April 19th

On my way into school, I listened in on a conversation.

"I thought I'd get a girlfriend by now but I'm not having any luck at all. Is there something wrong with me?"

"Maybe self improvement is the answer. Try reading some books. You'll get more than just some knowledge out of them and it'll make you better in conversation. You'll be more desirable if you're more intelligent. It'll take hard work, though, won't happen overnight."

"Yeah but books make me sleepy. Guess I can give it a go, though, if it'll help make me more popular with the ladies! Uh, is the library where you go to borrow books?"

"Reading books is an important way to expand your mind." Morgana said.

"Books are great!" I said.

"I totally agree. You can apparently read for free at the school library, so you should try and take advantage of that. I think there's also a bookstore over on Central Street."

I went to class.

"Hi there, everyone," said a young teacher. "I'm Mr. Hiruta, your biology teacher. You must all be shocked by what happened with Suzui-San. It was a shock to me too, although I can relate to how she felt. Her eyes were devoid of life as they looked upon this sad, hopeless world. Well, I suppose everyone views the world differently. Let's have a test. You there, take a look at this. Between A and B, which line seems longer."

"They're the same." I said.

Mr. Hiruta laughed, "That is correct. It seems your eyes see the truth. This is an optical illusion. Some people see it correctly and some do not. Humans don't see the world as it is. We simply process visual information with our brain."

"Wow, really?"

"Doe seems kinda smart, doesn't he?"

"Wow, you must be really smart to be able to answer a question like that!" said Morgana.

"How you see the world is nothing more than a trick of the mind, it is mere cognition," said Mr. Hiruta. "There is no proof that the world each of us sees is the same."

"How you see the world depends on your brain's cognition, huh?" Morgana questioned. "Optical illusions and the Metaverse might be more similar than you'd think."

After class my phone vibrated.

[Ryuji: Hey, where are you right now?]

[John: I haven't gone home yet.]

[Ryuji: I'm still at school too. I'm by the staircase outside your classroom.]

[Ryuji: Think we should head into the Palace today?]

[John: I haven't decided.]

[Ryuji: Hey, I thought of something the other day when we were running around the Palace.]

[Ryuji: Maybe it's cause I haven't been moving around as much lately but I feel like I'm getting weak.]

[Ryuji: We're prolly gonna run into some pretty tough Shadows sometime. We should try to get stronger too.]

[Ryuji: It's sunny outside. Perfect for training! So, you wanna get your blood pumping?]

"Seems like even Ryuji has a lot on his mind," Morgana said. "It's true that training your body will let you be able to move when it counts. He went to the trouble of inviting you, so why not listen to what he has to say?"

I felt like my bond with Ryuji would grow stronger.

[John: Sure.]

[Ryuji: Sick. Let's sweat it out behind the gym.]

[Ryuji: Oh. Be sure to change into your gym clothes first.]