The arrival of food didn't just fill our stomachs; it also broke the tension, which was much needed after our earlier conversation. Plates were soon emptied, and even Alysha, who typically savored her desserts slowly, seemed unusually quick today. That's Alysha for you—always ready to jump into a conversation when it gets interesting.
"Alright, back to stories," Chris said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "What should we talk about now?"
"You mentioned something about scholarships and costs earlier. Is there more to that?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.
Chris grinned. "Not really much else to say on that. Scholarships were rare back then. But now, they're practically throwing them at students to encourage talent."
Arthur nodded in agreement. "Yeah, even when we started, most kids had to pay to get in, unless they were part of special programs."
I glanced at Alysha, curious if she had anything to add. She'd been quiet since I grilled her earlier.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know Dad took care of most of that stuff. I didn't ask too many questions."
Figures.
Chris cleared his throat. "Anyway, I think we've talked enough about the past. Let's move on to something more interesting."
"Like what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"How about Arthur's 'hero' phase?" Chris said with a teasing smirk.
Arthur groaned. "It wasn't a 'hero phase'! I just wanted to help enforce the rules and keep things orderly."
"Sure, sure. But don't forget the time you practically dragged a guy to the Discipline Committee because he jaywalked," Chris said, chuckling.
"He wasn't just jaywalking! He was setting a bad example for others," Arthur defended himself, though even he seemed to realize how ridiculous it sounded.
Alysha giggled. "I remember that! You were so serious about it, too."
"Hey, someone had to set the standard," Arthur replied, crossing his arms.
"First, I'll start by talking about the first year of middle school since you were still with me then."
In our group, everyone stayed together until graduation, except for Chris, who had to move because of his family.
"When I stepped into Pillar City for the second time, it felt very different from the first."
"It was like a ghost town back then," I commented.
"Haha… yeah. The second time, the city had almost turned into a typical city."
Of course, it would feel different. When we first came here, there wasn't anyone else living here. It was like an empty, lifeless city.
"When we got here, we were told to choose our preferred schools, right?"
"Um... I don't know about that, so don't ask me."
I truly didn't know what Dad had planned for me. I couldn't choose anything when I got here. It seemed like everything was pre-arranged by Dad to keep me in the dark and follow what he wanted.
I glanced at Alysha, but she also avoided my gaze. I knew it—she got to choose her school herself. I'm so envious…
"Haha… sorry, Nao. If I had known about it, I would have told you, but unfortunately, I didn't."
As usual, he felt guilty over small things, even when it wasn't his fault.
"Never mind. What's done is done. Just continue your story."
"Heh… I wanted to say that first."
For some reason, Chris seemed disappointed that Arthur beat him to it. We really shouldn't be talking about this. The conversation could turn into a series of apologies if we keep it going.
"It's fine. It's probably better if we don't bring it up again."
"Hmm, is that so? Okay."
Arthur's story wouldn't move forward if you guys kept discussing other things.
"I chose this school because I thought it would be nice since it had its own rules. The idea was that if a rule didn't work, we could amend it."
So, he chose this school because of the extracurricular rule system, which included the Student Council and the Discipline Committee. The Committee made and enforced the rules, so if a rule wasn't right, they could just change it.
"At the time, I didn't know that Chris and Alysha were also in this school, so I thought I would be on my own. But when I first entered the school, for some reason, everyone gathered around me, and the reason was obvious—I was a member of Floater."
Because the news about the discovery of Pillar City and everything inside it started with Floater, of course, you would become popular.
That being said, hadn't you guys already been treated like that even before coming to Pillar City? Why were you surprised by this? Was the number of people greater than I imagined? Probably.
"In the first year, there was supposed to be an entrance exam, but I didn't take it. I don't think Chris and Alysha did either."
"Ah, I didn't take it. They just told me to go to class," said Alysha.
"Same," added Chris.
Well, this school is government-run. They already had all the data on us, so I figured there was no need to redo it.
Besides, they were the main focus of the powers, even though I took their place. But we can save that story for another time.
"When I entered the classroom for the first time, I didn't expect Chris and Alysha to be in the same school as me, but I was happy to have familiar faces."
Of course, if you're with people you know, it would be better. Oh, now that I think about it, since they could choose their school, I'm curious about their reasons.
"Why did you choose this school, Chris, Alysha?"
I realized that Chris's story only went up to middle school. But since we were all in the same high school, we could summarize his story a bit.
"I don't know. I just picked randomly. Besides, all the schools here were new anyway," Chris replied.
These schools opened when we were about to enter high school. As Chris mentioned earlier, when we were in second grade, only a mixed school existed; there were no special power schools yet.
"As for me, I was just looking for acquaintances close to me. I knew that Sis Imelda was going to school here, and I also heard that Sis Lisa and Sis Maya would be teachers here."
I don't know how she got that information and used it so well, while I didn't know anything. Damn, Dad must have planned this better than I thought.
"Now I feel even more envious. I just studied regular subjects like usual," I complained, resting my head on the table in defeat.
"Maybe your dad had his own plans for you," Arthur comforted me.
"Of course," I said, sitting up straight.
I knew that, but being planned for without knowing it was uncomfortable, you know.
Maybe this is like the stereotypical Asian parent wanting their child to become a doctor or a lawyer. Did Dad choose my path because of that? I really want to know about this.
"Next, I'll tell the story of how I joined the Discipline Committee and won the Closed Festival."
As expected from Arthur. His powers really are something.
"Alysha, didn't you participate?"
Arthur is indeed tough to face, but for Alysha, shouldn't it be easy if it's just a competition?
"Alysha didn't show up for the point-grabbing competition against me," Chris said, teasing Alysha.
Looking at Alysha, it didn't seem like she was hiding anything. Even though she always seemed interested in things like that, when it came to wasting time on things she didn't like, Alysha's endurance was worse than mine.
"Fighting Chris is a waste of energy. Even if I attack him, he'll just heal himself. Besides, my attacks might not even hit him."
So, basically, she doesn't like wasting time, like I said. Classic Alysha.
"What about when you fought Arthur?" I asked Chris.
"Of course, I forfeited. My compatibility with Arthur is terrible."
So, in the end, you're just like Alysha. You teased her earlier, but you're doing the same thing. Heh…
Arthur just laughed, hearing Chris's reason.
"You just don't want to try harder, that's all, in my opinion. Well, I guess I'm not in a position to say that," I said.
"That's because you're the laziest one among us," Chris said in a flat tone.
I know that very well, but that really hit home. In a match I couldn't possibly win, of course, I wouldn't want to fight. Especially if there was a large audience.
After that, we continued talking casually.