[@&ｨ$%… @$%¨&…..]
"I can hear you brats all the way across the hall! What is going on there?"
"Teacher, you… Nothing is wrong; I am just taking this fool to the dormitory."
"Go on, then; try not to give Louis a hard time, ok?"
"Yes…"
"Are you doing good there, Louis? You look a little pale and…oh!" As quickly as she came, she went right back to the infirmary; there appears to be some ruckus there.
Not that Louis was paying any attention to that.
[#&*%#$ &$#¨$% #$&**$%$]
[The more I think, the more my head hurts, so maybe it's better not to think.]
Both of them stood there for a moment.
That was neither too short nor too long.
Just stood there and did nothing.
"Hey."
"Huh."
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
It was just a silent walk, during which he looked around a place that felt familiar. Louis experiences a mix of nostalgia, déjà vu, and the sensation of walking in circles. Initially, he thinks that Laura shouted at him for no reason, but he also feels a growing sense of regret, a hint of guilt, and, above all, sadness that Laura appears to be so upset.
And then, neither too long nor too short, just like that, they arrive at the dormitory, which seems more like a short apartment complex, no bigger than two floors each, a bit brutalist?
He didn't pay much attention to the school building, but from the outside, it didn't seem like a place for magicians or sorcerers; it resembled a typical medium-sized building in a somewhat rural area, rather than the usual schools he remembered from before, though the inside feels pretty different from the outside.
"We are here. You got your keys with you, right?"
"I… uh, guess?" After fumbling a bit with his pockets, he finds his wallet and a key, feels like something is missing.
"Yours should be number 505, down the street and to the left; see, that one!" She points to the first apartment just outside of a small gate. "I am not supposed to pass through here after 15; can you handle it from here?"
"Yes, I'll be fine, and… I am sorry."
"For what…? You… Never mind, I… am going to my dorm. farewell!"
She rushes with swift steps to a dorm not far away.
"…" With that, Louis also walks to his own dorm.
[Wait… Where is my phone? Do I even have one? I had a phone in my previous life, but I don't think I saw anyone using one on the way here…]
Right as this thought enters his head, he quickens his steps toward his dorm's door...
[I need to get in and check if there is any sort of phone in there, I want to try and call my dad… And… wait would there even be a computer in there? Do we have… internet?]
As he picks up his keys and tries to open the door…
[No keyhole? Also, the keys have no teeth? How does this even work???]
He looks back towards Laura's dorm.
Damn it, do I just go back and knock on her door now? What do I do?
Louis tries to calm down and remember how he had done it before; surely this is something he has done thousands of times previously, and it might be the kind of thing he could do with his eyes closed.
[With… my eyes closed?]
[Thinking back to before, I don't think I even remembered the way to the auditorium; I just went and walked there. Maybe I can just…]
Louis closes his eyes and starts tapping the door with his hands and the key; at some point he feels the key slot into something.
Barely an inconvenience, the door is open; with a slight push, Louis enters.
[Great! The best time to figure this out is now!
He pulls the key and sees that the tip of the key basically went inside of itself when pushed at a circled spot… When that is done, a small iron rod goes inside of the door; there is not even a handle.
[This seems pretty fancy! Or is it the usual in this world? Actually… I think it is?]
[It is the usual around here! Definitely!]
For the first time since waking up, Louis feels like he truly remembered something from this life, which raises his mood tenfold!
[I am pretty sure I am me, I just need to remember stuff!]
Louis closes the door and straight away plops down into the nearest chair he could find…
[Ahhhh, finally I can just rest for a bit… What a day…]
A moment that feels like a touchdown or reaching home base; at least I am done for today…
The sun is almost set; the only thing in Louis's mind right now is checking out his room, taking a bath, and preparing to sleep.
Inspecting his room seems pretty simple: a single bed, a desk with some books and a backpack, 3…chests?, a wardrobe, and a door to somewhere, hopefully the bathroom.
