Sadik looked at his score after the placement test was done. He had scored well. He was the fifth overall in his test group. Granted, that didn’t excuse him from school. Just placed him in the university bracket.

The test had a lot of math problems, and Sadik decided that Nikola was quite biased to have done so. People had tried to cheat, only to disappear and reaper shaken. One had screamed that the empty was still there. And the rest had begun to answer the questions as well as they could.

Personally, Sadik thought that it was sneaky of Nikola. He made his way to his car and drove to where the GPS told him there was a university. It was a bit much, as far as he was concerned, for there to be three universities in their small town alone. But, he wasn’t about to argue with Nikola.

Only the top ten of each group tested would end up in a university. The top fifty below those ten would end up in high school. And the rest would go to school.

Nikola was still in the process of creating jobs. For now, he only had community service. But Sadik thought that he would be adding more when he came back from planting flowers.

Eric was at school too. To stare at a screen as various video lectures played all day. It wasn’t perfect, but, Harriell was in the first grade with him. Considering Harriell had been born around the Bronze Age’s start, his placement was not surprising.

Nikola had tried to branch out the tests. Using tests he got from schools all around the world. Ones he knew what were only thanks to Google translate. But, some people didn’t speak a modern language.

Those, it seems, would need to be in kindergarten right about now. Where some people with community service duty would point at things and try to communicate with them.

Sadik made himself comfortable on the first row of the lecture room. It was full. Sadik had picked Economics as his major. As Nikola’s chief advisor, he would need the skills.

The video started and Sadik followed it to the best of his ability. Letting his laptop record it, so he could view it later. Some of his fellows had also done so, and some were taking notes.

When classes finally let up, it was dark out. The days in Purgatory were short. There was nothing Nikola had been able to do about that. There was no sun and the clouds were ever present. The place would look depressing, if it wasn’t for the vibrant grass that decked everything.

The smell of freshly cut grass hit Sadik as he stepped out of the university. He looked around. It was indeed mowed. Nikola could have done the same with just a few words. Yet, the random generating public service algorithm had added grass mowing to the list.

Sadik chuckled at the absurdness of it and drove to the school, so he could pick Eric and Harriell. The Leviathan looked at cars like they were going to eat him and didn’t like the idea of driving. Even though Sadik had offered to teach him how.

He got to the school quickly, most of the people not having a vehicle and thus there not being any traffic. He went inside and saw drawings, some looking like professional work, lining the walls.

Well, it was good to see that this was not a place for children. Not yet and, hopefully, not ever. Sadik shuddered at the thought that children could end up here. There were a couple. But they had long since been adopted.

Creatures of the night, it seems, either didn’t breed the old-fashioned way, or lived past their childhoods. Which was good to hear.  He felt small arms around his legs and looked down.

“Eric, did you have fun?” Eric jumped and pointed at a goofy picture of a sun.

“I made that,” Sadik nodded and hummed.

“This looks good. How are your classmates?” Sadik picked up Eric and headed out as the boy told him all about today.

“And the lessons were more fun, since they were about more things than math,” Sadik turned to Harriell, who looked bored next to them.

“We were told what a cow says. About five times,” whined Harriell. Sadik barked a laugh and placed Eric down, so he could get in the car.

“I am glad that you both had fun,” said Sadik as he got his safety belt on. “You will have to go tomorrow too.”

Harriell groaned, and Eric looked at him, confused.

“Harry, don’t you like spending time with me?” Asked the boy, lower lip trembling.

“That is not it, buddy. It is just…these lessons are for children,” sure they had to write down most of everything. But, apart from that, it had been boring.

“I think it is fun,” persisted Eric, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “And I will be happy to go tomorrow!”

“I think I prefer eight hours in the nothingness,” deadpanned Harriell, and Eric stuck out his tongue at him.

“Eric,” chastised Sadik when he saw what his son had done in the mirror. “Apologize or Harry won’t babysit you anymore.”

“Really?” Eric looked panicked. “But, Harry is my best friend!”

Harriell smiled at that. He relaxed back in his seat and hummed.

“Well, then, I suppose that I can forgive you,” Sadik sighed.

“I am trying to raise a fine young man here, not a rascal. Don’t let him off the hook this easy. Eric, what do you have to say?” Sadik made a turn and their house was to be seen. Their town alone was different from its counterpart on Earth. But, then again, Nikola was not in the business of planning big. Then again, he had Sadik. So, it was ok.

“I am sorry, Harry. I pinky swear I will never do it again,” Eric extended his pinky to Harriell and the man did the same, confused. Eric giggled. There was much he needed to teach his friend.