“Come on, Prince!” Rey exclaimed as he tugged at Prince’s arm along with Neil.
No matter how much Rey and Neil pulled, Prince was as solid as a rock. He didn’t want to budge. With a day off from school, Rey and Neil wanted to go out for a beach day. It was something they needed with all the stress in their lives as of late.
“I don’t understand why you need me to come with you guys,” Prince said.
“Come on! It’ll be fun!” Neil exclaimed. “Besides, we want as much of the gang there as possible.”
“Heer, Zayn, and Akira are busy with homework. You definitely don’t have an excuse better than that,” Rey said.
“I do. I’m just not interested,” Prince said.
“You say that all the time!” Rey exclaimed. “It’ll be fun. We’ll hang at the beach while you just chill. You can relax as much as you want. Maybe even take a book.”
“Or a candy cane,” Neil said.
Prince sighed. He would rather stay in his room, but he also felt some relaxation elsewhere wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“Fine. I’ll go, but I’m just going to chill there,” Prince said. “Got it?”
“All right! We’re heading out in an hour, so be ready!” Rey exclaimed as he and Neil left the room.
***
In the late afternoon, Prince met up with Rey, Neil, Sana, and Krystal at the front of the academy. They headed downtown and boarded the bus. It didn’t take long for them to reach Swiftside Beach. As soon as the group arrived, no one was more excited than Krystal. She made her way towards the sand, saying, “Isn’t this so nice?! Zayn and the others are missing out!”
“Hell, I’m surprised Ms. Bookworm here wasn’t busy with homework,” Neil said, looking at Sana.
“Are you trying to say I don’t know how to have fun?” Sana asked.
“He isn’t trying. He’s just saying it,” Rey said.
“Well, let me prove you wrong then!” Sana exclaimed. “Who’s up for volleyball?”
“Sounds fun!” Krystal said. “Prince, join us!
Krystal and the others turned to see Prince was already settled. He laid on the towel he had set on the sand. Krystal said, “Prince, really?”
“I came here to relax,” Prince said as he got out a book from his backpack.
“Come on. Just one game,” Neil said.
“I’m good,” Prince said as he opened his book and began reading.
Rey, Neil, Sana, and Krystal walked off to set up for volleyball. Sana whispered to Rey, “Why did you invite Prince?”
“I thought he’d possibly lighten up and hang with us,” Rey said.
“You thought that by enticing him with relaxation only?” Neil asked. “And you guys make fun of my intelligence.”
“Who said that makes you any more intelligent, Neil?” Krystal said.
“You know what?! I’m gonna beat the crap out of you guys at volleyball!” Neil exclaimed.
“Dream on,” Krystal said.
As Rey, Krystal, and Neil got ready to start playing, Sana turned and looked at Prince. He didn’t seem bothered. If anything, he looked very much at peace, reading his book. She decided it was probably best to just leave him be.
Prince was deep into his book. He was reading a new novel called Lightning Strikes Silent Street by Rana Sandesh, and it was an engrossing read so far. He could feel the tension as he was getting through an intense chapter. The main character, Roohi, was wandering around in her apartment at night, unaware that someone was inside. As he got to the next page, he was startled as Sana, Krystal, Rey, and Neil were loudly commencing in their volleyball game.
“HA! We’re in the lead!” Krystal exclaimed after delivering a winning serve. She high-fived Sana while Rey and Neil looked ready to continue.
“It’s not over yet!” Neil exclaimed.
Prince shook his head as he looked back at his book. He tried to focus on the chapter. It was a lengthy read, but he was doing his best to pay attention while the others continued their game. After some time, his focus became disrupted again upon hearing Krystal shout, “Prince, watch out!”
“What?!” Prince said as he turned around. Before he could do anything, the ball smacked him in the head and he fell back, his book falling out of his hands.
Sana, Krystal, Rey, and Neil all ran up to Prince. Sana and Krystal helped him up with Sana asking, “Prince, are you okay?”
“If you want to get mad at someone, be mad at Neil! He served the ball!” Rey exclaimed.
“Really, dude?! You gotta blame me?!” Neil said.
“Well, you’re the one who threw it,” Rey said.
Prince hadn’t said a word. He was feeling a variety of things, but he was mostly agitated and angry. His head hurt, and he lost his place in his book, which was now dunked in sand. The others looked at him, and Rey and Neil looked particularly fearful of him. Maybe his agitation and anger were showing on his face.
“You know what?” Prince said. “I’m just gonna go get something to drink.”
Prince left while the others watched him leave. As he headed off, Neil said, “Damn. Is it me, or did he look mad?”
“It’s either that, or he’s annoyed. Probably both,” Krystal said.
“What should we do?” Sana asked.
“We should just leave him alone for a while,” Rey said. “Let’s get back to our game.”
“You guys go ahead. I’m gonna get a drink,” Sana said.
Krystal, Rey, and Neil got the ball and got back to their game. Sana picked up Prince’s book. She headed out towards the snack shack where Prince was at. He was drinking a large strawberry lemonade, and Sana could tell he was very irritated. She went up to him, handing him his book. Prince looked at her and took the book, saying, “Thanks.”
“How’s the book so far?” Sana asked.
“It was good until certain idiots smacked me in the head and made me lose my place.”
“Sorry. I know they can be a handful, but they didn’t mean to hit you.”
“So? They literally made me come here just to annoy the hell out of me. All I care about is relaxing. Is that so much to ask?”
“Is there something going on? You’re crabbier than usual.”
“Oh, wow, that’s so helpful.”
“Come on. Seriously, is something bothering you?”
Prince finished his strawberry lemonade. He got out of his seat and headed out while Sana watched him leave. He had a hard time explaining how he was feeling. He certainly felt that whatever he was feeling was nothing compared to the stuff that Sana and Rey had dealt with recently.
As Prince got back to where his towel and things were, he saw Krystal, Rey, and Neil were out in the water, swimming. They were having a lot of fun, splashing each other and everything. Krystal looked at Prince and said, “Hey, Prince! Do you want to join us?”
“I’m fine,” Prince said as he tried to figure out where he was in his book.
“You came to the beach, and you won’t even get in the water?” Krystal asked.
“Some people come to the beach to just chill. It’s clear you guys don’t get that,” Prince said.
“Hey, man! I know you’re upset, but you don’t have to be a jerk,” Rey said.
“Oh, right. I should be an absolute ray of sunshine after getting smacked in the head during your stupid game of volleyball,” Prince said.
“It was an accident,” Neil said. “I didn’t mean to hit you.”
“Oh, like that’s supposed to make me feel better,” Prince said.
“Okay, enough of the arguing!” Krystal exclaimed. “You can just sulk while we have some fun here!”
“To hell with the drama,” Prince said as he rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on his book.
While Prince tried to find the page he was on in his book, a gust of wind wavered over the waters. Prince was splashed by the water, himself and his book drenched. Prince could see the others look at him, clearly horrified. Though they were probably more horrified at how mad he would be. He got up, grabbing his book and towel. Sana was there and asked, “You need help?”
Prince sighed. He didn’t want to admit it, but he could use some time with a friend.
“Yeah,” Prince said.
***
Sana got her things and walked further down the beach with Prince to get a private spot for himself. She helped him dry off, using his towel to dry his hair. As she helped, she said, “I’m sorry this beach day hasn’t been going well for you.”
“It’s not your fault. Karma must hate me or something.”
“Don’t say that. Now, you did take my help. Is there anything you want to talk about?”
“I don’t even know how to explain it.”
“That’s fine. You just take your time with it.”
Prince took a deep breath. He wasn’t really used to opening up about his feelings to anyone. Sana was cool though, and he did think she was a relatively easy person to talk to. He said, “I’ve been feeling pretty tired lately.”
“You mean like tired as in annoyed? Or tired as in exhausted?”
“I don’t know. Maybe both. I don’t even know how I can talk about this with you specifically.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, you and Rey have gone through a lot with the whole Madame Naga fiasco. My struggles are nothing compared to yours. I’m not like doing horribly, but I also feel like so much has been happening, and I just want a break.”
“Prince, whatever you feel is just as valid as what me and Rey are feeling. I’ll admit, things have been pretty hard with all the new revelations, but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to feel tired. In fact, I think the entire group has been affected one way or the other. We just have to stick by each other through all of it.”
Prince agreed with everything Sana was saying. He realized he should’ve known Sana would care. She was a very caring person after all.
“So, I guess that’s why you wanted the perfect beach day all to yourself,” Sana said.
“I just wanted to relax and not think about anything. You guys love hanging out and spending time together, but sometimes I just enjoy being alone.”
“I understand.”
“Anyway, thanks for hearing me out.”
“Of course. That’s what friends do.”
Prince looked up, seeing Krystal, Rey, and Neil walking over to him. Neil said, “Hey, man. I’m sorry about earlier.”
“We should’ve been more direct with our apology,” Rey said.
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Prince said.
Rey nudged Krystal. She said, “And I’m sorry for mocking you for wanting to be alone.”
“Look at that. Krystal can shake away her ego,” Sana said.
“Oh, shut up, Sana!” Krystal exclaimed.
Prince was pleased with his friends’ apologies. He did think that he should apologize as well.
“I’m sorry, too,” Prince said. “I shouldn’t have been so crabby with you guys.”
“Hey, it’s all good, dude,” Rey said. “We’re all cool here!”
“Anyway, we were gonna go to Devil’s Diner for dinner. Zayn, Akira, and Heer said they can join us there,” Neil said. “You guys want to go?”
“I’m cool with that,” Sana said. “Prince, since you wanted to have some alone time here, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
Prince was surprised at Sana’s gesture.
“Really?” Prince asked.
“Yeah, man. If you want some alone time here, it’s totally cool with us,” Rey said.
“Well, thank you then,” Prince said.
“All right. See you later then,” Krystal said as she headed off with Rey and Neil.
Sana went up to Prince, taking out a book from her bag and handing it to him. Prince looked at it, seeing it was a Rana Sandesh novel titled Silence Sounds Swell.
“I like Rana Sandesh books myself. It may not be the same one as what you were reading, but I figured you could read it until you get a new copy of the other one,” Sana said.
“Thank you, Sana. This is nice of you.”
“No problem. See you tomorrow then.”
“Actually, maybe I’ll join you guys later. After some time that is.”
“Okay. See you.”
After Sana left, Prince was by himself. It was a good kind of solitude. He finally had some peace all to himself.
“We’re so screwed!” Neil cried as he shrieked at the sight of the dark beast coming their way.
“Shouldn’t we at least try to fight it?!” Rey asked.
“Dude, the size of that thing could crush us alone. We’re no match.”
“Krystal is right. We’re chickens.”
“Wherever Krystal is now is probably better than this!”
“Come on! Why don’t you fire an arrow or something?!”
“Wait! What’s that?!”
Rey looked up to see someone coming down from the sky. The dark beast was seemingly distracted by the sight. The closer Rey looked, the more he realized he knew exactly who he was looking at. Dropping from the sky was Sana. She drew out her trishula, unleashing a gorgeous fire from it towards the eyes of the dark beast. The dark beast began to tumble as its eyes stung from the fire. The ground shook as the beast got down to the ground. Sana landed before Rey and Neil. Rey was shocked to see her, but he was even more shocked that she changed clothes as well. She was wearing a short-sleeved red blouse with an orange saree cloth draped around her with matching red pants.
“Sana, what are you doing here?!” Rey exclaimed. “And you changed clothes?!”
“That’s the least confusing thing at this point,” Neil said.
“I was looking for you, and we stumbled upon that fairy tale book. Then, we ended up here,” Sana said.
“We? Who’s we?” Rey asked.
“Me and Zayn. I don’t know where he ended up though,” Sana said.
“Damn,” Neil said. “All of us are scattered at this point.”
“You mean Krystal isn’t with you?” Sana asked.
“No. She disappeared after stepping on some arrow thing,” Neil said.
“Okay, I know we have a lot to talk about, but we should maybe hide somewhere before the beast wakes up,” Rey said.
“Let’s go back to the cave!” Neil exclaimed.
Sana nodded and followed Rey and Neil.
***
On the other hand, Krystal got up from the bed and looked around her surroundings, getting increasingly confused. She didn’t understand how she got in the new place to begin with. Her incredibly long hair was tiresome and dragging.
“How did I even get here?” Krystal asked. She went to the nearby door and tried to open it, but it was locked tight. “Great. How the hell am I gonna get out of here?!”
Krystal looked at the window again. She walked towards it and shouted, “Hello! Anyone out there? Hello!”
Krystal could faintly hear a voice nearby. The person was saying hello, and they sounded familiar. She looked outside the window and was stunned. Way down on the ground was Zayn. He was wearing a gray kurta with purple pants and silver sandals. She said, “What are you doing here?! And why do you look so nice in that outfit?”
“What?”
“Never mind! Pretend you didn’t hear that last part.”
“Okay…what happened here?”
“Well, me, Rey, and Neil got zapped into this fairy tale book. We were in the same story, and somehow, I ended up here and now I have this ridiculously long mane.”
“I’ll need to come up there. We can communicate better when we’re in close contact.”
“You can’t. I think everything is locked. The door won’t open.”
“There’s another way. Let down your hair.”
“What?!”
“You just have to do it.”
“Why the hell would I do that?!”
“Ask less questions and throw down your hair.”
Krystal looked at her long braid and sighed. She grabbed hold of all her hair and threw it down out the window. Her braid went all the way next to where Zayn was. Zayn grabbed hold of her hair and began to climb up the tower with it.
“Oww!” Krystal exclaimed. “Watch how you grab my hair! I don’t understand how anyone would think this is practical. If the girl in this story had to go through this, imagine what else she went through!”
Before Krystal could complain some more, Zayn had arrived by the window. She didn’t know why, but she found herself to be flustered as he was nearby. She watched as Zayn quickly drew out his wand, transforming it into his clarinet. He said, “You might want to stand back.”
Krystal nodded as she took a few steps to back away. Zayn began to play his clarinet in the B-flat major scale. Twisting sand began to flow out from the clarinet onto the bars, building up further and further until it encased them like a cocoon. Zayn waited a moment before he kicked the bars down and entered the room.
“I’ve never seen you use your sand like that,” Krystal said.
“Well, it can work like that. Are you okay?”
“Not really! I don’t even know how I got here! How did you get here?”
“Sana opened the fairy tale book, and we got zapped into it.”
“Wait, is Sana not with you?”
“No. She may have ended up in the story with Rey and Neil.”
“Speaking of stories, why’d you tell me to throw down my hair?”
“So, you don’t know the story of Rajamani?”
“Rajamani?”
“It’s the story of a maiden with incredibly long hair that gets abducted by an evil witch away from her kingdom. In the story, she lets down her hair for the prince to climb up and rescue her.”
“Seriously? When did you read this story?”
“I read a lot of books when I was in…well, in my childhood.”
Krystal could sense Zayn was withholding information, but she found it was best to not question it.
“Anyway, I meant to say, I read a bunch of different stories at that time. My mom is half Iranian, so she had all these books of folktales from Asia. This story was one of the ones I read,” Zayn said.
