The morning sun blasted against Rondo's face. The glare reflecting off the windshield was sharp enough to snap him out of his blackout.
Slowly, Rondo peeled his eyes open. He blinked, looking around. He was still inside the car. Instinctively, he patted down his uniform.
"Where am I? And why did I pass out?"
Then he felt a strange weight on his wrist. He lifted his hand. A dark blue bracelet was clamped there. Rondo poked it with his index finger. A moment later, a semi-transparent, light blue holographic screen popped into existence right in front of his nose.
[Name: -
Health:
Mood: Neutral
Growth Point: 0
[Stats] [Messages] [Notifications] [Settings] [Close] ]
"Wh-what is this?"
Rondo stammered, tapping the 'Notification' column.
[No notifications]
[1 New Message!]
"Eh, a new message?" he muttered, jabbing at the 'Message' icon in a hurry.
[Jay]
Hey, you awake yet?
Come on, get out of your car. You need to get into the school, now.
"From Jay? Goosh, looks like I need to hurry."
Rondo scrambled to get out of the car. In his panic, he forgot to close the floating holographic UI. It stayed open, glitching occasionally and messing with his vision as he moved.
With some effort, Rondo finally tumbled out of the vehicle. He straightened up and found himself standing before a massive, open gate. The view struck him dumb.
In the distance, a super-majestic central building towered over the landscape. Surrounding him were vast, sprawling fields.
Rondo's eyes lit up. He stepped through the great gate, a fresh breeze sweeping through his hair. He was only a few steps inside when a robotic voice chimed in.
[Registration confirmed. Welcome to Nexhile School, Rondo!]
Rondo froze mid-step. He lifted his hand, realizing the holographic UI was still hovering over his wrist.
"God! It hasn't closed yet? Oh man... how do I turn this off? Is it broken?" he muttered, tapping random columns. He accidentally opened the settings menu, which vomited out even more options, making him panic.
"Dummy, you just need to press the 'close' button in the right corner."
A girl's voice whispered in his right ear as a finger pointed at the 'close' icon.
Rondo quickly tapped it. Finally, the UI shrank down and vanished.
Rondo turned to his right. Standing there was a girl with a short, ash-brown bob cut. She wore the same uniform as him—black skirt, long black stockings.
"Uh, hi. Thanks for the help. I was just-"
"Who are you? You're so stiff. Come on, hi! You can call me Tira. I used to be a street artist, you know? People usually called me the 'Goddess of Street Art'," Tira cut him off, shaking Rondo's hand aggressively.
"Wow, really? You're so cool! Nice to meet you, I'm Rondo. I was just a regular scrap collector before this, ehehe."
"A scrap collector? Hell yeah, that's pretty cool too, bro! What did you build with all that junk, huh? Did you make self-made mechatronics? Or... did you build self-made drones?"
"Um... not really. I just sold it to collectors to get money."
Tira's forehead wrinkled immediately.
"That's all you did with your scrap?" she asked, clearly in disbelief.
"Well, what was I supposed to-"
[Broadcast]
[Announcer's Voice]
[Announcement. All prospective students of Nexhile School, please queue at the Central Control room for data collection. Please follow the GPS instructions appearing on your Orla. Students are expected to arrive immediately, thank you!]
[Broadcast ends]
"Orla?" Rondo asked, looking completely lost.
Without a word, Tira pointed to the bracelet on his wrist. Rondo let out an awkward laugh as he realized. A moment later, map details, dots, locations, and GPS directions projected in front of him.
"Maybe we can get there faster," Tira said, gripping Rondo's arm tight.
Rondo frowned. Without waiting for an answer, Tira gave a thin smile and started sprinting, dragging Rondo along. Rondo's body was yanked forward with force, but slowly, he managed to match the rhythm of Tira's pull.
---
When they arrived at Central Control, a massive crowd of students was already queuing.
"God, why did you have to drag me like that all of a sudden?" Rondo asked, gasping for air.
"Huff... huff... because you're slow. Look, see? The queue is already this huge. How long did you want to wait?" Tira replied, patting Rondo's arm gently.
Rondo looked around. Dangling cables connected to round tubes. Students were being directed into oval pods ahead. A few minutes later, scanners started reading them. He and Tira joined the line.
"Chantira Ploy! Is there anyone named Chantira Ploy here?" a scientist called out, holding a tablet.
Rondo turned to Tira, who was busy playing with her Orla.
"Hey, are they calling you?" Rondo asked.
Tira looked at Rondo, then at the scientist who was looking around.
"Ah, right. Looks like they are. Thanks!" Tira said, walking away and slapping Rondo hard on the back.
She walked right past the line and into a tube.
"Girls..." Rondo winced, rubbing his stinging back.
"Are you waiting for your turn?" another student behind Rondo spoke up. He wore round glasses and was about Rondo's height.
"Yeah, but I don't know if this long line is the real one, or if there's a VIP lane," Rondo replied with a slight laugh. "Ah right, what's your na-"
"Eguchii Kenta! Is there an Eguchii Kenta here?" the scientist called.
The student behind Rondo immediately walked past the long queues and went straight into an oval tube.
"Huh, so he's a VIP too?" Rondo thought, his jaw dropping in disbelief.
---
Slowly, the queue began to thin out. To kill the boredom and drowsiness, Rondo started messing around with his Orla. He even tweaked the settings. Now, his UI looked more unique, sporting a theme he chose himself.
[1 New Message!]
[Chantira Ploy]
Oi, you done yet?
So slow.
Look, I'm already in my room, lying down comfortably.
[Attached: A photo of herself lying in bed. One eye half-open, hand raised in a "peace" sign, hair slightly messy on a white pillow.]
[Rondo Ernias]
It's thinned out a lot, but I don't know how much longer, haha!
That pillow looks comfy.
I'm getting sleepy just standing here.
[Chantira Ploy]
Haha! Obviously, it's super soft!
[Attached: A photo of herself hugging a white bolster]
"Rondo Ernias?" a scientist called out. Rondo hurriedly closed his Orla UI.
"Y-yes, Ma'am. Is it my turn?" Rondo asked.
The scientist laughed.
"Yes, who else? Look, there's nobody left here," she explained.
Rondo looked around. The room was completely empty. Just him. He scratched his head, even though it didn't itch.
"Come here, Rondo. Let's start the scan," the scientist said, guiding Rondo to an aluminum platform.
Rondo stepped into the oval tube. His feet settled on the metal base. The tube door slid shut automatically. The scientist started typing on a complex holographic UI next to it.
Not long after, the scan was complete. Rondo's full data appeared on a round display. The door to the oval tube hissed open slowly. He was directed to step out.
"Alright, Rondo. Please read this data carefully, okay? It will only remain visible for a few minutes," the scientist explained.
"Okay, Ma'am," Rondo replied. The scientist walked away, leaving him alone.
Rondo began to read his details one by one.
"It says here that I... I got into Class E?!"