Lonely Human, Lonely School – Part 2

It was the next morning.

I was gently awoken by the beeping of my alarm clock.

'What time is it...' groaned Haruto as he lethargically swiped open his phone.

5:15am.

'Jesus Christ, why did you set your alarm clock so early—I though I was someone who woke up early. Did you use to go to some really early sport training?'

'This is the time I always wake up.'

'Well, what do you do this early in the morning?' He asked, hardly legible due to how tired he was. He was crumpling his blanket towards his face.

My life used to be completely monitored and organised by scientists. I didn't exactly have anything I wanted to do, but my circadian rhythm had hardened to waking up at this time so I didn't really feel a desire to sleep anymore.

It was pretty much pitch black out the large window at the side of the room. There were a few small lights turned on but for the most part you couldn't really see anything. The room was heated so I didn't feel any of the early-morning chilliness that is emblematic of waking up at this time.

'I don't really know, I guess I'll have a walk around.'

'Alright, but don't act too suspicious, otherwise I'm sure you'll be taken in for some questioning for walking around so early in the morning.'

'I'll be back later.'

'See ya.' He quickly tucked himself back under the covers and went back to sleep.

I made my way outside the dormitory building. It would be a good opportunity to get used to the layout of this place.

I guess I'd go to the library or something afterwards.

Now that I had left the heated-air conditioned building, the cool air quickly informed me that it was very early in the morning—that and the fact that it was practically pitch black. I began strolling around the courtyard in front of the dormitory building.

'—is someone there?'

I heard the deep voice of a man nearby—I decided to reply in order to appear less suspicious.

'Yeah.'

He walked over to me, the dense thumping of his boots echoed through the silent footpath. He was wearing a large black leather jacket with a tag that said security. The school even had staff who patrolled the area at night.

'What are you doing this early in the morning?' He asked.

'This is the usual time I wake up.'

'Jeez, you elite students really are something—earlier, I saw a girl wandering around the yard as well.'

'Oh.'

'Anyways, just don't be too loud, all of the teachers are still sleeping.'

'Okay.'

Apparently there'd been a girl who was walking around as well. I decided that I would see what she was doing. A quick detour before going to the library.

She couldn't have gone far if the security guard had just seen her so I had a quick look around. Based on Haruto's reaction, not many people should be awake at this time.

Eventually, I saw the figure of a girl. Her dark hair flowed graciously below her shoulders. She seemed to be hurrying somewhere.

I decided not to speak to her, but I did notice something that looked like a note in her hand—it was slightly crumpled with what seemed to be a pretty long paragraph of handwritten words. I only managed to get a very brief glance of its contents but I could make out a few of the sentences with a little bit of inference.

Save up as many points as you can...

The first special exam will destroy the lower classes...

Spend as little points as possible wherever you can...

I won't be able to bail you guys out during...

*

It was 7:00am.

I decided to return to the dorm to prepare for class. I wandered around the school for too long and forgot to go to the library—oh well, I could always just go at another time.

'How was your walk?' Asked Haruto.

He had gotten up and was doing some stretches by the wall. He had already packed his bag and all of the supplies for the day.

'It was alright.'

'Well I'll be going, apparently some people in class A organised this group meeting this morning.'

'I'll see you later then.'

No one in our class decided to organise something of the like.

I brushed my teeth in our bathroom. After a few minutes, I decided to take my leave and began making my way towards the classrooms as well. Once again, I stepped out of the large dormitory building; the fresh air brushed against my face. This time, the bright sun had also exposed itself from behind a thin layer of clouds.

On my way, I was greeted by the smiling face of a cute-looking girl. It was quite the surprise to have someone talk to me for once, especially someone who looked like her.

She walked up closer to my face.

'Hey, how are you!'

'I'm good.'

'What class are you in?'

'I'm in 1-E.'

'Oh, that the same class that I'm in!' She walked closer to me and grabbed my hand. She was filled with the you can trust me energy. 'I'm Aiko Hamasaki, and you?'

'Rin Takamiya.'

'Nice to meet you, Rin! See you in class.' She let go of my hand and bounced ahead.

**

After a few minutes, I made it to the entrance of 1-E.

Homeroom began at 8:15am so I still had quite a bit of time. I was the first one in the classroom, it seemed that Aiko had some other things to do before arriving.

I took a seat on the same table as yesterday and placed down my books. I decided to check my phone in case something else had been released or posted.

I was greeted by a notification on the mail app.

-

National High School

First-year students will have a meeting in the assembly hall at 10:15am regarding the Preseqta System.

Attendance is optional.

-

It was interesting that they would make such a meeting optional. I suppose they assume that the contents is intriguing enough for more people to appear—well that's just a guess. I decided to go into settings and turn on push notifications. I didn't want to miss anything important on my phone, which I seemed to be missing quite often.

Students began filling the room and class soon commenced.

'Textbooks to page three.'

The class was filled by the sound of page-flipping. There was a pretty decent level of chatter which continued even after class had begun. The teacher didn't appear to care about it—he just continued to teach the class as if nothing was happening. There were very different levels of participation from the students. Some carefully listened and took notes, whilst others spent their time either chatting, sleeping or playing on their phones.

After a while, it was time for recess.

'There's an optional meeting in the assembly hall today, that's all I have to say, you're all dismissed.'

I made my way to the assembly hall, alongside many other students for the meeting.

We took seats in the very large amount of seating. Each chair had lots of padding and even a small side-table for drinks. It was almost like a cinema. After a short moment, a man wearing a well-fitted suit and tie walked on stage.

'All first-years, we will be initiating the main Preseqta System at 6am tomorrow, however, the app will be activated very soon. Don't worry, this is nothing you should be worried about. All it is is an app on your phone which shows various pieces of information on each other and also the place where you will receive reports from the school. Be sure to check it every single day, otherwise you may miss out on something important—which you will regret.'

He continued to talk about some other stuff about behaviour and the school.

The speech went on for about fifteen minutes before we were dismissed once again. There was an eruption of chatter of people talking about what they had just been informed of. A sea of people began exiting the assembly hall to go to recess.

I didn't really care that much and decided to go over to the cafeteria for some food.

The cafeteria had basically everything you could want, from a large amount of options for different foods and a self-serve drinks station to hundreds of seats and generously wide tables. The prices of the foods were displayed on the menu which were posted on big television screens behind the counter.

This wasn't even the only place you could purchase food. There were also several cafes around the campus which sold more elegant meals.

I purchased the cheapest meal on the menu. It was a vegetable mix with rice and a side of miso soup; the total came to 350 points.

In less than a minute, the meal was prepared and I picked it up at the collection zone on the end of the counter. For the cheapest meal, it still looked decent and smelled alright—it was better than what I expect. I found a seat alone and began eating my meal. The portion was quite generous and it was enough to fill me up for the time being.

I threw out my trash and went back to the classroom for the rest of my classes.

Suddenly, I felt a vibration on my leg—my phone had received a notification.