VARSITY 9 | BL

FOURTEEN | DAY 1

Wen released a breath as he looked at his reflection through the mirror. Eyes swimming over his school uniform, the realization finally sank in that he was on his way to becoming a xaiyon and pursuing a position on a varsity team. The white threading of Azari's symbol almost glowed against the navy of the blazer, and Wen swelled with internal excitement. Today would start his life as a xaiyon!

"Ready?" The hyper chirp from Toma brought Wen from his thoughts as his roommate checked on him.

Turning from the mirror, Wen nodded. "Mm."

"Great! Let's go, then!" Grabbing his cross-body bag, Toma slung his bookbag over his shoulder before heading for the door.

Excited voices greeted Wen and Toma as they stepped out into the hallway. A stream of students was already trickling down the corridor as their classmates began their first day at Azari. As Wen closed the door to his dorm, Lay and Liyam stepped out of their dorm across the way. Greeting Wen with a small smile, Lay walked up to his friend as Liyam closed their dorm door.

Gawking up at the tallest of the four, Toma inquired, "What class are you in?" as he admired Liyam's height.

"Two," Liyam answered as he turned his gaze to look down at the shortest of the four.

"Really? That's awesome! The three of us are in Class Two, too!" Toma responded excitedly.

"Then that makes six of us," a deep voice stated as two new students joined the conversation.

Recognizing the voice, Toma whipped around and ran to one of the two who spoke. "Stry!"

"Heya, Shorty," Stryke said as he greeted his friend with a knuckle rub to the top of Toma's head.

Hearing Stryke's jab, Toma playfully kicked at the taller male. "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me shorty?!!"

Stryke chuckled at the smaller male's protests and shuffled Toma's hair before turning to nod toward the other three who had stood watching Stryke and Toma's interaction. Wen's eyes slanted when he saw who was standing next to Stryke. Kean was approaching the small group with his hands in his pockets.

Reaching Stryke, Kean lifted his head, his eyes mirroring Wen's glare as he locked gaze with the brown-haired. Kean remained silent as he looked at Wen through a hard gaze. Oblivious to the tension currently zapping between Wen and Kean, Toma happily grabbed both Stryke and Kean by the wrists and pulled the two jocks to join the other three.

Once the group of six had been formed, Toma shone a bright smile before piping, "Okay! Let's go!"

Chuckling at the adorable 'shorty,' Stryke followed the smaller male's lead and joined the others in venturing down the hall. Both Wen and Kean remained quiet as the group of six made their way to the junction point of the skywalks before taking Skywalk B-1 to Academic Building B. Having walked the entire campus the day before during Day 0, the students had mapped out the routes to their classes. Thus, they did not have to scramble to find their classroom on the first day.

Upon entering Building B, the six were met with an incredible sight. A food stand had been set up in the commons area where the skywalks connected to the building, and fresh croissants, coffee, hot chocolate, and oatmeal were being served. A group of students was gathered around the food stand while others mingled about the common space conversing and relaxing before classes began.

Having left twenty minutes before classes were set to begin, the six had a few minutes to grab a quick bite to eat before continuing on their way to Classroom 2. Opting for just a cup of coffee, Wen sipped on the hot drink while Lay helped himself to a small bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and sliced strawberries.