When Elias awoke from his slumber, he was wearing different clothes than before, and it took him a while before he realized that the unfamiliar room he was in wasn’t his bedroom. His body felt strangely refreshed like it had gotten a scrub, and he found out that he smelled different. He smelled nice. His device was set on a nearby table, and he grabbed it to check the time.

“Oh no,” he whispered, slowly remembering last night’s events after seeing his gifts propped on the table. He had missed the opportunity to give it to Jewel’s parents. Additionally, he had lost all the time he had anticipated with Jewel after dinner when he would have confessed his feelings to her.

Groaning, he got up in his loose clothing, making his way towards the door. It was a little past six in the morning, and while school wouldn’t start until nine, they’d never make it in time if they were still at Jewel’s parents’ residence.

The door swung open smoothly, revealing a spacious area with windows looking out into an expanse of dark blue sky and water, with trees below. There was a neat array of chairs surrounding a modest table to his right next to a small kitchen, while a large monitor hovered before a comfortable assortment of cushiony seats. A few pictures hung from the walls, and Elias saw that they were of Jewel and her parents.

This must be Jewel’s apartment, Elias thought. Said person was absent from the place, but he quickly realized that there were more doors in the room than the one he had emerged from. He took out his phone to give her a call but changed his mind.

She’s probably still sleeping.

Just to make sure they wouldn’t be tardy on their first day, he checked their location on the map, and sure enough, they were only fifteen minutes away from Education. He felt much more at peace now. His stomach let out a growl now that his uneasiness was gone. Still, he had no clue how to spend the rest of the morning while he waited for Jewel to wake up.

His device showed him that his friends had had a blast last night, as their pages were filled with pictures of eating, laughing, and a variety of games. Elias shook off the strange sense of isolation that crept down his back. He didn’t regret anything. But comparing his evening with his friends’, his stood out as a lot more uneventful—even dull. After all, all he had done was eat, share a conversation with Jewel’s dad, and lose consciousness.

Now that he had thought about it, he had argued quite passionately against the man.

“Why did I do that?” he said out loud, walking in a circle. “I’m never going to drink again.”

After regretting his mistakes, he pulled a chair and sat down. Just then, something beeped. The sound was muffled by the walls, and Elias guessed it was an alarm. Sure enough, one of the doors revealed a girl whose hair was sticking out all over the place, with one hand stifling a small yawn. When she saw Elias seated before her, she raised a finger, closed her eyes, and retreated back into her room, closing the door behind her. Some seconds later, Jewel’s head popped out from behind the door, her hair looking straighter than before.

“You...saw me in my pajamas,” she mumbled, squinting her eyes. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Life is full of surprises,” Elias shrugged. “I don’t even know what I’m wearing.”

“That’s...it doesn’t matter.” She blinked twice before rubbing her eyes. “I’m going to get dressed, so try not to peek.”

With that, the door closed once more. Elias guessed it was a good time for him to get changed as well, so he returned to his room and pulled on his clothes. The attire wasn’t the usual uniform he wore to class, but now that they were in the realm of Tertiary education, the dress code didn’t apply.

It took a while for Jewel to prepare, and with her permission, Elias arranged breakfast. He heated the food packets to perfection, and when they were nice and toasty, poured them neatly onto plates as carefully as he could. In a matter of minutes, the smell of cream soup, buttered bread, crispy ham, and tea filled the room. He had never tried the soup and tea before since his parents didn’t care to purchase watery substances, so he was looking forward to tasting them.

“So many calories!” Jewel exclaimed when she saw the plates. “Do you usually eat this much for breakfast?”

“Depends on the day,” he replied. “Did I make too much?”

“No, no. I’m starved. Thanks for setting the table,” she said sheepishly.

The two enjoyed a quiet morning while chewing on the food, and to Elias’s delight, the soup was every bit as appetizing as he had expected it to be. Dipping the bread into the creamy dish and eating it was beyond phenomenal.

“Gosh, you’re overreacting again,” giggled Jewel, reaching for her cup of tea. “Is it really that good?”

