Chapter Text
The Student Handbook’s guidance and all the staff and instructors here exists to protect Sonetto and the other arcanist kids living here. She has been very grateful to the foundation for having her live here and has all her humanitarian needs fulfilled despite being an arcanist. She was also been receiving education and always been taught that protecting and maintaining the peace of mankind is what all her kind need to do in order to live in peace together among humans. Therefore, her future duty to ensure this order awaits her after she graduates from this school. At least, that what Sonetto’s thought at that time.
However, before she can serve the foundation, her job right now as a student was simply to learn and become stronger, and thus followed everything that was written in the Student Handbook and any order from the instructor. It was just that simple, she though, this is her inborn goal and mission. That was probably the reason of why seeing a deviant spirit like that one silver-haired girl somehow upset her.
Vertin is her name and the instructor paird them together as desk mates. At first, she thought this girl was just an enthusiastic soul with an inquiring mind, always living with excitement and curiosity. But later, Sonetto felt disassociated with how consistently deviant Vertin's response were to anything relate to what had been taught in the student handbook.
That was a bit upsetting to see, she thought.
Over time, she barely attended classes. She would come with a lot of excuse to their instructor so she can leave the classroom early. One of her favorite excuses was stomachache. Weirdly, after the class was over, Vertin would appear and stand in the corridor near her class, waiting for Sonetto's arrival. As a gesture of gratitude for not being noisy about her absent to the instructor, she usually going to greet her with many toffees in her hands. It always made Sonetto wonder where she even got all of these toffees.
Another time, she would brought her rocks, pebbles and then continued mumbling a weird phrase that she said they all came from the outside world.
Outside world?
There was a conflicted feeling inside Sonetto, but she just couldn’t decipher it. The outside world, inside her mind at that time was a form of necessary knowledge that useful for maintaining the peace of mankind. However, all these new small fragments of the outside world that this girl always brought to her would never come out as important according to the Student Handbook that she regarded highly. That reminded her why her desk mate attitude upset her a bit.
Today, there was a new added atmosphere for Sonetto. A new enthusiastic student had transferred to her class. Her name is Matilda. She speaks French and seems to be proud about it. This excitement reminded Sonetto with a certain someone who supposed to be sitting beside her right now. Instead, There was a tall stack of book on the table besides her. She remembers that thing exist to covered a certain someone little nonexistence.
That was clever, At first. She thought.
But now it became so repetitive. Clearly, her desk mate has run out of excuses, and now that the instructor has noticed this too, that girl in question has been given a time-out as a light punishment.
But, of course, unrestrained wanderer like her will likely not care.
Such a rebellious soul. She thought.
The class once again was over after that one intense heated discussion with the new enthusiastic student. She wonders if that will be a new custom for both of them from now on. She was not complaining, of course as she walked through the corridor. The familiar silver-haired girl who was none other than her desk mate greeted her while she was standing in a hourglass object, and somehow making her appear weirdly taller than Sonetto.
But at that moment she just did not want to deal with such rebellious soul. She reminded herself that if this kept continued, she will be the one who would get caught in trouble. She decided and went the other way around, but her name immediately was utter loudly by that said desk mate in excitement. was she deliberately calling her right away because she noticed that Sonetto was trying to avoid her? She wanted to snap at her, but the silver-haired girl kept calling the ginger girl her name and asked her to come closer.
“Sonetto, come here!” asked the silver-haired girl
Sonetto, a bit annoyed, decided to come closer.
Vertin continued to ask if her stacks of book still exists and the instructor didn’t tried to messed with it. Sonetto answer that they didn't.
Upon answering Vertin, Sonetto began to wonder what her deskmate was doing and noticed that her clothes were damp. Suddenly, Vertin decided to jumped from that hourglass object and immediately asked for the ginger-haired girl hands.
There was something in Vertin’s hands.
It was moving,
Breathing,
And…it alive?
It appears this time she brings her a very tiny green frog. She said she got stung by the electric fence after trying to caught this creature. She could see how animated and lively this girl looks like when trying to explain this outside world creature to her.
Wait!
Outside world?
Noticed this, Sonetto came to her senses.
"Aren’t you aware that you’ve been given a time-out, Miss Vertin" She begin to addressed her with formality. That caught the silver hair girl off guard but Sonetto need to be bold to her right now.
“I don’t understand…why you always skip classes. And you know that we are not supposed to pay too much attention to affairs outside the school”
"please…don't bring me these pebbles and frogs anymore.
These are..." the ginger-haired girl hesitated
...meaningless. We are born to die martrys"
There was no hint of hesitation in sonetto's tone for that one last sentence, nor any meaningful expressions. That also made the silver hair girl again jolts after hearing it.
“…why? Just because the Student Handbook says so?” asked Vertin
“that’s right.” Answer Sonetto firmly.
"I don't like the handbook. It smells like those stinky socks in the attic," Vertin, feeling a bit irritated, tried to provoke Sonetto by saying negative things about the Student Handbook. She continued to persuade Sonetto about the outside world, asking the ginger-haired girl if she was curious too and if she felt the same way as her. However, Sonetto immediately begged Vertin to stop mid-speech.
Silent filled the empty corridor.
“The Student Handbook is protecting us from harm and regrets.”
Sonetto tried to quotes the instructor words, again, expressionless.
"To live is to lose things around us until the day we lose life itself to death"
Sonetto watched the changed in Vertin expression after she finished her words.
At that time, Sonetto noticed if that how a different form of sadness would looked like in a person.
After that argument, she stops having any further meaningful conversation with her desk mate, despite seeing her almost every day.
It also adds that the word trouble and Vertin can't be separated.
Like that one time she started asking weird things to the school Principal openly in front of the line of other students.
