I've never seen The pitch black lines reacting so violently, not even In the trial.
"..."
I was mentally In turmoil, It seemed that I was safe for now In this class and even Carlos said he won't do anything. I didn't trust Carlos, but that didn't matter because the moment I got transported to Gardenia after my class ended, 'I...can't move my body'.
I could turn my head around but I couldn't move my body that supported my head. I was quite literally at the mercy of Carlos right at this moment
'no he won't kill me, not unless I broke those rules or whatever they are'
'but what happens when he lets us out?' I thought, It was a good question because If I don't get transported back and have to leave the large Gates like last time in the trial. 'Screwed', that's the only way I would be able to describe my situation at that point.
'Damnit...'
I internally cursed inside my head. wondering why I should be forced to trust the words of an Invisible humanoid creature In front of me that he won't screw me over.
[Well then...It seems like everyone is here now]
The moment Carlos said this, the room got colder, there was a hint of seriousness in his voice that could be heard as he gripped the Lectern In front of him.
[You will all die, as things are going]
He declared as such, his voice was low but it carried power
"..."
my expression didn't change, not because I wasn't surprised but because It just couldn't change. my body was completely frozen, rooted In the seat, the only thing I could was breathe through my nose.
[There are written exams as you all may know and you also know that you have to be good at all the subjects and get good grades In them]
Carlos said this, the room growing colder and colder each time he talked.
[But...how could you. become the Top student of Gardenia by just...studying?]
Ba-thump!
Ba-thump!
My heart beat louder and quicker, anticipating what he's going to say next.
[Each semester, there will be practical exams, all of them designed in a intricate way meant for your growth].
'S-shit...'
Now I was really screwed, I wondered why the letter hadn't said anything about something this Important.
'could the person who wrote the letter not have been able to disclose it?'
I was thinking about the reasons why the letter hadn't told me about the practical exams but I quickly stopped thinking about it since It wouldn't have changed anything, with the only advantage being that I knew it in advance the Information would have turned useless very fast.
'the person who wrote the letter didn't want to waste any words on something that wouldn't help me directly...'
"..."
I stopped thinking about it entirely and waited for Mr. Carlos to speak again.
[All of you have about - no, close to 4 months before the first practical exam begins]
Carlos said this almost as if 4 months was too little time
'hold on, close to 4 months? He doesn't know the exact date?'
It didn't seem important at first glance but it was very important.
"..."
'If the date is unclear then...the practical exam might take place during winter break'
I didn't want to get transported to Gardenia while I was sleeping or doing something else.
'I can't even enjoy my break In peace...'
'no, no It's not certain' I mentally assured myself. 'even if it did happen during the winter break, the practical exam wouldn't take more than a day'.
It wouldn't be much of an exam if it took longer than a day after all, 'ok maybe 2 days at the least' anymore than that would make me question what kind of exam it was for it to be so inconvenient.
[I will not warn you again, Use. Your. Time. Wisely.]
He spoke in a low voice but it echoed through the entire classroom making it seem louder than it actually was.
[This is your first day at Gardenia, so you should also know this, there will be a few times where you will find yourself In a similar classroom like this after all your classes end. This usually happens so we can give you Information about the practical exam ahead of time]
'so even they don't know what the practical exam is?'
This didn't make me feel any better, 'they must don't like spoilers much huh' I thought to myself. 'They brought us here, yet they can't tell us anything about the practical exam?' I was pretty frustrated that they didn't know anything when my life is on the line, but it wasn't like I could punch them in the face out of anger with no consequences.
Carlos stopped gripping the Lectern and took a few steps back, the floor creaked slightly under his weight, The room that felt like It reached below freezing temperatures returned back to normal.
[This is the end of my announcement, I hope you all survive till the end of the semester]
"..."
'yeah...I can't worry about some practical exam when I can't even guarantee my survival reaching the end of the semester'
I felt sick, sick that I would have to keep on worrying about whether or not I survive till the practical exams.
For all I know, I could die In the most random way while being here in Gardenia where common sense Is basically warped and distorted.
I then also realized that my actions for taking a tour around the school to learn It's layout also put my life In grave danger. It wasn't a bad plan obviously, but It became a terrible plan when I kept on exploring Gardenia even though I learned the entire layout of the building and knew where most of the classrooms were.
It was like walking In a lawless section In your city with only your phone In your pocket praying that no one looks your way and pays attention to you.
'crap...'
I was basically branding myself and making my presence known throughout the entire school. The Sludge that gave me the Dwon was already proof enough that I shot myself In the foot.
'If I had gained the attention of the one that killed those sludges at that time...no I may have already gained It's attention'
chances were It may have been the Humanoid monster In my class that killed them, It may also have been the reason why the Pitch Black lines were swirling around and only pointing at that thing.
[Now then, time's up so I have to get you all back]
Snap!
