Rohan finds himself greeted to a large classroom with a series of circular table tops, surrounded by hovering chairs. The room was spacious yet it was no auditorium, and on the walls of the room were different holographic screens or windows. The room was mostly white, as it was the color of the boards and desks, including the professor desk which seems to be housed in the center of the room.
Most of the seats were already occupied by students, with some of them turning to the newcomers, surprised that people were still turning in. Some of them snicker, and others turn away in loss of interest. It seems Rohan was rather late compared to the rest of his class, as evident by the professor's expression, as he stares down at him with an irritated glare behind his glasses.
The professor seems to be a middle aged man with a manbun, wearing a formal suit, yet it was unclear if this was going to be tradition or if it was for the first day. He has fair white skin with a few freckles, and had a serious demeanor.
Rohan smiles out of embarrassment, and he waves his hand, realizing he did indeed ruin his first impressions. He apologizes, "Hello Mr. Fred, sorry if I'm late-."
Before he could finish however, Shuraj enters the classroom, and following him are the other five. Vrey looks around the classroom with wide eyes, surprised that they had made it, and Sriya begins searching for an empty desk. He spots one and begins walking towards it, signaling for Vrey and Ari to follow him. Ara taps Rohan on the shoulder and approaches the table alongside Shuraj.
Rohan's eyes widen, and he cuts his sentence short before following along, as he doesn't know what to say, as he had never found himself leaving a bad impression. Especially when he was usually the first student to show up for every class, he was worried he was at the edge of a waterfall.
The professor stalks Rohan with his glare, and he then lets out a sigh before shaking his head, and turning back to face his monitor at his desk.
As Rohan takes the sixth and last seat in the table, which was luckily sized perfectly for them, he overhears the professor begin to speak, as the professor says, "Well, that should be everyone. Welcome class, as you may have just heard, my name is Dr. Fred, and I will be your professor for your first class, Introduction to Advanced Algorithms. I recommend for this class that you study on your own to better understand the formatting and techniques you'll need to use, and I recommend that through my book which I wrote specifically on topics that we will go over during this class."
Rohan looks around the classroom as he pulls his Pouch out, unsure if he needed to take anything out yet. He keeps it beside him, his eyes darting from the professor to the different tables of students.
He tsk-tsks to himself, realizing that he referred to the professor with the wrong title, which might've furthermore damaged his reputation. He turns his eyes back on his table, where the rest of his group had been seated, looking around the room aimlessly.
Dr. Fred continues speaking, "Anyways, the links to my book will be on the class page at the top. Now, this class can be taken without any prior knowledge of coding technically, but you will most likely take a while before getting anything better than a failing grade, and even when you're done with that you'll hardly pass. But it is possible, it's just better if you have some experience before taking this class. But it's too late if you don't have any, so you may as well either drop the class now or buy my book to start studying. Now, the only equipment you really need in this class is a Gen 95 Connect or better, I mean you can have a Pro Series model if you already somehow own one, but it's not a requirement. Anyways, I think some professors are giving time for students to talk to each other, but you're not in kindergarten, so you can go do that in your own time. Instead, I want to take this first day to get you accustomed to the programs you'll need downloaded for the class. Now, go to your class page and follow along with the board."
Dr. Fred begins typing on his computer, and on all of the boards, a screen pops up showing a version of the class page on the SAT app, which has the name of the class along with buttons for different other pages such as Synopsis, Classmates, and Resources. Dr. Fred then clicks on Resources, which opens another page showing a series of links and titles.
Other students including Rohan all turn on their Connects and begin navigating to their app to find the right page, following along as asked to. Rohan finds the page, and he looks at the board in front of him to wait for the next directions.
Dr. Fred looks around the room to see most people on the right page, and he once more speaks, "Okay now, all of the links you see right now you need to download. Later throughout the course I'll add new resources for specific units and projects, but for now everything you see here is what you need. You may feel overwhelmed by this list, but trust me when I say this class will be impossible without having all these."
Rohan scrolls through the page, looking at the long list of links, and he sighs to himself as he wonders how much storage it would take to have everything for one class. However, as he scrolls through, he begins noticing familiar names, as he realizes that a large chunk of the links were to sites for universal and more basic programs needed to program in general, and he already had a few of them.
It made sense that there couldn't be too many unique programs needed for each class, which was relieving, as that meant he probably wouldn't need to download too many applications and thus would hardly need to use up any more space.
He begins to search for the programs he knew he didn't own, or ones he may have been unsure about, and begins clicking on the links, which takes him to different sites where he was able to download the programs onto his Connect. As he downloads each of the programs, his friends around the table do as well, with almost all of them not having had any of the programs prior.
After the class finishes downloading the requisites, the professor goes on to show a syllabus of the course, and calls for the undivided attention of the students before giving his synopsis on the class.