“You don’t think this stuff is amazing?” Elias asked, swallowing a large mouthful of soup and ham.

“It’s good. But not, that good. It’s packaged goods. It gets stale after a while.”

“Still good.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

After the meal was eaten, the two left the dishwasher to clean the plates while they prepared to go to school. It was a heart-fluttering experience for Elias as he and Jewel brushed their teeth side-by-side, something he had never done before. He could imagine himself living together with Jewel in the apartment, starting the day with her in his arms while he gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. He would then give her forehead a kiss and prepare breakfast like he had done today.

Someday, just maybe, he mused. With the way things were progressing, it wasn’t an impossibility.

“By the way, I left a few presents for you on the table,” Elias said on their way out of the building. “They were for your parents, but I guess you can have them.”

“They’re the sweets from the northern area, right? The packaging gives it away.”

“Yeah.”

“How nice of you. I was missing those. Thanks,” she said with a smile.

They had yet to reach the station when Elias formed a bizarre plan in his mind. The time they would be able to spend together, alone, would decrease drastically once they received their CNIs. The present moment would be one of the few chances he would get at telling Jewel how he really felt.

“Hey, Jewel?” he uttered, finally mustering the courage to speak.

“Yeah?” she responded, shaking her long, hazel hair in the wind.

Time seemed to slow down as she turned around to meet his eyes. Her presence was the only thing filling Elias’s vision, and in the few seconds he took to swallow and clear his throat, she was everything.

“There was something I couldn’t say last night,” he began, clenching his fists. “I like you, Jewel. I like you a lot.”

His mind went blank after that. Though his heart was accelerating as though it would burst out of his throat, his brain would not react. After all, Jewel had smiled so sweetly, so beautifully—and just for him.

“I like you too,” she said quietly, turning away. “Oh, the train’s arriving soon. We should hurry.”

Elias blinked. “Oh, yeah.”

The two began to sprint towards the station, Elias running after Jewel as if he were giving a chase. After passing through the gates and reaching the platform, they were both huffing and puffing, out of breath from the journey.

“The train’s not even close to arriving!” Elias said while panting for breath.

“I know!” Jewel answered, likewise gasping for air.

“Then why did you run?”

“I don’t know!” Jewel complained, squatting down in exhaustion. “Maybe I was embarrassed, okay? Maybe I was caught off guard.”

He couldn’t see her face as her body was turned away. It was quite chilly outside, but beads of sweat had begun to form on his forehead. Now he couldn’t tell if his rapid heartbeats were from the sprint, or from exhilaration.

The two shared a quiet moment as they caught their breaths. It felt like an eternity, but Elias was too elated to care. He simply stood behind Jewel and gazed at the bright blue skies, appreciating the universe for its beauty. The train could now be seen in the distance, approaching the station while the speakers announced its imminent arrival.

“I’m glad,” he finally managed to say. The train was coming to a halt next to the platform. “You know, I wanted to make it more special. Sorry I...caught you off guard.”

Jewel didn’t reply. But when the doors of the transport slid open, she promptly grabbed Elias by the hand and pulled him inside with her, forcing him to sit next to her while their fingers interlocked.

Woah, was the only word that came into Elias’s mind. He never knew a girl’s hands could be so smooth and small.

So the two sat in tranquility, watching the clouds drift by under the gentle touch of the sun. There was no need for words. A small twitch here and a squeeze there was all that was needed for them to enjoy each other’s company. It was a short while before they emerged from the train, but even as they walked towards their new classroom through the navigation system, their hands refused to part, along with the wordless grins that lingered on their faces.

It was the happiest Elias had ever been, and he felt like nothing in the world could stop him from loving the girl who shone in his eyes like diamonds in the sky.

Absolutely nothing.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

“It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would,” Terral admitted, rubbing his neck. “Actually, it didn’t hurt at all. What kind of magic is this?”

“It’s like a regular shot you’d get at the Health Center,” Elias commented, trying to get a look at the place where he’d been given his CNI. He couldn’t, of course, as the area was located on the back spots of his neck.

