Probing Visions 1

Chapter 3 (Part 5)

     Upon learning about each other's names, Jean, Kevin, and Gabriel begin feasting on their enticing lunch—without letting time slip into nothingness. The texture of their food, soft and buttery, melts in their tongues. Then, the taste transforms into a tantalizing scent that wafts towards their nostrils, heightening their senses with delight and pleasure.

     Soon, the school bells, once serene and steady, begin swinging in motion. With a resounding clash, they ring, their powerful echo reverberating through the air. The gentle wind carries the blaring sound, reaching as far as the sea. As the bells chime, the students within the cafeteria and surrounding halls begin an exodus towards their next class—a queue for them to start moving onward.

     Jean, Kevin, and Gabriel immediately head to their next classroom and claim their seats in the back row of the bleacher-like benches. They wait patiently, their eyes flitting around as they admire the lofty ceilings that cast a sense of diminishment upon them. While Jean, Kevin, and Gabriel sit quietly on the benches, an influx of students flows into the room like a violent surge.

     The students, mostly in their second years as they adorn blue sashes, enter the classrooms in waves. Upon stepping into the room, they wander around and choose vacant benches to sit next to their friends and acquaintances. The once-silent room becomes bustling with an ocean of boys and girls, and the environment brims with noise.

     Jean's gaze swept across the classroom, taking in the sight before him. As his eyes travelled from the left wall to the right, he noticed three tall, arched windows gracing the walls on each side, allowing the golden light to pour in like white wine. Jean's eyes went further to the sides, and he observed the wooden bleacher-styled benches overflowing with enthusiastic students.

     The grand wooden door of the classroom remains open, though no more students pass through its threshold. Leading from it, a staircase travels towards a wooden platform in the front of the room. Atop the expanse of the wooden platform, a broad desk and a chair with plush green seating lay, awaiting the professor to enter the classroom.

     An expansive blackboard doodled with white chalk hangs in the front of the classroom, facing the students. Suspended in the ceiling, three wooden chandeliers with lit candles cast gentle light and bathe the room in a soft, golden glow. The walls, created with sturdy wooden planks, complement the coal-coloured floor, providing a contrasting element to the room.

     As Kevin and Gabriel chatter above the clamour, Jean remains silent and observant in his seat, choosing not to engage in conversation. Maintaining a steady posture, Jean leans forward and rests his forearms against the cold surface of the wooden desk before them. He then looks around, patiently waiting for the professor to arrive.

     Although Jean's patience reaches the stars, he still cannot help but feel a sense of boredom creeping into his spine. The boredom forces his fingers to fidget and tap against the smooth surface of the wooden desk before him. Trying to familiarize himself with the unfamiliar room, Jean's head swivels around the corner, taking in as much sight as he can gather before the class commences.

     Suddenly, footsteps replace the cacophony of voices within the classroom. Swiftly, all students straighten their backs from their seats and face their heads towards the front of the room. With anticipation seeping in, the students watch as a middle-aged man passes through the agape doorway and enters the classroom.

     Finally, the professor has arrived. The professor stands at a head-tilting height, prompting one to crane their neck to see the tip of his hair. His hair, silky yet wavy like the waves crashing on a shore, shines like bronze, complementing his complexion. His skin, slightly creased with wrinkles due to age, shimmers like sapwood, contrasting against his eyes that glow like the cloudy sky.

     Draped around the professor's bulky form, a leather-brown coat with straps and buckles complements his leaf-green vest. His overcoat, reaching down his ankles like a cape, flows freely against the light air whenever he struts forward. His black trousers, unruly and wrinkled, hurry down to his knee-length boots with laces, completing his ensemble.

The professor stepped onto the wooden platform and faced the students with an inviting grin. "Good afternoon, class," he greeted them, smiling. "I, Professor Sebastian Lenszcen, will be your teacher in Technology. I expect you all to know who I am already, as I was your professor in Visions last year during your first year at Asbranne National Campus," he smirked. As Professor Lenszcen stepped forward and leaned his body against the desk atop the wooden platform, he began to lecture. "Anyway, let us begin. So, technology. It is becoming widespread in our industrializing world. Our realm, once all simple and austere, is modernizing, all thanks to new inventions created by passionate inventors."

     As Jean listened to Professor Lensczen's words, he couldn't help but feel his thoughts zoning out from reality. He struggled to keep his mind focused as he sensed himself drifting into another dimension upon hearing a specific word. That word, deep and alluring from Jean's perspective, somehow triggered something within him—something he couldn't stop thinking about.