023

There were thirty students per class and right now, most of those from Ron's class had taken seats. They waited for 2 p.m

And at that time, the bells rang. A teacher came in. He wore an elegant black suit with a blue shirt and no ties. He seemed to be in his thirties from his neither too youthful nor too old facial appearance. As he entered, everyone got up and bowed. He waved his hand and everyone took a seat. That's when Ron realized what happened previously. They took him for the teacher? It was hilarious. But then, he recalled that he gave the same greeting to all the next students that entered and decided to keep it shut.

The teacher began to drop his stuff on the desk and looked at everyone once before taking a seat behind his desk. He took out a paper from his bag and put on some glasses before he introduced himself: "I am Mr. Valto, your Advanced Computing Language teacher as well as the head teacher for your class. A pleasure to make your acquaintance and welcome to our university"

Every student greeted him back politely in chorus before he went on: "Well then, today is only the orientation so, first let's check if everyone's here… Lasse Aho?"

"Here!"

"Essi Bahkso?"

"Here!"

…

"Ron Morgensen?"

"Here!"

…

"Laila Rasanen?"

"…"

"Laila Rasanen?!"

"…"

"Absent, it seems"

…

And he continued to call out the names of everyone in the room. Once he was done, he took off his glasses and explained why: "I only did this today to make sure there wasn't a student who came to the wrong classroom. Teachers aren't babysitters, it is up to you to be here or not and face the consequences at the exams"

Before he could continue, there were a few knocks on the door. The teacher said with a strong voice: "Come in!" and the door opened. A cute girl wearing a stylish dark skirt and dark hood entered. She bowed deeply towards the teacher and apologized for being late. The teacher waved her away and told her to go take a seat.

Ron was incredibly surprised as he knew her. She was the waitress from the cheap restaurant! He smiled and waved at her as she moved into the classroom. She smiled wryly as she waved back at him and went on to sit further behind next to another girl. They greeted each other as they seemed to know each other. Ron was a little disappointed she didn't sit with him but if she already had friends here, he could understand.

The teacher clapped his hands to get back the student's attention and continued: "Well then, now, everyone is here. Let us start with what you need to know about this semester…"

From there, the teacher began to present the different lessons they would have, how they would be graded and how to make sure they graduated to the next year… He talked a lot about clubs too and how they were important. He made sure to give the accent on how students could get additional grades depending on the clubs they joined. It was a very detailed explanation and proved to captivate the student body. Most of the people here were geniuses from all over the place. They weren't at the level to get into the best university but this one was not a joke either. They were all smart and greatly focused on their studies. Especially in this department where 'brains ruled over might' according to the teacher.

Once he finished his speech, he asked the crowd: "Who here is doing a side-job after school?"

Ron lifted his hand up. As he looked back, he could see that he was the only one. The teacher sighed as he whispered: "I could have guessed that much…" before he continued with a deep voice: "Having a job on the side is something I don't encourage. You will already be very busy with school activities and it will prove hard for you to join a club as well. If you can do without, you should opt to focus solely on your studies"

He looked at Ron and asked him: "What kind of job did you take, student…Morgensen?"

"Ron Morgensen, Sir. I am starting tomorrow as an engineer for Robotronics 752"

Everyone held their breath. Even the teacher was taken aback. When he talked about side-jobs, he thought of things like being a home-teacher for younger kids and such, not a truly professional job like that. The students here were precisely there to learn to become engineers yet this kid was already one? Was he here as a joke? Did he have too much time on his hands?

Still, it was something to be pleased for the teacher. They would have at least one truly good and serious student to interact with. The teacher nodded as he added: "Of course, your goal as students is to learn enough to become engineers. If you can already work as an assistant to engineers or such in the professional place, we encourage it!"

While he was satisfied that the kid wasn't taking a random side-job, he never once believed he was something more than an assistant. It would already be good since it would help him broaden his horizons. As for the fact that Ron was going to be a head of project as an engineer, that wasn't something he could ever believe…

And so, the time went by as he talked a little about this and that, interacting with the students and answering their many questions. As freshmen, they did have a lot they were curious about.

One thing that had changed entirely however was the image they had of Ron. At first, they thought he was a weirdo. Now, they believed he was a pro and that was why he acted so before.