It was not long before I was at the front of the queue.
I looked up at the menu screen above, there was an array of appetising pictures of meals and food. Students could order anything they want at this school and have the chefs make it for them. Still, I have never ordered anything extravagant.
"What would you like?" asked the cafeteria lady, relatively calmly.
"Just some vegetable soup, please."
"You're a weird boy, ordering vegetable soup when we have all these options, oh well, please wait, I'll get one of the chefs to prepare some."
"Thank you."
The cafeteria lady sighed and walked towards the kitchen.
I moved to the side, letting the people behind me get served. This was a school for the highest scoring students in the entire world, having hundreds of millions of dollars funded by the government each year. Several years ago, radical reforms were made by United Nations, it basically made the school system a complete meritocracy. This school was at the very top of the hierarchy,
"Order 132, vegetable soup!"
I took my soup from the collection zone. Then I walked over to the dining area. Everything in the dining area was clean and modern. The tables were sanitized several times a day, janitors wandered around collecting any rubbish. Furthermore, there were large windows allowing for lots of light to enter, allowing a beautiful view into the professionally kept garden and courtyard of the school.
I found a seat on a sizable couch and placed my bowl on the table. The school was generous with seating space so I didn't have to worry about occupying such a large area.
Slowly, I removed my spoon from the plastic wrapping and began drinking the soup.
The bell rang, all the students got up from their seats and packed up their belongings.
Everyone at this school was ranked by academic ability. Their marks and subsequently their ranks decided the class they were in. The higher you're ranked, the more influential and well-known you were. Everyone fought to be in the top-ranked class.
I made my way towards my classroom. I walked through a modern, white hallway with a scarce yet comforting number of paintings on the walls. Eventually, I reached my class, class 1C. I took my seat next to Noah.
"Hey Ollie, apparently the student body vice-captain is currently looking for a new assistant!" Noah informed me, rather frantically.
"That's cool."
At this school, the student council is decided through votes and ranks. If you are ranked in the top 10 of your year, you automatically get a seat in the student council, if you decline, the next person in rank (#11, #12 etc.) will get a seat. The student body captain for the year level, who is ranked first, can decide on two people they wish to have as their assistants, these students will also get a seat on the student council. Below the captain, the student body vice-captain, rank two, is allowed to have one assistant who gets a seat on the student council.
The student council has many roles such as voting on new rules, resolving disputes, dealing with student requests, helping with finding effective study material and many other administrative tasks. Here, the student council has a lot of influence and power and just being in the student council will guarantee success and leadership out of school.
"Well, Ollie, are you excited by the possibility?"
"No, not particularly."
"Fair enough, I doubt us class C members will even be allowed to speak to the vice-captain let alone be considered for the position."
*
"Ok everyone, get out your textbooks, we will be revising for the test that will be at the end of the term. Turn to page one hundred and…"
"I'll be heading out, Noah."
I didn't really need to learn this topic, the teachers didn't care whether you stayed or skipped the class, for all that mattered in this school was your grades. If your grades were good enough to stay in the school, then you didn't really have to attend any of the classes.
"If you keep skipping classes like this, your grades might fall you know." Noah was adamant about it.
I strolled over towards the library. The school had an enormous library with hundreds of thousands of books.
I wandered over to the psychology section. As I was looking through some of the books, I noticed that there seemed to be some sort of conflict occurring between some students.
"Stop acting all high and mighty, do you think just because you're the second-ranked, I'll bow down and worship you?"
"I don't care what you say, I will not make you my assistant."
"I got 100% in two subjects, you won't find someone even close to me!"
"It does not matter to me, I already have plans."
It seemed the person who was speaking to the second-ranked was getting very worked up about the situation, his voice was raised, obviously causing a disruption to most of the library visitors.
Predictably, he clenched his fists. The tension rose in the air, it looked like he was going to attack her. The two of them stared at each other for several seconds.
"You're going to regret this, Maia"
After making his stance, he trudges off, out of the library. Maia seemed unaffected by the violent threat.
After watching all of that unfold, I decided to duck away before she noticed I was watching. I was not interested to be in an ordeal with the vice-captain.
I found a seat on a fluffy couch.
To be accepted into this school, every student takes a difficult exam at the end of year nine, on the exam, there is one general science, one mathematics, one English, and one humanities test. Each test is marked out of fifty, then, the top one hundred students take another extremely difficult exam, used to sort the students into classes. The second test consisted of one hundred and fifty questions of all subjects where students were given four hours to complete.
The top twenty-five students are placed into A class.
The next twenty-five are in B class.
The twenty-five after that are in C class.
And the lowest scoring twenty-five are in D class.
The school also uses an app named Preseqta, which is installed in everyone's phone, showing the marks and rank of every student. This information can be accessed by any teacher, student, or member of the school board.
"Oliver."
I was shocked by the sudden sound, it was Maia. What did the second-ranked want with me?
"I want you to come with me for a second."