[ Dorm Room 221 ]
"That was quite a boring class," said Jet, turning around.
Their first week was mainly revision on what they were supposed to already know.
Some students did seem like they had a hard time to follow, as Jenny was going through content extremely quickly.
They had nothing to take notes on, which made it even harder when something was explained that was confusing.
Geoffrey was already getting up, like everyone else, ready to leave class.
Emilia got closer, her smile brightly shining upon the two of them who stood there.
"Ready?" asked Jet.
"Yes, let's go," replied Emilia.
Jet then waved at Geoffrey, while heading toward the exit.
"Wait, you're not coming?" asked Emilia.
Jet quickly backtracked, grabbing Emilia's wrist playfully and pulling her out of the classroom.
"He's busy! It's only us, this time!"
Emilia smiled at Geoffrey while waving, following Jet out of the classroom.
Geoffrey remained in thought for a moment, then his attention went to his classmate.
"What is it?" asked Rei, feeling Geoffrey's gaze.
"Your sleeve."
Rei frowned, puzzled, lifting his hand up.
On the side of his sleeve, where four bronze buttons were lined up, the slit in the fabric was slightly torn at the end.
"Damn."
Rei looked around it, to see if there was anything else.
"I must've damaged it during lunch break. And I just got it, I'm not sure if they'll give me another one... Maybe I'll fix it myself," he said.
"And the buttons," added Geoffrey.
"Am I missing one?"
Rei looked closer, but none were missing. One could see the relief on his face.
"Thought I had lost one... Well, those few scratches I can live with for now. With the way she explained the grade system earlier, I'm guessing I'll have to pay for a new uniform, and with 5$ a day, it might have to wait a bit."
"Hm," agreed Geoffrey.
Both their attention was grabbed by Peter who clapped his hands in front of the classroom.
"Sorry everyone!" he said, "we'll be heading toward the dorms! If you're unsure about how to get there, feel free to join us!"
Rei looked at Geoffrey, "Want to join them?" he asked.
Geoffrey nodded, "Yeah, I was heading there anyway."
They had no bags or personal item to grab, so the whole class quickly left with Peter in the front, leading the way.
They walked through the hallways, some heads turning toward the large group leaving at once.
Rei walked beside Geoffrey. Leo was a few steps ahead and looked like he wanted to join them, but Rei's presence was too intimidating for him to even approach.
He kept furtively looking back at the both of them.
"Aren't you going to invite him to walk next to us?" asked Rei. "Seems like he wants to."
"Hmm," voiced Geoffrey, in thought.
His tired gaze absently looked at Leo.
It felt like there was more to him than met the eye.
The first question he pondered upon was why he went out of his way to approach him.
Geoffrey stood out, that he knew. Because of his hair and eyes, a lot of people seemed to want to interact with him, like Jet.
This also had the opposite effect, as others tried to keep away from him, because of his falsely perceived 'popularity'.
Leo, who looked anxious, so much so that he didn't even dare join Peter's group during lunch break, felt comfortable approaching him out of everyone.
A mystery.
"He'll join us if he feels like it," he simply answered.
Rei shrugged. "Alright."
The path they took through the school was packed with students from the first year.
The chatter wasn't loud, but still overwhelming.
People laughed, chuckled, or playfully poked fun at their friends.
Others walked with purpose, and some looked like they had none, yet one thing united all of them: death.
Death, however, didn't feel heavy.
As they had gone through their first day of school, it felt as if most of them had even forgotten their own demise.
The weight of impending doom, the threat of eternal suffering, should they fail. It felt so distant when he looked at everyone around him.
It was naïve of them.
They walked through a school that looked dreamy, yet grandiose. It didn't make them feel small. If anything, it made them feel tall and important.
They had taken a shortcut through the gardens; the flowers smelled divinely refreshing, the air unpolluted. The path made of chiseled stones made its way through the most colorful trees and flowers he had ever seen; it felt like going through a small piece of paradise.
He could see them, the smiles.
He hated them.
Smiles, happiness, wonder.
The students walking before him, even Leo, were in awe of what they witnessed.
"I know you're quite..."
Rei paused a moment, looking for the right words.
"Calm, or quiet, usually, but I'm surprised this doesn't move you at all."
"That what moves me?" asked Geoffrey.
"The gardens, it's quite something, isn't it?"
"You mean the fake flowers? And the fake trees, in this fake world that serves as our punishment for our attempt at our own lives? This punishment designed to torment us, giving us a faint hope that we might escape eternal agony? Yet, most of us will likely not escape that fate?"
Rei's shocked expression was nothing short of what everyone who overheard him showed.
While everyone further ahead kept laughing and chuckling, the mood around Geoffrey darkened.
"Well, even if you're right, it's not so wrong to look for light when everything's dark."
Rei's stance surprised him, his words resonating with those around them, lifting the mood a little.
"You're right," said Geoffrey.
Rei smiled brightly, gently tapping his back.
"See! We agree on this, at least."
The rest of the walk toward the dorms wasn't as bad as it seemed. If anything, the gardens made the walk feel shorter than it was, with all the things one could look at.
They eventually reached a street, and using the sidewalk, they slowly made their way toward the dorms.
The way miss Jenny presented the grades; it was safe to assume busses would cost money, or require a grade nobody had.
Since no-one felt like waiting for a bus to come by, just in case it might let them save the remaining 10-minute walk, they just kept going.
The dorms were slightly downhill. Both of them were separated by gender. In-between both was a large space mainly composed of grass, trees and benches, with a beaten path going across.
The buildings, unlike the school itself, were quite a letdown for most.
They looked slightly old, and visually barely holding together.
The white bricks looked washed, turning yellow. Vines climbed on the side of the dorm, and while it added some contrast, it was not maintained at all, creating a messy look.
Everyone entered their respective building.
Looking at the board at the entrance, Geoffrey quickly found his room number.
Room 221, the second floor, then.
"Ah, those who feel like it, we'll meet up in the park between the dorms in 30 minutes. Feel free to join us," said Peter.
He stood before the board, making eye contact and nodding at the students around. Before his eyes even got to Geoffrey, he was already gone.
Going up the stairs toward the second floor, he quickly found his room, thanks to the signs posted around.
He stopped before his door, however, frowning.
Do they give a key downstairs?
He reached for the doorknob, and as he did, he heard the door unlock itself.
"Huh."
He opened it and entered.
It was very small, and slightly smelled damp.
It barely only fit his bed, which was the size of the wall, and a single desk. The bedding was already done, a small feeling of relief going through his mind as it didn't look old, used, and dirty.
Right above the bed, an alarm clock stood before the window, an old model with the numbers blinking red.
The desk which was almost touching the bed because of the narrow space was extremely small as well. He'd barely be able to pull the chair back, if he tried.
Directly on his right was a narrow bathroom. Turning on the lights inside, one quick look confirmed what he thought.
The necessities, like soap and shampoo were present, but in a format so small that it would fit a hotel.
He sighed, letting himself fall on his bed.
I'll have to go shopping tomorrow.
And slowly but surely, everything faded to black.