(Cilan)

"This here is the library" The women at the front of the crowd shouted to us. I noticed that literally every face in the room had dropped. The librarian at the desk gave us all a menacing look, but then her face suddenly settled. She opened up the gate at the side and moved over to us. The librarian was probably in her fifties, if I had to guess. She looked old and frail, but her movement suggested she was just as capable as any youngster. She adjusted her glasses and looked up at the woman who was twice her size.

"Mrs. Paku. I swear it is every year this happens" The librarian laughed, but Mrs. Paku had a look of worry as she nervously played with her hands.

"Oh, I-I am sorry" She spoke quietly this time, abiding by the rules.

The librarian shook her head and kept the same smile on her face. It seemed like the women at the front and the librarian go way back.

"It's ok" She dismissed any further problems and turned to the crowd before her. I looked around and all of the inquisitive faces, as they had no clue what was going on. It was a little obvious, the tour was going to end here. We had covered most of the grounds just getting to our tour, so we had already seen most of the places. This was the perfect place to get our starter packs.

"This college is a college that selects the finest students from all over the country for our new programme, run by the government. Everyone in this crowd has been selected for a specific purpose, but your starter packs will explain this. I am the head librarian, so any books bought or rented go to me first"

One by one, as our names got called, we stood up to the desk and took a starter pack. But, then I heard a part of a name as I walked away.

"Iris...." The voice faded, due to me walking out with the others. I nearly choked on my breath, not being able to recover. I didn't know she had accepted the request to come here?! She never told me a thing!

"Cilan!" I heard her shouting as she ran excitedly out of the library and into the corridor. She almost jumped into me with a big hug. "I haven't seen you since the start of the summer!"

"You're such a kid" I sighed, with a faint laugh.

Iris thumped me on the shoulder. "That's my line, you punk" She said, before joining in with the little laugh. I guess it is a good thing to have a friend around, because I miss the others already. It feels like we started highschool yesterday, but now, everyone is getting on with their lives. Which means I should focus on mine.

"I suppose it has been a long time" I threw my hands into my pockets, gesturing that we could work on. "So, what kind of accommodation did you get?"

"I decided to stay in the girl's dorm and try it out. What about you?" Iris asked, clutching her starter pack under her arm tightly.

"The same, just gender reversed" I replied, looking at the front of the pack. It didn't seem to have anything useful, so I suppose I could just leave it on my desk and use it when the time comes.

"Good. I would be worried if you was in the girl's dorm" Iris seemed to sigh of relief. Strange.

"What are you implying? Do you take me for some sort of perv?" I quizzed further, although I knew she was joking.

"It's a joke, you buffoon" Iris snapped. She was only ever angry at me, usually when I beat her in grades during junior high. It never happened nowadays, unless I annoy her.

"I know that" I shook my head, disappointed. "You should be more perceptive after knowing me for so long"

"I know...I just wanted to throw an insult at someone" Iris clenched her fist, instantly implying something was wrong.

"What's wrong with you?" I had to ask. Iris hesitated but then turned to me, her hands settling.

"I am-" I raised my hand to cut her off, because she was about to throw the 'I am fine' card at me.

"I won't fall for the I am fine trick, just be honest with me" I wasn't about to take no for an answer. She hesitated again but then sighed, suddenly dropping onto a passing bench. I had to step back and sit down, waiting for a reply.

"You're so cantankerous, Cilan, you know that?" Iris sighed.

"So we are bringing out the dictionary today?" I asked with a little grin. "I was reputed to do the best in this college, especially since English is my speciality"

"Enough with jokes, let me get to the point" Iris sighed once more. Her god damn sighing was going to irritate me. "It's just my Mom. She wants me to go to an 'actual' college like the one back home. She said if I don't work hard here and achieve the highest grades possible, she will make me re-do college at home"

"So what you're saying is, you have to achieve around 85%+ per exam?" I analytically continued with the questions, knowing she was going to say yes anyway because it was in the pack we received.

