Bella's Room; The Flat
It has been a week since Bella had that peculiar vision dream...
She has not had another vision dream for the past week since that one. She doesn't understand why they just suddenly stopped happening, and if this stoppage is temporary or permanent. She also wondered if getting splashed with cold water by Renko that day is the reason the vision dreams stopped...
Bella had told Renko and Adam about the stoppage.
Renko thought that her splashing Bella with cold water might've "shorted out some wiring", and was initially so distraught she considered committing sepukku, only to immediately reveal that she was just joking about the suicide part, and tells the American girl that she might just start seeing them again soon.
Adam theorized that if the other world Bella saw in her vision dreams really does exist, then something probably happened in it that prevented visits for the time being. Though he said he has no idea how long the "closed borders" is going to last.
Today, Bella woke up still thinking about that peculiar vision dream.
Just what could be going on...? She thought.
She sat up from her bed, and glanced at the programmable alarm clock by the bedside.
0700 Hours.
Bella thought she must've woken up early, since she remembers programming the alarm clock to ring at 0800 Hours.
The American girl then remembered that today is the day her first semester of school begins. Recalling about the class timetable she received via e-mail and downloaded on the day she enrolled, she picked up her mobile phone (she'd say "cellphone, but Adam and Renko kept correcting her to "mobile phone"), and opened up the file that contained the timetable.
x-x-x
Student Name:Maribel Lutwidge Hearn
StudentID: PMISS20061226
Program: Certificate in Studies of Psychology
Semester: MAY2062
Courses to Attend:
Basics in Psychology [Monday, 1000-1200 Hours; Thursday, 1200-1400 Hours]
Studies of Human Behavior and Mentality [Tuesday, 1400-1600 Hours]
English Language* [Tuesday, 1000-1200 Hours]
Mathematics* [Monday, 1200-1400 Hours]
Social Etiquette and Morals* [Wednesday, 1200-1400 Hours; Thursday 1400-1600 Hours; Friday 1000-1200 Hours]
{Asterisk (*) indicate courses that are mandatory for all programs}
x-x-x
Bella understands that the courses listed in this semester's timetable isn't everything, and that there will be other subjects in the following semesters. But what she doesn't get at first is why Social Etiquette and Morals is a mandatory course. The American girl thought of the name as basically a highly professional way of saying "Manners", but figured there must be something more to it.
After closing the file, Bella then decided to go check her e-mail. The e-mails in her inbox had contained mostly status updates from her Twitter follows, and one from two days ago when she decided to go register a Sina Weibo account (it was banned in the US, and she was glad it wasn't the case in the UK).
The American girl remembered Adam and Renko suggesting her to join the International Sealing Club's group on Sina Weibo. But she hasn't gotten around to doing it yet. She thought about asking one of them for advice, but then remembered that they both have classes at 0800 Hours today (Renko took Astronomy classes while Adam declined to reveal what he took) and have probably left their flat already.
Being early is better than being late... Bella thought to herself. I can just ask them later.
With that, she got off her bed, and went to get changed.
...
Y.G. International Academy
After having a sandwich for breakfast at a cafe, Bella arrived at the campus with much time to spare. She took a sip of the cup of hot chocolate she bought as she noted the crowd of students on the campus grounds.
It was immediately obvious that the crowd is larger today than at the day of the Introduction Seminar; students who are starting their first semester today walked past students who have been around for several semesters.
Despite the large crowd, Bella still easily spotted the two familiar figures standing by the main building's entrance. One of them quickly spotted her too.
"Oh, hello!" Erich greeted her. "I see that your first semester starts today!"
Vivit simply waved at Bella. She wondered why nobody else were questioning the oddity that is a maid-dressed girl in the middle of campus grounds.
"So, how was it, hanging out with two occultists?" Erich then asked in a mocking tone.
Bella blinked. "Occultists?" The American girl could guess who the bespectacled Brit were talking about, but not why he called them that.
"They investigate the occult, hence occultists." Erich answered the rhetoric question.
Bella blinked again. Erich wasn't entirely wrong about that. "You got a problem with that?"
"Not quite." The bespectacled Brit gave a straightforward answer.
It is then that Vivit stepped forward. "Erich believed that the International Sealing Club's existence is pointless in this era of science and technology."
I can see why you two thought that... Bella thought as she stared briefly at the secretly-an-android girl. "Oh. I get it now..." She then said. "You're just like one of those prestigious jerks from high school sitcoms back in America, constantly tormenting the main characters and whatever clubs they are in..."
Erich looked away. "I know what you're talking about. But the comparison's not quite right." He then said. "I'm just more of a logic-minded guy, like Scully from The X-Files." He took a look at his watch. "Well, enough talk for now. My class starts in 15 minutes. I'll see you again soon."