Dr. Fred informs, "As I said before, this is Introduction to Advanced Algorithms, which is an entry level course in this school. This might feel hard now but in a year you'll be wishing you could retake this over your other classes, but then again I can already recognize some people here that I taught last year, I won't name any names but you know who you are. My name is Doctor Fred, and I will be your professor for this course. Now, if either my name or the name of the course doesn't align with where you're supposed to be, please raise your hand, and you'll be dismissed from this classroom."
He then stops speaking, and surveys the classroom with his eyes, waiting to see if anyone were to admit themselves. Luckily, it didn't seem anyone had made any mistakes, as nobody raised their hand, as either everyone was safe or those who were mistaken were too afraid to show themselves.
Dr. Fred shakes his head, and he continues, "Very well, I will assume you all are here intentionally. Now, you can find this syllabus on the class page, but I will give a brief overview. This class will either teach or grow your fundamental skills in coding, as you will learn advanced and intricate techniques in creating algorithms, and will practice on a variety of situations as projects, the main form of assessment in this course. Speaking of assessment, we have a harsh code against any sort of cheating among students, as we do not tolerate working together on projects unless they are explicitly stated to be group projects or allow teamwork. More on that later though, but I just want you all to know that cheaters will fail."
Shuraj rolls his eyes, and he looks at Sriya and Ara, who all shake their heads as well, as if they had heard this phrase hundreds of times, and seemed to hardly care about it.
Whether they had to put more effort into hiding their tracks, it was clear they were planning to breach a few codes.
Dr. Fred continues with his overview of the syllabus, going over different units that the class would have to go through over the course of the year, and other rules pertaining to cheating, tardiness, and other offenses. Rohan listens eagerly as he finishes downloading the programs required, and Vrey lays his head on the table as he waits for the boredom to pass.
Finally, Dr. Fred finds the bottom of the document, and he ends the overview with a closing statement: "So to wrap it all up, don't do anything stupid, and stay on top of your work. This class should be easy if you know how to take it right, and remember that this is not grade school. If you want to find this syllabus again, as I said, you can refer to your class page. But that will be all on that."
Students sigh in relief that the tedious overview is finally over, and they are ready to leave the rooms, hoping that class is now either over or almost over. They had gotten all the preparation they needed, which was what the first day was all about, no more no less.
However, Dr. Fred clears his throat, and he announces, "Ahem, now that we have all that done, we can begin our first lesson of the year."
Following his announcement, students sigh with disappointment and annoyance, not realizing how much class time was truly left, as they were in for another torment. Rohan smiles to hear that there was more to the class, as he seemed instead excited to learn, an oddity among a sea of disapproval.
Dr. Fred begins navigating on his computer, and the screens around the room change to the beginning of a lesson slideshow, featuring an opening page with the title 'UNIT 1: BASICS OF CODE - BASIC VARIABLE TYPES,' which stands out in black among an otherwise blank white screen.
Rohan looks up at the screen in front of him to see the slideshow, and he then rushes to open his Notes app to take notes for the lesson, navigating through his Connect home page and finding the right app. Once he opens it, he widens his screen in front of himself, and a holographic keyboard appears under it. He then looks back up, and waits.
Shuraj sighs as he sees Rohan rushing off to take notes, and he quietly says, "I'm pretty sure this is all review stuff Rohan, I don't think you need notes for this-."
Rohan turns to Shuraj, and he shakes his head, arguing "Still, it's good to have it regardless. It's a good refresher and he may give insight we don't have yet."
Shuraj shrugs his shoulders, and he surrenders, "Well okay then, your call."
Rohan nods his head, and he turns back to face the screen, watching as the professor moves to the next slide, which has a list of sentences that he assumes to be notes to take. As he reads the list, he notices them to be trivia surrounding numeral-based variable types, and he starts jotting them down as he listens to the professor.
Mr. Fred explains, "Okay, let's begin. First, we will go over the most primitive number type, which is, well, 'num.' This is the most general type, and you will most likely use it the most, as it can be applied for most scenarios that require numbers. This goes for counting, checking lists,...."
While Fred continues to lecture the class, Rohan furiously notetakes, his eyes constantly switching from the screen to his Connect. While Rohan wasn't the only student to be taking notes, it was clear that he was in the minority.
Instead, most students were either asleep, staring off into the abyss, using their Connects for entertainment, or listening to the lecture without bothering to take notes due to the fact that they already knew it.
In fact, Rohan was the only student in the class who already had the knowledge about these basic types, yet was still taking notes, as the only other students were learning this for the first time.
Ari relaxes against his chair, and he turns to Sriya before asking quietly, "Hey, what should we do after school today?"
Sriya turns to Ari, and he shrugs his shoulders, as he didn't know what he'd be doing throughout each day, as this was his first. He could only respond, "I don't know, we'll figure it out later I guess. We have two classes today, right?"
Ari nods his head, and he responds, "Yes, two today. We'll have another after lunch, but once we do, we're free. Should we just hang around in the dorms?"
Sriya tilts his head from side to side, contemplating his lackluster list of options, before settling with "Sure, maybe then we can figure out what we want to do."
However, before either of them could say anything else, Mr. Fred turns to both of them, and sternly asks, "Is there something you want to share with the class?"
