An hour had passed and two men in gray jumpsuits entered the dining hall. The first man was recognizable as the one who had brought food to Ian when he was in the ward. The second man was much larger, with a round build and a stern expression. He had a deep, rough voice, a bald head, and a beard on his face. A knife-like tattoo was visible on the left side of his neck. The large man slammed his hand on the table several times to get the children's attention.

  Ian, startled by the noise, turned to face the source of the sound.

"Times up! Get to your classes!" The man barked.

The children quickly rose from their seats and began to exit the dining hall, as if this was a routine they were familiar with.

Adam turned to Saffi and Luca. "I guess we'll see you at lunchtime."

Saffi replied with an enthusiastic "Yep!" while Luca nodded in agreement wearing a friendly look. They then took their leave and left the dining hall.

"Ian, you will be with Zack and I," Adam said.

Zack led the way and approached the door. He looked sternly at the large man, who was waiting by the door. "Fuck off, garbage!"

The man cast an angry glance at Zack "What did you say freak?"

"I said fuck-off, gar-bage!" Zack spat on the floor next to the man's feet, and continued mockingly, "Do you want me to spell it for you so your baboon brain can understand?"

The man's demeanor became visibly angry. "What did you say you piece of shit?!" He lifted his hand in a threatening manner towards Zack. However, before he could act on his emotions, the other man stepped in.

“Don’t.” he said calmly with a sly expression, despite the tense situation. "You don't want to cause any trouble for yourself."

At this point, Adam noticed the commotion and quickly intervened. "Ian, come on," he said, leading the way over to where Zack was. "Zack. stop. and let’s go!” With a firm grip on Zack's shoulder, Adam guided both him and Ian out of the dining hall.

As the boys were making their exit from the dining hall, the man spoke in a low tone He spat on the floor as he muttered, "Freaks."

Ian was taken aback by the situation, and he asked in surprise, "What was that about?"

"I'm not sure," Adam replied, turning his gaze to Zack. "What was that about, Zack?" he asked, clearly confused.

He knew that Zack had mood issues and could sometimes be sarcastic and rude, but he had never seen him provoke a staff member before.

Zack turned his head away from Adam, avoiding eye contact and attempting to conceal his expression. "Nothing," he said in a composed tone. "I was just letting off some steam."

Ian was just as confused as Adam and had no understanding of the situation.

 Zack took the lead "Forget about it, let's just head to the stupid class."

Adam and Ian followed him. As they walked through the hallways, they passed by several classrooms, many of which had glass walls. Inside, kids could be seen sitting in cubicles with computer screens, while others were using some type of VR device.

Upon entering the classroom, the three boys were greeted by an empty room with only the teacher present. She was a middle-aged woman, tall with an attractive physique, and had brunette hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were covered by sunglasses. Despite her presence, Adam and Zack didn’t acknowledge her. They entered the room and took their seats in their designated cubicles. Each cubicle was equipped with a computer and headset.

Ian followed suit, but couldn't help but observe the lack of interaction and the reserved demeanor in the room. The teacher wore her headphones and appeared to be absorbed in her computer screen, reading or viewing something, and not paying any attention to the boys.

Adam then gestured for Ian to take a seat next to him.

The teacher stood up, looked at Ian and, with a noticeably detached tone, she recited "Please follow the instructions on the computer and perform the tasks as directed. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Otherwise, do not disturb me." With that, she returned to her seat and resumed her previous activity.

The room was spacious enough to accommodate twelve cubicles arranged in three rows of four. The light was bright enough to create an illumination of the room, but not harsh or too bright, giving a feeling of normalcy. The curtains were closed, blocking out the outside world and giving the room a warm, cozy feel. Yet despite these familiar touches, Ian felt uneasy. The atmosphere of the classroom did not resemble a typical academic setting, and there was a sense of foreboding that lingered in the air.

 Upon examining the computer screen, he noticed that it was requesting an ID code to log in. Glancing over at Adam and Zack, he saw that they were already fully engaged in their own work, with headsets on their ears. And the teacher, who was still absorbed in her own screen, showed no indication of acknowledging the boys. Feeling lost and unsure of what to do, Ian turned to Adam for help. Upon being nudged, Adam paused his work and turned to face Ian.

"It's asking for an ID code, and I don't have one,"

"Oh, the lady at the front should have it," Adam replied, realizing the issue.

Ian shifted his gaze back to the teacher or what he thought she was, but felt intimidated to approach her.

Sensing Ian's reluctance, Adam stood up and addressed her in a serious tone, as if he were issuing an order. "Hey, give him his ID code in order to log in."

Ian was taken aback by Adam's tone and was worried that Adam might get into trouble with the teacher. The lady shifted her gaze from the computer screen to Adam, her expression conveying a clear frown of displeasure. Her eyes narrowed as she sighed heavily in frustration before retrieving an ID card from her desk drawer and tossing it onto the floor in a careless manner, muttering "Freaks" under her breath. Turning back to her computer, she resumed her previous task, ignoring Ian completely and radiating a palpable aura of animosity toward the boys.

Ian was disheartened by the teacher's behavior and felt intimidated and insulted. He thought back to the men in the dining hall and noticed they had the same disdainful look and mannerisms. Freaks again. In response to the teacher's disregard, Adam cast a stern gaze in her direction, his frustration clearly felt.

Sighing in frustration, Adam stood from his seat and retrieved Ian's ID card from the floor. The encounter only served to increase Ian's unease and discomfort in this unfamiliar environment.

Adam handed the ID card to Ian with a smile. "Here you go, Ian. The card itself is useless after you use it, you just need to memorize the code. After you do, just toss it in one of your room's drawers later." Ian nodded with a thankful expression to Adam then took the card from him. He looked at the card and saw that it read:

"#16
Name: Ian Amber

BT: 11/17/2077

 Code: 01-IA03 "

As Ian started to enter the code into the computer, a window popped up with the title "Languages." To Ian's surprise, it showed a list of eight in-progress languages he was expected to learn. What is this? I'm going to learn eight languages? He felt overwhelmed with a mixture of confusion and surprise.