Sempiternity (COMPLETED)

I

The bell in the clock tower chimed in for the second time that day, and the sun’s bright rays glistened over the large school campus. In its light shimmered the bustling landscape of academics, and beneath its brilliance were several thousand students migrating to their classes and habitats. Despite how bright the morning was, a cool breeze blew through the area, keeping the air from growing too hot or humid.

In five minutes the third and final bell would ring and classes would begin. 

A boy sat in a chair in the third floor classroom of one of the school’s various tall buildings. His seat was furthest in the back and closest to the window, so he sat with his legs crossed and watched the outside of the class from the window intently and peacefully. The boy had been in the room for a while now in the same position, watching the sun rise and the students migrate to the school. Christmas had passed the last month and the winter still brought with it a death rattle of chilly weather. This was the first day of school after the holiday’s break.

It was a not-so subtle attempt to continue the long-gone traditions and practices of the pre-Collapse world. After the Collapse, the worldwide disaster that changed everything, the world and its inhabitants had survived and eventually moved on. That’s the one thing human beings were specialized for – adapting to change. That was why it was so idiotic for the world as it was now to continually revive old world traditions and hail them as if they were essential to life. More often than not, they were simply worthless customs that were only perpetuated because those in charge of the world didn’t have the energy to come up with new ones to replace them.

School, even the one the boy attended now, was one such outdated practice. Another was the stiff uniform he had to wear. He hated it and he hated school.

Despite the chilly weather, the boy wore a simple reimagining of the school’s uniform, which consisted of black slim-fitting pants, brown loafers, and a dark jacket. The boy instead chose to wear a tailored jacket with a long coattail, and he wore it open, showing off his grey undershirt beneath it. The boy’s hair, short, uneven, and light brown, sat atop his short forehead and tersely concentrated face. 

His uniform broke regulation, but he didn’t care and nobody else seemed to, either. What were they going to do about it? Ban him from attending school? That would only make him feel better and undermine the law that every person his age had to attend school, so expulsion was completely unheard of these days. Nobody could stop him, or anyone, from not following the rules – because to do so would be, in and of itself, not following the rules.

The first student shuffled into the classroom without warning, sighing and shivering. The boy did not move from his vigil and continued to stare out of the window, gazing at nothing in particular. He acted as if he was still the only occupant in the room. The newly entered student fumbled over to their desk and plopped books onto it before pausing in their movements. They seemed to notice the boy for the first time and walked over to him.

“Wow, you’re here early! You must be the new student…? What’s your name?” The student’s voice, bubbly and high-pitched, was undoubtedly from a female. The boy, slow to react to the question, looked to his right slowly and looked right in the inquirer’s eyes. He did not respond.

“Oh, my bad! It’s polite to give my own name first, isn’t it…?” The girl laughed nervously and hugged herself in order to build up some warmth. Goosebumps prickled noticeably from her arms, although it wasn’t clear if they originated from the coldness of the room or the coldness of the boy in front of her. “I’m Natalia Monomus. And you are?” 

The boy simply stared at the newly dubbed Natalia, who had thrust her hand forward to initiate a handshake. She was a pretty young girl, with a softly formed face and shoulder-length curled black hair. Her lips, hands, and legs were petite and all shaded a light pink from her chilled state. Besides the uniform jacket, she wore a skirt with knee-high stockings to complete her wardrobe. In her eyes, the boy could almost see a swirl of genuine friendliness and happiness.