Finally, the day I had longed for had arrived.
Friday, November 11th. The day we all get to leave this horrid place.
Leon, Kaito, Chihiro, Chiaki, Kenchikka, and I all met in the Dining Hall for breakfast. It felt... weird though. No Theo, making meals and chatting with us. No Theo to tell Kaito and Kenchikka to quit arguing.
We all made our own breakfasts, eating in silence. There was a mix of excitement, nervousness, and sorrow in the air: Excitement that we should be leaving today, Nervousness about what could happen today, and Sorrow over Theo's death.
I ate in relative silence, exchanging glances with the others but offering no words myself. I mean, what could I say? That I'm happy we could leave because Theo died? That I wish Theo was still here, despite that meaning we couldn't leave today?
After breakfast, I decided to join Kaito and Leon in the Bowling Room for a while, playing several rounds of Bowling. I wasn't particularly good at it, but Kaito and Leon were very competitive with each other. I just... couldn't focus. I bowled decently, but my head really wasn't in the game, and it showed.
"Yo, Bera," Kaito finally said. "What's got you so glum? We should be leaving tonight!"
I shake my head. "All I can think about is everyone's who died in this horrible place. We had 16 of us just a few weeks ago; now, ten of them are dead. How can I be happy?"
Leon glances over while picking up his bowling ball. "Man, you can't focus on the losses. You just gotta know you're a winner, and you still being alive here proves it!"
I thought to myself, Leon's words bouncing around in my head, as we continued to bowl several more game. All I could think about was if we were truly going to be set free today. I hoped beyond hope that Monorakun wasn't going to change the rules at the last second.
After bowling, I went back to my room and worked on several drawings for shoes, both men's and women's styles. However, I kept stopping halfway through, getting the basic design down but not coloring anything. My eyes kept darting towards the clock in my room as 6pm drew closer and closer.
Finally, 6pm arrived. An announcement went over the monitors.
"Attention, all remaining students. Please present yourselves to the Gymnasium for the Graduation Ceremony!" Monorakun's voice rang out.
I walked out of my dorm, joining Chiaki and Chihiro as we headed to the Gym. None of us said anything; I mean, what was there to say? Chihiro looked nervous; Chiaki was playing her GameGirl DR, oblivious to the outside world.
After the six of us took our seats, Monorakun appeared from behind the podium.
"Alright, shitbags! Welcome to the Graduation Ceremony!" Monorakun announced to all of us. "Each of you here have officially graduation from The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center. I will call each of you up here by alphabetical order, by first name. When I call your name, come up to me, so I can give you your class ring. Silver, with an Amazonite gem, the Gemstone of Hope. Hope you like it, although if you don't, I suppose you can pawn it or some shit."
Monorakun then began the graduation ceremony.
"Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer."
Chihiro was called first. He stood up, nervously walked over towards Monorakun, who pointed towards the boxes of class rings. Chihiro found a box with his name on it, picked it up, then sat back down, saying nothing.
"Bera Haikiko, the Ultimate Tailor."
Wait, me?
I take a deep breath, then stand up and walk up towards the table. I find a box with my name on it, then grab it and take a seat. Opening the box, a silver ring with a green gemstone rested inside of it.
"Kenchikka Kowareta, the Ultimate Architect."
Kenchikka walked up, grabbing her own box without even glancing at Monorakun.
"Thanks, Asshole Raccoon," she remarks aloud.
Monorakun didn't even look at her; instead, he called the next person. "Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Player."
Leon headed up to the desk, and after finding his box, pumped his fist in the air.
"Hell yeah!" he declared. "Let's get outta here!"
As Leon took his seat again, smiling from his perceived victory, Monorakun called out the next person. "Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut."
"Alright! Kaito Momota: Luminary of the Stars, taking off from this place!"
Finally, Monorakun called out the last person. "Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer."
Chiaki continued to play her GameGirl DR, not even looking up.
"Hey! Chiaki!" Kaito called out. "Your turn!"
Chiaki nodded subtly, stood up, and walked over towards the table. Grabbing the final box, she returned to her seat, her eyes never breaking from the screen as she played her GameGirl DR with one hand.
"Alright, shitbags," Monorakun called out at last. "This graduation ceremony is concluded. Now, GET OUT!!"
To our surprise, Monorakun's head fell off his body as his limbs dropped off his torso, leaving him a wrecked pile of metal, his head rolling off to one side.
While I stood there, staring at Monorakun's remains, I hear Leon call out to me.
"Dude! The hell are you doing? Let's go!"
I snap out of it, following the others out of the Gymnasium and heading towards the Courtyard. Across the entrance to the Courtyard, the main entrance, once electromagnetically locked, is now unlocked and standing open.
Whether from excitement, disbelief, or whatever else was going through our minds, we left TUTEC, walking towards a limousine parked out front.
It was like I was in a fog; everyone was walking towards the limo, nobody was saying anything, and... well, what else were we supposed to do?
The limo drove us to an airport, and we're each given a plane ticket home. Fortunately, my assigned airport is very close to where I'm from.
I left the limo, happy to never have to see TUTEC again.
...If only I knew better.