Welcome_to_S_city: Staring_at _the_new_beginning - Part_9

Part 9

“Now arriving at District Sunflower.”

“We should head out here.”

“Okay.”

The situation was pretty awkward. They did not speak to each other for a while. The weather was still good today. It was still warm yet, felt distant and cold. Today`s events were quite shocking at least to Martin, but for some reason, his companion was on the same level as him too. He knew that this was going to be different, but he had never expected that his situation would turn to like those in the movies. He was a little distressed because of all that was happening after all this was not his everyday life. He then looked at his partner. Despite how small the girl was, she was still a little kid in his eyes despite how he looked at her.

(Was this your childhood?)

She felt his look. Then she looked back at him. He smiled. Then she averted her gaze. Today was quite the unluckiest of unlucky days she ever had, but at the same time, she was a little worried for Martin. Despite that she was younger, her maturation and understanding were pretty far ahead of anyone who was from the outside. Yet he did not show any signs of uneasiness or proudly announce that he was a tough guy. He remained silent. This made him quite a questionable figure. But in what light? Good or bad? She couldn`t decide, well she could be that would be by taking time to get to know him.

Martin decided finally to speak to her after walking for a while.

“Um, is this how your every day is?”

“No, but sometimes.”

“Isn`t it a bit too much?”

“You are from the outside, so I can understand why are you like that, but you should know why people do not get outside when they get in.”

“What do you mean?”

She only sighed.

“It means that once you get in, going outside would like going into hell. ”

“How?”

“You will understand one day.”

He still did not understand. But that did not matter to him, because everything till now was utterly bizarre. Why are children used as main regressors when police or elderly people should handle things like that? Also, why did he do that? His inner gut told him to make something but did know what. He managed to help the manager before was too late, but the boy who they escorted was in dire need of help and understanding of why he had done what he did rather than contamination. Martin only had seen part of the picture, but not the full one. He needed answers because he had so many questions, but it was sure that he wouldn`t get them or he would be hit with the ‘You will know later’ phrase.

“Ugh…”

After his deep thinking, he decided to look around while they were walking, so that he could memorize his surroundings. There were finally quite deep in the district now, he remembered that there were a few stores near the subway, after that there were tall I-shaped glassed buildings from both sides and now he saw dormitories from both sides, but this time each side was painted in different colors. Some were in blue others in white, but the number of brown and dark blue dormitories was 3. Each dormitory was tall 8 flats.

“Why are looking at the teacher`s dormitory?”

“Teacher`s dormitory?”

“Yes, that is the dormitory for the teachers on the campus.” she pointed out.

“Next to them is the magical security dorm sector.”

Martin got confused.

“Why sector?”

“Because the equipment they head out in town or do the surveillance in the campus, must be taken from that place.”

“But there are no fences or walls to block the entrance.”

“This is what you see.”

“?”

She then pointed towards a big hovering drone that was flying above one of the dormitories.

“That drone emits a magnetic field, strong enough to push back almost everything trying to pass through. If you think that if you are shot down the drone will do the job you are wrong. There is a special shield which is guarding the drone against piercing it with any type of projectile.”

“Whooa.”

“That is not all. They can use all new experimental guns or tools which come straight from the tech sector.” she added.

“That must be cool.” he sounded a bit disappointed.

“Don`t worry if you want to get in there, I am sure that you will enter.”

“But I do not want to.”

She got surprised by that answer.

“Then what do you want to enter?”

“I want to enter something with psychology.”

She did not speak a word after that. She then stopped and shrunk into a ball.

“What`s wrong?”

No answer. Martin then crouched to look at her face. Her face was on the verge of bursting her laugh out loud. His face then gave a disappointed look and just sighed. After that, a laugh could be heard for about 30 seconds or more. Then she got back to her usual self after her long laugh.

After that, they started walking towards the campus again. He decided not to ask why she laughed while she was trying to calm down.

Martin was starting to get impatient and annoyed.

“When are we going to arrive at the campus?”

