Chapter 268 - School Officially Begins… Sort Of

Episode 261- School officially begins… sort of

A week later

Eugene braided a small section of her hair in front of the mirror so that it did not constantly fall on her face the entire time. When she was done, she got up and walked out of her room where Camille was already up and waiting. 

Today is the day school sort of officially begins. The day all first years gather. The first school day… without classes. 

Camille and Eugene walked out of the dorm together and to the first-year assembly line. As they got closer to one group of students, Eugene could see them shifting away as if they were scared of them. Of course Eugene did not stop to question and continued walking forward with Camille. What Eugene didn't expect was for the same things to happen over again and again. The commoners would look scared as they moved aside however the nobles would simply look away and move as if they wanted to ignore her entire presence. This happened to everyone they passed by which in the end made Eugene raise a brow, however, still wasn't going to do anything about it. 

Camille on the other hand was anxious. She could tell that all the students were scared of Eugene and not her. She was deeply concerned over this and it brought her a very negative feeling. She wanted to ask why everyone is acting the way they are acting but when she saw Eugene moving forward as if it did not concern her, she chose to stay quiet and just follow Eugene. This was what she had learned from a week of living with her and it was that Eugene was a leader she should follow. There was no need to do anything else and everything will be okay if she follows Eugene. She already placed her complete trust in Eugene which is why there was no need to question anyone if Eugene didn't even care. 

They both walked forward and reached the front. Because everyone had moved away as they walked, they ended up being in front of the assembly hall without realizing. They both took a seat, and waited for the student assembly to begin. 

"Aernest." Eugene muttered, making Camille turn to her. 

"Excuse me?" She asked when suddenly someone tapped on her shoulders. She turned around and her eyes immediately widened. She turned to Eugene again and then back to Aernest. 

"Good morning, Camille, sister." Greeted Aernest before taking a seat behind Eugene. Watt and Ppa, Aernest's friends who had eaten with Eugene and Camille on their first day also greeted the both of them as they took a seat. 

Soon the hall began to fill out. Two people took a seat right beside Eugene however she didn't care who those people were and didn't even bother to see who they were. She only stared straight at the podium and waited. 

It didn't take long before the assembly hall closed and a group of adults walked to the podium. The teachers gathered at the podium and an older man came out from this group of teachers and stood in front of the teachers. 

"Greetings, first years. Welcome to the Academy of Xenperia, I am your principal who is in charge of managing the academy." He began as he carefully observed the students from left to right. 

"It is very nice to meet you and we are glad to have you here." He said before taking a long pause.

"There may have been 'stupid' and 'dumb' decisions made on your second day of school, however, I hope you realize your faults now and learn that the academy is a place to study. Who you are, where you're from play no part in education. Please take note of this and strictly comply with the academy rules. If you do not comply with these rules, you will be reinforced with strict consequences, especially if you do something stupid like that again." The principal's voice was soft and at ease however, his words were harsh which of course brought fear to the students. Especially the noble students who had excluded the commoners from the orientation. 

"Now. Please do your best to study as knowledge is power and will bring you your future and give you the things you desire. There is nothing more powerful than knowledge which will be what you will do for the next couple of years here. Please try your best, and congratulations on beginning your next journey!" The principal stepped back and clapped. The teachers immediately clapped and followed along which prompted the students to do so as well. 

After clapping, a male teacher in his 40's stepped up and continued on the schedules for today. 

"Today you will be given a sheet with some questionnaires and fill out the courses you want to take. After you fill these out, you may continue to explore the academy or you may go back and rest." He paused for a second before continuing, "When tomorrow comes, you are to head to this hall again and complete your entrance exams and courses exams. We will be testing out your prior knowledge and your knowledge of the subject. Depending on this test, it will determine which level you are and which class you should be in." The teacher finished and stepped back. 

After that, another round of teachers came and handed the students a stack of papers to pass around. 

Eugene filled out what she wanted to do without hesitation and once she was done, she waited for Camille to finish before heading out together. They handed the teacher their sheets and waited for Aernest and his group. When they came out, they headed to the canteen. When suddenly Camille spoke out, 

"Instead of the school's food. Would you like to eat my cooking instead?" She turned to Eugene and asked with sparkling eyes. She had been complimented by Eugene several times a day for the whole week that her confidence level reached its peak. It made her love cooking, especially for her roommate, which was why she asked. 

Eugene thought Camille's sparkling eyes reminded her of soda because they sparkled so much. But she shook her head, "People of the opposite gender are not permitted to enter or exit each other's dorm unless they have been registered together from the beginning." She recited the academy rules. 

"Oh…" Camille looked disappointed as she turned towards the canteen again. 

Watt and Ppa saw this and stopped Camille, "Wait. We will go ask the teacher." They said before disappearing somewhere else. Eugene turned to Aernest with a raised brow and Aernest laughed, 

"They like to disappear like this all the time."

Eugene turned around and didn't say anything any further. After a while, footsteps could be heard running towards them.

"The teacher said we couldn't cook in the main canteen, however…" The moment he said  Eugene turned to him and glanced at the shiny metal in between his fingers. 

"We can head to the abandoned canteen and cook there!" Watt smiled as he waved around the key. Camille was excited and immediately rushed beside Watt, "Then let's go!" She said as she walked forward. 

Eugene and Aernest followed Watt, Ppa, and Camille who were walking ahead. What no one knew was that their conversation was loud and audible to one noble group who was walking past them.

"Is it here?" Camille said as she glanced around the room in wonder. The walk from the new canteen to this canteen was far, however it was still closer to their dorm than the new canteen which was great. On the way, they went grocery shopping before heading to the abandoned kitchen. 

"The teachers said we can use it for however long we want to." Said Watt who strolled around as if to count the chairs and dining table in the room. It was not as big as the canteen that fits 150 first years, however, it was big enough to fit 50 people. Fortunately, it was clean and maintained even though it was abandoned. 

"Then we can eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner here together!" Exclaimed Aernest who looked at Eugene with big and sparkling eyes. 

Eugene immediately shook her head, "You want to overwork Camille to death?" Not to mention, she was her exclusive chef whom she paid a salary to. Food is not free for those who don't do any work, was the look on Eugene's face as she stared at Aernest with a disapproving look. 

Aernest had a look of realization, "Then every dinner?" 

Eugene's face still contained disapproval as she shook her head. At this time, Camille was already in the kitchen cooking with Ppa who volunteered to help. 

"I will approve onc-. Twice a week, when Camille doesn't have much school work,  no more than that." Eugene held her palms up at Aernest to tell him that there will be no further discussions on this topic. Aernest looked at Eugene with disappointment on his face but Eugene still insisted.

All this while Watt had been listening in to Eugene's and Aernest's conversation and the discussion over food.. He had heard of rumors of Eugene being scary, and yes she was scary due to her minimalist expression on her face, however, she was the most humble aristocrat he's ever met in school.