"Hello sir, Rondo is secure. I'm heading to the location now," Jay said.
"Good. Bring him here safely," said a man with a deep voice on the other end of the line.
---
The morning sun hit Rondo's face. The light bouncing off the glass was so bright it woke him from unconsciousness.
Slowly, Rondo opened his eyes. Once he was fully awake, he looked around—he was still in the car. He fumbled with his uniform.
"Where am I? Why was I passed out?"
Rondo then grabbed his wrist. Something felt weird. He lifted his hand. There was a dark blue bracelet on it. He tried touching the bracelet with his index finger. A moment later, a small, light-blue, slightly transparent hologram screen popped up in front of him.
[Name: -
Health:
Mood: Neutral
Growth Point: 0
[Status] [Messages] [Notifications] [Settings] [Close] ]
"W-what is this?"
Rondo tapped the 'Notification' tab.
[No new notifications]
[1 New Message!]
"Huh, a new message?" he muttered, hurriedly tapping 'Message'.
[Jay]
Hey, you up?
C'mon, get out of the car. You need to get to school.
"From Jay? Crap, I gotta get out of here."
Rondo scrambled to get out of the car. But he hadn't closed the hologram UI—making it glitch and mess with his vision.
After a struggle, Rondo finally managed to tumble out. He stood in front of a huge, open gate. He was stunned, unable to believe the sight in front of him. In the distance, he could see a massive main building. Around him were several huge fields. Some were basketball courts, soccer fields, volleyball courts, and there was even a field with a table for table tennis.
The fields were separated by nets. Not far from the fields, there were some shops selling clothes. Right across from them was a wide-open dining area with lots of tables. There were even some robots that looked ready to serve him.
Rondo looked totally stoked. He started walking through the huge gate. A cool breeze brushed through his hair. After taking a few steps, a voice suddenly rang out.
[Registration confirmed. Welcome to Nexhile School, Rondo!]
Rondo stopped in his tracks. He lifted his hand. That's when he realized he still hadn't closed the hologram UI from his bracelet.
"Oh crap! It's been open this whole time? Jeez... How do I close this thing? Is it broken?" Rondo muttered, tapping random tabs. He accidentally opened the 'Settings' menu, which just made more tabs appear, confusing him even more.
"Dummy, you just gotta press the 'Close' button in the corner," a girl's voice said near his right ear, her finger pointing at the 'Close' tab.
Rondo quickly pressed it. The UI finally folded away.
He looked to his right. There was a girl with a short, ash-brown bob. Her eyes were super expressive, and she was a bit shorter than him—around 165 cm. She wore the same uniform, a black skirt with long black stockings. Her right hand had a black glove with a transparent thumb.
"Uh, hi. Thanks for the help. I was just—"
"Who are you? So stiff. C'mon, hey, you can call me Tira. I used to be a street artist, y'know? They called me the 'goddess of street art'," Tira cut him off, shaking his hand quickly.
"Whoa, really? That's so cool! Nice to meet you, I'm Rondo. I was just... just a regular junk collector before, hehe."
"A junk collector? Hell yea, that's pretty cool too, bro! What'd you do with all that junk? Did you build your own mechatronics? Or... a self-made drone?"
"Um... Not really. I just sold it to the scrapyard to get money."
Tira's face scrunched up.
"That's all you did with your junk?" Tira asked, not believing it.
"Y-yeah, what else can you do?" Rondo replied.
Tira slapped her forehead and shook her head.
"Listen, you could be way more creative with that junk and sell it for way more. But here's the thing, you gotta use *this*," Tira explained, tapping her own head.
"Oh, really? Maybe I'll try—"
[Broadcast]
[Announcer Voice]
[Announcement: All new Nexhile School students please line up at the Central Control room for registration. Please follow the GPS instructions appearing from your Orla. Students are expected to arrive immediately, thank you!]
[Broadcast closed]
"Orla?" Rondo asked, totally confused.
Tira just pointed at the bracelet Rondo was wearing, not saying a word. Rondo laughed awkwardly when he realized. A moment later, a detailed map, waypoints, and a GPS route popped up in front of him.
