Project: Socialize

Besides, what do you expect from a story that has the tag "Haram" and "sexual themes?" It's quite obvious what you will get by reading this by simply looking at the tags yourself.

In addition, I would like to add, in the future, if the story is to continue and the characters reach college, there will be more mature content.

~NightLightLuminus

——————Break——————

Early Monday morning, I left the house dressed in my school uniform. Instead of my usual school bag, I took with my a small backpack as well as a duffel bag in which I carried clothes to change into as well as my toiletries. All this was to be for the week long school trip that I'll be taking part in.

The scheduled meetup time that the school had conveyed to the students was 8:30 in the morning at Nocsinis Station. Therefore, I left my house at around the time I usually leave for school. It would appear that Muria had the same idea as I since when I left my house, she was standing before the closed elevator doors and waiting for the elevator to arrive to our floor.

Without saying anything, I walked up and stood by her as we waited. When the elevator did arrive, we rode it all the way down to the ground floor. As it descended, I looked out the glass wall that was opposite of the closed elevator doors and at the city outside, taking in the sun-basked streets that grew larger and larger as we descended.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened, allowing us to exit at the empty first floor lobby where the mail boxes for each household was located. The two of us then left our building in silence as we made our way to Lumina Station so that we could ride the train to Nocsinis Station.

After walking down the street for about five minutes, the large four-story building that was Lumina Station came into view. The station became larger and larger as we made our way to it, crossing the large crosswalk in front of the station square and made our way to the building. From the side of the building at the second floor, the elevated railway entered and came out on the opposite side of it. On the floors above it, there were plenty of glass windows. I've never really been up to the third and fourth floor, but from my knowledge, the third and fourth floor was a shopping center with restaurants being situated on the fourth floor.

I entered through one of the many entrances into the station and walked down the large open space within the building and towards the escalators for the elevated railways. I followed behind Muria as we walked towards the ticket gates, scanned our phones on the scanner, and passed through so that we could ride the escalators up. I realized that after taking this route on a daily basis, even someone who has a poor sense of direction like her was able to memorize the way and know where to go.

We then made our way up to the busy second floor platforms where the elevated railways entered and exited the building through the opened walls on either side of the building. Because of that design where the two sides of the second floor lacked enclosure, wind blew in through it. During the winter time, it's quite chilly to be waiting on the platforms here.

The train soon arrived after a two minute wait, and Muria and I boarded one of the many train cars. The train wasn't as packed as it was during rush hour, but it was still quite crammed due to the high volume of passengers that use it. Since Muria and I also have our duffel bags to worry about, I was especially crammed.

When the train finally arrived at Nocsinis Station, I was relieved when we exited the train car and made my way down the escalators to the large open area in the first floor of the large Nocsinis Station building. Then, I started looking for the meetup spot that the school had decided on.

I was told that we will be meeting near the ticket gates for the high speed rails. Therefore, I followed the signs and made my way there. I intentionally walked at a faster pace to overtalk Muria, who was looking around with a confused and worried countenance. After passing her, I gently coughed to attract her attention before following the signs towards the high speed rails.

It was actually not that hard to find the meetup spot since after walking for less than a minute, I saw plenty of other students from my high school headed there. These people were all dressed in their school uniforms and carried with them their luggage.

Soon, we arrived at the meetup spot and discovered almost the entire population of our school there. Everybody was standing with their classes near the corner of the building so that they will not pose as an obstacle to others using the station. Since Nocsinis Station was the largest train station in the entirety of Vilheim, there was actually still plenty of room for the other commuters to use with leisure.

Muria and I then made our way over where her older sister was standing. It appeared that this was where our class, 2-A, gathered. Among the crowd that was already present, I saw Loyd chatting with Noah as they stood with their luggage on the ground. After seeing us, the two boys waved and Muria and I walked over.

"Morning," Noah greeted us with a smile.

"Have you seen Irina?" Muria then asked with a sigh. "I'm worried that she might not know how to find this location."

"I think she'll be fine," Loyd answered. "She's been commuting on her own for some time already."

"Still..." Muria frowned. Her expression was like that of a worried older sister. However, her worries were soon dispersed when Irina appeared from the not too far escalators and walked over towards us with a brisk pace while rolling a small suitcase behind her.

"Did I make it on time?" she asked as she gasped for air. It would appear that she had came in quite a hurry.

"Yeah," Loyd replied as he checked his phone. "A few minutes before 8:30."

"Where's Zaksus?" Noah then asked as he looked around.