“But it’s the CNI,” Terral went on. “It can’t be this easy. I thought we’d be strapped to a machine or something! It’s supposed to go directly into our brain and spine.”

“Nanobiotech, remember?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel any different.”

“All for the better. I wouldn’t want to feel tiny machines crawling around my nerves. That would feel nasty.”

“Hmm. Maybe you’re right. But I can’t help but feel disappointed. I mean, it’s the CNI. We were waiting for this moment all our lives! And it just ends like this.”

“Just...be satisfied it doesn’t hurt.”

Terral shrugged after getting an annoyed look from Elias. “Fine,” he relented, averting his eyes towards the group of completed students. “But oh man, I’m excited. We’re finally at this point.”

Monroy was the next to join the group, and he made a show of doing an ‘I don’t know’ pose with his palms facing up while he goofily walked down the hall. Some people snorted their noses and grinned at his performance, and characteristically of him, he began to guffaw when he finally reached Elias and Terral.

“That wasn’t so bad after all!” he happily remarked, touching the back of his neck. “I thought it’d hurt a lot more. Feels kind of underwhelming, though. It was like a little prick.”

“That’s what I was saying,” Terral butt in while making his ‘see, I told you’ face at Elias. “I expected them to shove a giant spike down my spine, you know?”

“Yeah, me too.”

“That’s exaggerating,” Elias reasoned, “since technology.”

“Dude, don’t take our fantasies away from us.”

“Yeah, man.”

Stonneran soon joined the group afterwards, and much to Elias’s dismay, he too began to blabber about how he expected the CNI injection to be much cruder and flesh-ripping. So while his friends were going on and on about the unrealistic ways the procedure could have been carried out, Elias looked for Jewel in the midst of all the buzz and joking. In reality, he was as shaken as any other student. But while they expressed their relief with jokes, he believed himself to be more mature than them, as he had a girl who liked him now. He had a responsibility to be reasonable.

Honestly, he wanted to speak out how he thought a spider-like apparatus would attach itself to his head and inject his brain with tiny droids, but that was beside the point.

After a few seconds of searching, he found Jewel on the other side of the room. Her bottom lip was curled into her mouth while she bit it. She looked nervous, no doubt. The mood saturating each opposing side of the room was clear from the faces of the students. Jewel was no exception, and Elias watched as she tightly closed her eyes while the fluid entered her body through her neck via a thin needle. She was still squeezing her eyelids down when a clear voice informed her that the procedure was over. Elias smiled. Jewel’s face had bloomed into relief in a split second. Another student took her seat, while Jewel herself scurried over to Elias and his friends.

“I thought I was going to die!” she breathed heavily, stifling a small scream. “But I didn’t even feel a thing. Did I even get the CNI? It was that simple?”

“You looked pretty terrified,” Elias told her, reaching out to give her the high-five she expected. Their hands met with a solid slap that turned his friends’ attention to them.

“I was not—well, maybe a little,” she acknowledged with a shy pout. “You certainly look fine.”

“I heard a thing or two from my dad.”

“My dad used to say they’d open up your brain and put wired chips in it.” She balled up her fist and made a punching motion in the air in front of Elias. “I’m going to smack him when I see him again.”

“Hey, welcome to the group.”

They both turned around to see Stonneran smiling with a hand up in the air. Jewel reacted by accepting his high-five with a toothy grin, punching him on the arm afterwards hard enough to make Stonneran cry out in shock.

“Ow! What was that about?” he complained, rubbing his arm. “Why so violent?”

“You told me they’d stick needles up our noses!” she barked, raising her arm for another strike. “You buffoon. I should stick some needles up your nose, you big, fat liar.”

“Calm down, calm down, Jewel. I honestly thought—”

“Oh, no you didn’t!”

Elias could only watch as the two began to run around in a mad chase, with Stonneran cackling like a maniac while Jewel missed her attempts at landing a solid hit. It made him feel a little weird to see her so excited with a smile on her lips amidst her rage. He knew the two had been friends before she had met him, and yet, it didn’t feel nice. It made him more uncomfortable when Stonneran abruptly halted to give Jewel a flick on her forehead.

