Anito Anarchy (The Chaos of the Spirits)

Chapter 15: The Cursed Classroom

My first few days at the Academy have been a mix of good and bad. While I was assigned to join Class E and my overall experience has been positive, it's far from the quiet and mundane school life that I had hoped for.

In this school, class assignments are randomly selected each year without consideration of academic ranking. Once you reach senior high school, you will be in the same class until graduation. If the number permits, each class consists of around 30 students, with an equal number of students from each gender.

One of the things that I was very thankful for being in this classroom was that I ended up in the same class with Nono and Juvan. After spotting my name on the bulletin board and confirming that we were in the same class, they saved me a seat next to them, located at the rear part of the room.

Our classroom seats were arranged in 6 rows and 5 columns, and the three of us occupied the last row. I was seated in the left-most column next to the window, with Nono to my right and Juvan seated next to him. Being with the two has helped me navigate through my new environment with much ease and develop a closer bond with them.

"I just know you'll be in class E when I saw you this morning," Nono happily said when he and Juvan welcomed me after I was introduced to the class. "There is just something in you that makes you a fit for this special class."

I furrowed my brows to what Nono stated, and curiously asked, "What do you mean by that? What's special about class E?"

"Oh yes, I think you have not heard about this stuff yet since you are new here," Nono replied with excitement in his eyes. "The class E of this Academy's senior high school division is also called the cursed classroom. It is one of the many mysteries of this Academy."

"The cursed classroom!?" I exclaimed, utterly clueless about what that meant.

"Yes! Although classroom assignments at this school are totally random, for some reason, Class E always ends up with the most interesting students each year. If you look around, kids from this class are the top-ranking students, the most talented and skilled athletes, and the most eccentric practitioners of different arts and disciplines. As a good example, Juvan here is a national-level athlete and a top member of the school's Kali club. And I may not look like it, but I am considered a computer expert even back in grade school. I also won many national competitions and represented this school in different technology events."

I knew that kids from this school were built differently, but looking at two geniuses right in front of me was still so hard to make sense of.

"What I'm saying is that Class E has a reputation for being the class with the most adept and gifted students. That is why previous students from this class become the most successful after leaving the Academy. Most of the well-known graduates of this school that you might know of likely came from Class E."

"But doesn't that mean being in Class E is a good thing then?" I uttered confusedly. "I don't get why they call this classroom cursed for that reason."

"It's because there's more in this class than just the great mix of talented students and a promising future," Nono replied, carefully saying each word with anticipation. "For unknown reasons, students from this class are very prone to accidents and bad luck, some even extending to death if they were very unfortunate. That is how it got its notorious nickname as the cursed classroom. So, even if being in this class means a higher likelihood of success, most students dreaded it due to the curse." He added and jokingly let out an evil laugh.