“Rey! Attack from your left!” Sana commanded. Late at night in Daredevil City, Sana and Rey were up against a dark beast down in the alley of St. Franken Street. This dark beast looked similar to a jaguar, with its spots being a bright red color. Rey, in his beast form, attacked the dark beast directly into the wall, holding it down as much as possible.
“Quick! Give it a fireball attack!” Sana ordered. Rey nodded as he let out a mighty roar, emitting a fireball attack at the dark beast. The dark beast fell to the ground while Sana drew out her wand, tapping it to transform it into her trishula. She spun her trishula around in the air and plunged it into the ground, sending a fiery path towards the dark beast. The flames consumed the dark beast, destroying it completely.
With that, Rey transformed back into his human form. Once he transformed back, he noticed Sana got down to the ground on her knees, looking very exhausted. Rey went towards her, lending her a hand.
“Need help?” he asked. Sana looked at Rey’s hand, grabbing it as Rey helped her get up.
“You okay?” Rey asked.
“Yeah. I’m probably just tired.”
“Let’s get back. Besides, we have classes in the morning.”
And so, Rey and Sana began to head back towards the academy. But Sana stalled for a moment, turning around to see a dark tower ahead of the city.
“Sana, what are you waiting for? Let’s go,” Rey told Sana. Sana turned back and nodded and then left along with Rey.
***
The next day, at the girls’ dorm house of the Ringmasters Training Academy, Krystal was in deep slumber in her own room. She slowly woke up, stretching out her arms as she let out a yawn. She turned to the alarm clock on her nightstand and gasped.
“Oh, damn! I overslept!” Krystal cried.
She immediately got out of bed and dashed off to the bathroom, brushing her teeth vigorously. After she did so, she opened her closet, going through the many outfits she had. She finally changed into an orange dress with a V-shaped neck and paired it with a pair of orange-colored pumps. Krystal then brushed her straight hair and grabbed her orange-colored purse, putting a granola bar inside. Krystal left her room, locking the door as she rushed down the halls, leaving the building and heading into the academy.
“Damn it. I know I’m gonna get in trouble with Professor Luna,” Krystal said as she ran down the hallway. She finally made it to the classroom, barging inside while Professor Luna was in the middle of teaching.
“Ms. D’Cruz, you are late!”
“Look, I’m sorry. My alarm didn’t ring.”
“But you certainly had the time to put on that expensive dress.”
“Hey! This is designer wear. It costs a fortune. I can’t just let such expensive clothes sit in my closet.”
“Really?! In that case, how about you start off the week with detention. You and Mr. Blake can report today after school.”
“What?! And why Prince, too?!”
“You know the rule of this school. Whatever befalls one student, the partner receives the same. Now, sit down.”
Krystal walked in frustration as she then sat down at her seat next to Prince, throwing her bag under the desk.
“Nice job, Krystal,” Prince told Krystal, rolling his eyes as he chewed on a watermelon-flavored candy cane.
“Shut up, Prince,” Krystal snapped.
“I guess I should’ve woken you up then,” Sana said to Krystal, turning around.
“You think?!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Speaking of tardiness, where are Rey and Neil?” Professor Luna asked.
Sana and Heer turned to each other. Sana knew that Heer had the same thing on her mind. Rey and Neil were up to something.
“They’re probably out sick today, Professor Luna,” Heer replied, trying to keep her cool.
“If they show up late, I’ll have more detention to give!” Professor Luna exclaimed.
Where are those morons?! Sana thought, shaking her head.
***
“So, you sure about doing this?” Rey asked Neil. Rey and Neil were standing outside of Aiden’s office in the main hall. And at this time, Aiden was alone inside, completing some work.
“Of course, I am. It’s the only way to settle the old score I got with that chump,” Neil whispered.
“I don’t know why you hate him so much.”
“That’s nothing you need to know. Are you in or not?!”
“Well, duh. I’m ready to take this guy on. I’ll be the coolest guy in the academy if I can beat the school’s mentor.”
“We’ll attack once he comes out of the office.”
At that moment, Aiden had opened the door of his office. Rey and Neil stood near the walls while Aiden walked out from the room.
As he walked, Rey shouted, “Hey, Mr. Mentor!” Puzzled, Aiden turned around, seeing Rey and Neil standing before him. “You think you’re so tough, don’t you?!”
