Me and T.L (A Novel)

Me and Change

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. The room was painted white. It looked like I'm the only one who tainted it with other colors. I searched my eyes for Nicole and Jared. I didn't saw them anywhere in the room. Instead, I laid my eyes on my phone beside me. 2 new messages.

The first message came from Nicole.

I'm sorry that you're alone in the room right now, but some things might change once you come out of that room.

I replied with Hmmm? Change what do you mean by that?

Many minutes passed by. No replies yet. What did she mean 'change'? Am I not normal? The incident suddenly came back. Am I gonna be killed?!

I checked the second message to distract myself. It was BlueODDS01. I calmed down for some reason.

You OK? Considering yourself, you should be fine by now 👍 .... Hahaha... Just joking....
Hey, Although it's just a short time, I had a lot of fun ....

The last line bothered me a little, so I replied with Hahaha 😄 What are you saying now?

I waited for a moment. No replies. Again.

The door suddenly opened with a loud bang. Tension entered the room and dominated the atmosphere. His scar showed his overall superiority.

It's Mr. John Luther Foster. Our principal. Why is he here?!

An awkwardly man followed him into the room. His appearance were like a full-course of clumsiness and weirdness all together in a single plate. When he just entered the room, he tripped all of a sudden. I was impressed that his clumsiness were on a different level because he tripped, even though there was no obstacle in his way. His glasses fell on the floor. He frantically looked for it. Hahaha...how amusing.

Mr. Foster went towards me without further delay. I tried to get up but he stopped me.

"Ms. Collins, you are still in a horrible state. Please don't get up yet" he said. He then looked at the clumsy man. All of a sudden, the mood changed. The clumsy man quickly grabbed his glasses. It surprised me because a while ago, it seemed that he can't see his glasses but now, he already knew where it was. The man immediately came beside Mr. Foster.

"Ms. Collins" said Mr. Foster
"Y-yes?"
"This is Mr. Luke Steel."
"Hello, Ms. Collins. You can call me Mr. Steel" he smiled naively, or so I should say.
"He will be your personal teacher starting from now on. Although there was another teacher, you must have met her already." He gave a folder to me, which he carried all the way here. I thought about that teacher.
"Ummm... What is this?" I opened the folder. There was an electronic screen. I opened it and I saw a single table.

Monday to Friday

7:00 am - 6:00 pm ...... Joint Over-all studies / Special Classes by Ms. Hillary and Mr. Steel

The format only contained those letters. Nothing else.

When I noticed the name Ms. Hillary, I suddenly remembered the time in the ChemLab. No way?! These weird people will become my teachers?!

"This will become your new schedule. Although the specific time is not given, you will be informed by Mika"
"Mika? Who's Mika?" The screen suddenly flashed an image of a little girl. The girl bowed down.
"Hello, Ms. Collins. I am Mika, an application with artificial intelligence. I have been created to serve and assist you" she said with a monotone robotic voice.

It surprised me a bit. I didn't expect it to happen. Well, she troubled herself, so I'll just get back to her. Seeing her greeting me seemed like she's a normal girl.
"Pleased to meet you, Mika" I gestured a handshake. When I looked at her, she was confused.
"Question. Is that a way of ordering"
"Ummm... No, it's not an order. It was just a handshake"
"Handshake....handshake...I am afraid that I don't know the value of the word 'handshake' "
"It's OK. It just came to me that it's not going to work for you."
"Permission. Can I start researching about this handshake on the Internet."
"I- I guess. It's your choice"
"Ms. Collins, I am not capable of deciding" I was fidgeting that she took it as an answer.
"I will take that as a Yes."
With that, the screen turned off.

I looked at Mr. Foster. Then, to Mr. Steel. How can I forgot. She's an application. A machine. She's not capable of having emotions.

Mr. Foster checked the time.

"It seems that my time here is up." He looked at me. "Ms. Collins, if you have something to ask, please ask Mr. Steel. Well, I will be leaving now" And he left.

An awkward silence echoed the whole room. To stop the deafening silence, I tried to ask the first question that popped my mind.

"Umm... Mr. Steel? Why am I here?" I saw him jumped a little at my sudden question but he hid it with a little step towards me.
"You're brought he-here to heal your injuries" he stuttered.
"Why here? Why not in the hospital?"
"We-well, your are a spe-special case" When he said the word special case, Another's words came to me.
"Special case? Because I'm a Ruid?" He was now really surprised that he couldn't hide it anymore.
"You a-already knew?"
"Yeah. The one who pretended that he's Jared told me that." The mood changed again. Mr. Steel came closer.
"Did he say anything else?" He was now staring at my eyes. I felt uncomfortable so I looked away.
"He-he also said that he's a Tartarus and about Leviathan or something like that" I tried to look at his reaction. He was now thinking seriously. A few minutes passed by. I felt reluctant to move because I might break the tension. I became suddenly sleepy. He finally spoke.

"If you wish to know the whole story, please go to the Chemlab with an unwavering resolution. I am afraid that I will need the assistance of Ms. Hillary about this matter...."

I tried to stay awake but my eyelids didn't obey me.