She’s never been that physical with me, his thoughts whispered.

Even as his friends laughed, he could only bring himself to vaguely curl the corners of his lips. But the event ended soon enough. Jewel returned to his side and collapsed on his shoulder, pulling him down with the little bodyweight she had.

“Do something,” she scowled, pointing at Stonneran. It was a playful gesture, though, for some reason, Stonneran’s tongue sticking out at them ticked him off, if only by a little.

“He’s way taller than me,” Elias pleaded, putting his palms out in refusal. “And much heavier. I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Come on!”

“Bros before girls, way to go!” Stonneran cheered. Elias grunted as Jewel’s grip on him had increased twofold. He looked at her, and she pouted at him. Her eyes seemed to beg.

It was their first day in a relationship. He had to show his reliability and confidence.

Girls liked strong guys, right? He cleared his throat.

“Stonneran, cut it out. You’re making her angry,” he cut in, though with more force than he had intended. He hadn’t meant to sound angry himself, but it sure had sounded like it, since Stonneran’s face immediately hardened.

“Sheesh, it was just a joke. Taking it so seriously, I see. Sorry, sorry.” Stonneran paused to nod at Jewel. “No hard feelings, yeah?”

“None taken,” she replied with humph.

“Well, all’s good! Except for the fact that Elias prefers girls over bros.”

Elias almost slapped Terral when his closest friend added, “a true traitor to all of mankind,” after Stonneran’s statement, but Jewel’s giggle stopped him as well as Monroy saying, “Man, don’t leave us forever, okay?” along with a couple of other jokes that he could only shrug off. He didn’t want to ruin the mood or anything, and acting like the whole matter didn’t faze him did the trick of bringing back their merriness together.

His insides felt a little weird and compressed, but he did his best to keep his expression positive.

When everyone had finished getting their CNIs, they were guided through a series of floors and elevators going up—more than they had ever ascended as a group in the cone-shaped tower. They had walked for around five minutes when they finally reached the new classroom.

It wasn’t like any other classroom they had been in. There were no tables or chairs; instead, egg-shaped objects the size of a person were set up in the room like neat arrangements of crops in a field.

“These will allow you to access the Otherworlds. Select a seat and the program will guide you to your location.”

Everyone began to occupy the devices upon Wela’s instruction. Since the location of the seat did not affect anything, each one simply grabbed the nearest egg they could find and entered. It automatically folded back to reveal a comfortable-looking padded chair, albeit with some metal surfaces here and there.

When Elias sat down, the lid closed over him, and an interface popped up before his eyes amidst the darkness.

‘This is your first time using the Complete Neural Integration network. As by default regulations, you will be transported to Tutorial 0452. To change your information, edit the box below.’

He looked below to find a neat arrangement of his personal information. His name was included, as well as his age, the amount of money he had, and the rest of the trivial stuff. There were some words he didn’t recognize, though. ‘Identities’ was one of them, as well as ‘Log’ and ‘Contribution.’ The most important word, however, was ‘Start,’ located at the very top of the box in big, bold letters.

Finding nothing dissatisfactory, he raised a finger and pressed on the ‘Start’ button.

Everyone had received an explanation beforehand about the process of linking. It had taken a long hour to inform them of how the machine would send their consciousness into the Otherworlds. Apparently, there would be panic without the explanation, and Elias could see why.

“Commencing integration with the system. Please relax. The system will now take care of your body.”

His vision slowly faded into black while his body seemed to lose its senses. He could feel his arm move on its own accord just before he lost control over everything.

Maybe dying feels like this, he wondered. Soon, all that was left of him was his mind.

But after exactly two seconds, the world burst into color. Out of nowhere, his senses returned, beginning with his fingertips and all the way down to his toes, in a matter of milliseconds. It was as if he had been pleasantly zapped to life. There was no pain, and the world only grew in detail while he waited.

“You will now be sent to, Tutorial 0452.”