“I see. I honestly didn’t expect you to read folktales.”
“Well, it was the best thing I could indulge in at the time. Anyway, we should focus less on small talk and get out of here. “
“You’re right. You want to try breaking the door? I would, but I’m not sure my sonic bell can do that.”
“Well, there’s another route.”
Krystal was puzzled, but she noticed Zayn looking at the window. She shrieked and said, “You want us to jump out the window?! Are you nuts?!”
“I know it’s scary, but I have a feeling you have to.”
“Wouldn’t breaking the door be easier?! I thought you at least had that much knowledge.”
“Look, we don’t have time to break the door and run around the tower to find an exit. There’s another reason I have, but it’s best to explain after we jump.”
“You mean after I die?”
“You’re not going to die. I’ll hold onto you as we jump.”
Ugh. I don’t know about this. My heart rate is going up, Krystal thought. I guess I have to trust him.
“Fine, let’s just do this already,” Krystal said as she walked towards the window. She looked down, startled by the height of the supposed jump. She gulped, unsure if she could handle it when suddenly, Zayn grabbed hold of her around her waist.
“Is this okay?” he asked. Krystal nodded, feeling flustered but secure. She wrapped her right arm around Zayn, so she could hold onto him.
“Ready?”
Krystal nodded. Zayn proceeded to jump along with Krystal. She held her screams inside as they dropped down to the ground. Zayn quickly drew out his clarinet to emit a sound energy beam that allowed them to gently bounce onto the ground. Krystal took a deep breath while Zayn looked at her and said, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks. Now explain why you needed to do this instead.”
“If I’m correct, our best way of getting of the story is by completing it. You see, in the original story, Rajamani is rescued by Prince Mahendra and they escape by jumping out of the window.”
“Oh! So, how did I end up here? I mean, I left from the other story and landed in this one.”
“Do you remember anything before you got here?”
“I remember I stepped on something. It looked like an arrow.”
“An arrow? That means you must’ve gone to the next story. The arrow was probably a way of doing that.”
“That is a possibility. So, if you think we have to complete the story to get out, what happens next?”
Before Zayn could answer, he sensed a presence coming. He looked up, seeing a woman with a dark, long-haired mane, wearing a wine-red saree, and silver cuff bracelets floating above in the sky. Seeing her made him realize something.
“Krystal,” Zayn said.
“Yeah.”
“This is the part where we run.”
“What?!”
The woman immediately shot dark energy blasts from her eyes towards Krystal. Zayn got Krystal out of the way, and he grabbed hold of her hand. The two of them ran as the woman continued to launch her attacks.
“You can’t run away, Rajamani!” the woman shouted as she launched a dark energy blast from her hands.
“I’m not Rajamani!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Don’t tell her that!” Zayn said.
Krystal got struck in her back by the beam, alarming Zayn. He quickly countered with a sound energy beam from his clarinet, striking the woman in the face. It bought them some time, so Zayn quickly got hold of Krystal and took her under the refuge of a tall plant that was leaning downwards, creating a shade effect. It was amongst several other plants and provided good cover. He signaled Krystal to keep quiet as he kept an eye out for the woman. Krystal controlled her breathing as she rested against the plant, still feeling the pain from the attack.
***
For Sana, Rey, and Neil, the three were taking cover inside the cave. Rey looked at Sana, who seemed to be strategizing something. He asked her, “Okay, you have a plan?”
“What makes you think I have a plan?”
“Because you’re thinking too hard.”
“At least one of us is thinking here.”
“Hey! It was my idea that we hide in the cave!”
“Rey, how long can we sit in this cave like ducks?” Neil asked. “We have to do something to get out here.”
“What can we do?” Rey asked. “This story makes no sense! I thought after Krystal left and Sana came, she’d be the same character. But look at her getup!”
“Rey, didn’t I tell you this story before?” Sana asked.
“Yeah, and I don’t remember,” Rey said. “All I remembered was the title and the ten-headed monster.”
Rey’s words made Sana realize something. She was trying to figure out the logistics of the story, and how it tied to a solution to getting out. Something finally clicked for her.
“I think I’m starting to understand something,” Sana said.
“Okay, share,” Neil said.
“You two mentioned a barrier when you tried to run away from the dark beast, right?” Sana asked. “The barrier is probably preventing you from leaving because the story hasn’t been completed.”
“You mean like we should be following the story?” Rey asked.
“Something like that. This whole time you’ve been trying to find an exit or something to get out of the story, but stories don’t just end like that,” Sana said. “I think to get out, we have to complete the story.”
“You mean complete it exactly how it was originally written?” Neil asked.
“Not exactly. See, these stories aren’t exactly like the ones I read. The one we’re in has a dark beast, so I can only assume someone or something casted a spell on this book to change that aspect of the story,” Sana said. “If we’re going to get out, we have to complete the story in a way that’s authentic to the way it is set up right now.”
“And how do we do that?” Neil asked.
“I know! You must remember the details of the story, right?” Rey asked.
“Based off the clothes, you two are the village boys that befriend the princess,” Sana said. “In the story, the two boys go into hiding after the princess’ supposed demise.”
“Demise?” Neil asked. “You mean Krystal could’ve gotten hurt or something?”
Sana pondered for a moment, remembering that Rey told her about Krystal stepping on an arrow before disappearing. It made her think that she must’ve exited the story, rather than disappeared.
“No, I think Krystal went to the next story. That’s what the arrow probably meant,” Sana said. “But I think the story must’ve replaced her with me once I entered.”
“How? You’re wearing a completely different outfit than what she wore,” Neil said.
“In the story, when the princess disappears, the two boys try to fend off the monster, but struggle to do so. They plead for the princess to come back, and she reappears, fully transformed,” Sana said. “She rises as the avatar of fire, Agni.”
The details of the story started to come back to Rey as Sana explained them. After thinking for a bit, he said, “So, if you hadn’t come to the story, we’d be stuck here forever?”
“Consider yourselves lucky,” Sana said, shaking her head. “Anyway, Agni takes out the monster and everyone is saved.”
“Hold on. I’m not gonna stand in the background while you get to have all the action,” Rey said.
“Yeah, me neither!” Neil exclaimed.
“You don’t have to. Remember, we’re taking on the story in our own way,” Sana said. “I have a plan that should work.”
***
On the other hand, Zayn and Krystal were still hiding under the giant plant. The plant’s shade protected them, and Krystal found comfort in how it almost felt alive, like the plant was trying to conceal them. Its soft yellow color was pleasing to her eyes. Krystal could feel the pain from the attack was going down a bit. She looked over at Zayn, who was rather quiet. She couldn’t tell if it was because he was actively looking out for the woman or if it was something else.
“Something on your mind?” Krystal asked.
Zayn turned to Krystal and said, “Huh?”
“I asked if something was on your mind.”
“Why do you ask?”
“You’ve been staring into nothingness for the past few minutes while I’m over here in pain. You haven’t even bothered to ask if I’m okay!”
“Are you complaining to me after I saved us both?”
“Complaining?! You think I’m complaining?! You think it’s cool that I sit here like a duck while you drown yourself in your loner thoughts?”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
“The only thing ridiculous here is that you haven’t said much of anything since we started hiding here. There’s nothing ridiculous about me wanting you to show care for me!”
Krystal realized how strong her words came off upon seeing Zayn’s stunned expression. She found herself flustered, unsure as to why she said what she said. She turned around for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.
“Okay, sorry about that last part. I think I came off too strong,” Krystal said. She could feel her cheeks were getting red.
Zayn found himself to be a little flustered as he tried to figure out what to say. He looked at her and said, “No, you’re fine. I should apologize. I wasn’t paying attention to anything else this whole time and you’re in pain. Are you okay?”
“I’m feeling a little better.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I explained things before she showed up and attacked us.”
“Who was she by the way?”
“She’s Rajamani’s stepmother, Tanveer. She’s the evil witch that kidnapped her when she was a child, wanting to auction her for her magical hair.”
“Okay then…that’s pretty dark. So, now what?”
“Well, we have to follow the rest of the story to get out of here.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I’m just thinking we might have to approach this differently. Like, think about it for a moment. No matter what the story is, all these fairy tales have something in common.”
“And that is?”
“They’re all about the battle of good verses evil. Sure, there’s unique morals in all of them, but the overarching theme is there.”
Krystal’s words made Zayn see things differently. Maybe she was onto something. He didn’t know for sure, but with the way things were, he figured there was no harm in going with Krystal’s approach.
“So, you think the important thing is to take down Tanveer?” Zayn asked.
“I think if we take her down together, we have a chance of getting out of here.”
“Okay, in that case, I may have an idea of what we should do.”
“You do? But we don’t know where she probably is now?”
“I was watching for her, and she may be in the forest right now, waiting for us. It’s what she did in the original story.”
“All right. Let’s hear this plan then.”
***
It didn’t take long for Zayn to explain his plan to Krystal. When they agreed on everything, they set out to put it into action. They made it into the forest and Krystal walked off on her own while Zayn hid amongst the trees and bushes. The forest was dense and oddly quiet. The tree branches hung like the hands of a witch reaching for its prey. Krystal gulped. She tried to remain calm, trusting the plan and Zayn. As she walked further into the forest, she said, “Hey, Tanveer! I’m here now.”
Krystal waited for a response. She tried to refrain from clenching her skirt to not look scared. It didn’t take long for her to sense a presence coming near.
It was Tanveer. She hovered before Krystal, seemingly ready to take her away with her sharp purple fingernails.
“At last, you finally come back,” Tanveer said. “It’s not like you have a choice.”
Krystal smirked and said, “Think again.”
This was Zayn’s cue. He rushed out from hiding, launching a sound wave from his clarinet at Tanveer. With Tanveer distracted, he stood by Krystal as she transformed her wand into her sonic bell. She launched a sound wave from her sonic bell to further boost Zayn’s attack on Tanveer. A visibly irritated Tanveer quickly rose back from the ground, her neck twitching as she tossed a dark energy beam towards Krystal like a football. Zayn quickly pulled Krystal out of the way as the energy beam hit one of the trees.
Zayn looked at Krystal and said, “Are you okay?”
“I’m good. Dodging is a lot harder with this much hair!”
“You’re gonna have to use it as an advantage somehow? Think of anything yet?”
“No! I’ve never exactly fought with ten feet of hair before.”
“I’ll keep her busy while you get an attack ready.”
Tanveer created a spiraling dark energy beam in her hands and tossed it while Zayn countered, calling out “B-flat major!” He played his clarinet in the key and a spiral of sand emerged, countering the energy beam.
Krystal tried to think of a way to use her hair to attack. It was crucial as Zayn told her that in the original story, Rajamani destroyed Tanveer with the powers of her magical hair. Krystal had to do that in combination with her sonic bell. She realized she had to trust herself that she could make it work, but it was hard to think on her feet so quickly.
Before she knew it, Zayn was being pinned down by Tanveer’s nails. She knew she had to step in. Krystal immediately grabbed hold of her braid, whipping it like a lasso as she threw it and it wrapped around Tanveer’s arm. Krystal rang her sonic bell against her braid, and the sound wave rippled through her hair as it combined with the golden glow that shimmered through the strands. The powers of the hair and Krystal’s sound wave struck Tanveer, releasing her from Krystal’s grip as she fell to the ground in defeat.
Krystal quickly rushed to Zayn, helping him get up. She asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zayn said. “Nice work by the way.”
“Look at you! You’re actually complimenting me!”
Before Zayn could say anything, he could feel something shaking beneath the ground. A portal began to open, taking Zayn and Krystal with it. It wasn’t too long until the two had landed back in the library. Krystal looked at her hair and clothes, seeing they had returned to normal.
“Yes! Hello, normal long hair!” Krystal exclaimed. “I can’t believe we did it!”
“That’s a relief. Imagine if we ended up in another story.”
“What about the others? Do you think we can do something?”
“If we open the book again, we’ll get sucked back in the story. We have to trust they know how to get out like we did.”
“You think they know?”
“They have Sana on their side. There’s no way they won’t know. For now, we can wait here for them.”
***
Sana looked outside the cave, trying her best to remain hidden. She could see the dark beast was still outside. She looked at Rey and Neil and said, “All right. We got one shot at this. Ready, Neil?”
“I don’t know about this,” Neil whimpered. “You’re sending me in like a headless bird.”
“Come on, man! You got this!” Rey exclaimed.
“We’ll back you up sooner than you think,” Sana said.
Neil gulped as he looked outside. He took a deep breath and said, “Okay. I’m going in.”
Neil immediately charged outside, screaming like a lunatic. Sana put her hand to her face in embarrassment while Rey began to chuckle.
“All right, dark beast! Come and get me!” Neil exclaimed as he flailed his arms.
“That idiot,” Sana said, rolling her eyes.
“He’s really taking this role seriously,” Rey giggled.
Neil waved his arms to get the beast’s attention. It didn’t take long for the dark beast to let out a loud growl as it stomped its way towards Neil. It moved its paw to grab him. That’s when Sana and Rey jumped in. Sana immediately struck the beast’s paw with embers coming from her trishula. The beast stepped back as Rey transformed into his beast form while Neil transformed his wand into his bow and arrow.
“You overacted,” Sana told Neil.
“Hey, I’m not a professional!” Neil exclaimed.
“Well, you’re a professional goof!” Rey laughed.
“All right, focus, guys. Remember the plan,” Sana said. “Neil, attack the legs. Rey and I got the rest.”
“Got it!” Neil exclaimed as he prepared his bow to fire. He charged up his energy for the perfect ice arrow and struck it at the beast’s feet. Its feet were frozen solid, providing the perfect distraction.
Sana and Rey got to work. She directed Rey, and he jumped, pouncing onto the beast’s body. He lifted his paw, using his Ember Claw attack to pierce his fiery claws into the beast’s chest. These distractions allowed Sana to keep close eye on what the beast’s next move would be.
The dark beast seemingly had enough. It was boiling with rage. Suddenly its face began to transform, shocking Rey and even Neil as he too watched. The beast grew an additional nine heads, each one with the same scary face. It didn’t take long for all ten heads to emit dark energy beams towards Sana, Rey, and Neil. Rey fell off while Neil turned to Sana and said, “Now it decides to be the ten-headed monster in the story?!”
“Don’t worry, I’m prepared for this,” Sana said. “Neil, aim for the heads on the left.”
“What?!”
“Just do it! You need to fire at least four arrows.”
Neil realized he didn’t have time to think as the heads started launching a dark energy wave towards the group. Sana quickly charged up the wave with her trishula and said, “Rey, aim for the heads on the right! Leave the two in the middle!”
Rey nodded, turning to Neil. He nodded back and they proceeded. Neil began to fire one arrow after the next at the heads on the left. Each arrow struck each head, freezing it entirely. Rey quickly launched fireball attacks at each of the heads on the right. During this, Sana continued to charge through the dark energy wave, making her way towards the top where the middle heads were at. The two middle heads were seemingly putting more power into the dark energy wave to get Sana down, but she kept pushing. She powered her trishula through the wave, allowing its dark power to envelope it as the fiery power began to charge through it. Once she got closer to the two heads, she raised the trishula to prepare for the strike. Sana jumped, holding up the dark and fiery trishula as she plunged it through the heads, piercing it further through the body as she powered through to the ground. The dark beast split in two and slowly evaporated into dark purple ash.
