The corridors of the dormitory were much cosier than Elyas had expected.
As usual, each floor had high arching ceilings and Gothic brick walls, but the difference was that there were also gas lamps anchored between each dorm room, which radiated a soft and homey atmosphere.
And after a horrible last few days, Elyas felt his insides wriggle with excitement at the prospect of cuddling himself under a warm and soft blanket in a warm and soft room.
So he hurried his steps, one hand carrying his suitcase, the other tightly clasping his key as if it were his own life.
When he finally reached his door, he settled his case down, took a deep, anticipated breath, and welcomed himself in.
'Oh yes! That's what it's all about!'
His room was anything but spacious, but dammit, it was still his own room! His own goddamn room!
Who would've thought?!
There was a plush-looking bed at one corner, and a desk and a wardrobe in the other. They all seemed to be made from expensive material, given that the dark reddish wood was polished and had a pleasant mahogany smell.
'Mahogany! Goodness that sells for loads back in the desert!'
He breathed in the musky aroma and settled his ragged suitcase next to his bed.
There was a small lamp on his desk, and one dangling from the ceiling, but Elyas quickly decided that he wouldn't be using the main one.
'Too much light is annoying.'
He opened the desk lamp, and the room became even more cosy than he imagined.
After quickly changing out of his clothes, Elyas decided to check the desk drawers as a force of habit, and to his surprise, the Academy had left him a few free things.
There was a full set of expensive-looking toiletries and hygienic products. There was the notorious and cursed Rosendale Prospectus. And there were even a few comic books of those famous Coherent personalities who went ahead and made a future for themselves as idols and celebrities after completing their duties in the Celestial Realm.
'Oh yes, that's the life. Oh, wait, there is a Bloodhorn comic! Nice!'
He would definitely be reading that soon.
'But!'
He glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed at the fact that he'd only be getting at most two hours and thirty minutes of sleep before he'd have to wake up and leave for the ceremony.
'Would 'knocked-out sleep' count?'
Who knew?
He'd find out in the morning, depending on whether his eyes stung or not.
Either way, he was planning on sleeping the whole day after the ceremony anyway.
He slumped into his incredibly plush bed and pillow, feeling himself being enveloped by their softness, and almost let out an involuntary moan at the feeling.
And just a few seconds after, Elyas was snoring, forgetting even to turn off his lamp.
***
BRRING! BRRING!
BRRING! BRRING!
Elyas jolted awake in absolute panic to the sound of a shrill alarm coming from...
'Where the hell is that bastard?!'
BRRING! BRRING!
BRRING BRRING!
"Shut up!" He yelled to his whole room.
His head looked about frantically searching for the source so that he could demolish that piece of crap.
But it didn't stop.
BRRING! BRRING!
BRRING BRRING!
Elyas stomped out of bed, inspected each corner of his room, until he finally realised that it was actually coming from the hallway.
He huffed and rubbed his messy hair in vexation. His eyes stung. The window showing nothing but a green forest told him that it was just about sunrise, and he huffed even harder, knowing what was to come.
'They said there are communal showers, right?'
After a few minutes of sitting on his bed and staring blankly into nothing, he got up, collected his toiletries and the towel provided to him by the Academy, and left his room.
Unsurprisingly, a few students, his neighbours, were already walking down the hallway, all with tired faces and loungewear.
Elyas looked down, wary of them recognising his face, but it didn't take long for him to raise a surprised eyebrow and call out,
"Cenric?"
Cenric, also with a bundle of toiletries, a towel over his shoulder, and an exhausted face, perked up at his name and turned to him with a similarly surprised expression.
"Elyas? What are you doing here?"
"This is where I got assigned. What are you doing here?"
"Same here."
They stared at each other for a few stunned seconds before Elyas cleared his throat and gestured to where all the students marched.
"Should we go?"
Cenric nodded, waited for Elyas to catch up, and they funnelled with the rest into the showers.
Elyas was grateful that none had recognised him yet, but he was also certain that it was only a matter of time, so he didn't bother with hiding his face for long.
A while later, they were in their floor's shared lounge, preparing to head to breakfast.
The lounge was a spacious, classy space with a few seating areas of dark leather couches surrounding mahogany tables, some pool tables and TVs, and even video game consoles in the far corner.
'And not a single fridge.'
The brick walls were adorned with their own selection of paintings, and the Crimson curtains were opened to let the beautiful rising sun flood the place with the scent of a new day.
A few students were also around, engaging in soft conversation and thankfully not paying Elyas any attention.
"Elyas, this is Alexander of House Octavious. Alexander, this is Elyas of... This is Elyas."
Elyas offered a hand to the incredibly handsome and charming tall fella with blue eyes, light brown curly hair, and a lithe, healthy build.
"Uh, hello, nice to meet you."
Alexander shook his hand firmly, glinted a charming smile, and bowed his head ever so slightly.
The fella was truly a textbook gentleman.
"Elyas. It is nice to meet you, too. I must be honest, though, I've already heard and seen so much about you."
Elyas chuckled awkwardly and looked away.
"Yeah, I figured."
"And I quite admire your stance."
'Huh?'
The thought escaped him, and he muttered in the most dumbfounded manner:
"Huh?"
"If you had won that fight, others would've perceived you in a completely different light. But none consider the principles the combatants hold."
Elyas stared at him unblinkingly.
"Really?"
Alexander nodded.
"Although I do disagree with your recklessness and believe that you should have raised it with the panel, Cenric had told me that you haven't read the Prospectus, if so... I believe there is leeway to be given."
Elyas allowed his mouth to curl a little, and he shook Alexander's hand more ardently.
"Yes. Yes, thank you. Good going Cenric, this fella really knows his stuff."
Alexander frowned while Cenric chuckled under his breath.
"So you are from the Anarchist Desert?" Alexander said.
"Yes, yes, the one and only."
Alexander smiled genially and led them to one of the seating areas.
"I must say I'm quite curious about that."
They conversed for a bit, but they didn't have a lot of time to loiter about since they had to get to the ceremony, so they only exchanged brief introductions before they each headed to their dorms to get ready.
All in all, Elyas liked Alexander quite a bit.
He noticed that, similarly to Cenric, he wasn't derisive or snobbish at all; in fact, all he was was an incredibly curious person.
He barraged Elyas with a never-ending series of questions about the desert culture, the food, the tribes, and the people. It was as if the man was addicted to educating himself to the fullest extent, and that was a perfect friend to have during exam season.
As Elyas was leaving the Lounge, however, smiling stupidly at the prospect of gaining a new friend, something caught his eye that froze him much worse than his meeting with Clara, and wiped his mind blank.
Leaving the communal baths was a tall girl with a towel wrapped around her black hair, and dark, oversized, bland loungewear that rested limply on her graceful body.
She had a stoic, cold expression on her enchanting face, her eyes barely opened beyond what was necessary as they stared absentmindedly at the floor, and she seemed to be the sort to treat everything with disdain.
That was not good for Elyas.
After a few seconds of being transfixed, Elyas realised his shameless staring and jerked his head away in panic.
He walked back to his dorm, while she walked ahead of him in the same direction, oblivious to his existence.
'Please don't.'
'Please don't.'
'Please don't.'
'Please don't.'
Aaaaaaand...
...they were neighbours.
'Goddamit!'