It seems at least I don't have to share the place. I wonder how many students are here as well. If they all are in the dorms, there couldn't be more than 20 all around or so.
[No phones or computers… This is bad… No more videos? Or games? Forever…? No… NO, THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT! THERE HAS GOT TO BE SOMETHING AT LEAST!]
Louis starts searching his desk; he finds what seems to be his notebooks and workbooks, which there seems to be a lot of. As he starts to sort them out, he starts to feel something odd.
[Aura studies 2, Aura studies 3, Alchemy 2, Alchemy 3… Where is number 1? Wait, is this in order?]
[No, it doesn't matter; I'll check the notebook first.]
[My… My handwriting sucks? It wasn't this bad before… I will check this later.]
He drops it back into the desk and goes to check for his wardrobe.
[There are… more clothes than expected? Some are uniforms, but there are only a few; they seem to be for special situations. I guess it would be like that? Everyone dressed differently in the auditorium.]
Checking on the lower parts of the wardrobe, there are a few boxes; he picks the biggest and pulls it to the floor.
[Let's see what I got here… Is this a… screen?]
Opening the box and finding a box with a glass frame in front.
[A kind of TV? This helps!]
[So am I in some sort of parallel pre-2000 world? Can I even turn this on? There is no power cable… Maybe if I just push this button in the front? Nothing…]
[I will put this aside for now! what else do I have in here?]
On the other boxes there only seems to be some materials in black tubes, something that looks like coal, some yellow rocks, some liquids…
[This could be dangerous; it might be better to check out something else…]
Louis sorted the items back as well as he could and went back to the desk to check his backpack…
[More books, more notebooks… A canteen? Is there booze in here?]
He opens the canteen and takes a whiff.
[…Just water? I don't think I've seen anything plastic around. Is there no plastic anywhere? Is this for ecological reasons, or did they just not figure out how to make it yet? Are there even cars, or are people using horses? The street close by seemed asphalted… ]
[What else is in here… a pencil case?]
[At least some familiar stuff, some pencils, erasers, no pens though… Are erasers plastic? If not, there is still no plastic found yet… Well, not that important, at least I guess…]
[The books… Alchemy 1 is here… Sorcery 1 and Aura Studies 1 as well… Does it even have something to do with the class you are in? I have the further volumes too, and all those books are pretty thick. I have to try reading my notebooks later.]
[I'll check this Sorcery 1 then… well introduction and… then.. uh…]
The same uncanny feeling he had while reading his notebook shows up again. He couldn't blame the handwriting this time; short sentences and words were fine, but reading continuously was making him have a huge problem concentrating, and the sentences got more and more difficult to understand together as he went on…
[Something is off… I quite like reading. The text wasn't even addressing anything directly related to sorcery, and I am already getting a headache. Do I have ADHD in this world or what?]
As he looks again at the table, there are multiple school books but also what seem to be novels and also even a few comics inside the bottom drawers; for now, these seem to be the only form of entertainment besides the TV in this room.
I definitely liked reading before, so what's going on?
He tries reading again, and gradually the reason is surfacing in his mind.
[No wonder… Why didn't I think of this before… Of course this would happen…]
[I can't actually read… this is some language other than english… everyone is definitelly speaking something other than english... The body knows the language but I actually don't…]
A feeling of helplessness engulfs Louis. What can he even do at this point?
[And it's getting dark… How do I even turn on the lights? Damn it! Why didn't I think of that before? How can I even figure this out? It should be more productive to check out the bathroom first.]
The bathroom door seems easy enough to open and actually has just a simple, usual handle this time.
[Is there even a lock on this th…?]
[@!&#$(%(#$#$@!!!!#@$!@¨!#$#&¨&&*(]
In just a split second, as the fading afternoon lights hit the mirror on the bathroom above the sink, he saw from the corner of his eye…
His reflection in the mirror.
"Who is that?"