Demund woke up at six. He stopped the alarm and got up from his bed. His arm was itchy, so he scratched it—

“Aish!” he yelped. His scrape from yesterday was still there and he had accidentally picked at a scab. His legs also ached from yesterday’s run. His wound ran all the way along his forearm, looking brown with some pink mixed between it. Yuck.

He carefully took his pajamas off as he stood up. He decided not to run to start the first day of high school fresh and energetic. According to the TISE High website, there would be an assembly at the main auditorium at 8. It took around thirty minutes from here to there on bike if he rushed, but he really didn’t want to sweat in his clothes.

He opened the wardrobe and took out his uniform. It consisted of a white T-shirt to wear underneath and a grey collared shirt. The pants were simply black. It was surprisingly comfortable unlike what he had expected. The Tartis logo was imprinted on the shirt as well as the T-shirt and pants. It looked simple but stylish. As expected from a wealthy high school, Demund thought.

He pulled back the sleeves of his uniform so it wouldn’t touch his wounds. After putting on his socks, he went downstairs to eat something. He took an apple and some milk out of the fridge and made himself some scrambled eggs while he munched on the apple. Then he realized he left his bag upstairs and went up to go get it while eating.

He didn’t know what to bring on his first day, so he just packed a pencil case and some binders in his bag. The school also had mandatory PE class so he packed his gym clothes just in case. He was ready to go. Finally, something exciting would happen in real life.

He wondered how Jothan was doing. Had he started school in the Islands yet? What classes did he have to take? There still hadn’t been any replies from him. Jothan hadn’t been online since the day he left, so Demund was slightly anxious. Maybe social media was restricted there.

Well, he would find out some day. He finished his meal and washed the dishes. His parents had not gotten up yet or had already left for work. The time was a little past seven now.

He picked up his bag and slung it over his back. The house was getting brighter as the sun rose, but it was still dark and lifeless. He went out the front door in silence and hopped onto his bike. He opened Maps on his phone, searched for Tartis Institute for Secondary Education, and started his journey to a new day in high school.

Maybe Enariss would be there too.

〄 〄 〄

He neared the school gates on his bike, and already he could see numerous cars crowded along the road.

That’s a lot of people, Demund thought. The masses of humans crowding into the school was much more intense than that of his middle school. Boys and girls alike walked on the sidewalks, all of them dressed in the uniform of TISE High. It was quite a sight for Demund and it excited him. The situation felt wild; his old school had been too moderate and boring. The noise the area contained was incredible—students chatting, cars honking, birds singing, footsteps patting the cement floor—it felt new and adventurous.

He squeezed through the cars and spotted the school gates. After some maneuvering, he managed to pass the large, marble walls of the school and entered the campus. Guess they weren’t checking who was entering the school today, or they judged based on the uniforms people were wearing.

There were signs and arrows pointing where the parking lot was. When he followed it to the left, there was a parking spot just for bicycles and motorcycles next to the main parking lot to the west. It was also next to the auditorium, so Demund had an easy time finding it. Multiples students had also come by bike, so he left his next to theirs and headed towards the entrance of the auditorium/gym.

The place was already packed with people. Rows and rows of seats and bodies were ordered inside the auditorium/gym, and at the very front, a moderate stage was set up along with a fancy looking podium with the TISE logo on it. Demund checked his phone. The time was 7:42.

He inspected the room to find a place where he could sit. He kept an eye out for signs that might indicate where the freshman had to be seated in. He spotted a large red 1 in front of the room and guessed that was it.

Demund walked up to the front of the room from the sides to avoid disturbing people. He passed the 4, 3, and 2, and saw some students sitting in 1. They looked his age, so he knew he had come to the right place.

He scooted into the seats and asked a student who was chatting with another student.

“Excuse me. Is this where the first years are supposed to be seated?”

The male student stopped and turned around. His friend also turned towards Demund and inspected him. Or rather, they inspected his shirt.

“Yes. This is for the first years,” he replied. “But you are supposed to go sit over there.”

He pointed towards the left side of the room where a crowd of other students was sitting in. There was also a 1 on that side, except that it was black, and the area was more crowded.

“This is for the special class. See?”

The student lifted up his shirt and displayed the Tartis logo to Demund. It was exactly like Demund’s except that…it was red and embroidered with gold. Demund’s was black.

“Oh…I see. Thanks for the information.”

Demund quickly nodded towards the students and headed in the direction where ‘his kind’ were sitting. He checked his uniform again. The logo was black. What was the special class? He hadn’t heard about this in his acceptance letter. Guess it wasn’t important for now.

He swiftly took a seat where the first years were sitting in. He noticed some students talking amongst themselves. Actually, he noticed the majority of the students were already in groups, chatting. He was alone. He had no one to talk to.

