Winterbury

“Well, I guess I’d better get going.” Christopher said as he started walking back the way he came, waving at the both of us.

Louise waved back before heading toward the front gate. I followed right behind her, feeling a bit of awkwardness now that it was just the two of us.

The front gate had an intimidating factor to it. The large iron bars were a clear message to anyone that was not part of the community here that they were not welcome. A security guard stood there, but truth be told, he was practically useless. It was as if these gates were the entrance to a secret society, or something.

“Hey, I’ll catch you later, alright?” I told her.

“Sounds good. We’ll definitely see each other a couple of times this term.” She answered as we both headed two separate ways, but not before turning back and adding one more thing. “Good luck, hope you have a great year!”

“Thanks, same to you…” I muttered, unsure if she’d heard me.

Unfortunately, I still did not know what I was majoring in, thus leading me to wander around aimlessly and admire the campus. There were a few really large buildings that all looked very old, yet elegant at the same time. The campus itself had a luxurious atmosphere to it, much different than the intimidating one that the gates gave off. I guess it made sense, as since I was already in, it meant I was part of the elite, thus the campus was supposed to make me feel welcome.

It did feel like it was a bit overbearing, although it might have just been me that wasn’t used to such elegance. Walking through the campus, there was always something to grab my attention: Whether that was a pond, yes, freaking pond, or a cluster of trees, this campus was anything but dull. I noticed a digital clock hanging on a wall at one of the building’s entrance, and went closer to take a look at it.

The clock read 8:49, I was already spectacularly late to my first class so I thought there’d be no point trying to locate it now. Assessing my options for a moment, the idea of heading back home and returning before my next class in order to determine what my major was crossed my mind, but that plan would prompt serious questions from the maid employed at the house, so I ruled it out.

With that out of the question, I tried to think about what else I could do. Find out where the administration office is and ask them what my major is, and the courses I’m taking? I wondered what their reaction would be if I did something like that. I considered simply attending a random class for now, but that also would not do, especially if I coincidentally happened to walk into something extremely complicated for me such as math or physics, that would end up being totally pointless.

In the end, I decided to look for the administration office and straight up ask them for information regarding my courses and major. Naturally, they were suspicious, but my identity was proven thanks to the fact that I looked exactly the same as Arthur Barnaby, down to the last hair, and so they gave me everything I asked.

It turns out I was majoring in Creative Writing. So,this Arthur fellow was quite the wannabe writer, eh? Makes sense, as his high status in society meant that he could choose what he wanted to do, rather than what makes the most money. It’s this theory that suggests why upper class people are so attracted to the arts:because the issue of survival no longer exists,they are free to do whatever they want, which causes them to turn to this idea of art, one that can fulfill one’s needs through entertainment, a thought provoking narrative, or simply a magnificent painting.

Either way, this made things much easier for me. If he had been studying something like philosophy or chemistry, I would have been in a real mess. I checked the schedule they gave me, naturally I was far too late to head to my first class, and my second class was at 11:30. I thought about what to do to pass the time, when I noticed that while I was wandering the hallways, I ended up right in front of the library.

Having nothing else to do, I decided to check out what they had. I browsed through various sections and saw a fantasy novel that I didn’t recognize from Earth, perhaps it was something exclusive to this planet. I placed it back on the shelf and kept browsing..

Hold on a second, I thought to myself. What exactly is this planet’s name, anyways?

I ended up borrowing two books that discussed the planet itself, as well as historical events that occurred.

After about two hours of nonstop reading and research into this place, I thought I’d managed to consume some interesting information, thus rendering this entire thing not pointless, after all.

Apparently, this planet’s name was Obrillis, and we were currently in the year 2023. So I’d Isekai’d after all, and not just simply gone back in time. This made things a bit more complicated, but I didn’t really mind.

Once I was done studying the basic nature of Obrillis, I turned my attention towards the historical side of things. Apparently, the year 2023 meant that it had literally only been 2000 years since the creation of this planet, and not millions of years, like the Earth’s scientists suggested regarding our own world. I wondered how it was even physically possible for evolution to grow this fast in a mere 200 years, but I brushed that thought to the side for now.

“Hey, are you studying the history of Obrillis?” A voice suddenly whispered right next to my ear. “That’s really cool!”

I turned to see that the offender was Louise, she smiled and sat at the empty seat to my right.

“Louise, can I ask you something?” I then asked her.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Are you blind, by any chance?”

“Uh…no? Obviously? Why would you ask that?”

“Then why would you sit right next to me when the entire library is literally empty!”

“I just wanted to sit here, that’s all.” She laughed. “Oh, by the way, you never told me what your major was.”

“Creative writing.”

“Wait, really? That’s the same as mine!”

“For real?” I wasn’t that shocked, as the odds of that happening weren’t really impossible, but still, it was nice to know.

“I’ve got a class at 11:30, introduction to poetry.” She continued. “Do you happen to be taking this class, by any chance?”

“Yeah, actually, I do.”

“Nice, then do you want to walk there together?”

“Sure, why not?” I shrugged.

“Great!” She said.