13: cassia

The sleeping quarters of the compound were relatively small and were located in the southern area of the Academy, surrounded on all sides by training fields and parks.

Inside the building, there was a large space designated for all the new sleepers, who were clustered together in various groups, occupying the entire space of the building.

Once inside the room, Grey realized two things.

First, everyone was well-dressed and carrying a suitcase, a duffel bag, or at least a backpack with their personal belongings.

It was evident that they came prepared, likely from home, sent by their families. So Grey, Sunny, and the silver-haired girl, who had arrived empty-handed and in simple police clothing, were not the norm as he had assumed, but in fact, a striking anomaly.

Come to think of it, it makes sense. Sunless and I have no backgrounds and came from the outskirts, not all sleepers must go through the same.

The silver-haired girl slowly walked away and disappeared into the crowd. Grey noticed Sunny was about to leave as well and decided to say something.

"Sunless, are you going alone?"

He looked at him with confusion before making a slight grimace.

"Yes, go and do whatever you want."

Without saying another word, he simply hurried away.

Not knowing what to do, Grey limited himself to observing the sleepers for a while.

He noticed that everyone was excited, some more than others. They all wanted to talk, whether about mundane things like food, music, or the latest fashion, or about their nightmares. They wanted to ask questions, they wanted to be asked questions.

It was all very curious to Grey; initially, he had thought that people like Gustav or Eos were the norm.

But after leaving his nightmare, he met Jet, Sunny, and now all these people. Everything was very different from what he had believed at first.

'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to try... talking to them.'

Hesitantly, Grey took the first steps and began to walk.

It's worth mentioning that his extravagant and very beautiful appearance caught the attention of both men and women, but strangely no one approached him.

'Should I start talking to them myself? No, it's better to just observe them, at least I'll know what they're talking about.'

After twenty minutes of Grey's careful observation of how everyone interacted with each other and easily eavesdropping on their conversations, he decided it was time to talk to them.

However, at the end of the room, in a secluded spot with dim lighting, he could see a beautiful girl.

The young woman was calm, delicate, modest, and very pretty. Her clothes were neat and tidy. Not very expensive, but tasteful. With her light blonde hair, large blue eyes, and exquisite face, she looked like a beautiful porcelain doll.

Looking around the girl, Grey couldn't help but notice how everyone around her avoided her and stayed away from the corner where she was sitting.

Many chairs placed against the wall near her and beside her were empty, all avoided by the other sleepers.

'What's going on? Is there something wrong with her or did she do something wrong?'

Grey observed the girl more closely and suddenly noticed something strange about her.

Her eyes were void of will; they moved like any other eyes Grey had seen, but hers had a strange quality that made Grey uncomfortable.

Her eyes had no focus.

'Is she... blind?'

...

Sitting down next to the girl, Grey noticed how the small girl turned in his direction with a confused expression.

"Hello? Is someone here?"

She was looking in his direction, but as he suspected, she wasn't seeing him. She was completely blind.

With a silent sigh of pity for the bitter fate that awaits this girl, Grey began to speak.

"Hi, my name is Grey."

Trying to imitate the things he had seen in these twenty minutes of being surrounded by curious and talkative young people, Grey started with something simple to avoid ruining things.

The girl was slightly startled before lowering her head a little, embarrassed by her behavior.

"U-uh, yes, hello. My name is Cassia."

Hesitating for a moment, Grey let a second pass before responding.

"Nice to meet you, Cassia. Do you mind if I sit here?"

The girl lifted her head again and "looked" in his general direction.

One could notice the hesitation she went through in the three seconds before asking, her voice low and gloomy.

When she spoke, her voice was low and broken. She stammered a little as she asked him a question.

"Aren't you disgusted to talk to me?"

He raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked more closely at the delicate face of the girl.

"Why?" Even as he asked, Grey already suspected the reason why she asked that question.

She was now more confused than before.

"Why? Because I'm blind! I'm practically a walking corpse..." Her voice began to break again as she lowered her head. "The others avoid me, so they don't have to talk to a dead person..."

'Well, how did those people talk to each other?... I don't think they talked about something like this... what to say...'

He moved his eyes from the blind girl to the other teenagers around, now not knowing what else to say.

Before things became uncomfortable between them, Cassia raised her hands to cover herself from Grey's gaze and began to babble.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to complain to you, I said it without thinking. Sorry for making you uncomfortable..."

As she spoke, her voice grew fainter and her face was covered in more shadows, highlighting her pessimistic mood.

His gaze returned to the blind girl as another sigh escaped his lips.

"No, you're not making me... too uncomfortable. Anyway, since it seems no one plans to talk to us right now, how about being friends? A teacher told me to get along with the other dreamers."

The girl slowly raised her head, a strange mix of emotions on her delicate face. But something in her eyes had changed slightly, perhaps the small light that was reflected in them at that precise moment.

"F-friends? Aren't you disgusted to be friends with a corpse?..." Her voice was still tinged with bitterness, only this time it had diminished, at least a little.

He shook his head, then, a moment later, embarrassed, he shook his head with words.

"No, I don't mind at all. Let's be friends for this month."

She tilted her head and a slight smile appeared at the corners of her lips.

"Alright, let's be friends."

Before they could say more, a bang, perhaps a slap, was heard in the distance.

Both turned their heads in the general direction of the noise, and Grey could see Sunny being slapped by a pretty blonde girl who had a look of disgust.

'What is he doing?'

After slapping Sunny on the cheek, the pretty girl quickly walked away while Sunny smiled like a pervert.

He walked a bit longer, being avoided by all the other dreamers, until he approached Grey and Cassia.

When he noticed them, his face with the perverted smile transformed into one of surprise before simply putting on a serious face and approaching Grey.

"Do you mind?" He asked as he pointed to the seat next to Grey.

He shook his head, and Sunny sat down beside him. Meanwhile, Cassia slightly moved her head and asked Grey:

"Grey? Who is he?"

Looking into her blue eyes, he answered:

"We came to the academy together, we woke up from our nightmares at the same time."

She nodded her head.

"Oh, I see. What's his name?"

Grey looked at Sunny, and he returned the gaze. A second later, he answered Cassia himself.

"My name is Sunless, but you can call me Sunny."

She smiled as she directed her gaze in Sunny's general direction.

"Nice to meet you, Sunny."

"Sure."

Silence settled between the three again, but before it could become awkward or heavy, someone entered the sleeping quarters and caught everyone's attention.

"I'm Awakened Rock, sleepers. Welcome to the academy."

***

Note: Uh, how was that? I'm not sure if the interaction was too forced or if it turned out decent 😅 what do you guys think? Oh, and don't forget to give power stones, it helps the fic get recommended more 😁

P.S.: I realized that when translating the text into English, Grey's thoughts change from italics to regular text 😅 so instead of using italics, I'll use 'x' for thoughts again.