Morning Commute

With my morning now back in session, I left my house and used the elevators to descend down to the first floor of our building at around 8:00 AM, joining the crowd of morning commuters. It was about late rush hour, meaning that although the streets and train stations aren't at its busiest, it is still very busy and crowded.

When I arrived at Lumina Station, the station I used to commute to school, there was a steady current of people entering and leaving. I followed the crowd that was entering the station, passing through the ticket gates in a fast and efficient fashion by using the commute pass on my phone instead of a ticket in order to not break stride. The large crowd made it so that the air around me was warm and stuffy, making it quite uncomfortable even though the air conditioning within the station was on full blast. However, the altitude difference the escalators provided allowed for a brief moment of respite as the air became less congested and allowed me valuable access to fresh air. In the end, this brief respite has to end and the escalator has to reach its destination, meaning that I will once again have to fight through the crowd.

Once I reached the platform for the elevated railways, I walked down the platform in search of the shortest line in hopes that the train car of that line will be less crowded than the others. I joined in line near the end of the platform. Not too far from me were vending machines pressed against the wall with a few benches on the right of it that was there to offer a brief moment of respite for those that are fatigued. To the left of the vending machines was the guard rails that is placed there in order to prevent anyone from accidentally falling off the edge of the elevated platform.

A gentle breeze blew by, entering the platform by the opened walls in the direction where the elevated railway entered through the middle of the two platforms. This wind, somewhat warm due to the summer sun that shined above but was still brought with it a comfortable feeling as it was cooled by the perspiration on my face. At that moment, I thanked everyone around me for their good hygiene for there were no unpleasant smells to be smelled. Rather, the different perfumes and colognes that the people wore created a mixture of pleasant scents.

Soon, the soft humming sound of the commute train became audible, and from the opened walls to my right, I could see the commute train approaching the station. The train soon slowed down to a full stop as it entered the station. Following the stop came the doors sliding open and the people within train cars slowly started to filter out of the opened doors. After the passengers that wanted to exit exited, those of us that waited squeezed onto the train car, hoping and praying that it won't be very crowded. However, we all knew that this could only be a dream and that the train cars will always be crowded during rush hour, no matter if it is early, peak, or late rush hour.

The train soon started once again following the ringing of the departure bell on the station platforms. The doors slid close and the train car started vibrating as it rolled down the rails. A soft humming sound, in addition to the audio of the news channel that was playing on the screen on the small section of the wall above the doors, filled the interior of the train car. Most of the people that were commuting to work or school all were on their phones as they awaited to arrive at their destination. Some had their earbuds plugged in, listening to music, and others stared at the screen of their devices doing whatever they were doing. As for me, I had my earbuds in my ear as I listened to music on my phone.

After the commute train stopped at a few more stations, the train car became less crowded as rush hour slowly ended. The space in the train car became more available, although no seats were. I didn't mind standing. Instead, I was grateful that I didn't have to squeeze in the large crowd for the rest of my ride.

I looked out the window of the train car at the city outside. Concrete buildings passed by as our train made its way to its next station. Soon, the jungle of concrete buildings cleared, revealing a wide, blue river whose water sparkled as the sun's rays shined down on it and was reflected off of it. This is the Helliger River, the biggest river that ran through Palisia. This river led to the Oceanus Leshius and near the mouth of the river is the small island of Palim that is connected to the mainland by a bridge.

The train that I'm on was crossing the river using the Halfen Bridge, a famous bridge in Palisia that lights up when night time comes. Due to the floor I live in, I could see this bridge, along with the beautiful skyscrapers on the other side of the bridge, from the balcony of my house. The Halfen Bridge is divided into three layers. The bottom layer is for automobile traffic heading to Lumina, the second layer is for automobile traffic heading to Nocsinis, and the third and top floor is for the commute trains. The bridge is built wide enough in order to accommodate for the large amount of traffic and to allow for multiple railways to pass through.

