A Cafe Encounter

The sound of the school bell helped a bit in lessening the heavy atmosphere that had been created in the classroom but it was still not enough to make the students forget about the scene that had been imprinted in their minds.

Lines of students slowly exited the classroom and walked towards the school exit. Almost every one of them was busy with their thoughts and the only noise that could be heard were the cheerful voice of the juniors who were rushing towards the school's gate.

Seeing the happy, cheerful and carefree faces of their juniors who had no clue about reality made them remember their carefree days. Some of them even wished to forget everything that happened today and live like they always had until now but alas...the truth was too severe for them to willfully ignore and forget.

Today, a part inside all of them died here at school...and this death birthed the roots of responsibility within each of their souls. A responsibility which each of them carried towards their race. It was this innate sense of responsibility that made even the ones who were shivering with fright a few moments back clench their fists and do their best in fighting the battle against the alien race. 

Just like the rest, Andrey was also busy in his thoughts as he made his way towards the school's exit but soon a figure stopped right in front of him and said with a beaming smile.

"You're here, I was just about to call you,"

Andrey had almost forgotten Lisa thanks to what all happened after the lunch break. He had too much in his mind so having someone to clear it out with might prove helpful.

"So where are we going?" Andrey responded back with a smile as he said.

"Mhmm, there's a cafe nearby so how about it?" Lisa suggested.

"Fine by me," Andrey said as the two of them started walking towards their destination.

"I'm actually surprised that you still remembered about this after all the things that happened today," Andrey's words entered Lisa's ears.

"Same...I was quite mentally disturbed actually when I was exiting the classroom but the moment I was out the first thought that entered my mind was regarding my promise to you," Lisa's voice carried a bit of puzzlement.

"you must take your words very seriously if that's the case," Andrey said.

"You were able to infer that with just that statement? You're quite the observant type aren't you," Lisa said with a chuckle.

"So was I right?" Andrey asked.

"Yes, yes you were. It's a habit that my father had honed into me. It was only today that I realised that this habit has become like second nature to me," Lisa said with a chuckle which made her short black hair move back and forth.

The two of them soon arrived at the cafe and were lucky enough to get an empty window seat. Andrey ordered a regular coffee along with a vanilla pastry whereas Lisa ordered a latte along with a chocolate pastry.

As they were waiting for their order to come Andrey who was a little bit nervous because this was his first time being out with a girl said to get out of the awkward silence "It was quite a hectic day Today wasn't it..."

"Indeed...I have so many questions that I want to know the answer to...but the good thing is that we'll soon be able to access more content via the CoNet (Confederation's Net) regarding this." Lisa said with anticipation clearly written on her face.

"You seem more excited than fearful regarding this" Andrey couldn't help but comment.

"Fear? Yes, I'm fearful that's why I want to know more. Fear arises from the unknown so by consciously trying to know more about this issue I'm trying to fight it," 

Hearing Lisa's words Andrey couldn't help but nod as he said, "That indeed makes sense," While he said that he saw the server walking towards them from behind Lisa with their order in his tray. Andrey was quite delighted with the quick service and looked forward to it.

Seeing Andrey's gaze Lisa too turned her head to see the server. It seemed to be the server's first day as he seemed to become tense when the two of them looked towards him and it was then that his foot tripped over the edge of a chair and the scalding hot coffee which was placed in the cup fell all over Lisa.

A gut-wrenching cry immediately escaped her lips as she hurriedly covered her face and while at it she fell down on the floor from the intense pain but it seemed like that was not enough as the place where she fell was also laden with broken pieces of the cup that just broke and further agonized her suffering by piercing into her skin.

Andrey was watching all of this with an unbelievable expression and immediately rewound time not wanting to see her suffering any longer.

"Watch your steps!" Andrey shouted at the server who immediately noticed the chair that was inappropriately placed. He appreciatingly nodded towards Andrey as he made his way around it and served Andrey and Lisa.

"It's here!" Lisa exclaimed with happiness as she immediately took a bite of her chocolate pastry and exclaimed in delight.

"So good!"

Seeing her enjoy this moment compared to the graphic scene he had witnessed earlier Andrey once again became glad that he could prevent harm from happening to her but he couldn't help but wonder.

'She sure seems to have quite a bad luck...she almost disfigured her face in the morning and now this scalding incident,' 

"Why are you not eating?" Lisa's confused voice soon brought him back to reality as he said while chuckling.

"Nothing, I just got lost in my thoughts for a second," With that said he too dug into his pastry while enjoying his cup of warm coffee.

A few minutes later Andrey bid Lisa goodbye from the cafe as he walked towards his house. There was no one waiting for him at the house so he wasn't very concerned.

His father, since he was in the military had left for a couple of months for a mission and as for his mother, she left this world due to a heart attack when Andrey was in 5th grade.

By the time he reached home, it was half past five in the evening. He soon freshened up and changed into a fresh set of clothes. By the time he finished, it was already six in the evening and he was reminded of Mr Thomson's words.

He checked his phone and a message was sent to his inbox. It was an automated message sent by the Confederation

"Andrey Williamson, you have gained access to Tier 2 content on the CoNet. Please use the below link to access the Tier 2 version of CoNet through your device."

Upon clicking on the link he was soon brought to a page and an application named, "T-2" was soon downloaded to his device.

Upon opening the application Andrey realised that it was like a browser and it was giving him several hints as to what he should search for as a newbie to enhance his knowledge.

Andrey at the moment was interested in only one of them and soon clicked on it and a very detailed page soon opened up. Andrey's eyes moved from left to right as his finger continued to scroll up to keep pace with his reading speed.

There were several images showing examples of different categories of aliens and Andrey was going over them one by one. 

The aliens were popularly known as 'Reapers' and all Reapers were further classified into different categories depending upon their abilities.

Category A: They were much larger going up to ten feet in height. These reapers possessed lesser intelligence and relied more on their physical strength. A group of at least 5 low-class warriors was required to successfully deal with a single reaper of this category.

Category B: Reapers from this category were much more difficult to take care of than the earlier ones. Their size was comparatively less and was within the range of seven to eight feet. They were more agile and some of them were even capable of flight. A group of at least 5 middle-class warriors were required to deal with a single reaper of this category.

Category C: Reapers from this category possessed both strength and agility in a much greater proportion when compared to the other two categories. They were of the same height as humans. What made things difficult was their high intelligence which showed in their battle tactics. A group of at least 7 high-class warriors was required to deal with a single reaper of this category.

Category X: Reapers from this category were unable to be gauged and came in various sizes and shapes. A special-class warrior is called upon to deal with such cases.

There were several pictures of aliens available on the page and each of them could successfully invoke horror in any human's heart. By the time Andrey had finished going through all of them, his body was covered with sweat and his breathing had intensified.

He wanted to look into more things but he feared that his mind wouldn't be able to handle any more excess information so he stopped for the day. A growl from his stomach reminded him about his dinner and he quickly dialled his regular restaurant to place an order.