Goodbye, Ordinary Days

When Andrey was about to put his phone down and get started with preparing his dinner, he received a message from his father.

"Don't forget to start exercising you brat!"

A smirk appeared on Andrey's face as he too felt that now was certainly a time to change. From how much his father's been stressing on exercising all this while Andrey had realized that he would need to physically exert himself a lot in the warrior academy.

Now that the earlier 6 months had been shortened to about a couple of weeks whatever excuses Andrey had remaining were overwhelmed by his immediate need to get fitter and stronger.

"It's the end of taking things lightly…" Andrey said with a sigh as he went to the kitchen to prepare his dinner. His stomach had been continuously reminding him of its suffering by making constant grumblings.

Cooking was a hassle but at times, though rare, the food you've cooked tasted much more delicious than the foods which you could order from outside. That's what Andrey was saying to himself as he prepared a simple dish within half an hour and gobbled it all down.

With a satisfied burp, he stood up from his seat and after finishing the remaining chores he was finally lying on his bed with the lights off.

There were fifteen minutes left before midnight. After glancing at the time displayed on his phone a string of excuses slowly started slipping into his mind but he immediately shook them all away and with a firm and resolute expression set the alarm for four in the morning.

"God, please be with me and help me wake up at 4 tomorrow morning," Andrey prayed with his eyes closed and put aside his phone to get the few pitiful hours of sleep that he would be giving himself.

Beep Beep

A mind-numbing beeping sound woke him up from his slumber as Andrey squinted his eyes and looked at the bright screen of his phone that had been beeping and ruining his sleep.

Seeing that it was the alarm that he himself had set up before sleeping a frown formed on Andrey's face as his squinted eyes opened up slightly but not enough to make his drowsiness go away.

It was time for him to make a decision, to do or not to do.

Andrey's weak body was forcing him to give himself a break and try again tomorrow…who knows he might feel different tomorrow and would automatically get up to go for a run.

Just when Andrey was about to give in to his thoughts his father's text message popped up in his mind and managed to give him the push he needed to get up from his bed and go to the washroom to wash that drowsiness off his face.

An hour later an exhausted Andrey entered his house in a tracksuit. He had jogged for five and a half kilometres after performing a bit of pushup and stretching exercises. Though he called it jogging he walked more than he ran. It was a reality check for Andrey, something he very much needed to continue to exercise.

As Andrey sat on the floor with his weary body to remove his shoes, he felt his vision blur. This was the sign of him having truly exerted himself a lot. He rested a bit to catch his breath on the floor before dragging his sweat-covered body into the bathroom to freshen up.

Since he had a bit more time than normal Andrey took his time in the bathroom and enjoyed the cold shower which his body very much needed. He felt much better and refreshed after coming out of the shower and went ahead with doing the rest of his morning chores.

By the time he finished breakfast, it was six in the morning and he still had more than one and a half hours left before his school started so after taking in the time it would take to reach his school Andrey made a decision to catch up on his sleep while he could.

A few moments later…

"Fuck! I overslept!" Andrey rushed out of his house with his bag in hand as he ran towards his school with his already sore legs from the morning exercise. He couldn't help but curse himself for snoozing the alarm that he had set to wake up.

Luckily, he was once again able to arrive just a few minutes before the closure of the school gates.

"Look who's late again," Jacob teased as he welcomed Andrey who was the last to arrive in the class like always.

"You should really try to work on that habit of yours Andrey, in the academy I don't think they will let your habit of waking up late slide just like that," Jenny advised with a hint of concern.

Seeing the two of them he was once again reminded Andrey of what Zack had told him the day before and the thoughts that had been suppressed until now once again came out.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked as Jenny too looked worryingly towards Andrey thinking that her words might be the reason for Andrey's sudden change of mood.

"Well…" Andrey was about to explain everything to the two of them about how he was going to be leaving for the Academy within two weeks but he was interrupted by Miss Jane's sudden entrance to the class.

"Good morning students," Miss Jane's voice sounded out as cheery as always which rose the drowsiness from the eyes of many students.

"Oh, Andrey the Vice-principal told me that she wants to meet you right now," Miss Jane said when her eyes caught Andrey's figure.

"Alright, I'll be going then," Andrey waved towards Jacob and Jenny's confused faces as he left for the Vice-principal's office.

'I'll just tell them about it later,' Andrey thought to himself while he was making his way towards the office.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Andrey asked after knocking on the door three times.

"Yes, come in Andrey," The vice principal's familiar voice sounded out and Andrey entered the room.

He couldn't help but raise his brows a little in surprise as he found that Zack was present in the office as well. He wanted to ask him why he was there but the conversation he had with him yesterday soon replayed in his mind and he figured out the reason as to why Zack was there.

 "How are you feeling Andrey? Does your body feel any discomfort after yesterday's test?" She asks with a hint of concern.

"No ma'am, I'm totally fine," Andrey replies in a cheery manner.

"That's good," Mrs. Smith said with a sigh and continued, "Andrey, I've been in contact with Instructor Ron the whole day yesterday discussing your matter. If things were up to me then I would have vouched for you completing your whole term in school in a normal manner but since the orders have come from the higher-ups of the confederation, I don't have much say in it…"

She paused for a breath and continued,

"You've successfully graduated from high school as of today as per the orders which I've received from the higher ups and you no longer need to come to the school, Instructor Zack told me that you're currently trying to solidify your partially formed core so I hope that you use this time well so that the challenges you would be facing at the Academy won't overburden you,"

"I- So today's my last day at school?" Andrey couldn't help but ask as he felt his heart tighten up a bit.

"That's precisely so," Zack replied in the vice principal's stead and continued, "Solidifying your core is a top priority,"

"I understand," Andrey said while looking towards the ground. He knew that he had no say in this matter and even if he said that he wanted to spend time with his friends till the end of the school they would not agree to it. As a result, Andrey just expected his fate with a heavy heart.

It was not that he lacked courage but he clearly remembered reading a clause in the contract he signed which clearly stated that if he succeeded in the test then he would be labelled as an "experimental subject" and would be required to follow all the instructions of Zack, his instructor, who had a leading role in this 'Project' which Andrey was a part of.

Mrs. Smith told him some stories and gave him some tips related to how he should go about living his life in the Academy before finally relieving him.

When he exited the Vice-principal's office Andrey's mind was too preoccupied and he had no intention of going back to the class. So, he decided to roam around the school's grounds until his mind was right.

A few students were having their PE and spending time on the field but the number was quite small so Andrey wasn't disturbed by all the noise and was just walking aimlessly beside the field. He overheard a conversation between a group of boys while he was at it.

"I miss Sister Yule so much. Even though she was very strict she was still the most beautiful nurse that had been assigned to our infirmary,"

"Facts! It's a pity that she left so suddenly…I wonder why she left,"

"If I remember correctly she was here to complete her internship and has now gone back to her college," Another student chimed.

"Sister Yule's gone aswell…" Andrey couldn't help but think whether the people he knew would be talking about him in this manner after he left or not. He didn't dwell on this matter for long as he continued with his walk to refresh his mind.