108: Morning Before A Festival

The next few weeks leading up to the festival seemed to disappear in a blink of an eye. Nyssa and the others trudged through their regular routines, waking up in the morning, learning through the artificial intelligence based general education system until noon, training through most of the afternoon, eating dinner as a group, and socializing or resting through the evening.

Among Class Zero, they rotated between nights alone to rest and recuperate, hanging out in their smaller subgroups—the seniors, the trio, and the couple—and all together. After the first day though, Olivia disappeared from their social hangouts, too busy with her own business.

“Even we haven’t seen her,” Ryker shrugged, looking towards Electra who nodded in agreement. Leaning back in his chair, he stretched out his arms. “She’s just been going back to her room mostly, hanging out with Alecto. Even the other Class One seniors haven’t seen her much.”

“Then again, they’re all dying and she’s not,” Electra propped her chin up with one hand. “I wouldn’t hang out with them either.”

“... You have a point there,” Ryker shook his head with a smile. He turned towards Nyssa and Celeste and motioned with his hand. “Is that a good answer to your question? We’re down to answer anymore. You know for a fact it's rare that Electra and I get to class this early.”

“Uh... Not really,” Nyssa shrugged, resting her head in her arms on the desk. “Most of the mornings are very slow anyway. Celeste and I are usually the first ones here.”

“You know how it is, we’re not going to show up this early unless it’s a special day, and indeed, it's a special day,” Ryker laughed, quieting down as the door slid open once more, revealing Albion, Titus, and Angelica. “Oh, a large group, didn’t expect that.”

“I have to be here early too,” Angelica blended into the conversation like a fish diving into water. “Roxanne’s coming today, our special guest of honor. I’m guiding her around, so I’ll be gone just a couple minutes after class starts.”

“Conrad better get here soon then,” Albion grumbled, trudging over to his desk with a sleepy sway. “I didn’t get up early for nothing.”

Right on cue, the sound of sprinting began echoing down the hall, leaking through the still open doorway. As the footsteps neared, everyone couldn’t help but to look over to the doorway, watching as Conrad did an acrobatic slide through the doorway. His bag flew towards the side, kept only in place by his arm.

“Good morning, everyone,” Conrad stood up, using his hand to brush his hair back. Flashing a smile to the class, he sauntered over to his chair, and took a seat. “Sup, Titus. Wasn’t that a cool entrance?”

“Asking if it was cool instantly invalidates any amount of coolness it had,” Titus rolled his eyes before pointing towards Angelica. “But, yes, it was mildly cool, so pay attention, Angelica has to leave early today.”

“Oh yeahhhh, festival stuff,” Conrad nodded after a second, shutting up as Angelica walked to the front of the room with a piece of paper.

“As always, just going to run through some light announcements, today’s a unique day, so please pay attention. I’ll leave this sheet here once I leave so you all can refer to it too,” Angelica explained, flashing the agenda towards the group. “Ryker and Electra, as usual, are in charge while I’m gone. I won’t be around for most of the day, so I trust that you all will behave. Don’t forget the fact that you represent one of the most prestigious institutions in the whole world. Your behavior influences how outsiders view us.”

Once everyone nodded or murmured an agreement, acknowledging her statement, she continued without much drama. “Well, I had to say that. Every class is getting this spiel right now. But just keep in mind you all, as Class Zero, are viewed as the crown jewels of the institute.”

Picking up a marker from her desk, she walked over to the whiteboard by the door, and began writing out the day’s schedule. Once she left, they’d have around fifteen minutes of idle time. Their day would start with a more formal, run-of-the-mill talk from Roxanne followed by a short question and answer session.

By lunch, though, everyone would disperse, and the festival would start, lasting all the way until the evening. Food stalls, dueling stations, and more would all be present while Roxanne, along with her guild members would disperse through the festival area, open to talk with everyone while they themselves enjoyed the festivities.

“Don’t forget, this year, it’s open to executives who are recruiting. Therefore, a fair amount of higher-ups are coming just to also observe the personalities of students they might want to recruit. They’ll be subtle, but they’ll be watching no doubt,” Angelica reiterated with a slight weary tone leaking into her voice. “In all honesty, they’re just here to get some free food and, if they are alumni, relive their school days. Our festival is famous after all.”

“Those bastards,” Ryker balled his fist with righteous fury. “How dare they steal our food!”

“Anyway, that wraps up what I was going to say. The major event schedule will also be posted around. The dueling tournament will be happening right after lunch at one, the race across campus is happening right after, and the theatrical and performative arts are all happening right after that, and the boat race is happening right after dinner,” Angelica counted out on her fingers before heading towards the door. “Take care, I have to get going now.”

“It won’t be as good as the one hosted by the students,” Conrad sighed, as Angelica slid the door closed behind her. “At least this one is open to all years...”

“Are you participating then?” Electra asked, leaning back into her chair after setting a fifteen minute timer.

“Oh hell no, I’m not stupid. It’s a solo boat race, and I don’t have the powers to win something like that. I’d need something like Albion’s powers,” Conrad pointed to his half-asleep friend. “He stayed up late last night practicing a couple attacks, but that’s the only preparation he did. He said he’s not super interested.”

“Huh? Me?” Albion awakened with a snort. Rubbing his eyes, he shrugged. “Yeah, I don't care much. I got put as one of the favorites though, so a lot of people are going to be targeting me.”

“Good luck, good luck, I’ll be cheering for you then,” Electra saluted. “Ryker’s participating too, so feel free to collaborate with him if you need.”

“Your senior is here for you!” Ryker pounded his chest, a grin spreading across his face. “Though I’d recommend staying far from me when the time comes. I’ll be getting off to an explosive start if you catch my drift.”

“Sadly yes...” Albion rotted on his desk, the depressed drawl in his voice drawing a laugh out of Celeste, Nyssa, and Titus.