The Final Classroom

Geoffrey headed toward the register, where an older man with growing grey hair stood behind the counter.

He was reading the newspaper laid out before him, quickly taking it away as Geoffrey got closer.

"Ah, erhm, hope you found everything you needed."

He cleared his throats some more, then served the best smile he could muster.

Shock quickly overtook his expression as he finally got a closer look at who he was talking to.

"Oh, you're the rainbow hair guy!"

"The one and only," said Geoffrey with his usual monotonous tone.

"Here, let me take care of that," he said.

He reached forward, scanning the soap bottle and looking at the price that came out of it.

As Geoffrey extended his own card, quickly proceeding with the purchase.

"There you go! And here, some student came earlier, leaving this for you, said you would be coming around this time."

The man crouched, looking through whatever was under the counter, until he finally found what he was looking after.

He stood up with a bright smile.

"Here!"

Geoffrey looked at it for a moment.

The white card.

After taking this, there's no coming back. I'll officially be in the arena, whether I like it or not. One small mistake, and it could all blow back in my face.

The thought crossing his mind made his heart beat faster.

But it wasn't fear.

The exhilaration, the thrill. The tip of his fingers were slightly trembling, as he reached to grab the card.

Keeping a straight face was hard, he tried his best.

Yet he failed.

He was smiling, he couldn't control it, a devious smile testament to the excitement he felt.

He was now on the chessboard, and while he tried to contain himself, he could barely do so.

"Thanks," he said.

He put the card in his pocket while trying to get his expression back to neutral.

The employee awkwardly smiled.

"Good luck. But, in the future, please avoid using my store for such purposes."

"Sorry for the inconvenience."

Geoffrey walked out, the dry, cold air blowing in his face. He hadn't realized it, his hair was floating upward like a colorful fire.

His hands reached for his cheeks, then his lips. 

He was still smiling.

~~~—~~~

Geoffrey was sitting on his bed. The morning had only just begun, yet he was already wide awake. 

He was staring at the door of his room, his thoughts tumultuous in his head. 

He couldn't order them, the chaos was too great.

He breathed deep, closing his eyes for a moment. 

After a short moment, he stood up, looking at the white card on the desk.

His smile was gone, and so was the excitement. 

This isn't enough to break me, he thought.

He slapped his own cheeks a few times. "Alright."

He put on his school uniform and grabbed both cards on the way out.

The dorms were still barely alive, as he walked through the hallways the silence was slightly deafening. 

Some people were waking up, yet most were most likely still asleep.

It made sense, he thought. He was the one waking up too early.

He reached the stairs and glanced outside the window.

"Ah."

If he was able to, he would smile. The warmth he felt inside was real, as his eyes set on the clouds painting the sky grey.

He stopped there, simply looking over the horizon for a moment that lasted longer than it felt. 

If only I had a canvas and paint...

He looked down, his attention grabbed by someone looking at him.

He turned away and went down the stairs, heading toward the exit. 

The girl waving at him he recognized from the day before, Ella.

"Seeing each-other so soon! Sleep well?" she asked, as he got closer.

"Yeah, you?" 

"Yeah. Slept right when I arrived home, there's nothing much to do."

They both headed toward the school, Geoffrey matching Ella's slower walking pace.

It truly didn't bother him, he was in no rush. Walking slower allowed him to take in the colder wind as it came once in a while, refreshing and invigorating.

And Ella wasn't bad company.

"Why are you up so early?" she asked.

"I always wake up early. How about you?"

"I have club activities."

"Oh, a club, already?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm kind of lucky. There's a lot of cool clubs that require a higher grade, but there are some that allows us to sign up."

"Which one did you join?"

"Ehh," she started awkwardly.

He looked at her; she was slightly blushing, as if embarrassed.

"Harpsichord club... I'm the only one in it."

Geoffrey's eyebrows raised simultaneously, true surprise.

"Harpsichord? Virginals, spinet, or muselar?" he asked.

"It's a spinet! Wow, I didn't think anyone else would know anything about harpsichords! You're a musician?" she asked.

"Cello. It's the only instrument I can enjoy, haven't touched one in a long time, however."

Ella gently shoulder bumped Geoffrey, her smile shining brightly.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who's into music! I think there's only a few of us that play an instrument in the A class. Maybe we could play together eventually?" 

"We could. But why the harpsichord? Why not the piano?"

"As F graders, our options are limited. You wouldn't be able to get your hands on a Cello as an F grader. This was just the next best thing, sadly," she said.

They turned into the gardens. Just approaching them was denoted with a change in smell, however this time the change was faint from the high winds.

"Ah, have you heard about the stakes?" she said.

Geoffrey shook his head.

She brought her finger to her pinkish lips, slightly frowning while putting her thoughts together.

"Hm, apparently, other classes have chosen their class president already. The first assignment after that is to sort of gamble the class's points."

The way she was soft spoken was a delight for the ears, but the words rung like bells in his ears.

"Gamble points?" he asked.

"Yeah. The way I heard it, we can increase the amount of points we receive from trials. So, if we succeed, we could get double the points toward a higher grade."

"But, we could also lose twice as much."

"Exactly."