Just when Zen was about to lose his mind—
T-tinnnnnnnh!
A high-pitched mic glitch rang out, snapping everyone's attention to the front.
A boy, who had been previously lounging on the teacher's podium — stood up with a megaphone in hand.
[Ah, ah... Okay! Assessment time is over!]
The class murmured in confusion.
Assessment? Zen blinked.
Kozen scowled. "Huh? What the hell are you talking abou—"
THWACK!
A piece of chalk whizzed cleanly through the air and struck Kozen square on the forehead. Dead center.
The boy with the megaphone narrowed his eyes.
"Rule number one," he said, completely flat, "Don't interrupt when your senior is speaking."
Then he raised the megaphone again.
[Now! Everyone, eyes front. We're going over the results.]
He flipped open a slim notebook and began to read.
[Let's see... Class Harmony: Negative points. Property Mismanagement: Negative points. Class Balance... um, debatable.]
Zen stared. He's totally highlighting on the negatives...
The boy nodded solemnly and mentally checked something off the list.
[Destroying school property and violating rules on day one, and including the cost of repairing...]
He smiled. [Congratulatioens! Your class is now officially 100,000 Rei in debt!]
He clapped enthusiastically.
[You guys have made history. The worst first day in Sinilite history! Let's give ourselves a big round of applause, shall we?]
Clap clap clap.
...
Everyone: "..."
[Eh? No one wants to celebrate? But it's okay, let me announce the class territory next... Oh! It's Willow Street.]
He smiled gleefully, like he hadn't just dropped one bombshell after another.
One student muttered, "Willow Street?! You've got to be kidding…"
"Are we just going to ignore the part where he dumped us into debt?!" A guy with a buzz cut, shouted.
Zen nodded in agreement. Finally, someone with common sense!
What could be more terrifying than debt?
But looking around the classroom, no one else seemed focused on that part.
Everyone was obviously more invested on what the boy just announced. What was it again?
Willow... Willo… Weilo…?
[Willow Street.] The senior repeated the name, as if he already anticipated the result.
He shrugged. [This was decided based on a lottery and not a arbitrary decision by the council. So I assume there are no complaints.]
Then, flashing a disturbingly cheerful smile, he put down the megaphone and added:
"Welcome to SINKE! I'm Enan Yorne. I look forward to seeing your achievements. Well then…"
He paused on his way out and said with the sweetest grin. "Good luck crawling out of this garbage dump."
Zen expected some adverse reaction but to his surprised the classroom eerily quieted down.
The atmosphere was somewhat heavier.
Tension.
Frustration.
Unwillingness.
Zen could read it clearly on their faces. It was an emotion he'd become all too familiar with.
But can someone bother to explain what's going on?!
"U-um… What is Willow Street?" a weak voice asked.
It was the short guy from earlier, raising a timid hand.
"I'm from outside the region, so I'm not really familiar with this."
Another guy also asked, nodding. "Yeah, I've heard bits and pieces, but I'm not clear either."
Zen instinctively turned to his information center — Hako.
Hako sighed, gave a helpless shrug, and walked up to the front like a teacher taking charge.
"I don't mind explaining," he said. "It's something everyone who grew up in or around Heichil knows."
He grabbed a piece of chalk and began drawing a rough map on the board.
"Five years ago, Heichil was destroyed. Completely flattened."
He paused. "What we see now is the result of survivors rebuilding it piece by piece. But many areas are still untouched ruins."
He circled a portion of the map.
"Class territory, as the name implies, is the area each class governs. Officially. Willow Street… is ours."
He tapped the circle.
"It's a dead zone. We'll be starting from scratch, like many others have done. Once it's rebuilt, civilians will eventually move in. But here's the tricky part…"
Hako looked grim as he spoke.
"Willow Street was a red zone during the collapse. It's where many lives have been claimed."
He looked visibly disgusted.
"So if we were to clean it up, we might still find piles of bones underneath the rubble."
Zen expression freeze.
Hahaha. Did he just say b-bones?
Then Fabasa also added quietly. "Some say you can still hear children crying at night. There used to be an orphanage over there before the incident."
Kozen stiffened, ears perked like a frightened cat.
"I heard there's a little ghost," Fabasa continued calmly, "dressed in white… still wandering the ruins. So let's do our best to send the ghost to heaven, since it's our territory..."
While he was speaking, Fabasa swiftly avoided the object thrown his way.
"Oi, Fabasa! I'm not done speaking!" Hako snapped. "And that's just gossip! Don't tell me you actually believe it."
Fabasa shrugged and flopped into an empty chair. "Whatever you say."
Hako huffed but resumed.
"So, basically, we have the ownership of Willow Street now. We're responsible for it. And yeah, it'll be hell to clean up."
He clapped his hands. "Why don't we head there right away? We can start moving our stuff today."
"W-wait… Hako."
Zen walked up and leaned in, whispering, "You don't mean… that's where we're staying tonight?"
Hako nodded as if it were obvious.
"Yep. Class territory doubles as our dorm. It's our base from now on."
Kozen groaned. "What's the point in fixing a haunted graveyard? I didn't come here to be a damn corpse cleaner."
"If you'd rather rent a place outside, go ahead," Fabasa replied without looking up.
Then his eyes swept the room, at the people who were now his classmates.
"But if you're here to change your life, then you better get moving. Besides…"
He smirked.
"The first group to clear 100 meters gets a 100,000 Rei reward. Enough to clear our debt."
"A hundred thousand Rei?!" the class roared.
Hundred thousand Rei...
That was an insane amount.
Even Zen felt his blood stir. Sure enough, money is still the best motivation!