Thanks to his scholarship, Thomas was able to get a dorm room but his rank in the exam made it so that he could only claim the smallest room available. The room was around 14 meters square, it had a desk, a small kitchen, a bed with a small table and a bathroom. In a way, it reminded him of his first room when he started university. Except this one was cleaner and shinier. He moved in 3 days before the beginning of the school year and spent an entire day moving in and exploring. He also had to contact the police to inform them that he was moving and had to clean and give back his motel room. Thankfully, he was now free from his regular check up with the police and they seemed happy for him. Le Plain and Pierre even sent him a card congratulating him, Le Plain kept calling him a "Little shit" but it felt nice.
I should do something for them too, thought Thomas.
He felt indebted to them and Thomas didn't like owning someone. He thought of making a cake since they are easy to share and it was the togo gift his mother always gave when someone helped her. Thomas noted it in his calendar making sure to not forget.
He was not the only one to move in the dorm. Many students from many backgrounds were coming in. You could easily see who ranked where based on their dorm and attitude. Tension was already steering between people. He was already hearing talk about nobility and the common people. This made him frown since he didn't want to be part of whatever was brewing. He also attempted to strike up some conversation but they were quick to brush him off since the ranking was made public.
"Sorry my friends are calling me."
"Yeah no, don't talk to me ."
"Who do you think you are ?!"
It was not a nice experience for his self confidence but it also gave him a lot of information. Apparently, he only did 50% of the exam unlike the others since he didn't do the practical magic exam and it also explains the additional classes he had on his timetable. This was good and bad since he had to work more but this excited him because he really wanted to throw fireballs around.
He had now two days before the school began officially. He planned to explore and try to get a side job to not only rely on his scholarship. He saw some notices hanging at the entrance of the school. Both the cafeteria and the library were looking for workers but they were missing some information so he needed to get them. This is why he was walking into the cafeteria and also because it was lunch time.
He grabbed a trail and made his way to the waiting line. He was lucky his scholarship allowed him to get 2 full meals per day at a reduced price. He made sure to get a full balanced meal each time. As he was about to pay, he spoke up, interrupting the person behind the register.
"Hello, huh.. sorry to brother you but I saw the notice about the position. I got a couple of questions about it."
He felt his throat tighten at the attention his question brought him. He was alone in his line to pay but the people of other lines heard him and frowned at him. He didn't need to guess why.
"Sure. The position is still free. What do you need?"
"Well… The notice said nothing about the hours and the pay so…"
"Mmhh I don't know about the pay but the hours will be at lunch time. This is when we need more help" the staff member replied."Your main duty will to serve the food and clean out the plats after the service, so you will start around 11:00 and finish around 14:00"
This made Thomas frowned, the hours clashed with his schedule.
"Can it be negotiated ?" he asked hopefully.
He saw him shake his head. "Sorry, the manager was clear on that."
Chuckling Thomas paid for his meal. "No problem, have a nice day", he said, then left toward an empty table.
People were giving him strange looks as if they were asking why he was here. He swallowed nervously and walked toward the back of the cafeteria and sat down on an empty table. He stared at his meal, pulled out his phone and ate while scrolling the news. Some of them made him frown, the recent conspiracy theory didn't die out but kept coming back. He was starting to think it was either a very bad joke or a whistleblow.
His moment of peace was interrupted by a trail being put on the table. It startled him and caused him to sharply look at the origin of the sound. He was already regretting his action since the person who did it was no other than Luke Evans, the hero of this story.
Luke Evans was a tall man with broad shoulders and a handsome face in a perpetual scowl. His eyes were a deep ice blue with short deep black hair. He had all the characteristics of a handsome man. A beautiful face and a strong body. Like all other protagonists, he also had a lot of talent to spare and a 'sad' and 'deep' backstory.
Thomas gulped nervously and initiated the conversation.
"Huh… Hello ?"
"Hello." Answered Luke back and sat down in front of him without another word. He also started to eat like nothing happened.
Thomas looked around and saw many eyes were turned toward their table. He mentally swore and complained about his lost peace of mind.
"The exams… they were … challenging." Tentatively tried Luke.
"..." Thomas stared at him in confusion,"Yes… they were…"
In Thomas' eyes, Luke was already acting strange because he wrote him as this cold and unfriendly person who didn't do small talk or friends. Well, with the exception of the main girls of course.
Panicking, he continued "Well. Not really. No. I mean." He was stumbling over his words in front of his creation.
He took a deep breath then continued "I meant to say that, I can't answer this truthfully. I am a special admission."
Luke's eyebrow rose slightly, "I didn't know there were other ways to join this Academy. You must be skilled ."
"No, no, no," interrupted Thomas. "What I meant to say is that I am part of the Reintegration Program. I only did the writing exam and not the practical exam."
He quickly shut down any path that could lead to a misunderstanding.
"I am at the bottom of the ranking !" he exclaimed loudly.
"Oh"
Luke slightly tilted his head to the side, "Sorry."He ate a bit more, then continued , "I ranked first".
No shit ! Are you trying to flaunt !?, he shouted mentally.
Thomas smiled shackingly, "So you must be Luke Evans…Right ?"
Luke nodded and extended his hand, " then you must be Thomas Poirro."
"Yes," he affirmed, shaking his hand, "... Nice to meet you ?"
He saw Luke nod at his words and continued to eat. The table fell into a strange silence. On one side was Thomas, the creator of this world, and on the other side was Luke, his creation.
Unbeknownst to Thomas, Luke was having a conversation with his sword more especially with the spirit of his sword, who also was his master.
I am telling you Luke. You should just follow the path of the sword because even I felt it from here exclaimed a feminine yet mature voice.
Luke tried to keep his frown from appearing on his face but it made his face look even sharper.
What do you mean teacher ? I did what you asked. I walked up to another boy, struck up a conversation and got his name, though a confused Luke.
A friend, Luke. A friend. I told you to make friends. F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Allies to follow you into battles and share your life with, moaned his teacher, Not to walk up to the only guy I told you to not approach. I can feel it Luke ! That guy is bad news !
Luke ignored his teacher's words and continued to eat in what he believes is a comfortable silence. In his mind, Thomas Poirro was no danger. The moment he walked up to him he already saw hundreds of ways to kill him and his hand shake with him only confirmed it. He felt nothing from him. He was lower than a civilian in terms of danger.
"Your phone number, give it to me," Luke suddenly said.
Thomas choked on his salad and gave him a confused look.
"Hun ?!"
"Your contact, I need it" said Luke, as if it explained everything.
"...Why ?"
"Your are my friend now"
That's not how it works, you dumbass !! Shouted his teacher. Listen to me for once !