Everyone was listening to the lecture like any normal day. The birds were chirping outside, and the soft sunlight gently illuminated the classroom. Demund was focused on the teacher’s words and made sure he was understanding everything he heard. He scribbled down notes and made memos to remind himself which material to review. The room was quiet except for the constant noise of lead being inscribed onto paper.

Suddenly, the music for announcements blared out the speakers. The sound of the mike turning on was accompanied by a crackle of electricity.

“This is a quick announcement that concerns one student,” spoke a voice out of the speakers. “The tree plan, it has been accepted. Feel free to utilize it but visit the Student Council room to fill out some forms. That is all. Have a splendid day everyone. And good luck to you, student.”

The speakers shut off and everything returned to being quiet.

Demund scratched his cheek. Seriously? An announcement just for that? He looked over at Rhyne who was raising his eyebrows at him, so he returned the gesture with a thumbs-up. Rhyne smiled.

The teacher cleared her throat and the lecture continued.

〄 〄 〄

“Was that you who the Principal was talking about?” asked Riley after school ended. They were postponing their club meeting to discuss with Demund for a while.

“Yup. The Student Council Pres warned me about it. Guess he was right.”

“That’s so cool!” exclaimed Rhyne. “You basically got the school’s permission to confess!”

“I just hope no one finds out that it was me,” whispered Demund as he spotted some students walk by. “Enariss is pretty well-known, right? If I fail, then the whole school will laugh at me.”

“You got that right. There’s no going back now.”

“Yep. I need to visit the Student Council room now. See you guys tomorrow!”

They waved goodbye at each other and headed their separate ways.

Demund was feeling excited. The plan that was in his imagination was starting to become reality.

〄 〄 〄

“So, when are you going to set the lights up?” asked the President.

This time, even the Secretary was present in the room. She was helping the Vice-President organize some documents for the school.

“I think the night before the festival. Or after it ends.”

“Okay. Write your signature here.”

Demund quickly signed his name onto the form that the President had provided. Its contents included not bringing harm to the tree in any way, not damaging the garden, proper use of electrical appliances, and the like. They were all reasonable requests.

“No one knows about this, right? You know, because of the announcements and everything.”

“Only the Student Council and the Principal. Your privacy is guaranteed.”

“That’s perfect." Demund got up and slung his bag over his back. “Thanks for all of the help.”

“It’s what we do,” said the President. “So you’re going to the library?”

Demund became startled. “How did you know?”

“You check out books almost every day.”

“Oh—you can see that?”

“The Student Council sees everything~,” said the President proudly while spreading his arms.

The Vice-President slapped his head with a clipboard and sighed.

“You can’t just tell students that, President.”

“What if Demund became part of the Council then?”

Demund froze. “Excuse me?”

The President shrugged. “If anything goes wrong with the confession, feel free to come here. We really need try-hards like you. Next year’s candidates look a little bleak.”

“President, you’re being rude. If things go wrong, we can just run again.’

“Hah, I know, but…anyway, Demund. Think about it, okay?”

Demund let out a confused laugh. “Um, okay. Thanks for everything.”

“See you soon. Ciao!”

The people in the room watched as the Freshman student closed the doors behind him.

“Pres, you can’t just invite people like that, you know~?” said the Secretary.

“It’s good to give students ambition. Take a look at his grades, Ruri.” The President handed over his tablet to his Secretary. “Also, the Principal has taken a liking to him. A little. He said, ‘It would be interesting to have him as a part of the Student Council.’”

“The Principal is impulsive, and you know that,” argued the Vice-President. “You’re also being very rude to the kid. You want him to break up, don’t you?”

“Couples must die!” exclaimed the President. He covered his head with his hands after both the Vice-President and Secretary came at him with their everyday weapons. “Sorry, sorry! It was a joke.”

“You don’t understand anything…” breathed the Vice-President as she turned around.

“What? What was that?”

“Nothing! Just get back to work.”

The President scratched his head and returned to his papers, unaware of the blush that was on the Vice-President’s face. Watching all of this, the Secretary could only shake her head in pity.

〄 〄 〄

Ri: [So in the end, we didn’t really do anything.]

Rh: [Yep.]

D: [You guys did plenty. Wish me luck!]

Ri: [Too early to say that. We still have a few days left.]

D: [It’s the idea that counts.]

Rh: [Heh. Okay, good luck Demund.]

D: [Too early!]

Rh: [It’s the idea that counts?]

D: [Oh my—fine. I lose. Just make sure not to let Enariss know.]

Ri: [That’s pretty difficult considering that we meet every week.]

Rh: [I think you’re the one who needs to chill. Just the other day, you were fidgeting so much.]

D: [That was because…ah, whatever. See you guys tomorrow. We’re doing basketball, right?]

Ri: [Yep.]

Rh: [Hope we get drafted on the same team.]

Ri: [Won’t that be too overkill?]

D: [Yeah, Rhyne. Even Riley and I combined have a hard time beating you.]

Rh: [Still. It feels nice to dominate once in a while.]