And with that, the bespectacled Brit turned and walked away, leaving his android "sister" standing there with Bella.
"He didn't mean to antagonize your friends, though..." Vivit said.
"He didn't antagonize anyone." Bella responded. "He's just being a skeptic. I've seen people like him a lot back in the US."
"I see." Vivit nodded in response.
"By the way," Bella raised another question. "Do you have classes, or are you just here to see your 'brother' off?" The American girl stressed the word "brother".
Vivit seemed to notice the word being stressed, but paid it no mind. "The latter." She answered. "Don't you have classes too?"
Bella checked the time with her cell...ehem, mobile phone. 0949 Hours, 11 minutes until Basics in Psychology class starts. Did four minutes just passed by? It felt like it had been only a few seconds...
"You're right. I should be going." Bella said to Vivit. "What about you?"
"I'll just be heading back home." The android answered.
"Well, you take good care of yourself then." Bella said before walking away, heading for her classroom.
...
Bella had always been told by her parents and friends back in America that she should've studied art (like her mother did) instead of psychology, and now she sees why.
There are only six people aside from her who are in the classroom made for 50 students. And of those six, the only one who even look slightly interested in the subject is a European-looking brunette with a braid. And while the lecturer - a Welsh woman with (possibly dyed) dark-blue hair with a thin ponytail, who calls herself Professor Morgan - didn't bore people with her teaching methods, she looked a bit too enthusiastic with her job (albeit a bit disappointed by how underpopulated her class is).
And that's not mentioning the fact that everyone spent the first 15 minutes of class waiting for Professor Morgan to come in...
Bella had taken the liberty to check the professor's faculty record with her phone. Apparently, Professor Morgan only just got transferred to Y.G. International Academy a few weeks ago. That probably explain why she doesn't look as professional as a lecturer of the world's most prestigious college should be.
Bella figured that this is probably why her father said studying psychology is basically sitting still, doing nothing in the classroom. Although the American girl wanted to prove her old man wrong by actually listening in to the lecture and taking notes for the rest of the class.
It was a tedious one hour and 45 minutes until the class ended. Not a boring one hour and 45 minutes, but a tedious one nonetheless.
"Alright class, now that you've learn about the fundamentals," Professor Morgan said at the end of the class (the lack of a school bell meant that nobody but the professor realized the class was ending). "this will be your very first assignment for Basics of Psychology: write a summary of at least 200 words on the concept of psychology using your own words." She paused for a bit, as if realizing her instruction is incomplete. "I don't care if it's handwritten or typed on a computer, but I'd like to see a hard copy if you chose the latter method. I'd like to see your work in the next class on Thursday." She finished with an enthusiastic clap of her hands. "That is all, everyone. Now, class dismissed~"
With that, pretty much every student - Bella included, pooled out of the classroom. Everyone save Bella and that European braided brunette left without giving their dark-blue haired professor a second glance.
Bella resisted the urge to grin when she saw Professor Morgan pouting about how her students acted so cold. Though her grin disappeared as quickly as it appeared upon remembering that her next class today is Mathematics.
...
Mathematics is boring.
That is literally the first thing Bella heard her classmates (including Renko and Adam, who were also forced to sit through it) saying when she stepped into the classroom for the Mathematics class. She couldn't fathom why every instance of the subject in every semester in every school post-elementary, in every country, always have to begin with the four most fundamental parts of Mathematics (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), as if the schools are worried you will ever forget them.
Then there is the lecturer, Professor Okazaki, who is, in Bella's opinion, about as dull as her elementary school Mathematics teacher, teaching methods wise. At least his face isn't as dull to look at.
Bella couldn't agree more with her classmates (including Renko and Adam) after sitting through two hours of it.
...
A cafe near Y.G. International Academy
After all of their classes for the day are over, Bella, Renko and Adam went to a nearby cafe (actually the same one Bella went to this morning) to have their lunch. There, they took the time to talk about their first day of school.
"Sure, an astrophysicist would be doing a lot of complex mathematical calculations," Renko voiced her complains first. "but do we have to repeat what we learned since primary school? For every year of school after that?"
"At least in college, you can ignore Maths for the rest of your college years once you've passed it." Adam added as he sipped his tea.
I guess that is one thing we all look forward to. Bella thought in response to Adam's opinion. "That aside, there is something I wanted to ask you guys about..." She then said out loud.
Renko and Adam both paused.
"It's about the International Sealing Club..." The American girl clarified.
"Made up your mind on joining the Club?" Adam interjected.
