253 To the Event

The graduation ceremony ended when the boat docked once again at the port. Since it was pretty late, we all went our separate ways and headed home. The day after the graduation ceremony was technically our first day of summer break, but...that does not mean the days of relaxation can begin immediately. There is still summer homework that I must take care of.

Even though I don't care much on acquiring a high grade, finishing the summer homework is still a must do. It is a large portion of our grade, so if I neglected it, I would pretty much end up having an extremely below average grade to begin the next school year with. Even though I could bring it up later in the school year, I would rather have the peace of mind. Besides, I need to maintain at least an average grade and score around average on the entrance exam to be admitted to Nocsinis Imperial University, our affiliate college. Therefore, either way, I have to work on the summer work.

I am the type of person who has to get everything done before I can truly relax. I just cannot bring my mind to peace knowing that I still have homework assignments just laying around. That is the reason why I spent a large chunk of my first official day of summer break working on the assignments in my room. It would appear that Alvelyn was also doing the same thing, which is reasonable as our character are pretty much identical.

I started at around 10:30 AM, sitting at my computer desk with my PC turned on playing music through my wireless headset. I laid the homework packet neatly before me, writing into it with the mechanical pencil in my hand. When I would stop to think, I would lean back against my computer chair, twirling the pencil in my fingers. It's a thing I do naturally. I don't even put much thought into it.

My first day of break passed by, with the dull event of working on homework being the priority on the agenda, and so did the second day of break. However, with my hard work, I was able to finish all my assignments in one day.

With a smile of satisfaction on my face, I removed the finished homework packet from my desk and placed it into my school bag. I got up from the seat, with music still playing in my wireless headset, and walked my school bag over to an inconspicuous corner in the room. Since I am standing up, I leaned back and stretched out my back, taking in a deep breath as I did so. I glanced out the sliding glass window that lead out to the balcony, taking in the nighttime view of the city.

I walked back to my computer desk and grabbed my phone off of its surface. I checked the time, and seeing that it was around 10:56 PM, I decided to have a quick nighttime snack before I do anything else. With that in mind, I left my room, closing the door behind me. Standing in front of my door, I saw Alvelyn also leave and do the same. It would appear that she had the same intent as me.

As I walked over towards the living room area, I glanced over at the closed door leading into Loriana's room. Faintly, I could hear the sound of running water splashing against the tiled floor. She must be taking a shower at the moment.

Since Alvelyn's room was closer to the kitchen, she arrived before I did. When I finally approached the kitchen, I can see that she had taken out two cup noodles and had began heating up enough water in a pot for both. I glanced over at the packaging of the instant noodles she had taken out, looking at the picture illustration of the contents and made sure that it was one of my preferred flavors. Of course, it is to be expected that Alvelyn would get it right.

"Tomorrow," Alvelyn said to me as she ripped open the soup base and vegetable packagings for both cup of noodles and poured the contents into each cup. "Irina's event..."

"You know about that too?" I responded.

I glanced over at her and saw that she nodded.

"Are you planning on going?" she asked me.

"Why not?" I gazed at the pot of water. "It's not like I have anything better to do. You going as well?"

She nodded once again. I suppose we both share the same feelings in regards to the situation.

Once the water boiled, Alvelyn pressed the button and turned off the electric stove. She grabbed the pot by its handle and began pouring in enough water into both cups of instant noodles. She then grabbed one of the two foldable plastic fork that she had taken out of the two cups of noodles to set on the kitchen counter and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I muttered as I accepted the fork and the cup of noodles.

Without saying anything, she grabbed the other fork and the other cup of noodles. Then, the two of us began retreating to our rooms, walking towards the hallway where our bedrooms branched off on.

"Don't stay up too late," I said to her as she entered her bedroom. "It's bad for your skin."

Alvelyn softly chuckled. "Same goes for you."

"It doesn't matter to me that much," I smiled and said to her. "I'm a boy. I would prefer if my female self doesn't have poor skin conditions."

Then, she softly closed the door leading into her bedroom. Seeing that she had entered her own room, I took a few more steps down the hallway and to my room. After closing the door shut behind me, I walked straight towards my computer desk and placed the cup of noodles on the surface. As I waited for the noodles to soften, I opened up my web browser and navigated to a video streaming site and searched for shows to watch before I go to bed.

***

The next day, nothing really interesting happened in the morning. Everything was just as before, except it was even lazier due to my knowledge that I have no other assignments that I will have to worry about. The morning routine was like always, and I simply allowed time to pass until 2:45 PM, which was a few minutes before the Irina's movie event was to begin.

After getting dressed in outdoor clothing, I left my room and waited for Alvelyn to get dressed while sitting on the living room couch. I checked my phone, looking at the time. I didn't feel much anxiety as each second passed by, as I was never intending to arrive when the event were to begin. The event will go on for a while, so there is no need to hurry. Besides, if I arrive early, I have to wait in line to enter, so that is pointless.

When Alvelyn was finally ready, we notified Loriana of our intent to leave the house, and exited through the front door. The two of us walked over to the elevator and called it up to our floor. As we waited though, we heard the sound of the door opposite to ours open. Looking over, I saw that Muria was walking over to the elevator while dressed in a white open shoulder blouse and pair of black shorts. She didn't say anything to me nor Alvelyn, and simply stood next to us and waited.

"Where're you headed?" I finally asked after entering the elevator and riding it down to ground floor.

"That is none of your business," she answered in her usual way.

"Let me guess," I said in an amused manner. "Irina's event?"

"..." she remained silent, but that was also the evidence to me that I was correct. Although she doesn't admit it, she's awfully close with Irina. So her leaving her home at this time, it could only be for one thing.

"We're heading there as well," Alvelyn said.

Muria simply nodded in acknowledgement of Alvelyn's statement, not giving a response or saying whether or not she would like to go with us. However...I guess no statement is needed as we're all headed the same way. We first had to head to Lumina Station, and ride the train to Nocsinis where we will then make our way to the plaza where the event were to be held.

The journey to the location of the event didn't take long, amassing a total of about 25 minutes. When we did arrive at the plaza, there were security gates set up at the many entrances leading into the plaza, and even though we arrived later than the official start time, the line was still rather long. It took us about fifteen minutes until we were able to pass through security and enter.

Upon entering the plaza, we were greeted by crowds of people as the plaza was beginning to get packed with people. There were plenty of food stalls set up with vendors cooking and selling the food on the spot. There were also numerous merchandise stands where small plushies of sorts were on sale. It was a pretty lively venue in general, with plenty of people in attendance. However, since I have only just arrived and have no guidance, I have absolutely no clue as to what was going on. It would appear that the situation is the same for Alvelyn and Muria.

I glanced over at Muria and saw that she was looking throughout the crowd of people as they walked by. I'm guessing that she must be searching for Irina, but...that's easier said than done. How can anyone expect to find someone in this large of a crowd? It's near impossible, with the only possible chance being if fate tied the two of you together.

With a sigh, I began walking forward, hoping to get away from the crowd with Muria and Alvelyn and find somewhere that we can rest and gather ourselves. However, I immediately bumped into someone, surprising me and causing me to halt immediately in my steps.

"I'm sorry," a familiar voice apologized to me.

I looked at the girl before me, taking in her amber colored hair that was in twin tails with a white and black maid tiara as she lowered her head and bowed in an elegant and noble manner in apology. This girl dressed in a maid's outfit before me...she was awfully familiar.

"Irina?" I muttered out loud, not believing what had happened.