Chapter 6: Halsey Economics

Dear esteemed new students,

On behalf of Halsey Academy, we extend a warm welcome to you. We are thrilled to have you join our academic community, and we are looking forward to meeting each one of you. As part of our orientation program, we are holding an entry ceremony in the grand hall of the administrative building. This ceremony is scheduled to take place on the first day of your classes.

The entry ceremony will provide an opportunity for you to meet your peers and to get acquainted with the academy's policies and procedures. You will also receive important information about the academic programs, extracurricular activities, and support services that are available to you as a student at Halsey Academy.

Please note that the academy has a strict dress code policy, and all students are required to wear a uniform to enter the academy's buildings. However, we would like to inform you that you will not be required to wear a uniform on the day of the ceremony. We will provide you with further information about the academy's dress code and other important rules.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 8:00 and welcoming you to the Halsey Academy community.

Sincerely,

Ace J. Jackson

Halsey Academy Director

As soon as I finished reading the announcement, I got a text message from Sophie.

"Have you read the announcement?"

"Yes! Sounds very exciting"

"It really does! I wonder what the place will look like"

"I think the event will answer our questions haha"

"True"

"Let's meet outside the venue before it starts!"

"Okay, that way we'll be together during the event"

After sending that last message, my doorbell rang. I opened my room's door and saw a familiar face.

"Zenon! I finally meet up with you" William looked really worried about something. 

"Hey Will! What's up?

"Oh, I rang your room earlier but you didn't answer. I was worried because we hadn't exchanged contact information!"

That was true, we split up before getting our phones. "I went out to do some shopping and met someone at the store, she's a first year too."

"You're making friends?! I mean, that's great, it's just unexpected coming from you."

"I thought I'd try being a little more outgoing, you know?"

"Ahh, I'm happy for you! I assume you've read the message?" He looked genuinely happy, but also curious.

He didn't have to specify which message he was talking about. "I have, I have. An entry ceremony, huh? Sounds exciting."

William looked surprised. "I thought you'd comment on how it will be full of people you don't know."

"I hadn't really thought about that. By the way, I'm going to meet up with my new friend before the event, wanna come?"

"Sure, I can bring Hannah too!"

I didn't know anyone called like that. "Hannah? Is that a new friend of yours?"

"Ah, I met her at the station! We both live on the 7th floor too. My room's 705 by the way."

That meant our rooms were really close to each other. "We can go to our classes together in the mornings!"

William looked excited to start classes already. "Also, have you eaten lunch yet? I met an upperclassman and he told me about a few good places to eat in the city"

"I actually haven't, wanna go grab a bite?"

After that, William and I went to "Green Bites" and ate all kinds of veggie food. It was really delicious.

Apparently, William hadn't bought any clothes or kitchenware, so we went to the stores to get some basic things. 

I also bought some essential ingredients, since I planned to cook by myself most of the time.

We were able to carry everything to our rooms, and I sat on my chair looking at the window.

The day was ending and the sun was setting. I got a message from Sophie.

"Hey, want to have dinner together?"

"Sure, but I was planning on making some pasta, want to eat at my room?"

"Okay, be there in 15 minutes"

I had just enough time to prepare dinner for us when Sophie arrived.

Conveniently, rooms came with two chairs and a small table in the kitchen.

"Your room looks exactly like mine!" said Sophie when she entered my room.

"Well, we've only just moved in." I answered.

She smiled and looked to be slightly curious. "So are you planning on decorating it?"

"Well, we do get a monthly allowance from next month on, so I wanted to buy a few things little by little."

Sophie nodded. "That's true. But it did seem like we got a pretty big amount of money at the start."

That was true, I still had about 80,000 Halsey Coins in my account.

"I did think it was a lot of money based on what I've spent, but I'd say it's best to spend as little as possible." I proposed.

"That's true. So that's why you decided to eat at home today." 

"Yup, I'd say it's likely most people will be going all out on their spending, so I'd like to avoid that myself." I explained.

"I've also been exploring, apparently it's also possible to transfer money to other students." She hinted.

"That'd make splitting up payments really easy, but you could also use it to borrow money." I suggested.

Sophie then told me something I hadn't thought about yet. "That's right, it's likely you could even help students study and receive money in exchange."

That'd be possible, sure, but I didn't really get why you'd want to do that.

Getting the most money possible? It sounded like a fun challenge, but I didn't really have a reason to do it.

It also seemed like a lot of work, and it was still unknown how time-consuming this school was.

Sophie and I finished our dinner and I walked her out of my home. 

Every time I've been at the hallway outside, I hadn't seen anyone else, which made sense since the only reason you'd be at the hallway was for a short time.

While Sophie was leaving, I caught a glimpse of 4-5 people entering the elevator. They were chatting happily, so I'm guessing they were going out to eat dinner.

I waited for Sophie to leave and went to the stairs. It had caught my eye that I lived on the top floor and there were still stairs leading up.

Just like I imagined, the rooftop was accessible. I felt the light wind on my face, it was the end of summer, so it wasn't cold, but the breeze felt refreshing.

It was really a beautiful sight since I could see the whole city from up here.

I leaned on the wall and thought about tomorrow. It was a really important day, but was I ready?

The nervousness started to build inside me, but at the same time I did want to take it head-on.

I headed back to my room. I wanted to get as much sleep as possible, since I assumed tomorrow would be a tedious day.

Everything was ready for tomorrow, I scheduled to meet with Will, Hannah and Sophie at the dorm's hall to head together to school.

And after having made sure I was ready, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.