Welcome to Apex Island.

I made my way through the crowded city streets clutching onto the welcome guide paper given to me as a new student of The Apex High School of Magic. My elementary and middle schools were both standard day schools, like the ones you would see almost anywhere in the world. Go to school during the day, commute to your family home at the end of the day. The Apex High School of Magic was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Not only was it a boarding school, it was on its own island. “Own island” is maybe not the right thing to say, the school did share the island with two other branches of The Apex School, The Apex High School of Alchemy and The Apex High School. I’m not sure why The Apex High School didn’t have any explanatory term like alchemy or magic, but hey, it wasn’t my job to care about details like that. There’s no way The Apex High School was a “normal” high school. Nothing about this man made island in the temperate pacific climate hinted towards Apex System operating normally.

Apex System was the most famous corporation in the world, they pretty much ran anything and everything. The bag I was using to carry my luggage? Made by an Apex System subsidiary. The local convenience store down the block from my family home? Owned and operated by Apex System. But I, and most everyone else, never knew they ran school systems. The entire Apex Island was run as a simulated city with only the students of the three Apex schools and employees Apex System living on the island. Or, at least that’s what the welcome packet said. I, as a student of the magic school, would be living my next three years in one of the magic dorms, Sugawara Hall.

Walking down the street with my head buried in the instruction paper I was hardly paying attention to my surroundings. That seemed quite counter-intuitive given I was trying desperately not to get lost on my first day on the island.

Thump.

“Hey try looking up when you’re walking!”

“Oh, my apologies.”

That was about the fifth time already I had to apologize to someone for walking into them. I was clearly making a great first impression on my island cohabitants. As I kept walking, I felt a hand softly grasp onto my shoulder. Instinctively I spun around.

“Hello there, are you a new student? You look like you could use some directions.”

Oh, wow. The lady standing before me was absolutely breath taking. She was tall and had her medium length black hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Her suit and skirt perfectly complemented her figure. A total knockout. I couldn’t help but blush, a woman like her had never given me the light of day.

“Hi. Oh, yes. I am a new student actually. Directions would be super helpful, this island is pretty complex.”

“Well let’s see where you’re going,” she said in her soothing voice as she snatched my paper out of my hand. “Sugawara Hall? I can take you there! I’m a teacher at the alchemy school but of course I still know my way around the island.”

Without a second thought she set off past me. As she breezed by me I caught the trailing scent of her perfume, it was magical. She couldn’t have been any older than 20 or 21, but as a high school first year I knew I stood no chance with someone like her. Wait, why am I even thinking of something like that? She’s a teacher. I felt her grab my hand as she began to tug me along.

“Uh, ma’am, I can walk on my own,” I said completely flustered by the situation.

“Oh I know dear but the city center of the island can get quite crowded around move in time. This way it will be a lot harder for us to get separated.”

Well, she did have a point. I wasn’t going to complain about my current situation anyway. We weaved and bobbed our way through the countless crowds. Now that I had a guide with me, I was able to actually look around and take in my surroundings. The island itself wasn’t very big, but it was a very remote island in the middle of the ocean. What stood out to me most was the lack of cars or public transportation. There were electric bikes that I noticed a few people riding but that was about it in terms of transportation. Otherwise, the island looked like any other modern day city. Think Tokyo or Seoul, but in the middle of the pacific.

“Excuse me ma’am, is there a reason I don’t see any cars or buses here?”

“Oh that’s because this entire island is constructed for pedestrian traffic only,” she remarked. “Those electric bikes are all we need, everything is within walking or biking distance here. And the best part, they’re free of charge! Just leave them at a designated parking area when you’re done riding. Also dear, you can call me Ms. Ayase.”

“Interesting. It’s nice to meet you Ms. Ayase, I’m Arata Nakamura.”

Our walk continued for another five minutes. Hopefully she didn’t notice my hand getting sweaty.

“Alright dear here we are, Sugawara Hall!”

The building before me was a bit… underwhelming. Everything we passed by on the way here was clearly up to date technologically speaking, but Sugawara Hall, well it just looked like any normal apartment or dorm building.

“This building is pretty ordinary…” I said to myself under my breath. Evidently, Ms. Ayase heard me.

“Well the school funds are pretty much sent to the classroom and researchers, so the dorms take a bit of a back seat in budget planning. You’ll still enjoy it just fine don’t worry!”