The train soon arrived at Nocsinis Station, which is where I must get off in order to change lines. The platforms for the elevated railway wasn't as crowded as the one at Lumina Station earlier, so making my way to the escalators and down to the ground floor wasn't too difficult. I scanned my phone on the scanner to pass through the ticket gates, and I proceeded in the direction of the metro. I used the escalators to descend underground, and there, I didn't have to wait since the train that I was going to take had arrived in station just on time and as expected. I got on the train, and to my surprise, there was a seat available. After sitting down, I relaxed my legs as I looked up at the screen that announced the next station that the train was going to arrive at. Now, all I have to do is wait for the station closest to my school.

The train soon arrived at my desired station and I got off with a small crowd of other people, some of which wore the same school uniforms as me. After leaving the station, I began casually walking towards my high school, knowing that I won't be late. The closer I got to my school, the busier the sidewalks became. More and more students dressed in the school uniforms of Nocsinis Imperial High School appeared and all headed in the same direction. Once at school, I proceeded to enter the main building and up the stairs towards my classroom where I rested my face on the cool wooden surface of my desk in order to escape the heat.

With myself firmly planted in my seat, that marked the end of my morning commute to school. I stared at the screen of my phone with lethargically, noticing that it was only 8:25 AM and that there was still five minutes until class began. These five minutes are extremely valuable to me. They marked the only true respite of my morning since after my morning commute comes the long hours of school which will last until 3:30 PM.

"Looks like you're rotting away as usual."

The sound of the chair sliding against the floor next to me signaled the arrival of Muria Edel. She's still the same as before, voice cold and expressionless as she spoke to me.

"Yeah yeah," I responded in a nonchalant manner, allowing my voice to drag out as I yawned.

"..."

Sensing a weird silence, I glanced over at her and realized that she sat there glaring at me with a look of disdain.

"May I help you?" I asked in a cautious manner, careful to not provoke her.

"Nothing," she said, turning her head away from me and so as to focus on the front of the classroom. However, she appeared to be in a foul mood for some reason...

Seeing that she's not in the mood to make a brief conversation, I didn't force it. I mean...usually, if not out of necessity, the two of us would rarely talk, so her not wanting to talk to me is an anticipated reaction. She'll probably get around it later on in the day or something.

The bell soon rang, signalling the start of class. I took out my notebook from my bag and placed it on the desk. I leaned my face on my left hand as I sat there, anticipating for the start of the boring math class of the day. With weary eyes, I stared out the window while twirling my mechanical pencil in my right hand. However, surprised murmurs from my classmates soon perked my interests, causing my vision to be directed back towards the front of the classroom.

There, instead of Mura announcing the start of homeroom, a boy with silver hair stood next to her. The boy had a friendly smile on his handsome looking face as he stood before everyone in the classroom.

"Everyone," Mura started speaking. "this is the new transfer student that will spend the rest of the year learning with you all. Go ahead and introduce yourself."

The boy lowered his head slightly and smiled in a friendly manner towards everyone within the classroom. When his surveying gaze scanned over me, his smile slightly changed to express a more intimate friendliness. When my eyes met his gaze, the pencil that I twirled in the fingers of my right hand fell onto my desk as my eyes opened wide in shock.

"Hello everyone," he began introducing himself. "My name is Loyd Aksel Genose."

A muffled series of giggles and chattering was audible from some of the girls in my class. This chattering between them wasn't a negative one. Rather, it was more out of excitement.

"You may sit in that seat right there by the window at the end of the row," Mura said to the transfer student. "The one in front of that gloomy looking boy."

Loyd began walking over towards the empty seat before me that Mura had assigned his seat to be in. As he walked towards the seat, he quietly greeted those in his way as he passed by them. This in turn engendered excited chattering from my classmates.

"Hey Alev," Loyd pulled the chair out from underneath the desk and sat down. "Nice to see you again."

"Right," I nodded in response.

Within me, there existed a faint glimmer of happiness that was also laced with a strong uncertainty. This uncertainty is because Loyd knows my secret, the secret that I've kept hidden to the best of my abilities.

"Long time no see, Loyd."