The road was silent as he walked forward, his footsteps louder than they should have been.
He inhaled. What am I going to do now?
It didn't matter what circumstances had led him here; now he was alone, and everything would depend on his decisions.
What did his mother want? For him to finish school and get a certificate.
But what about him?
Soon, a long building stretched ahead of him.
A sign outside read North Dormitory exactly what he'd been searching for.
He stopped in front of the first room. He wanted to open the door but paused; a slight frown crept across his forehead. The lock was broken.
He tried pushing the door, and it opened easily. 'What's this about? Doesn't this mean anyone could enter?'
The room contained three sets of bunk beds, meaning six students per room. Just imagining sharing a room made him uncomfortable, and now there'd be six of them.
The room looked orderly, each bed neatly made. Not knowing which bed was unoccupied, he went and sat on the bottom bunk in the corner.
Exhausted, he flopped onto his back. He would rest a little before going to his classroom.
'Alright, I'll graduate.'
After making this decision, he closed his eyes, and before he realized it, he drifted into sleep.
---
When he opened his eyes, he stood in front of a building engulfed in flames.
His hazel eyes were empty as he watched the building being destroyed by fire.
"Chris," a voice called behind him.
He turned to see his woman's worried face. He remained calm as he looked at her disheveled appearance.
"Did you do it?" she asked.
He remained silent. As if his silence was the answer, she lunged at him and grabbed his shoulders, scolding: "Why did you do that?!"
---
The door in the room opened. Ethan froze as someone unfamiliar was sleeping in his bed.
"I can't believe someone has the audacity to sleep in class hours. In my bed at that!"
But when he drew closer, he realized something. He had seen the boy before, earlier when he was in the office. Now he closed his eyes, but he remembered his sharp hazel eyes vividly, that long auburn hair...
"Wait, doesn't it mean he is our new roommate?"
Then the boy in the bed struggled as if he had a bad dream. He shook his head while his forehead wrinkled.
Ethan leaned, ready to wake him up. The boy sweated a lot, even if it wasn't hot, and Ethan wondered what he could be dreaming about this noon.
"Hey!" He shook his shoulder
Christan jolted awake suddenly, so much that even Ethan almost jumped.
Christan's breath came rapidly before he calmed himself, realizing it was a dream. Then he turned left to find a guy standing in front of him as if he was about to interview him.
"Hey..." Ethan leaned forward. "You alright?"
Christan wiped sweat from his neck and face.
"I'm fine." As he did, something clicked in his mind, and he took a good look at Ethan. Indeed, it was the boy who mocked him earlier. What was he doing here?
Ethan, as if he had heard what Christan thought, blurted, "This is my room."
What? They were roommates?
Ethan wished to ask him about his dream but dismissed it. "Then, what's your name?"
Christan's response took a moment as he still had a grudge about earlier before he answered in a low voice, "Christan."
"Well, Christan, I'm Ethan. And your bed is..." He pointed to the upper bed. "This one"
Christan, without even a little protest, got off and was ready to climb the stairs.
"What are you doing? It's time for class. Grab your books," said Ethan as he also took the notebook he had forgotten.
Christan took his backpack and put in a couple of notebooks he would need and followed Ethan outside.
As they walked, Ethan would look behind at Christan from time to time. Nothing seemed wrong with the boy, but he was too calm and silent almost unnerving.
Not long after, Christan found himself standing in front of the school dean. From what Ethan had told him, every new student had to be assigned a desk.
"Without this strange system, they would be at a loss every day." That was the only thing he told him.
Christan was given a wooden desk and chair, both marked with code numbers. If anything happened to them, he would be responsible for the payment, whether it was his fault or not.
He carried the chair while Ethan helped with the desk, and they walked toward the classroom.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Ethan lamented to himself. Since when was he this considerate, even helping carry a desk? And the one he was helping... he turned to Christan behind.
Christan instead was moving his eyes around, inspecting the surroundings. He noticed that not all parts of the school fence were made of bricks; some parts were only wired, and beyond that, there were only trees.
His brows furrowed as he looked at the bushes. Wouldn't there be dangerous bugs...?
"Chris!"
Ethan's call snapped him back. He glanced at him with slightly raised eyes. Chris? Only someone close to him called him that.
Ethan's eyes enlarged as he spotted someone behind Christan.
That guy behind grabbed Christan's shoulder and moved him forward hastily. Failing to keep pace, his chair slipped from his hands and crashed to the ground. He froze, eyes widening as he stared at the chair.
He had only just received it, and now he had to face the consequences. He moved his glare to the one responsible.
"Oh, I mistook you for someone," the boy who had pushed Christan apologized to him. "I'll help you pick it up." He rushed to where the chair fell.
Ethan, who knew the boy well, knew he was lying.
The boy had fair skin with curly hair. His eyes shone almost like watercolor.
"Ryan. What the hell?" Ethan asked through gritted teeth.
"What do you mean?"
"You could have hurt him!" Ethan scolded.
"Shit! Didn't I already apologize? You always have a problem with me! Besides, don't you realize where we are? Two steps, and we'll be at the office. Are you trying to grab the teachers' attention or something?"
"Problem with you? I know why you did that. Now that I think about it, did you, bastard, follow me?"
Ryan frowned and scoffed. "Who do you think you are? You wish I followed you?"
Ethan watched him in disbelief. He wanted to say something but failed. Talking to him drove him nuts, so he walked to Christan.
Christan only inspected his chair and took a breath when he found no damage. Ryan grabbed the chair from Christan. "I will help you carry it as an apology."
Christan wanted to protest, but Ryan insisted. Just like that, he walked carrying nothing.
When he reached outside the classroom, he took a deep breath as he was going to face strangers.
"It's a pity we don't share a classroom," Ryan said, shaking his head. Saying that, he stepped inside.
The moment Christan stepped into the classroom, the first thing that hit him was a thick stench of sweat. The shouts and laughter had been loud from outside, but he hadn't expected the chaos inside to be this overwhelming.
So this was the infamous Goldleaf all-boys boarding school. He looked around as he compared the rumors and reality. Strict rules? He didn't think so, or else there would've been silence.
As he moved further in, something sped toward him fast and suddenly. His eyes widened as he saw a ball flying straight at his face. He raised his hand effortlessly and caught it, sticking to his palm like glue.
The one who had thrown the ball, Ben, and his friend, Agrey, froze for a moment.
They had been playing catch when one lost control of the ball, nearly hitting someone. But instead of an accident, they ended up witnessing a spectacular move.
Looking at the boy, they remembered him. It was the newcomer they teased at the office and mocked Ethan for his consideration to recruit him. Whoever thought their captain had such a good eye for talent.
Ethan had seen what happened and found himself staring at Chris in fascination. In truth, he had never considered him for his team, but now...
His lips stretched into a wide grin. "You... are mine."