Promptly after the opening ceremony ended, we were led to our respective dormitories. The difference in noble ranks were evident when it came to the lodgings provided for us. The commoners that were chosen for their high skill and talent in a certain area were brought to a smaller building albeit comprising around thirty percent of the new students. We, the Honourables, or plainly the baronies' children were brought to a slightly bigger building.
"Honourables, you will be staying here in this building and each of you will be having a roommate to share with." The teacher leading at the front said.
There were no complaints from the other students as if they had already accepted that this would be the outcome.
The teacher's voice sounded out again. "Of course, Males will be paired with males and females with females. We can't have scandals in our royal academy." He stressed on his words when mentioning the pairing. "Now, line up and we will each give you a room number and once you're there, get acquainted with your roommate. You will be staying with one another for the remainder of the year. That is unless something comes up and you have to be switched to a different room."
The students lined up as instructed and one by one they were given their respective room numbers and the keys.
It was my turn to receive the keys. "Your room number is 205, Honourable. Your luggage has already been sent there. The bathroom is situated here on the first floor and there are specific times when they are open. There are two bathrooms. One for men and one for women. Next!" The steward handling the room keys said. I took the keys and headed towards my assigned room.
The building wasn't anything grand and was rather simple. It had wood flooring and stone walls with the inside walls being visibly smoother than the ones outside. I got up to the second floor and looked for my room.
"Room 205… Here it is." I said as I saw the placard on the wall that says 'Room 205' as it hangs next to a door. I opened the door and saw that the room was a lot smaller than the room I had back at home. There were two beds opposite of each other to the left and the right, and two dressers next to it. There was one singular window in the middle opposite of the door.
I went in and saw that my luggage was indeed brought in there. 'Wow, they really are efficient. It's been only like 20 mins after the opening ceremony and they brought the luggages to the respective rooms already.' I thought as I took my luggage and headed to the right bedside dresser to organize my clothes.
Whoosh! The door suddenly opens and as I turn around I see a person bowing and his voice suddenly roaring into the room.
"My name is Daniel Miller, 14 years of age, son of Ralph and Helen Miller! I am from the Barony of Odrein under the Aspia territory. Pleased to meet you.!" He held his hand out as he bows, seemingly waiting for someone to shake it.
Shocked, I stared at him for a solid minute before heading closer and began to shake his hand. "John Colton, Barony of Eshon. Leprington Territory. It's nice to meet you as well." I replied.
He sets his back straight and I finally get a better look at him. He was relatively shorter than me. He had brown hair and brown eyes and wore the same type of clothing I did but instead of the red outlines that I had on mine, he had green instead. He had a very childish look, so much in fact that you would think that he would be at most 12 years old
"Woah! You're so tall!" Daniel unconsciously said what was in his mind as he looked up at me.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I guess I'm pretty tall for our age, hahaha." I laughed as I scratched the back of my head.
I then felt arms touching my arms and shoulders, as well as my legs. "You're so muscular as well! What do you eat? How do I get as tall as you? You're good looking as well!" Daniel starts bombarding me with questions, his nervousness from a while ago completely gone.
"Uh, Um… Wait a minute. One question at a time, please." I take a step back forcibly trying to keep a smile. 'Ugh, so I have to stay with this kind of guy?' I secretly thought to myself, annoyed at my luck.
"Oh sorry, I guess I got a little bit ahead of myself. What did you say your name was again." Daniel asked
'This kid…' I thought. My annoyance gets visible by the second. "My name is John Colton. From the Barony of Eshon." I replied.
"John Colton… Barony of Eshon… Ah! Wait, aren't you the troublemaker that would steal underwear from villagers and set it on fire?"
'What?! Did the kid before I took over his body actually do that?' Surprised, I hurriedly answered. "W-w-well, it's a long story… It was me, but it wasn't. It's complicated. But I changed now. No stealing of underwear for two months now" I said, putting my hands up to my chest.
"Hmmm, okay, if you say so. I just don't want to get into trouble this early." He said as he smiled at me and headed towards his luggage to fix his clothes. He turned back to look at me and said. "Oh, I forgot the most important part…" He walked closer to me and put his hand out. "Since we'll be roommates for a while, let's be friends and get to know each other better!" He gives a big smile.
"Oh, sure. Let's be friends." I grab his hand and give it a shake.
We spent around an hour talking and organizing our personal items when we suddenly heard a knock on the door. Daniel heads to open the door and a man with round glasses and a robe comes in.
"Honourables, lunch will be held in the cafeteria in 30 mins and 30 mins after will be your first class." He gave us the information on where the cafeteria and the classrooms will be as well as our respective classroom numbers and promptly left our room.
