{ C4 — THE ORIENTATION DAY }
— — — — — — — — — —
By the time I finally stepped off the bus, I was already mentally exhausted, not from the transit, but because my mind was constantly occupied by the previous incident.
I checked my phone again out of habit, like it might explain things. But there were no new notifications, no 'You were just involved in a spy incident' alerts. Thank god.
It was turning out to be a totally normal day.
I turned my attention towards the massive entity before me.
The Empire State University.
It was big, the intimidating kind of big. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. I agree that the buildings in New York City were already magnificent, but this place was not only magnificent, but also equally important. It had a special kind of impact in a student's heart.
At the entrance, there was already a crowd forming. I followed them and entered the campus after showing my letter of acceptance.
After a few minutes of walk, I slipped into the auditorium just before the crowd filled it up completely. I quickly scanned for any empty seat that didn't scream last row loser energy.
'There it is,' I found a seat in the middle section. Not bad at all. I moved quickly before someone else grabbed it and dropped into the seat with a quiet exhale.
"Made it," I muttered, sighing in relief.
"Barely," someone said to my left. I turned. There she was, blonde, calm and observant.
'She looks like,' Before I could process it, my mouth worked on its own.
"Uh… yeah," I said. "Bus tried to ruin my life." And a hot, sexy, redhead.
She smiled faintly. "It happens. That's life."
That's when my mind clicked. She's Mckenna Grace, but what's she doing here?
"Gwen Stacy," she continued.
'Okay… what's going on here?' My mind was honestly scrambled. Earlier when I met Natasha, she looked quite similar to Scarlett Johansson, the actress who played the character in the movies. So, I assumed that the other characters would look like their counterparts as well.
I took another look at her, just to be sure. But seeing her, as if waiting for something, I quickly put these useless thoughts at the back of my mind and replied, "Zayne Morningstar."
"Morningstar? That sound like some royalty." Gwen muttered.
Before I could say anything in return, a voice called out to me from my right.
"Excuse me, coming through."
I shifted instinctively as someone slid into the seat on my right. Confident and effortless.
"Thanks," she said, settling in like she owned the place. I blinked once. Then twice.
'Okay… what? Madison Beer!? As in THE Madison Beer?' Honestly, at this moment, I felt as if I was in a bizarre dream, about to wake up. Hopefully, I don't.
"Name's Felicia," she said, all the while looking ahead, as if this conversation was meaningless to her.
Hearing her, my mind exploded. Like literally.
"Zayne Morningstar," I barely managed a reply.
"Morningstar? That sounds rich?" Felicia muttered, a bit curious. But I couldn't be bothered to reply.
I stared ahead slowly, trying very hard to process what had just happened. On the left and on the right. I casually glanced at them, trying not to creep them out.
Gwen on my left, focused, already paying attention to the stage. Felicia on my right, completely relaxed, like this was mildly entertaining at best.
'There's no way this is random.' And yet, it was. Pure, unadulterated coincidence. 'Or maybe not.'
I frowned slightly, bringing out my status panel.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Attributes: (Available: 0)
——— Strength: 6 (6)
——— Agility: 7 (7)
——— Intelligence: 8 (8)
——— Constitution: 6 (6)
——— Perception: 6 (6)
——— Luck: 50 (5) | +45
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
A sudden realization dawned upon me. 'It's my Luck stat.'
And not just normal luck. Not the 'found a $100 note on the road' kind of luck. Because this felt exaggerated. Like the reality just bent a little in my favor. If there was a scale to measure these points, mine wouldn't be just high, but ridiculously high.
[ At every 10 attribute points, the multiplier doubles. ]
"…Huh?" That was quite sudden. So much that it nearly freaked my out.
"What?" Felicia asked without even looking at me.
"Nothing," I said quickly. But then, Gwen glanced over. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I nodded, trying to find an excuse. "Just… first day things."
"Mm," she said, understanding immediately.
Felicia leaned slightly closer. "Overwhelmed already?"
"Almost," I replied with a wry smile. "Seating next to two beautiful girls for the first time indeed feels a bit overwhelming." I gestured with my fingers to show a little.
She smirked. "I like that answer. No, scratch that, I love that answer."
At the same moment, the dean started speaking, but I barely registered. Because somehow, out of hundreds of students, I ended up seating between a biochemistry genius and a hot girl with kleptomania.
'Yeah, that's totally normal.'
— — — — — — — — — —