1.2: Almost

This is bad.

I lost track of the time, not thinking that it would take so long to take the girl's backpack back. I sighed and ran towards the girl.

"Hurry, uh, girl. We're gonna be late. It's only the first bell, so if we run then we should be able to make it for the second one."

She turned around and...Huh?

"Uhm, can I help you?"

It's not her? Then where...? And that's when I realized that she had left me and went to school, regardless of whether her backpack was missing or not. What a great personality she has. In any case, this wasn't the best situation.

I still have 10 minutes, if I run as fast as I can, I should be able to make it.

Just then, I could see the crosswalk sign turning red as I was just about to start running.

Oh no, that's bad, too. Should I break the law and cross the street? That would make me a citizen who has broken the law, but I don't want to get points off just because I was late for school. I decide to break the law and cross the street filled with rushing cars and busy buses.

Since there are a lot of vehicles, I jump on top of the bus roof. I think it's reasonable to ride a bus on top of its roof for 3 seconds. The roof of the bus still counts as a part of the bus, most people just can't reach it that easily.

"H-hey! What are you doing up there? Get down now!"

A man who seemed to be the bus driver yelled at me.

Sigh, I guess the bus driver doesn't allow their passengers to sit on top of the bus. But I was going to leave soon anyway, I can't waste a single second or else I'll be late.

I keep up with the jumping on top of the roofs of cars and buses until reaching the end of the street. Six minutes left, huh? Time to run.

Running is difficult while holding a 35-kilogram backpack along with mine, which weighs about good 10-13 kilograms. I think this is a good exercise for me once in a while, I guess.

Oh, I'm almost there, and three minutes remain until the teachers come rushing in through the doors.

As I'm thinking about the teachers, I reach the doorway of the school, while students were still going inside the doors, most of them racing in like me. I quickly ran inside, placing my shoes in my locker, changing into my indoor shoes, and going up to the second floor to find my class, A-3. I open the door and I find myself 1 minute before the bell rang.

There she is, the girl who ditched me. How pleasant, seeing her sitting right in front of my seat that had a label with my name.

People are staring at me as I walk in, and some of the girls, as they usually do, whisper behind my back. I didn't really care, but I wasn't really sure if they are talking good about me or talking bad about me.

I sit on the very back corner of the tables; what a great spot for me. I don't want to stand out, so I think this is a pretty good spot. Except for the fact that the girl who left me behind was right in front of me.

I place the bag that I got back and put it on top of the girl's desk.

"Ah, I must've forgotten about you. My apologies."

What...? Does she just have a bad memory, or was that intended? Either way, she apologized, I guess there's nothing to do about it.

"Don't worry about it. By the way, what's your na-"

"Kasuna."

Her name sounds cuter than who she actually is. I was thinking her name was Raina or some kind of other names, not Kasuna. Anyhow, I sit down behind her, and the bell rings.

As the class waits for the teacher, Kasuna turns around and stares at me for a while.

I wonder why her eyes are full of curiosity, at the same time with confidence and a hostile manner.

"You don't tell me your name?"

"Ah, right. My name is Kian."

"Kian? That's an odd name. Does it have some kind of a meaning?"

"No, not at all. It was a name a meaningless person gave it to me."

"Is that so?"

Our conversation ended as the class door opened.

"I greet you all to HY Advancement High School."

The teacher looked similar to Kasuna. Not their looks, but the vibes they both showed. Hostility, confidence, and one other.

She smirks as she looks around the classroom. I doubt it is a smirk out of happiness. It is rather out of stupidity she feels towards the class. I wonder why.

"As you guys all know, this school is a very important school if you want to reach the goal of being one of the Trions. Also, we do not put every one of the graduates to the Trions. Get into the top 10, after that it's a matter of if you can make this society a better place. Of course, you would need to get ready for that further in College Union that sends you into the Trions. Try your best to struggle."

Some students are not getting this. Their confusions on their faces are far too obvious.

What the teacher meant was pretty simple. At HY, there is a gigantic board placed right at the entrance, and it lists 10 people who are at the top of the school. I hear that those 10 are almost all third-years, and they're all inhuman. It's exaggerated, but it was true that the top ten were above everyone else on a different level.

If you get into the top 10 by the end of the third year, you are sent to College Union, they're the candidates for the next 15 Trions. 10 people are sent there each year, all of them being "inhuman." There, you are chosen if you are the next candidate for the Trion or not. You spend as much as the time you want in the college, depending on if there are suitable candidates in the College Union. If there isn't, you repeat and repeat your years in College Union, until you get chosen by the present Trions. I hear a man named James Rainer stayed in College Union for more than 40 years and hasn't been chosen until 3 years ago. However, despite all those waiting, he only served his Trion years for 2 years, a pretty depressing story to be honest. That's why you have to work hard enough to get chosen as a Trion fast enough, or else you'll find yourself repeating your college years over and over.

If you don't get into College Union, you still can set your foot inside into one of the top colleges from all around the land. Some people enrolled here to pursue their dreams other than being one of the Trions.

Anyways, back to the teacher.

"My name is Serah. No, it's not spelled with A after the S. It's with an E."

As she speaks, she writes her name down on the board.

S-E-R-A-H

What an interesting name. Ms. Serah? Or Mrs. Serah? She doesn't seem to have any wedding ring on her fingers, and she seems awfully young to be married. It would be rude to just ask her, so I'll just stay quiet for now.

"Hey teacher Serah, are you married or what?"

...

I guess that guy is a straightforward one.