'Class right after we just arrived? This academy sure is strict.' I thought to myself.
"John! It seems like we'll be classmates as well!" Daniel said.
"Yeah, I guess we are classmates." I look at him. 'Class 1-4, huh. I guess that stands for freshman class 4…' I thought to myself.
We finished fixing our personal items and headed towards the cafeteria for lunch. The way the cafeteria was structured was the closest thing when compared to the ones I used to in my old world. It was a big space with a line for the food, where cook and chef assistants would hand you food on a tray and the big space was covered with tables and chairs.
After eating our lunch, Daniel and I made our way to our classroom. We went inside the classroom doors and saw 18 other students already seated.
"Oh, it's you!" A girl stood up and pointed at me.
"John!" Another girl's voice sounded out as she stood up in unison with the first.
Surprised, I looked at the two girls that stood up and immediately recognized both of them. The girl that pointed at me was the mysterious girl that bumped into me earlier this morning, and the other one was Luna. As soon as I came back to my senses, I saw that the whole class was staring at me as well.
"Huh? Me?" Daniel asked as he pointed towards himself. His question was then answered when the two girls started making their way towards me and stopped in front of me.
"Do you remember me? We met earlier this morning! I didn't get your name!" The mysterious girl said.
"Um… Hi, John. I'm happy we're in the same class together…" Luna said shyly.
They both seemed unaware of each other's existence and were solely focused on me. Flustered, I unconsciously took a step back before answering. "Oh yeah, Hi. I didn't get your name as well since you were running away as you said it." I looked at the mysterious girl and then looked at Luna. "Hi, Luna. I'm happy we're in the same class as well." I gave her a smile and gave her a pat on the head.
"Ehhhhh?!" Daniel's voice interrupted our introductions and dragged me to face him and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. "It's just the first day of class and you already know two beautiful girls?! Teach me your ways!" He pleaded as he let go looking defeated.
"Oh, you didn't hear my name when I said it? I guess it was pretty noisy and yeah, I was practically far from you when I was saying it. Soooo, I'll introduce myself again! My name is Hannah Williams!" She said energetically as she smiled at me.
'Williams… Hannah Williams… Wait… Isn't that the surname of the Earl of the Astus territory?' Shocked, I immediately gave a slight bow towards Hannah. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Hannah. I am John Colton from the Barony of Eshon. Please forgive me for not noticing earlier." I added.
"Drop the Lady part and just call me Hannah! We met by chance on the streets and maybe that means something. Let's be friends!" She said, putting her hands on her hips.
As I was looking at Hannah, I felt a tug on my sleeve and looked in that direction. I saw Luna pulling on my sleeves, seemingly asking for attention. She had her head down and one hand rested on the top of her head.
Realizing what I did a while ago, I froze for a second. "Ah! I'm sorry, Luna. I didn't mean to do that… I was just-"
"It's okay, John…" She says as her voice slightly quivers from embarrassment. "You can make it up to me if you sit next to me in class, okay?" She said as she looked up at me.
"Okay, okay… I'll sit next to you if there is an empty spot." I replied.
"Sit next to me too!" Hannah said after hearing our conversation and immediately went towards her seat and politely asked the people next to her to move. Being the daughter of an earl, one of the highest ranking nobles only below the marquess and duke rank, the others immediately gave way.
I looked to my side to look at Daniel, only to see that he was already gone. I scanned the classroom and saw that he already found a seat and sat down, still looking bewildered. I headed towards the seats that Hannah saved for me and Luna and sat in the middle of both of them.
A couple minutes of chatting with both Luna and Hanna, a woman entered the classroom. She was wearing semi-casual clothing. A vest, a shirt and a robe. She had glasses on and brought a book with her. She had a very mature body and was only slightly taller than me. She had blonde hair and black eyes.
"My name is Sasha Doyle and I am the assigned teacher to this class. You can call me Miss Doyle. I will be handling all of this class's problems and schedules. Teachers of the Royal Academy have been given special instructions to disregard noble rankings when it comes to teaching. That means that I won't care if you're the son of a baron or the daughter of the duke himself. We Royal Academy teachers answer to the King and the King only." Her voice echoed in the room.
"From now on, you aren't Ladies or Lords or Honourables. You are students of Froelia Royal Academy and I expect that you act like one. Understood?" She asked.
"Yes, Miss Doyle!" The class answered in unison.
"Now, let's begin attendance." She ordered.
As the names of the students were being called out, I thought to myself. 'It's been a couple of years since I've been in school. I wonder how this one will go.' I look to my sides, seeing Hannah and Luna. 'I guess this time around is going to be a lot more eventful.'