Sriya and Ari both go silent, and they look up at the professor with wide eyes, surprised by the vigilance, as they were sure they weren't speaking too loudly. Shuraj, Vrey, and Rohan all turn to face them, as they didn't hear the two speak, leaving them confused about the issue
Ara turns his head to Ari, who is beside him. He sighs, closes his fist, and secretly hits the back of his chair, causing Ari to feel the knock behind him. Ari nearly opens his mouth to yell at Ara, but as he turns to face his brother, he is met with a face of disapproval, as though Ara was trying to communicate a message.
Ari gives a nervous chuckle, and he shakes his head, responding to the professor with: "No sir, sorry, it wasn't anything important. We're listening."
Mr. Fred glares at Ari, and he then glares at the rest of the table. Each of the boys look back at the professor as they're glared upon, and then they break eye contact, all except for Rohan.
Mr. Fred turns back to Ari, and he warns, "Then that better be the last of it. It's the first day, don't sink so quickly."
He then turns around, and continues the lecture, his voice returning to a more casual and relaxing tone, and once more the class resumes their session. Most of the students give their attention to the course, with the exception of a few who still watch at Rohan's table, surprised that they had already angered the professor on their first day.
Rohan glances at Ari once more, deciding that he would ask what had transpired later, and he turns back to his Connect screen to resume his note taking.
Time goes by as Mr. Fred gets through more and more slides, showing examples and techniques on the board and explaining through them as students jot down what they see and hear, either by typing them on their holographic boards or writing them on their screens.
Ari and Sriya stay silent and pay attention, trying to avoid another warning, as they knew that it could be detrimental to their whole year if they weren't careful.
Vrey continues listening to the lecture, waiting for any moment where he may see something he'd need to jot down in his notes, but for the time being he seemed to be on the safe side.
Ara keeps Ari in the corner of his sight, keeping an eye so he could stop his brother from possibly making another bad move.
Shuraj watches Rohan write, his back pressed against the back of his chair, his feet crossed over. He sighs, feeling somewhat bad that Rohan had to be thrown into such a mess, as it was clear he had good intentions and hoped to excel, yet his allegiance could prove an obstacle. He frowns, wondering if Rohan would truly fit in given his innocence and drive to do what seemed right.
Mr. Fred speaks as the screens show a screenshot of a program, with a few lines of code, with the variable 'number,' which was previously defined in the line 'num number = 0,' bolded in all the instances it was shown.
The professor lectures, "Now as you can see here, one benefit of num is how versatile it is, as you can even skin it to similar variables if needed, just like here where I used it for a function that requires a freq, something you'll learn on a later date. Many of this may be confusing to those who never saw code before, but by the end of this unit you'll understand this and how to make something like it."
He then moves to the next slide which has the bold text of 'LECTURE OVER: THANK YOU FOR LISTENING' on the top, and then underneath the text reads 'Homework: Set up programs and Unit 1 HW 1 - Simple Numbers.'
Many students sigh in relief that the lecture was finally over, and Rohan perks his head up to see that it was finished. He quickly writes down the homework on the screen, and waits patiently with his app still open.
Mr. Fred concludes, "Well, it looks like we're done for the day. This was a slow beginning, but we will gradually ramp up in speed and difficulty, just remember that this is a beginning course. If you do not understand something we learned, I have office hours during lunch and at different times after school. You are all dismissed."
All the students immediately rise at once, as it seems they were all waiting to do so. Chatter immediately swarms the room as the students start heading out of the classroom, leaving to lunch.
Rohan closes out of his notes app and then turns off his screen, and as he does, his friends all stand up.
Ara smacks Ari on the shoulder, warranting Ari to step back and put his hand over where he was hit, and yells his brother's name in confusion and annoyance.
Ara scolds, "Can you try to stay out of trouble for the first day at least? This is the first class too, come on, act better than that. Or you're going to get me in trouble too."
Ari begs, "Sorry sorry, I didn't think I was that loud! He was probably waiting for someone to say something just to make a fool out of them…."
Rohan stands up, and he turns to Shuraj. He nods his head, ready to go, and he asks "Off to the hall?"
Shuraj nods his head, and he says "Sure, let's go eat. I'm hungry anyways, I forgot about breakfast."
Rohan sighs, and he lowers his head, remembering that he met the group in the lobby of the dorm building, and that they hadn't left it prior to all of them leaving for the class, meaning they couldn't have gone to the main hall.
He picks his head back up, and gives a soft smile, optimistically pointing out "Well, there's the cafe downstairs at least, so we can get breakfast there. Since I doubt you'll wake up early enough to go to the hall."
Shuraj smiles, and he nods his head in agreement. He then turns back to Ara and Ari, who were still arguing, and he interrupts with "Come on let's go!"
He then turns around and heads to the exit of the class. Rohan turns back to watch Ara and Ari stop yelling, and both turn to Shuraj. They then follow him, still tense, and both Sriya and Vrey follow suit. Rohan turns around, and he follows Shuraj out of the classroom, and out of the building.