Lucid dreams are a rarity but living as a completely different entity or should I say possessing someone from a different time period is practically unheard of. Nonetheless, a night doesn't go by without the same reoccurring dream but it appears as though no baggage is allowed when crossing the border between the waking realm and dream realm meaning I can never recognize that it isn't the first time I've relived it. My head still aches from the invisible microchip accessory and without it implanted I wouldn't have to have my or someone else dreams/reality/past on repeat but the nightmare with the accessory is a lot more pleasant than the one without it.

Other than the mild headache my legs feel frozen in place just as I expected. I tut as I lug them off the side of the bed doing my best not to slam them against the floor and wonder how come the world is so selective when it comes to proving me wrong. Why is it that I can't ever be wrong when I really need to be? It's as if the world has a tiny grudge against me but underneath my complaints I'm glad that not everything goes the way I want it to - after all if it did life would be a bit boring wouldn't it?

I can't help but shake my head at how sentimental I'm being. Sure, it may be true but having things go my way every once in a while like a life hint or something would be really useful. For instance, I would love to know something about my invisible microchip or even the reoccurring dreams, I would even settle to know the issue with the newspapers and why Sebastian wants me to keep quite about it.

A sudden pain in my chest brings me back to reality but as I quickly inspect my vitals the cause is unknown. I don't think I've done anything particularly harmful to anyone so far so a voodoo doll is out of the question but as I pull on the standard colors for the day before shuffling of to breakfast my memory is the only evidence of the instant pain and that sure doesn't warrant a trip to the hospital.

"So watcha eating?" Officer Penny asks sitting down with a steaming bowl of porridge.

"What is there?" I ask politely hoping not to trigger Officer Penny's temperamental behavior but as long as I stay away from the topic of The Worm Officer Penny's seems to become with anything.

"Well unless you're going out to eat, which is one of the best perks you get from being an adult in my opinion, there's the usual stuff you have at the Upbringing."

"Oh." I say nonchalantly as I fix myself a bowl of porridge. "What's eating out like?"

"It's amazing Aegis! When I was an intern I blew my whole months' earnings on eating out in just a week."

"A week?" I repeat. "I know that you've got to spend all your credits by your next paycheck as they don't carry over but seriously Officer Penny! A week?"

"Yeah." Officer Penny rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "I didn't realize how expensive it all was until I ran dry but when you get your paycheck at the end of the month you'll be spoiled for choice."

"Don't listen to her Aegis." I hear a yawn from behind me. "If you've managed to scoff this sludge down your throat since you could eat then you shouldn't have a problem doing it for a bit longer. Save your credits for the good stuff like the cinema."

"What? So he can stare at a screen all day watching movies on repeat?" Officer Penny points her spoon at the person who just walked in. "We don't need another otaku in the force Aloysius."

"I am not an otaku Penelope. I am the great connoisseur and MOM Aloysius. You've been to the cinema before haven't you Aegis?" Officer Aloysius turns to look at me.

"Yeah..." I mean who hasn't. As the only mainstream entertainment we all go to the cinema at least 10x a year or at least those at the Upbringing did.

"Then you must know about the credit only area as well. Am I correct?"

I nod hoping that Officer Aloysius won't be dragging this on forever. Currently my Stockholm index is quite low and I'd like to keep it that way or least for the rest of the morning.

"Well Aegis, allow me to express the wonders which reside in that area." Officer Aloysius says clearly gesticulating each word causing Officer Penny to rest her forehead against her fingers. "You see, unlike the non-credit area, the credit only area shows much more than movies. Recently I have discovered the joys of cartoons especially those with hundreds of episodes. I could and have watched these series for many upon many hours and just by watching them it's as if you're really there with them. It's a whole other experience, no, a whole other reality, no, a whole-"

"-A whole load of bullcrap." Officer Penny interjects and I can almost see electricity dart between her eyes and Officer Aloysius. "Look kid you'll get your paycheck and that's it. You can spend it on anything you want like good food or you can even choose to waste it by investing into screen addiction. At the end of the day you've got to spend it but you can either make the right choice or become an otaku."

I back away slowly from the conversation having already eaten and washed my bowl out. If anybody stops me I can just make the bathroom excuse but Officers Penny and Aloysius are so engrossed in comparing who spends their credits better that I'm sure that they won't notice me unless somebody manages to attract their attention.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Another Officer walks in blocking the only entrance and exit. "Either I woke up way too early or somebody throwing enough shade to block out the sun. I'm just glad the newbie ain't here to see you two bickering."

I cover my mouth with both hands to prevent me from snickering. The Officer who just entered appears to be Officer Penny and Aloysius' senior yet he seems more gangster than the two of them combined.

"If you want to talk about anyone spending money like there's no tomorrow then the clear winner is Bell, no doubt about it." The senior officer says shaking his head.

"Umm... Excuse me." I prod the senior officer gently not knowing how to draw his attention. "Who's Bell?"

"Holy cheese and rice boy! Who the smokes are you?"

"I'm Aegis."

"Oh that's right." The senior officer scratches his chin as if he's known me for years. "Well we all know Bell don't we? You know the tinker Officer, the one who spends all his credits on bit and bobs. If I didn't know better I'd dub him the king of the Bottom Bonanza, after all, the stuff he creates- Hey, wait a second! Who in the entirety of Mytopia are you?"

"I'm Aegis." I repeat.

"No, I know that. I mean what are you doing here?"

"I'm the newbie." I grin as I use the word the senior officer used to describe me. "Nice to meetcha."