As soon as the voice finished, his vision turned black again, and he knew his eyelids had been shut. He didn’t know how the system had done it, but somehow, his eyes were closed, though not forcibly—like they had always been closed—though he had been staring at a world of color merely seconds before.

When he opened his eyes, his classmates were surrounding him, while others were materializing in flashes of clothes and skin. The clothes, now that he noticed, were the ones he had been wearing outside. The more he looked, the more astonished he became, because what he saw and felt weren’t different from reality at all.

They were inside what looked like their old classroom, complete with the chairs and tables. Everything was the same. Well, almost everything. He touched the table. Then his face. He proceeded to boot the computer just to see what would happen, and just like he had thought, it ran as it had always run.

This is real. This is realer than reality!

His body had never felt sharper, so full of energy before. He felt like he had gotten an upgrade, and when he looked around, he could see everything with exceptional clarity and focus. Not that his vision had been bad before, but this new vision was a step above his real eyes.

Were those birds outside the windows? No, they were definitely birds.

“This is the virtual classroom you will be taught in for today,” Wela explained from the front. It looked like everyone had managed to connect—and like him, were enjoying their new selves. “Your bodies have been configured to be exactly like your appearance outside. Note that this is only the beginning of what is possible inside this world. But first, you will have to learn the basics. Please say, ‘Open Menu.’”

Elias followed the android’s example and said the magic words. Immediately, a screen materialized in front of him, filled with numerous options Elias couldn’t wait to explore.

“This is the default command to bring up the user interface,” it continued, “but you can always change the words to a different one. Every single option is customizable to fit your tastes, so take your time to learn each and every setting. I will give you thirty minutes. Feel free to send the system a message if you need assistance.”

A message popped up at the right side of the screen, linking a conversation to someone named ‘Helpbot.’ He pressed it. There was a single message that read ‘Give me a call.’ inside the chat, so he pressed again.

“Hello, Elias,” said a voice that was neither masculine nor feminine. “I will be your personal guide during your time in the Otherworlds. You can speak to me with your mind. Try it.”

Neat, Elias thought.

“That’s it! It looks like you’ve played a lot of games before, so I’m sure you’ll have no problems adjusting.”

This is beyond spectacular. I can’t believe telepathy is possible!

“Not only with me but also with your friends. I can bring up the Friends List if you’d like.”

You can do that?

“I am your personal assistant, after all. Ask me anything.”

By this point, Elias was brimming with glee. Like a child who had first discovered words inside of a book, he wanted to learn about everything, see how far this world could take him into his imagination.

Could you sound like a cute girl? Your current one sounds…robotic.

“Of course,” replied the voice of a very cute cybergirl whom Elias once had had a crush on. “Does this suit your tastes?”

Maybe ‘once’ had been the wrong word. Hearing the voice again had begun to dig up the infatuation he once had some years ago.

He pursed his lips. How did you know I like that voice?

“I am the system. I know everything about you.”

That’s convenient.

Elias scratched his cheek and looked around the room. Seeing how everyone was looking weirdly into empty space, he realized how ridiculous he might have looked to anyone who was looking. It was their first time, after all; they’d have to get used to it to use the system naturally.

It was a beginning for them. A new start for everyone, so the first steps would naturally be important for their future selves. And now that he had someone he held dear in his heart, he couldn’t possibly use another girl’s voice without feeling guilty about it. He could still hear his mother’s voice yelling at his father in the morning, because—

Because trust is important. Helpbot, will you change your voice to Jewel’s for me?

“I can, to 67% accuracy. The value will increase as more data is collected. Would you like me to include her personality?”

You can do that? Yeah, that’d be awesome. You know, while you’re at it, let’s change your name too.

Jewel. It was a beautiful name, but calling the helpbot Jewel was bound to cause complications, as well as more than a few misunderstandings. No, he needed something new, but not too different.

Crystal, he decided after some thinking. I’ll call you Crystal. You’ll be my guide for everything.

“That’s a wonderful name,” cheerfully replied Crystal the helpbot. “Thanks, Elias. I’m sure we’ll have fun together.”

You really sound like Jewel.