Rey transformed back. He looked at Neil, whose mouth dropped wide open. He couldn’t blame him as he too was astonished at what he saw. At the same time, he knew he shouldn’t be surprised. This was Sana after all.
Sana slowly got up from the ground. Rey and Neil rushed to her side with Rey asking, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” Sana said.
“That was so awesome!” Neil exclaimed. “Now was the girl in the story as badass as you were just now?!”
“You’d have to read it,” Sana smirked.
Before anything else could be said, a portal opened and took Sana, Rey, and Neil with it. The three screamed as they were transported back into the library, returning to their old clothes. As they got up, Krystal said, “You guys made it!”
“Yeah, we did. Was there ever any doubt?” Rey asked.
“She certainly did for a bit,” Zayn said.
“Hey!” Krystal exclaimed. “Anyway, you won’t believe what happened!”
“Damn it! It’s almost midnight!” Rey cried.
“Seriously?! We were gone that long?!” Neil exclaimed.
“And we still have to write the paper,” Krystal said as she sulked into her chair.
“Why don’t you guys just ask for an extension?” Zayn asked. “I’m sure getting sucked into a fairy tale book is a valid excuse.”
“Please! Professor D’Sena is such a miser. He could care less,” Neil said. “What are we gonna do?!”
“Well, if we work fast tonight, we can get this done,” Krystal said.
“How exactly?” Sana asked.
“With the way we had to strategize in our stories, this sets up the perfect foundation for our paper!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Rey said. “We can finish this with no problem.”
“All right! Let’s get cracking then!” Neil exclaimed as he turned on the lights.
“Please tell me you can get us out of here,” Sana said to Zayn. “I don’t want to have a sleepover at the library again.”
“Luckily I got my dad’s key,” Zayn said.
With that, Sana and Zayn headed out of the library while Rey, Krystal, and Neil stayed behind to work on their paper.
***
The following morning, Rey, Krystal, and Neil managed to finish the paper. Of course, it did take the entire night. So, when the afternoon rolled and they handed it in, they crashed after school for long naps.
The day after, the trio were in Combat Strategies I. Sana looked at the three of them as they were all snoring for a solid five minutes until she woke them up. Rey yawned and said, “Why do you have to wake us?”
“You want to get in trouble again?” Sana asked.
“It’d be worth it since we lost so much sleep after that whole paper,” Neil said.
Once the bell rang, students started gathering things. As Professor D’Sena cleaned the chalkboard, he said, “Rey, Krystal, and Neil, let me speak to you three for a moment.”
“Good luck,” Sana said as she exited the classroom with Prince, Heer, Zayn, and Akira.
Krystal gulped as she got up with Rey and Neil. The three walked up to Professor D’Sena. He turned around and said, “I finished reading your paper.”
“Oh God,” Krystal said.
“All right. Just tell us already,” Rey said.
“I was very impressed,” Professor D’Sena said.
“Wait, what?!” Neil exclaimed.
“Yes,” Professor D’Sena said. “The way you described the importance of combat strategies and applied them with the context of real examples was exhilarating. It was like you were actually in those battles.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Krystal said.
“Anyway, I’m happy to give you all an A on this paper. You three will pass this quarter,” Professor D’Sena said.
“Yes!” Neil exclaimed as he high-fived Rey and Krystal.
“And Neil,” Professor D’Sena said. “Try to skip class less next quarter.”
Rey and Krystal chuckled at Neil as they started leaving. Neil protested, “Me skipping class is nothing compared to what you guys do!”
“Rey! How dare you eat my Marigold Surprise?!” Krystal shouted.
It was a casual Wednesday at Ringmasters Training Academy. In the afternoon, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Prince were hanging out in the sophomore lounge area during their break time. Of course, things weren’t casual for long.
“I didn’t know it was yours,” Rey said as he finished eating the Marigold Surprise.
“I left it on the table to go get some water. Did you not hear me say that to everyone?”
“You sure you said that?”
“Ugh! Even so, you just eat food left on the table that you clearly didn’t buy?! Like a heathen!” Krystal exclaimed. “And why did you two not do anything about it?”
“I was in the bathroom,” Sana said.
“I just didn’t care,” Prince said.
“Ugh!” Krystal exclaimed. “You owe me another one!”
“What is happening?” Neil asked as he came up to the group in the lounge.
“Rey ate my Marigold Surprise,” Krystal said.
“Big deal. You can get another one,” Neil said. “Anyway, Devil apparently wants us in his office.”
“What?! Who told you that?” Rey asked.
“My brother casually dropped that while I was walking by in the hall,” Neil said. “Quite rude if you ask me.”
“You guys better not have done anything,” Sana said.
“Knowing them, trouble is their best friend,” Prince said.
“Oh, shut up, Prince!” Krystal exclaimed. “Let’s just get this over with!”
***
Rey, Krystal, and Neil headed straight to Headmaster Devil’s office. Once they went inside, they found Headmaster Devil wasn’t alone. He was with Professor D’Sena.
“Professor D’Sena?” Krystal said.
“Hello, kids,” Professor D’Sena said. “Should I stay for this?”
“No, Arun,” Headmaster Devil said. “I’ll take it from here.”
Professor D’Sena nodded and headed out of the office. Krystal was confused and could see Rey and Neil were as well.
“So, what’s going on?” Krystal asked.
“You three should probably know,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Know what?” Rey asked.
“Professor D’Sena just informed me that you three didn’t do so well on your recent exam,” Headmaster Devil said.
“What?! I actually studied this time,” Rey said.
“Hold on. He didn’t even hand them back to us yet,” Neil said.
“I know. But he informed me that you all are now on the verge of not passing the class this quarter,” Headmaster Devil said.
“What?!” Krystal exclaimed. “That’s impossible. I had a B this quarter.”
“Yeah, and now you currently hold a solid seventy,” Headmaster Devil said. “Needless to say, it’s not looking good for you three. You know that Combat Strategies I is a crucial class to pass this year.”
“We’re not getting kicked out of the academy, are we?!” Neil asked.
“No, but I did talk to Professor D’Sena just now. He’s giving you three an opportunity that could ensure you three don’t fail this quarter,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Okay, what is it?” Rey asked.
“Well, he wants you three to write a six-page paper on the importance of combat strategies and how they’re applicable to real life scenarios,” Headmaster Devil said. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Six pages? When is it due?” Neil asked.
“Professor D’Sena wants it by class tomorrow,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Ugh! How can I write a six-page paper by tomorrow?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“That’s why he wants you to write it together,” Headmaster Devil said. “A group paper.”
“Suddenly it gets worse,” Krystal said.
“It’s a pretty fair opportunity. As long as you get at least a B on the paper, you three will pass this quarter,” Headmaster Devil said. “You three can work on it at the library after school. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
Krystal sighed. Rey looked at Neil and could tell he was feeling just as irritated.
***
After school, Rey, Krystal, and Neil went to the library to begin work on their paper. Krystal was going through the many sections of books to find relevant materials, Rey was going through the bits of lectures he recorded on his phone, and Neil was staring at his laptop screen. As Krystal arrived back to the table with the books, she sighed and said, “What are you two doing?! The laziness here is unacceptable.”
“Hey, I’m actually doing something here!” Rey exclaimed. “I’m looking through the lectures I recorded in class.”
“Those blurry videos with poor audio?” Krystal said.
“It beats trying to learn from a book,” Rey said. “I’m a visual learner. The only reason I did bad on that exam was because I forgot to study.”
“And your excuse is what?” Krystal asked Neil. “I told you to start writing the intro, and you’re just staring at the screen.”
“I have writer’s block,” Neil said. “And since when are you such a taskmaster for school? Isn’t that Sana’s thing?”
“Because of you guys, I’m missing out on the release of the new Reshawna Fruit Fest bag collection,” Krystal said as she sat down at the table. “I was going to snag the Strawberry Milkshake bag at the mall, and now it’s probably sold out! Ugh.”
Krystal sighed. She looked at Neil’s laptop screen and said, “I don’t even know how to start this paper.”
“I would’ve rather gone on some mission where we kick some ass,” Rey said. “Writing about fights isn’t exactly as fun as actually fighting.”
“Well, we can’t sit here and complain all day,” Neil said. “The sooner we finish this, the better.”
Krystal got ready to crack open one of the books. As she opened one, she noticed one of the books fell on the floor. She got up to pick it up but was puzzled. It didn’t look like a book that she picked up from the shelves. It had a lavender cover and gold writing on the front that was in a language she didn’t recognize. There was a small golden fairy in the top right corner as well. She knew she had to focus, but she couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“What are you doing, Krystal?” Rey asked.
“Oh, I just picked up this book by mistake,” Krystal said as she put the lavender book on the table. “It looks really cool though.”
“What language is the writing?” Neil asked.
“Not sure,” Krystal said. “Maybe we can open it and see what’s inside.”
“I thought we were supposed to focus on the paper,” Rey said.
“We are. This is just a quick peak,” Krystal said.
Krystal opened the cream pages of the book. As soon as she opened it, the book emitted a golden glow that stunned her, Rey, and Neil. Suddenly, she could feel herself being pulled into the book along with the others.
The three of them screamed as they were pulled into a golden portal. After a few fleeting moments, they fell onto a ground. Krystal could feel her back was hurting from the fall. She quickly grabbed her wand, which had fallen on the ground. As she grabbed it, she noticed something different. Her clothes had been changed. She was now wearing a long-sleeved orange dress with intricate gold embroidery.
“Damn, what the hell just happened?” Rey asked as he got up along with Neil.
“Your clothes! They changed,” Neil said to Krystal. He looked at Rey, seeing him in a white long-tunic, blue billowy pants, and brown boots. He looked at himself to see he was dressed in the exact same outfit. “I changed clothes! What the hell just happened?!”
“I just asked that,” Rey said.
Krystal was puzzled. She couldn’t understand what was going on. The more she pondered over it, the clearer it became to her.
“I think…we maybe got transported into the book,” Krystal said.
“What?!” Neil said.
“Wait, she might be right. Things went whack when she opened the book,” Rey said. “What did it say on the cover?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t read it,” Krystal said. “Though there might’ve been a fairy in the corner of the cover.”
“Fairy tales! We must be in a book of fairy tales,” Neil said.
Krystal couldn’t believe it, but the more she processed it, the more she realized how true it was.
“This can’t be happening. So, what fairy tale involves clothes like these?” Krystal asked.
Before anyone could answer, Krystal heard the sound of loud thumps. She turned around along with Rey and Neil, horrified at what she saw. A giant three-eyed dark beast that had the form of a bear was coming towards them. The creature roared at Krystal, Rey, and Neil.
“Maybe we should run and discuss this later,” Rey said as he took off.
Krystal and Neil followed Rey, running off as the dark beast chased them with its loud thumps. It didn’t take long for the dark beast to start launching dark energy beams their way. The trio kept running, dodging each one.
“I thought you two were always in a fighting mood,” Krystal said to Rey and Neil.
“Not when we’re being chased by a giant bear!” Neil exclaimed.
“Look! There’s a little cave thingy!” Rey pointed out.
Rey quickly led Krystal and Neil towards the cave he found. He pushed the green branches away and headed inside with Krystal and Neil, making sure the dark beast didn’t see them. They sat down and Rey took a deep breath.
“That was scary as hell,” Rey said. “Man, I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“I’m confused. I’m scared,” Neil said. “What the hell is happening?!”
“Neil’s the one that said we’re in a book of fairy tales,” Krystal said. “What fairy tale is this?”
“I don’t know,” Neil said. “First off, none of the fairy tales I’ve read mentioned dark beasts in them.”
“Wait a sec. Krystal, was there any writing on the book?” Rey asked.
“Yeah, but it was in another language,” Krystal said. “Why?”
“Well, our clothes and the giant monster remind me of this Indian fairy tale that Sana told me about once,” Rey said. “I don’t remember the Sanskrit title, but it translated to Three Kids and a Giant.”
“So, we’re in an Indian fairy tale book?” Neil asked.
“I guess so,” Rey said. “But it doesn’t explain why we got sucked into the book. Also, the monster in that tale is a ten-headed giant. So, why the change?”
“I don’t know what’s worse between the monster we got and that one,” Neil said.
“Okay, so, does this fairy tale book have some kind of spell on it? I mean how else can you explain us getting sucked into the book,” Krystal said. “Whatever spell was cast on it must’ve transformed the creatures in the stories into dark beasts.”
“Creatures?! Let’s deal with the story we’re in right now,” Neil said. “Rey, what do you remember about this story?”
“Ugh, it’s kinda fuzzy,” Rey said. “There were three characters that were being chased by the giant. That’s all I remember right now.”
“Well, that’s certainly not helpful,” Krystal said.
“Krystal, it’s something. Anyway, we should be focusing on getting out of here,” Neil said. “Maybe there’s some passageway that leads us out of the book.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Rey said. “Maybe the end of this cave can lead us out somewhere.”
Krystal nodded as she got up along with Rey and Neil. The three kept moving through the cave till they reached the other side. Once they stepped outside, Krystal took in the surroundings. The scent of fresh jasmine flowers was in the air and the trees were covered in a variety of greenery.
Rey looked ahead, seeing the sun was still bright as ever. He wondered how time worked within the world of the story they were in. There were hundreds of other questions on his mind as well, but he had to focus on getting out.
“I don’t see the giant bear in sight,” Rey said. “Maybe if we keep walking, we’ll find an exit.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go,” Neil said.
Krystal was about to follow Rey and Neil until she could feel her foot press down on something. She looked down, seeing what looked like an arrow imprinted within the grass. She fell through the ground, screaming as a bright glow surrounded her.
“Krystal!” Rey shouted as he turned around with Neil. It was too late. Krystal had disappeared.
“Damn it. Where did she go?” Neil asked.
“I don’t know.”
Before Rey could even think of what to do, he heard the same giant thumps from before. He looked up along with Neil to see the giant dark beast had returned. As it roared at them again, Rey and Neil ran forward. They ran as fast as they could until they smacked into something that made them fall back. Rey was puzzled as he didn’t see anything in their way. He got up, trying to run again only to fall back again.
“What’s happening?!” Neil exclaimed. “Why can’t we keep going?!”
“I don’t know! It’s like there’s some kind of barrier!”
“So, we’re trapped?!”
Rey could barely think as the dark beast was getting closer to them. He could feel the pressure as he didn’t know what to do.
***
Krystal opened her eyes, feeling the heaviness of her pounding head. She sat up, finding herself to be more confused than ever. She was now in a soft pink bedroom that had intricate paintings hanging on the walls along with the usual essentials like a dresser, nightstand etc. What was jarring to her were the steel bars on the window that looked like they were in place to keep her locked up. She looked at her dress, seeing it had changed again. This time she was wearing a bejeweled lilac blouse with a matching skirt. The thing that made her most confused was her hair. It was now incredibly long, tied in a braid that reached all the way to the floor.
