from each grade to live there. Still others wanted their own children to get this chance. To put an end to the conflicts the penthouse created, it was decided that it would become a storage.
For the two years I lived there, no one had ever knocked on the door. The teacher in charge of the dorm never even came to his floor. The entrance to the lift for the penthouse was different from the one the other students used. So it was impossible some one lost his way.
As the knock sounded more and more demanding, I didn't move and still stared at the door. I didn't know who it was and I was in no hurry to discover it. Just as suddenly as it started, the knock ended. My phone rang. I didn't recognize the number. I stared at it like it was a wild animal ready to jump on me. I let it ring a few times. It was really insistent. After a long time, I finally picked it up.
“Open that door immediately!” At hearing those words, I jumped in fright, dumping the phone on the floor. My heart was beating fast. I didn't know how he got my number but I was sure that it was him. Not wanting to piss him off more than I already did, I ran to open the door.
And there he was. The headmaster, my homeroom teacher was standing there, glowering at me. He didn't wait for me to invite him in. He pushed me away as he entered and closed the door. He looked around as he moved to the couch. I followed him with apprehension.
“Aren't you going to offer me something to drink?”, he asked as I was about to sit in front of him.
I mumbled a curse under my breath. “ Would you like something to drink? I have tea, coffee, soda and beer or would you prefer a glass of wine?” He threw me a really suspicious look but I already knew that I made a blunder. “It was a joke. A joke. I'm under-aged, I can't buy them.”
I made myself busy by taking up glasses and a pitcher of juice from the fridge. I conspicuously looked at everywhere but at him. I served him his drink.
“So to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” I asked not waiting for him to take a sip of his drink. I hoped that my tone didn't let on the mix of irritation and fear he made me feel.
“I thought about your problem. Forgotten Soul is supposed to be a school activity and you not being able to participate is not acceptable. So, delete your avatar and create a new one.” He could have said that in his office, why did he need to come to my home?
“But Mr Hayes, it's my avatar. I like it. Can't you do an exception in this case?”
“And how are you going to participate when no one can see you nor touch you nor even talk to you?”
“I'll find a way! It's not fair! The others were able to keep their avatars even though they didn't follow the school rules. And just because of some minor problems I have to delete mine. It's unfair!”
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“Life is not fair, Mr Kirihara.”
“Please, Mr Hayes. It's my first avatar, I don't want to lose it. Is there really nothing that can be done?” He didn't respond right away. He looked deep in thought.
“Well, you can keep your avatar if you come to school.” He answered finally.
“Okay.” That answer wiped out the smile on his face as it was replaced by an incredulous look.
“You accept to come to school? But...But you're going to be bullied!”
“Yes, I will.”, I replied with sincerity.
“And you still wish to come to school?”
“If I can keep my avatar, yes, I will.” In my mind, my intention were clear. I was going to follow my classmates around in the game, record all their embarrassing moments and then, I was going to post them on the net. And for the cherry on top, I'd be in the front row at school to see their reaction when they'd discover their videos. Could things go better?
“No you can't. If you come to school now, it would distract everyone. You can't come to school.”
“You can't refuse. You were the one who proposed it.”
“I can and I just did. Now delete your avatar and create a new one.”
“No, I'll go to school and I'll keep my avatar. That was your proposition and I accepted it.” I must have had a death wish I didn't know about. If looks could kill, I 'd be dead right now.
“Why do you care so much about this avatar? You can't do anything with it.”
“It's mine and I want to keep it.”
“Okay, you can keep it.” He suddenly said, surprising me. “But in exchange, five students will move into the penthouse and you will do group activities with them every week. You can't refuse.” He got up and went to the door.
“Wait! What?!”
“You need to be integrated into school without causing too much problems. At first, I thought a game would help you but under your insistence I had to change my mind. You will interact with other students whether you want it or not.” He turned back and opened the door.
“Wait!”
“What now, Mr Kirihara?”
“Could I possibly choose who will live with me?” I asked desperately. I fell head first into his trap and now I had to save the furniture, at the least.
“No but don't worry, I'll personally do the selection.” And he left.
The next few days went in a blur. From morning till evening, there were people coming and going in the penthouse as it needed renovations. I didn't think that there was anything wrong with it before but it wasn't like anyone asked me.
I learned about the renovations when the workers showed up the day after the headmaster's visit. I closed myself off in my room for all the time they were there. I played and played only taking brakes when they left for the day.
In game time, thirty days passed since the renovations began. I was extremely happy with my new race as I learned different skills. What I failed to remember at the beginning was that there were three ways to learn skills. The first one was with a skill item like a book or a tablet. The second one was by having someone teach you and the third was by repeating tens of time the same action until you generate the skill. The first two were unavailable to me but the last one proved itself to be my savior.
I tried a lot of things and finally I was able to generate my first two skills.
Float [Active] Beginner lvl 1 0%
You are able to float above the ground.
Speed:5 miles per hour
Height: One inch above the ground
10 mana per second
Touch [Active] Beginner lvl 1 0%
You are able to touch things and people in the material world with your hands.
100 mana per second.
I was jumping up and down, pleased with myself when I heard a knock on the door of my bedroom. I disconnected and came face to face with one of the workers.
“We finished all the other rooms. This one is the last.”, he said to me.
“The last for what?”, I asked playing stupid. I already had an inkling to what he was going to say next. And I wasn't wrong. I needed to leave my room and move my stuff. Basically, I needed to scram to let them finish their job.
I sighed deeply and started gathering my clothes. I wasn't even halfway through my closet that they decided I was taking too much time. So they helped me out. It was surreal. Six muscular men entered and carried my furniture to another room. They didn't bother too much. Everything that was small and non-attached to anything was thrown on the bed and they just carried it as is. In less than an hour my room was cleaned up. Nothing was left in it except me and my opened mouth. They even moved my clothes.
I shook my head in disbelief and went down to where my new bedroom was located. Everything minus my clothes was at the same place it was in my old room. They plugged back my TV and computer. They even turned them back on. It was like the last hour had never happened and my room had always been there.
I decided not to log back right away but to check the forums for some news about the Soul. I saw that I received a mail. I was once more summoned to the headmaster's office.
The next morning, I was back sitting in front of the secretary. I came early like the first time. And like the last time, I had to wait 20 minutes before I was told that I could enter. As I got in the room, I went directly to sit in front of the desk. I mumbled a little “good morning” and proceeded to wait.
He was looking at me with a bemused smile. After a week and a half of renovations at my place, I was in no mood to play nice.
“Before I present you your new roommates, I will inform you of the the rules...” He waited for me to react but I didn't want to give him that pleasure. I looked straight at him, saying nothing. “Well, first, once a week, you'll do an activity with your roommates. It could be anything like playing a game, going to the movies or just hanging out together in your living room. It must last 2 hours at the least. Second, no fight, no insults, only respect. For the rest, I think you don't need me to spell them for you. It's just common sense. Now, go sit on the couch, your roommates will arrive at 9.”
I didn't say anything as I did what was asked of me. I wanted to complain but I knew that it was useless. At 9 o 'clock sharp, a knock sounded on the door and four guys entered. I knew them. I was screwed.
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