New Day, New Habits
"Zero..."
I silently groan in annoyance as I awake.
"Zero..."
I give no response.
"Zero..."
I continue to ignore the voice as I keep my eyes closed.
"Zero, it's time to get up." I feel a hand grab onto my shoulder and shake me.
"Fine," I mutter in exasperation.
I open my eyes and sit up, only to come face to face with the immature brown-haired Canadian teenager who had been trying to wake me up for the past couple of seconds. He is looking at me with a mixture of fear and excitement in his eyes, or maybe just excitement; there is nothing scary about me.
"Truudfluue? What time is it?" I groggily look around the barely lit room that I find somewhat familiar as I ask.
"I don't know. Morning... something...?" Truudfluue just shrugs his shoulders and slightly tilts his head in thought.
I absent-mindedly stare at him for a bit before sliding the blanket off my waist and moving to get off the bed. Planting my bare feet on the floor below, I feel the hardwood floor underneath before lazily lifting myself off the bed. Truudfluue stands up and leaves to wake up the other boys who I bunked with for the night.
After asking Daryl in his office, he told me that I would be slumming it with the boys of room three, which was more than an acceptable proposal at the time. Though I didn't get much equated with the boys as once I reached the room, there were probably only two minutes between the time I took my sandals off and much-needed pleasurable sleep. I didn't even bother to change clothes, not that I had or still have many choices in that matter.
Standing around listlessly, I try to recall yesterday's events while figuring out what to do next.
Usually, the first things I do after waking up and sitting in bed for a couple of minutes would be to brush my teeth and take a shower, but I don't know my current options for personal hygiene as of this moment, so I will just ignore those steps for now and move on. I look to my inventory to change clothing, and I equip my Modified Plain Clothes into my armor slot.
There is only the briefest flash of nudity before I'm re-garbed in the white cloth shirt and brown pants I'm familiar with. I look down towards my feet only to see those dastardly elf shoes.
Bah!
I get those little vermins off my feet as quickly as possible before taking out the sandals I had kept in my inventory from the night before. I strap the sandals onto my feet to make them feel better again. They really don't like wearing such cringy things.
Wearing the now "Plain Clothes," I see that my defense had decreased by one, but I don't think it's all that big of a deal, especially here in the Nexus. Luckily, the clothes no longer have any cuts or bloodstains, which is weird, and I can question it, but why would I? I don't have much of the energy or the drive to.
Looking towards the other three boys, I recognize two of whom as the ones who carried the bread and apples for Veleda, and the last boy is one who sat next to Daryl during yesterday's dinner. I see that they are not paying much attention to me and are doing their own things, like getting dressed or still lying in bed. Deciding not to stare much, I turn back to think about another pressing issue.
Where am I supposed to pee?
---
So apparently, the Nexus has a whole ass sewage system! Who would have thought? But seriously, The orphanage has two bathrooms that I somehow missed during my first impromptu tour. The doors looked like every other one in the hallway, so I'm gonna assume that I assumed that they were just storage closets like the rest of them.
The toilets weren't anything like the ones I'm used to, but they do their job so... Can't complain? They were wooden and had holes in them. There was no water, but the opening seemed pretty deep, which is why I think the sewage system exists.
Before I found my way to the toilets, I had asked how I was expected to brush my teeth and bathe. The answers I got for cleaning teeth from the boys were mixed, but I was told that bath time is sometimes after breakfast, which means... yeah, it's probably a shared time. I was told, though, that I should still wash my hands and face before doing much. It's good that people here in the Nexus have a basic sense of hygiene, which was evident by looking at them, but I was still unsure for whatever reason.
I was able to wash my hands and face when three of the orphan girls, one of which being the older girl who sat next to Lilyin, brought a pale of water to our room with two rags. We ended up sharing them between the five of us. The boys told me that fetching water every morning for everyone was a chore that rotated between the six rooms. Today was the first girls' room turn.
Truudfluue informed me that he was not directly told how to brush his teeth since he never asked but has watched Seeda clean her teeth with a wet towel after a meal, which is what he has been doing since. It doesn't make much sense to me because how are you supposed to keep your teeth clean without toothpaste? I guess scrapping your teeth and making sure that some residue is gone will help, but for how long?
After I finish using the toilet, I make my way to the dining room for breakfast. I was told that we only eat in the early morning and the late afternoon, so I will have to get used to only two meals a day while I live here in these conditions, but I guess that makes sense if they can hardly afford the children two slices of apple.
You would think that the orphanage would look run-down and be in a poor neighborhood given the impoverished life they lead, but no, It seems like a middle-class family house made for hundreds of people... at least from the outside, not that it's much worse inside. Things aren't broken, and everything is clean. The only things wrong are the lack of proper bedding, educational items like books and maps, and most surprisingly, food. I have seen toys like hoops and stuffed animals, but everything else an orphanage would need is either missing or in short supply.
