The bell rang, signaling the end of lectures.
Monday through Friday followed the same schedule: after morning dining came assembly, which ran from 8:30 to 9:00 AM. Lectures started at 9:30 and ended at 2:30 PM. After that came afternoon dining from 2:30 to 3:00, followed by siesta.
"You were awfully quiet today. You sick or something?" Edwin asked.
Liam simply shook his head, saying he was fine.
Meanwhile, from across the room, Noah shouted, "You don't look hungry! Let me take your food!" He was half-joking, but Liam simply laughed and told him to go ahead.
"Are you for real?" Noah asked, surprised. He'd only said it out of habit—he knew Liam would never give up his food.
"I'm not hungry!" Liam said as he and Edwin continued walking through the corridors of the academic block.
"What about your evening food?" Edwin asked with a grin.
Liam almost choked on his words, but he couldn't help smiling. That was typical of Edwin. Out of all his friends, Edwin was the greediest soul he knew.
"I'll think about it!" Liam said as they both changed directions.
Although Liam didn't know why he'd given Noah his food so easily—it would've been better to make a deal out of it—there was one thing he knew for sure: it was out of habit from Class 5.
After reaching Class 5 the first time around, a lot of things about him had changed, including his love for food. He never went to morning dining anymore—mostly because he woke up late. As for afternoon dining, he only went about three times a week. Evening dining? Only whenever he had free time. How he survived like that was wild.
When Liam reached his hostel, the door was still locked.
"Seems Senior Joseph isn't back yet," Liam thought to himself as he stood on the upstairs corridor, leaning against the railing and watching the scenery below.
"Mason!"
The name escaped his lips before he could stop it. His heart began to beat faster. Memories flooded his mind as his eyes locked onto the platinum-haired kid in his view, walking alongside his classmates.
"Yes, senior?" Mason answered. It seemed his voice was audible—he'd heard when Liam called his name.
"…Why are you not at dining?" Liam quickly asked, trying to avoid an awkward situation.
"I'm not hungry," Mason answered calmly.
Liam dismissed him, and as soon as Mason walked away, a string of tears rolled down Liam's face.
He remembered the scene where he'd met the god who regressed him back in time.
"So apart from regressing with a perfect body, charisma, and your memories, what else would you like?" the god had asked.
Liam had thought carefully before saying, "There's a kid called Oliver Mason. I want him to have his future memories of us."
But the god had replied that possessing the memories of the future all at once would kill him. Mason could only acquire them slowly—it would likely take half a year, maybe even a full year.
If not for that… perhaps their encounter would be different.
Just then, Liam heard Joseph calling his name from downstairs. A moment later, Joseph tossed the hostel key upward toward him.
"Open the hostel and hold my key. I'm going somewhere!"
At this point, Liam had already made up his mind. Although he wouldn't officially act for the post of House Prefect, he'd use this chance to build his foundation solidly for Class 5—to gain the necessary fear and respect to have his way throughout his remaining time at Westfield.
The advantage was his. As long as he only acted on behalf of the HP, it was fine.
His first target? Their beds.
After opening the hostel, Liam began to inspect everyone's bed. Those whose beds weren't spread or arranged neatly would be punished—it was common knowledge to arrange your bed before leaving the hostel in the morning. After noting about four people, his eyes landed on one bed. It wasn't arranged properly and looked as if the person had been in a hurry—perhaps trying to leave before the deadline he'd set that morning.
He already knew whose bed it was.
"Oliver Mason," he thought to himself with a long sigh.
Without hesitation, Liam quickly arranged it. Then he went to his corner, took off his clothes, tied a towel around his waist, grabbed his bucket, and headed toward the bathroom. Before going in, he locked the hostel door—he knew Joseph probably wouldn't be back until near the end of siesta.
By the time Liam finished bathing, almost the entire upstairs group had gathered at the door, waiting for Joseph to open it. They were surprised to see Liam coming out of the bathroom with the hostel key in his hands.
"So you're the one with the key!" Daniel, one of his classmates, said with a frown. They'd probably been waiting for a few minutes now.
"Senior Joseph asked me to do something," Liam said, walking past Daniel. He placed the key in the door but didn't open it yet.
"As I open this door, everybody should gather in the First Apartment. Or rather—if you know you didn't spread your bed, wait there. The rest of you should go to your beds."
Liam opened the door. Lucas, another classmate, rubbed Liam's head playfully and said, "Since when did you decide to act for HP?"
He walked inside. Meanwhile, those confident they'd spread their beds went straight to their corners. Only five people remained standing in the First Apartment.
"On your knees," Liam said firmly.
Then he noticed Mason among them.
"Mason, what are you doing here? Your bed is arranged."
Liam gestured for him to go. Mason looked confused—he didn't remember arranging his bed neatly.
Of course Mason wouldn't imagine it was Liam who'd helped him. At this point in time, they were more like strangers. Actually, Liam was supposed to hate Mason for many little reasons.
"How long will it take?" Liam thought to himself with a sigh.
He decided to attend to the remaining deviants.