Chapter 52: VIP Treatment

"I heard this lecture is being taught by a human lecturer," Elle said as they made their way toward the lecture hall. She and Chloe walked side by side at the front, while Starlight and Ariel followed a few steps behind. "And he’s one of the most popular lecturers in the entire academy. He’s a complete stickler for punctuality."

"A human teaching Lycanthropic Ethnology, the history of werewolves, is still such a bizarre concept to me," Chloe remarked, her voice thick with disbelief.

"In his defense, his father was a human who fell in love with and married a she-wolf," Ariel explained. "Unfortunately, he didn’t inherit any of the traits that usually come with werewolf blood, except for their physique and good looks. But genetically, he’s still recognized as part of the species and is more than academically qualified to teach the subject."

"Still feels weird," Chloe muttered. "I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it."

"Good looks, you say?" Elle chimed in at the same time, tossing her hair with a sly grin. "Suddenly, werewolf history sounds like my favorite subject."

Chloe rolled her eyes in exasperation, while Ariel simply shook her head at Elle’s complete lack of shame.

"How exactly are we going to take notes for the lectures?" Starlight asked, finally voicing the question that had been bothering her all morning.

There hadn’t been a single notebook in their welcome pack. At first, she had assumed one would be provided later, since Lunar Lottery winners were on scholarship and practically everything they needed was supplied for them, but nothing had shown up. Then she figured they would receive one on their first day of classes, or that the girls might know where students were expected to buy or get them. But so far, nobody had mentioned anything, and none of the students heading toward the lecture hall seemed to be carrying books or notebooks.

Elle let out a soft laugh and glanced back at her.

"Did you even do any research about Asterion Academy before submitting your name for the Lunar Lottery?"

"Am I supposed to?" Starlight replied flatly.

How exactly was she supposed to research something she had never been interested in? Though she didn’t think it would be wise to tell them that. She wouldn’t even be here if not for her little brother going behind her back and submitting her name in the first place.

"Sometimes I genuinely don’t know what to do with you," Ariel said, shaking her head fondly.

"There’s no such thing as traditional note-taking at Asterion. You’re supposed to record the lectures through audio or video and review them later. The academy designed the system around the belief that students absorb information better when they’re fully focused on listening and engaging with the lecture instead of constantly looking down and scribbling notes midway through class. So everyone records the lecture and studies it afterward."

"Wow," Starlight said, genuinely impressed. "This is actually the first time I’ve heard of a school doing something like that."

​"Asterion is way ahead of most schools when it comes to stuff like this," Chloe said, glancing back over her shoulder. "Some of the systems here are weird at first, but once you get used to them, they actually make a lot of sense."

Starlight nodded in agreement.

​"Yeah, that makes total sense," she replied. "There were plenty of times in high school when I was so busy taking notes that I ended up missing half of what the teacher was saying. Then I’d have to beg someone to lend me their notes later just to fill in the gaps." She let out a quiet laugh. "I have to give credit to whoever came up with this system. They were really thinking ahead."

"Honestly, it works out perfectly for me," Elle interjected with a shameless grin, looping her arm through Chloe’s. "I am way too lazy to take notes in the first place. Listening to a recording while resting in bed sounds infinitely better."

"You’re something else, Elle," Chloe sighed, though a reluctant smile tugged at her lips.

"At least she’s honest about it," Ariel conceded, earning a triumphant grin from Elle.

"I think we’re here," Starlight said, her eyes fixing on a sleek door with a polished metallic frame and a tinted glass panel that students were pushing through one after another.

The four girls fell into step with the crowd, with Elle now leading the way as she reached the door and pushed it open. They followed her through the entrance and into the tiered auditorium, where rows upon rows of seats stretched before them. To Starlight’s surprise, the room was already packed despite them arriving earlier than expected because of their interrupted breakfast. At this rate, they would be lucky if there were even enough seats left for all four of them to sit together. The moment they entered, the ambient chatter dropped, and nearly every head in the auditorium turned in their direction.

Outside in the open corridors, she had managed to disregard the stares by simply focusing on where she was going and ignoring anyone who didn’t approach her directly. But here inside an enclosed space where dozens of people turned at once to lock eyes with her like robots responding to a command was creepily uncomfortable and impossible to ignore. No doubt the incident in the dining hall had probably earned her even more attention than she already had. Starlight’s skin prickled with unease, more from the sudden attention than from the cool air wafting down from the vents.

"Let’s find a seat before all the good ones are taken," Ariel said, stepping further into the hall and scanning the rising rows for any empty spots.

The lecture hall was massive and luxurious, designed like a theater, with the lecturer’s platform at the very front, where a massive digital whiteboard spanned nearly the entire wall. Starlight wondered what it was used for when students weren’t allowed to take notes. Was it only for visual displays? The seating curved upward from the front podium to the elevated back rows, ensuring everyone had a clear view. Soft lighting illuminated the hall, and the polished floors and sleek furnishings gave the entire place an expensive, prestigious feel.

Most of the students were werewolves, but there were quite a lot of humans as well. As they moved farther into the hall, Starlight noticed something else. An adjustable phone stand was built into the front edge of every desk, positioned at the perfect angle for students to mount their phones and seamlessly record the lecture.

These people actually mean business.

"Queen Star, you and your friends can sit over here," a female student called out suddenly.

Without waiting for a response, she quickly dragged her three companions out of their seats in the third row from the front. "We can easily find another spot," she added, while her friends nodded along in eager agreement.