“What the hell is going on here?!” Krystal said.
***
Back at Ringmasters Training Academy, Sana was heading over to the library. As she walked towards the door, she saw Zayn was heading there as well.
“Hey, Zayn,” Sana said as she walked up to him.
“Oh, hey, Sana.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to check out some books here before they close. What about you?”
“I came to check on Rey. I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer.”
“He’s probably just busy, but we can check.”
Sana and Zayn entered the library. The two walked around to find Rey but couldn’t find him anywhere. Then, Sana saw something that caught her eye. She walked over to a table, seeing a bunch of belongings left behind.
“Do any of these belong to them?” Zayn asked.
“Yeah. I recognize Neil’s laptop. It has the same blue cat sticker.”
“Is it possible that they stepped out for a bit or something?”
“If they did, it’s clearly been a while. His laptop is on lock mode.”
“What’s that book on the ground?”
Sana looked down, seeing the book Zayn was referring to. She picked it up, seeing the writing on the front. She recognized it to be in Sanskrit.
“It appears to be a book of fairy tales,” Sana said as she opened the book. “This actually looks similar to the fairy tale book that my dad gave me when I was younger.”
It didn’t take long for the book to give off its golden glow. Sana was stunned, and she could see Zayn was equally surprised. Soon, Sana and Zayn were sucked into the book, and it closed, falling to the floor.
It was a cool, breezy Sunday afternoon. Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer were hanging out at Devil’s Diner for lunch. After paying, they began to head out when Rey said, “Do you think Krystal is gonna be pissed that we got Marigold Surprises without her?”
“I saved some of mine for her in my leftover box,” Heer said.
“There you go,” Neil said. “When in doubt, we always got Heer to the rescue.”
“Oh God,” Sana said.
“What? What is it?” Rey asked.
Rey looked to see exactly what was agitating Sana. A boy in a gray hoodie and blue jeans was seemingly taking her picture with his cellphone. Before Rey could say anything to Sana, she started marching over to the boy. He knew this wasn’t going to go well.
“What the hell are you doing?” Sana asked the boy.
“What?”
“Are you taking my picture?”
“No.”
Sana grabbed the phone from the boy’s hand, looked at the screen and said, “Then what is this?”
“Oh, come on,” the boy said. “You’re pretty famous around here. You should take it as a compliment.”
“I don’t appreciate my photo being taken without my permission.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a public place. I have the freedom to do so.”
Sana was about ready to smack the boy until Rey immediately stepped in and did the smacking for her, much to her surprise. The boy let out the biggest ouch Sana had ever heard.
“She said she doesn’t want her picture taken! Respect that, boy!” Rey exclaimed.
“Yeah, you get him, Rey!” Neil exclaimed.
“Thank you, but you already knew I was going to hit him,” Sana said.
“I was doing you a favor!” Rey exclaimed. “Krystal did your nails earlier today. Do you really think she’d want you to ruin them?”
Sana sighed and grabbed the phone from the boy, deleting the pictures off it. She handed it back and began to leave with Rey saying, “I better not catch you taking anyone else’s picture again!”
The boy took off with Sana saying, “The nerve of some people.”
“Man, Rey, you really whacked that guy,” Neil said as he came up to Rey and Sana.
“You know I would’ve whacked him just as hard,” Sana said.
“Yeah, but we’re used to you whacking people,” Neil said.
“Hey, I’m fully capable of giving people a smacking!” Rey exclaimed. “Especially when my friends are being wronged!”
Sana noticed Heer was looking at something, seemingly startled. She asked, “Heer, what’s up?”
Heer turned around, looking like she had seen a ghost or something. Sana turned to see a guy standing across from them. He had dark eyes and short black hair, covered by a blue baseball cap. He wore a blue hoodie with black shorts and gray sneakers.
Neil was surprised to see Heer walking away, not saying a word. She started pushing her long hair, hiding her face.
“Heer, where are you going?” Neil asked, calling out to her. Heer didn’t answer. She just walked away. It was quite unlike her to just leave without saying anything.
“Hey, dude, did you say anything to our friend?” Rey questioned the guy.
The guy rolled his eyes and scoffed. His attitude annoyed Rey.
“Hey, man, we asked you a question,” Neil said.
“I didn’t do anything aside from just walking by,” the boy said. “If you should be questioning anyone, it would be her.”
The boy shook his head and left. Sana was very confused, and she could tell that Rey and Neil were as well. She knew there was more going on that she didn’t know about.
***
Later on, in the evening, Sana was alone in her room at the dorms. She pondered over what happened earlier in the city. What could have happened to Heer? Sana tried to talk to her when she got back, but she said she was tired and needed to rest. Sana wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth or just making an excuse for space, but she wanted to respect her need to be alone.
Sana was about to get out her notebook to do some studying until she heard a knock on the door. She got up to answer it. It was Krystal standing outside in the hallway.
“Krystal, what’s up?” Sana asked.
“What’s up with Heer? She handed me the rest of her Marigold Surprise and wasn’t happy about it.”
“Really? That’s how you figured she was upset?”
“You don’t get it. Whenever Heer does something nice for someone, she gives the most wholesome smile. This time she just handed it to me and left. That’s not the Heer I know! What happened?”
“I’m not really sure. Things were fine until this boy showed up.”
“A boy?”
“Yeah, it seemed like they knew each other. She like turned away and just left without saying a word. Rey and Neil questioned the guy about it, and he just gave us an attitude and said we should ask Heer.”
“Did you get the boy’s name?”
“No, we didn’t. It was really unusual.”
“Can you give me some details about his appearance?”
“What are you planning to do? Conduct a search?”
“Hey, I have ways of getting information. Just tell me some details about his appearance. Let’s start with what he was wearing.”
“Uh, blue baseball cap, blue hoodie…”
“What shade of blue was the hoodie?”
“What?”
“What shade of blue was the hoodie? Was it a cobalt blue? Or a sky blue?”
“I don’t know! Why is this important, Krystal?!”
“Heer clearly doesn’t want to tell us who this guy is, so I have to gain as much intel and find out myself. I’m gonna go work on that now.”
“Krystal, there’s no way you can find out who someone is based off such little information.”
“Don’t underestimate me, Sana. I have my ways.”
***
The next day, Sana was getting her books from her locker. She turned to see Heer was coming up to her. Heer said, “Sana, I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I shouldn’t have left so suddenly.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Heer,” Sana said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, who was that guy?”
“Um, it really doesn’t matter. Anyway, I actually have to do some stuff before class, so I’ll see you later.”
Heer left and Sana sighed. She wanted to help Heer, but it seemed like Heer didn’t want to talk about the situation. She turned to see Rey and Neil come up to her.
“Did Heer talk to you?” Neil asked.
“Yeah. She just apologized for what happened and jolted upon me bringing up the guy,” Sana said.
“She did the same thing with us,” Rey said.
“Man, I wish we could know who he is. She’s clearly affected by him,” Neil said.
“Me too. But at the same time, it’s her personal matter. We shouldn’t force her to talk to us about it,” Sana said.
“But we just want to help her,” Rey said.
“His name is Jac Ashton,” Krystal said as she walked up to the trio.
“Huh?” Sana said. “How do you know?”
“I told you I’d find out who he is,” Krystal said.
“How did you find out who he is?” Neil asked.
“Well, all I had was a lousy description from Sana, but I did some snooping on the web and I found out about some new transfers to this one high school downtown, Red Rock High. So, I contacted my friend whose father’s sister’s cousin’s daughter went to middle school with him,” Krystal said.
“Is anyone else scared of her?” Rey asked Sana and Neil.
“Shut up, Rey. The point is she said that Jac and Heer were really close friends in middle school and around the time of graduation, he just cut her out without warning,” Krystal said.
“Well, that explains why she reacted that way,” Sana said.
“Seriously? Is no one scared at how she gathered intel like that?” Rey asked.
“Forget that. What’s our plan for standing up to the guy?” Neil asked.
“Plan? Guys, we don’t need to do anything,” Sana said.
“What?! Why?!” Rey exclaimed.
“Heer didn’t even want to talk about this. Do you really think she would want us to get involved?” Sana said. “The best thing to do is to leave it be.”
Sana closed her locker and left with her books in hand. Rey couldn’t accept that Sana didn’t want to do anything. He looked at Neil, who looked like he had an idea in mind.
“Krystal, what school did you say this Jac guy goes to?” Neil asked.
“Red Rock High,” Krystal said. “Why?”
“Oh, no reason,” Neil said.
***
Later on, during after school hours, a group of kids were playing kickball outside at the playground of Red Rock High School. Among those kids was Jac. Rey and Neil came to see him playing without a care in the world. Rey looked at Neil and said, “Neil, are you sure this is a good idea?”
“This is perfectly fine. We’re gonna show Jac not to mess with Heer.”
“I know, but don’t you remember what Sana said?”
“Sana is taking the easy way out. We gotta teach this boy a lesson. He has no idea who he’s dealing with. Now, are you ready?”
“All right, let’s do this.”
Rey and Neil walked up to the group as they continued playing. Jac turned to them. Rey could see that Jac recognized them.
“What are you guys doing here?” Jac asked. “Your school doesn’t have a playground?”
“Our school happens to have a lot of cool stuff!” Rey exclaimed.
“We’re here to tell you personally that we don’t like how you treated our friend, Heer,” Neil said.
“And what do you know about that?” Jac asked.
“Well, not much, but considering how well we know Heer, we know you must have been a real jerk to her,” Neil said.
“Right. Because Heer is so innocent and nice,” Jac said. “Perfect little angel that could do no wrong.”
“Are you mocking her?!” Rey exclaimed. “Dude, we could give you quite the beatdown for that.”
“Really?” Jac scoffed.
“You bet,” Neil said as he drew out his wand while Rey got ready to transform.
“What are you two doing?!” a voice questioned.
Rey froze, knowing who it was. He turned around with Neil to see Sana with Krystal. Sana certainly looked displeased.
“Wow. Sana was right,” Krystal said. “You two would do something stupid.”
“How’d you know we were gonna be here?” Rey asked Sana.
“Krystal told me that she told you guys about Jac’s high school, and I knew you two would come to jump him,” Sana said.
“Hey, are you saying we’re predictable?!” Neil exclaimed.
“That and stupid,” Krystal said. “You’re lucky Prince is too busy hanging out with Zayn and Akira at Devil’s Delights to see this.”
“We have every right to jump someone in this scenario!” Rey exclaimed.
“Look, if you guys aren’t going to beat me up, I’m gonna get back to my game,” Jac said as he turned around to continue playing with the other guys.
Sana pulled Rey by his arm and Krystal did the same with Neil. She said, “This isn’t what Heer would’ve liked.”
“Yeah, but he deserves a beating for being such a jackass,” Neil said.
“You know what? Since you two are so hung up on this, why don’t we just talk to Heer?” Sana asked.
“I thought you said we shouldn’t ask her about it,” Rey said.
“That was before you guys started throwing tantrums over it,” Sana said. “Come on.”
***
Back at the academy, Heer was baking cupcakes in the home economics classroom. She was in the middle of frosting the vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry buttercream frosting when Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Neil entered. Before Heer could say anything, Rey said, “Ah! Cupcakes!”
“Really, Rey?” Krystal said as Rey immediately grabbed one of the frosted cupcakes.
“What? I’m hungry,” Rey said as he took a bite from the cupcake. “Damn. This is so good!”
“Thank you,” Heer said. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Well, we thought we’d talk to you about Jac,” Sana said.
“How do you know about Jac?” Heer asked.
“I did some snooping. I have quite the talent for it,” Krystal said.
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t think she’d dig into it,” Sana said. “Or that these two would go hunt him down.”
“We had good reason,” Neil said.
“You don’t have to apologize. I probably should…for not talking about it this whole time,” Heer said.
“Have you been baking to distract yourself from talking about it?” Krystal asked.
“I guess so,” Heer said.
“So, who is he?” Rey asked as he grabbed another cupcake to munch on.
Heer sighed. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to explain herself. She looked at the others and said, “Jac was a close friend since I was in middle school. I didn’t have a lot of friends, but he was one of the few people who I felt like I could talk to about anything. We had a lot of common interests. From cartoons to baking, there was a lot we could share. It felt nice to have a friend like that.”
“So, what happened?” Sana asked.
“Well, there was a point where I noticed he would say things that I didn’t like or things that hurt me. When I would confront him about them, every time, he’d have an excuse or get upset,” Heer said. “It made me think I was doing something wrong. There was one time that led to an argument…or more so me getting yelled at. After that happened, I apologized in hopes we could move on and not let it escalate. And it seemed fine. But then one day, he basically said he didn’t want to be my friend anymore.”
Sana could tell that Heer was hurt just by talking about everything. It may have been something from the past, but Sana understood that memories from our past can still hurt in the present no matter how much time has passed.
“The reason I couldn’t talk about it is because sometimes…I feel like it’s my fault somehow,” Heer said. “Sometimes, I think about all the good times we had. I just wish it didn’t end like that.”
“I understand,” Sana said. “But you should know it’s not your fault.”
“Yeah. Dude was clearly an asshole,” Krystal said. “Ugh! Some people want to act like saints that can never do any wrong. Besides, who wants to have a friend who gets upset like a five-year-old child at a toy store every time you bring up something?”
“The only loser in this situation is him,” Neil said. “He lost a great friend.”
“And we gained one the moment we met here at RTA,” Rey said. “By the way, you need to make more of these cupcakes.”
Heer chuckled along with the others. It was the first time she felt a hint of joy since she encountered Jac.
“Thank you, guys,” Heer said. “I actually feel a little better now that I’ve talked about it.”
“Well, let’s make you feel even more better,” Krystal said. “How about we go to Devil’s Diner for dinner? My treat!”
“That sounds like a plan,” Sana said. “Is that okay with you, Heer?”
“For sure,” Heer said with a smile.
***
Later that night, Sana, Rey, Krystal, Neil, and Heer went to Devil’s Diner. Once they went inside, they were escorted to a table. As they sat down, Heer was stunned to see Jac sitting at a table not too far from them. Seeing her stunned expression, Sana turned around and said, “Wow. He’s here as well.”
“I swear that guy is everywhere,” Krystal said.
“Are you comfortable, Heer?” Rey asked. “We could ask to be moved away.”
“Or we could go somewhere else for dinner,” Neil said.
“No, I’m fine,” Heer said. She could see Jac had looked at her and went back to looking at his cellphone in hand. “I don’t want to run away like last time. I’m here to have a good time with you all. That’s all that matters.”
“Aww, that’s our Heer,” Sana said.
“Still, I’d love to give that jerk a piece of my mind,” Rey said.
“Same here,” Krystal said. “Just look at his outfit. His shirt looks like it was made of duct tape.”
“You know what?” Neil said as he got up. “Why don’t we say a few words to him?”
Krystal smirked and saw Rey smirk as well. The two of them got up with Neil and Sana joined them saying, “No fists. I don’t wanna get kicked out of the restaurant.”
Heer watched as her four friends circled Jac at his table. Jac looked up at them and said, “Now what do you losers want?”