Apex System was being stingy with funding? I guess multi-billion corporations don’t become multi-billion corporations by spending money irresponsibly. It wasn’t like I had any say in the matter anyway. Sugawara Hall was my home for the next year. I thanked Ms. Ayase for guiding me to the dorm and walked inside.

The lobby was as plain as the rest of the building, indistinguishable from any other apartment complex lobby. There was a lone desk in the lobby, a stunningly beautiful girl occupying the chair behind it. Was everyone on this island attractive or something?

“Are you here to check into the dorm?” the girl called out, noticing the bags I was carrying.

“Yes that’s right,” I said as I made my way towards the desk. In the blink of an eye, my shoe caught the corner of the carpet, sending me face first into the floor. I tumbled with everything but grace.

“Oh no, are you okay!?”

I looked up shamefully from my new seat on the floor. The next thing I saw was like a scene out of a romantic comedy. A cliché one at that. Standing right before me was the girl from behind the desk, extending her hand out to help me up. I swear there was an aura of light radiating from behind her, like a real angel. Did I slip and fall to heaven? Trying to play it cool, I took her hand as she helped me up.

“Sorry about that,” she continued. “The carpet in here is kind of old so it’s coming up at the edges. I hope you’re not hurt. So, what’s your name?”

I blushed at the question. Did a girl as beautiful as her really want to know my name?

“I’m Arata Nakamura, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Okay, Arata Nakamura…” She grabbed the clipboard from on top of the desk and began flipping through pages. I’m so stupid, obviously she only wanted my name to check me in. “Found it! You’re in room 801, lucky you, that’s on the top floor.”

Maybe my luck was beginning to turn around, a room on the top floor sounded pretty nice. At the very least, I’d have one of the best views on the island.

“Thank you, do you have the keys here or do I get them somewhere else?”

“We don’t use keys in our dorms,” she responded as she handed me a sheet of paper. “That paper has your unique pin number on it which you can use to unlock your room. Better memorize it soon! Your roommate has already checked in, so try not to startle them when you go in the room for the first time.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

With that, I had no reason left to remain in the lobby. I glanced at the paper, pin 1433, easy enough to remember. I backed away from the desk and made my way to the elevator. The elevator chimed as the doors opened. My adventure at the Apex School was truly about to begin.

“By the way,” I heard the girl call out as the elevator doors began to close. “I’m Kaori Sakata, I live in Sugawara Hall too!”

A room on the top floor and a beautiful girl living in my dorm hall? Man, this school was amazing.

The elevator made its way uninterrupted to the top floor. After coming graciously to a halt, the elevator doors opened. I stepped out and peered down the hallway. Room 801 was just down the hallway, the second closest room to the elevator. I quickly typed in my pin and heard the lock on the door slide open. Heeding Kaori’s warning, I opened the door slowly and decided to announce my presence.

“Hey man, I’m gonna be your roommate this year, I’m coming in now.”

When the door fully swung open my jaw practically hit the floor. All I saw before me was the backside of a shapely girl, barely covered by a wrapped towel. I knew I should look away, but no matter how hard I tried, my eyes betrayed me. I was like a deer in the headlights, and I knew the consequences I would face for that.

She slowly turned to face me, using another towel in her hand to dry her hair. Her face had an expression of abject horror. Feverishly she brought her towel down to cover what of her body was still exposed.

“You… pervert!!!”

She grabbed the nearest textbook off the bedside stand next to her and threw it full force towards me. Still frozen in shock, the book flew directly into my face, knocking me back through the door. Another trip, another tumble for me. She stormed into the doorway and stood over me now fully covered by her towels.

“What the hell is wrong with you! You can’t just break into a girl’s room! School hasn’t even started yet and I’m going to get you expelled!”

I cowered and braced myself for a solid slap as she raised her hand in the air. With my eyes closed I expected to feel pain at any moment, but it never came. I slowly opened my eyes again to see nothing but a gray door in front of me. Clearly while my eyes were closed she had gone back into the room and locked me out. Fantastic. At least I wasn’t hit again, by a textbook or otherwise.

“Okay I’ll just wait out here until you’re changed!” I shouted through the door. Man, I had no idea co-ed dorm rooms were a thing. As quickly as my luck seemed to be building, it was gone.

