C0504 - The Insomniac

???: [7, 8, 9…]

Head status? Nestled nicely on the pillow.

???: [10, 11, 12…]

Blanket status? All-encompassing.

???: [13, 14, 15…]

Sleepiness? Still non-existent.

???: [16, 17, 18…]

Time? 01:00 in the early morning.

???: [19, 20, 21…]

I really should be asleep. I really do.

???: [22, 23, 24…]

But the sleep just refuses to come to me.

???: [25, 26, 27…]

I have been twisting and turning around in bed for hours.

???: [28, 29, 30…]

I even started counting to ease myself to sleep,

Still to no avail.

Sitting myself upright for the nᵗʰ time, I took another gander around the room I am in, also for the nᵗʰ time.

My room is a humble room, packed only with what I need in positions where I most needed them to be.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

The windows revealed the bustling nightlife of the concrete jungle that is the city centre.

A view that would cost an arm and a leg to see as the only equivalent that one in the real world can get is from penthouse suites of the more expensive hotels in a city.

Perhaps just like the megacities that never sleep, I too have become incapable of sleep.

I pushed myself off the comfy bed and decided to head out for a night stroll.

Opening the door to my room, what greeted me was the familiar sight of the school hallway.

At first glance, one might assume that I merely came out of my room in a hostel of Edward Institute and they would have been right most of the time had the school not been Edward Institute.

However, the fact of the matter is that this is no hostel complex.

If anything, the classroom of EI7 is quite literally on the other side of the hallway, opposite to my room.

No, because it is Edward Institute, the students' rooms are right next to their classes, so convenient that one can simply inform the teacher that one is having a bad stomach ache, then proceeds to go back to one's room and sleep for 15 minutes or so, then come back to class like absolutely nothing was amiss.

Not that I or any of the students of EI7 actively practice this.

Not to my knowledge at least.

I walked out of my room and into the empty hallway.

Dimly lit was the hallway, with only every alternate light switched on and also dimmed to 50% of its normal brightness.

Power-saving aside, it was just bright enough for night owls like me to roughly know where I am going but then again, there's little rhyme or reason for there to be wandering night owls when each student's room comes equipped with a personal toilet and shower apparatus, not unlike those from a hotel.

In a way, the hallway almost seemed to be a scene coming straight out of a horror movie, one where the serial killer/ monster/ vengeful spirit is charging and ready to hunt the protagonist.

I closed the door to my room behind me.

Observing from the exterior, the door I just came out of looks no different from the traditional red metal lockers commonly seen in high schools.

The similarities go beyond looks for I tried to move the whole block of lockers and displace it once, only to shockingly discover that the walls behind them are solid walls that do not open up to any bigger space whatsoever.

In gist, the space inside the lockers, our students' rooms per se, is somehow

Bigger on the inside.

Putting the mystery of the student lockers/rooms behind, I began to walk in the lonely evening halls of Edward Institute.

Accompanying the soft taps of my feet are the loud reverberations of my beating heart.

It continues to beat faster and harder, not out of fear, but in anticipation.

Anticipation to walk down the rabbit hole that the mysteries of the Institute have to offer.

HOLD IT RIGHT… oh, it's just you, Ko.

Stopping me dead in my tracks was a firm voice from behind.

I was expecting myself to be the only one walking these halls at this late an hour, so being so suddenly called upon out of absolutely nowhere took my soul on a field trip to the beyond and back.

Ko, you there?

Not only was I stopped dead, but I was also stood rooted to the ground with my whole body going into a vegetative state.

Unable to respond, retort or reply, I could only let time pass by.

It was only with a small tap on the shoulder, one almost as light as a feather, so faint that I would even doubt whether it was even a tap in the first place, that I was snapped out of my trance.

You ok, junior?

The owner of the voice that halted me on the spot was an unfamiliar face.

Not one of my fellow classmates of EI7, not one of my teacher, Ms. Nano September nor is it any of the people I have ever met.

Yet at the same time, it was a face that resonated with an infinitesimal portion of my subconsciousness, like a bluebird chipping away at a mountain of pure diamond.

A face stuck between Deja Vu and Jamais Vu.

Ko: [And you are…?]

Well, I guess you would know me as Category C, serial number 0504, subject codenamed "The Insomniac".

That's quite the mouthful.

Ko: [Well, Nia, what are you…]

Please do not nickname me that, despite how tempting it is…

Ko: [Somni then…]

I will make a compromise for that. You really need to refrain from naming anything from now on…

Ignoring Somni's rude remarks, I continue to enquire.

Ko: [Who or what are you? Why are you out roaming the school so late at night?]

The same could be asked of you, junior, but I doubt you would answer as well. So in good faith, I shall start the ball running...

According to Somni, any and every item or person, real, unreal or irreal, as long as they are related to the Institute in any shape or form, is tagged to a specific category and serial number.

Then again, if the serial numbers are between 0000 and 9999 and each of the 26 letters is a category, we are looking at around 260,000 possible items/ persons related to the Institute.