The senior officer sighs and I become slightly worried that I may have come across as too chummy. "Darn it kid. I want to know why you're here and not at the temple."

"Temple?" I ask surprised before I feel my stomach drop as I remember that I needed to be at the temple from overhearing the conversation between Officer Penny and the preacher. Officer Penny doesn't know that I've overheard the conversation so as long as I don't say anything I won't get into any trouble. I look towards Officer Penny as I believe that's what I would do if I didn't know about the temple and I must have reacted correctly as she holds her hand stopping the conversation.

"Sorry. My bad. I was going to tell you after breakfast but Officer Otaku here held me up." Officer Penny smirks at Officer Aloysius. "You're supposed to be at the temple by 9:00am for-"

"Heard that Aegis?" The senior officer asks motioning to the exit with his chin. "Don't be late. Run boy, run."

Without a second thought I nod my head and run out the door. I smile as I run towards the temple. I expected police work to be fun due to getting to try everything but with the rowdy bunch at the station I don't think there will ever be a boring moment.

—————

The run to the eastern hemisphere was a lot more painful to begin with than I had imagined but after warming up it was almost enjoyable. The atmosphere isn't scorching like yesterday and although the sky is littered with clouds none of them seem heavy enough to rain. Even though the clouds hang low today the common sight of the temple is easy to spot most likely because it seems so out of place. It's made out of the same material as the wall and has probably been standing for the same length of time. No renovations have been done on it and when you're close enough you can even see thin residues of ivy snaking it's way through the small cracks in its pyramidal structure.

I walk up the stone slabs careful with my footing. Although the temple is the largest potential hazard in Mytopia there have been no accidents so far. Scientists have predicted its collapse for a very long time but so far the only decay has been a slight bit of erosion here and there. As I get closer to the temple's entrance I see the preacher standing at the door as he usually does and I feel my stomach churn knowing that soon I'll find out whether or not I've been overthinking again.

"Welcome back Aegis." The Preacher nods at me as I enter through the doors. "I was hoping to personally invite you yesterday but it appears that you somehow avoided me."

The preacher smiles at me like he always does when he awaits an answer from somebody. It's supposed to encourage the person to feel at ease but there's something in my head that feels a bit off. I don't know why but though. The Preacher was always someone who looked out for me, someone I could trust but lately he makes me feel uneasy.

"Sorry. I thought that you were after Officer Penny and I was a bit tired after my first day at work so I went straight to sleep." I'm not lying but I can tell it's not the truth the Preacher wants to hear.

"Well I hope you're feeling better now." The Preacher says with the uneasy smile again. "Just know that The Worm will always help you whenever you need it."

I nod briefly before waving to Lucas who is a few meters behind me and is now being greeted in the standard manner that the preacher uses. Not wanting to overstay my welcome I scurry inside the temple bypassing the atrium and heading straight towards the service hall where I can already hear the familiar chatter of my classmates.

Walking through the aisles, I shuffle into a pew near the twins having already deduced that the seating arrangement is the same as the the order of the aptitude test. Around half of my classmates have arrived so far and as Lucas walks in with Menma and Evadine I can be sure Naomi and Genevieve aren't far behind bringing us ever further to a full house. I make sure to leave a space between me and the end of the pew for Sebastian. Normally he isn't one of the first to arrive yet he also isn't one of the last. I gulp not knowing how I truly feel about this. We didn't exactly end on the best of terms but all I did was hug him right?

"Hey Aegis! Did you get it?" Cynthia asks scooting over to me slightly.

"Get what?" I ask slowly as I think back to whether or not she asked me to get anything for her.

"Your dream job!"

"Oh. Oh yeah!" I smile the reality of it dawning on me. "Did you."

Cynthia pats me on the shoulder before shaking her head and for a moment I'm worried she didn't make the cut. "Of course silly. Like, duh, it was in the paper yesterday."

I open my mouth to say something but I'm cut off by the preacher who claps his hands to get everybody's attention. "Well it looks like almost everybody is here now," The Preacher's voice echoes from the elevated podium. Everybody but Sebastian is still a no show. "So I'd like to congratulate you all on achieving the careers you wanted!"

A series of cheers resonates throughout the hall whilst the preacher claims that The Worm is good amidst our rowdy whoops and hurray's. A few gasps are heard with individual bouts of laughter and whatever worries I had seem to disappear temporarily as I clap along with everyone else. The festivities start to slowly engage into full swing within a matter of seconds but before we can reach our peak the preacher raises a hand and everything goes silent as if he is a book character with a superpower.

"Knowledge is power but ignorance is bliss. Enjoy your youth while you can. You don't need to learn everything now." The Preacher scans the crowd and when he stops at me I feel a shiver go down my spine which decides to linger within my stomach like a boulder on a leaf. "You have just started your careers. The World is an amazing and wonderful place but you don't need to find out everything - some mysteries are better left unsolved and if you trust in The Worm then everything will be fine just like your aptitude tests right? Don't doubt The Worm!"

"Don't doubt The Worm!" We shout back but for some reason I hear a whisper of uncertainty and I almost fall off of the pew as I see Sebastian sitting next to me. He's staring straight forward and although it's impossible for him to have not noticed me I shuffle slightly towards Cynthia hoping to give him as much room as he needs. I seem to be the only one aware of the awkwardness of the situation but maybe that's because I'm the only one making it awkward. Sebastian may have already brushed aside the ordeal from the other day but my gut tells me to give him some space.