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.
Rondo stared back sharply. But they quickly ignored him, turning back around and keeping walking. Tira, who was messing with Rondo's Orla, saw he was still watching the guy and the blonde girl.
"What's up? You look really focused on someone," Tira asked, looking at Rondo.
Rondo snapped out of it.
"Ah, no. It's just... I get a weird feeling from those two," Rondo replied.
"Oh, really? Starting to hate someone already?" Tira asked again, her hands still tinkering with his Orla.
"Nope, not hate. I just feel weird about them," Rondo said, sure of himself.
"Hm... do you hate popular people?"
"Not really. I told you, it's not hate. Just... something's off about them."
"C'mon, you just hate the popular vibe, right? It's okay, just admit it. I'm the same way."
Tira laughed for a sec. Rondo laughed awkwardly with her.
"Are they actually popular?" Rondo asked.
"You didn't know? When that guy and girl walk to the Food Court, all the other students watch them. They walk like models, always side-by-side. Lots of girls have a crush on the guy 'cause he's handsome and tall. And lots of guys have a crush on the girl 'cause she's so pretty," Tira explained in a whisper, watching them from afar.
"I see..."
Tira smiled. She stopped tinkering with Rondo's Orla.
"You know, sometimes you just gotta be honest with yourself. I was like that at first—hated being honest 'cause I was embarrassed. But, well... how long are you gonna try to please everyone, right?" Tira said.
Rondo looked at her. "You promise you won't be a blabbermouth?"
Tira smiled and held out her pinky finger. "I promise."
Rondo glanced at her pinky, confused. Then, without thinking, he just covered her whole hand with his palm.
"You alien, you don't even know what a pinky promise is. Ahh, whatever. Anyway, congrats, your Orla can take pictures with the camera now," Tira said, pulling her hand away.
"O-oh, really? Thanks, haha."
"Alright, I'm heading home. I'm sleepy. Bye," Tira said, waving at Rondo.
Rondo waved back. He checked his Orla's UI, and sure enough, there was a 'camera' menu now. He opened it, then accidentally took a picture of Tira walking away. The photo popped up. Rondo panicked, trying to delete it. But he didn't know how. Finally, he just closed the Orla's UI and walked home.
When he got home, he turned on the light, then immediately passed out on his soft white pillow, totally exhausted.
Brrtt brrtt brrtt
The Orla on Rondo's arm vibrated over and over. Rondo, still asleep, slowly started to wake up. He stretched and realized he'd fallen asleep drooling all over his pillow.
He opened his Orla, which was still buzzing.
[1 new important notification!]
[Get to class immediately! Class started 15 minutes ago.]
"E-ehh, I'm late?!"
Rondo rushed to shower, and after he finished, he threw on his uniform again. His shirt was super wrinkled, but he didn't really care. He raced out of the house, locked the door, and opened his Orla's UI, following the GPS to class.
"So, that's more or less the explanation about Nexhile School. Any questions?" asked a teacher in formal clothes, standing in front of students grouped at round tables.
A male student raised his hand.
"Okay, you with the round glasses. Go ahead, what's your question? Don't forget to introduce yourself to your friends first," the teacher said, pointing at the student. The student immediately stood up.
"Hello everyone, I'm Eguchii Kenta. I want to ask, sir, can Growth Points be transferred, requested, or shared with other students?" Kenta asked loudly.
"Yes, an excellent question, Kenta. Correct, GP can be transferred, requested, or even split into a sort of mass 'red envelope' to share. The requirement to unlock this feature is you have to earn a total accumulation of about 500 GP. After that, the feature will unlock by itself. I'll explain this GP topic in more detail next. But before that, let's give Kenta a round of applause for his courage and great question."
The whole class clapped enthusiastically for Kenta. Kenta gave a slight bow—thanking the class in his own way. After that, he sat back down.
Ding dong
A bell rang from the door. The automatic door opened. Everyone's eyes focused on the person in the doorway. It was Rondo, completely out of breath, holding onto the wall for support. Some students immediately started whispering to their friends.
"Rondo?" Kenta said, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, the late young man, please come in. C'mon, you're 23 minutes late. Come stand next to me," the teacher invited.
Rondo entered the class, still panting. He slowly started to get his breath under control. Rondo stood next to the teacher, and the teacher put a hand on his shoulder.
Rondo could now see the whole classroom full of students. Some students were still whispering and staring at him.