A lot of time passed, more than I ever could have imagined would be necessary to get dressed. But eventually, the dorm room door swung open. I looked up from my seated position on the hallway floor and something clicked in my mind. Her fiery red hair was indistinguishable. I stood up and our eyes locked. At least she seemed less angry than before, and much more clothed.

“Hey, you’re the pyro girl from the audition.”

“What do you want?” she snapped back quickly as she retreated back into our room. “And I’m not ‘pyro girl’, so don’t call me that.”

Clearly she didn’t hear me announce when I first arrived that I was her roommate. “I’m living in this room, and what’s your name?”

“You… a boy… are living in the same room as me!?”

I instinctively cowered fearing she would throw something at me again. Something told me violence would be her go to response during embarrassing situations like this. Thankfully, I was spared any further bodily harm.

“I know, seeing you here surprised me too, I didn’t think dorms would be co-ed.”

“You’re coming with me!” she said aggressively as she grabbed my hand and dragged me out of our room. The women around here sure were aggressive.

“Hey, where are we going?” I tried to wriggle free but to no avail.

“We’re going to talk to the dorm staff to get this sorted out, there’s no way I’m living with a boy! They must have made some kind of mistake.”

Before I knew it I found myself back in the Sugawara Hall elevator. School hadn’t even started yet and I was already running all over the place.

Once the elevator touched down in the lobby pyro girl stormed straight for Kaori Sakata sitting cheerfully at her desk.

“Excuse me!”

“Yes, can I help you?” Kaori said with a bright smile. All I could do was sigh in the background, if I tried to speak up pyro girl would undoubtedly try and shut me up. It was best to let her handle this.

“This boy here just came into my room and said he’s going to be my roommate, there’s no way that can be correct, right? Boy and girls should be in separate rooms!”

“Oh hey, you’re the boy that checked in about 10 minutes ago, Nakamura right?”

“Yeah, nice to see you again,” I said sheepishly, awkwardly messing with my hair. I didn’t want to start a conversation, it would probably tick pyro girl off.

Kaori started rustling through her papers again. She scanned everything over for a moment.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a room with a boy and a girl, but according to the paperwork that’s correct,” Kaori said nicely yet confidently. “You see, there’s a special student in the dorm that’s a boy but he was given the only single room in the entire hall, so Nakamura was the odd man out. And you were the odd girl out, so you got thrown into a room together.”

“You couldn’t pull a girl from another dorm and send this guy somewhere else?” Pyro girl still wasn’t pleased.

“You know she’s said my name multiple times, you don’t need to call me ‘this guy’ anymore…” I muttered under my breath. Pyro girl glanced back at me with daggers in her eyes. I decided to quickly shut up, my well-being quite literally depended on it.

“At the Apex Schools all dorms are populated by a ranking system,” Kaori began to explain. “You two are members of the A rank, and thus you both have to live in Sugawara Hall. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

So I had the schools rule system to thank for my current predicament. It sounded like no matter what we did, pyro girl and I would be stuck with each other.

“Sorry for bothering you Sakata, we’ll go back to our room now. I still need to unpack after all.”

I was expecting resistance from pyro girl, but at this point she seemed to have given up on her quest to find a new roommate. She sunk her head down and followed me back to the elevator.

Pyro girl and I remained in our room in silence. I was almost finishing unpacking, and she had said nothing the entire time. She just sat on her bed typing rapidly on her phone. No doubt she was messaging her friends to complain about me.

“Okay look,” I said finally caving to the silence. “I know this isn’t an optimal set up for either one of us, but if we are stuck here, we should try and coexist. This room is pretty nice, its spacious and has its own private bathroom. Maybe we can set rules about showering or something so we don’t have a repeat of earlier today.”

Pyro girl finally put her phone away and looked up. “I guess you’re right. As long as you don’t try anything perverted like earlier, then we should be able to manage this okay I think.”

What I did was not perverted at all, but that was a point not worth fighting. No matter what I did now I would never shed that label in her mind.

“Okay, we can work out the details later, but I’m glad we’re on the same page. Also, were you ever going to tell me your name?”

“It’s Honoko Hayashi. And the front desk lady said your name was… Nakamura?”

It shocked me that she actually remembered that, especially since she couldn’t remember Kaori’s name.

“Yup that’s me. Arata Nakamura.”