“Ha. Losers? We should be calling you that,” Rey said. “For someone with such a huge ego, you don’t seem to have decent comebacks.”
“Whatever. I’m not the one trying to create a scene here,” Jac said.
“We’re not creating a scene. We’re here to let you know that the only loser around here is you,” Neil said. “You could’ve had a great friend in Heer. And you blew it because you’re a little baby that can’t handle a bit of honesty.”
“If you ever hurt Heer again or do anything to make her uncomfortable, we’ll be coming for you,” Rey said. “My partner here is pretty good at giving a smackdown.”
“It’s true,” Sana said. “I’d smack you in the head right now, but I don’t want to get kicked out before dinner.”
“We’re gonna be sitting close by. I hope us having fun doesn’t make you cry out of regret for what you could’ve had,” Krystal said.
As the group turned around to head back to their table, Krystal turned back and said, “Also, that shirt is ugly as hell. I’d burn it if I were you. Bye!”
Krystal joined the others back at the table, laughing with the others. While they were laughing, Heer watched them. She didn’t even bother to look at Jac anymore because she no longer cared about what she had lost.
“Hey, guys,” Heer said. “I’m really glad you all are my friends.”
“Aww, same here, girl!” Krystal said as she hugged Heer.
“Now let’s order food,” Rey said. “I’m starving.”
As her friends laughed some more, Heer realized that what she had right now was exactly what was meant to be.
“No! No! No!” Krystal cried. “Sana, how many times do I have to tell you?!”
It was a regular morning at Ringmasters Training Academy. In the gymnasium, Krystal was directing everyone for a stage rehearsal. The next circus show was coming up and Krystal was made lead ringmaster. Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira were all present for rehearsal amongst other students.
“Krystal, I’m literally doing everything you want me to do,” Sana said.
“No, you’re not!” Krystal exclaimed. “In step three of section one, you’re supposed to pivot your foot to the left. You keep starting with your right! It’s ruining the flow of the routine!”
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Prince said. “Who the hell is gonna pay attention to her foot going wrong?”
“Well, if I can see it, anyone can,” Krystal said.
“Aww, Miss Perfectionist is throwing a tantrum,” Rey said to Neil, chuckling.
Krystal turned to Rey, annoyed, and said, “Rey, I’m this close to smacking someone, so you better hope it’s not you!”
“At this rate it could be you,” Sana said, quietly.
Krystal looked at Sana, trying to think she didn’t hear what she heard. Akira could see Krystal was getting angry and said, “Okay, Krystal. Let’s not create a scene.”
“What was that you said, Sana?” Krystal questioned.
“Krystal, I really think you should take a breather,” Heer said. “Let’s just get back to rehearsal.”
“No! I’d like to know what she said!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Damn. This is gonna get ugly,” Neil whispered to Rey.
“Krystal, I’m already annoyed. Let’s just move on,” Sana said.
“No! You can’t just say something about me and get away from the situation!”
“This is so unnecessary.”
“Please. The only thing unnecessary around here is your inability to comprehend basic dance steps! One would think a bookworm such as yourself could at least do that.”
Before Krystal could say anything else, Sana smacked her on the head, and she fell to the floor with a thud. Rey looked at the others and could see everyone including the gang were shocked. Krystal immediately got up, appalled.
“How dare you smack me, Sana?!” Krystal shouted as she was about to go up to Sana with her hands ready to fight back. Heer and Prince quickly grabbed hold of Krystal by her arms to prevent her from escalating the scene.
“Krystal, you have to calm down now,” Heer said as she struggled to hold down Krystal.
“Ugh! Let me at her! Just let me at her!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Ugh. Quit embarrassing yourself,” Prince said, rolling his eyes.
“You’re the one who basically asked for it,” Sana said to Krystal.
“Damn, Sana. You seem to go off on anyone,” Akira said.
“Man, this really did get ugly,” Neil said to Rey.
“Okay, everyone! Why don’t we call off rehearsal today?” Rey exclaimed. “Let’s all head out now!”
Rey tried to get everyone else to leave while Heer and Prince took Krystal away.
***
Later on, at lunch, Rey, Neil, Prince, Heer, and Akira were seated at their usual table. Once Zayn arrived with his lunch, he sat down and said, “So, it seems I missed quite the drama this morning.”
“You heard?” Neil asked.
“People couldn’t stop gossiping about it when I was in line,” Zayn said as he took a bite of his grilled cheese sandwich.
“You never said why you didn’t show up to rehearsal,” Akira said.
“I didn’t show up because I didn’t feel like it,” Zayn said. “So, what happened?”
“Krystal got on Sana’s case. Sana smacked her. There was almost a brawl. End of story,” Prince said. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“You’re taking it quite lightly, Prince,” Heer said.
“Well, yeah. Sana smacking people when they piss her off isn’t new,” Prince said. “Just ask Rey.”
“To be honest, I thought she was improving,” Rey said.
“Is it really any different from you and Neil jumping Aiden all the time?” Akira asked.
“Hey! We would give him a heads up before attempting to battle him!” Rey exclaimed.
“Failed attempts are more like it,” Prince said.
It didn’t take long for Sana to arrive at the table. And right after her, Krystal arrived. The two sat across from each other and Rey could see them exchanging scowled glances. To break the awkward silence amongst everyone, Rey said, “So, did anyone do the homework for D’Sena’s class?”
“You didn’t do it, man?” Neil asked.
“Interesting coming from you since you’re not one to do homework,” Prince said.
“But I did do it…last period,” Neil said.
“So, Sana, did you do the homework?” Heer asked.
“Why are we talking to her like she didn’t smack me in front of everyone today?” Krystal questioned.
“The same way no one wants to tell you how annoying and bossy you are,” Sana said.
“You take that back!” Krystal shouted as she got up from her seat. As she got up, she threw her sandwich at Sana’s face.
The act got Rey and everyone else on edge. It didn’t do much to Sana, but Rey looked at her and she was visibly pissed. He watched her stand up from her chair. She looked like she was close to giving Krystal another slap. Instead, she grabbed one of the slices of pizza on her plate and smacked it directly onto Krystal’s face. Seeing this, Rey could see it was far worse. The sauce and cheese were all over Krystal’s face. It didn’t take long for her to shriek, “Not my makeup!”
“Oh God,” Prince said, shaking his head.
“Sana J. Malik, if my face wasn’t melting right now, you’d be dead!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Yeah, right,” Sana said, rolling her eyes.
Rey watched Sana and Krystal throw one comment after the next at each other like ammo on a battlefield. He looked at the others and could see how annoyed they all were. Except Heer, she just seemed concerned. He thought he would have to take matters into his own hands.
***
At the end of the school day, Heer and Akira were at their lockers, chatting while getting their stuff together. As they were talking, Heer turned to see Rey was coming up to them. She looked at him and said, “Hey, Rey. What’s up?”
“Can I talk to you guys for a sec?” Rey asked.
“Is this about the Sana and Krystal fiasco?” Akira asked. “Because while entertaining, that whole thing is a mess.”
“I know. And we need to do something about it,” Rey said. “As stubborn as they both are, they’re friends and need to move on.”
“Even I think something needs to be done,” Heer said.
“Did you talk to the guys about this?” Akira asked.
“Yeah, and they don’t want to get involved,” Rey said.
“Even Prince?” Heer asked.
“He said they should figure it out themselves,” Prince said.
“Well, he’s not wrong,” Akira said. “I could expect this childishness from Krystal, but Sana, she’s typically above this…when she’s not being overly aggressive.”
“Well, we should give them a push. That’s why I’m coming to you both,” Rey said. “Can you two plan something to get them to confront each other civilly?”
“That could be a good idea. If we get them together in a calm environment, we could get them to talk things out,” Heer said.
“That sounds good!” Rey exclaimed. “Have fun with that!”
“Hold it! You come to us asking for help and you’re not going to do anything?” Akira asked.
“I did my part,” Rey said. “I was the messenger.”
Rey walked away before Akira’s piercing glances could scare him into staying. Akira shook her head and said, “Boys just love not taking responsibility sometimes, I swear.”
“I think I have an idea that could work,” Heer said.
***
The next day, Heer and Akira set the plan in motion. Well, it was pretty much Heer’s plan. Heer invited Krystal to Sage Park downtown and Akira did the same with Sana. They brought both girls to the park right after school. Once they all ran into each other, Heer could see Sana and Krystal were instantly heated.
“What is she doing here?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“I could ask the same to you,” Sana said.
Akira rolled her eyes as she watched Sana and Krystal have a literal glare competition. Heer said, “Now, now. It’s a nice day out and the park is looking lovely. Why don’t we just enjoy the scenery?”
Sana sighed in frustration. “Fine, I’ll be civil,” Sana said as she walked ahead. “I can do that better than some people.”
“Oh, please! You are the last person that should be talking about being civil!” Krystal exclaimed as she started walking as well.
“You sure this will work?” Akira asked Heer.
“We’re in the presence of nature. It should calm them both down,” Heer said and then walked with Sana and Krystal.
“If you say so,” Akira said as she shrugged her shoulders and followed.
As the girls walked around the park, Sana and Krystal were keeping their distance. Heer could feel that there was an unusual amount of silence as they all walked together. She looked at Akira, who was visibly frustrated. She knew she had to do something to get Sana and Krystal to talk like normal. Heer looked at the array of pink tulips in the field. She said, “Aren’t these some beautiful flowers, Krystal?”
“Hmm? Oh yeah, they are nice,” Krystal said as she looked at the tulips. “They’re so bright and beautiful!”
“Do you like them, Sana?” Heer asked.
“Heer, why do you care about her opinion?” Krystal asked. “After all, it’s not like a brute such as herself could appreciate nature.”
“You know, I was going to say they look beautiful,” Sana said. “Maybe I should add that they’re prettier than your face.”
Once again, another argument ensued between Sana and Krystal. Heer began to whimper, seeing her plan was failing miserably. Akira looked at her and shook her head, thinking, They are fighting over flowers. It’s time to put an end to this.
“Okay!” Akira intervened, silencing Sana and Krystal. “Since you guys aren’t enjoying the park, I have another place in mind for us to go.”
***
Sana was stunned, Krystal was shocked, and Heer was surprised. Akira led the girls inside Splash Attack, a paintball center in Daredevil City. Heer would’ve never picked such a place for them to handle the situation, but she acknowledged Akira’s methods were probably going to be different from hers.
“Um, why are we here, Akira?” Sana asked.
“You guys clearly need to blow some steam,” Akira said as she stepped up to the counter. “If you can’t do it peacefully, you might as well come here. Krystal, give me your credit card.”
“What?!” Krystal exclaimed. “Why would I give you my credit card?! This wasn’t my idea.”
“That’s true, but if you don’t want me to smack you harder than Sana did, you’ll give it to me,” Akira said.
Terrified at the thought of Akira smacking her, Krystal quickly handed her credit card to her Akira handed it to the receptionist. After paying, they were directed to a room to get their gear and suits. As Sana and Krystal went ahead, Heer asked Akira, “Are you sure about this?”
“They want to be aggressive,” Akira said. “This is how you get out aggression.”
The girls got suited up and loaded up their paintball guns. They went outside to the actual park where people were already commencing in paintball fights. While Sana and Krystal were in the field, Akira went in blazing. She was having a grand time, striking one person after the next. She took a moment to stop as she looked at Heer, who looked like a frail deer amongst a pack of lions. She went up to her and said, “Heer, why aren’t you shooting?”
“Um, I’m not sure if this is my scene. I don’t really like hurting people unnecessarily.”
“Oh, come on, Heer. They’re just paintballs.”
“I know. But this is pretty aggressive.”
“That’s the point. Hey, we should check on Sana and Krystal.”
Akira and Heer went further into the field to look for Sana and Krystal. As she squared off with a few people amidst the lookout, Akira stopped upon seeing Sana and Krystal engaging in a shootout with each other. Aside from them having bad aim, it seemed like they were both pretty angry.
“You know, I should thank Akira after this,” Krystal said.
“After what?” Sana asked.
Krystal struck Sana in the stomach three times with her paintball gun and said, “That.”
Sana immediately got up and started hitting back. This time, she hit Krystal at her shoulders. They both started angrily shooting at each other. Heer was afraid of what would ensue, and Akira was borderline amused and annoyed.
“You know, only someone as immature as you would resort to smacking people for everything!” Krystal shouted at Sana.
“Immature? That’s rich coming from you. You’re the spoiled crybaby that whines whenever Prince doesn’t want to wear a stupid matching outfit with you.”
“That has nothing to do with this! And you wish you had my sense of style!”
“Oh, please. I don’t need fashion advice from a designer brand billboard.”
“You take that back! You’re just jealous! No wonder you ruined my dress at Headmaster Devil’s birthday party!”
“Oh, get over it. You took it to the dry-cleaners.”
“Yeah, but the resale value plummeted thanks to you!”
Sana and Krystal continued to argue and strike each other with paintballs at the same time. Heer looked at Akira, who was more frustrated than ever. Akira handed her paintball gun to Heer and walked up to Sana and Krystal. She took both of their paintball guns and they turned to her, saying, “Hey!”
“What are you doing?” Sana asked.
“You know, I should smack both of you right now,” Akira said. “But I’m not going to stoop to your level.”
“I haven’t done any smacking this whole time,” Krystal said. “I was the one that was wronged here.”
“Honestly, you both need to shut up,” Akira said. “I’m gonna say this to your faces, so that you two can stop embarrassing yourselves. Sana, you don’t need to smack every person who pisses you off for the slightest thing. It’s unbelievably childish.”
“Um, Akira,” Heer said.
“And Krystal, you’re bossy, rude, and you shove your perfectionist ways down everyone’s throat to the point where it’s annoying,” Akira said. “Heer and I took it upon ourselves to help you guys make up since Rey asked us to. Now we understand why he didn’t want to get involved because you two are irritating as hell. I’m done dealing with your stupidity. So, do everyone a favor and just shut up and sort this out yourselves.”
Akira walked out, leaving Heer, Sana, and Krystal. Heer could see Sana and Krystal were speechless and in disbelief.
***
After some time passed, Sana, Krystal, and Heer got cleaned up and sat in the lobby. After storming out, Akira went back to the field to play some more paintball. Heer figured she needed it to blow off some steam from her earlier lecture. Heer looked at Sana and Krystal, who were awfully quiet and clearly down. She wanted to say something to lighten the mood, but thought it was better to wait and see if one of them would talk.
“She really went in on us,” Sana said.
“I’m not bossy and rude,” Krystal said. “Am I, Heer?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have framed the way Akira said things so bluntly,” Heer said.
“So, you agree with her?” Sana asked.
“I agree with the notion she was going with. You both are wrong in this situation. One of you wants to feel more justified than the other, but neither of you are,” Heer said. “I know you’re both better than this. You two have been friends for so long that you can’t let something like this drag on.”
Sana couldn’t help but think that what Heer was saying was true. She couldn’t believe how far things had gotten. She looked at Krystal and could tell she was feeling the same way.
“You know, if it was put this way, it probably would’ve landed better,” Krystal said.
“Maybe. But Akira’s method certainly made you guys listen,” Heer said.