Bella wasn't surprised. Although Adam had said that he isn't telepathic (in lieu of possessing ESP), he guessed correctly because it was pretty obvious what she was going to say.
"Yes, but before I get to that..." Bella said. "Why is it called the International Sealing Club? I don't think having one British and one Japanese member is enough to qualify as 'international'..."
Renko giggled as she found the question actually pretty funny. Adam, on the other hand, swelled up in embarrassment.
"Alright, I admit I had Junior Second Grader Syndrome-" Adam admitted.
"Chunnibyou." Renko interrupted to translate the term used.
"-when I came up with that name years ago." Adam finished.
Now it was Bella's turn to giggle, after failing the urge to not do so in response to Adam's explanation.
"Oh, shut up, ladies." The British Esper exasperated.
Bella and Renko did as they were told, and quieted down.
Bella cleared her throat before continuing. "And now, about joining the International Sealing Club..."
...
The process of joining the International Sealing Club really was as simple as Renko said it was a week ago, and Bella was done with the process within a few minutes (though admittedly she did it right in front of Adam, otherwise she'd have to wait for who-knows-how-long for her join request to be accepted).
"And so, Maribel Lutwidge Hearn officially became the third member of the International Sealing Club." Adam said as he checked Sina Weibo on his phone. "A British, a Japanese and an American. Is that 'international' enough for you now?"
"Well, you two have wrote some interesting things in your Weibo group blogs..." Bella commented while browsing the Club's Sina Weibo group page on her phone. "Oh, looks like someone just posted a comment roasting the group...figuratively."
Adam looked at the screen of his phone, and frowned as he saw the comment in question. "Oh, damn that bloody genius..."
Bella took a second look at the comment. She then caught a glimpse of the poster's profile picture, and found the face depicted to be familiar.
"Wow, I met Erich this morning, and the first thing he said to me is that the Club is a pointless existence." Bella told Renko and Adam. "I guess he really did mean it..."
"Well, he's right in a certain sense..." Renko said. "But still, that was pretty brutally honest of him to type that out straight."
"Well, I've seen enough." Adam declared as he stood up. "So, who's paying for lunch?"
Bella raised her hand. "It was my idea to come here, so I'll p-"
The American girl stopped as she noticed a notification pop up in the International Sealing Club's Weibo page.
Renko and Adam appear to have noticed the notification too.
"Another join request?" Adam wondered. "I wonder how they stumbled upon us?"
"Adam, you are the group admin. Only you can accept or decline join requests." Renko told the British Esper.
Bella shrugged. She thought of it as a coincidence that someone else just happened to decide to join the International Sealing Club right after she did.
Shrugging, Adam tapped on the notification icon on his phone to open it for inspecting.
"Well, it is a new guy wanting to join the ISC. Looks like he's studying at Y.G. too..." Something then caught his attention. "Hmm...that's interesting..."
"What is?" Bella and Renko both asked in unison.
Adam lowered his phone to look at the girls.
"Just how often does Taiwan get mentioned these days?"
Character profile
Professor Morgan
Birthday: 3rd of December, 2028
Hometown: Cardiff, Wales
Skills and abilities: writes very fast.
Likes: Teaching about Psychology.
Dislikes: Her last name.
Having only just got her credentials as a Professor of Psychology in 2060, Morgan Faye (who refuses to be known by her last name) wished that people were more interested in studying Psychology so she can show off to her students what she knows about the subject.
So here's a chapter where we take a break from the mystic, and just have the main cast go about with the first day of their school years. And don't worry, Bella's going to start seeing Gensokyo again soon.
In case you're wondering, yes, Professor Morgan is the same Morgan from Seihou. Okay, so maybe there's a bit of a personality change, but that is her. We'll be seeing more of her in the future, though she'll mostly be a deuteragonist who won't be playing a huge role in the story, but recurs enough to be considered a character (in the veins of the Kappa Mob from Wild and Horned Hermit). Hence her relatively short profile up there.
And nope, the Professor Okazaki here is not Yumemi. She's not even born yet during the times of this story. That is her paternal grandfather you just saw.
That "European-looking brunette with a braid" is an early bird cameo of one of multiple OCs I've created for this story. But since she won't be properly introduced until a later chapter, she only gets a cursory mention as a faceless bystander here.
Taiwan, eh? You certainly don't talk about it these days without going into politics. Well, I'd just say this: there will be nothing political at any point in this story. That is all.
Also, I know nothing about how you study Psychology in college, so forgive me for any mistakes here, as I used my college class timetable as a reference when designing Bella's.
Next chapter: a guy from Taiwan wants to join the International Sealing Club, and we see why.
"And that, as they say, is that."
Afterword ends here.
