17 Exposed 0.2

After lunch, Vivian and me prepped to go out. She did promise me to tour around the campus.

But, she made sure that I was in stable condition to go out and walk. I appreciated her concern and politely assured her that I was all right.

"I told you over and over, I'm fine. Can't you see how well I'm walking right now?" I said.

I walked around for her to see that I was doing well now. She still had a worried expression, but she gave in eventually.

"Okay, fine. Just tell me whenever you feel tired, the academy is such a huge place. I'm just looking out for you," she says, still uncertain.

I sighed at her and offered a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine~, I'm really curious on what the Academy actually looks like from within," I said.

'I need to know my surroundings for me to devise a full-proof plan to escape,' I thought to myself.

Vivian gives me one last hesitating look before finally giving in.

"Alright, alright, you win. Just remember, if you feel tired half-way, let me know," she says worriedly.

"Why did I suggest this again?" she mumbles to herself while she continues to hesitate.

I just giggled at her.

I dressed myself first and dragged her along with me, so that she had no more time to refuse.

We made our way down the dormitory, after giving me a small tour so that I could manage on my on the next.

The dormitory was actually huge. It had at least ten rooms per floor. It was a 6 story building at most. This dorm only houses female students.

"Each room can house at least 2-4 students at once. The school requires all students to stay within the campus until graduation," she said to me.

I found that rather auspicious.

"Why? No one's allowed to leave the school premises?" I asked feeling unsettled by this information.

I saw that Vivian suddenly paused for a bit before she looks at me with a crooked smile.

"Uh, well, yeah, sort of," she answers nervously.

She adds a slight giggle in the end. I raised a brow at her.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Uhmm—well—you see—It's just that, the nearby towns here are about an hour's drive away. There are no vehicles that pass by here. The school is pretty much hidden as you may have noticed when you arrived here, why do you suddenly ask? Hehe," she says in a sudden hurry.

I looked at her suspiciously, clearly, this wasn't the only reason for this, but I have to remain in the dark for a little more while. I'll end up being too suspicious if I end up asking too much.

'I better keep a low profile,' I thought to myself.

"Oh nothing~ I just thought that it was a bit weird. As an orphan growing up, I did not have that much of a privilege to enter school. I'm quite new to this experience," I said, adding a shy laugh for effect.

Vivian gives me a look before she smiles at me sheepishly.

"It must've been hard to grow up without your parents, huh?" she says softly.

The atmosphere suddenly took a turn as I saw a glimpse of sympathy decorate Vivian's eyes. As much as I didn't like seeing people pity me, I never understood what was there to sympathize for.

It was not like I was lacking of any parental love, I had Mrs. Melrose to give that to me. I have been growing up with Mrs. Melrose for the past 16 years.

I had never looked for anyone other than her. She is my mother, father and my only family that is how I see her as.

Yet… Why do I feel strange?

I shook off these thoughts and looked at Vivian, determined to change the topic.

"Where should we go first?" I asked.

I could see a rush of realization cross Vivian's face. She swiftly shakes her head and turns forward.

"Uh-uh, let's go to the main hall first, let's start there," she says while chuckling nervously.

I just smiled softly and followed her.

***

We have been walking for quite some time now. We were still at the main building, turns out this school was even more imposing inside than outside. The structure of the building was a modernized Victorian style of interior design. It had either marble walls or marble floors.

'Is this really a public school? It looks too luxurious and expensive to be one,' I thought as I kept looking around.

"This is one of the many computer labs of the school. There are two on this floor, another three on the third then more on some other floors of the other buildings," she says.

'WTF?! That's a lot,' I thought to myself.

'Definitely suspicious. They must make a fortune here, this place is too advanced and luxurious looking to be considered as a public school. I bet the fees here are out of this world. How the hell am I even enrolled here?' I thought, suddenly doubting my ability to be here.

"How much is the tuition fee here anyway?" I asked.

Vivian turned to me with a puzzled look.

"There is none, this school is handled by the government, they don't require any fees and such," she says, as if it was the most obvious answer.

I was beyond confused and had no idea what to make of this.

'This is weirder than I've expected. What kind of school is this?' I thought. But, before I could dwell on my thoughts, Vivian suddenly pulls me to another place.

"Come on, Levi! We still have a long ways to go if we want to cover at least a quarter of the campus. Let's not dilly-dally," she says in pure glee.

'Well at least she's in a better mood than I am,' I thought.

But as she tugs me further, she wasn't paying too much attention to where she was going and eventually she bumped into someone by accident. Since I barely had control over myself because Vivian was practically dragging me along, I bumped into her too.

"Oh, sorry about tha—" she said pausing abruptly.

I was about to scold her and ask what was wrong, I then saw the expression of her face.

The both of us looked up seeing that it was a man who we bumped into.

"Mr. Cage! What a coincidence!"

Quote of the Chapter!!!

"Meeting a stranger can mean meeting a new challenge."

-Author-