The silence inside the elevator was palpable as neither of them spoke to each other. Luckily, no other students had entered the elevator as it moved to the highest floor.
After a few seconds, the elevator finally reached its destination, and without uttering any words, they both got off and started walking down the hallway.
Atticus really wanted to say something; the walk was just incredibly awkward. But no matter how much he thought, he just couldn't think of anything appropriate to say in this situation.
He subtly turned to look at Zoey. She still had a hand softly touching her lips, and it didn't seem like she had any plans of putting it down.
Atticus took his gaze away and released a small sigh. He knew, he just knew he would go through another round of hide and seek tomorrow.
After a few seconds, they finally reached Zoey's teleportation room, and Atticus turned to face Zoey, saying with a smile, "I'll see you later."
Zoey remained still for a few seconds before softly responding, "Yeah," as she moved towards the door, which opened and closed as she entered.
Atticus gazed at the closed door for a few seconds without saying anything. And then suddenly, he raised his arm, clenching his hand in a fist as he brought down his elbow with a resounding, "Yes!" Atticus screamed.
He had finally kissed her! He had finally kissed a girl!
Words could not begin to describe how happy Atticus was feeling at that moment. He was really holding himself back from jumping up and celebrating right now.
After a minute of celebration, Atticus calmed himself down. He was feeling happy, very happy.
Atticus released a deep breath, 'Damn, I feel like a man. How many guys could boast their first kiss was with a girl as pretty as that?' Atticus felt proud of himself, very proud.
If only Avalon could see him now. Atticus shook his head, clearing it of all the thoughts trying to creep their way in.
He had work to do tomorrow because Zoey was sure to display her antics again. 'Hmm,' Atticus pondered for a second before a thought sprang into his head, 'I know what to do,' he thought.
Taking a long look at her door once more, Atticus took in a deep breath and exhaled in the next instant. Then, he turned and started making his way back down the hallway.
Upon reaching the elevator, Atticus first took it to the first floor and headed into the expansive garden. As usual, he received looks, many of them, but he completely ignored them and searched for who he was looking for.
After a few minutes of searching, Atticus finally found her: Ember.
Atticus intended to ask Ember about Gerald and the Resonara youth, Sonorous.
Although Ember was the most reclusive person he knew and basically didn't care about anyone or anything other than getting stronger, they were all in the same class.
Even if it was the least bit of information, she should know it. After asking a few questions, Atticus was able to find out that Gerald and Sonorous were ranked 4th and 5th, respectively, amongst the third years.
He also learned that, just like Seraphin, they hadn't shown up to class.
Ember didn't really care enough about the situation to ask what was going on. The fact that Gerald and Sonorous skipped school for the first time, and Atticus came to ask about it, made it quite obvious that Atticus had something to do with it.
But she knew Atticus well, and they all stood no chance against him. The fact that they were the ones to skip school spoke volumes.
After hanging out with Ember for a few minutes, they both separated, and Atticus headed to the Elemental rooms to train.
After awakening the space element, Atticus had thought a bit about what his new training routine should be. He had already awakened the space element, and it felt like a good opportunity to advance his other elements too.
But after thinking about it for a bit, Atticus still decided to prioritize the space element.
He would train it for at least one hour out of his two every day and then rotate the other elements during the other hour. He decided to spend 30 minutes on two elements, with the elements changing each day.
This would allow him to increase his proficiency with his space element, and not just that, the main reason he had chosen to prioritize it was because he had no idea when he would get access to the space elemental room again after leaving the academy.
It was very possible he wouldn't be able to train it as intensely after leaving. So he decided to train it thoroughly while he had the chance. Three years would be enough to make significant progress.
After paying for two hours, Atticus made his way to the space elemental room. Since he had awakened the space element, he was able to go farther into the room.
After training for an hour, Atticus left and decided to focus on lightning and ice for today's other elements.
After another hour, he left and went back to the highest floor to his teleportation room. Luckily, Atticus hadn't met anyone on the way.
Returning to his division, Atticus headed back to the mansion to freshen up after his usual banter with Aurora, which always ended with her getting pissed.
Atticus laughed, had his bath, ate his food, and then immediately went to bed.
The next day came, and Atticus continued his routine. He trained in the advanced training room and then headed right for the terminal after having a meal with Aurora.
After being teleported to the academy campus, he had to face the same thing as yesterday, as Zoey immediately tried to run.
But this time around, Atticus was prepared for her. He held her hand before she could get far and started walking with her through the hallway.
She blushed hard throughout the walk, and the shock that occurred when the both of them walked into the classroom hand in hand was palpable.