They were walking 20 for minutes now.

“10 minutes and we are there.” the cat demon reassured him.

After 15 minutes a big white, almost like a facility building, a second, third and fourth flat with long halls (seen from the outside), a tennis field could be seen partly, there was a bus stop 50 meters away from it and a big school ground could be seen as well before the security gates. The gates resembled those of an amusement park, but with a subway entry system, a modernized barrier made from glass. At one of the registers, there was a sign for a post office and receiving letters. They went to the register. When they arrived nobody was there, disappointed even before her companion was about to say anything, he decided to head back.

“WAIT!!”

he stopped and turned around.

What could be seen as a young female teacher running at full speed like a woman trying to get a dress on sale, with a brown coat, a white shirt, on heels (demonic pain), a black long skirt, and a big chest bouncing all over the place was rushing in the position of Martin.

“Pant, pant.”

(I really need to go on diet…)

Of course, as she was running, she fell halfway. Truly a sight for horny students. Martin refrained from commenting on the situation because he truly hoped this could be the last time, he would see something like this.

She got back up and started running again.

“Pant, pant.”

as she got to them, she was out of breath.

“So, pant, by any chance you have come to enroll?”

“Yes… But how do you know that I am coming for that?” he asked with a poker face.

“Well, you see with put specialized trackers to each letter we send. The trackers have 4 levels of importance. 1 level is through the scholarship events that are held in the most outstanding schools in each country, 2 level is when our campus has given to a numerous school’s letters and then choose a representative from the school to enroll. 3 level is when there are kids inside the city, there are held of course more important because they might be the future of the city, and 4 level when the campus sends to a specific individual a letter for enrollment. The tracker of course cannot be seen, because it is a specialized ink. When you enter the city, the ink`s seal will start to vaporize which then is detected by the flow of our system inside the campus, which sends us to the owner of the letter. There is a hidden level 5, but I am not aware of it.”

“Okay…” he did not know how to respond after this long explanation.

“Who are you miss?”

“I am one of the homeroom teachers on this campus of course!”

“Okay, but what is your name?”

“My name is Penny Thompson.”

“Miss Thompson, are you the one who is doing the enrollments or somebody else?”

“Well, if you did not turn back, you can see that there is a bell button to call the person who registers the students.”

“Thank you.” He then left her and took his guide by the hand and hurried towards the register.

At least that what was he hoped…

“Stop!!” she then clings to his right hand. “There is no need for you to go to the register, you just need to give to me!”

she then gave him the puppy eye. But she tried with the wrong person. Martin was now quite notorious for escaping any type of hugs, clinging, and any type of wishy-washy behavior. As she was clinging to him, he made a 180 twist of his hand then squeezed it out of her grip.

“Come on! Don`t be such a kid!”

She tried to do it again, but he dodged her every attempt. She of course at some point fell on the ground. She then tried to look at him as he was some bully but the most stoic face you could have ever seen struck the eyes of the young teacher.

She looked at him a little frightened. He sighed and decided to speak.

“Are you the staff who is doing the enrollment.” his tone changes all of a sudden as well.

“No. Bu-”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Well, that is because you have a special invitation.”

“Why me?”

“Your recent achievements are quite known, after all, it reall-”

“I prefer that my achievements be not discussed.” she cut her off for the second time.

“Why? Is there a secret organization or something after you?” asked his surprised companion.

“No, just I do not want to talk about it.”

“But I am curious!” she said in excitement.

“Well, I will tell you later.” he then winked and smiled at her.

“You are like my parents…” she said disappointed after averting her gaze from him.

“Anyway, I am going to register from that office, right?”

“Yes, that is where we handle the invitations which you have received right? If not first, you have to complete a series of exams according to class year multiplied by 2, a mock and a final, you have to handle a physical test which is split into three categories, student level, military level, and outerworld level. Of course, this depends on your profession, each one has a different requirement. For example, a doctor would next a student level, while a fireman or policeman will need a military level. Of course, if you want you can push your limits and try the harder level just for you on good or maybe you have decided to change your job. You must understand that here your average person can work up to 3 different jobs.”

