Early the next morning, Xane felt a movement around him.
He tried to sit up, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't even open his eyes.
'What the hell?' It was then that Xane sensed his eyes opening.
A moment's confusion hit him as his body began to turn on its own.
Then he heard an excited voice. "Oh my God, I can finally control the body!"
It hit Xane — the voice in his head had somehow gained control over the body.
Zayn, in excitement, touched his face, squeezed his cheeks, and even ruffled his hair.
He stared at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. But the damp smell of wood made him frown as he started coughing. "Cough! Cough!"
While Zayn was moving around in excitement, Xane also looked around with interest.
He was trying to understand what was different when he was inside the head.
The very first thing he did was focus on the corners of his eyes. Even though he couldn't control the movement of the eyeballs, he had no problem focusing on different things.
One moment he was looking at the stains on the ceiling, the next he stared at the edge of his feet. It hit him that within a limited set of vision, he and Zayn could focus on two different things.
Then, Xane realized his vision was a tad bit blurry. It wasn't as clear as when he was in control of the body.
Not only that, but his other senses were also a bit dull.
He could smell the dampness, but it just wasn't as strong as he remembered from yesterday.
Now he was sure it hadn't changed that much. It was the same with the clicking sound from the side and the hard sensation from his back—all of it was just a bit weaker. It was like an invisible film was wrapped around him, dulling everything.
Though it wasn't all bad. With the dull senses, he didn't feel as sluggish as when he was in control. Also, there wasn't the same constant pain when moving the body. So that was the big plus point.
He then tried to focus on his thoughts, trying to see if he could read excited Zayn's mind, but no matter how much he tried, there was nothing.
Well, this made him sigh. After all, a person was defined by their head.
Even though he was stuck with Zayn, he didn't want to lose himself.
At this, he heard Zayn's voice. "Xane, are you there?"
Xane paused for a bit.
He noticed that when Zayn spoke, he felt the voice coming from outside.
It was different from how it used to feel when he was in control.
Even though it was a minor thing, Xane realized it showed that there was a bit of distinction even in mental space.
The one in control of the body and the one inside had different mental spaces, which they switched along with control of the body.
Xane made a mental note of it—it might help them in the future.
He then noticed that while he was lost in thought, Zayn had a wide smile.
Zayn asked again, this time sounding more excited, "Xane?"
Xane decided to drop cold water on Zayn's excitement and said, [Oh, don't tell me you want me to disappear.]
Zayn grabbed his head. "What the hell? This is so weird."
Xane mentally nodded but then reminded Zayn, [By the way, you're actually speaking out loud. Why don't you try to think aloud instead?]
Zayn closed his mouth, but Xane didn't hear anything.
[Nah, I can't hear you. Didn't you ever talk to yourself in your head? Just do the same, but this time with me.]
Zayn nodded. "Wait, let me give it a try."
[Yup, you're a fast learner.]
Zayn sighed.
[Hehe, told you. By the way, we can talk about our situation later—how about you get up? For some time now, I've been hearing noises. ]
It was like Zayn snapped out of his excitement and pushed himself up.
Xane mentally sighed. [Yeah.]
As soon as Zayn sat up, he saw another guy with black hair who was trying to push a big bag into the small almirah. He wouldn't call him fat, but the guy was definitely on the chubby side.
What was more interesting was that this guy had taken the sixth bed, which was next to the washroom door. Kind of interesting choice.
Upon noticing Zayn, the guy stopped stomping on the bag and waved. "Oh, hello."
Zayn rubbed his eyes and nodded. "Hello."
The guy pointed toward the door. "I found a suit bag just outside the door. I thought it might be yours, so I dragged it in."
Zayn turned to the door and saw the small bag. It was the same one he had seen the maid packing.
He nodded to the guy and awkwardly said, "Thanks, I guess."
The guy nodded and went back to stomping.
Zayn left him alone. Not caring about him, Zayn got up and dragged the bag.
Even though he just had to drag it to the second bed, it took everything out of him.
As he placed the bag inside the almirah, he huffed.
Xane focused on the almirah. [Yeah, I know. By the way, I see a small gap between the first and second sections. It'll be better to hide the letter there.]
Zayn focused on the gap and nodded.
Just then, his ID started flashing blue.
He glanced at the other guy and saw the same. As he picked up the ID, a message popped before his eyes:
{The academy schedule is ready. You will be assigned to classes in the next few days. The first-year first class will be held in three days. Be prepared.}