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The students who there were mere little kids so as expected, their words and language were broken.
"And I'm Delta," she said softly.
Zeta blinked and smiled, his face lighting up. "Friends?"
"Yay!" Delta cheered, throwing both hands in the air like she just won something. Her little palms slapped together in a clumsy clap.
Zeta laughed and held out his hands. "Two-hand hi-fi!"
Their small hands met with a joyful slap.
"What so great?" a deeper voice spoke behind her.
Omega stood with his arms crossed.
"Why cheer?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.
"We are friends!" Zeta said proudly, then looked at Omega. "You be too! Friend?"
Delta giggled and skipped forward. "Here, Omega!" She raised her tiny hands for a hi-fi.
But Omega simply stepped aside.
Delta stopped, confused. Her hands froze in the air. She slowly turned to him, turning her head.
"Why… move?"
Omega looked down at her. "Call me senpai."
"Sen…pai?" she repeated, blinking.
"You no listen in class?" he said, almost annoyed. "It mean… older. I am older. You say it."
Then, mysteriously like a sudden clap of thunder inside her head, Delta remembered.
"In Japanese, senpai means someone older. Higher. You show them respect."
It was from the first lesson. She forgot most of it, but this… this was stuck somehow.
"Ohh… I say… senpai," she nodded slowly.
Omega smirked. "Good."
She looked around. "Where we are?"
Zeta shrugged. "Not know."
Omega just nodded beside him, quiet.
Suddenly, they all heard a sharp and loud bell ring. Their break was over.
They all ran off to their desks. This time, Delta noticed something sad.
She, Zeta, and Omega sat far apart, different corners of the room. She got a relief to know that where her only known people sat in the classroom.
The mentors came in. They were about to learn how to write.
Delta tried to copy the strokes. But her hands felt wobbly. The letters came out shaky and uneven. One girl beside her, named Pi, wrote super neat. She kept looking at the teacher's hand and miraculously copying it fast.
"She good…" Delta thought, her eyes wide.
When the lesson ended, the bell rang again. It was breakfast time. They previously got to eat at 6:30 am. Some light food to stay active till the first class.
They were led into a different big room. Long tables. Chairs sized for kids. The walls were the same navy blue, like the whole world forgot colors.
By 10:00 AM, they had their day's second meal. Soft carrots, orange puree, and water.
She looked left. Then right.
A boy and a girl sat beside her.
"Hi…" she said.
"I'm Alpha," the boy said with a shrug.
The girl blinked. "Row."
"Okay…" Delta whispered, smiling a bit.
They ate quietly. A mentor came by and said, "I will be teaching you guys how to use chopsticks. Try with me."
She held them like pencils. The food slipped.
"Why so hard?" she thought, frustrated.
More lessons followed. This time, a new classroom. Brighter lights.
They were introduced to chess and puzzles. Little wooden boards with shapes. Small cubes with colors.
Zeta solved one fast. Delta watched with open mouth.
"He smart," she whispered.
Later—1:00 PM—lunch. Real food. Rice, tofu, and a watery soup.
"Tastes weird," she thought, chewing slowly.
They ate silently again. No talking was allowed during food.
Classes went on till 3:30 PM.
In one class, a woman mentor was teaching them about how to understand time and calendars.
She smiled gently and said, "Today is 15th January, 2011. One year ago was 2010. Two years ago was 2009."
That word… 2009. It was a mouth slip from the teacher.
Something in Delta's head clicked. Old faded images. Low sounds. Nothing clear.
Just a street. Crying. A van?
"What…? What happened? Why I think of this?"
She closed her eyes but couldn't remember more. Just blurry fog. A big blurry fog in her brain.
By 4:00 PM, it was snack time. Biscuits. Baked potatoes.
The children ate for 30 minutes.
After that, mentors told them: "Go to sleep. You get to rest for two hours."
Delta returned to her room. She lay on her bed. The pillow felt soft now. Her head hurt a little, thinking of the fog and the van.
"Why I feel sad?"
She didn't know. But she slept.
At 6:00 PM, the alarm beeped again.
Time to wake up.
Wash face. Comb hair. Ready.
Tonight, they were told: "Match time. It will be a chess match. They had to show what they had learnt with competing each other."
Delta looked at her opponent. It was Omega.
"He is older. Maybe strong."
They sat. A timer placed between them.
But their board looked strange.
Omega's pieces were red.
Hers were blue.
"Which move first?" Delta asked a mentor, pointing at the board.
The mentor blinked as he was equally confused as the two kids. Maybe a different set got mixed. But they had to clear the game session in 30 minutes. So the mentor didn't have time to go find another set."…Red go first. Yes." The mentor said, choosing a random color between the two.
Omega smirked. He played e4. Delta barely remembered it. She answered d3.
He looked disappointed.
Delta moved all her pawns early, making the board crowded. Omega on the other hand used his pieces to circle around Delta's queen.
She later lost her queen. Then made three wrong moves.
"Checkmate," Omega said.
Delta crossed her arms. "I lose. But… bad rules!"
Omega laughed a little.
"You learn. One day," he said.
She smiled. "I try again later."
Dead Logic © 2025 by Muntasib_Ihshan789 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International