(That`s quite a lot…)

“Also, there is a chance to not get permitted to get into the campus, due not being like by the authorities.”

Martin got suddenly stunned.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for example, you have a 1 level invitation, you have done well, everything is going okay, you are at the border like not too weak, but not too strong, but then comes a person with a level 2 which does the same thing as you, it`s more likely to accept him rather than you unless you gave them better results.”

(That sounds fair… But what if…)

“What about connections?”

“Well… You know how it goes after all; it is not like there is a major difference from the outside world…” said the teacher with a low voice.

(I knew it!)

“Then if you want to make a change you need to hold some authority, right?” asked Martin with a now determined voice.

“No, actually if you do well, even if you had a level 1 letter, you can stand your ground to any threat in campus, will it be physical or mental. There are a lot of cameras and if the area cannot be seen, security personnel is placed near those blind holes. You can say that bullying is harder here.”

“Then what about being left alone or ghosted?”

“… I do not, but I can say that there is a lot of clubs or events, so it will be hard, either way, the only choice if not being able to find friends will be hard, due to the many possibilities.”

“Really? Then can you choose not to participate in those clubs?”

“Yes, but it will be hard since a lot of clubs are based on your studies like the gym club, art club, swimming club and so on. The fact is that those clubs are after class and they can help you improve your skills or socialize.” she explained while smiling.

(…Let`s just hope that I do not get in trouble. If anything does happen, I have to learn the rules so that I can escape any necessary fights or other problems.)

“Before heading I have one more question.”

“What is it?”

“Are there any popular kids or heirs who are treated with some high respect?”

“Well yes, this is the only place to study, why do you ask?”

“Well, that is because…” he did not answer.

“Are you worried that they will pick on you?”

“No, not that.”

“?”

His face then went pale, but he did not fall on the ground or start to do something strange. He just stood there like a statue while his skin color was white as snow. For a moment the teacher and his companion were almost worried to death from his view, but he quickly returned to his normal state. After that, he sat on the ground for a minute or so.

“Martin…” asked the girl “By any chance, you coming here was due to messing with the wrong person?”

“No, that`s not it, it`s because my father got a job here in some highly respected company, but I do not know how things work here, but if it is like I read in my books or comics online or how I presume it might be…Well, I have to be careful to not make trouble to them. And that means for every family member as well.”

His face was filled with worry while still smiling. The teacher heard him and looked into his eyes. Those eyes were not of a child, but of a parent worried for his kin. Despite being so young, Martin expressed a realistic and a little naive approach towards his environment. Basing his future on books or comics wouldn`t get him anywhere, but at least was some sort of framework for him.

“You do know that you are still a student, right?” Miss Thompson said after listening to him.

“Yes, what about it?”

“Well, that are things only adults have to worry about.”

“… Excuse me?” he said baffled by the answer he heard.

“You should only worry about yourself, we the adults have ways to deal with those kinds of situations, so don`t worry about it, just focus on yourself.”

“Miss Thompson…” his tone changed “Let me tell you something, I am a young ADULT and I too have a part to play in any situation which I have created trouble, so please don`t sell me this crap. And a piece of advice: Do not create a mess of which you can get out on your own and if you want something you better go after it as your life depends on it!”

“Yes…” she said with an embarrassed look.

(Although he should know that I am older than him, he is scolding me worse than my parents…)

The girl who was the spectator of all this only smirked while watching him. Suddenly she felt something warm, it was a nice feeling but did not know from what it came. Perhaps his words moved her a bit, or maybe she did not realize that she has found somebody who understands her view of the world as well.

“Okay I haven`t come here to watch you argue with each other, Martin go and give the letter.”

“Okay, I am going.”