He saw some familiar faces from middle school and suddenly felt a pang of regret. He had only hung out with Jothan and rarely anyone else except for group projects and such. It was just that Jothan understood him the best; he understood Jothan the most. He couldn’t socialize with other people very well. He just couldn’t bring himself to talk much in front of strangers.

If he had socialized, he wouldn’t be alone currently. It was too awkward to butt in on their conversation since he only knew their faces. So he sat by himself and stared at the front, waiting for time to pass until the opening ceremony started.

The minutes passed by so slowly and students began to pile up next to him.

Finally, an old-looking person in a suit with glasses and grey hair came up to the podium and adjusted the mike. The whole assembly grew silent at the sound of the mike being tapped; the voices died out. School had finally started.

“Welcome students, parents, and teachers. We will now be beginning the 81st assembly for Tartis Institute for Secondary Education. As you all know, Tartis is a school with a long history and meaningful background. Our predecessor…”

Demund listened intently to the speech as it went on and on and on. He had nothing better to do. He was content that he had come to a somewhat prestigious school and was curious about it. The students fell asleep or chatted next to him while he focused on the elderly man’s words. History, meaning, future, accomplishments, hope—the speech went on and Demund listened.

Apparently TISE High was one of the very first schools to be founded after SAP (supernatural acclimatization particles) had been discovered. Its intent was to train and develop these powers in students until the Islands came along and snatched away all the gifted people. The school still did very well. It was originally government-funded and had lots of capital to work with. Even now, they had the sponsorship of many wealthy families.

Demund thought of Enariss. She definitely was here; it was the only school that could fit her family’s wealth. But where was she?

“…and now, the freshman representative. Please welcome Miss Enariss Zarke!”

“Is that her? The one who got the highest score on the entrance exam?”

“Probably. Since she’s the representative.”

“Dang. She’s really cute.”

Demund heard whispers all around him as the freshman representative came up to the podium. The voices were right; she looked great. Enariss’s long, fiery hair was combed down neatly to her back but her front hair hung above her eyes in a disorderly manner. Demund guessed that no one here could ever imagine her to be a crazy athletic running maniac.

“I heard she also got the second highest potential score in the school. She’s definitely above C class.”

………………Alright. Maybe they did know. That would explain a lot of things. But why had she not gone to the Islands then?

He looked at Enariss while she went on with her encouragement speech. She had the red and gold logo of Tartis on her jacket. She was part of the special section of the school. But what was the special section? The rich? That seemed likely. The people with a high potential/ability? That seemed equally likely. Both? Maybe. The talented often became wealthy.

“I hope you all have a marvelous high school year!” concluded Enariss.

The auditorium exploded with applause. Males and females alike clapped their hands furiously at the beautiful girl who had given a magnificent speech. Demund equally clapped as loud as the rest. What a way to start off the year.

He winced slightly from his wound and didn’t clap as hard. By the time he looked up, Enariss was gone and the students were moving to their classrooms.

〄 〄 〄

The bell rang and signaled that school was over. As expected, they hadn’t gone over much material; most of the classes started with basic introductions and the like. The PE teacher just let the students know where the gym, pool, and showers were before letting everyone leave for lunch early. The campus was very large too. Demund had some trouble just getting to all of his classes.

He still hadn’t made any friends yet. Well, the opportunity would present itself sooner or later. He walked outside of the building and inspected the campus. The pool area was directly in front of him and the great library of the school was to his left, past the memorial statue that stood at the center of the school.

He hadn’t seen any of the students with the red/gold logos during any of his classes, and he found out why. The school was separated into two: the building he had just come out of and the building to the right of that building (when seen from the gates). Black logo students spent their first four years in the left (bigger) building, and only in their fourth year did they move to the right (smaller) building. The building to the right was meant for higher education.

The students with the red/gold logo spent all four years in the right building. He still hadn’t learned what had qualified them for being ‘elite,’ and he wanted to find out. That was where Enariss was, after all. If he had a chance to go to classes with her together, he would try his best to grab it.

Yes. Demund was infatuated with her. It was less love and more the excitement of escaping from his bland life. She had everything: the wealth, the looks, the brains, the potential.

Demund was a simple person. All he had was admiration. He had always been simple since he hung out with Jothan. Eat, sleep, study, play. But when Jothan left and his normal life was taken away from him, something in him had clicked. His dreams added to that fuel. He suddenly expected more from life. He wanted more. He wanted change.

That wasn’t going to happen as long as he held the black logo. It was a simple thought. The elite section promised change in Demund’s eyes. He had his dreams, but they would always be a fake. Plus, he also had his promise to Jothan to keep. Rise up and meet him.

Becoming friends with Enariss was the first part. He would try to ask her about the school tonight if she happened to come out again. If not, oh well. It was as simple as that. He had all the time to play in his dreams. Trying his hardest for one day wasn’t that bad. If things worked out, he’d have become friends with the best girl in school.

Actually, that could change if he started training in his dreams…

He put aside the painful image of Rother getting whacked and headed to the library to get some books.