Iris nodded, confirming my answer. "I don't think it is possible, maybe for you, but not for me" Iris sounded like she was giving up.

"Stop being so pessimistic and use this time to think about what you can do. I know you have what it takes, even if you give up free time to study from the get go. After all, we have two years before we have to actually consider any exams and degrees, so everything is fine, right?"

"I may be being pessimistic, but you're being presumptuous" Iris's eyes flicked over to me, then back to her hands, which she kept fiddling with in annoyance. "I guess I could think it over, it is the first day after all"

"Good" I nodded, getting up from the bench. "Anyway, I heard the burger place in the cafeteria is really good, fancy something to eat?

"I can never say no when someone is offering food!" Iris jumped up from the seat, a smile slowly forming across her face. I smiled back and put my thumb up, feeling glad she was okay. We raced off to the cafeteria, passing many other students on the way. Each student we passed looked at us in different ways, telling me a lot about their characters. Some were looks of gloominess, telling me they was either having a rough time in college or they was struggling to make friends and had fallen victim to possible bullying, which would be irrational in this college considering the circumstances. They probably couldn't be bothered being here and had the same situation as Iris, but the other way round. Some people had looks of joy and nodded happily as we passed by. Just by looking at the type of person someone is, you can learn a lot about their beliefs and past life. Psychology had taught me this much.

We finally got the cafeteria and headed over to the burger counter. Iris selected the biggest hamburger she could see, but my eyes caught on to something else.

"I am so getting this, screw the burgers. I have found my lunch for the next two years!" I couldn't help but feel so excited, my body was trying to rush around, but my mind had my eyes printed against the glass, looking at the sandwiches. I felt Iris's head on my shoulder as she wanted to see what I was looking at.

"You and meatballs, you can never get enough of the things" I heard her say behind me. I just ignored her and got one of the sandwiches. Iris's burger was ready, so we sat down, taking this time to relax a little bit.

Mid-way through lunch, two shadows blocked the sunlight from our faces. I looked up, seeing a dude and a girl with flyers.

"We are handing out flyers for the freshmen" They explained, handing us flyers. "They have information on specific activities and/or events in the college, as well as a selection of the benefits within the grounds.

"Look, a writing contest!" I pointed at the flyer with excitement. I love writing detective stories, so I was definitely entering that contest for sure. I looked up at the girl with the flyers, as she smiled at my reaction.

"There have been a lot of writing contests over the years. Last year, the winner was voted by every single judge, our first flawless victory. He was only a high school senior, but his skills exceeded our expectations. His work on science and the future is truly fantastic. I hear he is participating this year too" The women with the flyers kept her big smile on her face. High school senior meant he was our age. Someone good with science and the future of it. Only one person sprung to mind, but it surely couldn't be him. He left our school after the first year and I haven't seen him since. Infact, I didn't hear his name get called out during our tour and I would've recognized him. There was absolutely no way...

"Excuse me?" I got up, just as the two where walking away.

"What is it? We are really busy.." The girls face dropped to a frowning pout and she put a hand on her hip, in annoyance.

"What's the name of the person who won last year and are they attending the college?" I had to ask, just to make sure.

"Oh, yes. They joined the college at the same time as you"

She seemed to have forgotten something, I asked for his name.

"Wait!" I shouted again. The girl turned around one more time, storming over to me. She was so close to my face, I could feel her breath.

"Didn't I just say we are busy?!" She shouted. I swear I felt a draft from her shout, she looked so intimidating stood up close. I gulped nervously and took a step back.

"You didn't tell me his name?" I was still waiting, it was one of the tensest moments for me as I waited for a reply. And then, her mouth opened up.

"His name is Clemont, why'd you ask?" She confirmed my thoughts and I turned to Iris. She looked about ready to pass out, her eyes wide in complete shock. We haven't seen him in 4 years, but soon, it will be time to see the inventing genius that we were once acquainted with.