Sana and Krystal chuckled. They looked at each other and Sana said, “I’m sorry for smacking you that day. And for all the insults that I didn’t mean.”
“I’m sorry for being harsh on you at rehearsal and my share of insults. I guess I should work on not bossing people around like a crazy person.”
“I should probably work on not smacking people.”
“I know some people that would love that,” Heer said.
The three of them chuckled. Akira entered the lobby and upon seeing the three girls, she said, “So, you two made up?”
“Yeah, we did,” Krystal said.
“As much as we hate to admit it, you certainly made us wake up a bit,” Sana said.
“Good. I should be blunt with you guys more often,” Akira said.
“Or you can hold back next time,” Krystal said.
“Anyway, do you guys want to head back?” Heer asked.
“Well, since Sana and Krystal made up, we should do something fun to celebrate,” Akira said.
“I agree,” Sana said. “You got something in mind, Krystal?”
“Actually, you can take the reign on this one, Sana,” Krystal said.
Sana was surprised, but happy with Krystal’s gesture. She said, “Well, I did want to check out the new indie bookstore that opened downtown.”
“Books A Plenty?” Heer asked.
“That’s the one,” Sana said. “And maybe afterwards, we could go to Devil’s Diner for dinner.”
“Yes! I can treat everyone to Marigold Surprises!” Krystal exclaimed.
“You guys okay with that plan?” Sana asked.
“It sounds good to me,” Heer said.
“All right. Let’s head out then,” Akira said.
With that, the girls all headed out together for grand night ahead.
“Pink or red, guys?” Krystal asked Rey and Prince. It was a Sunday afternoon in Daredevil City. Krystal, Rey, and Prince were at the Reshawna store inside Daredevil Mall. Krystal had dragged the two along for a shopping trip. She was hoping to buy a new outfit for Valentine’s Day.
“Hello?!” Krystal exclaimed. “Did you guys hear me?”
“We did. I just don’t understand what the big deal is,” Prince said. “Buy whatever you want.”
“I’m asking for your opinion!” Krystal said.
“I like the red, but I think the pink one brings out your eyes,” Rey said.
“See, Prince! Rey is giving a solid opinion here,” Krystal said.
“Fine. You want my opinion?” Prince said. “The red one makes you look like a firetruck and the pink one makes you look like a flamingo. Happy?”
Krystal could feel the anger in her boil up. She couldn’t stand the attitude Prince was giving her and she certainly didn’t like being called a firetruck or a flamingo. She calmed down and said, “Prince, you don’t need to have an attitude.”
“You’re the one who dragged us both here,” Prince said. “Don’t be surprised that I’m not exactly ecstatic right now.”
“That’s because everyone else was busy,” Krystal said. “I have to have the perfect dress for Valentine’s Day.”
“It’s not like you have a date or anything,” Prince said as he started chewing on a lemon-flavored candy cane.
Krystal could feel her irritation get to the brim. Even Rey took note of how annoyed she was by Prince’s words.
“So?! Are you trying to say I need to have a date to look good on Valentine’s Day?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“No,” Prince said. “I just don’t understand the effort. That too for such a lame holiday.”
“Oh, someone has beef with Valentine’s,” Rey chuckled.
Prince didn’t say anything. He rolled his eyes, turning away. The only way to deal with the situation was to not look at anyone.
Krystal, in her frustration, said, “Whatever. I’m just gonna go with the pink one.”
Krystal headed back to the fitting room to change. Rey looked over at Prince and said, “So, are you coming for lunch?”
“Nah, I’m gonna slip out now,” Prince said as he got up. “I need to do some things before tomorrow. See ya.”
Prince left and Rey watched him leave. He shook his head, knowing Krystal was going to have a tantrum once she stepped out. And the moment she came out of the dressing room, she said, “Did he seriously leave before lunch?!”
“He said he was busy.”
“Busy?! Ha! All he does is sleep and eat candy canes. What could possibly keep him busy?”
“So, now what?”
“I’m gonna pay for this and we’ll go to lunch.”
“Just us?”
“Well, I’m not going to lunch alone! Or are you busy as well?”
Rey thought he could make something up, but he did feel bad about Prince ditching. Plus, there was the possibility of Krystal paying.
“No, I’ll tag along,” Rey said.
***
The next day, it was Valentine’s Day. It seemed like a normal day at Ringmasters Training Academy, but there were some students engaging in the exchanging of cards, candy, and flowers. Prince was certainly not one of them. He went to his locker and opened it, looking at all the candy he had stocked up. He had boxes of chocolates and a box of Valentine’s Day themed candy canes that were hard to find. Prince took one of the candy canes from the box. As he started chewing it, Neil walked by along with Rey and said, “Whoah, Prince. Look at all the candy. You have a valentine?”
“Yeah,” Prince said. “Myself.”
“Did you really think Prince was into Valentine’s Day?” Rey asked Neil, chuckling.
“Well, he seems to be…for the candy at least,” Neil said. “Can I have some?”
“Do you think I hoarded all the leftover candy at the grocery store just to share it with people?” Prince asked.
“Well, damn,” Rey said.
Neil whimpered and said, “Sheesh, Prince. You don’t have to be so mean.”
“What else can you expect from him?” a voice said.
Krystal showed up with Sana and Heer at her side. She was proudly wearing the new outfit she bought the other day, but she was indeed upset.
“What do you mean by that?” Prince asked.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Is this about yesterday? You’re really upset about that?”
“Yes, I’m upset. And since I’m upset, you should wait two to three business days before fighting me on it.”
“Damn,” Rey said.
“Okay, what’s going on here?” Neil asked.
“I don’t have time for this,” Prince said as he shook his head. He grabbed his books and some candy from his locker and then slammed it shut, leaving.
“Well, that certainly didn’t go well,” Sana said.
“Who cares?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Krystal, I know you’re upset with Prince, but maybe you guys could talk it out?” Heer asked.
“Heer, I don’t have the energy to talk to him,” Krystal said. “I’d rather enjoy my Valentine’s Day in peace.”
“Do you even have a valentine?” Neil asked Krystal.
“Who says I need to have one to enjoy the festivities?! Sheesh!” Krystal exclaimed. She left the group, feeling even more annoyed.
“Wow. I’ve never seen her this mad,” Sana said. “She doesn’t even get this mad when directing a circus show.”
“Sana, she doesn’t even get this mad when Prince won’t wear the matching outfits she buys him,” Rey said.
“You know, I wish she would gift me new outfits. I would at least wear them,” Neil said. “I don’t have any money for shopping.”
“Guys, shouldn’t we do something?” Heer asked. “It’s not good for them to have tension like this.”
“Yeah. Like talking to them is gonna be something easy to do,” Rey said.
“No, Heer is right. We should do something,” Sana said. “I think I have an idea.”
***
Later, at the end of the school day, Prince went to his locker to retrieve the remaining boxes of candy he had. As he was getting everything together in his backpack, he could feel someone was coming up to him. He turned around to see Heer standing before him. He was surprised to see her. Prince said, “Heer…what brings you to my locker?”
“I hope I’m not bothering you.”
“No, you’re not. What’s up?”
“Are you doing anything right now? I could use some help if you’re free.”
“Help with what exactly?”
“I’m volunteering for a class at an elementary school today. The kids there are having a Valentine’s Day party and I need to take some baked goods I made. Do you mind helping me?”
Prince sighed. He was planning to go back to his dorm to work on some homework and finish his candy. And he very well could do that, but at the same time, he didn’t think it was right to say no to helping Heer out.
“I guess I can help you out,” Prince said.
“Great,” Heer said. “We can go to my room and get them.”
Prince nodded and followed Heer down the hallway.
***
On the other hand, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Neil had gone to Lola’s. Sana thought a hangout with Krystal could help her cool down from her anger with Prince. It was also a good way to talk things out with her while Heer handled things with Prince. As they passed by the candy aisle, Rey said, “Wow. Prince wasn’t kidding when he said he hoarded all what was left of the Valentine’s Day candy.”
Sana shoved Rey in the arm with her elbow. She directed his attention to Krystal, who shifted from being perfectly calm to frustrated again.
“Nice work,” Sana said.
“Hey, I was just saying,” Rey said.
“Rey’s right. It’s not like Prince is one to share,” Krystal said as she looked at a pink teddy bear on the middle shelf. “In fact, he’s the least caring person I know.”
“Come on, Krystal,” Neil said. “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do!” Krystal exclaimed. “He’s a big jerk! I can’t believe we’re even partners!”
“Krystal, remember, you two do make a good team,” Sana said. “A unique team certainly…but a good team nonetheless.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Krystal exclaimed as she grabbed hold of the pink teddy bear. “It doesn’t change the fact that he’s a jerk!”
“Oh, sheesh,” Neil said. “Is it really that big of a deal? I mean you did drag him to the mall.”
Rey looked at Neil, knowing he shouldn’t have said what he said. Sana shook her head, seeing Krystal get even more angry than before. Neil could tell he messed up, seeing her face get red.
“Not a big deal?! You really have the nerve to say its not a big deal?!” Krystal yelled. As she yelled, Krystal ripped the head of the pink teddy bear. She only realized it upon seeing the faces of her friends.
“Damn, Krystal. You don’t have to take it out on the bear,” Rey said.
“And now you’re gonna have to pay for it,” Sana said.
“Ugh!” Krystal exclaimed. “Neil, why did you have to set me off?!”
“I didn’t know you’d act so ballistic,” Neil said.
“Um, its Krystal,” Rey said. “How could you not know that?”
“What did you just say, Rey?!” Krystal said.
“Nothing, nothing at all!” Rey exclaimed.
Sana shook her head. I swear, these two aren’t the brightest bulbs sometimes, she thought. I hope Heer has an easier time handling Prince.
***
Heer and Prince took a bus from the academy to reach Lillian Crossing Elementary School. The two got off the bus, each holding three boxes of pastries and baked goods that Heer made. Heer led them inside the school building and walked all the way to room 3B. As soon as they entered the classroom, they were welcomed by several children. Heer was happy to see all the kids. She had gotten to know them through the many times she had visited. She could tell it was something new for Prince, who seemed overwhelmed by all the attention.
Heer saw the classroom teacher, Ms. Williams, walk up to her. She had dark eyes and curly brown hair. She was wearing a beautiful flowy red dress with a pink heart pattern in spirit of the holiday.
“Hi, Ms. Williams,” Heer said.
“Hello, Heer,” Ms. Williams said. “Thank you so much for bringing your amazing treats. Is this a friend of yours?”
“Yes, this is Prince,” Heer said. “He goes to RTA with me.”
“Hi,” Prince said.
“Nice to meet you, Prince. I’m glad you could join us,” Ms. Williams said. “You guys can set up everything on the table right over there.”
“Sounds good. Thank you,” Heer said as she moved towards the table in the corner with Prince following.
Ms. Williams got all the kids together and had them settle down while Heer and Prince started setting up. There were plenty of items to unpack. Heer took out the cookies and cherry tarts while Prince got out the cupcakes and brownies. Prince couldn’t believe that Heer had made so much. He knew she was an avid baker, but this felt like a whole catering job. Once everything was set, Ms. Williams had the kids get their treats. Heer and Prince helped with serving. Even though Prince could’ve been chilling back at his dorm, he didn’t completely mind helping Heer.
“So, are you having a good time?” Prince asked Heer.
“Yeah, this is nice. I’m glad the kids are having fun.”
“I gotta ask you something. What made you decide to volunteer for this?”
“Do you see the boy over there in the purple cat shirt?”
Prince looked at the kids to see who Heer was referring to. He did see the boy in the purple cat shirt. He had the biggest smile on his face as he dove right into the pink frosted cupcake. The boy had scraggly black hair and big chocolate brown eyes.
“That’s Karthi,” Heer said. “One day, I went for a walk at the park nearby and he was there with some kids. He was getting picked on, so I stepped in and helped him out. He wanted me to come to the school and meet Ms. Williams and the other kids. So, I just like to come by and help out every now and then when I can.”
Prince wasn’t surprised that Heer had so much kindness in her. What did surprise him was how much she could do for those who weren’t even close to her.
“Something on your mind, Prince?” Heer asked.
“I hate admitting it. But the whole thing with Krystal does bother me. I don’t know why she has to be so dramatic sometimes.”
“She’s Krystal. It’s just how she is.”
“I know, but she doesn’t have to get mad at me. She’s the one that dragged me to the mall to begin with. Hell, she drags me everywhere.”
“I understand where you’re coming from. Have you ever thought about why she’s like that?”
“Why? Do you know?”
“I think she just wants to feel like she’s friends with you. You’re not the most outgoing person, so she probably feels like she has to drag you around to wherever she wants to go. She’s your partner, so it makes sense that she wants to feel like she matters to you.”
“Matters to me?”
“Yeah. Neil may do some crazy antics, but I always want to be there to look out for him. And I know he’d do the same for me. For Krystal, being your partner also means being your friend. Now, she could definitely approach this in better ways, but I think she does what she does because that’s what she knows.”
Prince was surprised. He could understand Heer’s perspective. He hadn’t even thought about seeing things from that angle. As he thought over what Heer said, Karthi walked up to Heer. She looked at him and said, “Are you having fun, Karthi?”
“Yes,” Karthi said. “Thank you for the treats.”
“It was my pleasure,” Heer said.
“Hey,” Prince said. “Your name is Karthi?”
“Yes,” Karthi said. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Prince,” Prince said. “You want to see something?”
Karthi nodded his head. Prince got his backpack, unzipped it, and took out one of the Valentine’s Day candy canes he had. He could already tell Karthi was in awe of it.
“These are special candy canes. They’re pretty hard to find,” Prince said. “You want it?”
Karthi nodded happily. Prince handed the candy cane to him. He got out the box from his backpack and handed it to Karthi saying, “Can you give these to everyone else?”
Karthi took the box from Prince and went off, handing the candy canes to his classmates. Heer was surprised by Prince’s gesture. She looked at him and said, “Wow. This is a first.”
“Oh, come on,” Prince said. “I can be nice. Now tell me, where did you find the time to make all of this?”
“I like to bake after school. It helps me relax after a long day of school,” Heer said.
“Interesting way to relax,” Prince said as he took a bite out of one of the cupcakes.
***
Back at the dorms of Ringmasters Training Academy, Krystal was painting her nails, trying to relax. She was finishing up the last of her fingernails when the sound of a knock on her door made her mess up. “Great, now my nails are ruined,” Krystal said as she got up from her vanity chair. “Ugh!”
Krystal walked up to the door and opened it. She was surprised to see Prince was there. She folded her arms and said, “Yes?”
Prince cleared his throat. He took a few seconds of silence before saying anything.
“I’m sorry,” Prince said. “I shouldn’t have been so rude to you the other day.”
Krystal was surprised to hear Prince apologize. She could tell he was being sincere, and it meant a lot to her. She smiled and said, “It’s okay.”
Prince smiled back. It was a rare sighting for Krystal. She said, “Wait here for a sec.”
Prince nodded and waited while Krystal headed back to her room. She quickly came back, handing him a pink teddy bear and saying, “I’m sorry, too.”
