"Since I was the one who suggested the introduction, I'll go first," Amelia said, stepping in front of the class. "My name is Amelia Cassidy, and my hero name is Gravity Girl. If you'll have me, I'd love to be the leader of this class."
This elicited an onslaught of applause from some of the students. Many of the girls actively cheered her on as she spoke, clearly smitten by her charm. I was actually surprised that she revealed her hero name—maybe that was just me. The others didn't seem very surprised; they probably knew beforehand, as she was a celebrity after all.
"It's going to be a tough competition between us and the other classes, but if we work together, I'm sure we will come out on top," she continued. "So, I would like to ask all of you: will you lend me your support?"
For a moment, it seemed like everyone in the class was on board until a group of students got up from their seats and exited the classroom. The ringleader of this group was a red-haired boy who walked directly past Amelia toward the exit. Just as he was about to step outside, he stopped. Without addressing the class, he spoke.
"If you guys know what's good for you, you won't stay here. This is a sinking ship."
With that, he stepped through the doorway and left. Soon after, another group got up and followed suit. This group was led by a pink haired girl.
Nearly half the class had left. I kind of expected this to happen, but when I saw Amelia giving her speech, I thought for a moment that she might win them over. The school had tossed us into classes without considering which factions the students belonged to on the island. I figured some of them might still be loyal to the leaders they had there; I just didn't know how much. Amelia would have to find a way to win them over.
As for me, I'd rather not be openly involved. Amelia might pose a problem for me in the future; if she just looked at me funny, I'd have the majority of the class turned against me.
Hopefully, my little sacrifice on the island would pay off.
After that little display of nearly half the class leaving in response to Amelia's request for support, the atmosphere in the room was tense. Amelia, however, didn't seem distressed at all; she maintained her cheerful façade.
"Thank you all for your support. Your classmates are a little unsure about me, and they have every right to be. I promise to work hard and prove myself so that we can all see eye to eye."
With just a few words, she managed to clear her classmates' doubts. She was quick-witted, to say the least, and she had a tough exterior; one that would be hard to crack. Just as she cleared the doubts from her classmates' minds, another student stepped up to lend her support. It was a girl with short brown hair, a face almost as cute as hers, and the confidence to match.
She bubbly hopped to the front of the class next to Amelia and cheerfully started introducing herself.
"Amelia is right! I would love nothing more than for all of us to get along. Oh!" She placed her hand on her chin and flashed a cute smile. "I forgot to introduce myself—my name is Kiki Nebulyn, at your service!"
She struck a pose that caused the class to giggle. As she finished her introduction, another figure entered the scene, clutching his stomach and laughing.
"Leave it to Kiki to do something silly to lighten the mood of the entire class," Hikari said, ruffling Kiki's hair. From her reaction, I could tell that they knew each other.
"What's that supposed to mean, Hiki?" she pouted, folding her arms.
They continued their joking banter, causing some of the other class members to jump in as well. The three of them had the entire class eating out of the palm of their hands. I sat quietly, watching as they introduced themselves. When it was Luna's turn, she stammered a bit, but with Amelia there to support her, she managed to get through it.
To be honest, when it came to social interactions, I was as bad as Luna. At my previous school, it was a rare occurrence for me to actually speak to anyone. The only people I knew were the popular kids whose names kept repeating, making it hard for me to forget them.
I expected things to be the same here—no one would go out of their way to talk to me, and I would manage to live a peaceful life. As long as I kept up my appearance this time, they would have no reason to hate me. I hoped.
That was why getting Amelia's approval was so crucial.
"Liam," an unexpected voice called my name, snapping me out of my thoughts. I glanced up to see the whole class staring at me. "Liam, it's your turn to introduce yourself."
Hikari called my name again. He must've remembered it from the time I told him. I slowly got to my feet, ready to give the introduction I hadn't planned.
"Hi, my name is Liam Morningstar. I'm looking forward to spending the next four years with all of you."
I knew my introduction sucked; they didn't need to say it—I could tell by their faces. Yet still, they applauded after I finished. Once I was done, I quietly sat back down. It looked like I was the last one to introduce myself.
After that, Amelia suggested that we all check out the mall on campus. She had apparently heard good things about it from some upperclassmen. I had to risk being one of the few who turned her down. I decided to head straight to my dorm room instead. I waited patiently in the hallway until a certain someone exited the classroom.
After a while, they did. As I thought, she wouldn't go to the mall with Amelia and the others. I could tell she wanted to, but her shyness prevented it. She didn't see me as she walked past, so I had to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention.
"Luna, do you want to walk back to the dorms together?"