Chapter 1: Accepting Denial【Part 3】

Sayoko

To whoever decided mixing students indiscriminately was a sound strategy—I despise you with a passion.

The sun is a merciless executioner, beating down on anyone who dares to step into its domain. My umbrella shows its versatility once more as I navigate the sweltering pavement.

The terminal doors draw closer, funneling the slow-moving crowd toward the entrance.

Leaving the oppressive heat behind, I finally cross the threshold. To the school’s credit, the interior is kept blissfully cool.

Yet, the line remains agonizingly slow.

The crowd inside possesses even less restraint, breaking out into fresh grumbles every time my umbrella forces them aside.

How fascinating. One would think the sudden luxury of air conditioning would make these people a little more domesticated.

Every few shuffles forward, I glance back at the glass doors. They reveal a fresh stream of students filtering in from the heat.

Still, nothing.

Not a single ally is in sight, let alone a familiar face from home.

Given the relatively larger size of my home region, I assumed a decent contingent of my peers would have made the cut. Clearly, the lottery spares no one.

My regional musing cuts short as the winding line funnels into a single-file staging area.

As the next in line, I stand face-to-face with the demographic responsible for this miserable wait.

“I don’t see the issue—they’re the same thing!” The girl ahead of me waves her device at over the counter. “Bringing my own shouldn’t be a problem. This is ridiculous!”

The worker does not even blink. He just spins up the same rehearsed script he has likely repeated all morning. “School policy does not allow personal electronics. Take it to the shipping desk and have it sent home. You cannot proceed with it.”

The girl mutters a venomous curse, snatches up her backpack in a fury, and storms off.

Animals. The voracious kind…

“Next!” the worker calls out to no one in particular.

I step into the freshly vacated space.

Flipping an internal switch, I summon my practiced smile and offer a polite nod. “Good morning.”

He glances over me for a moment—though I am not sure why—before sliding his gaze down to my hands.

“Your registration papers, please,” he drones.

“Of course!” I chirp, presenting the documents with both hands.

He flips through the pages, his shoulders dropping with a faint sigh. Mumbling a few words of approval, he points blindly toward a tray on the desk.

Click.

In one flawless motion, the sleek dome retreats at the press of its mechanism. A quick tilt of my hand sends the collapsed frame sliding beside my backpack into the tray.

The machine around it and the pillars surrounding me thrum to life, humming in perfect sync before flashing a matching green.

A few taps on his terminal, a whir from the printer, and my new school ID card slides into view.

He plucks a phone from the large charging dock tucked behind his terminal, tapping the device against the plastic card until it reacts with a sharp beep.

“Your ID and phone,” he says, sliding them across the counter. “The device is linked and useless to anyone else. Try to keep hold of it… at least until you choose an advisor who can handle a replacement for you.”

“I will guard it with my life,” I reply with a dazzling smile.

“Next!” His attention is already past my shoulder.

As I gather my belongings, the pleasant expression dissolves from my face.

Click.

The shield deploys once more.

Merging with the stream flowing from the facility, I step outside, where the sun immediately jumps in to resume its execution.

The path opens up into a large stone plaza, a fenced-off expanse so absurdly vast that even the crowd of thousands fails to fill it.

Mercifully, a patch of greenery breaks up the gray landscape near the perimeter fence. A lush shading tree offering a pocket of slightly cooler air.

The temptation is far too sweet to pass up, drawing my steps toward the quiet edge.

As I reach the base of the trunk, a faint, rhythmic twitching catches my eye.

Small, featherless, and stripped of its dignity.

Just above it, a cluster of twigs is wedged at arm’s length in the lowest fork of the branch. No doubt the creature was pushed out by its stronger siblings to secure a larger share of the morning’s worms.

Yes. The demanding, merciless design of nature—adapt or fall behind. You cannot expect chances to be handed out equally.

It is... a painful reminder of how utterly powerless we are when the verdict is already decided before we even get a say in it.

Stepping into the tree’s shadow, I face the open plaza. It is not much, but it offers at least some reprieve from the authoritarian heat.

My gaze wanders out toward the center of the square, where a barren platform stands under a cluster of loudspeakers. The admission materials did not exactly clarify the schedule, but it takes little effort to deduce a speech is imminent.

They are certainly taking their sweet time, leaving thousands to stew like a captive audience…

Click.

Without so much as dropping my gaze, the umbrella sweeps down—with the precision it is accustomed to. The tip sweeps the pathetic thing across the dirt, concealing it within the nearby bushes with a faint rustle.

Click.

The deploying fabric instantly limits my view, cutting off the sharp glares filtering through the leaves and casting a familiar gloom across my face.

A small sigh escapes my lips as I am left studying the underside of the dome again.

“Happy now?” I mutter to myself.

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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 2: Honest Deception【Part 1】

Written by Limited_Infinity. Official publishing platforms and updates are exclusively communicated on Bluesky: @Limited-Infinity

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