Finding her keys, Julia excitedly pushed open the door to her 2 bedroom apartment, looking left and right to find her sister who was on a 2-week vacation.


    It was very rare for her sister to be home, but Julia was always ecstatic to see her older sister, especially since her sister was going to marry one of the men on the crew ship next year.


    The times they have together will definitely reduce once her sister starts her own family. And obviously, she will also have to move from a 2-bedroom apartment to a single-bedroom one.


    It was strange, but she didn''t like living alone, thus she had already nned to move in with a friendter.


    She also felt it was more economical that way... of course, that was before she joined the Academy!


    F***!


    Haven''t you seen their curriculum? She was to be in school for the entire first semester, and the other 3 semesters. So why should she be paying for a ce she wouldn''t use?


    Obviously, after her sister marries, she will still have a few more years of school left to go. Her sister can put all her stuff in storage in her new family home, while she went to the academy with peace of mind.


    On vacations, she could then choose whether to stay with a friend, her sister or rent a temporary ce outside too. Of course, she could always choose to stay in the academy and would have permission to go in and out as she pleased.


    It''s just that all districts were very far from each other, meaning even if she wanted to leave District B and head to District C or heavens... District G... it would be time-consuming, especially if there was traffic.


    How to say it? It was like cities merged over her as one.


    Landon would best exin it like the situation in British Columbia, where massive cities like Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby and a few more were separated by bridges. Thus, they called them the inds. But people in these ces could live in Surrey And drive every morning to Vancouver for work, though it would take no less than 45 minutes depending on where they were headed. Some ces were 1 hour and 40, and some ces were 2.


    Such was how the many Districts were divided here. It was a hassle but doable since there were sky trains, double-decker buses and Bay-Cabs/taxis ready to take people ces.


    What''s more, the public Transportation system was so on point that if a person camete for an appointment, people would look at him or her strangely if they say it was traffic.


    Did you know that the schedules on the bus were made with the concentration of traffic in mind?


    That''s why during rush hour periods, you''ll see the bus travels have been stretched out a bit. A bus could bete, but she never heard of one beingte over 6 minutes.


    Bah!


    Why was her head already filled with things she will doter on?


    (^□^)


    .


    "Elder sister Lilly, I''m Home~" Putting down her bag, unzipped her boots and flung them in whatever direction she could.


    "Elder sister Lily! Elder sister Lily... where are you?"


    Soon, a vibrant red-haired busty girl opened her bedroom door with sleepy eyes.


    She was jetgged from getting used to the time zone of herst voyage. "What''s the matter with you? Why did you shit the door so hard?... wait! Are you back so soon? What happened? Come on, tell me quickly!"


    The moment she saw Lydia''s face, she understood something great must have happened.


    "Well, it''s like this.... g, g, h, h.~"


    Sitting with her sister on the couch, Lydia went on and on about all that happened. Of course, she didn''t tell her sister what she would be piloting. She only said it was a new sort of air balloon. This was the only way he could put it. After all, the first rule stated that until the cargo shippingunch in December, they were to keep a tight lip on the matter.


    It was also to protect their loved ones since sometimes knowing something was more harmful than not knowing.


    "Great! Source going to stay for 3 days before leaving?" Lilly was both happy but worried. "So soon? What about supplies? Do you need more pocket money? What about clothes?"


    Oh my!


    Lilly''s mother mode came on, as she acted as though she was sending Lydia to kindergarten.


    "No. No! We have to go shopping now!"


    "Yeah." Lydia agreed. What woman didn''t like shopping?


    Although she would be given uniforms, nkets, pillows, and a mattress in the academy she still needed to buy bedsheets in 2 colors.: Dark, Navy blue shade for Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays... while pure white was for the other days.


    There were strict rules to be followed. And those who didn''t have money to buy sheets could also apply for used, passed-down sheets from the academy''s storage units.


    She also needed enough underwear and basic necessities too. A few sets of towels, her favorite moisturizers, and so on.


    Very quickly, Lily looked at the list, dragging Lydia out of the house for shopping.


    "Listen to me. When I was training to be a cruise member, I had a moment of regret aboard the ships because I forgot things."


    Like so, thedies came up with a well thought of list, and shopping immediately.


    Socks, panties, soap, and so on.


    Of course, some things can be gotten from the academy store. However, isn''t it cost effective to get a bunch now than get singlester? And academy stores were typically pricier too by 1 By or more too.


    Hey... she found this the hard way when she forgot shampoo and other items, and she was guessing more than half the students would also forget 1 or 2 things, too focused on the good news they received.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Like that, Lydoa spent her next 3 days in bliss and turned up at the academy''s doorsteps with her sister seeing her off.


    But it wasn''t just her sister.


    Today, parents were allowed to only grace the dormitories which were a long way in front of the main buildings.


    What''s more, the main buildings were on inclined terrains, which quickly hid the few enormous structures behind them.


    So from a distance, people could only see the buildings standing tall and spread.


    Parents, family members and friends quickly helped their loved ones, talking and advising them to be sensible while aiding in making their beds and having small talk with other parents.


    Lydia was amazed to find out Eleanor, the bubbly girl from earlier, was also in her dormitory.


    There were 40 girls in her dormitory.


    Every dormitory had bunk beds lined up on both sides of the room.


    There were also several iron lockers at the far back too. Some already had locks on them.


    The center space was kept wide open for people to walk past easily, even if carrying something wide.


    From what they gathered some rooms had fewer bunk beds and even had single beds in them. But to sleep in those units one must earn their ce and rank up through the many tests and examinations.


    Just the thought of ranking up made everyone boil. Ranking up can give one foray priority for delicious meals, and many more undiscovered perks.


    So who wouldn''t want it?


    The more Julia heard, the more thrilled she was. And soon, goodbyes were said, with her sister acting like a mother again. But she didn''t mind.


    It only proved how much her sister loved her.


    "Remember, if you''re short of money, don''t forget to call me or Rufus. Before I leave for my next trip, I''ll send you a letter or call you up again."


    Lydia waved warmly, watching her sister poke her out of her taxi, like someone who has been abandoned.


    Pfft~


    Smiling, Lydia headed back to her dorm room to meet her new future.


    "It''s going to be amazing."


    (^_^)


    .


    Well, it didn''t take long before she cursed at her naive thoughts.


    ~Zzzzzzzz~


    In her dormitory, everyone was sleeping sweetly. It was a brand new day.


    The sun hadn''tpletely risen, but the bugs and light rain already did their job of singing sweet lubies in everyone''s eyes.


    The students slept and snored peacefully within their dormitories. So what could go wrong?


    ''Phiiiiip!!!!''


    A deadly whistle blew like a devil''s cry.


    "Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up!.... you all have 5 minutes to be fully dressed and assembled at the center of the rooms!" Yelled someone in uniform.


    What the hell?


    Lydia initially thought she was dreaming, but after listening to many screaming rms after seeing strangers in their dormitory, the sleep quickly faded away. And her feet took over, jumping down from the upper bed and rushing to follow the herd.


    Seeing everyone rushing to get dressed, what did she not understand?


    Oh no! She locked her clothes yesterday!


    Keys! Keys!


    Luckily, she kept her locker key tied around her neck.


    Tick-Tock. TICK-TOCK!


    The clock was ticking against her.


    "Time up!"