"We should probably go faster," Tira said, grabbing Rondo's arm tightly. Rondo frowned. Tira just gave a little smirk, then started dragging Rondo into a run. Rondo's body got pulled along, but slowly his rhythm started to match hers.
---
When they got to Central Control, there were tons of students already lining up.
"Geez, why'd you suddenly drag me like that?" Rondo asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Huh... huh... you were slow. See? The line is already this long. How much longer did you wanna wait?" Tira replied, lightly punching Rondo's arm.
Rondo looked around. He saw some cables dangling and connecting to a round tube. Students were being directed into an oval-shaped pod in front of them. A few minutes later, a scanner would scan the student's body. The round tube would then display detailed info on the student. He and Tira got in line.
"Chantira Ploy! Is there a Chantira Ploy here?" a scientist called out, holding a tablet.
Rondo looked over at Tira, who was busy playing with her Orla.
"Hey, are they calling you?" Rondo asked her.
Tira looked at Rondo, then looked at the scientist who was looking around for someone.
"Ah, right. Looks like they are calling me. Thanks!" Tira said, walking away and slapping Rondo hard on the back.
Tira walked to a different line. She didn't even have to wait, she just went straight into the pod.
"Sheesh, that girl," Rondo winced, rubbing his back.
"Are you waiting for your turn?" another student behind Rondo asked. He wore round glasses and was the same height as Rondo.
"Yeah, but I don't know if this long line is the real line, or if there's some kinda VIP lane," Rondo replied with a weak laugh.
"Why do you think that?"
"I dunno. But my friend weirdly got called up without waiting in this long line."
They both went quiet.
"Ah, yeah, what's your name—"
"Eguchi Kenta! Is there an Eguchi Kenta here?" a scientist called. The student behind Rondo started walking, passing the long line and going straight into the pod.
*What, he's VIP too?*
Rondo thought. His face was frozen in disbelief.
Meanwhile, while the two people Rondo had just talked to skipped the line, Rondo was still stuck in the super long queue.
---
Hours passed. Rondo started yawning, he was so bored from waiting. But he still had to stay awake to get registered. He tried to cheer himself up, he should still be grateful he got into this free school.
The lines started to get shorter. The line for the girl students was almost empty. But the line for the guys was still pretty long. Rondo's eyes felt heavy, he kept fighting off sleep.
Ironically, some of the people who lined up *behind* Rondo were called up faster. Now, Rondo was at the very tail end of the line—the last one.
To kill the boredom and sleepiness, Rondo started playing with his Orla. He even messed with the settings. Now his Orla's UI had its own unique look with a theme he picked.
[1 New Message!]
[Chantira Ploy]
Yo, you done yet?
So slow.
Look, I'm already in my room and can sleep comfortably.
[Sends a picture of herself lying in bed. One eye half-open, hand up in a "peace" sign, hair messy on a white pillow.]
[Rondo Ernias]
It's getting shorter, but who knows how much longer, haha!
That pillow looks comfy.
Already sleepy here.
[Chantira Ploy]
Haha! Duh, it's super soft!
[Sends a picture of herself hugging a white body pillow]
[Rondo Ernias]
Geez, just trying to make me jealous.
[Chantira Ploy]
:p
"Rondo Ernias?" a scientist called to Rondo. Rondo hurriedly closed his Orla UI.
"Y-yes, ma'am. Is it my turn?" Rondo asked.
The scientist laughed.
"Yeah, who else? Look, there's nobody else here," she explained.
Rondo looked around. The whole room was completely empty, leaving just him. Rondo scratched his head, which wasn't even itchy.
"C'mon, Rondo. Let's start the scan," the scientist said, guiding Rondo onto an aluminum platform.
Rondo stepped into the oval pod. His feet touched the aluminum base. The pod door closed automatically. The scientist started messing with a complicated-looking hologram UI next to her. For a few minutes, Rondo's mind drifted back to the past, when he still lived with his mother.
Not long after, the scan finished. Rondo's complete data appeared on the round tube. The pod door slowly opened. Rondo was guided out.
"Alright Rondo, please read this data carefully. It will only stay up for a few minutes," the scientist told him.
"Okay, ma'am," Rondo replied. The scientist started to walk away, leaving Rondo alone.
Rondo read all his detailed data, one by one.
"It says here that I... got into Class E?!"