5 Academy Year 1 - Friends (1/2)

I run down the shaded path, chilled by a gentle breeze permeating my damp clothes. With my chest burning from respiratory exhaustion, still tired from training, I look ahead and realize the building isn't that wide; I'd reach the other side in five minutes at this pace.

There are metal devices sticking out across the entire length of the wall. They are small globular iron contraptions, spaced half a foot apart solely on ground level. What're those for?

Hot sweat drips from my entire head, still panting from exhaustion. When I move my arms even a little, they feel like dead weights. I run in a slouched position due to burning in my abs and lower back. I distinguish a tingling sensation on the surface of my skin around my body among my muscle aches. I knit my eyebrows. What's this feeling…? I didn't feel this when I ran here from home… It almost seems like my Mana wants to come out, but it feels…different…

I think about letting out this feeling to see if it would be different than any other time I released my Mana, but I refrain. I'm at the end of the path. I run past the wall and stop. Afterward, I look down on my arms as I rotate them. That's strange. I don't feel it anymore… Oh well, it's time to eat!

Up ahead, there's a large, open grassy area between the Academy and another large building. Crowds of kids enjoy servings of food throughout the grassy area. I put my right hand over my stomach as it growls probably in response to the delicious food in front of me. I gulp, anxiously walking around to find where they serve the meals.

”Kaister, over here!” a familiar voice shouts.

Kaister…? Oh, yeah… Drugo calls Hiro, Hiroster, so… I turn toward the voice and then find Luna and Drugo waving. I wave back and run over in excitement.

”Hey!”I cock an eyebrow when I observe that none of them are eating. ”Why aren't you guys eating? Not hungry?”

There's a brief silence accompanying everyone's blank facial expressions.

”Whose fault do you think that is?!” Hiro lashes out at me as he clenches his right fist. I only raise my eyebrows and frown while still wondering what he's talking about. ”I'm starvin'! Ya better have a good excuse for this, Kai.”

I wrap my thumb and index finger around my chin. I know why I was late, but I still don't understand why he's mad at me… I can't tell him I was playing with my Mana… Hiro's glare catches my eye.

”Uhhh…” I mutter.

”Sitos, you're bein' unusually quiet, say something to 'im! Weren'tcha two in the same group?”

This bastard… He's probably gonna tell everyone I was crying and say I'm a weakling… I frown while clenching both of my fists. Sitos turns around with his arms crossed. He wears an apathetic facial expression. I relax my hands as I quirk an eyebrow. Huh…? I thought he'd be furious with me… Why's it look like he doesn't care?

”It does not matter does it? Let us get his ticket and eat already.”

”What?! You're goin' to forgive 'im that easily?!” Hiro exclaims, meanwhile Sitos stays silent with the same expression.

”Well, you heard him, Kaister. You should've gotten a red piece of paper from Teacher Moria, right?” Drugo confirms.

Red paper…? Moria…? Oh, so his name is Moria! I reach for the red slip of paper in my pocket and hand it to Drugo, who takes out five other pieces of red paper and adds it to that pile. He turns around, walks towards an unfamiliar adult, and hands the paper to him. My eyes wander around the scenery surrounding me.

Hmm… Everyone is in groups of six; I wonder why that is? Drugo comes back with six pieces of yellow paper in his hand, giving each of us one. I scrunch my forehead as I stare down at the yellow piece of paper in my hand. ”Umm… What's this for?”

”We can get food from over there with this slip of paper now. Since you weren't here for the instructions, we'll explain it to you while we eat.” Drugo explains.

We go to where there's food spread out on top of several tables. A giant pot of soup catches my attention, prompting me to grab a bowl nearby, eventually going back to the pot. My drool leaks out of my mouth as the rich smell of the broth enters my nostrils. I take the ladle in hand and begin serving myself the soup scooping up pieces of beef and soup into my bowl until it's full. When I finish, I get a spoon from the silverware table and look around. The rest of my group is already seated on the ground, so I sit with them with the bowl of soup in front of me.

Drugo starts to explain the meaning of the red and yellow pieces of paper, but I lose focus scooping the bits of beef in my soup. I verify that it's real, genuine soup. Tears suddenly down my eyes when I think back to this morning.

”…Kaister are you lis… Did I say something bad?”

