Rondo read all his personal details, one by one.
It says here that I... got put in Class E?!
A few minutes later, the round tube closed its UI. Rondo's Orla then brought up a GPS display. The GPS led Rondo to a small house. He found himself standing in front of the door.
What's this? Am I supposed to go inside?
Rondo wondered.
A moment later, the small house's door opened automatically. Rondo went inside. The place was definitely big enough for him to live in—it was roughly the size of his old bedroom and living room combined back at his old rental place.
Inside, there was a sink and a toilet too. Rondo started to make himself comfortable, lying down on the floor mattress which was pretty soft, when his Orla started flashing. He quickly pressed it until a broadcast UI popped up.
[1 new message!]
[Broadcast] [A mysterious deep voice from someone appearing only as a silhouette]
"Good evening, my beloved students. How was your first day at Nexhile School? I hope your first experience can be an important reminder, even though it was surely tiring. As a small piece of info, we are giving you all various facilities that you can access later using only Growth Points (GP).
What are GP and how do they work? Tomorrow you will be given more explanation by your respective homeroom teachers. Regarding classes, your current class has no influence on you at all. All classes are equal, no differences whatsoever. So, just enjoy the small moments in your current temporary private homes.
If you feel hungry and aren't sleepy yet, the Food Court located near the main building is your best choice to eat. All food is free for you to choose, and paid for using GP. However, you are not allowed to access other areas besides the food court.
We will give you 1,500 GP for you to use well. Spend it wisely.
Thank you, see you in class tomorrow morning."
[Broadcast closed automatically]
[You received +1,500 GP!]
GP? What's that? Sounds promising.
Rondo's mind was filled with questions.
Rondo's stomach started to rumble. He was pretty tired, but at the same time, he was also really hungry. Rondo looked around his tiny house, but there wasn't any food available. In the end, he decided to go outside.
He tried to walk around to find the Food Court that guy mentioned. But Rondo ended up getting a bit lost. A few times he even bumped into an invisible wall that had 'access to this area prohibited' written on it when he got close. Weirdly, when he backed away from the area, the writing instantly disappeared, like it was never there.
The sun was slowly starting to set. But Rondo still hadn't found the Food Court. His stomach rumbled again. Rondo clutched it.
His Orla vibrated and lit up. Rondo quickly tapped it.
[1 New Message!]
[Chantira Ploy]
Hey, you hungry?
Come to the Food Court, lots of people are here.
[Sends a picture of warm fried rice on a plate]
[Rondo Ernias]
Looks good.
But I'm kinda lost.
[Chantira Ploy]
Hahaha, I knew it.
You're hopeless, you could've just asked another student.
[Rondo Ernias]
They all looked busy.
[Chantira Ploy]
Geez... okay, fine.
[Sharing live location for 1 hour]
If you still get lost, I'll slap your back even harder next time.
:p
[Rondo Ernias]
Okay, thanks.
I'm heading there now.
Rondo opened the location Tira shared. He started walking. About 8 minutes later, Rondo arrived at the Food Court. He saw tons of other students walking around, chatting, and eating together at the tables and chairs. There were so many tables and chairs, you couldn't even count them. The place was split into a bunch of small shops. Above each one, there was a big sign with a food category.
The lights everywhere were so warm, a mix of orange and yellow with decorations hanging from the ceiling. Robots serving the students looked super busy. But, he was a little overwhelmed by how noisy it was.
Rondo walked into a shop with a big sign that said 'Dessert' without conscious. Inside, there was a super big display case with thin dividers. In the case, there was lots of food with prices written below each one. Rondo looked at all the food.
The prices are pretty cheap, but... why is it all sweets?
Someone suddenly bumped into him, pretty hard. Rondo's body stumbled a bit. He winced.
"Hey, watch where you're—" Rondo started, but stopped when he turned to the person. "Huh, Tira?"
"Hey, you found any main food you actually like yet?" Tira asked with a big smile.
"Ah, well... I haven't found anything yet," Rondo said nervously, scratching the back of his head.
Tira burst out laughing. She was pretty loud, so some other students turned to look at them.
"You dummy! Did you even read the sign?"
"H-huh? Was it wrong?" Rondo explained.
Tira laughed her head off again at Rondo's absurd explanation.
"Idiot! You're in the wrong shop, haha," Tira said, wiping a tear from her eye.