“Oh, it’s just you idiots,” Aiden shook his head.
“Who you calling an idiot?!” Neil shouted. “Last time we couldn’t fight. But this time we’re both going to pummel you to the ground.”
“You can’t be serious,” said Aiden.
“Hell yeah we are!” Rey exclaimed. “Ready, Neil?!”
“Of course, I am!” Neil agreed as he drew out his wand, transforming it into his bow and arrow.
Rey transformed into his tiger form. Aiden maintained his guard while Rey and Neil made their way to attack. As they came towards Aiden, Headmaster Devil came before them and said, “What are you two doing?”
The sight of Headmaster Devil shocked both Rey and Neil, making them fall to the ground with a thud. Rey transformed back into his human form while Neil’s bow and arrow changed back into a wand. The two immediately got up and said, “Headmaster Devil!”
“What were you two planning on doing?” Headmaster Devil inquired.
“Us?!” Neil asked. “We weren’t doing anything!”
“Yeah! What he said!” Rey agreed.
“Really?” Headmaster Devil said. “Because it looks like you two have cut class. And you were about to attack Aiden.”
“Um,” Rey and Neil mumbled. “Well…”
“Don’t bother. You know the penalty. The two of you will report to detention along with your partners,” Headmaster Devil ordered.
“Detention?!” Neil said, shocked.
“You’re seriously going to give us detention?!” Rey asked.
“Of course. You both have broken school rules,” Headmaster Devil said. “And if you both don’t show up, I’ll see to it you get even worse punishment. Do I make myself clear?”
Rey and Neil gulped and nodded in response. Headmaster Devil walked down the hall, while Aiden followed, eyeing Neil at the same time.
“Oh, great! Now we have to go to detention!” Neil whined. “Heer won’t be happy about that.”
“Please. Sana’s going to kill me now,” Rey sighed.
***
“You moron!” Sana yelled as she smacked Rey in the head, making him crash to the floor. It was lunch time where the gang were all seated at a round table in the cafeteria. And that was when Sana and Heer were informed about the detention notice they had received from Headmaster Devil.
“Could we lose some of the violence?!” Rey shouted back at Sana as he got up.
“I should get more violent on you! How can you two be so stupid?! Never once have I gotten detention before!” Sana shouted. “The library incident was one thing. Now you repeat previous mistakes and land us with real punishment. God, you two are such idiots!”
“Did you really have to try and sneak attack Aiden?” Heer asked Neil.
“Hey, I was just going to give my lousy brother a piece of my mind,” Neil retorted.
“Well then. Looks like the whole gang is going to be at detention tonight,” Krystal said.
“This whole thing started with you anyway,” Prince told Krystal.
“Shut up! All I did was oversleep. That professor doesn’t understand the value and time put into carrying off such expensive clothes every day,” Krystal replied.
“To hell with the drama,” Prince said.
“Where is the detention room anyway?” Rey asked.
“It’s supposed to be in the basement of the school if I’m correct,” Heer answered.
“And we’re going to be there for at least two hours,” Sana sighed. “And I have a ton of homework to do for my Elemental Study class.”
“Looks like we’ll just have to get through this together,” said Krystal.
“Not looking forward to that,” Prince said quietly.
***
At the end of the school day, while students had gone back to their dorms, Sana, Rey, Krystal, Prince, Neil, and Heer headed down into the basement of the academy for their session of detention. “So, what room are we going to?” Rey asked.
“Room two,” Sana replied. The gang made their way down the hall until they reached the room. Sana was just about to open the door until it opened by itself, freaking out the others. They went inside the room. But there was nothing inside. It was just a huge empty space with white walls and a white floor.
“This is the detention room?” Neil asked. “Is this the right place?”
“That’s what it says on our detention slips,” Sana replied.
“Then why is there no one here?” Rey asked. “Or nothing here to say the least.”
“Maybe they forgot! I say we get out then!” Krystal exclaimed.
As Krystal turned to leave, the door of the room had immediately closed shut.
“Okay…this just got even weirder,” Sana said.
The group turned around as a puff of black smoke emerged within the room. As the smoke faded, they were stunned to see Aiden standing before them.
“It’s Aiden!” Krystal exclaimed.
“What’s he doing here?!” Neil asked, annoyed.
