A snippet of a map was copied and pasted onto a gray powerpoint slide.

Easy.

A snippet of a different map, new slide this time.

Easy.

Another snippet, another second.

Easy.

Some random clapping shouts and hollers echoed off of my dorm's bare walls, the students walking by outside diverting my attention. My gaze hovered over the map on my laptop as I listened to their voices taper out, the group moving away from my open window three floors up. 

It's a Saturday night and you're inside doing homework. How very wild of you, Shion. 

I felt my lips purse into an unconscious pout, my hand leaving the touchpad to listlessly prop up my chin. 

How do people have friends already, anyway? It's only the second weekend of the year...

A bright splotch of green caught my eye, my stare reexamining the map once again. This was a strange planet (it was called, oh-so-creatively, "Erth"). After staring at its form for 19 years in this life, I believe I have finally found out how the developers thought of this design composition: they first acquired a puzzle of the map of Earth, completed it, glued it together, and then grabbed a hammer and smashed it up in hot rage when they realized they glued a piece incorrectly. That was followed by a regretful prod with their left foot, and huzzah! This game world was made, full of eight scraggly continents that faintly resembled a ghost of my past Earth - if I blurred my eyes. 

Still, I suppose the developer hadn't wanted to invest their one brain cell into creating a whole new fantasy world, so the game was still quite similar to my original world; the extra continent hadn't changed much. Truly "landmark" creations (printing press, computers, sliced bread, etc) were still invented in the same exact years, although the names of the inventors were just a tad off - vaccinations, for example, were invented by an "Edward Rennej". 

History was also nearly identical. There were still two world wars (although the names and geographic locations of the countries involved had changed), and the current politics of the planet somehow seemed to mirror my last one. Truthfully, the explanation wasn't too difficult: everything happened everywhere except our small extra continent. "Peaceful Palin," it was endearingly called. 

There I lived, born in a coastal country of this unnecessary continent: the rather large kingdom of Noda, whose language and culture both appeared to be a mesh of many, many others. 

A huff left my mouth, a strand of my brown hair wiggling slightly before falling back into my eye. A louder, more annoyed huff escaped me as I straightened out and tucked the strand behind my ear, refocusing on my assignment. I halfheartedly switched tabs, absently skimming the project instructions. A sentence jerked me upright, my pen falling to the floor with a clack.

Wait.

I blinked, leaning in.

No...Does this mean...?!

No matter how much I reread the paragraph, the conclusion stayed the same.

I have to redo it! I have to redo it all! Why?!

I stared at the bright screen in silence for some time. Then, my head languidly fell onto the table in front of me, my eyes vacantly looking off to the far wall. 

This assignment is not at all as easy as I thought. May you step in gum wherever you go, Professor Tim.

***

Lunch at the academy wasn't always enjoyed on the balcony.

The lettuce crunched as I nibbled on its edge, slowly savoring my store-bought sandwich in an empty classroom. Chatter occasionally crept through from the hallway outside, the door opened just a crack. I'd like to say it was a strategic choice (one that allowed me to listen in on any gossip in my surroundings, of course), but I had simply not pushed the door hard enough to shut it closed. 

I gave it a lukewarm glance, a desk between me and the exit. It wasn't long before my shoulders gave an unconscious shrug as I bit into my lunch once again. 

Too far. Too late to close it now.

Straggling students passed; only the metallic click of the door-latch gently bumping the frame from a draft broke the silence.

The quiet didn't last.

A sudden melody wormed its way into the room, reverberating off of the walls outside. The sound was soft, matching the sunny day peering through the window.

Nice piano.

I nodded to myself, moving the sandwich wrapping further down.

Piano...? 

My teeth stilled, half-sunken into the bread.

Doesn't the eccentric play the piano?

I mulled over that unpleasant realization, chewing slowly. The song obliviously accompanied me, and to be honest it may have been nice enough to sway my rationality.

That guy definitely isn't the only student who knows how to play. Elinka should be in the cafeteria anyway, so why would the love interest be playing right now? My luck isn't that bad...probably.

Countless minutes passed, the notes eventually reaching a crescendo, taking on a short, speedy pace and trotting to its curt happy ending. The sudden soundlessness didn't feel empty; rather, a sense of contentment permeated the air. 

My hands smacked against each other, wiping off any last crumbs before giving two muted claps. I released a satisfied breath, my eyes slowly closing as the bright rays passed the window, resting on my face, warming my cheeks.

"...not even a primary color!" a distant voice stated.

"Ha!" The guffaw was startlingly loud, "Who's did you want then?"

The speakers seemed closer, since I could now detect the hesitance in the first man's laughing tone. "The one everyone wanted."

"Just say 'Augustus', man." 

Their footsteps pattered right by the door, two shadows flickering through the opening.

His friend only chuckled, saying something I couldn't quite catch as they walked further away.

I didn't bother opening my eyes. To my small regret, the piano wasn't heard again for the rest of the break.

A/N: thanks 4 reading and commentin. Piano is nice when I'm not the one playing (^;