Did he wake me up early?

  As I walked through the halls, I noticed through the windows that there wasn’t as much sunlight being reflected into the building compared to my prior excursions. It was early morning and dark, around the time of day when the sun is just starting to peak over the horizon.

  If I were to rely on my natural sleep cycle, I likely would’ve woken up around the 7 to 10 range, but this early? I can’t tell if he’s diligent or wants to avoid a confrontation.

  My eyes were well-adjusted to the dark. I could barely make out the outlines of sconces lining the walls overhead. Not wanting to lose this adjustment, I made use of what light sources I could to read my copy of the school’s map. Eventually, I stood outside the classroom’s entrance.

  It was a typical two-door setup, where one door was at the ‘front’ of the classroom while the other was at the back. To think I’d be going back to school again like this.

  Slowly, I pushed open the door, not wanting to be loud. The door’s size betrayed how easy it was to push, and it didn’t make any awkward noises.

  Did they figure out how to make quieter doors here?

  My short-lived curiosity came to a halt when I noticed other students in uniform. There were 3, 2 girls and a boy, all of them focused on me as I walked into the classroom. I awkwardly waved back, feeling the pressure and anticipation in their gazes.

  The girl closest to me started speaking cheerfully, speaking words before extending her hand out. I guess she’s one of those types who love meeting new people.

  I silently shook her hand, as it was the only way I could greet her back.

  The other girl that the cheerful one was talking to said something. The cheerful one turned away from me, biting back with words of her own before returning her attention to me.

  She’s not done?

  I listened to the syllables that came out of her mouth and the tone they were spoken in. It sounded like she was asking a question. Damn, and I thought I could get away with not talking to anyone. Curse you, social norms and conversation etiquette!

  We awkwardly stared at each other for a good 5 seconds before the second girl raised her voice and barked out words, getting the cheerful girl to relent from her one-sided conversation.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The only one in the room showed no interest in the conversation happening a couple of desks away from him. I guess these girls weren’t the type he wanted to mingle with.

  I decided to sit in one of the desks furthest away from where everyone was seated, which just so happened to be in the back corner of the room. I should try getting an accurate guess of what subject would be taught in this class.

  There was a chalkboard at the front of the room spanning most of the classroom’s width, but whatever used to be on it was so thoroughly erased that not even a speck of chalk remained. The back of the classroom looked more informative, as there was a counter with a built-in cabinet, and a topographical map pinned to the back wall.

  What classes in my world have maps again? History? Geography?

  The map with unreadable labels didn’t tell me much. I tried opening one of the cabinets below, but it was locked, as were the rest when I lightly tugged on them.

  The only piece of information left was the diagram on the wall between the doors, which I had just noticed. The problem is, I had no idea what I was looking at. All I could tell was that it looked similar to the school’s emblem, except that information was written in each quadrant. If I had to guess, it was different ideals or philosophies tied to each symbol on the emblem.

  Just when I finished observing the room, more students entered.

  With nothing better to do, I sat in one of the seats, but a student urged me to get up shortly after, so I leaned on the counter and waited until the teacher came.

  When the teacher entered, I instantly recognized them from their chibi-counterpart thanks to the hierarchy Mr. Blonde had drawn for me. This person was on the 3rd level of the pyramid, below Ms. Grey and above the cafeteria staff. He wore a simple gray button-up shirt with black pants and had bleached hair.

  The teacher’s eyes landed on me, the only person standing- more accurately, leaning- in a room full of students sitting at their desks.

  He made a sound of realization, possibly seeing that I’m the new student. The teacher motioned for me to stand at the front of the class and introduce myself. I’m sorry to disappoint, but even if I could speak your language, my introduction wouldn’t be anything substantial past “Hi, I’m [---], and I’ll be attending this school today” or something along those lines. I didn’t exist in this world until a few days ago, so I wouldn’t be able to give much of a background.

  When it was my cue to introduce myself, I merely waved before standing there silently. Sorry, Mr. Bleach, but I won’t be able to meet your expectations for the foreseeable future.

  Seeing that I wouldn’t say anything at all, he pointed to one of the empty seats. Luckily, all of my options were spaced out, so it wouldn’t be ambiguous as to which one he was pointing at.

  After that, I sat and acted like I was paying attention. Just enough to make it seem like I’m listening, but participating too much to be engaged. Plenty of classmates in my past life only did the bare minimum when it came to participation, so I simply acted out that mindset for the rest of the period.

  As he taught his lesson, there was some participation from other students, and certain topics of interest came about in the form of more maps or diagrams brought up at different points in time. Eventually, I saw everyone’s demeanor change, more focused on the door than the lesson, which Mr. Bleach took as his cue to wrap up the lesson and put away his teaching materials. Then, on cue, a majority of students got up and sped out the door, with the slower-paced students following after.

  It was time to attend my next class.