In search of the north star

Neo opened his eyes, heart pounding and breathless. Once again, the same nightmare haunted him, enveloping him in a suffocating atmosphere of agony and discomfort. It had been weeks since he had slept well. Whenever he woke up, his memory would scramble, and he couldn't fully remember the dream. Names, faces, or any details slipped away from his mind quickly. A song was one of the few things that lingered, along with the face of a woman whose name he couldn't recall.

Whenever he transformed into a human, his necklace dressed him in a school uniform. Looking at the symbol on his chest, he tried to identify which school it was. Only once again his mind seemed blocked. He knew that his town, Claws, had four big schools and from the style of that uniform it could only be from one of them.

But, hey. He had a uniform, a symbol and a name. So now it was just a matter of using his legs.

First, he headed towards the southernmost part of the city. The road to the school was full of inspiring places, open spaces and parks with colorful murals. It was the most beautiful place in the whole city. And the school he found was Cherry, which stood out for offering a variety of art programs, such as painting, sculpture, photography and design.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the one he was looking for.

This time he decided to head east, where the sun rises. He left behind the beautiful landscape and found himself in sports centers, hearing laughter and shouts of encouragement echoing through the streets where he walked, he passed a group of people running who greeted him with a lot of energy, and it was there that he found the C.L. Academy, known for being the best sports school, offering a variety of programs, from soccer and basketball to swimming and athletics.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the one he was looking for.

What about the opposite side? The West, known for being the starting point for exploring new possibilities. A place where there are many modern buildings and houses straight out of a future movie

There was the Futura school with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which provides students with an education geared towards innovation and technological development. It even has higher education courses.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the one he was looking for.

Neo's last stop was to the north of the city, where he sensed a welcoming and familiar atmosphere. The area around the school is characterized by a mix of residential neighborhoods and small local businesses. Tree-lined streets and well-kept sidewalks create a peaceful and inviting atmosphere. And it was there that he found what he was looking for, the Hoshi School, the North Star. A school that serves as a guide for young people who are lost, it has the same name and symbol as the uniform he was wearing.

The gate was closed and there was no sign of anyone nearby to talk to, so he decided to go inside, transformed himself into a cat and passed through the gap in the gate, walked around the courtyard, then turned back into a human and entered through the double doors.

Once inside, his first thought was that it was bigger on the inside than on the outside. Compared to the other schools he had seen from the outside; it seemed to be the smallest of the four.

The empty corridors made anyone feel as if they were in a dream, the sound of their feet echoing far away almost as if you could hear them going around the building.

Neo looked around for any clues, went up the stairs, walked around, went down the stairs, went one way, the other. He found student posters, photos, some notes on boards, but nothing much. He went into some rooms, looked at chairs and cabinets. Nothing was familiar.

Everything seemed absurdly normal, which frustrated him.

He wondered if he was looking for the wrong place or even what he was looking for. His questions were answered when he reached a room. 3-G.

The view from the window of that room was strangely pleasant for him. He couldn't explain it, but he felt as if he had seen the same image a hundred times in another life.

He felt he was close to discovering something.

He continued his search until he reached the first floor of the school. He was very hungry, and his search had prevented him from looking for food all day. He found a food machine with packaged snacks that looked very tasty.

He stared at the machine as if he were eating with his eyes. While he was busy, he didn't hear the footsteps approaching him.

“Neo?”

A voice that sounded like a woman called his name, snapping him out of his thoughts.

As he looked away, he had to look down a little to see the face of the person speaking.

A woman in formal clothes, she seemed to be an important person, her very long straight black hair, even though her eyes were hidden behind a pair of thin glasses Neo could see that they were watering.

“Neo, it really is you...”

The boy became serious and asked:

“Do I know you?”

His words were dry and without any emotion, the woman didn't expect to receive a harsh reply and stared at him confused and hurt.

“Well, I'm sorry... I must have mistaken you for someone else.”

Neo nodded, turned his back to her and continued walking, looking around. The woman looked down in search of a word and when she met his eyes

“Wait! You came here for a reason, right?”

“I'm looking for something.”

The woman smiled as she saw a possibility.

“Unfortunately, I can't let you walk around freely like this”

Neo, annoyed at being prevented from continuing his investigation, replied in protest.

“I need to spend more time here, I'm looking for answers”

The woman thought about how she could solve the problem in front of her.

“How about becoming a student? That way you can wander around here as much as you like when it's not class time,” she said as she held out her hand as if to sign a contract.

He thought for a moment before answering; if he said yes, he would have to go there more often.

“I don't know”

She looked at him like a child asking his father to take him to an amusement park.

“Please”

With no options, wanting to find answers, he accepted the proposal, he could leave whenever he wanted.

“All right then, I want to go to school, what do you need?”

When he accepted, her eyes seemed to sparkle with extreme happiness, even though her face remained serious.

“Nothing, you've already been enrolled for some time, today is Sunday, your classes are Monday to Friday from 7:30 until 12:55, so you can come tomorrow, don't be absent or late. I'll get your materials and deliver them to you next week. If you need any help with anything, you can talk to me any time, I'm Karine, the school principal.”

There was so much information that Neo's brain was trying to understand everything he needed to do, and one thing didn't make sense about everything she was saying.

“I'm sorry, but tomorrow at 7:30? I have no way of telling the time.”

Karine looked at her arm and took out a watch she was wearing, pressed a few buttons, took the boy's arm and put the watch on it.

“I've set an alarm that will go off at 6:30, so you have an hour to get ready and come. Tomorrow when you arrive, come and see me, then you'll give me back the watch and I'll give you another one. Take care of it, it's important to me.”

He was unsure about keeping the watch, but if he didn't accept it there was no way he'd show up tomorrow, so he smiled.

“All right, I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh, and one last thing.”

Karine put some coins in the food machine, took out a large stuffed sandwich, approached Neo and gave him a hug.

“You must be hungry.”

She offered him the snack while looking him in the eye.

Neo was embarrassed, took the packaged food and left.

“Thanks.”

“Neo... Take care.” said Karine softly.