VARSITY 9 | VOLUME II | BL

FIVE

A/N: The batches and their info have been added to the INTRO for reference. Enjoy!

It felt weird for Wen to not be dressed in a uniform as he exited his dorm door. It was the first day of classes, and Wen was excited to begin his life as a SZA student. Derin was still getting ready for the day when Wen departed to find his friends at their meet-up point. Since the six were housed in different residential halls, they had selected the student union as their meeting spot.

Wen was one of the earlier students to rise, so the path to the student common areas was not too crowded. Passing one of the many food courts to enter a study and lounge zone, Wen was pleasantly surprised to see Lay already sitting in the cluster of chairs and sofas the group had selected as their meet-up spot.

"Morning," Wen greeted warmly as he sat next to Lay.

"Morning, Wen," Lay returned with a small smile.

"You two are up early," a voice commented as Wen settled into the comfy sofa. Looking to his left, Wen saw Liyam approaching the lounge with two carriers of to-go coffee cups.

"So are you," Lay responded teasingly with a slight smile when Liyam sat next to him and handed him a cup of fresh, hot coffee.

"My roommate snores." Wen stifled a snicker when Liyam provided his reasoning for getting up so early.

"Tell him to wear nose plugs," Stryke interjected as he and Toma joined the three. It did not take long for Kean to appear with a bag of pastries for each of the six.

"Woahhh, there's a bakery on campus?" Toma asked as he stared at the chocolate-filled croissant in his hand with hearts for eyes.

"Mm," Kean confirmed as he pulled out a blueberries-and-cream pastry and handed it to Wen. "It's five minutes from here, on the other side of the Union."

"This place is paradise!" Toma exclaimed happily as he enjoyed his pastry.

"Just about," Stryke returned before digging into his ham and cheese croissant.

When the six had finished their breakfast and were properly fueled by coffee, the friends set off to their first class of the day. Lay, who had walked the campus the day prior, was confident in leading the group to Academic Building 6 where their introductory lecture was to be held. Wen, who had downloaded their schedule onto his holophone, led the six to the lecture hall where all the first-year students were gathering, and Kean found six empty seats once inside the auditorium.

As the six were fairly early in their arrival to the lecture hall, they chatted quietly amongst themselves for half an hour until the introductory lecture was scheduled to begin. The auditorium was nearly full by the time the students' advisor entered the stage at the front of the vast room.

"Good morning! And welcome, first-years, to Dawson Specialized Academy! I am Terri Hawkes, and I will be your advisor for your first year at Dawson." The woman's voice sounded throughout the auditorium, catching the students' attention as the introductory lecture began. The auditorium had fallen silent by the time Ms. Hawkes added, "This is a one-off class specific to this day, your first day as a Dawson student. This lecture is designed to introduce you to your classes and schedules."

"Before I begin to bore you, let me step down for a moment and let you watch a presentation we have compiled to better explain the structure of your courses," the advisor stated as the lights on the stage faded to black, and a large holograph appeared in front of the front wall.