As the golden rays of evening filtered across the academy gates, Jimmy quietly approached and signed his name into the returning student logbook.
The gatekeeper, an older man with sharp eyes but a soft heart, glanced at him and frowned.
"Where's your phone, boy?"
Jimmy looked up, expression calm beneath his wrapped face.
"In my room," he wrote simply.
The gatekeeper raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you leave it behind? Didn't you just buy that thing?"
Jimmy's hand moved swiftly across the page.
"Just for information… I know this area well. And I don't have anyone who'd contact me, so I didn't bring it."
The man sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration. "You may not care, but for me, I got chewed out for it. The office tried calling you. Since your team lost, but you were selected as a reserve student, they wanted to inform you immediately. When they couldn't reach you, they called me. I told them you went out."
His voice dropped, roughened by fatigue and duty.
"They said I was negligent. Got a proper rebuking. I think they already gave your spot to someone else."
Jimmy blinked. That silent moment cut deeper than expected. He slowly nodded in understanding and bowed slightly.
"I'm sorry," he wrote.
The man waved him off. "It's done. Nothing to do now. Just... carry your damn phone."
Jimmy walked back toward the dorm quietly. When he reached the hostel gate, the guard stationed there said the same thing. Another rebuke. Another lecture. Another sorry, softly offered and softly accepted.
Finally, Jimmy reached his room.
He unplugged the phone from its charger and powered it on. The screen lit up with a flood of missed calls from unknown numbers. A message blinked in his inbox:
"If you reach before 6 PM, report to the school office immediately."
Jimmy looked at the clock: 7:08 PM.
Luna, sensing the shift in his mood, climbed onto his bed and curled beside him. "What happened?" she asked.
Jimmy wrote it out slowly, showing her the message.
Luna's ears drooped. "If I had listened and come straight back, we could've gotten the spot…"
Jimmy gently patted her head, shaking his head.
"It's okay. Let's bathe, eat, and rest."
They did just that. After 30 minutes, Jimmy sat on his bed in clean clothes, a quiet dinner behind them. Luna lay on his lap, already dozing, her tail softly swaying with each breath.
Suddenly, the phone rang again — an unknown number.
He ignored the first ring.
When it rang a second time, something urged him to answer.
He pressed the green icon and raised it to his ear.
"Aaa—aaaa…" came the familiar voice. "Come down. I'm your class teacher."
Jimmy gently shifted Luna off his lap and looked out from his room window to the ground floor.
He saw a familiar figure standing near the hostel gate.
Carrying his phone this time, he walked downstairs and stood in front of the teacher, quiet and composed.
"Why didn't you come to the office after returning?" the teacher asked. "Didn't you check your phone?"
Jimmy wrote plainly:
"I came back at 7. The message said before 6. So I didn't go."
The teacher sighed. His tone softened, knowing Jimmy wasn't being evasive, just precise.
"Listen… they wanted to confirm your place. You still have a chance to join the main team as a bench student. If you'd like, I can push it forward."
Jimmy looked him in the eye. Then shook his head.
"No need. I'm happy with what I've got."
The teacher looked at him for a long second, maybe a bit surprised. Maybe a bit proud.
"…Fine," he said. "But from now on — carry your phone. Always."
Jimmy nodded.
"I will."
They parted without another word.
And in that silence, Jimmy felt something strange — not regret, not disappointment… just a quiet acceptance.
.......................
Jimmy wandered the school grounds aimlessly, his hands in his pockets and Luna perched calmly on his shoulder. The breeze was light, brushing through his hair as he walked past familiar places. As he turned a corner, he encountered the same group of bullies who had once mocked and dismissed him. For a moment, their eyes locked onto his, but then they noticed Luna—her presence, regal and alert, sent a quiet warning. The boys instantly backed away a few steps, unease flickering across their faces.
One of them, trying to salvage his pride, scoffed, "You're really unlucky, huh? Even after getting selected, you still didn't make the team. What a waste!"The others chuckled, hollow and forced. But Jimmy? He simply smiled. Not mockingly, not bitterly—just a calm, weightless expression as if their words were leaves in the wind. He passed them without a second glance, as if they didn't exist.
Still walking, he approached the school's library. The heavy doors were half open, and inside, the faint rustle of pages filled the air. As Jimmy stepped in, the librarian shot him a glance from behind thick glasses and muttered under his breath, "Oh... the blind boy with the great Whisp."
Jimmy moved forward quietly, reaching for the registry book to sign his name. But before his hand could touch it, the librarian swiftly pulled it back."I asked you something, didn't I?" the man barked.
Jimmy said nothing. He simply turned away and began to leave, not out of anger, but quiet resignation. But then—perhaps remembering, perhaps realizing his mistake—the librarian rushed from behind the desk and caught up to Jimmy just outside the door."Wait—wait! I'm sorry. I forgot... you can't speak." His voice was sheepish now.
Jimmy turned slightly, his fingers beginning to sign before changing his mind. He simply wrote on a notepad he always carried:"It's alright. I'm leaving. My mood's gone anyway."
The librarian gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Please don't write anything bad about me in the feedback."
From inside, a student called out, "Sir, where's the registry book?"
In a flustered hurry, the librarian turned on his heel and rushed back to his desk, mumbling under his breath. "Coming, coming!" he called out, trying to cover up his earlier behaviour. He avoided looking back at Jimmy, though his steps faltered for a moment—as if guilt briefly weighed them down.
Jimmy didn't linger. He walked away quietly, the silence around him more powerful than any words he could've spoken. Luna glanced back once, her eyes sharp, but Jimmy gave her a soft pat, signalling it was fine.
He headed toward the cafeteria but paused at the entrance. The area was buzzing with students eating, laughing, and chatting, but the moment a few eyes landed on him, conversations faltered. Whispers spread like ripples. Some students looked away. Others pretended to stay busy.
Jimmy knew it wasn't malice—it was fear. Or maybe ignorance. Either way, he didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.
So, instead of entering, he simply turned and found a seat near a walkway under a tree. Luna sighed and leaped off his shoulder, hopping onto the bench beside him. "You keep circling places but never settle," she muttered, concerned.
Jimmy gave her a half-smile and sat back. He watched quietly as small Whisps roamed the paths—glowing Moonflies flickering like living lanterns, Bee-like Pinikons buzzing around flowers, and golden Firefloe flitting like sparks of sunlight. The campus was alive, but Jimmy still felt like an observer on the outside.
Then he noticed a sleek car approaching from the distant road—a luxury model rarely seen near the student dorms. Its surface gleamed under the evening sun. A tall man with a goatee and sharp brown hair sat in the back seat, dressed in a white suit that caught the light like polished marble. A woman sat beside him, elegant and silent. A chauffeur drove in complete discipline, the car gliding at an almost ceremonial pace.
As they passed, the man turned his head—slowly, deliberately—locking eyes with Jimmy. Just for a moment.
But it was enough.
Something cold stirred in Jimmy's spine. The look wasn't just recognition—it was assessment. As though the man wasn't seeing him… but reading him.
Then the car turned a corner and vanished.
Luna looked up. "Who was that?"
Jimmy shook his head slowly. "I don't know," he wrote, "But something about him felt... different."