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The Senior Citizen Lane doesn't have just one retired Nancy. Every old man and woman who lived here was a retired professional.
It's not really that hard to imagine given how the government mandated everyone to undergo their awakening ceremony many, many moons ago. Those who refused to have their awakening are arrested since it's considered illegal.
In a sense, being awakened is like having an ID. If one doesn't participate in the awakening ceremony, it might as well mean that they don't exist, and the government isn't really fond of unknown people roaming their land.
As TJ walked the streets of the lane he lived in, he saw several mystical scenes.
No, it's not the skyscraper buildings glittering with all sorts of neon lights and signs. It's also not the occasional flashes of light that streaked through the skies or weirdly shaped clouds floating above. All of those are just common sightings in this world.
He's referring to the people, mostly old ones, doing something incredible.
For example, that old man across the street suddenly took out a rope and swung it so hard that it reached the corner of the building next to him, which was about 10 stories high. He then unceremoniously began climbing the building with just the rope he was holding. He had no harness or any safety gear at all, just his old body and sheer confidence and fearlessness.
That's Old Man Richie, a window cleaner in his youth. He once single-handedly cleaned all the windows inside and outside of a skyscraper building with a hundred floors in a single day, all without any safety gear.
Another example was this old lady who just charged out of a building fuming mad and with smoke coming off her ears, still wearing a white dusted apron on her body and chasing after a naughty kid who presumably stole a donut from her shop.
This is Mrs. Jackson, a baker. She could be considered retired, but she never truly stopped baking. Her store had many patrons all over the district; it's not weird to see a long line of them waiting until her store opens. Whenever she bakes, the smell of her goods floods the entire lane, whetting everybody's appetite and signaling the start of the day.
She's married to a similarly retired chef whose shop was just right next to her bakery. He cooks home meals catered to the locals of this area. TJ himself was a huge fan of his cooking because not only was it delicious, but it was also incredibly cheap.
Then there were the more uncommon people who had rare professions.
For one, there's Sr. Maxwell, who was once a Magitech Engineer. It's easy to tell where he lived because the 'upgrades' he made to his home were visible to everybody else. Like how his house was missing a normal door. To enter his home, you'd have to enter through the mouth of a very talkative animatronic. It will swallow you whole, and its stomach is where the old man's home was. There were also numerous machines flying around his home; some were drones fueled with nothing but mana in the air, some were home defenses, and some were just there because the old man felt like it.
There's also Mrs. Carson, whose profession was called the Crow Mistress. There's always a murder of crows perched on her home. They're her servants and familiars, maybe even her family at this point. It's not rare to see them doing her errands sometimes. TJ had encountered them multiple times since he got here, and so long as he doesn't do anything inappropriate or harmful to their mistress, they will just ignore him.
Window Cleaner, Baker, Chef, Magictech Engineer, Crow Mistress...
This is the Professional Era, and it's all about professions. Lifestyle, combat, hybrid—whatever it is, it has a place in this world.
Anything could be a profession, from being a simple cashier, janitor, store owner, secretary, office worker, teacher, government official, etc. To more complicated ones that deal with the mystical and magical side of this world.
Simply put, if the society has a demand for it, someone will be a pro at it.
Everybody awakens a professional archetype; the specific professions after that are determined later on, but everybody has it. Having a profession is required to be acknowledged and recognized. Those who don't don't exist in the eyes of the world. Everything about human life will have something to do with professions. It's because of this that the government also mandated for six-year-old kids to be enrolled in preparatory schools, where they will stay for more or less than 10 years to learn the general knowledge about professions.
TJ's school, the Gale Phantom Preparatory School, was one of those, and it's the only one that existed in this whole district.
He enrolled in this school even before he knew how to spell his name properly. It's practically his second home at this point. He knew every single teacher and staff member working there, both old and new.
Having his turn at the awakening ceremony means that the time to part with the school draws near. The first semester was almost over. After his batch have their awakening, they will be incredibly busy; they wouldn't even be able to enjoy their vacation too much because the stakes are high. The following semester is where it all begins, after all. The time of playing around was over; if they want to secure a better future for themselves, they have to work hard.
But while his peers are excited to the point of losing sleep about the upcoming awakening ceremony, TJ might be the only one who feels largely indifferent about it.
It's not that he hated the idea of awakening. That couldn't be any farther from the truth. He too was looking forward to it; he even wondered what kind of professional archetype he'd have the highest affinity for.
His lackluster reaction about it could be blamed on his mental state.
TJ is...well, not really mentally stable. He's got...problems, stemming from his complicated childhood. The events caused him to have difficulties expressing and processing his emotions.
That's why even at the age of 16, TJ finds it difficult to show a genuine smile to the people around him. He never really learned how to and never saw the point of it.
"TJ!? Is that you?"
He was awoken from his stupor by a pitchy and energetic voice. He turned his head and saw a mop of pink hair and attire running towards him. He blinked, and suddenly, his vision was overwhelmed with a face with wide, doe-like eyes, sporting a large, sulky pout.
"Yes, hello to you too, Lily. I see you're back from...wherever you went with your father."
"From a feeding program, dummy. Was it really hard to remember that?" The girl pouted even more at him.
"Ah, well...I guess not. Sorry, I had a lot in my mind."
And just like that, the girl's pout disappeared. Replaced by worry and hesitation. TJ could practically see the gears on her head turning, so before she could say something, he decided to stop it in its tracks.
He raised his hand and pinched her face, eliciting a painful cry from her under his blank expression.
"I'm fine. Stop fussing."
"Ugh! Let go of me!" She huffed in annoyance, swatting his hand away. Her pout returned; she even crossed her arms to show how sulky she was.
"You didn't even send me a text or call, at least! I was wondering if you had already forgotten about me."
TJ glanced at her pink hair, pink gloss, pink clothes, and pink heels before replying:
"I don't believe I will. You...leave a lasting impression, after all."
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"You're unforgettable," TJ emphasized.
"That should be a compliment as far as I know, but with you saying it, it surely doesn't sound like one," Lily grumbled softly, but she was still heard by him.
"Ah! Whatever! What are you up to anyway?" She asked after that little exchange.
"Nothing much, just...walking."
"I see. And have you eaten yet? If not, then come with me. Mom's cooking up a storm; I'm sure Dad will appreciate any help we can have."
TJ thought about it for a second, truly deliberating on what to do for this situation.
He could refuse and risk making Lily even more sulky. That has happened before, and it taught him some strange lessons in a difficult way.
On the other hand, he could accept. There's still room on his stomach, and Lily's mom was a great cook. However, if he went there, he'd have to deal with Lily and her family's 'energy,' and he couldn't tell if now's a good time for that.
TJ then discovered that he might've been thinking about this for longer than he should've, because now, Lily was looking at him worriedly again.
That specific look in her eyes made him feel bad. Always.
So this time, just like any other in the long time they knew each other, TJ relented.
"Well, if your parents don't mind my presence, sure."
"Great! Come! Come!"
And just like that, TJ found himself being dragged by the hand toward Lily's home.