Mikeal had finished unpacking and now he was just sitting around, looking at his room. There wasn't much—pretty empty. Apart from the single bed and counter, nothing else seemed relevant.
He looked around and saw how familiar the room felt—just like the same apartment he used to live in before coming to the military. Yes, the military room was bigger and had enough space to put anything he ever wanted; after all, it was a suite—unlike the apartment he was used to.
The part he really took interest in was the walls. To him, they were dull and hollow—like they needed something. But he just couldn't remember where he'd put it. Mikeal went through his belongings and scavenged through everything he had packed neatly.
"Where the hell is it?" Mikeal said, now desperate.
From the neatly clean room Mikeal had arrived to, it didn't look like that anymore. Now, it was filthy—clothes all over the floor, his neatly made white-sheeted bed now unmade, drawers left open, and single socks scattered.
Mikeal grew frustrated. The thing he was looking for was nowhere to be found—and he was certain he had packed it. Unless… what if he had forgotten it?
How the hell would he even get it back? Because even if the military did allow them to leave the premises, there was no way he'd know which way to go—especially since the military had closed the bus windows with lead and drugged them on the way in.
Hector was outside, hearing all the banging and frustrated grunts from Mikeal's room. So, he decided to check up on him.
"Knock, knock. Mikeal, are you doing okay, bud?" Hector let himself in.
Mikeal, caught off guard:
"Hector, how did you get in?"
Hector, trying to push past whatever was blocking the door:
"I'm sorry—I let myself in after knocking so many times with no response."
Hector eventually succeeded in pushing open the door, only to be met with an unexpected sight. Mikeal's room was completely untidy.
"Woah—did you have some kind of party?"
"Huh?" Mikeal couldn't hear him clearly.
"I mean, what's with your room looking like this? Your clothes are everywhere," Hector asked.
"Oh, sorry. I was just looking for something important, but I can't seem to find it," Mikeal said, sitting on his bed.
"You want help looking for it? I'm done with everything myself—so I'm bored out of my mind," Hector said, picking up some clothes from the floor.
"Nah, it's okay. I probably just misplaced it. I'll find it later—I'm sure," Mikeal said, a little disappointed.
"O-kay. Since we're bored and out of our minds, how about we go get something to eat? I'm starving," Hector tried to cheer him up.
"I'm not really that hungry. You can go ahead—I might catch up with you later," Mikeal replied, picking up more clothes.
"Okay… I guess I'll see you later then," Hector said, feeling a little down.
Hector actually left Mikeal's room—but it didn't even take a full minute before he was back.
"Did you forget something?" Mikeal asked, surprised.
Hector blocked the door and lowered himself.
"Uh, look. I understand you just want to be left alone, and I get that. But I just heard Alexia telling Celine that she's coming to you. She needs some answers."
"What?!"
The second Mikeal heard that, he didn't have a choice. He accepted Hector's invitation to go eat—not because he was scared of Alexia, or trying to avoid her at all costs. It's just... he didn't have all the answers himself.
And he knew how she got when she was after something. She wouldn't let go—like a dog with a bone.
He still didn't understand what was going on with him: the sudden memory blackouts, doing things no normal human could do. And it wasn't like the military had given them the serum yet to prepare them for frontline fights.
"Has she come out of her room yet?" Mikeal crouched.
"Nah, but I can hear her trying to open her door," Hector said, peeking through Mikeal's.
"Okay, let's get ready to run," Mikeal whispered.
Both of them carefully opened the door so slowly that it didn't make a sound—not that it would. The room doors were soundproof. Even if banged, no loud noise would come out.
They walked out slow and steady, Mikeal using hand signals to talk to Hector as they sneaked toward the elevator. Then—Alexia's door opened.
They ran.
Fast.
Straight for the stairs.
All they heard behind them were voices echoing in the hallway.
"So do you really think he's hiding something?" Celine asked Alexia.
"I don't know—but he's acting a bit strange. Even for Mikeal," Alexia responded.
Both were heading for the elevator. Mikeal peeked around a corner and saw them stepping inside.
"Okay, I think we're safe for now. Let's go."
To avoid being seen, they took the stairs instead. The staircase was no joke—it stretched far. Thirty minutes was nothing when taking those steps.
Eventually, they reached the first floor.
"Phew... I've never run so much in my entire life," Hector panted.
Mikeal, on the other hand, didn't look like someone who had just run down a two-hundred-kilometre slope. He was fine. Hector was sweating bullets.
Hector looked at Mikeal, surprised to see him standing tall and calm.
"H-H-How are you not dying right now?" Hector gasped.
Mikeal shrugged, "I don't know."
As Hector was catching his breath, they noticed the stairs began to move down like an escalator. Then one of the Grade Fours came down.
"Hey guys," they greeted, walking away.
Mikeal nodded and then saw a card slot labeled:
'Escalator Option'
"Seriously?" Mikeal shot Hector a look.
"What? What?" Hector asked, trying to keep up as Mikeal walked off.
---
They left the accommodation building. Outside, the academy grounds were filled with students heading to the cafeteria. As they walked, Mikeal and Hector passed groups of students chatting, laughing, and mingling.
They entered the cafeteria. From the outside, it looked like the smallest building in the entire academy—but once inside, it was massive. As long as a stretched-out library.
"Woah. The technology here is awesome," Hector said, stunned.
"Oh come on," Mikeal said, leading the way.
The cafeteria was packed, but the food line wasn't long at all. It was more like you just stood in place, ordered, and the food appeared in seconds.
It was their turn. But first—they had to choose from a variety of items displayed in holograms floating above their heads.
"What do you feel like getting?" Mikeal asked.
Hector was still thinking. "Mmh, I'm really not sure—there's so much to choose from."
He wasn't exaggerating. There were tons of options—from hotdogs to all kinds of cakes.
An old woman approached them to take their order. Her name was Sharon. She was in her mid to late sixties with grey hair, wrinkled skin, and a large mole on her cheek.
"So, what can I get for you?" she asked the boys.
"Uh, I'd like pizza, please. And make it a large one," Mikeal ordered.
"Woah—are you sure you can afford that?" Hector said, checking the prices.
The prices weren't a joke. A large pizza was nearly eight hundred credit points, and each student was allocated a certain amount of credits.
"Oh, don't worry, sweetie," Sharon said. "Since you guys are Grade Fives, you can afford anything."
The smile on Hector's face said it all.
Now sitting down, Hector was devouring everything he ordered—almost the whole menu.
Mikeal, however, wasn't eating anymore. He took two, maybe three bites, and then stopped.
"Hey, why aren't you eating?" Hector asked, mouth full.
"Nah... it just tastes so tasteless," Mikeal replied.
Hector didn't understand, so he took a bite of Mikeal's pizza himself—and to him, it tasted perfectly fine.
"What the hell are you talking about? It tastes normal to me."
Thinking it might just need some flavor, Mikeal ordered every kind of sauce and poured it all on the pizza.
"Are you crazy?! Do you know the kind of runny stomach you'll get from eating that?" Hector said, watching in horror.
Mikeal ignored him. But even after all the sauce, the taste was still the same—awful.
He pushed the plate aside and took a sip of soda.
Even that tasted off.
"Hey, Hector… what do you know about systems?" Mikeal asked, trying to pick his brain.
"Systems?" Hector repeated, confused.
"Yeah," Mikeal said again.
"Oh—you mean, like... game systems?" Hector guessed.