“More importantly, where is everyone getting these smoke effects for entrances?” Rey questioned.
“Um…are we in the right room?” Heer asked Aiden.
“You are,” Aiden replied.
“Then where are we supposed to sit?” Sana inquired.
“That’s not the kind of detention you all are being put in,” Aiden said.
“What are you talking about?!” Rey shouted
“Watch,” Aiden said.
Within an instant, the group was surrounded by fumes of black smoke, which made Aiden disappear as well. Everything changed within seconds. No longer were they in the same empty room. The group had been teleported into an eerie looking version of a classroom where the six of them were all strapped to seats, unable to move. Aiden stood before them in front of a blackboard, holding a pointer to the board.
“Okay seriously, am I the only one who’s wondering where these special effects are coming from?!” Rey exclaimed.
“Welcome to MY version of detention,” Aiden announced. “It’s time for you all to learn a lesson.”
It was seven o’ clock sharp in the evening at Daredevil City, one of the largest cities in New Iris, America. All the guests had gathered in the arena for a big event that was being held at one of the city’s private academies. At this academy, many civilians had arrived at what appeared to be the academy’s arena. Once all the guests were settled down in their seats, the lights went out, shrouding the area in darkness. And at that moment, three spotlights flashed into the arena, focusing on three individuals.
In the center was a girl, who was dressed in a red trench coat, a white blouse with a red bowtie, a black skirt, a pair of black boots, a pair of white gloves, and a plain round top hat. The girl had wavy medium-length hair of a raven black color that was flowy like air. She opened her bright, chocolate brown eyes, looking at everyone who had gathered in the arena.
To her right was another girl, who was dressed in a red vest over a white peasant blouse, a black ruffled skirt with gold fringes, black boots with gold bands around them, a black choker necklace, and a round top hat with a gold band around it. This girl had long, straightened brunette hair with a blonde streak that framed her face, and her hazel eyes beamed in the spotlight as she stood with a bold stance.
Lastly to the left was a boy, who was dressed in a long black trench coat, a white shirt with a gold bowtie, red pants, black boots, and a top hat with a red band around it. He was quite tall, and his light brown hair stood out underneath his top hat along with his dark green eyes that opened in the spotlight.
The three individuals bowed before the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen…welcome to the RTA, also known as the Ringmasters Training Academy,” the center girl began. “I am Sana J. Malik.”
“I am Krystal D’Cruz,” the other girl introduced.
“And I am Neil Galloway,” the boy greeted.
“And we are your ringmasters for the evening,” the trio greeted in unison.
The audience clapped and cheered as all the lights came on in the arena, dazzling the place like a movie premiere. Sana, Krystal, and Neil were now surrounded by several other performers, ready to perform with them on the stage. “Enjoy the show!” Sana told the audience.
What followed was a series of circus acts by the performers in the arena. Sana, Krystal, and Neil made their way out from the arena as a group of jugglers riding unicycles came circling their way before the audience, who watched with intrigued eyes. Once the jugglers exited, Krystal went with three tightrope walkers onto the tightrope, leading them as she pranced her way forward. She waved an umbrella in her right hand as she successfully reached the end of the rope with the other walkers as well.
Up next, Neil came upon the trapeze, positioning his legs upward as he held on from the bottom, while a second performer united with him by joining his legs in the same position. There was a balance of symmetry between the two as they held onto the trapeze for the audience to watch in amazement.
Then, Sana came back into the arena, following with two performers, who brought in a large red and white striped box with wheels attached on the bottom. Once the two performers left, Sana drew out a wand from her trench coat and tapped onto the box. Once she tapped onto it, the door of the box opened, revealing a boy who was dressed in the same attire as Neil. He had wavy medium-length hair of a dark chocolate brown color and big brown eyes that popped out as he made his entry.
Sana then looked at the audience, and closed the door of the box. She waved her wand over the box door and then tapped it again. Once the door came down, in place of the boy, was a majestic tiger. The audience clapped upon seeing the magnificent act, with some standing up in admiration.
The tiger stepped out from the box and Sana led it into the center of the arena with her wand. She then directed her wand to a series of hoops. Once she pointed to them, the hoops then caught on fire to the audience’s shock. At that moment, Sana directed the tiger towards the hoops with her wand and the tiger then made its way through the hoops, jumping through them with such remarkable ease, not letting any of the burning flames catch onto its body. By the time the tiger reached the end with success, the audience clapped.
