by Kashif Ross
Nine
I decided to skip classes and dungeon duty for the rest of the week. All of the other students wrapped in the ceremonial bandages did the same.
Today is my first official day back. Classes are fairly easy. I managed to make it to third period without collapsing. Professor Gardezi gave Yukio a hard time for falling asleep in class, but I think he was unconscious. The bandages seem to cause him a lot of pain too.
Once third period ends, we’re off to lunch. Angie turns off her tablet with her eyes haunting my every movement as I exit the room. Malik creeps behind her and runs his right hand through her hair.
If it were possible, my heart would break free of its prison, stomp over to Angie, and slap her with its artery. It takes Carmen to snap me out of my daze. “What’s wrong?”
I’d love to tell her that my best friend’s cowardice has reached an all time high, but I’m too distraught to speak.
Instead of punching this mutt in the nuts, she’s letting him run his filthy and sweaty paw over her exposed skin. She doesn’t grab his hand until it nearly touches her breast.
“Come on, sweetie,” he teases playfully. “You know you’re as good as mine. Plus, your dad doesn’t want us to hide our relationship from the rest of the school.”
The evil in my chest corrodes my better judgment. I spin around, still blocking the doorway. Some students complain, so I step forward to let them pass. I want to open my eyes badly, but I refrain.
Angie looks steadily and intensively inside of my hood. Fire fills her eyes, though all she sees is darkness.
“You’re such a coward.” My words echo across the room. Everyone looks around to discover where the sound originated. Though Angie has no verifiable proof, she focuses more venomously on me.
The words are enough to make her accidentally tighten her grip on Malik’s arm. He groans and rips it away from her chest. Now I can leave.
The dining hall is one of the only rooms in the school that isn’t black and white. The walls have a light blue tint to them. The tables are dark brown and shiny like marble, but they’re sturdier than concrete. There’s no telling how many different objects were combined with MMIBS to create these. They’re meant to be durable enough to withstand any brawls that might break out between students.
There are two levels to the room. A set of stairs on the right side leads to the second level. Even with the vents and AC, the heat is warmer up there because of the steam from the kitchen. There’s a slope for injured students on the far left. The ramp zigzags four times before it reaches the top.
There are drains at various corners and areas of the sleek floors to assist with the cleaning process. Overall, it’s a nice place, but nothing special.
Carmen trails me as I ease up to Richard’s table and sit on the opposite side. Even with all the room on the bench, the goddess presses her body snugly against mine. There’s not enough elbow room to eat a meal, but I can’t deny how much I enjoy her proximity.
Once we’re completely settled, the large teddy coughs, “What’s good? I’m Richard Ellington. I’d shake your hand, but I’m sick.”
Extending my arm, I reply, “It’s impossible for me to catch a cold. I’m Kay.”
His eyes light up and he laughs loudly with his fist covering his mouth. He grips my hand hard enough to make me cringe. I swear Richard squeezed the blood out of my fingertips.
“Man. I didn’t think you’d try to find me. I know your friend wanted me to look after you, but if you’re in all god-level classes, you’ll want to stay away. I’m one of the lowest ranking students.” Richard leans forward and establishes strong eye contact with Carmen. “I’ll really make things worse for you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just give me the rundown.”
“You have Carmen. She knows better than me.” With his eyes still glued to her, he extols, “I don’t care what any of them say. You fine as hell and don’t trip about your scores. You’ll do a lot better this time.”
He’s charming enough to make Carmen grin uncontrollably. She mumbles, “Thanks.”
As his eyes return to me, I say, “I’ve heard a few things from her, but you have the more interesting opinion. I’ve been waiting to talk to you about the way people are ranked.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty dumb, but to keep it simple, there’s like an elite, average, and bottom of the barrel ranking. I’m the bottom, enough said. Then, the average are like Selena and Angie. Well, they’re—”
“What the hell did you just say?”
Carmen and Richard are both shocked by my response. “They’re average.”
“Angie? Average compared to what? Armageddon?”
“No. She lost a fight in finals.”
“To what?”
“Malik.” I try calming down because the plates on the table are rattling. Eventually, I release a large breath and regain my composure. “You okay? Was that you?” he sputters, pointing to the trays.
“There’s no way she could lose to him. No way.”
“Yeah. That was the rumor before. I was unconscious at the time, but I saw the highlights. Everyone bragged about how great of a fight it was, but it only lasted two minutes and I never saw her barcodes glow.”
“She wouldn’t activate them for someone as weak as him.”
“Maybe. Something was off about the fight, I’ll give you that. Thing is, Malik’s stronger than you’re making him sound. He’s no pushover. But...” Richard darts his eyes down to my tightly wound fists. His eyes zoom up to my hoodie. He tries seeing through the dark space. I’ve grown so accustomed to wearing it that I forgot how unnecessary it is. I pull the hood back and Richard grunts, “You’re blind?”
“Something like that. You seem to have a suspicion.”
“Definitely. Malik’s so strong that he was awarded a huge title. He’s supposed to be the first non-Colt with a Level One. But your bandages look a lot thicker than his. And they’re covering more of your body.”
Trying to change the subject quickly, I point to a girl that’s eating food by herself, and asks, “Who’s that?” She’s adorable. Her cheeks are puffy and her lips are full. She’s dressed in a very simple all white jumpsuit with pink highlights. That’s the type of gear middle school students wear. Having her hair in a ponytail doesn’t help her appear any older.
“Jamie. She doesn’t fight or speak. Some call her weak, but I haven’t seen her throw down firsthand. And she doesn’t have highlights because she forfeits her matches. Supposedly, she’s British. I try talking to see if she’ll say something with an accent, but she just stares at me. The chick’s weird.”
