Chapter 2: First mission completed!

I did not waste time going around the place and went directly to the classroom.

There were still 13 minutes to start the lesson, so the room was practically empty. Besides me, a classmate, named Julia, was at her desk finishing the task we had been asked for the day before.

On my part, I did not even bother to check my notes throughout the day, so I had no homework prepared. I thought it would be a good idea to imitate her and do what I could before the class started.

Suddenly, I realized that I now had the opportunity to complete the secondary mission that the system had commissioned me.

I took a deep breath and gathered some courage and get close to Julia.

My seat was three places behind her, so I approached from behind. When I was about to touch her shoulder to get her attention, she turned without warning, and stood there looking at me as if waiting for something.

"Is there something I could do for you?" She asked curiously when she sees me standing behind her.

Ding!

At that moment a one minute countdown appeared before my eyes. 'Okay, let's do this!' I thought.

"Emm ... I- ... I was wondering if you could share your homework with me. Yesterday, I had some problems and I honestly did not have time to finish it. " It was not a lie, I certainly had my mind busy with many things the day before.

"Oh, sure, no problem," Julia said with a smile. "I just finished, take it." She extended her notes to me, the smile never left her face even for a moment.

Then, I realized that it was the first time I saw her so closely. She was really pretty. Hair completely black and long, so much so that it fell down her back to her waist. Beautiful green eyes and a small nose. But what caught my attention were her lips… Those lips so small and apparently soft… That was the first time I felt the desire to kiss someone.

For my part, I did not stand out much when it came to physical appearance. Blond hair, blue eyes, some freckles here and there. A very common face in this city of Bale. The only thing that perhaps distinguished me from the others was, perhaps, my nose. I always thought that it looked very feminine.

'What the fuck is wrong with me?' I thought. 'If I keep thinking like this, I'll be too embarrassed to keep talking to her.'

But it was late, my face began to warm up and turn red. I was a lost cause.

"Thanks..." I was nervous. "I will finish using this and I'll give it back to you."

I took the notes that were in front of me and started to turn around to go back to my seat.

'Aargh damn! Only 30 more seconds and I would have completed the mission.' I feel ridiculous. I hate being such a coward.

"Wait," I heard Julia voice coming from behind.

"Yes?" I asked almost shaking, making a great effort to restrain myself. Clearly talking with other people was not my best skill at all.

"You're Alex, right? We were in the same class for years and this is the first time we spoke to each other in all this time. What made you suddenly decide to approach me to ask for something?"

"Emm... You see... The thing is that I needed to do the homework. If I didn't complete it this time, the teacher would not let me go so easily.". My hands were sweating. "Sorry if it bothers you in any way." I said whilst lowering my head and extending the notes back to her.

"Don't. It's not that, it's just that I was curious. You're always alone and you do not talk to anyone, in fact, you're a mystery throughout the school. You can keep the notes, just remember to return them before the class begins."

Ding!

"Complete secondary mission, Reward = Exp +5."

'Fiuf, that was difficult, but I finally made it' I sighed in relief.

I went back to my seat, took Julia's notes and prepared to copy them quickly so I could return them to her before the teacher arrived.

In the end, I took advantage of Julia leaving the room for a moment to leave the notes on her table without her noticing and quickly fled to my chair as if I were a kind of thief or something similar.

I took a look at the clock on the wall, 'There are still 5 minutes to start'

I made use of the time by reading a book that I had taken from the library last week since I only had a little left to finish reading.

...…

During class, the teacher asked for homework, and gave a 0 to all those who had not finished them on time. I mentally thanked Julia and felt some empathy for those who failed.

I remained immersed in my thoughts for the rest of the morning until lunchtime. My belly was reminding me that I had to eat something. With all this nonsense about the system and missions, I completely forgot to have my breakfast when I woke up.

I literally ran to the dinning room. If I did not arrive fast, endless lines would form and it would be impossible to get something good from the menu.

I did not have much money but thank God the menu was made to be especially cheap (you can imagine what kind of 'delicious' food was offered there).

I got some mashed potatoes and rolled meat, finished eating in record time, and returned to the classroom in an hurry. I could not stand crowded spaces.

Back at my desk, I rested my head on my arms and stayed like that for a moment, trying not to think about anything.

My life wasn't particularly good now, nor it was when my parents were still alive.

In the past, perhaps I had food and a roof above my head, but the days at home were unbearable.

They spent time arguing and shouting, {even with the few hours they were together) and I was always in the middle.

'It's because you're never at home that our son is like this! He does not even have a single friend in school and he spends all his time locked inside his room!' My mother was screaming.

'Do you think I enjoy back-breaking labor all day on that damn construction site!? I work without rest every day so that you and he do not end up living on the street!' My father answered in an angry tone.

And not only that, they looked for any excuse to start shouting at each other. It was obvious that any love that once existed had vanished long ago.

...…

Ding!

The sound of the notification took me out of my thoughts.

When I looked up I could see Julia who was smiling at me from her place.

"New secondary mission: The host must accompany Julia on her way home."

'…You must be kidding!'