Next day — 4 a.m.
A loud, broken alarm screamed through the building."Popopopopo… pooooo!"
Vivi groaned, half-burying her face in her pillow. "Ouch, what a weird sound…" she mumbled.
Room 7 — small, quiet, and messy — held five kids: Vivi, Nova, Auren, Dax, and Nyra. Three beds, one sofa, and one lazy ceiling fan that spun half-heartedly in the dim light. Auren was asleep beside Dax, their blankets tangled; Nova had claimed the sofa, half curled into it; and Vivi and Nyra each had a bed to themselves.
The weird alarm didn't spare anyone. All five woke up almost at the same instant — blinking, groaning, faces still heavy with sleep.
From the central ground below, a booming voice echoed through a speaker fixed to the balcony wall.
"Listen, kids! Time to wake up!" The voice was strong and deep. "Come to the ground in thirty minutes! Freshen yourselves now!"
It repeated thrice, each time a little louder.