"So, young man, please introduce yourself to your classmates so they can get to know you. Who knows, maybe someone will take a liking to you, right?" the teacher joked. The class laughed for a moment. Rondo just laughed awkwardly.
After a few minutes, the class slowly quieted down.
"Hi, I'm uh... My name is Rondo Ernias, you can just call me Rondo. I'm from Exion City, and I... kinda like to eat." The class let out a small laugh. Rondo glanced around at the tables.
Isn't that Tira, and Kenta at the next table? They're laughing too, huh? Rondo thought.
"So Rondo, tell us how you got into this school. And a little about your life before," the teacher said, patting Rondo's shoulder.
Rondo hesitated. He swallowed hard. His eyes darted around, unable to focus.
"Um... I got here because of an old computer. Then Jay picked me up in a car, and I don't remember anything after that. I just suddenly... was at the school gate. I used to be a scrap collector. I collected metal junk... and sold it to a junkyard. Uh, yeah, that's pretty much my story," Rondo explained.
The class went quiet again. Rondo looked at them, confused. His knees started to shake a bit, but he tried to calm himself.
Suddenly, the teacher started clapping loudly. Tira followed, then Kenta, and then the other students. The room filled with applause. A few students even whistled.
"Wow Rondo, thank you for sharing that inspiring life story. I know exactly how you feel. But anyway, that was a great first step," the teacher said softly to Rondo, while the applause was still going.
Rondo looked at the teacher and thanked him. Slowly, the applause died down. Rondo was told to go sit with the other students at a round table. He sat in the empty chair right next to Kenta.
"You're so cool, man," Kenta whispered to Rondo.
"A-haha, thanks, Kenta."
Rondo then looked over at Tira. She gave him a thumbs-up.
"Okay, let's continue to the next topic about Growth Points, or what we call GP. Oh yeah, for Rondo. Hello, welcome to Class E. I'm your homeroom teacher, you can call me Ken, or Mr. Ken. I'll be guiding you for this semester. You missed some material, so you can ask your friends here about it later, okay? Got it, Rondo?" Mr. Ken asked, looking at Rondo.
Rondo nodded. "Understood, sir."
"Good. Growth Points, or GP. Does anyone here know, and can maybe explain it, briefly or in detail?" Mr. Ken asked.
Tira raised her hand.
"Yes, you with the short hair. Please introduce yourself briefly and explain what you know about GP to your friends," Mr. Ken said, pointing at Tira.
Tira stood up. "Hello everyone, I'm Chantira Ploy. You can call me Tira. Just don't call me Ploy, that's my last name. You'll end up calling my parents too." The other students laughed loudly.
"So, GP is a fintech system that lets us shop or buy stuff at this school. But as far as I know, yesterday we could only buy food with it. The system seems integrated with the school and is monitored super-strictly by the
IT team. Payments usually use a fingerprint on a hologram. And Mr. Ken just said GP can be shared, right? So GP is super flexible, then? Anyway, I'm really curious about how GP fully works. And that's my slightly 'know-it-all' explanation of GP," Tira explained.
The other students laughed. They were all focused on Tira as she explained.
"Haha, good job Tira, great explanation and observation. You're quite detailed with the technical side, huh. Let's give Tira a big round of applause," Mr. Ken said. The class clapped loudly for a moment.
"Tira's right, GP is a fintech, or financial technology, system here at the school. It's for shopping, buying food, or even helping your friends. There are lots of districts here you can explore for spending GP. But besides just spending it, you can also earn GP. The way to get it is easy—you just have to be productive. Like going to the gym, reading academic books, doing light research, or even exercising on the field. Jogging counts too.
But playing ping-pong, billiards, or bowling won't earn you GP. In fact, you have to pay for those. Oh yeah, talking with other students, including from other classes, also earns GP. But the amount is very small compared to being productive. I can't tell you the exact values for GP. You'll have to note and explore that yourselves," Mr. Ken explained.
Beep beep beep
Mr. Ken glanced at the Orla on his hand.
"Okay students. Thank you. That's all for class today. You can now go explore all the districts here. Feel free to explore Nexhile School, but please take care of the facilities. Thank you, and see you next class."
Mr. Ken then walked out of the class, looking at his Orla.
All the students started to get up and leave. Rondo was also about to leave. But as he reached the door, he saw Tira talking to someone next to her. Tira didn't look like she was leaving yet.
Who is she?
Rondo wondered, he really curious about the person next to Tira.