Rondo just scratched the back of his head, which wasn't even itchy. He gave an awkward laugh, holding back his embarrassment.
"A-ahaha. So, where is the food that'll make me full?" Rondo asked.
Right after he said that, his stomach rumbled again.
"Ehh, sounds like your stomach can't wait. Alright, c'mon, follow me," Tira said.
Tira walked out of the shop, Rondo following right behind her. Once outside, Tira started pointing to the shop with the 'Appetizer' sign.
"The one that says 'Appetizer' is for starters. It's mostly fruit or stuff that's only a little sweet," Tira explained.
"The one that says 'Fresh Fruits' has a bunch of fresh fruit. Meanwhile 'Junk Food', that's fast food. Usually lots of oily, fried stuff. Perfect for a skinny guy like you," Tira explained, pointing to each shop and laughing.
"Hey, I'd rather eat healthy food if I have the choice," Rondo shot back, a little annoyed.
Tira ignored him and just held back a laugh.
"Now, the shop that says 'Main Course'... that's definitely the one you're looking for. They have lots of heavy meals there," Tira explained, pointing at the shop.
They went into that shop. Rondo started looking at the big display case in front of him. He saw the prices for each food were all different, from 500 GP all the way to 7,000 GP. Rondo tapped on a 1,000 GP meal called 'Chicken Katsu with egg and salad'. After he picked it, a hologram fingerprint UI appeared. Rondo pressed his thumb on it.
[✓ Payment successful. Please wait at table number 58.]
Rondo's Orla flashed, but he didn't open it, didn't want to be bothered. They left the shop. They looked for table number 58. After finding it, they sat down across from each other. The atmosphere was a bit awkward because Tira seemed busy replying to a chat on her Orla. Rondo, meanwhile, had no idea how to start a conversation.
Rondo looked around. The place, which had been so rowdy a few hours ago, was now slowly getting quiet and empty. Since Rondo was getting bored, he started messing with his Orla, even though there was nothing to do on it.
Just as he opened the Orla's UI panel, the food he ordered arrived, delivered by a robot. Rondo said "thank you" to the robot, but it didn't respond and just left him.
Tira still looked busy with her Orla. Rondo started to eat his food. Just a few bites in, Rondo could taste how delicious every piece of meat and all the vegetables were.
A few minutes later, Rondo was done with his food. His spoon clinked against the empty plate.
"Oh, you're finished already?" Tira asked, looking up at Rondo's face.
"Yeah, the food was amazing. I kinda want to order another one," Rondo replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"C'mon, let's go back. Everyone else has already gone back to their houses," Tira said.
A few minutes later, after Rondo felt his food had settled, they started walking home. Their houses were in the same direction, but Tira's house was far away on the other side of an intersection, across a big field. That's because the boys' and girls' houses were separated.
"How do you know so much about this school already? And... why'd you get called up faster than everyone else during the line-up this afternoon?" Rondo asked Tira as they walked.
"Well, I kinda know a lot 'cause the system is pretty easy to understand, y'know? Not everything, but I get some of it. And about the line... I actually got through the gate earlier, I just showed up late to the line-up. You must've woken up late, huh?"
"I guess so. I woke up late and was the last one through the gate. 'Cause before I even went in, there were already tons of people inside."
Tira sighed.
"See? I knew it! You really are an alien who oversleeps!"
Rondo let out a big laugh for a second.
"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask, how do you use the camera on your Orla?" Rondo asked.
"Ahh, that? You just gotta go to settings, then choose 'access', after that make your Orla pin, then sign the consent form, then after that go back and find 'access permissions', allow and check all of them, then go back to the home screen, press the camera icon, give permission again, and voila, you can finally use the camera," Tira explained, rattling it off super fast.
Rondo listened to Tira's explanation and felt like his brain was frying, he didn't understand what she said at all.
Tira slapped her forehead.
"Geez, you. Okay, fine. Here, let me just set it up for you," Tira said, grabbing the Orla on Rondo's wrist.
Rondo started to watch her steps. But his attention got distracted because there was a male student, a bit taller than him, with neat brownish-black hair. Beside the boy was a blonde girl hugging his arm. They were laughing and smiling as they walked.
But when the boy saw Rondo's face, his expression changed, and he stared at Rondo with a cold look.