Puppet-Master

2- Typical Student

"I am Andrew Lapis," Andrew thought to himself, arriving at the university, his mind racing as he tried to avoid any unnecessary interactions with fellow students. "I attend this ALANTICANA university thing. What branch am I studying? No clue... What do I want to do after I take care of this license? No clue... What about after graduation? If I stumble upon something that might somehow suit me, it would be an honor to give it a shot..."

He ascended a flight of stairs, exhaling an exasperated sigh, counting each step without conscious effort. "One... Two... Three... Four..." Andrew continued to mutter the numbers as he ascended, lost in his thoughts.

"41... And finally, 42." Reaching his desired floor, Andrew continued to move slowly but determinedly down the hallway, his eyes half-lidded with exhaustion, dark bags beneath them. He muttered again, almost to himself, "Now, all I need to do is find the P7 classroom..."

With just one 3 meters left between him and the classroom door, a voice called out to the apathetic Andrew, "Hey, Andrew!" Another student, full of life and energy, approached with a pen and paper in hand, accompanied by someone else. "I hope you didn't forget about..."

"I can't right now, Micheal," Andrew interrupted, a yawn slipping through his words as he entered the classroom. "I'm afraid I'm in the middle of a life-or-death mission." He completely disregarded poor Micheal, who watched with annoyance as he added, "I want to annihilate this guy, Amanda!"

"Well, we still need that guy, don't you think?" Amanda calmly brushed off Micheal's irritation, gently patting him on the back as they made their way back to their classroom. "I hope you didn't forget that he's an interesting member of the student council."

"I know, I know," added Micheal, sighing softly as they entered the P6 classroom, “How did he even become the vice-president if he’ll keep skipping every meeting?”

As Andrew entered his classroom, he scanned the familiar faces of his classmates and spotted a seat that piqued his interest. "’Morning, everybody," he greeted, his voice muffled by a yawn as he placed a hand over his gaping mouth and settled into the chosen seat, neatly stowing his bag beneath the desk.

"Well, Eye-Bags has finally joined the scene," quipped a boy seated right next to Andrew, prompting the trio of students surrounding the fatigued young man to burst into cheerful laughter. "Good morning! Or should we say good night?"

"I don't really care," Andrew replied nonchalantly, resting his head on the desk and finally closing his eyes. "Geez... I kept my eyes open for way too long; now they're really burning."

"No, that's not going to happen!" chimed in the boy again, playfully slapping Andrew's sleepy head. "Mr. Brown is about to arrive, so we can't let you sleep just yet."

"That wasn't the gentlest way to keep him awake, Alex, don't you think?" interjected another boy, perched on the desk in front of Andrew, his words accompanied by a soft giggle.

"That's why you can't handle eye bags, Ray," Alex retorted, narrowing his eyes mischievously as he glanced at Ray, "Because you're a softie. Someone with a soft heart can't manage this dude!" With that proclamation, he gave Andrew's head a second playful slap.

"This is exhausting," Andrew finally spoke up, lifting his head to meet Alex's teasing expression. Then, he shifted his attention to the third boy. "What about you, Leonard?" Andrew questioned, his gaze still fixed on his friend as Leonard removed his glasses to clean their lenses. "Would you allow me to sleep, or are you teaming up with them?"

"Let's see..." Leonard mused, replacing his glasses on his face, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as he extended his hand to deliver a friendly smack to Andrew's head. This action elicited hearty laughter from the group, except for poor Andrew, who was still struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Well," Andrew muttered, rubbing the back of his freshly hit head, "At least I got my answer..."

In the midst of their laughter, a teacher finally entered the classroom, prompting all the students to promptly take their seats. "Well, aren't you all livelier than usual," the teacher interjected, placing his bag on the desk and carefully surveying the class before fixing his gaze on Andrew, who surprisingly was seated properly. "Even Andrew seems to be energetic today..." As he uttered those words, the class shared a soft, knowing chuckle, a testament to their deep camaraderie.

"Believe me,  Mr.Brown," Andrew chimed in, his half-lidded eyes and tousled short ponytailed hair portraying his true intentions even more vividly than his words, "I'm just as interested in witnessing my own energy as you are..."

"Of all the possible responses, you choose this one?" Mr. Brown chuckled, pulling out the exam papers from his bag and delicately placing them on his desk. "Well, I'm pleased to inform you that this week might hold a few surprises for you all!"

"Crap... I completely forgot about the exam results," Alex muttered, shifting his gaze to Andrew as he spoke. "I still want some peace of mind..."

"Can one of you please grab my paper when he calls my name?" Andrew interrupted, his forehead gently thudding against the desk as he succumbed to his weariness. "I'll be dozing off for a bit..."

Four sessions passed in the blink of an eye, and sadly, the students received their exam results with varying degrees of disappointment. Most of them left their classrooms, making their way to the cafeteria to enjoy today's meal, despite the potential dissatisfaction with their grades. However, Andrew and his three friends remained inside the classroom, with Andrew's head still resting on the desk.

