Tear
I tore open the Envelope to reveal its contents that had been hidden away for too long from the naked eye
"Oh?"
Opening it, I saw an ordinary piece of paper that somewhat betrayed my expectations
What was written on the piece of paper was Information, Information that I needed In order for me to know what I have to do In order to survive.
[If you are reading this, then you must have completed and passed the trial In order to enter Gardenia High School with little to no difficulty]
"..?"
'Trial? no difficulty? Is this bastard Insulting me?'
I continued reading it while feeling slightly frustrated
[Do not do the mistake of underestimating Gardenia High School thinking it will be easy to survive, because Gardenia as a whole gets more and more difficult to survive in as time passes, you however will not notice the spike in difficulty]
"Not notice it?"
I didn't understand what he meant by saying that 'you however will not notice the spike in difficulty' as it could mean many things but I decided that I'm likely wrong and stopped dwelling on it any longer and continued reading.
[If you desperately wish to survive like I did, then you must do one thing that will directly affect your chances of survival In Gardenia]
"!"
My eyes lit up and sparkled with excitement at that moment and I started reading with a smile on my face.
[Consistently gain high grades]
"..?"
My thoughts stopped, as if the gears inside stopped altogether
"Uh...what?"
My wide snake like smile faded and was wiped away from my face entirely.
It wasn't that It was hard or Impossible, If the only thing I needed to do was get high grades then I would cut myself completely from the outside world and become a full on nerd If need be, but I was confident that things weren't that simple and resumed reading.
[You have to become the 'Top Student' In Gardenia High School In order to Ensure your survival]
"I knew It!"
Why couldn't they just keep it simple and just make me get just high grades In order to survive!
Getting High grades? sure it's a bit tedious and hard but it's still easy If I'm dedicated In my studies, but becoming the Top student of a High School that's teeming and full of monsters? No thank you, I would double it and give it to the next person that was on the chopping board.
'Not only that'
I have to get almost perfect scores across the board on almost every subject to make sure I can even be considered as a Top student and I have to Consistently keep those grades up and keep improving them as time goes by.
"It's Impossible"
Doable and within the realm of possibility? I would agree and say it's possible
but for a first year who happened to be me? not even worth mentioning
The spot for Top student was reserved for those who were born special, smarter and simply better. However even those kinds of people sometimes gave up and Instead were satisfied with were they were now, leaving only those brimming with ambition to reach the top of the food chain and born special.
[Gardenia High School values It's top scoring students and might even bend it's rules to make sure you are safe, however the opposite also holds true]
My eyes hovered on the words 'top scoring students '
[You will have three years to become the Top student of Gardenia. Do not stay satisfied with your current self if you do not wish to repeat the same mistakes I had made]
To tell me this....just what mistakes did he do to even have to tell me this
"Wait did this guy use to go to Gardenia High School?"
It was as if he was telling me this from experience, no it probably was experience.
I continued reading the paper.
[Do not try to find me because even if you do, you won't get the answer you are hoping for]
I was a bit disappointed by that, but could this also mean he doesn't know much about Gardenia either?
[Tomorrow will be the only day except weekends where you will not get transported to Gardenia, after Tomorrow you will get transported to Gardenia every time you have school]
I clenched my jaw, beads of sweat formed and trickled from my forehead to my cheek
[A doppelganger will also appear and do whatever people believe 'you' would do as provided by the school committee of Gardenia whenever you get transported as well]
"...."
I guess I got my damn answer of where my lock went
'That doppelganger better have locked my locker with my lock...'
But
"....How is something like that even possible?"
This was a very genuine question, a doppelganger who could mimic me perfectly? that was already insane but this also meant one more thing.
"Gardenia...It can affect my own world too..can it?
If the so called 'school committee' could provide a literal perfect imitation of yourself, the that would mean that they have some influence on my world.
"...."
The thought sent shivers down my cold spine, my eyes continued tracing the words on the letter
[If you have been sent to Gardenia you must have also realized by now that your eyes are different from before]
"...."