“Of course I do. By the way, to end this conversation, you can tell me whenever. I’m very smart, after all.”

Thirty minutes is almost up. You knew, didn’t you? I guess I’ll have to say goodbye now. If you can, change your avatar to...a cute cyber drawing version of Jewel. Can you do that?

“I can. Then I’ll talk to you later.”

Bye for now.

There was a small bloop as the avatar of the helpbot vanished from the air. A few touches into Conversations showed Elias that the helpbot was now renamed into Crystal [HB], and with a new look. Perhaps the system did know everything about him because the drawing instantly forced out a breath of admiration from him. It was cute, lovely, and looked like Jewel—maybe even a tiny bit better.

He shook his head. There was no way an imitation could be better than the original.

He did some more exploring until Wela called for everyone’s attention. While he was confident he could figure out everything without help (excluding the helpbot’s assistance), the whole point of the classroom was to learn things together. He decided he would find his friends later.

“As you may have noticed, the options included in the user interface are near limitless, and many of you may have found yourselves boggled by the information. You will learn in the future that the Otherworlds each have their own unique settings included as well, so to prevent confusion from arising, we will go through step-by-step the tools you will need to enjoy the Otherworlds to their maximum potential. Some of you will learn faster than others, and others will lag behind. But don’t be worried! There are no time constraints from now on, so each of you may work at your own pace. Simply ask your helpbots; they have everything you’ll need for anything.”

“You now have two choices,” Wela continued as a presentation made itself known. “You may stay in this classroom and go through the settings at a set pace, or you may leave into a miniature world of your choice to discover the settings by yourself. To change worlds, simply ask your helpbot. I will give you fifteen minutes to decide before we begin today’s class.”

There was a series of murmurs that filled the room after Wela finished her speech. Getting up, Elias scanned the classroom and found his friends a little ways apart, so he walked over to them. They were already talking when he arrived.

“Hey, Elias. Whatcha gonna do?” Terral asked.

“Ah, wait a sec. Let me find Jewel first.”

In the midst of all the change, he’d forgotten to go to Jewel. She was fairly new to this class, so it was clear she would be surrounded by strangers. His friends knew of her, but she wouldn’t know them as much as they did. He didn’t tell her much about them, after all.

Gosh, how could I be so stupid?

Admonishing himself for his carelessness, he scanned the room again and quickly found Jewel in her seat. As fast as his legs would carry him, he hurried over to her location. But to his surprise—and mild irritation—someone had arrived before him, and that someone was Stonneran.

“There you are,” he said with a smile, standing up. “About time you came.”

“Sorry, Jewel. I was distracted. What were you guys talking about?” Elias inquired. He had noticed that they had been in a conversation, and Jewel had been giggling like she had heard the funniest joke ever.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that Stonneran named his helpbot Stonneran, and now there are two Stonnerans.”

“Like she says. Check this out. Hey, Stonneran?”

“Hi, Stonneran. What do you need?” replied the helpbot version of Stonneran. Elias didn’t know that they could put the helpbot on a speaker, but now he did.

“I don’t know. What do you need?” Stonneran countered, about to burst into laughter.

“I don’t know. Do you need something?”

“Do I need something? Or do you need something?”

“Maybe I need something that you need, which is something.”

“See?” Stonneran cackled out loud, making Jewel laugh as well. “It’s hilarious! These helpbots are pretty darn smart if you ask me.”

Elias chuckled after seeing Stonneran’s little performance, but it came out half-heartedly. Maybe making his helpbot take on Jewel’s persona was a bad idea, since now he couldn’t share it with anyone. Maybe with Jewel, but not with Stonneran around.

Will she think I’m creepy? Or too attached?

He had known Jewel for two months, and many memories had been made between them, but the uncertainty—oh, the dreadful uncertainty that she’d see him in a weird light was enough to deter him. To make matters worse, it appeared to him that Stonneran’s relationship with Jewel may have been deeper than he had predicted.

But what more could they be than friends? She had repeatedly said that about him, that he was no more than a friend. One of the first (possibly the very first), but still just a friend.

