Zik was halfway through his servings when he felt some movement to his side. He glanced sideways only to be met with the sight of the boy who'd nudged him earlier grinning widely as he waved at him enthusiastically.
"Hi, remember me?" The boy chirped
Zik looked at him for a few moments, his neutral expression giving nothing away, then returned his gaze back to his meal. He wasn't really in the mood to engage in small talks at the moment.
The boy, not discouraged by Zik cold attitude continued rambling on as he seemed completely unaffected by the solemn atmosphere that had gathered above the aspirants.
Yet Zik paid him no mind, expecting him to finally grow tired of his mindless rambling. And It seemed to work.
The boy no longer said anything as he decided to focus on his meal buying Zik a few seconds of silence.
"You know, ignoring me doesn't mean I'll disappear" he suddenly said
Zik raised his head from his plate, the sight of the boy smiling slightly while holding a chicken nugget between his teeth seemed rather..... amusing that he could feel his stuff self loosening up.
But he held it in, his neutral expression holding strong enough to not show his slip.
Zik held his gaze for a few seconds then went back to his meal as th boy released an exaggerated sigh
"Bah.... you're a tought nut to crack aren't you...?"
"I'm starting to think you're unable to talk"
Tired of his antics, Zik, without raising his head growled slightly
"What do you want?" He asked in a menacing voice in an attempt to cut off any further talks but the boy was undeterred
"What I want is a conversation" he answered cheekily
"not interested, go bother someone else" Zik answered groundedly hoping to stop any further talks but this dude was unrelentless.
Flinging his arms into the air, his face contorted in mock annoyance
"Oi! Oi!!, that's no way to talk to someone who just saved your ass from getting late to the assembly moments ago" he whispered in a loud voice
"You just don't know when to stop do you?"
"No, you seem fun to me but maybe you're acting like this cause you're in a bad mood"
"Or maybe I just don't want your company " Zik retorted
"And speaking of bad mood, you're the only idiot around here who's chatting away"
"Ouch...." The boy sounded genuinely hurt
"Not good calling a man an idiot just cause he's trying to be friends" he said before he stood up, picked his plate and moved away to another bench.
Zik continued eating like what just transpired didn't have anything to do with him, it was a simple case of getting rid of annoyance. Although he found the boy's antics cute, he didn't have the space of mind to spare for things like that and so he had to drive him away.
Although the walker had stressed for them to fraternize, Zik didn't see any use in creating bonds that might not last. Everyone that has found themselves in this place knew the truth of this trial even if they don't want to admit it.
The chances of dying was a solid ninety five percent out of hundred so what was the use of bonding when they all might end up dead anyway.
It's true some people would argue that humans couldn't survive alone, that bonding could perhaps increase their chances of survival, but what of the scenario that you bonded with someone and then that person ends up dying while you survive, leaving you in an emotional limbo, carving a void into a person's heart over the loss of a close one.
Zik knew first hand the pain of losing a close one, afterall he had lost both of his parents to the cold claws of death on the same day and he hadn't even recovered from it.
The rest of his dinner continued uneventfully as the whole dining space seemed to be drenched in an ocean of melancholy. Everyone seemed to be thinking about something as the clatter of cutlery was the only sound that filled the air and there wasn't much chatter that was expected of teenagers their age.
Zik finished his meal but he remained sitting in the same spot, there wasn't much for him to do anyway other than go to sleep, so he sat and let his mind wander.
After some time, some aspirants started leaving the dining probably to retire to their rooms.
Having nothing to do, Zik also got up and left for his room. Tommorow is probably going to be a long day and he wanted to be physically and mentally ready for it. In order to do that, he had to get adequate rest which he planned to do.
Getting into his room, he slipped into the small bathroom attached to it and showered to freshen up before laying on the bed.
He rolled around a few times before falling into the embrace of slumber.
The next morning, Zik woke up with a start. The bell hadn't gone off yet so he had time to prepare for the new day.
Once again he stepped into the shower and scrubbed himself properly, his dopamine level spiking as it had been a long time since his body had this much care.
He remembered the walker address where he had told them of the aspirants uniform and which one to wear at a particular time.
He stepped towards the wardrobe in the room and gently pulled it's door open.
A small smile crept onto his lips
"Not bad..." He mused
There wasn't much to see in the wardrobe as it only consist of a pair of joggers, a sweat shirt and a sweat pant but it was obvious that whoever stuffed this wardrobe has done a really good job as the clothes were neatly pressed and arranged.
He took the sweat pants and sweat shirt and put them on, a single thought passed through his mind
'....sleek'
He could feel the smooth fabric adjusting to his height and size, fitting him perfectly.
'..... Another product made from a Walker's arcane power'
Having nothing else to do, he sat back down on his bed mentally preparing himself for the coming day ahead.
Not long after, the familiar shrill sound of the bell resounded across the building
....and everything descended into a frenzy