“...”

*Ya~wn...*

Looking out the window, I see an orange sky slowly bleed into blue. 

And I was awake.

What a terrible thing.

I should be tired, considering when I went to bed. But right now rather than feeling sleepy, I feel energetic. It was strange.

Oh well… not like it’s a bad thing.

Pushing away my covers, I walk towards the closet and begin to get dressed into my uniform.

Technically speaking, I’m supposed to wear it to school everyday, but since I had just transferred in I hadn't actually gotten it yet.

The uniform in question was basically a grey and red sailor uniform. The only real difference 

was that the shirt was a button up and had pockets on the upper arms.

Or maybe sailor uniforms have those things? It's not like I was well vested in women's fashion back on Earth.

Or rather, I hadn't cared about fashion at all? It wouldn’t have mattered even if I had, since nobody had ever looked at me back then. 

“...”

"Haaaaa…"

As I try to push away thoughts of the past, I pat down my clothes and look in the mirror.

At least now I have people who look at me, and a family that cares.

Tapping on the mirror, I think about the past until I hear the door opening with a creak.

Turning my head, instead of a certain maid, I see a bushel of golden hair.

It was my one and only friend in the world, Quem.

"…So it was you," she muttered, a stern look on her face.

"W-what?"

What was me? Did I do something wrong already?

"Nothing. Are you ready to go eat with me?"

"Who said we were eating together?"

"Well, you’re my fr… friend, so of course you'd eat with me! That's not something just anybody does!" She declared, implying that there were multiple people who wanted to eat with her.

"Almost. My hair is still a mess," I tell her as I turn and grab a brush.

"Where's that maid of yours? She should be the one doing such menial tasks."

"She was… really tired yesterday…  yeah," I answer nonchalantly, trying not to sound like I was guessing.

"I see…" she mutters as I brush through my hair.

Glancing out the window, I see a flock of birds fly through the still slightly orange sky.

Wait.

"So. Why are you up so early when school won't start for a while. The sun hasn't even fully risen yet," I ask, now curious of what she was here for.

"Isn't that what I should be asking you? I mean, did you even get enough sleep? You collapsed recently, so why are you staying out all night," she says, revealing her knowledge of my night entry.

"I didn't collapse. It was just… I didn't collapse. I'm fine, and I'm not sick, so stop worrying."

"You're lying. Do you know what the Evlimarq family is famous for? Gossip. I know how to spot a lie. Your friends with someone as great as me, so stop trying to hide things and say it."

Say it.

Say it.

"I don't know what you're talking about. S-say what…" I shakily ask, setting down my brush. 

"…I'm not the one to decide that. Since you're done with your hair, let's go eat," she orders, walking out and closing the door.

Her orange eyes pierced through me before the door closed silently.

And all I could do was sit there.

***

Entering the classroom, I go and sit in an empty seat in the back. Sitting alone, the other students glance at me and make talk amongst themselves.

I wonder if they’re talking about me?

Probably nothing good.

*Boomf!*

A large stack of papers was dropped on my desk by Mr. Sage. He was glaring at me with bags under his eyes.

"Finish this and you'll be caught up with the others. Finish it quickly in the next two days. I assume you're fine sleeping even less than I did?" He says before heading to his desk.

How unreasonable. This is as thick as my arm. I suppose he wants me to do nothing but work out of spite? Or maybe he expects me to fail and wants to laugh?

Any way you spin it, he was a bad person.

"To finish the final topic, the final and newest style was only created nine years ago! In fact, the child of the man who invented it is…"

Glancing down at the packet, I turn to the first page. It was simply titled 'The History Of The Coolest Countries' by Mr. Sage.

Of course.

***

"Alright class, well end there!"

*Cheering*

"But, I have something to say before I dismiss you! There is a test in two days! Class-dismissed-bye~!!!" He screams before jumping under his desk.

The students chased after to underneath the desk, only to find nothing but air.

Some clicked their tongues, some sighed, and some had tears in their eyes.

But it was the census of the class that tests were terrible.

A majority of the students went straight for the door, while some went to talk to their friends.

I was making good progress on the packet, so I decided to stay until finished. It wasn’t as bad as it looked, as it was mostly just reading with some quick questions on the side.

But as time went on the number of students dwindled until only one group was left. It was Narin's group. 

After they finished talking they too began to leave. But before doing so Narin shot a friendly wave and Herem gave a shush gesture.

Saehl gave me a faint smile, and also waved. Though, Alum waved the hardest.

They closed the door, and silence ensued.

Time to finish up.

***

There were four major powers.

The Cardial Kingdom.

Arikids, The Magecraft Country.

The Idylica Empire.

And finally, Zurophosphere, The City of Nothing.

The Cardial Kingdom was pretty normal, and the only particularly exceptional part was it's survivability. It's also where I'm from.

Arikids was where we currently are, and is known for being the best at everything. They could hypothetically take over the entire world, but for some reason decided not to. Nobody knew if it was because the king wished for peace or if they simply didn’t have a need for a uselessly large amount of land.

That unneeded land in question would be Idylica. Though it’s called an empire, it’s really not. The only reason it’s called so is because their land is from conquering random tribes. They have the highest population and land as well, which is also its only good point. Though, that doesn't mean it failed in other areas. It's also apparently where Quem is from. 

The strangest power was Zurophosphere. Rather than a country, it was a free city that was quite lawless. No, rather than lawless, the word was morally wrong. There were no regulations on anything, and if both parties signed a contract and no funny business was found, you could do anything.

Overall, the circulation of information in the world was both high in amount and quality. In all honesty if I wanted to know something I could just go down to the city and ask someone off the street.

"...Jeezums, will I have to deal with that girl again? I gave her that packet so she wouldn't look at me, but just her being made me nervous. Why did someone so scary have to appear righ— oh-my-goodness!?"

He must've noticed.

Coming out from under the desk was the one and only Mr. Sage. I wonder just who he could have been talking about…

"Eeerrr… y-you should get going, Miss Azalia. Y-you need to finish that packet soon."

"I just finished, actually."

"…O-oh…"

Opening the door, I walk through and leave the old man standing there with his face white as paint.

Suddenly, his mouth opens as he yells something before I leave.

"A-as a reward for being… eerrrrr… smart, take the day off tomorrow!"

*Click*

***