Chương 9: Return to school (1)
While descending the stairs, Sebastian found the familiar comfort of the kitchen, the aroma of breakfast inviting him to take a seat.
Mary served him with a gentle smile, but beneath the morning pleasantries, a tension simmered, ready to boil over.
As they ate, Mary broached the subject that had been weighing on her mind.
"Sebastian, how long do you plan to stay at home without going to school?" Her voice was calm, but there was an undercurrent of concern.
Sebastian hesitated, his fork pausing mid-air. "I don't need to go to school at all," he said. "I don't want to go."
Mary's patience, which had been stretched thin over the past two weeks, finally snapped.
"I've been patient enough, Sebastian!" Her voice arose with frustration.
"Considering the money I had to use to allow you to attend, you should at least make me happy and go. Two weeks have already passed; it's time to return."
Sebastian tried to reason with her, but Mary was seriously mad this time. He realized it wasn't wise to anger a fourth-leveled Thespian, Sebastian conceded it might be best to follow her wishes.
Yet, his reluctance stemmed from a deeper place. The thought of seeing Rebecca at school and the memories of his previous experiences there filled him with dread.
Before he had regressed in time, thanks to the mysterious powers of his father's pendant, school had been a battleground.
The last time he walked those halls, he was just a boy from the ruined Wells family, a family that had once stood proudly alongside the four sacred clans. Bullied and ostracized, he had felt the sting of isolation.
For many of those not belonging to families or at least belonging to smaller ones, having someone from a once proud family was fun.
They felt better while seeing his poor state and lack of money. Of course, the bulling wasn't only verbal, but also physical.
The thought of returning to that place, where memories of mockery and loneliness lurked in every corner, weighed heavily on him.
However, there was another reason for that. Sebastian wasn't scared of random 17 years old Auditors. No, he feared what he could do to them if he lost control.
Before his regression, he would have jumped on the occasion to go back and torture those that made his life hell.
However, now that he had a semblance of control over his mind, he was aware he could mess up his plans if he failed to restrain himself.
What if he killed them in front of everyone else? Yet, he knew arguing further would only escalate the situation.
In that moment, Sebastian realized the complexity of his situation. His journey through time had given him a second chance to save his family. He didn't want to risk failing.
With a heavy heart, he nodded to Mary. "I'll go," he said, his voice laced with a mixture of resignation and resolve.
"Good. You are going today, then."
"Today?"
"Seb…" Mary said with a serious look. He forgot how scary his mother could be when he disobeyed.
Sebastian groaned, the weight of the impending day pressing down on him. After swiftly finishing his breakfast, he trudged upstairs to his room, where the school uniform awaited him, neatly laid out, as if mocking his reluctance.
To slip into the uniform felt like stepping through a portal to his past, a time capsule he hadn't expected—or wanted—to reopen.
The fabric felt familiar yet foreign against his skin, and reminded him of the thirty years that had passed since he last wore such attire.
The reality of being seventeen again, of having to stay among hot-blooded kids with crazy hormones while having the mind of someone far older. All of that felt weird.
<It honestly is.>
The oddity was so great that dwarfed even the strangeness of being sent back in time. <Maybe I'm exaggerating, but it sure feels odd.>
With a heavy heart and a mind swirling with thoughts, Sebastian made his way downstairs, where his mother's car waited.
He entered the vehicle. Mary, sensing his unease, cast him a look of concern mixed with a mother's resolve. "Are you ready?" she asked. Mary tried to make her voice be a gentle nudge, but Sebastian only felt as if she was bringing him on the electric chair.
Sebastian managed a reluctant nod. "Yeah, I'm ready." Though his voice lacked conviction. With a sigh, the woman gave the car gas, and they set off towards Exidia's city center.
The drive took only ten minutes, but to Sebastian, it felt like an eternity.
<Let's just hope nothing messed up happens.>
Exidia loomed ahead, as immense and bustling as he remembered before he burned it to the ground.
The city was massive, littered with skyscrapers reaching towards the heavens, shops bustling with activity, and cars weaving through the streets in a never-ending frenzy.
As he took in the familiar sight of urban sprawl, a mischievous grin spread across Sebastian's face.
<Ah,> he thought, inhaling a lungful of the city's signature smog, <the sweet scent of progress and pollution. It's like a warm hug from a diesel-powered teddy bear.>
But in truth, Exidia was more than just a city. It was a nexus where the ordinary and the extraordinary met, where Thespians walked among regular folks.
Of course, the thespians here had to be all higher than the second compression level, as those at lower levels were likely inside Somnium fighting for their lives.
Sebastian observed the few selected shops that catered to their kind, offering weapons and artifacts useful within the realms of Somnium, made by other Thespians or from some specialized company.
It was a sight he had seen many times before, yet now, viewed through the lens of his experiences, it held a different meaning.
Finally, Mary pulled into the school grounds. Sebastian's heart ached.
<Funky fuck!>
Exidia's school, a place of learning and growth for many, was for him just a big clusterfuck of bad memories and people he wanted to kill.
Mary parked the car, turning to Sebastian with a look that she tried making both encouraging and apologetic.
"You'll be fine," she said, more a hope than a certainty. She didn't understand why Sebastian was so reluctant to go to school all of a sudden.
"Yeah… I bet."
The now young man stepped out of the car, the school's building towering before him.
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