Jamie blinks rapidly as though she were troubled by something. Slowly she looks over her shoulder to observe my face. That’s when I realize that I’ve seen her before. Déjà vu isn’t rare for me. I see many faces and record them all the time. It’s rare that I forget someone, but I often feel as though I’ve shared experiences with people. Jamie’s strange though. The intensity of a connection has never been this strong.
She appears frightened for a second, but she shakes off her expression. Then, she mouths the words, “Thank you.” Carmen and Richard both turn to Jamie to see what’s going on. The tiny woman stands up and leaves her table.
“Are you flirting?” Carmen asks while digging her fork into my leg.
The painful expression on my face causes her to quickly withdraw the utensil. “Uhh...Ouch.”
Carmen stands and offers to take our trays. She stacks Richard’s on top of hers, but I continue working at my food. Richard and I talk about classes, and I avoid any questions about the ceremonial bandages.
I thought Carmen would return quickly, but she takes her cup up to the fountain drinks for a refill. She’s met by Malik and Patrick. Wesley sees the group, but takes his tray back into line to get seconds.
While talking to Richard, I listen to Carmen’s conversation. She does her best to stop pouring the drink and tries to make her way back to me, but he blocks her.
The mu
tt rubs his scruffy chin and asks, “Miss me?”
“Not really at all or in the least bit.” Carmen holds her cup between both hands while pressing it to her chest.
Patrick giggles, “That was an elaborate no.”
“That’s okay. I like chasing my prey. Anyway, when are you going to finally sneak out and heal my entire body?” he asks aggressively, but I’m quite sure that’s the only way he knows how. “I won’t tell him. I promise.” The mutt tries pressing his body against hers, but she spins around another table. Patrick cuts her off as Malik sneaks behind her. He grabs her butt with his right hand. “I heard Aphrodite was a freak. I can teach you things and maybe I’ll learn something too.”
Carmen’s eyes flash with a faint light. I’m not sure what that color was, but it definitely reminded me of my ability. She charges through Patrick until she’s back at the table next to me.
Malik takes a seat on Richard’s left and Patrick squeezes on the right. A crowd swarms around us and people are beginning to make small talk about Malik finding someone new to pick on. Selena approaches the table. She kisses Patrick on the cheek and rests her weight on his back.
“Hi baby,” he hums casually. Now, that’s awkward. There’s no way Patrick and Selena have hooked up. What has this school turned into? I would rather sit in my room all day and listen to this drama than to work in the dungeon.
Richard leans forward to ask, “Are you okay Carmen?”
The puppy barks, “Don’t worry about the hoe.”
“If I wanted your opinion, I would’ve asked you.”
For Richard to be ranked so low, he doesn’t give a damn about the “cool kids”. This is my new best friend.
Malik and Patrick poke fun at Richard’s boldness. Richard seems to be more concerned with how Carmen feels. He watches as she places her hand on my leg. I feel her release a huge weight from her shoulders. She breathes more easily and nods.
Malik reaches over to slap Patrick’s shoulder, but purposely taps Selena’s breast at the same time. Pointing to me, Malik says, “Look, she’s taking comfort with her new boyfriend, how cute.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Interrupting, I say, “You don’t have to clarify. I’m a boy. I’m a friend. And I think you’re damn sexy. He can add the words together as much as he likes. It’s likely that the nine letter word is the largest in his limited vocabulary. Puppies weren’t meant for speaking.”
Malik narrows his eyes as the crowd laughs. The cold scowl he gives everyone surrounding him is enough to stop their chatter. When did all the gladiators at this school get replaced by weak wimps?
Bearing his fangs, the mutt howls, “Don’t think you have special privileges just because you’re the chancellor’s son. You’re not Spencer so we don’t give a damn about you.”
“Please leave the table unless you plan on engaging in an adult conversation. I’m not going to have a my balls are bigger than yours argument. I may look eleven, but even little kids hate talking to idiots.”
Patrick leans forward and gushes, “Man. You have a death wish.”
“What is this? Are we in some twentieth century movie? I do actually have a strong desire for a sharp and painful death, but even in these bandages, neither of you are capable of delivering one. By the way,” I add while turning to Selena, “Why are you dating the homo? What you do is your business, but are you really so weak that you can’t put in the effort to find a guy that’ll want to have sex with you one day?”
The surrounding crowd gasps and laughs. I just outed Patrick in the worst way, and I’m ready to go further if this is what they really want.
“I’m not gay!”
“And I’m not black. I’m not short. I’m not a smart ass.” Raising my eyebrows I say, “Look Patrick. I can lie too.”
“I’m not!” he shouts forcefully. By force, I don’t mean he exerts one, but there’s some bass in his words. Much better than his standard shriek.
Malik bangs his fist on the table, causing my plate to jump. “I’m going to beat the hell out of you. Then you’ll know exactly where you are. My school.”
Earlier this morning Dennis made me swear I’d be a good student. Knowing that the mob would return this week, he firmly instructed me to avoid killing the mutt at all costs.
Once again, I resist the urge to stab him with Shiva. I fight it desperately, but when I see his right hand. I lose control. Malik slowly raises his arm and points his finger in my face. “You’re going to learn quickly.”
“Just out of curiosity. What other improper things have you done with that hand today?”
“Look. I don’t care if you’re blind or—”
I snatch the fork from my tray, slam Malik’s hand on the table, and drive the thin metal so deeply into his hand, only half of the utensil shows. Then, I quickly bend the handle to increase the difficulty of removing it.
Silence immediately possesses the room. Due to his state of shock, not even Malik makes a peep.
“Just in case we’re not clear. Don’t ever put that filthy egg whites beating hand on Carmen again.”