She seemed to be letting her guard down. Maybe we could make this work after all.

“So I guess we are both in the A rank then, you must be quite the magic user, but I don’t remember seeing your performance, what kind of magic do you specialize in?”

The question hit me like a train. I hadn’t given it much thought when Kaori originally mentioned it, but how did I make the A rank? There’s no way my simple card trick stacked up at all against the pyrotechnic display Honoko put on, or any of the other performances I watched. Stuck in a corner, I responded the only way I knew how.

“I use deception magic.” Of course, there was no way she could know what I meant by that, it was a stupid name I made up.

“Deception magic? I think I’ve heard of that.” She’s heard of it? How? I’m pretty sure that was a term I made up thinking it sounded way cooler in my head than it really did. “Isn’t that some type of mind control or manipulation magic?”

“I guess in a way, yeah.” Using sleight of hand to mess with someones perception was a form of manipulation, I guess.

A soft knock at the door interrupted our slowly blossoming conversation. Since I was still unpacking, Honoko hopped off her bed and walked to the door. She pulled the door open, I could barely make out the people standing in the hallway behind her body.

“Hi, can I help you?” Honoko asked happily. Her tone changed so rapidly it gave me whiplash. Where was this sweet personality when we first met?

“Hi. We live in the room next door, we just wanted to stop by and introduce ourselves.”

The voice was undoubtedly feminine but had a bit of bite to it. Her words were clearly friendly, but her speech was cold and almost calculated. A stark contrast to the outgoing and fittingly fiery personality of Honoko. Honoko stepped aside and welcomed the two strangers into the room. I looked up from my mess of stuff and saw not just one, or two, but now three absolute knock outs. Was I the only guy in this dorm? The only guy on this island?

“Your roommate is a boy?” the girl with the icy voice said with disdain. “How unfortunate.”

Ouch.

“I didn’t realize boys and girls could even live together,” the other girl said with much more pep than her roommate.

Since I was the topic of conversation I figured now was my time to speak up. “Yeah, I’m not entirely sure how this happened, but it’s nice to meet both of you. I’m Arata Nakamura.”

“Yukino Yukimura,” the girl with the icy blue and black long hair said. How fitting that her name, hair color, and personality all matched perfectly.

“I’m Emi Ichinose!” the other girl said excitedly. Her blonde twintails swung around as she jittered with excitement. The prospect of making new friends was clearly joyous to her. For Yukino, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“And I’m Honoko Hayashi. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Even though the conversation kept its friendly outward tone, I couldn’t help but feel a strange tension in the air. Was it just me? The girls seemed to be alright.

“We stopped by at Ichinose's insistence,”

“Don’t say it like that Yukino!” Emi interrupted. “And I told you since we’re roommates just call me Emi!”

Yukino let out a long sigh. “I hope we can be good neighbors this year. We also wanted to let you know that our entire hall will be having a meeting in the conference room on the first floor later tonight, so we’ll see you there.”

As quickly as Yukino and Emi arrived, they were gone. Once again, it was just me and Honoko.

“Those two seem like total opposites don’t they?” I said trying to stir up another conversation.

“I don’t like that Yukimura girl,” Honoko said with a peeved expression. “Something about her just rubs me the wrong way. I’m going to go for a walk around the island, I’ll see you at the meeting later.”

Before I could say anything else, Honoko was out the door. Oh well, I still had to finish unpacking, some peace and quiet couldn’t hurt.

As the sun set over the horizon I waited by the elevator to take it down to the first floor. Normally, waiting for an elevator wouldn’t be an awkward experience at all, but of course that wasn’t the case for me. There were six other girls waiting for the elevator with me. Those six girls, Yukino and Emi, and my roommate Honoko, were the floors in Sugawara Hall separated by gender?

“What is a guy doing up here?” one girl whispered to her group.

“Did someone already bring a guy back to their room?”

Great, the rumors were already flying. School hadn’t even started yet, could I please catch a break? At least that confirmed my suspicions about the floors being separated by gender.

