The teacher clapped his hands lightly and spoke with an excited smile, "Alright, let's begin. Please introduce yourselves one by one."
A thin-looking girl stood up. She had short brown hair that reached her neck with bangs, small eyes with spectacles, and wore a white top and a blue-black skirt, which was the school uniform. "My name is Lara… I came from RJ High School … bla bla." She was extremely talkative as she introduced herself. Drayen marked her as an extrovert he had to stay away from.
Then it was the shy, thin, short boy next to her. He couldn't speak fluently; he was hesitating as his eyes wandered. "HUUU, I am Zuko Valtor, huuuu… I… I…"
The teacher came forward and tapped him. "Calm down, boy, don't be nervous."
His nervous gaze landed on Lara as he took a breath.
But he continued with his huuuuuus; the teacher gave up on him after a minute. Drayen marked him as an introvert, and seeing him sitting with Lara, she must have been his best friend in high school. He wasn't interested in this drama. He was pretty bored. Even some teachers wouldn't remember all these introductions; they only did it for formalities.
As he continued listening, his eyes were dropping down continuously. At one point, he couldn't hear the introductions anymore. He was in his own world.
With a sudden jolt, "Drayen, wake up, man. Next will be your turn."
Drayen took a few seconds before coming back to reality.
After listening to the next,
He stood up like a zombie. His eyes were red.
Despite looking like a mess right now, Drayen was actually a pretty handsome guy. He stood around 5'10", with a thin but well-proportioned build and pale skin. His black hair was messy and unkempt, falling slightly over his deep black pupils — usually calm, but today reddened with exhaustion from gaming all night. With his wrinkled uniform and tired expression, he looked more like a sleep-deprived student than someone attending a prestigious university.
He took a deep breath as he introduced himself. "Drayen Wraithwing. I am from West Bridge High."
The teacher gave a "that's it?" look to Drayen as Drayen stared back with no intention of sharing his hobbies or anything. Drayen didn't like telling new strangers about his habits or hobbies.
But the teacher didn't mind, as he was thinking about his name — Drayen Wraithwing. Where have I heard this name? Where? After a second…
"Oh, I remember now. You were the one who wrote the answer to the last question in the entrance exam?"
"And I liked your answer, boy." He showed a thumbs up. The whole class started muttering.
What? Someone could actually answer that?
I mean, I wrote whatever came to mind…
I thought it was so difficult no one would write that. Guess it was his luck.
Some of the toppers in the front and Fedric, who heard the whispers, also looked at Drayen with weird gazes.
"It was my luck, sir?" Drayen rubbed his head lazily as he said that. He hadn't written most of the theory questions, which were copy-and-paste from textbooks. There were logical questions in the test. He only attempted the logical questions and left the theory questions.
The teacher smiled. "It was no luck. You were good. You were able to answer it. Just make sure you learn theory, boy. It's boring, but it becomes important sometimes."
Fedric patted Drayen's back. "First day and first compliment, huh!" He smiled.
Next.
Fedric stood up, pushing his glasses up with a practiced motion. "Hello everyone, I'm Fedric Hartman I come from the same school as Drayen. My hobbies are… reading… and… well, more reading… bla bla."
As soon as Drayen heard his list of hobbies, only one word formed in his mind — nerd.
This guy was a maniac. His "hobbies" were just different versions of studying: listening to audiobooks, reading ebooks, textbooks, articles… Did he ever stop?
Is he even human? Drayen wondered. Or just a study robot someone accidentally released into society?
This — exactly this — was why Drayen disliked him. Fedric felt like a walking academic machine.
I bet he even memorized his introduction, Drayen thought.
But nonetheless, Fedric wasn't completely unbearable. He would at least help with homework, I guess. Drayen sighed at this thought. The second period was just another round of introductions — the same boring stuff all over again. Drayen was already dying inside. His stomach growled loudly.
Man, I came to university on an empty stomach for this??
He checked the clock every thirty seconds, suffering through each minute.
Finally, the break bell rang.
Relief washed over him instantly. He almost felt grateful enough to pray to the bell.
