Chapter 32: Chapter 31 - Traumas
The Compulsory Teaching Academies follow a military education system, so besides wearing standard military uniforms, good behavior in the classroom is also highly appreciated. So when Professor Richard arrives in the classroom, closely followed by that new student everyone is talking about, everyone rushes to their desks.
Mr. Richard is a middle-aged man with thick-framed glasses. With a serious face he was standing in front of the classroom, looking at the students with his sharp neutral eyes, and then he says as he places a stack of papers on the table:
"Good morning, class."
Immediately, everyone responds to him in unison, but with a tone of dismay.
"Good morning, professor..."
The discouragement does not surprise Richard. He has gotten used to it, for that reason, after clearing the hiccup in his throat, he just continues:
"Today we have a student returning to your classroom. Please, kid, come into the classroom."
As he enters the classroom, Kaito holds his head high.
The eyes of the class turn to the red haired young man who walks through the door frame almost touching it. Kaito is slender and has a good amount of muscle for his age, as well as having skin so beautiful that it could make girls jealous if most of them weren't too busy enjoying their eyes.
As he stands in front of the room, Kaito offers a shy smile.
The room fills with murmurs and whispers as the students look at Kaito, who is standing next to the teacher.
"Oh! The new guy is in our class..."
"Today must be our lucky day."
"My god... Gyah! I would have put on better makeup if I had imagined something like this would happen!"
The girls are flustered by Kaito's presence, while the boys emanate a bit of anger, confusion, and disinterest. No one seems to recognize him, but what really impresses Kaito is that even the bully who bothered him the most looks at him with a frown, not discerning or even remembering him.
"Who is this guy? And why are they like this?" The bully, whose name is Victor, inquires to his surrounding classmates at the back of the room.
Victor, a tall boy with a nearly shaved hair, always stands out for his imposing appearance. His white skin contrasts with his dark eyes, giving him an air of respect for the dress code, but in fact he is just lazy about fixing his hair and has shaved it off since he was little. However, what really impresses about Victor are his muscular biceps, which stand out under the tight dress code.
The colleague next to Victor shrugs his shoulders and answers his question:
"I have no idea who he is, but he's been making the girls go crazy since he came through the gate."
Even in the midst of all this confusion, as Kaito is having his instincts pushed to the max because his heart is racing, he listens to Victor and the other boy's conversation.
"Silence, please! I want everyone to welcome you warmly, but you don't need so much noise." The teacher says after slamming his hands on the table to get the attention of the room.
The murmurs gradually subside as the students turn their attention to the front of the room.
The teacher gestures for Kaito to approach and introduce himself. "Can you introduce yourself so they don't know you, please."
The redheaded young man steps forward, feeling the strange mood in the air. He stands in front of his colleagues, feeling everyone's gaze on him. "My name is Kaito, and it will be a pleasure to study with you."
The words come out of his mouth with a slight hesitation, but he does his best to maintain a confident posture. His name echoes through the silence of the room, and yet there is no reaction of recognition from the others.
Victor's face remains impassive, without a glimmer of remembrance. The bully's indifference strikes Kaito as a mixture of relief and disappointment. On the one hand, it is a relief not to be recognized as the boy who suffered bullying in the past, but on the other hand, it is painful to realize that no one remembers him, and it is shocking how a year and only a few months can simply erase someone from people's memory.
'So… they just forgot me, or it's just the appearance? But my name is the same…'
"Okay, Kaito is your classmate. Let's treat him with respect and help him reintegrate into our group." The teacher nods in approval and says, "Kaito, please find a vacant seat and settle in."
He nods and walks down a hallway of the classroom, feeling the curious looks of his new classmates. He sits in a chair at the back of the room, next to the window, as he tries to disguise his internal pride at not being recognized.
Victor is sitting a few desks away from Kaito and maintains his usual disinterested expression, his eyes wandering around the room as if everything there were irrelevant.
Kaito observes Victor briefly, but in fact there is no spark of recognition in his gaze, so he decides to conform. However, when Kaito comes to terms with the fact that he will not be recognized and looks to the window to his left, he misses the moment that Victor's eyes are aiming at him.
Throughout the class, Kaito remains silent, absorbing the information passed on by the teacher. He wants to take this new chance to start over and be recognized for his skills as a Duelist, so he needs to be much more studious and focused than he was before.
As the minutes tick by, he realizes that the change from Awakening has happened not only in his body, but also in his intellect. He doesn't have to try as hard as before to remember some things, nor does he have to struggle to stay focused on a boring subject,
'Looks like it was worth investing a few points in Intelligence.' Kaito concludes, satisfied, at the end of the first class time.
And it is in this interval between times, when Professor Richard leaves the room so that another can take his place, that Victor and his friends approach Kaito.
Kaito appears to be busy looking at the window while he is actually checking out the day's items that are in the Merchant's Store.
"Hey!" Someone behind Kaito says in an angry voice. "I've never seen you around here before! What did the teacher mean by 'reinstatement'? Have you ever studied here? Who are you?"
At that moment, Kaito looks back and sees Victor and the others looking at him from below.
Besides them, everyone in the room is looking at the scene as well, interested. Not to mention that there is also a crowd of people from other rooms gathering at the door of the room, which makes Kaito swallow saliva dryly.
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