'He was right... my eyes were different ever since coming back from Gardenia'
Black lines so thin I could barely see them unless I squinted my eyes, seemingly leading to nowhere started appearing in my line of vision
'I didn't think much of it since I thought I was hallucinating...'
[Your 'eyes' are unique only to you, but do not blindly have faith in their 'abilities', understand them in order to make full use of them]
That's where the letter cuts off and ends abruptly
"...."
I stare blankly at letter for a few moments contemplating on what to do.
I won't get sent to that place tomorrow
'Is it so I can get organized first?'
I didn't know, but it seemed to be the case
Putting the letter at the table filled with stacked books on top, I went to my closet to change into regular casual clothes
Changing my clothes, I go to the kitchen
"Should I cook something simple while I'm at it?"
I knew how to cook, my mother was busy and my sister was on a business trip
In other words, there was no one who could something fresh for me
With the exception of me of course, I was basically free 24/7 after all
"Hm?"
Stepping inside the kitchen I eyed at something that resembled soup
"Should I?"
I had wanted to cook something simple for myself but if there already was food then I didn't see any reason why I would waste my time cooking when I could just eat the soup.
'Let's at least check if it is warm first'
If it wasn't, I would cook for myself, simple as that
I touched the pot
"It's warm"
'So my mom made this before she left for work huh?'
I felt my body well up with a fuzzy feeling, an itch forming in my foot
Taking a plate from the cupboard, I filled it with soup, also taking a spoon and bread
Making a beeline for the table, I sat down at the metal chair with a soft padding on it and started eating
As I was eating, my thoughts drifted towards to what happened in Gardenia after I left classroom 17, there had been something, a being or phenomenon that made every single one of those monsters turn their attention from me
'Did it die?'
"Well if it did die then is that what happens when you go against the rules?"
It made sense when I thought about it like that
Trrrr
My phone rang with a low hum
Trrrr
The longer the phone rang, the more perplexed my expression grew
"...?"
'Who in the world is calling me at this hour?'
I look at the contact that was plastered on my phone and was calling me
My eyes widened, forgotten memories flooding in my mind like a rushing impatient river
"Shit! I forgot!"
Catrina Rouge, such a name was prominent on my phone
The reason Gabriel and Catrina had left was because we had made plans to hang out after School!
2 minutes before calling Cale
"Hey"
"What is it Catrina?"
Catrina looked at Gabriel, waving her phone in front of him
"You got cellular data?"
Gabriel's expression twisted slightly at her words
"Why?"
"Do you or do you not?"
Catrina ignored Gabriel's curious filled question
"Yes..."
Gabriel wanted to know what she wanted, so he answered her honestly
"Ok call Cale then"
Narrowing his eyes, Gabriel voiced his question
"Don't you also have cellular data? you call him"
"You're being difficult for absolutely no reason"
"I'm just saying, you also have some"
"Don't wanna"
"Why?"
In the end, Gabriel voiced the question he had done at the start of the conversation, making Catrina feel a sense of Déjà vu
"Why should I waste them on calling him?"
She answered, no hesitation in her voice
"Ouch"
Catrina narrowed her eyes, lowering her head slightly
"You say that as if he hasn't said anything worse than me"
"..."
He...couldn't argue with that, Cale did have a slightly sadistic side to himself, wanting to tease his friends any chance he gets
Every time they asked him about it, he'd always say "I just can't help myself"
"Whatever, shouldn't you call him?"
Catrina urged Gabriel
"Last time I was the one who called him"
Her body shook slightly
"It's your turn now~"
Her face slightly reddened
Gabriel pressed for more
"I know yo-"
"Fine"
But Catrina cut him off before he could finish his sentence
"I'll call him"
She grumbled silently under her breath
'He's going to tease me so much because of this...'
Catrina didn't want to call him, she knew for long enough to know that he'd make fun of her for a while