And then he went to press the button. From the back door, an old man came out. He was wearing a standard white security uniform. His face was pale, he looked like a zombie coming out of a horror movie, but the worst part was that he was extremely slow. It took him 2 minutes to close the door and go to his chair. Then he had to open the little window from which he could accept any letter or mail… After that he started his computer, it was extremely slow as well and after full 5 or 7 minutes he finally looked at Martin.

“For what reason you have come here young man?” he said with a melancholic voice.

“I have come here to give my invitation letter to enroll in this campus.”

“Please give it to me.”

He then got out his letter from his right pocket and gave it through the counter. The old man gave a quick look.

“Okay give me a moment.”

He then got some plastic plate, then he put it in some strange machine, he went to his desk wrote something and came to the window.

“Look at the red dot above the bell.”

He looked and a flash followed. The old man then extracted the plastic plate now turned it into a card.

“With this, now you can enter the campus grounds starting from the exams tomorrow.”

“… Pardon?” he gave a confused look.

“Well, aren`t you a new resident?” he said annoyed.

“Yes, but I have this letter from my previous school.”

“It does not matter, because it only valued when you were at the school. You are lucky because although your letter has a special seal you were just in time before the exams start. Your enrollment now is pure luck, because this year there are lesser male students than the previous year. I have to sign you for 11 grade, right?”

“Yes, that is right.”

“Why so late, I mean this letter was opened a long time ago.”

“Well, that is because of personal issues.”

“Ho, and I thought you were just being a cocky brat. Anyway, just don`t make your way toward the spotlight or you will have a bad time, especially when you are an outsider.”

“Is it bad?”

“I won`t spoil you the details just remember, keep low to survive.”

Those words were refreshing for him, yet they started to worry him a little bit. What did he mean by saying so? Martin then went back to them.

“I gave the letter and the security guard gave me this card.” he reported to the girl.

“Give the card to have a look.”

On the card was written his name, height, phone, nationality, personal score, and old specialty. On the back, there were three blank fillers on which you write your subject in which you will specialize through the years.

But what bugged her was his old specialty.

(He used to be learning to be a technician? Well maybe that is because of his father, but his reflexes are superfast, and even if his muscles cannot be seen, his body looks to be growing every day rather than have finished growing. His academic score… well a genius will be too much, but let`s just say that he is somebody with a brain rather than a monkey brute. Overall, he was not bad, his face compared to the picture is not that amazing, still, he looks nice…)

“Is there something wrong?”

“Ah! No, take it back.” her face went red.

At that moment somebody has sniffed out a potential weakness but decided to not say anything because it might scald him bad.

“So do I have to go tomorrow to take exams?”

“Which class are you in?” the teacher asked.

“Class?” he asked puzzled.

“Police, Student, Firefighter those classes.”

“I am going take all exams…” he said bluntly.

“…Oh” her realization came slowly.

“Also, what are these classes??”

“You see… well I won`t spoil you, you will see when you finish your exams.”

“Now let`s head home.” his guide said.

Then they parted ways with the homeroom teacher. It was 21 o`clock. Almost nobody was at the streets at the time, the weather got a little cooler than before but it was still good. There were still birds flying by, the air was nice to breathe. You could say that another fulfilling day had gone by.

Martin was walking slowly while his companion was trying not to speed up. They got to the station. They were just in time. A train was arriving after 4 minutes. They sat down on one of the chairs. Martin then looked at her companion. He remembered something he had to ask, but due to everything that had happened, it was hard for him to remember.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked.

“Ah!” he averted his gaze all of a sudden.

(What is wrong with him, I am not that scary am I?)

“Well…”

“What is it?”

“Ah! You were going to tell me what was your name!”

She got a little surprised.

“You still remember?”

“Well, yeah. You said later, but if I have to be honest, I am growing quite impatient.”

A grin appeared on her face.

“Okay, that I will tell you.”

She got up and stood in front of him.

“My name is…”

Her voice got overshadowed by the sound of the coming train. Martin focused all of his attention on her lips. That was the only way to get her name. As much as he wanted, he couldn`t understand what she said at all.