I arrive in the dining room to find children already bringing in pillows, bowls, plates, and spoons. Despite the lack of resources I noted, it appears like everyone is in an exceptional mood, doing morning chores and laughing with each other, and I happen to be the only Debbie-Downer thinking about the orphans' troubled lives.
Standing around, watching for some time, it doesn't take long before I hear a voice calling to me from behind. "Zero! Come help me with this!"
Turning around to see the cyan-haired Veleda carrying in a large steaming bowl of... something, so I rush up to grab it. She lets go of the bowl for me to hold alone once I place my hands on it. Veleda casts a long glance towards my eyes before she then turns around and leaves without saying another word.
I'm left standing in the room, children working around me as I look down to see what's for breakfast. Looking inside, I see a wet slop of grains, oats, and nuts.
Porridge! My favorite...
Yay...
You know, I don't care much for porridge. It's basically just soggy cereal.
I move over to the table with the bowl of porridge and place it down. The children have already set down the things needed to start eating, so I don't think it would hurt to serve it out, but I take a look at all the bowls, and I think that maybe I should just leave the serving to a professional. I'm not sure if I could adequately give everyone enough.
I hear footsteps behind me, and I turn to see Seeda holding a bowl of leafy greens. She gets closer to the table and tells me, "Zero, can you start serving the porridge out."
Welp, never mind, I guess I will then.
Using a wooden spoon, I start to fill the bowls on the table with porridge as I go around. I'm taking extra precaution to ensure that everyone gets their equal fill, but I think I'm rationing a little too much, which will leave extra when I'm done. Still, it's better than running out early; I can always go round a second time if I have to
Once I finish emptying the big bowl of porridge into all the smaller bowls, which wasn't as hard as I hyped myself up for, I sit down in the exact same location as last night. Most of the children were already seated by the time I was done, so I think it should be fine for me to do so as well.
---
We all once again sit around the table like one big family. The only person missing is Daryl. I presume that he is in his office, or perhaps still sleeping. I don't mind his absence, though, and it seems like no one else pays any mind either, so it must happen frequently.
This time, I'm sitting between Olifear and Ruwa, who rushed to the positions surrounding me as soon as they noticed I had taken a seat. Lilyin seemed dismayed when she came to the dining room and saw that the seats next to me were already taken but still managed to secure the position to Seeda's right.
I dredge through my porridge, scooping up the nuts from out of the water, trying to eat them and avoid the nasty soggy grains. I don't do this for long because my stomach is complaining, and I know that nuts won't get me through the day, so I eat the mash with malice. The malice is not directed towards anyone, in particular, just my spoon; I hate my spoon. Damn you spoon, this is your fault.
There is spinach, just spinach, on a plate for me as well. Not very appetizing in appearance, but it's there, so I have options. I guess I could put it in the porridge, but I would rather just eat the leaves alone. And alone I do, as I put one of the leaves in my mouth and chew.
Everyone seems to engulf the entirety of their porridge and spinach in no time, seemingly in a hurry as I begrudgingly eat the food made for old people and babies without teeth. That's not true, but I don't care, I don't like it, and no one should. If they do, they're wrong because people actually don't; they just pretend to.
It's not even the taste that's bad, I actually like it, but it's the texture that ruins it, kind of like creamed spinach... Yuck!
Everyone starts stacking their bowls and bringing their pillows back to wherever they come from as I eat. One of the orphan girls walks up to me and asks, "What's wrong? Are you sick? When I get sick, my tummy doesn't feel good either."
I look at the darker-skinned girl and reply, "No, I will be done soon."
She nods and replies with "Okay" before turning back and walking out of the room. I find what just happened odd, but also kinda cute in its own way.
I don't actually know everyone's names yet, but I do recognize her as one of the girls who brought the pale to my room before breakfast.
Now, it's only me, Veleda, and Seeda left at the table; everyone else is gone. They both appear to be done with their food, so I don't know why there are still sitting here, just talking to each other. I don't want to ask them why; otherwise, I would sound like I want them to leave, so I will just stay silent for now and continue eating for a couple more seconds.
No, screw that, "Why are you still here?" I voice my question, trying my hardest to sound like I'm not brooding and instead just intrigued.
Both girls turn to me. "Why? You want us to leave?" Seeda makes a face that tells me I asked a dumb question while responding.
See! Told Ya! I remark in my brain.
"No, I'm just curious."
Seeda's face falls further into confusion while Veleda responds with, "We are always the last ones to leave the table when dad isn't here."
"Ahh..." I groan out in understanding while Seeda rolls her eyes and now makes a face as if she gets it now.
I get my head down and begin the eatening in full. Don't want to waste too much of their time, though this food certainly doesn't help with that.
---
*Splash*
"I'm gonna tip it!"
"NOOOO! Don't tip it over!"
*Splash*
"Hey! Quit It!"
"Make Me!"
*Splash*
"Thirteen... Fourteen... Fifteen..."
