Chapter 22 || I Like It Here

Chapter 22: 22 || I Like It Here

The evening sun painted the sky orange.

Riven stood in front of the class, addressing the students.

"Miss 11 is helping us with the account. We’ll have to wait patiently for her to get back to us."

Ivy stood gracefully. "While we wait for Code 11, why don’t we figure out a name for the acct?"

"Right," Riven nodded. "We can’t leave it nameless."

Caden suddenly leapt to his feet, grinning.

"Then use this—The Flaming Unicorns! Think about it—unicorns are strong, rare, and magical! And the flames mean we’re unstoppable and fierce!"

The class froze in silence.

Then—

"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"

Torin clutched his stomach, tears forming in his eyes.

"Flaming unicorns?! Are you serious?!"

Caden glared at him. "Go on, keep laughing!"

Ken glanced at him. "Seriously, Caden. Just sit down... that sounds like a kid’s cartoon."

Aria sighed, muttering under her breath.

"He’s impossible."

"Thanks for the idea, Caden," Riven said carefully. "But I don’t think ’Flaming Unicorns’ is the right choice."

Caden puffed his cheeks like a child and sat down, muttering to himself.

Torin continued snickering beside him.

Juro stood, adjusting his glasses.

"Then allow me. I suggest Collective Nexus. We are not just individuals, but a network. A nexus represents both connection and strength—each of us linked like nodes in a greater system."

The room quieted.

Meira frowned. "Great . The nerd strikes again."

Juro frowned. "Atleast I came up with something useful."

Ivy smiled sweetly. "That’s... a great name, Juro. I love the meaning."

Juro nodded."Thank you. Atleast someone understands."

Sena turned to Riven. "What do you think?"

But Riven shook his head.

"It’s a fine name, but... I don’t think it’s right."

Everyone stared at him.

"Why not?" Ivy asked, concerned.

"Because," Riven said firmly, "the person who has the right to name this account is Aria. She came up with the idea in the first place. The honor belongs to her."

All eyes turned toward Aria.

Code watched her.

Aria stood, inhaling deeply.

"I believe the name should be simple and identity-driven. Not complicated like ’Flaming Unicorns’..."

Torin snorted, earning another glare from Caden.

"...but not over-intellectualized like ’Collective Nexus’ either."

Juro frown depeened. "Then what do you suggest?"

Before Aria could answer, Sena spoke.

"I don’t even think we should even be listening to her. She probably just say something and spoil everyone’s mood, like she always does."

Neela nodded. "True."

Riven spoke calmly. "Let’s hear her out just this once."

He looked at Aria. "Go on."

Aria’s eyes sharpened.

"Class 1-D."

Silence.

She continued firmly. "We don’t need flashy names. Who we are is enough."

The silence lingered for a moment.

Then—

Clap.

Riven started applauding.

Ivy followed, then Caden—though reluctantly.

Soon, the rest of the class joined in.

Aria quietly sat down.

Code looked at her.

’I didn’t expect her to choose something so simple.’

Riven nodded.

"Then it’s settled. Our account is Class 1-D. I’ll inform Miss 11 about it."

Juro adjusted his glasses.

"Well, now that that’s settled, the only thing left is to decide on how much we’ll be donating into the account once it’s created."

Riven shook his head. "There’s still time for that, Juro. We can figure that out later."

"No..."

Aria spoke calmly.

Meira sighed. "Here we go again."

Aria ignored her and continued.

"The more time we delay, the more we risk procrastinating the event. I suggest we make a fixed amount now to keep the students alert on how they spend their allowances going forward. That way, excuses will be avoided."

Riven, although hesitant, spoke again.

"Alright then... Do you have an amount in mind?"

Aria replied. "Yes. We all should deposit 1000 coins."

Caden slapped his desk. "Oh, come on."

Sena frowned. "Are you trying to starve us, Aria? Is that your intention?"

"I can’t go back broke again," Torin said.

"I haven’t even gotten my hair done!" Lucy protested.

Meira, who was now busy with her phone, said,

"We shouldn’t have bothered getting her opinion in the first place."

Ivy turned to Aria. "Don’t you think you’re going too hard on us, Aria? I mean... 1000 coins is a lot."

Aria’s gaze hardened.

"I am going easy on all of you. If you all wish to live extravagantly and chase materialistic things, then you should keep it aside."

Ryan spoke calmly. "She’s crazy."

Aria gave him a cold stare.

Ryan immediately looked away.

Kira shook her head. "We all shouldn’t listen to her. Riven is the one who’s in charge..."

She faced him. "Riven, what do you think?"

Riven froze.

He looked at Aria’s gaze, then at the class.

After a moment, he exhaled.

"I think Aria is right."

The class gasped.

"But," he added, raising a hand, "donating all 1,000 stars isn’t realistic. I know we all have needs, which I won’t deny any of you. So instead, let’s each give 500. That way we stay disciplined while keeping something for ourselves."

The class murmured.

Slowly, one by one, heads nodded.

Riven smiled. "Good. Then 500 stars from each of us."

He turned toward Aria. "Is that okay with you?"

Aria sat down. "You’ve already made your decision. I have no say in it."

She buried herself in her book while the others continued talking.

...

The next day, the account was created, and Ivy read the account details aloud for the class.

One by one, they transferred their coins.

When it was done, the total balance appeared on the translucent screen beside Code 11.

[Class 1—D

Balance: 10,500 bronze coins]

"Ten thousand, five hundred bronze coins?" Juro asked.

Ivy blinked.

"That isn’t right? That means one of us didn’t donate their share of the coins."

Code 11, who stood at her desk, checked her tablet.

"It seems Code Warden wasn’t part of your decision to donate your coins."

Everyone turned toward Code.

Code simply said,

"Sorry. I should have said this sooner, but I’m not really interested in moving to the third floor."

"What?! Wait, Code, you don’t want to become a Servitor?" Torin asked, confused.

Code replied. "Yes. I like it here on the fourth floor."

Huegene smiled.

"That’s more like it, sleepy boy. The fourth floor is peaceful and quiet. Why would anyone want to trouble themselves just to ascend?"

Meira said,

"Great, so Code’s now on Huegene’s team."

Code didn’t respond.

The translucent screen flickered, then faded.