Prince chuckled as he took the teddy bear. He looked at it closer and said, “Why does this bear look like it’s been to the hospital?”
“Now that’s a story,” Krystal said. “Do you wanna grab breakfast tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“Sounds good. Good night.”
“Good night, Krystal.”
Krystal closed the door and Prince went on his way.
“You…got me candy canes?” Neil asked Prince. It was almost time for Christmas and that meant that the students of Ringmasters Training Academy would be going on winter break soon. Before going off for the holidays, Sana, Rey, and the rest of the gang agreed to do a Secret Santa exchange amongst themselves in spirit of the holidays. They all randomly picked names from a hat and whichever name they got would be the one they’d give their gift to. Everyone had to give their gifts by Christmas day. And seeing Prince hand a jumbo box of candy canes to him, Neil assumed Prince was his Secret Santa.
“Ho ho ho,” Prince said.
“What’s going on here?” Krystal asked as she came up to Neil and Prince by the lockers along with Akira.
“Apparently Prince is my Secret Santa,” Neil said as he held the box of candy canes.
“Prince, seriously? You got him candy canes?” Akira asked. “Way to be thoughtful.”
“Hey, be thankful I’m willingly just giving you my candy canes. I never give candy canes to anyone,” Prince said.
“Sheesh, Prince. Where’s your Christmas spirit?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“I’ll have it once we’re on winter break and I can nap for two weeks straight,” Prince said.
“Well, you’re lucky I like this gift,” Neil said.
“You do?” Akira asked.
“Yeah! Now I don’t have to spend money on candy canes! And these are the flavored ones!” Neil exclaimed. “Thanks, Prince.”
“Don’t mention it,” Prince said.
“Neil, you can’t just settle! You deserve a meaningful gift!” Krystal exclaimed. “Prince, you need to step up your gift giving game!”
“To hell with the drama,” Prince said, rolling his eyes.
“Krystal, who did you get for Secret Santa?” Akira asked.
“I got Zayn,” Krystal said.
“Oh, interesting,” Akira said. She looked at Neil and Prince, who were grinning as much as she was.
“Who did he get by the way?” Krystal asked.
“Why are you so interested?” Akira asked.
“I just asked a question! Nothing of it!” Krystal exclaimed. “Anyway, I’m going to go to class. I’ll see you all at lunch.”
Akira remained with Neil and Prince, watching Krystal walk off. As she turned to them, Neil asked, “So, do you know who Zayn got?”
“I do. He got Krystal as well,” Akira said.
“Oh, interesting,” Prince said. “A direct switch.”
“Hopefully he’s more creative than you,” Neil said to Prince.
“You just said you liked my gift,” Prince said.
***
Later in the day, Sana and Krystal were grabbing lunch in the cafeteria. As they chatted amongst themselves, they walked towards the table where Rey, Prince, Neil, Zayn, and Akira were seated. As they were about to sit down, Sana went up to Prince, drawing out a jumbo-sized candy cane with a red bow wrapped around it from her backpack. “Merry Christmas, Prince,” Sana said, handing the candy cane to him.
“Seriously?” Neil said.
“Sana, how did you get this?” Prince asked, admiring the candy cane. He admired the pristine shape of the candy cane, and the peppermint smell was more defined and poignant, probably because it was way more peppermint than a normal candy cane. “The jumbo-sized candy canes are not even in any of the candy stores near here.”
“True, but they are in this shop all the way in Doveland. Thankfully, they ship here. Pretty quickly as well,” Sana said.
“Wow. This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten. Thank you,” Prince said.
“Hold it! You’re being thankful?!” Krystal exclaimed. “I’ve gifted you so many nice things and all I’ve gotten in return is your annoyance!”
“Yeah…but that’s different,” Prince said.
“Well, sugar really speaks to the guy,” Rey said.
“Only a specific kind of sugar that is,” Akira chuckled.
“Where’s Heer?” Krystal asked as she and Sana sat down.
“Coming right this way,” Zayn said.
Rey turned around to see Heer was coming their way. She was holding on tightly to a shiny red gift bag that had a snowman on it. He guessed it was her Secret Santa gift. He was curious to find out who was the recipient among the gang. Seeing her come directly to him, he said, “Are you my Secret Santa?”
“I am. It took me a while, but I finally got your present together,” Heer said as she handed the bag to Rey. “Be careful though. It’s quite fragile.”
“Eek! I’m excited!” Rey exclaimed as he carefully took the gift bag from Heer. He gently placed it on the table. He removed the tissue paper and took the object inside, which was wrapped in more tissue paper. As he carefully unwrapped it, he was astonished to see what it was. It appeared to be a snow globe, but it wasn’t an ordinary one. Inside the globe was a running tiger figurine and instead of snowflakes, the flakes appeared to be fiery. Rey was in awe of the globe. Before he could say anything, Sana said, “Wow, Heer, this is amazing.”
“Did you make it yourself?” Akira asked.
“Yeah. I’ve been working on it after school in the art room,” Heer said.
“Whoah! You made the figurine yourself?” Krystal asked. “It looks so good!”
“This is why I keep telling you to show off your work,” Neil said to Heer.
“Thanks, Heer!” Rey exclaimed as he got up from his seat and gave Heer a big hug.
“Aww, well, I’m glad you like it, Rey,” Heer said as she sat down with the others at the table. Rey wrapped the globe with the tissue paper and carefully put it back in the bag. He was stumped because he wasn’t expecting Heer to be his Secret Santa. Especially since he was also hers. He wondered what he could possibly gift her to compare to the thoughtful gift she gave him.
He wasn’t alone. Zayn was also stuck, thinking about what to gift Krystal. She seemed to be the hardest person to get a gift for. She has it all from designer clothes, jewelry, bags, shoes etc. What could you possibly give the girl who has everything? Zayn thought.
***
After school, Rey had Sana come with him for gift shopping. They stopped at every place possible from a small gift shop to the downtown Reshawna store. After much browsing, they stopped at Lola’s, one of the popular retailers in the country. As they were looking around, Rey brought a giant purple teddy bear to Sana’s attention.
“Really? That’s what you want to give her?”
“It’s cute! You’ve seen Heer. She definitely likes cute things!”
“You’ll need to get a little more creative.”
“Oh, come on. I’ve tried everything. I can at least afford something here. The only thing I could afford at Reshawna is a pen and even that was fifty dollars.”
“Look, your gift should be something meaningful. Something that comes from the heart. Heer put a lot of thought and care into her gift, so you just have to do the same for her.”
“Well, well, nice to run into you guys here.”
Sana turned along with Rey to see Akira walking towards them. She had a cart with a bunch of items in it and a bright red gift bag in her other hand.
“Hey, Akira,” Sana said. “What brings you here?”
“I wanted to get in on some shopping,” Akira said. “And since we’re here…here you go.”
“Wait, you’re Sana’s Secret Santa?” Rey asked.
“That I am,” Akira said.
“Oh, I wonder what this is,” Sana said as she took the bag from Akira and started to look inside. She pulled out a red velvet box. Once Sana opened it, she was astonished to see a gold locket with a fiery red diamond as the pendant. She remembered seeing a similar necklace in a jewelry shop a while back.
“Akira, this is beautiful!” Sana exclaimed. “It looks exactly like the one in this jewelry shop downtown.”
“That’s because it is the same one. I was with you and Krystal, remember? I had to get it,” Akira said. “I knew you liked it so much because the diamond reminds you of your own fire. So, I thought it’d be the perfect gift.”
“This looks expensive though,” Rey said.
“It was. But I bargained quite a bit and exchanged some of my old jewelry that I don’t wear anymore,” Akira said.
“Aww, thank you!” Sana exclaimed as she hugged Akira.
“No problem, girl,” Akira said as she hugged Sana back. “So, Rey, who are you shopping for?”
“I’m trying to find a gift for Heer,” Rey said.
“And you think she’s going to like a purple teddy bear? That’s cute,” Akira said.
“I said the same thing,” Sana said.
“What the hell?! You guys don’t think giant teddy bears are cute?!” Rey questioned.
“It’s not that they’re not cute. You just need to get something meaningful to her,” Akira said.
“That’s kinda hard,” Rey said. “She’s the most selfless person I’ve ever seen. I don’t think a simple gift is gonna cut it for her.”
“Well, its time you get creative,” Akira said.
“Hey, guys. Is that Zayn over there?” Sana asked.
Akira looked over the aisle, standing with both Sana and Rey. She did indeed see Zayn. He was in the jewelry section, seemingly looking at necklaces. Knowing that he never wore any jewelry aside from the same stud earrings he always had on, she assumed he was looking for a gift for Krystal.
“I wonder whose Secret Santa he is,” Rey said.
“He got Krystal,” Akira said.
“Really?” Sana asked. “I wonder what he’s going to get her.”
“She also got him. This’ll be interesting,” Akira said. “I’m gonna go surprise him. I guess I’ll see you guys later then.”
“Yeah. See ya,” Rey said.
As Akira left, Rey sighed. He spent hours looking for a gift and couldn’t find anything. Christmas was only a few days away. He knew Sana and Akira were right, but he didn’t even know how creative he could possibly get.
“What’s up with you, Rey?”
“Sana, this Secret Santa thing is hard. At this rate, I’ll never get a gift for Heer.”
“Don’t sweat it. Come on. Let’s go to the bus stop. Maybe you’ll think of an idea on the way back.”
Rey shrugged his shoulders. He followed Sana out of the store. On the other hand, Akira walked up to Zayn and said, “So, still looking for a gift?”
Zayn was startled upon hearing Akira’s voice. He turned to her and said, “Seriously?! What are you doing here?”
“Chill out. I’m just doing some shopping. What’s the matter? You don’t want anyone seeing you shop here?”
“I’m not buying anything from here anyway.”
“Why?”
“There’s nothing here that she’d like. I’m out of options. She’s just not an easy person to get a gift for.”
“Oh, come on. It can’t be that hard to find something she likes.”
“It’s not so much about what she likes and more so about what she has. She has practically everything. And whatever she doesn’t have, she has the money to get it herself.”
“Well then. I’ll tell you what I told Rey. Get creative. Maybe what you’re looking for is something that can’t be bought in a store.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
Zayn sighed as he exited the store, leaving Akira to finish her shopping. He wasn’t much of a gift giver himself. This Secret Santa thing felt more challenging than any battle or training he had ever done. And the worst part was he was running out of time.
***
The next day, it was an early morning at Ringmasters Training Academy. Sana was at her locker, getting her books for the first class of the day. As she was getting her stuff, she noticed Rey walking toward her. He looked incredibly tired which was quite unlike him. “What happened to you?” Sana asked.
“I stayed up all night trying to make a present. And I failed.”
“What exactly did you try to make?”
“All kinds of things. I tried drawing and nothing came out right. I even tried knitting and I poked my finger way too many times.”
“Did you think getting creative meant making something from scratch?”
“Well, what else could it have meant?!”
“Hold that thought. Hi, Heer!”
Rey shrieked as Heer came up to him and Sana. He didn’t want her to find out that he was her Secret Santa.
“Hi, guys. How are you all doing?” Heer asked.
“We’re doing just fine. And you?” Sana asked.
“I’m doing good,” Heer said. “Rey, are you alright? You look very tired.”
“I stayed up a little too late last night,” Rey said.
“Oh, I see. Hopefully you can get some sleep,” Heer said. “It’ll be nice once we’re all on break.”
“Yeah. Speaking of break, do you have any plans?” Sana asked.
“Well, I’m planning to visit Runa at St. Tulip’s. I thought I’d see her in the spirit of the holiday,” Heer said.
“Aww, that’ll be nice,” Sana said. “When are you going?”
“I’m heading over there tomorrow. Tomorrow’s her last day there before the holidays,” Heer said. “Anyway, I have to go talk to Aster and Tina before class. I’ll see you guys in a bit.”
“See ya,” Rey said.
Once Heer left, Sana noticed Rey’s fatigue disappear in an instant. He had a smirk on his face. It was as if he had stumbled on an idea of sorts.
“What’s with you?” Sana asked.
“I think I just got an idea for Heer’s present.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! And I’m gonna need you to help me!”
“Me? What am I supposed to do?”
“Just come with me and I’ll tell you,” Rey said as he pulled Sana by the arm, walking with her down the hallway.
***
Later in the day, at lunch, Krystal was sitting at the gang’s usual table, waiting for everyone else to arrive. As she was eating her chicken salad, she wondered what was taking everyone so long to show up. By now, at least a few of them would be here. As she kept eating, she stopped upon seeing Zayn approach the table. He looked at her and said, “Hey.”
“Hey. Where’s everyone else?”
“Well, Sana and Rey had to work on something. And Neil, Heer, Prince, and Akira are finishing up that writing assignment for Power Coordination.”
“So, it’s just us?”
“Pretty much. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Totally fine.”
Zayn sat down next to Krystal. He took a sip from his bottle of orange juice. It was getting close to Christmas, and he still had no idea what he was going to get her. He tried to think of ideas the other night and couldn’t come up with anything. Since he was with her, he wondered if talking to her could give him an idea. Before he could say anything, Krystal said, “The holidays are so nice, aren’t they?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess.”
“Really? You guess?”
“Come on. What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. I guess I should expect it from you by now that you’re not one to get excited about this time of year.”
“I’m not one to show excitement about anything to begin with.”
“That’s something we can agree on.”
Zayn found Krystal’s nonchalant attitude surprising and irritating. He knew he wasn’t one to show excitement, but he had his own way of feeling it.
“You know what does get me excited during this time?”
“What is it?”
“My mom’s favorite holiday is Christmas. Every Christmas morning, she likes to play songs on the piano.”
“Your mom plays the piano?”
“Yeah. Quite beautifully also. When I was a little kid, playing the piano early in the morning was the only thing that could get me up on Christmas morning. So, it’s become a tradition now.”
“Is there a favorite song of yours that she would play?”
“Actually yes. A very old song. Heavenly Stars.”
“Aww! I love that song!”
“It never gets old every time I hear it.”
As Zayn got back to eating his lunch, Krystal could feel an idea coming to her head. She had been struggling with figuring out a gift for Zayn. And now, she knew what to do.
***
The next day, Rey and Sana were on their way to St. Tulip’s after school. It certainly wasn’t an ordinary visit. Rey was dressed up in a Santa Claus outfit. He had the red hat, the red suit, and the black boots to match. He even made Sana get an elf costume. Of course, she wasn’t exactly ecstatic to wear it. Especially since Rey was making her carry a bunch of things along the way.
“You know, you could carry some stuff as well,” Sana said.
“I’m Santa. The elves handle all the carrying.”
“Well, Santa at least carries the sack.”
“Only when he delivers the presents to the good children. So, quit complaining and keep walking. When is Heer getting to the school again?”
“Around five. Which means we have a little less than hour till she gets there.”
“That’s perfect! We’ll be there in no time! Now, pick up the pace!”
“That’d be easier without all this baggage!”
“Quit complaining. We’re almost there.”
As annoyed as Sana was, she put her irritation to the side. She found Rey’s gesture was rather sweet. Of course, his nature was as such. But this act felt unlike anything he had ever done before in her mind.