”Huh...? Oh, it's nothing!” I wipe my tears with my arms. ”Sorry, I wasn't listening. Can you explain again from the beginning?”

Drugo sighs. ”Okay, pay attention this time.”

I pick up my spoon and viciously eat the contents of the soup while Drugo explains, ”Well, basically there will be goals for each day. When the first objective's met, you're given a red slip of paper, and when the second goal's met, you're given a yellow slip of paper. Each person has to obtain it individually on their own. On those days, everyone in the same group must present their yellow tickets to eat for that day.”

He momentarily pauses to pick up a piece of sliced steak on his plate. He chews and swallows a piece before continuing, ”Today was a freebie, but in the future it could be an individual activity we have to complete or a group activity.”

I slurp up the last of the soup and stare down at the bowl in dejection. ”I see… So it was my fault you guys were starving... Actually, I was—”

”Training, right?”

I look up and raise my eyebrows. A cold chill runs down my spine when I make eye contact with who just said that. My lips shake as I anxiously stare at Sitos. No way… Sitos saw me?

Hiro puts down his sandwich and says, ”Training? Whadaya mean? It shoulda ended for everyone at the same time.”

It's over… I look down and close my eyes.

”Yeah it ended, but Kai wanted to train more. He did not want to drag us down, so he stayed and worked himself harder.”

Huh…? My lips stop twitching as I open my eyes and look up. After rubbing my eyes in disbelief, I still see Sitos sitting in front of me as the person who spoke those words. This must be a dream…

I pinch myself strongly on my left arm. Ow…

I look around; nothing has changed. Hiro awkwardly hops closer to me while he's still sitting down. He wraps his left arm around my neck and laughs. ”Why didn'tcha just tell us that? So, ya worked really hard, eh?”

I'm still confused by this unexpected scenario, but I force a smile to play along. ”Yeah…”

My eyes wander around our circle. Luna's smiling as she quietly claps her hands. Beside her, Marin smiles slightly. Drugo next to Sitos gives me a broader smile in comparison. Gradually, the smile that I forced on my face transforms into a genuine grin. I wonder what this feeling is… Is this what having friends feels like?

We make friendly banter until we hear Moria announcing, ”Ahem. Everyone, I need your attention.”

Teacher Moria stands in front of the other building that I saw. ”I hope you enjoyed your meals today. You will also enjoy a grand meal prepared by us for dinner and every day of this year. Next year, however, you will have to prepare meals yourself.”

The kids around us let out a unanimous groan. ”Now, there is a reason we had you take the path outside to get here instead of the center corridor of the Academy. All of you should have felt some tingling under your skin right? The magical items attached to the wall are meant to stimulate the Scrap Mana in your bodies...”

I raise my eyebrows and feel a small smile gradually emerging on my face. Ohh… So that's what I felt earlier, I can't wait to try this out later!

”… Now that you have experienced what Scrap Mana feels like, it should be easier for you to release it. Do not worry too much if you cannot do it; on average it takes about a month to actually be able to release it from your body.

”Next, we will assign and show you to your living quarters. This building houses all the students here at the Academy. For this year's first-year students, you will live on the first floor. Within each room from the hallway, there are six separate lockable bedrooms with the same amenities in each room. In the common room, there is a kitchen, lounge, and storage room. It is up to you to figure out how to utilize these rooms. Stand in line and get your keys here now. You only get one, so do not lose it or you will be penalized as a team. The number on the key matches the room number.”

We line up for the keys as he finishes the instructions. Luckily, we are the first group who gets there because Moria spoke close to where we sat. We follow Luna to the entrance of the building that's located straight from the back entrance of the Academy, and she goes in first since she carries the keys. After going in, there's a crossroad in which the left and right sides are completely symmetrical. At the end of each hallway is a set of staircases that lead up. The building is mostly made out of stone, like the Academy.

”Let's split up while we look for our room. It's room 46,” Luna says as she walks towards our immediate left. Since Sitos is already exploring our immediate right, we go straight into the other hallways. There are three more identical hallways just like the first one up ahead. Each half hallway contains ten rooms, available only on the north portion of each hallway. I continue to move straight while the others split off into other directions.

I walk straight towards the last hall because the door at the end intrigues me; it doesn't look like an exit, and the door is the same size as the other rooms. When I reach the last hallway, I turn my head left and right, realizing that there are only three rooms including the door in the center.