"He's with his own class," Loyd responded, "with the other first year students."

For my school, each year around this time, every grade goes on the school trip. Even though it's an educational trip, the school believes every grade should go in order for the students to bond and learn more about their country. So unlike the other schools where it's usually the second year students that gets to go, all three grades at my school goes on this trip. That means that Zaksus as well as Luna will be on this trip as well.

"Everybody, quiet down!" the head teacher from my school announced using a megaphone to attract our attention and silence us so that we could hear what he's saying. "It's 830, so that means we'll be taking role in a few minutes. However, before we begin, I would like to say somethings first. As you may know already, the destination for this trip will be Saroff, the home of the great first emperor, Leshius I. It's a beautiful city, so I would like to ask everybody to be on their best behavior. There will be mandatory activities where you will have to go with your class, but we will ensure that everybody gets an ample amount of free time to explore the city with your friends. So enjoy your one week off from school and have fun."

Then, Mura asked us all to arrange ourselves according to our seating chart in the classroom so that she could take roll for us. As she did so, Emilia stood behind her and helped her in the process. It would appear that unlike Mura, Emilia isn't the homeroom teacher for any of the classes. Therefore, the school assigned her to help out their youngest teacher, Mura.

"Loyd?" she called as she went off the list on her tablet.

"Here," Loyd responded.

"Alevian?" she walked down the row and then stopped in front of me.

"Here..." I responded in a silent voice as I cowered under the stress that her intense stare exerted on me.

"... Happy birthday," she said after a few seconds. "And thanks for the cake."

"Ugh... You're welcome?" I responded, unsure whether or not it was the correct response. However, it would appear that it didn't matter since Mura walked away and back to the front of our class.

"So in a few minutes," Mura said, "once all the other classes are done taking roll, we'll pass through the ticket gates. We'll go in order that I called your name so that the station employees can have it easy to match your ticket with your person. As for now, you may talk among yourselves."

"I'm excited," Loyd said with a laugh as he looked over at me. "This is the first school trip that I'll be going with you."

"Why's that something to be exited about?" I shook my head.

"Come on boys!" I heard Noah shouting as he brought his arms over Loyd's shoulder and said to the class. "Get hype!!!"

"What is he doing?" Muria sighed as she brought a hand to her forehead as if she was having a headache.

"He's pretty loud..." I commented.

"A-Alevian..."

I heard a soft voice call my name and looking over, I discovered that it was Irina. She had her arms behind her as she her face was somewhat red.

"H-happy birthday," she said as she closed her eyes and brought forward a small box that was wrapped in a white gift wrap with a red ribbon. "I'm sorry it's a few days late..."

I observed her in surprise, in shock that she would actually buy me something."T-thanks," I said. "You didn't have to get me a gift."

"It's fine," she said, blushing as she handed me the box. "Y-you've helped me out a lot so take it as a token for my gratitude."

"Thank you," I said accepting the box from her.

Then, I looked at her and saw that she was staring at me with a great anticipation on her face. It would appear that she wanted me to open it right then and there. Seeing this look on her face, I knew that I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if I didn't do as she wished. Therefore, I undid the wrapping on the gift to find a small box who's outer shell was coated with a soft black fabric. It gave off a pretty luxurious feeling, so when I opened the box, my hands trembled as my heart pounded in my chest.

Inside the box was a jet black watch with a screen. I stared at the smart watch, still dazed as I processed what it was in my head. Then, I matched the gift to its identity. This watch was a new model put out by the most famous electronics company in Vilheim. And from the design of the watch, it would appear that this was a limited model that cost... like a lot.

"I can't accept this," I said as I closed the box and handed it back to her.

"W-why not?" she asked.

I glanced to my side and saw the look of defeat on Muria's face. That look was an understandable one. Anybody would have the same look when they compare their gift with this gift...

"It's... it's too expensive," I answered with a sigh. Off the top of my head, I don't even know if a year's worth of my allowance would be able to buy this.

"It's fine," Irina insisted as she took the watch out of the box and wrapped it around my left wrist. "When compared to what you've done for me," she said with a happy smile on her face, "this is nothing."

"..." I stared at her, unable to say anything.

"So," she continued as she finished putting the watch on for me. "Please accept it."

"..." I then let out defeated smile. "Fine..."

So in the end, for my birthday, I received a video game disc from Muria, a gift card from Loyd, this watch from Irina, and—

I brought my hand to my chest, feeling the small object underneath my school uniform.