After what felt like an eternity the elevator chimed and the doors opened. We stopped on a few floors on the way down, thankfully picking up some guys along the way, before finally stopping on the first floor. In the lobby I spotted a door which I somehow hadn’t noticed in my previous visits. A plain poster was taped to the door, “Sugawara Hall Meet and Greet.” Following the masses I entered the room. For a pretty large dorm building, there weren’t many people in the room. I guess that made sense, since only first year students would need to attend a meet and greet. Older students already know their classmates. Overall, there was roughly a 50% split of male and female students, perfectly balanced. The group I rode down in the elevator with already seemed fully immersed with their fellow students. As an outsider, they certainly didn’t look like they were must meeting for the first time. Outside of Honoko, Yukino, and Emi, I knew no one. And of course, none of them were here yet.

No longer wanting to stand alone awkwardly, I made my way towards one of the few remaining open seats. Occupying the seat next to it was a girl one could only describe as captivating. Her dark, indigo hair contrasted her distinct, dark red eyes. In a way, she had an intimidating air around her, although it paled in comparison to the icy demeanor of Yukino. As unapproachable as I thought I looked, she shockingly took the initiative to introduce herself.

“You didn’t seem to be talking with anyone when you came in,” she said in a sincere tone. Great, insulting me right off the bat. “Have you not met many people yet?”

“I’ve met a few people, although none of them are actually here yet. And I’m the only person from my middle school attending this school, so I didn’t know anyone coming in.”

She chuckled at my response. The way she covered her mouth as she tried to suppress her giggle was cute.

“Sorry for laughing, I’m just glad to meet someone in the same boat as me. I haven’t met anyone yet, not even my own roommate. I just got to the island an hour ago, haven’t even unpacked yet.”

There was something soothing in meeting a seemingly normal person for once. Yukino didn’t exactly project friendliness, Emi was perhaps too energetic, and Honoko tried to kill me when we first met. None of them exactly came off as “normal.”

“I’m Arata Nakamura, by the way.”

“Shinobu Shiina. Nice to meet you Nakamura.”

Her smile radiated and the way my name rolled off her lips in her soft and soothing voice almost made my heart skip a beat. Before the conversation could continue, we were cut off by a piercing and commanding voice.

“Hello everyone!”

A large, well built man was standing at the front of the room. His voice easily carried through the room. All the chatter in the air instantly ceased. All eyes were on him.

“I’m Mr. Kusakabe,” he continued, still using a booming voice even though all side conversations had stopped. “I’m the dorm advisor for Sugawara Hall. To keep things simple, my job is to make sure the dorm runs smoothly. If any of you ever run into any problems, feel free to reach out to me. My room is the corner room on the first floor. Do any of you kids have an idea for some type of large group icebreaker?”

A boy with grayish white hair stood up.

“We could go around and introduce ourselves and say what magic we use. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

No one else stood up or presented any alternatives. I certainly didn’t have a better suggestion.

“Sure that sounds good,” Mr. Kusakabe said. “Since you’re already standing up, why don’t we start with you.”

“I’m Hikari Iwasaki, I specialize in light magic. I hope we can continue to uphold the prestigious reputation that comes along with being in Class A.”

A short and simple introduction. Now that I think of it, what should I call my magic? Is deception magic an acceptable name? That was just something I came up with on my own, although Honoko did say she had heard of it before. Hikari said light magic, which isn’t very specific, so maybe deception magic would be fine?

Keeping up with all the introductions was harder than I thought. Remembering names and magic for people speaking for such a short amount of time was apparently too much for my brain to retain. At some point while I was talking to Shinobu, Yukino and Emi must have arrived. They were sitting next to each other, and it was now their turn to speak.

“I’m Emi Ichinose! I use wind magic! I can’t wait to become friends with all of you!”

Her bubbly and carefree personality was perfectly evident. So far, she had given by far the most energetic introduction.

“Yukino Yukimura, ice magic.”

In perfect contrast, Yukino gave a succinct and dry introduction. Her icy personality seemed awfully fitting given her proclaimed use of ice magic. What exactly was ice magic anyway? Emi’s wind magic made sense, she was the one flying around the stage at the audition. She must be an expert in wire rigging and circus acts or something.

Soon enough the rounds were made and it was Shinobu’s turn.

“Hi everyone, Shinobu Shiina. I specialize in invisibility magic. I hope to see you around campus, or not.”

Her comment got a few laughs. Opening with a magic related pun, probably a safe bet to get people to like her. I didn’t have anything like that up my sleeve, and now it was my turn to speak.

“Hi, I’m Arata Nakamura. I use deception magic. I hope we all have a great year.”

