The Elusive Book Keeper - Chapter 29

Beep!     Beep! Beep!

Zane reached out and switched off the alarm. He sat up groggily on the bed. He had been so busy sorting out the books and affixing the price to them that he had logged out of Parallel so late. By the time he logged out, it was already 1 am in the early morning.

He looked at the alarm clock by his bedside, it was 5 a.m. Damn! He was still feeling very sleepy! It was so easy, if he just closed his eyes, then…

No! Zane shook his head. This was the first day of school, it would not do to get a discredit today.

Zane drank a little water and started warming up his body. Simple exercises did not really improve his constitution anymore but at least they got his blood pumping faster.

After the exercise, he took a quick shower and entered the kitchen. He had connected the capsule to the nutrient solution yesterday but he still felt very hungry. It was probably some kind of food psychology where physical substances improve satiety.

He opened the fridge and took a deep breath of relief. Lexi had stocked up the fridge. He made a simple breakfast. He toasted some bread, fried some eggs and bacon and had it with plain oat porridge. He ate a huge portion but was still worried that it was too light. He had no idea about the intensity of the class, not to mention his schedule was fully packed.

South Ivy Dormitory might be the most expensive and equipped dormitory in Amherst college but it still had a great disadvantage. It did not have a cafeteria. Don’t look down on this.

Imagine coming back worn out from your classes and yet having to cook lunch. That would be so terrible.

But then again, those that could live here would probably have butlers and maids making a three course breakfast for them every day. He suddenly regretted sending Lexi to Revlon.

He threw some high calorie protein bars into his inventory. He shouldn’t be forgetting anything. He looked over his reflection, gave it a warm smile and left his apartment.

He stood outside as he waited for his transportation. The compound was very beautiful and quiet. A little too quiet, shouldn’t there be some noise from the guards?

Judging from the amount of important ‘personnel’ in this place, the guards should be much. He wondered where they could be hiding, perhaps in…

He looked at the orange tree before him and his eyes met droopy dark blue orbs.

Zane’s eyes widened for a second before he lowered them. He knew who this was.

It was different from looking at photos or videos. It was a familiar, almost instinctive kind of recognition.

The boy looked no older than him. He had a whitish blond hair with a few loose strands framing his face. He lay sprawled on a tree branch and although he was wearing the same shirt and trousers as Zane, he managed to make it seem as casual as a T-shirt and shorts.

This was Phoenix Alder, the Seventh Prince of the Empire and his other self’s best friend.

Zane gave a customary bow. It was a short as a nod, any deeper than this and he might be accused of allegiance to the Empire, although such things mostly happen in the Federation.

“Good morning, Your Royal Highness.” Zane greeted.

Phoenix looked like he couldn’t be bothered, he just arranged himself better on the tree and gave a non-committal reply. The rejection in his posture was obvious and Zane backed off for a while.

5 minutes later, he gave a small self-sacrificing smile, “Your Royal Highness, Is there a prob…I mean is there anything I can help you with?”

Phoenix sighed loudly before opening his eyes and taking another look at Zane. His eyes suddenly lit up, “You are one of those students, the good one, I mean. That honest kind that is easily believed?”  It was as if he did not understand the awkwardness of the question as he stared at him waiting for his answer.

Zane scratched his head, gave an awkward smile before replying, “Eh… I hope I am.”

Phoenix looked him up and down, analyzing him, “I suppose you will do.” He cleared his throat, sat upon the tree branch and started, “It is not my fault.”

Zane, “…”

Phoenix continued, his voice was at the right timbre for a storyteller,  “I even reached here before you. I got up early, dressed up and came out. I have tried calling the campus shuttle but it is set to arrive 4 hours from now. You have to bear witness for me. It is not that I have zero regards for the Alliance or Amherst but I am a feeble student that can’t walk all the way to my department and there is no free campus shuttle in school.”

The moment he finished speaking, a small black hovercar entered the compound. Zane’s face was full of black lines. The car did not even wait for at least 10 minutes. Now, it looked like he was refuting Phoenix’s very long complaint.

“I heard from a friend that the number of shuttles is largely lower than the number of students resulting in a severe morning rush. I booked mine yesterday afternoon.”

Phoenix yawned, “So, I was wrong then. It was my fault. You don’t need to bear witness anymore, you can go.”

Zane watched the boy who closed his eyes while yawning, stretching as if he forgot he was sitting on a thin branch. The constitution of those in the leader class was worse than that of those in the mage class and far below that of those in the warrior class.

He just wondered if this prince should fall down from his tree, who would take the fall. Him or those guards? He thought about something, bowed and made his way to his shuttle.

“Wait!!  Can I join you?” He asked in a somewhat polite manner. However, he had already climbed down the tree and his stride to the shuttle was even faster than Zane.

Zane watched the boy reach the door, open it then turned to look, “Thanks..what did you say your name was again?”

“Zane. Zane Valois.”

“Oh! Thanks, Valois. I will be stopping at the Department of Strategy and Tactical Operations.”

“Alright.” Zane entered and inputted the information.

Awkward and Uncomfortable. Those were the two words he could use to describe both the encounters and the person.

It was as if the space he was occupying was not enough. The sleeping boy nudged him aside as he let out a soft snore. With the way he was turning around on the seat, Zane knew the shirt would even be more rumpled than it was now. He clenched the edge of the seat.

This was definitely not the genius strategist that his other self was all about. It should be another Phoenix because this one, he could not see both of them becoming friends, talk less of best friends.