Ri: [I guess. Well, I need to do homework. You guys done with it?]

Rh: [Oh shoot! I totally forgot!]

D: [Wanna see mine? I’m done with it.]

Rh: [Please. Send a photo.]

Ri: [Rhyne, you need to stop copying.]

Rh: [Only this time, okay? Thanks, Demund. Oh boy, this looks long.]

D: [Just takes one or two hours. Anyway, see you guys later.]

Ri: [Yeah. See you tomorrow.]

Rh: [See you!!]

〄 〄 〄

Demund checked his supplies. A few attachable lights that were remotely controllable. One drone he had borrowed from Riley. Two flashlights and a lot of glow-in-the-dark stickers. And finally, a little rose hairpin for Enariss. The items were ready. The day was soon. All that was left was to invite Enariss over. This would be the trickiest part.

〄 〄 〄

March 7th, 2155

Demund ran. And ran. And ran and ran and ran. He was in a lot of pain, but he didn’t falter. He wanted to look like his best today. Enariss was always in front of him, always one step ahead. He wanted to catch up. It hurt, but he forced himself to continue. The pair dashed like shadows under the streetlights, whizzing past the poles and houses.

At last, Enariss slowed down and came to a stop. Demund desperately caught his breath and stabilized his breathing. He never got used to this, but he had to continue.

“You okay there? We did run faster than usual,” asked Enariss. She had a hint of worry in her voice.

“I’m fine,” stated Demund. “Still a long way from your level.”

“You’ll—”

Enariss paused herself. Saying, ‘You’ll never reach my level’ would be disheartening.

“Do your best. You’ve improved a lot.”

“Yeah. All thanks to you.”

Demund straightened his back and looked into the night sky. It was filled with stars thanks to eco-electrical energy that had been implemented over the past 50+ years. Cars were quieter, faster, and produced much less pollution than ever.

“Hey, Enariss?”

“Yeah?” Enariss’s crimson eyes glowed dully in the dark. Demund loved those eyes. So strong, so energetic. They were so composed and beautiful, so clear like a ruby.

“About the festival tomorrow…you won’t be able to go.”

“……yep. I have things to do.”

Demund anxiously stretched his legs and mind. If Enariss refused now, everything he had planned would go to waste. No, the planning wouldn’t have been important. It would just mean he had to improve himself more. She had done so much for him. Just losing something minor like time was natural.

“I heard from Mr. Zarke that you’ll be free after dinner tomorrow.”

“Dad told you? He didn’t say anything else, right?”

“No, nothing.”

Enariss let out a small sigh.

“So, I was thinking…tomorrow, do you want to bike to the school with me?”

“Hmm? How about running?”

“We’ll rest for tomorrow. Since you’d have missed the festival, I wanted you to…I don’t know, enjoy some of it at least?”

“Won’t they have cleaned everything by that time?”

“Well…I may have asked them to prepare something.”

“Really? Just for me?”

“It’s possible.”

“You planned something, didn’t you?”

“What? No! I mean, maybe?”

Enariss giggled. Then she stopped and looked at the sky. Her eyes looked somewhat distant to Demund.

“Okay. I’ll see what you’ve prepared.”

“I mean, it might have not been me, or it may have been—”

Demund stopped himself after seeing Enariss’s smile. He scratched his head.

“Don’t expect too much.”

“So it was you!” Enariss punched Demund on the arm playfully. Demund tried to hide his smile. He probably looked very awkward right now. He moved to his bike and undid the stand.

“Same time as the run. Tomorrow. It’s nothing serious.”

“Mmhm. I got it.”

Demund passed the gates and waved to Enariss who was waving back. Then he took a giant breath of relief. He had finally come this far! Perhaps he wouldn’t confess tomorrow. Perhaps he would just stay as friends. He loved their current relationship. He didn’t want to risk breaking it.

But Enariss seemed like she wouldn’t mind him. If the atmosphere felt right…

His heart pounded energetically. He couldn’t help but feel nervous and excited.

A sudden worry filled his mind. While he had planned to decorate the tree, he hadn’t actually gone to it to make sure what would go where. The only time he had seen it closely was during the Sports Tournament with Enariss.

Ah shoot, Demund thought. He looked at his watch. It wasn’t even nine yet. He would have plenty of time to survey the area if he went now.

After making up his mind, Demund turned his bike towards the direction of the school and started pedaling. He passed the streetlights quickly and felt the cool air flow against his face. His heart was still pounding violently. He was excited for what was to come tomorrow. He wanted it to come soon.

Demund increased the velocity of his bike. He couldn’t help it. He just felt so energetic. His body was filled with adrenaline out of a high schooler’s anticipation for love.

He passed the streets, the roads. He passed through the empty traffic of the area and raced across the ground. He felt like he could fly. His bicycle was freshly pumped too. He raised his speed.

He headed towards the school. After some time, he was almost there, just a few more intersections and blocks away. He was slightly running out of breath, but it didn’t matter. He pushed on.

He entered the dream.