His three friends gathered around him, their bags beside them, and their attention fixed on the papers clutched in Alex's hands – Andrew's exam results. "Eye bags... You're really something," Alex remarked.

"Of course, I'm something..." Andrew replied languidly, his head still resting on the desk. "All human beings are 'somethings,' you know. I just happen to be one of those 'somethings' as well..."

"That's not what he meant!" Leonard interjected, his frustration palpable as he took the papers from Alex's hands. "You got 59/100 in Management," he began, setting the first paper aside as he spoke. "76/100 in Maths... a meager 50/100 in Interpersonal Communication..."

"I can averagely talk with other people?" Andrew questioned, finally rising to his feet and retrieving his backpack from the floor. "That's news to me..."

Ray had finally had enough. He took the last exam paper and displayed the grade to Andrew. "How on earth did you manage to score 97/100 in Logical Reasoning?" he queried, both he and the other two friends seeking a logical explanation for this baffling feat. "Everyone knows that Logical Reasoning is tougher than the other subjects, yet it seems to be a piece of cake for you!"

"That's not a piece of cake, definitely," Andrew retorted, gathering the four exam papers and tossing them into his backpack. "If it were a piece of cake, I would've devoured it on the day of the exam..."

"Can't you take it seriously for once?" Alex persisted as they exited the classroom. "What's the secret behind your high grades in Logical Reasoning? It just seems absurd to me."

"It seems absurd to me as well," Andrew confirmed as they made their way toward the cafeteria, his hands casually tucked into his pockets as they strolled. "It's called Logical Reasoning. You just think logically, and bam... you end up with big double-digit numbers. Or maybe a triple-digit one… Who knows?"

"So you're basically telling us that there's no hard work behind that grade?" Alex inquired, and the group abruptly halted in response to Andrew's sudden stop.

“Just… Look me in the eyes for a sec…” Lazy Andrew simply locked eyes with Alex, raising his hand to tousle his ponytail as he spoke. "I'm literally too lazy to go to a barbershop and cut my hair. Do you think I can work hard for a grade or something?" With that, he resumed walking, leaving the other three to follow with disbelief etched across their faces.

"That's quite a comeback, even if it was Eye Bags'," Alex commented, taking his place in line behind a row of students, patiently awaiting their turn to enter the cafeteria.

"You bet," Leonard chuckled, briefly turning to meet Alex's gaze. His expression shifted from amusement to curiosity in an instant. "But just imagine if he could actually work hard or something..."

"Work hard, huh..." Ray interjected as the line of students continued to inch forward. Meanwhile, Andrew had donned his AirPods, effectively escaping from the surrounding reality and making it clear he was avoiding any unnecessary interaction. "Andrew working hard, you're clearly searching for a miracle, Leonard!" Ray added, pointing his index finger at Andrew as he carried on. "The boy's one and only talent is being able to sleep and dodge any unwanted activities whenever he feels like it! That's it!"

"Yeah, you're absolutely right," Alex concurred, retrieving his cafeteria card from his pocket. "I often wonder how he's still alive. The guy can't even take care of himself properly; all he cares about is resting."

"I can totally see your point," Ray continued, presenting his cafeteria card to the staff just before grabbing a plate of food. "But everyone can see that the guy's a big brain, at the very least."

"A big brain, you say?" Leonard mused, the three of them trailing behind Andrew as he took on the task of selecting a suitable table for them. "Now that you mention it, I do recall the time when the Algorithm Teacher, Mr.White, pressured him to solve that exercise."

"He wasn't even paying attention," Alex interjected, already nibbling on his bread as they continued walking. "And that task was ridiculously hard; even the professor didn't know how to solve it... but Eye Bags..."

"Quit talking with your mouth full; it's disgusting," Ray interrupted, his expression clearly perturbed by Alex's action. In response, Alex hastily swallowed his food and continued his train of thought. "He asked the teacher for some bonus points if he would get the correct answer and then tackled the problem as if it were child's play. That was truly something..."

"See, I told you!" Ray's expression brightened as they finally settled at a table, preparing to dig into their meals. "So just imagine if, by some miracle, Eye Bags... I mean, Andrew, were to put in a little more effort..."

"I'll just be a menace, then. Is that what you wanted to say?" Andrew interjected, grinning at his three friends, leaving them utterly stunned. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Ray finally spoke up, his brows furrowing as his surprise lingered in his tone. "Were you listening to us this whole time?"

"Not really..." Andrew replied nonchalantly, his eyes apathetically fixed on his dish. He pointed at one of his AirPods as he continued, "The songs kept switching, so I could only catch a line or two from your convo... not the whole thing, don't worry." With that, he resumed eating, thoroughly enjoying his meal while his friends couldn't help but ponder the bizarre and nonchalantly weird nature of this dude.

"What's wrong, guys? Lost your appetite?"