The side character is a glitch

Chapter 6: It is what it is

"And she then turned into a man? Tough times." Sparrow said to Ryan.

"I don't want to talk about that anymore. Did you also suffer something similar?" Ryan asked trying to change the flow of conversation and also simultaneously burying this horrible memory of his in the river of the past, if there is any way to do that.

"Not yet, I think I was ignored for the first wave of pranks because I do not come from an affluent background." Sparrow said.

Both Ryan and Mr. Anomaly met in the hostel's cafeteria coincidently. Earlier when Ryan tried chasing after that man/woman Tom ran from his room with his photograph but lost him after a dozen of meters of chasing. Ryan couldn't explain how it all happened; Tom just vanished from his vision or something like that. Finally when he tried looking around for Tom then he stumbled upon Sparrow who was on his way to the cafeteria to look for some snacks.

"So, will you change your hostel just like the staff suggested?" Ryan asked before munching on the bread he got from the cafeteria.

"Not a chance. I am a Crossman. I simply cannot run away because I was the target of a sick joke. That staff guy was probably just exaggerating. This much fooling around is still within the acceptable region of my patience. And as a Crossman patience is one of our virtues." Ryan dismissed the suggestion of changing hostel again.

(You will make him regret this statement right author?)

Sparrow didn't press further on the topic and laughed in his head recalling the unique prank Ryan faced. It was evening time and soon everyone will go to their rooms to get a much needed shut eye.

Sometime later Ryan was inside his room preparing himself to get into the bed. He changed into a comfortable set of pyjamas after washing up and as he was about to lie in his bed he heard a knock on the door. The trauma of the prank before still fresh in his memory made Ryan shudder subconsciously for a moment but after taking a deep breath he went to check on this uninvited guest.

When Ryan opened the door he faced this guy who was a few inches taller than him. He was wearing his casual clothes which were loosely covering his body. Presumably trying to hide the slight bit of obesity of his body judging from this person's face these clothes were chosen.

"All the freshmen are asked to gather in the hostel's compound now. Order of your seniors." This guy said in a deep monotonous voice.

"Why?" Ryan being ever curious asked.

"Introductions and bonding related activities" this guy answered.

Hmm, I guess these guys are not as bad as I thought them to be. I should take on his offer. There is no harm in making useful connections which might serve me later.

"Okay I will be there after I change" Ryan gave a positive response.

His guest observed him from top to bottom and said "This will suffice. Comfortable clothing is preferred in these events."

Ryan felt something odd but followed suit anyway.

When he reached the venue he spotted a lot of people there. Everyone was wearing Pyjamas just like Ryan so the odd feeling he felt subsided.

There were a bunch of people who were sitting in some chairs and the guy from before also went and joined this group. This group of people seemed to be a mix of his seniors and super seniors.

A person with an athletic build stood up from that group and came forward to maybe give his remark to all the freshmen.

"Welcome to Arcana my dear freshmen." This guy said in a charismatic voice "I am Gustav Morningstar from the Morningstar household and your senior by three years. I with my fellow classmates called all of you here to give respect to our long standing tradition of the Salamander Hostel. That is the freshmen introductions and we will be doing some interactive activities too so that you can loosen up around your seniors. As you know, that Arcana is a merit based academy and gaining merit here is tough as licking your own elbow. That's why guidance from your seniors in assignments, examinations and projects is much more valuable than gold in here."