Oh, no, no, it doesn't quite work like that. Some objects aren't quite the same compared to the rest and are tagged more specifically for a myriad of reasons…

Ko: [Wait, that means I have one too?]

Of course, you are a student of the Edward Institute, are you not?

Ko: [I guess… Then how do I know my serial number?]

That is hard to say… Some might even go through their whole lives not knowing their number…

Ko: [And you learnt your number via…?]

A series of coincidences haphazardly strung together by an imaginary thin thread of what one would usually call fate, destiny, convergence or whatever you would call it.

If the world wants you to find it, you can't avoid it.

If the world insists on hiding it from you, you are never ever going to discover it even if you scour every speck of space dust in the observable and unobservable universe all at the same time.

What Somni presented sounded very grand. A string of numbers and letters to define one's very being, akin to one's fingerprints and DNA.

That is until I consider the fact that these numbers are essentially classification tags from the Institute to any and every one of its related subjects.

This would also mean that in a database somewhere in the Institute, my number would be stored within for archival purposes, sitting in the digital sphere gathering cyber dust…

Ko: [*Sigh*]

?

Ko: [It's nothing, I never thought I would be the one to kill the mystique for myself…]

With a head tilting to the side, one could almost see a question mark arising from Somni's head.

Ko: [You mentioned that the first character of a number represents its category, what would category C stand for?]

Abruptly changing the subject was my way of coping with ruining the mystery of the numbers.

Somni was fortunately quick on the uptake to move on to the next topic in order to answer my question.

Honestly, it isn't something any of us know for sure other than a selected high-ranking few from each of the five branches.

Although, many, myself included, theorized that the categories had something to do with utility, specifically our relative utility to the Institute.

Ko: [And category C would suggest…? Wait, did you mention "five branches"?]

Pretty much useless, or more politely, "of little to no use".

And yes, "five branches".

Ko: [That's… sad to hear.]

…

Ko: [...]

The conversation went cold when both of us decided against dwelling too long on the ruthless classification of the Institute.

I would give Somni a pat on the back but I have a feeling that that would only have the opposite effect.

Ko: [... Are you not going to elaborate on the five branches?]

Yet another forceful transition but this time, the reasoning is slightly different.

Nope.

Ko: [But…]

It is much more fun to find out by yourself instead of hearing everything from me.

Then again, it isn't unusual to complete your school having not met any of the members from the other branches.

With that, I gained one less reason to sleep, having yet another reason to be awake for.

Yes, I did just say "gained one less", sleep is something that is really needed right now.

Ko: [That was interesting to hear, I guess I will see you around.]

Resuming my stroll, I walked past Somni and towards the direction of the cafeteria. Perhaps some midnight snacks would help bring the sleep in.

That is until Somni's pale hands opened up to block my way.

No can do, Ko. I have answered who and what I am among others, as to why I'm here, that is in part to stop curious cats like yourself from diving too much into the deep end and get yourselves forever lost in the Institute.

Ko: [...]

Somni, you have no idea how much those words did the complete opposite of what you set out to accomplish.

Ko, you are smiling rather creepily…

Ko: [Really, no compromise allowable? Just out to get some late-night snacks from the cafeteria to help myself sound asleep.]

I don't think food would help in your circumstance, at least it didn't for me.

Ko: [Any suggestions?]

If I knew, I wouldn't be labelled "The Insomniac".

Although, if food is what you want, isn't there a mini-fridge in each of the student's rooms?

Ko: [Huh!? We do?]

We do now.

Well, tonight's stroll is a bust but on the bright side, I am now all the more motivated to plan more elaborate routes in the future that would evade Somni's detection.

It might be yet another sleepless night.

It's getting late, let's get you back to your room.

Gesturing me back to the row of red metal school lockers behind me, Somni proceeds to guide me back to my room.

Reluctantly, I searched for my locker/ room and opened the door.

[End of Chapter]

Noa: [Sir, we have evidence to raise suspicion about your conduct for the past month.]

***_****: [Umm… Noa, I know you are supposed to be a Noir chuunibyou who secretly wishes to be a private investigator in New York of the 1950s but do you really have to play out your interrogation fantasies by strapping me to a chair and blinding me with this…]

Noa: [I'M THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTIONS HERE!]

***_****: [AH, the lights! They are blinding! Turn it away, turn it away!]

Ko: [We are in the middle of a competition yet you somehow found the courage to go on a month-long hiatus…]

Noa: [Busy as you were, you still somehow found the time to play around and slack off when we are still here. I say he is guilty as charged, Boss, what would you say.]

"Boss": [You are never going to stop calling me that, aren'tcha?]

Noa: [But Boss is Boss.]

"Boss" [Welp, not dragging this out any further. Feed him to the fishes with cement for shoes. Let him drown in his own guilt.]

***_****: [No, wait, I will have more time in the next few weeks! I promise to write, if you would just put down the cement mixer!!]

Ko: [Next chapter, a continuation of this sleepless night. There will be no lucky bastard this time around.]

***_****: [PLEASE LOOK FORWA… *Cement Mixer Noise*]

Ko: [It's good to be back.]

[End of End Card]