1 | print ("Hello, World!")
Nikolai sat in front of a monitor. The newly opened script file displayed this one line of code—though he'd seen it more than once.
It was a calm afternoon. The warm light of the sun passed through the windows, illuminating dust particles that danced ever so softly in the golden light.
His sun-kissed fingers hovered above his keyboard, still and motionless.
His presence was filled with anticipation. Then, slowly...
1 | print ("Hello, World!"|
1 | print ("Hello, World!|
1 | print ("Hello, World|
1 | print ("Hello, Worl|
1 | print ("Hello, Wor|
1 | print ("Hello, Wo|
1 | print ("Hello, W|
1 | print ("Hello, |
1 | print ("Hello,|
1 | print ("Hello|
1 | print ("Hell|
1 | print ("Hel|
1 | print ("He|
1 | print ("H|
1 | print ("|
1 | print (|
1 | print |
1 | print|
1 | prin|
1 | pri|
1 | pr|
1 | p|
1 | |
1 |
1 |
He took his time—assured that he would wake up tomorrow.
To do everything again, that is.
For Nikolai, his mundane life felt suffocating—like drowning in an ocean. Whenever he tried to surface, the tides pulled him tighter, and the depths embraced him even more. Its cold hug was getting colder… and colder… and colder…
Before he typed even a single character, he suddenly stood up.
The chair scraped against the newly waxed floor—creating a ripple of noise that attracted every head in the room. All eyes turned to Nikolai.
"My body's about to crumble. So I'm gonna bounce now." He said while packing his notes into a white tote bag.
"Well then, thank you for assisting us today…Oh, and see you tomorrow." the club vice president replied, followed by farewells from the others.
There were only few members in the game development club, but they were as close as a family.
He left the computer room quickly. But as the door slammed shut behind him, he started walking at an average pace.
The hallways were still filled with students even at that hour.
He walked evasively, weaving through the crowd. Although he was walking at a normal speed, his long legs allowed him to cover more ground with each step.
He received quite a few looks along the way as well. Maybe it was his tall figure that made him stand out.
Whatever the reason, Nikolai always seemed to attract attention whenever he walked through the corridors…
After descending the stairs, the crowd became denser, and even denser further on.
He moved along with the flow, his head sticking out above the sea of students.
After a few seconds, he reached the entrance to the school canteen, where a separate line of students merged with the crowd in the hallway, worsening the congestion.
Everyone could only blame the narrowness of the school corridors.
To take a break—since he hated it when his shoulders were constantly grazed—he turned right into the canteen.
He breathed a sigh of relief, though there were no available tables.
He decided to just buy something and leave. And brownies in a basket under a dim light were just the thing for him.
He waited for the vendor to finish up an order.
The air was a melting pot of unknown voices speaking indistinctly. The scent of various foods mixed together, creating a familiar atmosphere.
"What's yours, kid?" the vendor asked, her tone mature yet polite.
"One brownie," Nikolai answered, short and clear.
"Thirty pesos then," she said, reaching out. Nikolai paid and took a bar of brownie.
"Thank you." Nikolai said, as he always tried his best to show gratitude toward hard workers.
Then, as he had planned, he simply went to leave.
But nothing ever went according to plan for him—a hand reached for his shoulder.
This surprised him, and he turned quickly.
"Niko, right?" It was one of his club seniors, though Niko didn't know.
"Yes, sir…?" he answered slowly.
"Are they still upstairs?" the senior continued. At this point, Niko connected the dots but was still a bit unsure.
"At the computer room? They were still there when I left."
After Niko said that, the club senior smiled.
He stood taller than Niko with a straight back. His black hair with blonde highlights and wild earrings were definitely prohibited.
Though he looked so confident and charismatic. Like a leader—more like a king. Similar to those King Arthur characters in books. Shining like gold, exuding an aura of light.
He reached out his knuckles…
They bumped fists.
"Thanks, chief!"
Niko simply nodded, and the club senior left in a hurry.
Niko left the canteen as well, and the crowd had loosened up a bit.
When he reached the main exit, however, the congestion thickened again. Niko wondered how people could still chat so comfortably in such a tight space…
As he approached the gate, he was pushed and squeezed from all sides.
He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, swearing that he would never leave school near the college's dismissal time again.
Then suddenly, for a single second—he felt something in his arms.
It was briefly held by something soft, and it didn't just grab him. It delicately touched him, as if it were fragile. If he had reacted suddenly, it might have easily broken.
But when he looked, it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Niko stood in wonder—what could it have been? Who could it have been?
He stared blankly as the crowd moved, yet he remained still, like a rock sticking out of a flowing river.
One thing he was certain of:
Before the sun had set on this blazing sunny day—I finally felt warmth.
It had been a long day, and now, for the first time, he felt everything. It was like waking up from an afternoon nap—a certain kind of discomfort that he strangely liked.
Snapping back to reality, he finally stepped onto the escalator that led him to the parking lot.
The floor was as shiny as ever—the roof cluttered with pipes, just as it had always been.
Engines roared in the distance, and metallic-painted cars reflected the dim light that entered the vertically narrow parking lot.
Then, he would have to walk for five more minutes until he reached the west terminal.
The terminal was no different from the parking lot, except it was much more spacious, open, and filled with jeepneys instead of cars.
He could hear callers before he even reached the terminal. Otherwise known as barkers, they shouted destinations and the number of seats left in each jeepney.
"Calzadang Bayu, just three more 'til departure!"
Niko was lucky—this meant he would only have to wait for two more passengers.
He quickly paid, having already prepared his fare beforehand.
The caller gave him his change and ordered the other passengers to scoot over so Niko could find a seat.
"Move a little so y'all can finna leave."
After sitting down, Niko could finally relax. He took his smartphone from his tote bag:
Finally got to sit down… I guess I should listen to some music. Ah wait, I need to update my webnovel this week!
Ohh, why not listen to music AND write~
But before he could even plug in his earphones, two female students from his school caught his attention.
Unbeknownst to him, what he was about to overhear—the words that would completely turn his senior high life upside down.
The ocean that drowned him… had now dried up.
The girls whispered to each other.
"Hey sis', I heared that guy who just got in is a chieftain for the PxC."
"You mean the Paries—"
"Yea-yeah! That one! The leading gang of Sitio Planas."
Niko's subconscious knew this was bad. His mind made one noise:
Eh?
-Nikolai Ramirez •*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.
From the day I played Senonia 4 for the first time, I've thought of life as a huge video game.
I would reward myself whenever I complete even the smallest task.
Sometimes I would even shout "Level up!"
Some of my friends back then even joined me in my shenanigans.
We made a group called the 3-STAR Guild.
We would "raid dungeons" but all we did was get soiled under a small bridge.
Stepping on dog crap would give us the "poison effect"
Eating "heals" us, and our mage would mix sodas to make "HP potions"
We were also knight of a kingdom called the Piss Stinking Corner of the Covered Court. The other kids did get to own the other 3 corners first.
But as I grew, this practice faded.
Maybe it is why I feel incomplete nowadays…
Now, it looks like I got caught in a bad and dangerous mess. A gang!? Seriously, how cruel fate is…
This plot twist—this turn of events.
I might just think of this as a…
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Notification: New Event
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