It didn’t take long for Rey and Sana to reach St. Tulip’s. Once they entered the school, they went to the playground where Runa was at. Two kids were waving bye to her, leaving her by herself. Rey watched as Runa turned to him. Her eyes looked at him with awe. He could tell she was mesmerized.
“Rey!” Runa exclaimed as she came dashing towards him.
Rey bent down, opening his arms as Runa rushed and embraced him. He lifted her up, happy to see her.
“Look at you!” Rey exclaimed. “Do you know who I am?”
“You’re Rey.”
“No. I’m Santa! Don’t you see what I’m wearing?”
“You’re Santa?”
“Yeah! And I’m here to brighten your day! Oh, little elf, could you bring out the sleigh?”
Sana dropped the sack on the ground, pulling out a red mini sleigh. She placed the sleigh on the ground and Rey carried Runa over, seating her in it.
“All right, elf. Take her out for a ride.”
“Shouldn’t you be doing that? You’re Santa.”
“Yeah. But as an elf, it’s your job to help Santa.”
“How about we just push her together?”
“Okay, fine. But this is coming out of your paycheck, elf!”
Runa giggled as Rey and Sana got behind her, putting their hands behind the sleigh. Even Sana found herself amused, seeing Rey was taking his character seriously. With both their hands on the back of the sleigh, Rey said, “All right! Let’s go!”
Rey and Sana quickly pushed the sleigh around the playground through the nicely thick blanket of snow. As they looped around, Runa laughed as she found herself enjoying the ride. Rey couldn’t help but laugh with her as he was having just as much fun. And Sana found their joy contagious. Even though they kept looping around the playground, she didn’t find herself dizzy or tired. She was consumed by the joy that Rey and Runa were feeling.
Once they stopped, Rey went up to Runa and said, “You had a lot of fun, didn’t you?”
“Yeah!”
“Would you like some candy?”
“Candy! Yeah!”
“Alrighty! Elf, get me the candy!”
Sana went and grabbed the sack, taking out a candy cane and handing it to Rey. He presented it to Runa, and she took it, quickly nibbling on it.
“I got an idea,” Rey said. “Would you like to go on the swings with Santa?”
“Yeah!” Runa exclaimed.
Rey gave his hand to Runa, and she took it. The two dashed to the swings and sat on them, swinging back and forth together. Sana watched them and couldn’t help but smile. The warmth in their smiles was on full display. As she watched them, her attention turned to Heer, who had just arrived. Sana could tell from the look in her eyes that she was overwhelmed with joy.
“What’s all this?” Heer asked.
“This…is Rey’s Secret Santa gift to you.”
“Rey’s my Secret Santa?”
“Yeah. After you gave him such a special gift, he was struggling to figure out one for you. He dragged me to every store possible and couldn’t find anything. But when you mentioned you were visiting Runa before Christmas, he finally got an idea. He knew something from any store wouldn’t mean anything to you. And that’s because there’s nothing that brings you more joy than seeing those you love happy.”
Heer was astonished, seeing Rey and Runa swinging back and forth with merry. She understood what Rey’s gift to her was. It was bringing Runa joy for the holiday. Sana was certainly right about one thing. No gift could top the joy of seeing her loved ones happy.
As Heer was lost in her thoughts, she looked up as she felt a snowflake touch her cheek. It was starting to snow. The sight of it made her smile. She looked at Rey and Runa, who also stopped to admire the snow.
Rey quickly grabbed Runa’s hand and the two grabbed snow and quickly started packing them into balls. It didn’t take Sana long to realize what the two were doing. Rey and Runa threw snowballs at Sana and Heer. Sana laughed despite falling flat on the ground and Heer was giggling as well. Sana quickly joined in along with Heer and all four of them started a snowball fight. Sana could feel her face getting cold from all the snow, but she didn’t care. She was just in the moment.
After some time had passed, Rey quickly took Runa to the side, getting the sack from Sana. Heer watched Rey whisper something to Runa. He drew out a giant purple teddy bear from the bag and Runa grabbed hold of it. Runa dashed to Heer with the teddy bear, handing it to her.
“This is for me?” Heer asked.
“Rey told me to tell you it’s from Santa,” Runa said.
“Well, tell Santa that I like it very much,” Heer said.
“See, Sana! She does like it!” Rey exclaimed as he walked up to the others. “I told you the teddy bear was cute!”
“I thought I was your elf?! We’re using names again?!” Sana asked, chuckling.
“What’s going on here?” someone asked.
Heer turned around to see Aiden had arrived. She knew he was coming to pick up Runa. She didn’t realize how fast time had gone by.
“Well, as you can see, Santa has come to pay a visit to little Runa with his elf,” Rey said.
“Really? That’s cute,” Aiden said. “Did you have fun, Runa?”
“Yeah!” Runa exclaimed.
“That’s great,” Aiden said. “Are you ready to go?”
“Okay,” Runa said as she grabbed hold of Aiden’s hand.
“Thanks for spending time with her,” Aiden said.
“Our pleasure!” Rey exclaimed.
“What are your plans for Christmas, Aiden?” Sana asked.
“My parents are hosting for Christmas. Heer is planning to be there,” Aiden said.
“Prince is joining as well,” Heer said.
“Well, that sounds fun,” Sana said.
“It will be. Even if Neil will be pouting the entire time,” Aiden chuckled. “Happy holidays to you guys.”
“Happy holidays!” Rey exclaimed. “Bye, Runa!”
Runa waved bye to the others as she headed out with Aiden. As they were leaving, Heer turned to Rey and said, “Rey.”
“Yeah?”
“This was very thoughtful of you.”
“Aww, I just wanted you to see her smile for the holiday.”
“The teddy bear is a nice bonus as well.”
“Yes!”
Heer embraced Rey and said, “Thank you.”
Rey smiled as he hugged her back. It didn’t take long for Sana to say, “Can we make this a group hug?”
“Get in here, my little elf!” Rey exclaimed. Sana joined in, hugging both Rey and Heer. She laughed along with Rey and Heer.
“Okay, let’s get out of here before we freeze,” Rey said as he let go of Sana and Heer.
“Do you guys want to get hot cocoa?” Heer asked. “There’s a coffee shop not too far from here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Sana said.
***
On the other hand, Zayn was taking a walk by himself at Auburn Park. Once it had started snowing, he basked himself in the cold snowflakes. It made him forget why he was even here. He came for a walk, hoping that it would help him figure out an idea for Krystal’s gift. But sadly, no idea came to mind. He was just about to leave the park, feeling like he wasn’t going to get any idea whatsoever. Then, he stopped as he saw a familiar face seemingly running towards him. It was Krystal. He was surprised to see her run so frantically to him. Once she reached him, she stopped, catching her breath. He asked, “What’s up with you? Why are you running so fast? And why are you here?”
“Geez. Let me catch my breath before you ask me so many questions.”
“Oh…sorry.”
As soon as Krystal regained her breath again, she stood up straight in front of Zayn and said, “Akira told me you’d be here, so I thought I’d get here as quick as I could.”
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah. I have something for you.”
“Wait…are you my Secret Santa?”
“Guilty is charged! Now, this wasn’t easy to get done. But I finished it!”
Krystal drew out a bright green gift box from her bag that had a red bow on it. She handed it to Zayn, waiting eagerly for him to open it. He looked at the gift, curious to see what she had gotten him. Seeing the eagerness in her eyes, he removed the bow and opened the lid of the box. He took the gift out. It was a circular-shaped music box. The box was in a light shade of green with intricate beading and baroque work all around it. He opened it and a beautiful array of stars emerged along with the tune. He recognized it immediately. It was the melody to Heavenly Stars.
“How did you do this?” Zayn asked.
“Well, I went to the music shop in town. Normally it takes at least a week to finish a customized music box. But I helped the guy in the shop with finishing it.”
“Is that why you missed class today?”
“Don’t tell any of our teachers that I skipped.”
Zayn couldn’t believe it. He was astonished that Krystal went through so much just to get him a gift. He looked at her and said, “Thank you, Krystal. This might be the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me.”
“Well, I’m glad you like it! You’re certainly not an easy person to shop for.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Nice day for snow, isn’t it?”
“Certainly is. By the way, what are your plans for Christmas?”
Krystal didn’t answer this question quickly. And Zayn noticed that instantly. As she tried to find the words to explain, she simply said, “I’m staying around here.”
“Oh, your family is coming here?”
“Oh, no. I mean I’m just going to be at my penthouse downtown.”
“You mean…you’re not spending Christmas with anyone?”
“Well, my parents are actually separated. My mom doesn’t really talk to us anymore and my dad is always busy with business around this time. So, he’s usually traveling.”
“So, how long has it been since you spent Christmas with anyone?”
“Wow. I didn’t think about that. When I was little, my nanny used to spend Christmas with me. But that’s probably been a few years now.”
Seeing Krystal talk about this made Zayn surprised. He was even more surprised to see her talk about this in such a normal manner. It was like she was used to it.
“Krystal, I’m sorry.”
Zayn could tell Krystal didn’t know what to say. He even felt like he could see her eyes become glass-like. It was like tears wanted to come out, but she was holding back. She looked away for a moment. Zayn thought it was probably so she could wipe her eyes. She quickly turned back, smiled, and said, “Hey, it’s okay. I’m used to the holidays being like this. Really. It’s no big deal.”
Zayn didn’t say anything. He didn’t really know what to say. It seemed like Krystal was trying to hide her pain from him.
“Anyway, I’m glad you like your gift,” Krystal said. “I have to catch up on work that I missed the other day. I gotta hand in those assignments in the morning. I hope you have a nice Christmas.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Zayn said.
With that, Krystal took off, leaving the park while Zayn watched her leave. He felt sad for Krystal. This whole time he thought that she had everything one could possibly imagine in her hands. But he realized he was wrong. This realization did spark an idea in his mind. He quickly got out his cellphone and dialed Akira’s number. It didn’t take long for her to answer.
“Akira,” Zayn said. “We’re going to need to rearrange Christmas plans.”
***
It didn’t take long for Christmas to arrive. And on Christmas morning, Krystal woke up from her slumber and got ready for the day. She brushed her teeth and headed down to the penthouse kitchen to make breakfast. She decided to make scrambled eggs. After she finished cooking, she plated her food and sat down at the dining table to eat. The moment she started eating, she thought, Damn. These don’t taste great. Wow, I can’t even make basic scrambled eggs properly.
Krystal put down her fork and looked over the dining table. Seeing how wide and empty it was overwhelmed her. Before she could dwell on it further, her cellphone rang. She looked over, seeing it was Zayn calling. This surprised her, considering he never really called anyone. She picked up and said, “Hello?”
“Hey.”
“Hey. What’s up with you calling?”
“Can you come over?”
“Why? And where?”
“It’s important. Come to my dad’s house. I’ll send you the address.”
“But why?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here.”
Zayn quickly ended the call. Krystal was puzzled, not sure what Zayn could possibly want on Christmas morning. Especially since Akira mentioned she was spending Christmas with Zayn and his family.
Krystal went upstairs to her room, rummaging through her closet to figure out what to wear for an unexpected visit. As she went through the many clothes, she found a cute green dress that had billowy sleeves and a red bow and sash around the waist. She looked at it and thought, Well, this may be a good time to break out this dress.
***
After she got ready, Krystal walked to one of the bus stops, and took the bus heading towards the upper portion of Daredevil City. Once the bus stopped, she walked for a bit towards what was Headmaster Devil’s home. Well, it was one of his homes. Krystal walked to the doorstep of the red brick home and rang the doorbell. As she waited outside, she was amused at how festive the home was. There were inflatable snowmen on the front lawn and snowflakes hanging around the house.
Finally, it was Zayn who opened the door. Krystal was surprised to see him look so festive. He wore a wine-red suit with a snowflake brooch pinned on the black turtleneck he was wearing. He said, “Hey.”
“Hey. You look festive.”
“As do you.”
“So, what was so important that I had to come out here? I mean aren’t you celebrating Christmas with your folks?”
“Come inside and I’ll show you.”
Zayn gave her his hand. Krystal was amused. She took it and he brought her inside the house. As she entered the home, she was welcomed by Sana, Rey, Prince, Neil, Heer, and Akira, who all said, “Merry Christmas!”
Krystal was taken aback by this surprise. They were all here in their most festive outfits. Wreaths, ribbons, and decorations were hanging everywhere. Stockings with all their names hung up above the fireplace. A beautiful tree with colorful lights and ornaments stood tall with an array of gifts underneath.
“What is all of this?” Krystal asked.
“It’s Zayn’s Secret Santa gift,” Sana said.
“Hold on. You’re my Secret Santa?” Krystal asked Zayn. “How did you do all of this?”
“Zayn told me that you were alone for the holidays. So, he wanted to bring everyone together to spend Christmas with you,” Akira said.
“But didn’t you guys have your own plans?” Krystal asked.
“We rearranged them so we could spend the day with you,” Prince said.
“We couldn’t just leave you alone for the holidays,” Rey said.
“And the decorations?” Krystal asked.
“I took care of the stockings and everything else around here,” Heer said.
“I helped put up the tree,” Neil said.
“This is amazing,” Krystal said. “I actually might cry!”
“Well, you should be thanking your Secret Santa,” Akira said.
“You’re right,” Krystal said. Krystal threw her arms over Zayn, giving him a tight hug. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me!”
“Okay, lovebirds. Don’t get too mushy in front of us,” Rey said.
“Shut up!” Krystal and Zayn shouted in unison.
“Aww, they told me to shut up at the same time,” Rey said.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get this party started already,” Sana said. “I’ll get the hot cocoa.”
“And I’ll get the cookies,” Heer said.
As the others were getting settled, Krystal turned to Zayn and said, “Thank you once again. It really means a lot to me.”
“Well, you’re welcome,” Zayn said. “Don’t get used to this soft side though.”
“Ha. Sure. Whatever you say.”
Sana and Heer brought in cups of hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies for everyone. As they sat around the tree, Neil handed a green gift box to Akira. She assumed it was his Secret Santa gift. She opened the box, discovering a bright green suede jacket.
“Hold on, is this THAT jacket?” Akira asked. “The one I saw when we went to the mall that one time.”
“Luckily they had one left by the time I got the money together for it,” Neil said.
“Wow, that’s cute!” Krystal exclaimed.
“This is so nice. Thank you, Neil,” Akira said.
Prince pulled out one of the gifts, handing it to Neil. Neil opened it, discovering it to be an Artie Archer figurine, a character from his favorite TV show.
“You got me the Artie Archer figure?!” Neil exclaimed.
“I thought your candy canes were your gift to him,” Akira said.
“Well, I figured I didn’t put much thought into your first gift. So, I decided to get something else,” Prince said.
“Aww, Prince!” Neil exclaimed as he gave Prince a hug.
“You’re hugging me,” Prince said as he rolled his eyes.
Krystal laughed alone with the others. She felt great to be among her friends. The laughter, smiles, and pure joy were beautiful for her to be around. This was indeed a joyous Christmas.
The Ringmasters Society 