I didn’t get nearly as warm of a reception as Shinobu did. I guess my generic comments about having a great year were too bland for everyone’s liking. Oh well, I blew my first impression, nothing new for me so far.

The rest of the introductions went off without a hitch. Even so, I never understood the point of ice breakers. Everyone had spoken, but I didn’t feel closer to anyone. Maybe I could get together with Yukino and Emi later on? Maybe they had already met Shinobu. Strangely, Honoko was no where to be found, even though she told me she would be at the meeting tonight.

“Okay, well with introductions out of the way, why don’t I turn you all free?” Mr. Kusakabe said. “Please stay here until I dismiss you, but feel free to make new friends and talk amongst yourselves!”

With his approval, students began to move around and mingle. If only it were that easy for me to just approach somebody and befriend them.

“So did your friends show up?” Shinobu asked.

“Oh yeah, two of them did. Those two over there,” I responded, pointing towards Yukino and Emi. I wouldn’t exactly call them my friends, though.

“Well let’s go talk to them!”

Before I could say or do anything, Shinobu got up and grabbed my arm, dragging me behind her towards Yukino and Emi, who were still sitting together alone.

“My my,” Shinobu said provocatively. “You two gave some great introductions!”

“Did we?” Yukino responded coldly. “All we needed to do was state our names and magic.”

“Well sure, but I can tell you two make a great pair.” Shinobu retorted.

“Hey you’re the boy living with Honoko, right!?” Emi shouted enthusiastically.

“Yup, that’s me.”

“I knew it! I never forget a face.”

Emi grinned to herself, proud of her supposed accomplishment of remembering who I was.

“This seems like it could be a fun little friend group,” Shinobu remarked.

Me and three girls in a friend group? That’s something I would have never seen coming in a million years.

The four of us hung out together in the lounge, chatting away. Or, they were chatting away, I should say. I played the role of observant listener. Although there wasn’t much to observe, just typical introductory stuff. Emi with her outgoing personality was definitely driving the conversation, but Shinobu was holding her own, too. Yukino, on the other hand, I still couldn’t get a read on.

As the conversation came to another lull, I figured now was my time to finally speak up and say something.

“So, do you all want to see a magic trick?”

I had a deck of cards in my pocket alongside my phone. I figured it wouldn’t be too strange to carry cards around anymore, since this was a magic school after all. But before I even took my cards out, all three girls eyed me with confusion and concern.

“You want to perform magic right now?” Emi asked.

“My my you’re a bold one Nakamura,” Shinobu said in jest. “Trying to perform magic when the dorm advisor is in the same room.”

I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. Why would it be bold to perform a card trick at an ice breaker event? It seemed like a good way to break the ice to me.

“Uh, what’s the problem?”

“It’s against the rules,” Yukino chimed in. “It clearly states in the student handbook that we are not to perform any form of magic off school grounds. The dorms are not on school grounds.”

Of course she memorized the entire student handbook. It wasn’t painfully long or anything, but still. I certainly hadn’t memorized it yet.

“Oh, I didn’t realize. Sorry.”

It was best for me to just accept it and move on. The rule didn’t make any sense to me, but rules were rules I guess. I didn’t want to risk getting in trouble before my first official day of school.

The rest of the ice breaker was rather uneventful. About an hour after we all arrived, the dorm advisor Mr. Kusakabe dismissed us. Some students stayed around to keep chatting while others left for the night. Yukino and Emi retreated back to their room, much to Emi’s dismay, while Shinobu said she needed to run a couple quick errands before going to bed. Left alone, and all socialized-out for the day, I made my way back to my room as well.

Honoko was no where to be found. She skipped the ice breaker and still wasn’t back. Maybe she went out into the city or something. I didn’t even have her contact information, so I couldn’t track her down even if I wanted to.

I finished unpacking the rest of my things and got ready for bed. I still had some leftovers that mom packed for me, which I scarfed down for dinner. Conveniently, our dorm room had a microwave as well as a rice cooker, so we would be able to prepare some meals here at least.

Finally, it was time to hit the hay. Honoko still wasn’t back, but there was no reason for me to stress over that. Even so, the anticipation of starting school tomorrow made it difficult to fall asleep. After tossing and turning, I eventually drifted off into a slumber. Tomorrow was the big day, my journey into the world of magic was about to officially begin.