"Where... am I?" Matthew questioned. He'd woken up in a strange, dark classroom. Cobwebs dangled off the desks, and the room seemed worn down. The chalkboard had a message written on it in chalk.
The Canadian had read it over and over again. It said, "Hello you mongrel! Today is a very special day! Go to the gymnasium as soon as you wake up, or else."
So far, Matthew was doing a pretty good job of ignoring the rules. He didn't want to follow what a nameless person told him to do, especially when he couldn't remember any details of why he was here. All the poet remembered was his name, title, and that he had his phone on his person. He remembered that he had entered World's Promise for some reason, and then he saw a bear and passed out.
What an odd reason to faint, Matthew thought.
He felt a little worried about why he couldn't recall much. He felt as if he shouldn't trust this eerie place. The gloomy classroom seemed almost sinister. It was obvious that the classroom was no longer in use.
Why would I go to a school that's abandoned? Did I come to the right school?
He stood up and the desk shook when he moved. Matthew needed to investigate, but it was probably the smartest idea to go to the gymnasium.
He walked out of the room, but stopped in his tracks when a flashback slammed into his head. He was sitting in an office, glancing over what seemed to be important documents. The office was small and cluttered. It had a dark themed color pallet, and the wooden desk in the center seemed like an antique. For some reason, it gave Matthew comfort. He longed to stay in the flashback, but it ended in a snap.
The boy leaned back against the wall, and felt even more confused than before.Well, that was unusual. Why would I have a flashback like that? Why did it seem so familiar? Those papers... they looked fancy. What would someone like me be doing somewhere as official as an office?
The violet eyed teen instinctively reached into his hoodie for his cell phone, but felt a different rectangular object in his pocket instead. He grasped the thing for a minute, and then yanked it out of his clothing.
"Huh?" Matthew exclaimed in confusion. He was holding a black device, bigger than a cell phone. At Matthew's touch, it whirred to life and the bright screen hurt his eyes. When he adjusted to the light, he noticed that the screen displayed a picture of himself. He was smiling, and his wavy hair got in the way of his face, as usual. Information about Matthew was located on the side, and his title as a Poet was displayed under his name. How did they get a picture of me? Where is my phone? Is this some sort of ID?
The blond decided that by thinking too hard, he was just making his situation even worse. More questions were aroused every time he investigated something too closely. If he went to the gymnasium, his questions could be answered and he could probably leave this nightmarish Academy. The poet experimentally tapped the screen of his ID card, and a map of the school appeared on display.
According to the map, if Matthew turned left and kept going straight, he'd be at the gymnasium. The teen nodded, and slipped the card back into his pocket. Glancing around as he moved, Matthew hurried to the meeting place. It was hard to see more than a few feet ahead in the hall. Purple lights lit the entire floor, which helped slightly.
After passing more classrooms, the Canadian reached the gymnasium. The gymnasium was in the center of the hall, and besides the hall from which Matthew came from, there were two other halls. They would be explored later. All that mattered now was the gymnasium. Matthew felt a chill creep down his spine as he pulled open the set of double doors.
The first thing Matthew Williams noticed about the odd gymnasium was the light. It was much brighter than the corridor, and it was clearly one of the focal points of the school. The second thing that he noticed was the teenagers. Matthew did a quick count in his head, and he realized that eighteen other students were scattered around the gym. They all turned to look at Matthew, and some of their shoes squeaked against the wooden, yellow floor. The poet looked away. He wasn't really used to that level of attention.
It took him a couple seconds to look back at the many faces that were looking at him, and he waved a shaky hand. The others looked confused like him, so he assumed that they were in a situation like him. Nobody was talking, and Matthew felt like he should say something.
Before he could say anything however, one of the students in the front of the group walked up to him. He got about a foot away from Matthew, and then proceeded to roll his eyes. Matthew couldn't help but wonder what the guy's problem was.
The boy took a step closer to Matthew and hissed in an English accent, "Try to be punctual, please. We've already been thrown into the ring, and we don't need anyone to be disobedient, now do we?"
The boy had a confident air about him, and his emerald green eyes gave his face a more frightening tone. He had scruffy blond hair, and a set of eyebrows that could put a caterpillar to competition. The lad wore a white dress shirt, khakis, and freshly waxed brown shoes. To complete the look, he wore a green vest and a golden watch on his right wrist.
Well, clearly he's rich. I have to address him in a polite tone, even if he does get nasty.
Matthew looked straight into the boy's eyes. He replied in a warm tone, "I'm sorry! I just woke up a few minutes ago!" He had woken up maybe ten or so minutes ago, so he wasn't lying. Matthew never lied. It was just part of his nature.
The boy smirked, and Matthew had a feeling that the only reason that he was acting so cocky was because he was stressed. Matthew was excellent at reading body language, and this boy was the picture of worked up at the moment.
The green eyed lad proclaimed, "I'm Arthur Kirkland, the World Power Level Prince. I am the Prince of England, and I'd like to be treated with respect." He extended a firm hand. Matthew shook it, trying to be as friendly as he could.
Arthur continued on. "Now, you don't need to tell me your name. You're Matthew Williams, World Powers Level Poet. I saw it on the Student ID Card menu where all of the Student Biographies are located. Since someone nicked our phones, they clearly want us to stay in this school. Seems ominous, doesn't it?"
Arthur sure does have a lot to say... I didn't know you could see things about the other students, so that's nice! I'll look at that later. I still can't believe I'm talking to a prince of all people. It's an honor!
Matthew smiled. "It's an honor to speak with you, Prince Kirkland. Thank you for telling me about the Student Biographies! It does feel a little creepy here. I don't trust this at all."
He spoke in a softer tone. "I really don't know what's happening, and I don't want to know. Do you feel the same?"
The prince nodded. "I do. I know this isn't good, and I'll get to the bottom of it."
Originally, all the characters were going to be introduced next chapter. It was far too sloppy, however. So, expect something totally different.
Also, this AU has a blog on tumblr now! The url is hetaronpa-wlmk, so you know what to do (because you can't post links on here). Just type hetaronpa-wlmk . tumblr . com in your address bar (without the spaces of course). Come check us out! Thank you :)!