“So, what are you planning to do?” he asked, putting his thoughts aside. Overthinking would just create delusions in his mind.

“I’ll stay here,” Jewel decided, looking around. “You know, get to know everything before moving on. I’m also kind of new to this environment. You two should know. I’ve been here—a little over one year?”

“It’s settled then,” Elias agreed. Though he had imagined other outcomes where they would have been able to explore the world on their own, he couldn’t imagine leaving Jewel. Swallowing his thoughts, he spoke again.

“Come to the front. Our friends are there,” he said, looking at Stonneran for confirmation. “Remember the guys I told you about?”

“Do you mean Terral and Monroy? Stonneran told me about Monroy,” Jewel added, crossing her arms. “Who was that guy with the funny name? Nosy?”

“Noza; it’s a cultural thing.”

“Huh. Do you guys have any girl friends I could get to know?”

“Well, I don’t particularly—”

“I know a lot,” Stonneran interrupted, spreading his hand across the room. “There’s Anjay, Gyon, Esty—I’ll introduce you to their group if you want. Our class is a fun place.”

“Yep,” was all Elias could say. After all, the most he’d done with a girl was group projects.

“I’m relieved,” Jewel sighed. “I was wondering if I could fit in.”

She had told him about her time in the other classroom during the break. They apparently were split into distinct groups, and she hadn’t been able to click with any. It had been a long year—partly why she had been able to earn her library pass in just a few months.

“You’ll do fine,” Elias encouraged, gently taking her hand. “Besides, you won’t be alone.”

“I know,” Jewel replied softly. Even in this world, her small hands were the same.

“Hmm, hmm. Is it me or is it getting a little hot in here?” Stonneran teased, wiping his nonexistent drop of sweat off his brow. “I’ll just head on over there, so take your time. Take as long as you’d like, since class definitely won’t start soon.”

With that, he bounced away.

“What’s his deal?” Elias grumbled, though with reservation. “He’s so vigorous.”

“Say that again?” asked Jewel for clarification. He was glad she hadn’t heard him. There was little point in badmouthing people, and he hated the thought of becoming a gossiper.

“It’s nothing,” Elias replied, letting go of Jewel’s hand. “Stonneran is really lively, isn’t he?”

“I’m glad he is,” Jewel stated, getting up from her seat. “He’s good at mixing people.”

“I should thank him for introducing you to me,” he said, pushing his discontentment into oblivion. “If it wasn’t for him—”

“I asked him to, remember? So, you can thank me.”

Elias blinked at her for a few seconds before cracking a wide smile. “I’m grateful to you more than you could imagine. You’re everything I could dream of.”

“Oh…”

The system was as real as it could get because the moment the words left Elias’s lips, Jewel’s cheeks reddened like cherries, and her small hands covered her face as best as they could.

“Do you mean it?” she said in a small voice.

“I—I mean it,” Elias stuttered, stumbling over his tongue. Only now he realized how embarrassing his words sounded, and his face felt hot.

“Whew, you’re so aggressive today,” she muttered, her hands still on her face. Looking away, her hand took hold of his clothes, and they stood there silently with Elias clueless as to what to do. A quiet moment passed with Elias feeling dumber and dumber each second.

“Right, let’s go to where everyone is,” he finally realized, clearing his throat. She would be silent like this whenever her embarrassment took hold of her. As an answer, she nodded, and they made their way towards his group of friends.

When they arrived, the seats had already been decided, and kindly enough, Elias’s seat was next to Jewel’s. What he didn’t like was the fact that Stonneran was also next to Jewel, but he decided to understand since he was the only other guy she knew besides himself. It wasn’t as if Stonneran would stay next to her forever; he had promised to introduce her to the girls. Then she wouldn’t sit next to either of them, but Elias didn’t mind. Perhaps a little, but Jewel needed friends of her own—girls who could help her more than he could in different ways.

He just hoped everything would proceed smoothly.

“I’m glad many of you have decided to stay. Now, let’s begin.”

With Wela’s voice signaling the opening of the lecture, their first foothold into the Otherworlds was finally established.