"Why are you still wearing underwear?"
"What's he doing?"
*Splash*
Here I am, honorary lifeguard of the giant kiddie pool, doing my duty, keeping the peace, one boy at a time. Or, at least I would if Johnny wasn't sitting here, splashing me in the face with water every five seconds!
"Get here, you!" I yell out and grab towards Johnny.
"Noooooo!" Johnny squeals out like a pig and attempts a getaway.
He manages to narrowly avoid my grab, but another older boy, Dante, comes to my aid and grabs Johnny before he can get too far. The older boy pushes Johnny towards me, and I grasp him from behind. Now holding him, I lift him up into the sky, showcasing his tiny nude self before I subsequently slam him into the pool water... Gently, of course.
*Big Splash*
Johnny sits up from the water and begins to laugh playfully along with Dante, who joined in our game. I smile at their antics, and I look towards the boy who's trying to hold his breath to make sure he isn't drowning... Not that I think he would even be able to, given how shallow the water is; he isn't, is he?
Bath time turned out to not be what I expected it to be. I don't even know what I was thinking, but not this. All seventeen of us boys, sitting here in a giant inflatable pool made of blue, pink, and yellow plastic. Yeah... Apparently, they don't have the working toilets I'm used to from Earth, but they have plastic pools? Kinda sus bro...
What's next? Hot beach babes in bikinis and buff men in rubber duck floaties? Actually, I'm curious, what kind of swimwear does the Nexus even have, if any?
Anyway, I'm here in the pool with everyone, but I'm wearing the purple briefs that came with my Robe of the Neophyte. I didn't feel comfortable going naked at the time since we were going outside, but now that I'm out here, I know there is a well-built fence surrounding the perimeter of the backyard. Still, I can get clean enough despite wearing clothes.
Before I came out, Veleda told me that it would be my duty to ensure that all the kids were clean before we left since I am the oldest. Previously, the job was Queston's, but now that I'm here, it's mine. I have made damn sure that each kid was scrubbed clean of all dirt and grime with the handy dandy bars of soup I was handed. I didn't clean them myself; why would I do that? But I did briefly inspect them for like a second with my eyes...
I don't actually care if they are clean or not. If the boys look clean, yay, but if they don't, nay; that's my policy.
"Zero! Catch!" A boy to my right yells, snapping me out of my reverie.
I instantly react to a ball that is thrown at me. I try to catch it with my right hand, but I miss the mark and smack the ball further into the air. I try to grab it again, but it slips out of my hand and falls into the pool. I quickly reach down a clutch it.
"Caught it!" I shout out in mock accomplishment as I nod towards the boy blond boy.
"No, you didn't. You dropped it." Bittol calls me out on my lie.
...
This little shit
"Nope! I caught it, look!" I show him my hand with the ball.
Bittol looks at the ball in my hand and gives me the most confused face I have ever seen in my life. He says, "No, you didn't! I saw it fall into the pool!"
Given the little bit of time I have spent with Bittol, I already know what he is like. Witty, talented, strong-willed, brave, massive drive for knowledge, all these good things, but for all of those, he can't take a single joke.
"Prove it!" I tell him. This is the only way to get to him.
"But... but... I saw it. Olifiaer, you saw him drop the ball." He looks towards Olifiaer, who is standing next to him.
The glassless Olifiaer makes a face that shows Bittol that he is not thinking and waves his hand in front of his face while yelling, "I'm blind!"
Bittol then looks towards the blond-haired boy, who threw the ball, and asks while yelling, "He dropped it, right!"
The boy looks towards me, searching for the correct answer to give. I notice his gaze, so I send him a knowing smirk. He sees this and grins slyly. He shouts at Bittol, "No, I watched him catch the ball!"
Thank you dude, you will be my best friend till the end of time... for today.
Bittol looks stunned, lost for words, as he stares at me in disbelief before turning towards another boy in an attempt to get his approval. This only backfires as the next boy he turns to also sides with us and denies Bittol's claim.
"But I saw you drop the ball!" He still doesn't seem to understand that we're just messing with him.
"Look, see? I'm holding it. If I dropped it, it wouldn't be in my hands." I show Bittol the ball, still not playing into his game.
Like yes, obviously, I dropped the ball, but who cares? This is all so petty.
"But I saw you drop the ball!" He glares at me desperately, seemingly begging for me to tell him he's right. Well, I'm not gonna.
"Bittol, you're just dumb and stupid." One of the younger boys, who I don't know, joins the conversation and instantly starts calling names.
Wow! That escalated quickly.
"I'm not dumb or stupid! I saw him drop the ball! I'm not lying! Why doesn't anyone believe me!" Bittol starts shouting louder and louder.
Dante chimes in with, "It's because you're a liar."
And then little Johnny strikes with a roast of his own. "Liar liar, pants on fire!"
Double Whammy!
"I'm not lying!!!" Bittol screams at the top of his lungs and begins to cry.
Crap.