15 A Good First Day

"Of Human Freedom, Epictetus. Right there."

Even her voice was slightly hoarse, soft, and rugged. I quickly leaned down to fetch the book and then gazed at the girl who was talking to me.

Long black hair, bags under her eyes. I could see the traces of metal earrings through her hair that seemed to be draping a treasure.

She looked tall and extremely thin. Someone could blow on her and she'd fly away. Even so, her pale skin was not bony. It was likely not a sign of neglect but of disinterest in food. An eating disorder?

Just when I felt like I was jumping to too many conclusions while rudely staring at her, I lowered my gaze.

"Thank you," I said… Even her nails were black. She probably spelled trouble.

"Mhm…" She nodded and crossed her arms. Her right above her left as if trying to hide the fake sleeves.

I simply walked out of the section and headed to the front desk. It would be best to check the book out and go back, I had to help at the studio.

***

The school day had ended.

On my way back, I read through my latest loot in silence. The intercity was pretty empty during the afternoons, making it a good environment to read in.

I planned to set off a little earlier from tomorrow to avoid the crowds. How the difference of a single train could have this large a difference in the crowd was surprising to me. Being late like today was going to be a pain.

The train reached my stop soon enough and I strode back home with the bag in hand. I would have usually got on a bus instead of the twenty-minute walk, but I preferred this now.

My habits had changed a lot in just two weeks.

"If I dare say, I might have even become more handsome from the workouts."

[Excuse me, host. Is this handsome person in the room with us right now?]

"Ah, fuck off."

I laughed and it felt as if the system was laughing too. The breeze was gentle, the sun was hidden behind bright white clouds and the skies were still tinted with gray.

How could one not like walking in this weather?

[Good first day?]

My friend asked.

"Not bad."

We continued walking in silence. I even hummed a bit while going back. It would be good to buy an ice cream sometime while I am walking around.

It didn't take long for twenty minutes to pass by and I reached home. The shop was not very busy now but would be in a few hours.

"I am back!" I announced as I stepped in and my mom's call came right after.

"Edward! How was your first day?"

My taciturn dad, surprisingly, was also pretty excited today as his voice followed next.

"Did you get a girlfriend yet, kid?"

"In one day? There's no one pretty anyway."

There were a few. Who would go and say it to my parents though?

My mom peeked out of the kitchen at the back door, a bit of dough on her face as she smiled brightly.

"Come quick, have some cake, and tell us all about the day."

I nodded at her words and rushed upstairs to change. Instead of checking my phone, I went back down and stepped into the kitchen too. Since both of them were busy with prep work, I fed them spoonfuls of the cake and answered whatever questions they had about the school.

"Made any friends yet?"

I hummed at the question. "Not really, but there's one kid."

My mom's eyes widened as she turned my way.

"That's one more than I was expecting."

"Rude!"

We continued chatting like that for a while and then I joined in on the prep too.

It wasn't a bad first day.

***

Later in the day, I finished my daily reading, workout, and chapter for Reversal before the System and I decided to talk.

[Host. Have you thought of how you're going to solve the quest?]

"I actually have," I said, leaning back on my chair. "I have a few people I plan to approach and get their backstories."

[You've made targets instead of letting it be natural? Well, with your social skills that might be better.]

What a bitch.

"Anyway, the first one is, of course, Nash. I'd say we are already friends."

[If you talk with him, yes. I would say it's debatable for now.]

"Tsk. Anyway, the next one I am going to get the backstory of is probably the class teacher. Ms Greene."

[She's approachable. That might just work.]

It'll also be a good idea to get to know her for my school life. And most importantly, gauge the requirements of this quest. No matter what, I won't be a friend of the teacher. If I could get her to tell us about her school days like most teachers loved to, and it counted in the ten, I would have a good deal on my hands.

"And lastly, I have the smart kid from today."

[That popular guy? This is surprising, is it because he talked with you? He talked with everyone, host.]

"I know, stop throwing shade at me!" I sighed and explained my reasoning to the system. "Listen, you said we're doing this to get information for our characters right? Then the more variety in personality I have the better it would be."

[Hoh… this is unexpected.]

I grinned at the system's words.

Did it think I would only passively wait for a chance? No way. Even if I disagreed with the method, I was going to take anything about webnovels very seriously.

[Why not the girl from the library? That one seemed better than the others.]

"What of her? It was just someone I saw. I don't think I'll meet her again."

Oh, how wrong I was.