Kael remained confused by this revelation, and by the setting before him, which felt far more unreal than anything he had known.
High school? What even is high school?! he thought.
All the students were staring at him as if he were insane. They were laughing.
He stood there, unable to understand where he was.
“Very well, Kael. You’ve made the whole class laugh. Now, may I continue, please?”
Kael raised his eyes toward the teacher. His gaze was tired, confused. He didn’t say a word.
Taking his silence as agreement, the teacher continued his lesson on subjects entirely unfamiliar to Kael.
An hour passed. He was no closer to understanding where he was.
He had spent the entire class trying to make sense of what the teacher was saying. He had tried to ask questions, but each one had been met with laughter and mocking looks.
The teacher, for his part, had done his best to answer them.
He could see a little more clearly now.
It doesn’t seem that complicated, all these things, he thought.
Then a bell rang, startling him. All the students stood up and began to leave the room.
He remained where he was, unsure of what to do. He carelessly gathered the items laid out on his small desk, stuffed them into the bag—which seemed to be his—and stood up.
That was when he felt a vibration against his thigh. Startled, he jumped, then realized it was coming from his pocket. He slipped a hand inside and pulled out a thin plate of glass on the front, and some unknown material on the back. He examined it, turning it over in his hand.
Another vibration buzzed. He jumped again and dropped the object. It was now emitting light, displaying a series of numbers. All the students had already left. Kael knelt down to pick it up, grabbed it with the tips of his fingers—as if it might bite—and set it down on his desk.
Beneath the numbers, a single word was displayed: “Message.”
“Strange object,” he said, intrigued.
The teacher intervened:
“What are you doing, Kael? You should have left already.”
Kael put the object back into his pocket.
It doesn’t seem dangerous, he thought.
He picked up his bag—a fabric backpack, fairly rigid but practical and comfortable—and asked the teacher:
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“But… where am I supposed to go?”
The teacher’s eyes widened.
“You just have to follow the other students—you’ll find out. And anyway, it’s recess. So get out of my classroom.”
He left the room and stepped into a fairly bright corridor. Large glass windows were everywhere. Many students were running around, talking among themselves.
His head was aching. He needed some air.
So he tried to get outside. These hallways were a true labyrinth, and the conversations around him felt strange. The students talked only about things they called “TV shows,” “movies,” or other frivolous topics. Everyone seemed to own the same strange object he had briefly examined earlier. It appeared to be called a “phone.”
He went down a flight of stairs and found a large glass door. He pushed it… and bumped into it. Girls behind him burst out laughing. Embarrassed, he pulled the door this time.
A large courtyard stretched out before him. A big tree stood at its center. Metal tables and benches were scattered all around. The courtyard was bordered by buildings as well, also lined with glass windows.
He decided to sit at an empty table. He set his bag down, then sat. He massaged his temples.
What the hell did I stumble into, seriously? he thought.
They sell the Trial to me as something dangerous, insidious… and in the end, I end up here. It looks exactly like a school. But the subjects of the classes are strange.
He took out his phone and placed it on the table. The text displayed earlier—“message”—was still there. He then began to study the device more closely. He picked it up, touched it with his index finger. The series of numbers and the text disappeared, replaced by what seemed to be the content of the message.
Kael read:
“Where are you?”
A name appeared above it: someone named Jeff.
“Rather brief message,” he said.
A hand came to rest on his.
He turned around.
A boy about the same age as him was standing there. Brown hair, brown eyes, an utterly ordinary face. He spoke with a smile:
“So you’re only reading my message now! Good thing I came to look for you—otherwise I might’ve been waiting a long time.”
He sat down beside him.
Kael thought: That must be Jeff.
Jeff spoke again:
“So, how are you doing, buddy?”
A friend, I suppose, Kael thought. I don’t know him, but he seems to consider me one. And apparently, he can send me messages. I guess there’s a connection… well, a connection with the “me” that isn’t really me.
“I’m a bit lost today. I had trouble keeping up in class earlier.”
Kael wanted to play along. Raising suspicion could cause him trouble… and potentially put him in danger.
Jeff replied, genuinely interested:
“Which classes?”
Kael answered:
“The class on Thales’ theorem… and we also covered arithmetic sequences. I managed to understand a bit of what it was about, but I’m still pretty lost.”
Jeff chuckled:
“Oh man, math is really not my thing. Go to the library—there are plenty of books there that can help you.”
Interested, Kael asked:
“And where is the library?”
He tilted his head, inquisitive.
“Well… it’s right there,” Jeff said, pointing at a building.
Kael started to stand up:
“Then I’ll go.”
But Jeff said:
“You can’t go now, classes are about to start again. And I think we have PE together today, on top of that.”
Kael grumbled:
“Sports again?! I’ve had nothing but that for two whole weeks!”
Jeff stood up as well, laughing:
“What are you even talking about? Come on, let’s go.”
They left the courtyard and went through another building, which led them to a gentle paved slope. It led to a large building with fewer glass windows than the others. They followed the path.
Jeff announced:
“Today it’s climbing. And we can pair up—we’ll be able to belay each other.”
Kael let out a weary sigh:
“This can’t be happening… climbing again!”
It was happening all over again.
