8 First City Highschool

Welcity State is one of the 45 states in the country. It is the 4th biggest state, composed of 58 cities and 4 of which are big cities.

First City is the Welcity State's capital, it is one of the most developed cities in the country. It is also known for its iconic 78-story tower called First City State Building and its high rise district in the city center.

Lance's apartment building is located on the west side near the Welcity river. There isn't much high rise building on the west side unlike the city center but it is still as urban as it gets. There plenty of apartment buildings in the neighborhood and a lot of commercial buildings near the main road.

Lance is in the park near his apartment building jogging. He maintained a steady pace even after running for an hour. He is now making a detour back to his apartment and saw an empty basketball court nearby. It is a public recreational park where people can go and play if they wanted,

He entered the court and took a break for a while. No one else is there apart from him as it is still early in the morning.

The cool fresh breeze blew past the place, Lance enjoyed it and relaxed his body.

"Hoo~ I feel sweaty already. I should really build up my stamina... If I want to play, I must be able to at least last."

Lance flipped his watch and checked the time. It is still half an hour before six. He wanted to finish his routine with a ball that would accompany him.

He placed his sling bag on the ground and took the ball kept inside it. He fiddled with the ball for a moment before he started dribbling it.

Soon, after he got satisfied with his handling and control, he stood in front of the foul line and started shooting. He began to drop shots after shots after shots before moving back behind the three-point line to practice his long-range shots.

Finally, he decided to throw the ball from more than 30 feet before noticing the time. He looked at the direction of the sun and begun to pack his ball and go back to his apartment.

"Eh?"

"!?"

While walking back to his apartment, he was suddenly splashed of water. Lance stopped on his tracks, stunned. He is now soaking wet.

The one who threw the water at him was also shocked as she looked at the soaking youth in front of her. She didn't expect to suddenly slip while carrying a bucket of water causing someone to be soaked in water.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to! I really am sorry." The girl just bowed again and again apologetically while saying her sorry.

Lance just looked forward before starting to walk away. He did not bother to get angry and just left the girl who is sincerely trying to apologize to him.

"Hey! Please don't go! Let me apologize! Sir? Sir!"

The girl noticed him walking away and called out.

Lance did not bother to stop on his tracks or look back. All he did was walk away and ignore the girls call. After gaining some distance away he suddenly sighed and murmured, "It's cold..."

When he entered his room, he quickly changed clothes and prepared to take a shower.

"I hope I won't catch a cold..."

...

Liza just came back from her morning routines and checked the time. It is already 7:23.

She reached out for the fridge and looked for a pitcher of water. And then, she opened the cupboards and took a glass to fill it up with water.

Suddenly her phone begun to rung, it wasn't a call but a ringtone for receiving a text message. It was unusual for someone to text message her as the people she knows usually calls her so it made her wonder who messaged her.

When she picked it up she saw that the message came from her nephew. It has been a week since her nephew separated from her to study at Welcity so Liza always felt glad when Lance contacts her.

'I'm off to school!'

"First the day of school already? Is it the fourteenth already?"

Liza just smiled and replied, 'Good luck!'

Then, she returned to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Who could it be?"

It is still early in the morning so Liza doesn't expect anyone to visit. She dropped everything that she was doing and headed towards the door.

Thankfully, even though her house is quite large it didn't take long for her to reach the door, as the kitchen near it.

"Who's there?"

She opened the door and saw two of her friends waiting for her.

"Good morning Liza!" "Hope we aren't bothering you!"

Liza smiled as she gestured them to go in. "Come on! You two are always welcome right?"

She invited her two friends inside of her house and lead them to the living space.

...

Meanwhile, Lance is currently fixing his necktie while walking on his way to school. Then when he looked at his watch he saw that he is running out of time. It is the first day of school today so he can't afford to make bad impressions right?

He quickened his pace as he headed towards the direction of the school.

Soon a huge white building came into view as Lance continued to run at a steady pace.

The school looked eye-catching. The buildings are based on practical design, maximizing the space and their function.

Unlike CSH, First City Highschool is a lot smaller but it is still a good school in its own right. Lance already researched the history of the school and new that it has gained quite a good reputation as soon as it was established.

From the vicinity, Lance saw some building still under construction but paid no heed. He assumed that it must be a new building for new classrooms.

While walking, a lot of students are approaching freshmen to promote their clubs. There are even banners and stuff to make their clubs attractive.

"What a lively school!"

Finally, he found himself in front of the bulletin board after squeezing through the crowd of students looking for their assigned classroom. Lance also looked at it and found his name.

"There it is Lance Peyn! ...Room 3, Level 2?"

He quickly left on the way to his room. He ascended the stairs and walked across a couple of rooms while repeating his room number.

After walking across 2-3 rooms he found room 3. He saw that almost all of the seats are already taken as if Lance is the only one missing. He bowed his head and walked towards an empty seat.

Lance looked around him and saw no one he is familiar with.

Somehow he remembered his previous life. He looked outside the window and watched the clouds move as if the sky is just a giant picture gliding along a straight path.

Honestly, he didn't like his Highschool life. It is the time when he started to fell deeper into depression.

Lance shook his head to clear his mind. He noticed the one seated in front of him looking at him while smiling.

"Hello, my name is Nathan! You are?"

"... Lance... Lance Peyn." Lance smiled lightly as he told Nathan his name.

"Say, are you also new here in First City?"

"Yes."

"Wow! We are on the same boat! I came from a neighboring city, my family moved here because of my father's job. How about you?"

"I came from Southridge State.", Lance replied after thinking of what to say.

"Southridge State!? Wait? ... That's at the other end of the country, right? Why move here?"

Lance kept silent and just smiled lightly lifting up his shoulder as if saying, 'just because'.

Nathan just stared at Lance as if he had just heard the most boggling thing.

Ignoring his overreacting neighbor, Lance once again looked outside the window.

Nathan lost interest when Lance started to doze off in his own world once again and then saw the pamphlet on Lance's desk.

'First City HIgh Basketball Club!'

He looked at Lance and thought, "He plays basketball?"