She began regularly receiving punishment from the instructor and was put in the guardhouse several times. Sometimes, It made Sonetto wonder if Vertin did not get hungry after spending all night until noon on the next day without having any food there. But at that moment she just brushed that thought away and just think that her desk mate deserved it.
All the trouble was making the instructor keep mumbling about that silver-haired girl name. “goddamnit vertin” or “oh, not that kid again” and similar lines Sonetto’s always heard were coming from the Instructor’s mouth every time she received some regular disciplinary task duty from them.
That noon when Sonetto was on duty, she heard a group of kids arguing. When she tried to get closer, she heard a familiar voice. Of course, it was her desk mate, Vertin. But at that time, she didn't want to meet with that girl but the quarreling was worrying. She needed to call the instructor and she immediately ran to inform any available Instructor nearby about the situation.
By the time she arrived with the instructor, the children immediately dispersed, including her desk mate. In that chaos, Sonetto tried to look for Vertin to make sure she is okay, but then she heard that familiar voice again from inside an empty class. She didn't dare to enter, but she tried to take a peek from the door.
And then she heard someone coughing.
"Oh no... Is she okay?" Sonetto's worried
Her vision confirmed that Vertin was still standing and looked fine despite some minor injuries.
The truth is, Sonetto was so used to seeing her deskmate having some bruises here and there around her body because of her unusual activities, but having to witnessed the caused of it directly made Sonetto feel a bit sorry for her somehow.
Still, thankfully, her desk mate was okay, but this accident also convinced her that things with her desk mate were becoming more dangerous.
She needs to know what this girl is up to and stop her before something worrying happens. This is also for everyone safety. She tried to justify herself.
After gathering some information Sonetto knew her deskmate and some other kids were planning something for the upcoming school event next week.
She needs to warn them.
The chirping of birds is loud today.
The time of the school annual parade event arrived. In this event, some students would be singing in a choir together. Sonetto, who was aware that last night, Vertin had been gathering some kids to joining her suspicious plan. Even the enthusiastic transfer student was involved too.
This was getting out of hands she thought. In sonetto's defense, she just wanted to see everyone safe. The student handbook is there to protecting them. There is no point to rebels against the guidance. She justified herself.
Sonetto began addressing her desk mate again.
This time with a warning tone.
"I know you were planning something behind the instructor's backs. Please do not act against any regulations stipulated in the Student Handbook. Otherwise, I'm obligated report this to the instructor as the monitor in student on duty" Warned Sonetto.
She saw Vertin was just silent while starring at Sonetto with a flat expression.
"Okay" was all Vertin's response to Sonetto.
She thought everything would be clear after that response and that she heard her warning.
However, as the ceremonial events starts and the choir students began to sing the School choir theme,
things happened…
The other kids start singing something unfamiliar to Sonetto's ears
Nor happiness, nor harmony, nor fame,
Nor pride, nor strength, nor skill in arms or arts.
"What are you guys singing?"
Shepherd those herds whom blindness makes tame;
Sonetto felt her heart beatting so fast.
"Sonetto, stop them singing!! " sonetto heard the instructor shouting at her and ordered her to stop them from continuing to sing the song.
but somehow, She still stands there in confusion feel trapped and unable to do anything.
Then, she heard the lyrics very clearly.
Their eyes see not one light of Bright Star.
Men’s past ways are shaded by their shame,
Paens are but admiration’s mirror half.
She was unable to grasps what even the meaning of most of them. Such weird and bizzard combinations of words to sing, but somehow, each syllable fit perfectly with the intended originals school notes that was supposed to be sung
Tides run in blind by their ever-be routine,
Staining that Heaven with obscene calamity.
When folly wrecks wit, where do stand we?
She could not help herself and was captivated by those poems and hearing it even further turned her head dizzy, as if something powerful started to influence her feelings and emotions.
During this time, her desk mate, Vertin, stood and began saying something to the audience.
"Sir, Please, listen to us,
please, give us a chance, let us be...
...let us be ourselves."
Sonetto's tried to look at vertin once again. She saw Vertin filled with something she was again couldn't deciphers.
Like all those times.
"Wha... What with this feeling? "
It was too powerful
And it was now beginning to also consume her sanity.
But then, Sonetto, came to her senses after Isabella, the lead singer, abruptly taken away by the staffs and she heard principal shouting.
Vertin, her deskmate during that chaos, arranged everyone in a way to defend themselves from the rain of tear gas.
despite how the tear gas made it difficult for them to see, they still persisted in trying to sing that forbidden poem.
Upon seeing all of these, the powerful feeling inside Sonetto had taken over her. Vertin actions to protect everyone and that poem they used to express themselves clearly had stirred something within Sonetto.
At that moment
At that exact moment somehow,
she also wanted to protect everyone.
Is this because of that poem?
No…
She was not sure.
Then, why it made her dizzy?
Pap
Sonetto heard a loud sound.
Someone in front of her was shots by a tear gas
It was Vertin.
No.
She was just stand there, watching.
Unable to do anything.
After that, everything just turned into pure horror. She witnessed the other kids were screaming, crying, and running.
The school and all its staff and instructor here are existed to protect them, she tried to remind herself.
However, right now, in front of her, she saw her friend get shot by them.
But why?
She already knew Vertin had it coming.
Still,
Somehow,
That strong emotion just now... Was that the emotions that Vertin has been trying to share with her all these time?
She still could not unravels what was that strange and powerful feelings, yet. However, one thing was clear at that moment.
Whatever It was, she really wants to feel them again.
Finally, she slowly understands her.
However, it was too late, wasn't it?
Because the said person who made her realize that new emotions was laying unmoving in front of her right now.
