Not University

...the light within him quickly faded. As Edward received his HSFE results, he saw he hadn't qualified to enter a public university.

His grades were good, but they weren't enough. To get into a public university in this country, one's results had to be exceptional.

A thousand curses on the education system.

What the hell? I did my best...

Edward felt despair.

The education system essentially had three categories: the excellent, decent, and failed students. Those who excelled in their studies with numerous A's were placed in the "excellent" category, while the majority fell into the "decent" category. Students who barely passed or outright failed were labelled as "flunkees." With this categorisation, if a student barely missed the cut-off for one category, they would be rounded down to the one below it. So, although Edward was almost excellent, he was classified as a "decent" student.

These three categories came with different opportunities, and the lower a student's grade, the fewer chances they had.

Excellent students could apply to public universities, the most prestigious institutions in the country.

Decent students could apply to various colleges, depending on their grades and chosen courses.

Finally, flunkees had no choice but to work minimum wage jobs, which included positions like cashier or waiter. Even some government roles, such as the Police Force, paid minimum wage or less; the Police Force, surprisingly, offered even lower pay than cashiering. Few opted for it unless they were deeply passionate about the job or had long held ambitions to join. Alternatively, flunkees could try to enter Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.

Since Edward was in the decent student category, he had already started applying to a college offering his ideal course.

Ah, whatever. At least I got the course I wanted. Being an language teacher doesn't sound too bad, stable job, enough money for myself and maybe a small family in the future.

Ed still had his doubts, but he set them aside. Rather than questioning his course choice, he was more concerned about the college he was about to enroll in and the fees he'd have to pay. He'd been accepted into a prestigious private college—not the best in the country but highly rated among national institutions. Because it was a private college, the courses came with a steep price, and his family wasn't wealthy by any means. This worried him, and he knew he'd need to find a way to manage the expenses.

Fortunately, the college was partnered with a reputable student loan organisation, and Ed met the requirements to apply as soon as applications opened. So, he accepted the offered course once his entrance application was accepted.

There was a brief interview he needed to pass to demonstrate his proficiency in the language. This was no major issue for Ed, who handled it almost flawlessly. While he occasionally struggled with some technicalities of the language, he planned to work on that during his time at college.

The interview was conducted online via video call. Setting it up was a bit of a hurdle for Ed, who lived in a village with poor reception. He had to run around his mother's house to find a stable connection while asking his siblings to shut their devices during the interview. Additionally, he was required to wear a shirt and tie, though he wasn't exactly invested in fully dressing the part.

Instead of putting on a complete fit, he simply angled the camera to show only his upper body and face. He wasn't actually wearing slacks or a belt, since putting them on just for a short interview seemed unnecessary.

I guess this could work...

Even the tie he wore was a zipper-tie. Ed was that kind of guy.

Ed's college was two hours away from home, so he had to apply for a hostel. That wasn't cheap either, and it was only available to newcomers for a single semester. Besides the hostel fees, he'd also have to cover bus expenses. The only consolation was that the hostel had Wi-Fi. His room was on the fifth floor, so he'd need to take the lift to get up there.

When he entered his new room, he was surprised by how different it looked from what he'd imagined. There were six beds for six people, and the space was about as small as his living room at home. It wasn't terrible, though; he'd been through worse.

So, I'll be staying here for six months, huh? I hope my roommates aren't idiots. Still… that lift… I really hope it doesn't break after a week.

Ed also needed to familiarise himself with the area—finding good places to eat, wash his clothes, buy essentials, and shop. But he decided to save that task for later.

Just as he was looking around the empty room, a voice called out to him.

"Hey, uh, your room is over there…"

The guy pointed to a corner down the corridor. Ed had walked into the wrong room.

ACK! A blunder this early in college life?! I'm so done…

He nodded, muttered a quick apology, and hurried to his actual room. There, he met his roommates for the first time.