Carlos Snapped his fingers like Zenox did and a familiar gentle Darkness started to consume my surroundings along with my vision.
***
"Finally the bell rang, It felt like Class wasn't ending anytime soon"
Catrina got up from her seat excited, She turned to Cale(?)
"So? you gonna get up?"
The doppelganger stared at Catrina for a few moments before getting out of It's seat, took It's book and pen and then It started walking towards the door not saying a word.
Catrina followed him outside of the classroom and was about to take the stairs down but stopped when Cale Ignored the stairs that went down and Instead went up a floor.
"Where are you going?"
Catrina asked curiously
Cale stared at her for a few moments, almost as if he was pondering about picking the right words to say.
"To my locker"
Cale said with his voice being slightly monotone.
"Ah okay, I'll wait for you outside"
The doppelganger continued going up the stairs and started heading for Cale's Locker to get his stuff and then go out and meet Catrina.
Click!
It reached the locker and opened It and started taking Cale's backpack and put his book Inside it along with his pen, then It closed the locker again as if it was programmed to do so.
"Hm? hey isn't that Cale over there?"
"Huh? yeah it is him!"
a group of people recognized Cale that were also at their locker, however The doppelganger didn't answer them because they weren't Cale's friends thus Judging that he wouldn't want to speak to them.
"Hey Cale! how about you tone it down this year and don't get beat up like In middle school!"
The doppelganger didn't reply knowing that time was running out and that he couldn't waste any time on even glancing at them as every second counted but he couldn't run away because people were looking at him and he couldn't allow anyone to witness him running at an unnatural speed.
"..."
The doppelganger thought and thought hard on what to do as he reached the stairs.
"Tsk, I can't see why everyone liked this bastard at middle school"
One of the delinquents cursed at him, seemingly angry about something in the past.
"hey what do you think those snitches will do If we push him of the stairs"
"!"
"!"
"?!"
"!"
Everyone was surprised by the ridiculous statement this man spouted, even the doppelganger was surprised but not because of the reason the others were surprised, the doppelganger had an enlightenment and a Ingenious Idea came rushing through his mind like a waterfall.
"woah woah, chill man we can't go that far he'd die if we push him of the stairs, we'd literally get arrested"
everyone In the group tried to calm their friend from doing anything dumb and dangerous.
"Screw off! If those snitches and school didn't intervene! my best friend wouldn't have gotten transferred to another school!"
his friends tried to stop him but he kicked and pushed them and started running towards Cale. One of them got close enough to grab him but he was one inch short.
"Hey! stop!"
"Dude Cale get out of the way!"
The doppelganger slowed it's pace and turned his head and acted all surprised
It was too late they thought, however the next moment made them dazed.
before Cale took a step down the stairs, he waited until the annoying man got close enough and then he twirled his body around his arms and got behind him In an Instant, he then lightly pushed him of the stairs.
If it was the real Cale he wouldn't have even thought of this because It would have gravely Injured the man and he wouldn't want to do that to him no matter how annoying he was. The doppelganger Imitates Cale to it's best of it's abilities and it made the judgement that the man wouldn't die and would heal with no problem, But in the end It was just an Imitation of the real thing, an Imitation striving to be the perfect Cale.
Crash!
The boy tumbled down the stairs but by a stroke of luck he grabbed the railing before any serious damage happened to him, The doppelganger slowed it's pace down to stick close to the railing and anticipated that the man wouldn't have been hurt as he'd flail his arms around grabbing the railing in the process. Thus Imitating Cale perfectly as Cale would never hurt anyone directly.
As everyone was astonished and completely surprised by what happened, Cale went out of their sight as he walked behind the wall slowly.
"!"
"!"
"!"
"this bastard...."
everyone snapped out of it and started running to Cale but-
"..."
"wh-where is Cale?"
they laid their eyes off of him for not even a second but he suddenly disappeared.
their faces turned pale, they thought he ran away very quickly but that wouldn't be possible as they would have at least heard his steps but nothing was heard and even if he did run away by somehow muffling his footsteps the stairs were still far away, far enough for them to at least glimpse at him but nothing, they heard nothing. Cale had disappeared without even disturbing the air.
***
"Cale over here!"
Catrina waved her hands at Cale(?)
Cale walked over to her with a slight smile decorating his features
"So what took you so long? I started thinking that you left me here..."
"sorry but I needed to use the restroom too"
"why didn't you tell me then?"
"you didn't ask?"
"..."
Cale said playfully chuckling in the process
"what are you so happy about huh, you bastard!"
"It's nothing I just remembered something that I found funny"
"Oh yeah! then why don't you tell me why you started laughing the moment you saw me, care to explain that!"
"No I was laughing the entire way here because of something disgusting I saw In the restroom, wanna know?"
"Ew! no as if!"
Catrina turned around In disgust staying away from Cale.
The doppelganger stared at her for a little longer before closing his eyes and he let the gentle darkness consume his being.