The moment the bell rang, Drayen stretched his arms with a yawn. "Bro, I'm starving. Canteen first?"
Fedric slipped his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "We just got here, man. Let's check the place out a little first."
Drayen groaned dramatically. "Bro, I'm dying from hunger. Canteen first, please."
Fedric smirked. "Alright, alright. Stop whining. Let's go."
Drayen stood up from the last bench, ready to leave—
But he didn't even take one step.
"Hey, Drayen!"
A boy from the row ahead turned around.
Drayen blinked. "...Yeah?"
"What did you write for the last exam question, man? The teacher said he liked your answer."
Another student leaned in. "Bro, tell us. How did you even solve it?"
"Uh—" Drayen scratched his cheek. "I just… wrote something. No idea."
"But what exactly?"
Drayen backed away slightly. "Trust me, even I don't remember. Total fluke."
A few more students came over, curious faces surrounding him, and Drayen got increasingly uncomfortable.
Can't a hungry man walk to canteen in peace?
Lara walked over, stopping beside Fedric as he packed his bag. "Hey," she said.
Fedric looked up and gave her a small, polite smile. "Hey."
She glanced at Drayen, who was still surrounded by curious classmates. "You guys heading out?"
"Yeah," Fedric said. "Canteen."
Lara paused for a moment, then asked, "Can I join you guys?"
"Sure," Fedric replied, still with that light smile.
Zuko didn't say anything. He simply drifted along behind her, as if following by default.
By the time Drayen finally escaped the exam-interrogation circle, he found all three waiting near the door.
He looked at them, confused. "Since when did we become a group?"
Lara laughed. "Since you became famous!"
Fedric pointed casually. "Let's move before more people question him about that exam."
Drayen groaned but accepted his fate. "Fine. As long as we reach food eventually…"
And with that, the four of them stepped out together.
Drayen hadn't taken a proper look at the campus earlier—he had been too busy rushing to class. Now that he walked outside, he finally realized how huge the university really was.
Each school had its own building spread across the campus. The Computer School, their school, was just one of several. Freshers were everywhere, chatting excitedly, exploring the place, and forming new friend groups. Some students were already laughing together like old friends, while others nervously exchanged introductions.
Since their class was on the first floor, they hadn't explored much inside—just the hallway that led to the exit. Fedric and Lara walked behind him, slowly getting comfortable with each other, while Zuko followed timidly in the back. Drayen walked ahead, eyes scanning the open grounds.
Small patches of grass and short trees decorated the paths, making the large campus feel peaceful.
After a few minutes of walking, they reached the Computer School's canteen. It was at the edge of the building, facing a wide courtyard. From there, Drayen could see the Mysterious Science Department across the open space.
Lara pointed at the Mysterious Science school building. "Fedric, look, the building is the largest in the university. Not to mention they are very strict about who enters it."
Fedric nodded with a serious gaze. "Man, what do they even teach? If we don't have the ID card of the Mysterious Science school, we can't even enter it."
Listening to their conversation, Drayen, who had long lost interest in Mysterious Science, was again starting to get curious — Will they spend so much if it was just a fake? This was the question he had in his mind.
Regardless, his stomach killed any unwanted thoughts. They went to the canteen quickly and got a simple sandwich. Drayen had 3 sandwiches before his stomach calmed down.
Soon the break was over and classes started again. Because of a messy timetable and some teachers still on vacation, it was their class teacher, Marcellus, again. Drayen sighed in relief seeing him — So at least no introductions again, I guess.
The class started with some very basics. Drayen was starting to get sleepy; he had already known all this long ago. He wasn't listening to anything as the class dragged on. His eyelids started to close as his head felt drowsy — he hadn't slept last night. His head touched the writing table in front of him, and he silently slept as warm sunlight touched his body. It felt like a blanket as he fell asleep.
As Drayen slipped deeper into sleep, something inside him loosened. His consciousness drifted, gently separating from his body without resistance. One moment he was resting on the classroom desk under warm sunlight, and the next, that warmth vanished.
Darkness swallowed everything. He opened his eyes and—