Reborn As A Rich Heir

Chapter 1: First Day?

I was startled when I stumbled over a bundle of softness in the dark before falling forwards onto my knees and hands. I whinced in pain as my knees collided with the floor, and that wasn't the only sound that filled the dark space I found myself in. Simultaneously, as though it were rehearsed beforehand, I groaned from the pain just as a feline-sounding groan reached my ears.

It was then that I realized I had stumbled over the small body of what could have only been a cat, further proof being provided as I felt the soft fur of the creature brush up against my bare arm in the dark. I felt its body snake around my arm. I was dumbfounded because I failed to understand the situation I was caught up in. I was in the dark with a random cat and ahead of me, as I noticed after my attention waned from its body, there was a streak of light flowing in through what seemed to be the underside of a door.

There were thinner streaks of light along the sides, floating in the air and forming a rectangular shape in the dark. I didn't know what that was about but I didn't like the idea of staying in there much longer. I was afraid of tripping over the cat and hurting the both of us in the process. So, I raised my hand and lightly pushed the cat's body away from me so that I could stand up without any hassle. I heard the cat hiss as it was pushed away from the only presence of life in the dark area.

"Stay away... you might get hurt," I muttered as I felt the cat brush up against my leg once I had stood up. I really couldn't see much and the amount of light flowing into the room wasn't enough for me to be able to make out its small body. There was a large risk of stepping on it, and, considering how fragile cat bodies are, I didn't want to squish it under my foot. So, I did the only thing that made sense in that situation and lightly pushed it off to the side with my foot. It was a very clingy cat and I didn't even know where it came from. In fact, I didn't know where I came from or why I was where I was at the present moment.

I cautiously walked forward until I reached the outline of the door, feeling satisfied that the cat did what I asked it to. Stopping in front of the door, I reached my right hand out and brushed the tips of my fingers against the surface. It was an ordinary wooden door, and proceeding by that assumption, I reached my hand to where I thought the doorknob was. I felt around for a moment until my hand felt the doorknob. Without wasting any time, I turned it, but the door wouldn't open.

I was confused for a moment because when I was feeling around for the doorknob, I didn't feel anything that could have resembled a keyhole. It was a simple doorknob on a large slate of wood with no indication that the door could be locked. I stepped back a bit and used both my hands to pull at the doorknob. After about a minute of trying, I came to realize that I had to push the door. I did just that after scolding myself for taking so long to realize the simple fact.

I miscalculated the amount of strength I used to push the door and I ended up falling forwards onto the floor as it opened outwards. I wished that me falling onto my knees again was the only injury that was sustained, but I was shocked to look up into the bright atmosphere to see someone else, a young man, laying on the ground on his behind. He had brought his left hand up to clutch his forehead where the surface of the door had collided with it. I did feel the door slam against something as I fell forward, but I didn't think that it would be another person.

"H-Hey... Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." I started apologetically with a tone filled with concern. As I watched the young man, the cat I was trapped in the room with leisurely walked out into the light and stopped beside me. I didn't notice it as I stood up and almost stepped on it again. It hissed and lunged to the side, stopping there to watch the scene unfold.

"No, no... I shouldn't have been standing so close to the door," the young man said, moving his hand away from his forehead to reveal a small purple bruise that was forming on his skin. A sense of guilt overcame me. Had I not exerted too much force on the door, he wouldn't have gotten so hurt. He rested his hands on the floor beneath him, propping the upper half of his body up as he looked up at me with both eyebrows raised from curiosity.

"I was patrolling the hallways when I heard a strange sound from behind the door and came to investigate what it could be. I didn't think that another student would show up... and three days before graduation, too," he started, averting his eyes to the snow white, British short-hair cat that was still standing beside me. If his sight wasn't playing tricks on him, the cat walked out of the dark room just as I did. It was strange because only humans could pass through that door, but it wasn't as strange as the fact that another human did so long after the term had started.

"Student? What do you mean?" I asked, taking the moment to look around the space we were in. I hadn't noticed it before because I was too concerned with the injury he sustained from the door hitting him, but I was finally able to realize that we were in a hallway of some building; one with the interior well suited for an old Victorian house, that is. It felt as though I were standing in a museum with portraits of different people and sceneries hanging on the walls.

"It means what it means," he started, standing up as well. I watched as his blood-red, shoulder length hair swayed as he stood up. He proceeded to dust himself off, not that he needed to. The floor was very clean as I happened to notice when I fell down and almost slammed my face on it. Now that he was standing, I was able to clearly see his attire and saw that he was wearing black trousers and a royal blue blazer, underneath it being a white shirt and a red tie; the typical high school uniform.

He did mention something about me being a student, but something didn't register to me until he noticed the expression of confusion displayed on my face.

"But don't worry about it. Sometimes the teleportation is so swift that it takes a while for students to comprehend where they are. You'll feel better in a few-"

"You keep mentioning 'student' but what does that mean?" I asked him, feeling slightly annoyed because I didn't understand anything at all. I didn't mean to sound rude but suddenly finding yourself in a dark room with no idea as to what was going on could make anyone anxious.

"You mean you don't know why you're here?" He asked, moving his eyes down from my face to my feet and then back to make eye contact with me, "... but you're all dressed up for it." I kept my gaze on his face before looking down to see that I was dressed in a white, short-sleeved blouse, a black pleated skirt and a red tie that was the same as the one he was wearing. There was a crest of some sort embroidered onto the fabric of the tie as well.

"When...?" I muttered under my breath and he didn't hear me.

"You must be Sophia Astor. You're the only person who should still be allowed to pass through the door. You failed to register for your final year in high school at the start of the year and we assumed that you wouldn't make it at all," he said next, a small smile forming on his lips. He reached his hand out and I stared at it as though I was in a daze. The moment he mentioned the name, my mind ran off to the depths of a place I didn't know in search of a memory; that memory being my name.

He said that my name was Sophia, but that couldn't have been right. But when I tried to recall what my real name could be, nothing came to mind. Then again, he did say that the teleportation could sometimes mess up the minds of students and before I interrupted him, I was sure that he was about to say that I would feel better in a few minutes. I reached my hand out and shook his for a few seconds.

"I'm Matt. I'm the school prefect for the year," he said, his smile growing wider. I had in mind to reciprocate the smile, but nothing about the situation I was in felt right. I didn't know where I was, why I was there or if the name I was told was really mine. I couldn't remember much before I arrived at the dark room as well, and I didn't know where the cat that was standing beside me could have come from. It all felt like a mystery to me and I hoped that it would be solved, soon.