Sana then led the tiger back into the box, closing the door. The two performers came back and took the box back inside the circus tent, while Krystal and Neil jumped into the arena next to Sana, bowing before the audience as the other performers entered in. The audience stood before them and clapped, cheering for the magnificent display of artistry. Sana, Krystal, and Neil stood proud before the audience and said, “Thank you for coming. Have a good night.”
And so, the show had ended and the guests in the audience made their way out of the arena while the circus performers headed back inside their tents backstage. Sana, Krystal, and Neil headed into the dressing room where the box was left. Sana opened the door of the box and the tiger came out. “You can change back now, Rey,” Sana told the tiger.
And at that moment, the tiger had transformed into the form of a human boy; the same human boy who first appeared in the box. And his name was the name Sana had just called him by; Rey.
“Did you see how much love I got out there?!” Rey exclaimed. “Man! I’m a star!”
“Oh, shut up, Rey,” Krystal retorted. “My umbrella dance on the tightrope was the highlight of the show and you know it.”
“Says the girl who almost tripped at the end,” Neil chuckled.
“It doesn’t matter, guys. Everyone loved the show. That’s all that’s important,” Sana said.
“Prince! Heer!” Neil called out upon seeing a boy and a girl enter the dressing room.
The boy wore a classy navy blue suit with a white shirt and black tie and had a cherry-flavored candy cane that was sticking out from his mouth. His hair was a shiny ivory black and smoothened back on the top while his eyes were of a dark brown shade. The girl wore a blue jacket over a long white dress. She had long, curly brown hair and light blue eyes. “Great job today, guys,” Heer said.
“You saw us?” Neil asked.
“Well duh, moron. We we’re watching from the first row,” Prince said, irritated.
“The show would’ve been better if we had Prince in place of Rey,” Krystal said.
“Hey! You know I was the real star of the show! The crowd was going wild when I came in!” Rey retorted.
“Students,” a voice called.
The six individuals turned around to see a middle-aged man, dressed in a black cloak with an emblem on the back of the cloak. He had pale blond hair and blue eyes that gleamed like sapphires.
“Headmaster Devil,” Sana, Rey, Krystal, Prince, Neil, and Heer said in unison as they bowed down before the man.
“A dark beast has been detected outside of the academy,” Headmaster Devil told the group.
“Are you kidding me?! Right after the show?!” Krystal complained. “I don’t have time to get my hands dirty!”
“But how did it get near here?” Rey asked.
“The gates to the academy must not have been fully closed after the guests entered,” Sana concluded.
“You know the drill,” Headmaster Devil said. “Get to work.”
“You guys go,” Krystal told Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer. “This outfit is not meant for beast slaying.”
“This goes for all of you, Krystal,” Headmaster Devil ordered. “Now get with your partners and get the job done.”
“Yes, sir!” Sana agreed.
“And just when I was getting ready to take a cat nap,” Prince said.
At that moment, Rey, Prince, and Heer had transformed within a matter of seconds into their new forms. While Rey changed back into the form of a tiger, Prince had transformed into the form of a lion, while Heer had turned into a snow leopard. And so, Sana, Krystal, and Neil took off along with Rey, Prince, and Heer in their transformed states while Headmaster Devil watched them go.
The six individuals rushed down the campus of the academy and went outside of the main entrance. Suddenly, a dark-colored beast emerged from the shadows of the night, aiming to attack. The beast had the composition of a wildcat. What really made the beast stood out was its vampire red eyes and long fangs. The six of them dodged the beast, surrounding it in circular motion. “You really picked the wrong time to call for animal control!” Krystal shouted at the beast.
“Rey, go to your right and attack it from behind!” Sana ordered Rey. Rey then went forward and jumped upward, pouncing the beast to the ground. As he tried to hold it down, the beast kicked him off into the wall.
“Heer, hit him directly!” Neil told Heer.
Heer dashed off, directly pouncing the beast into the wall to hold it down. “Krystal, you can make a move now,” Sana told Krystal.
“All right then,” Krystal said as she drew out her wand from her vest. She spun her wand around and gave it a single tap, transforming the wand into a large sized circular shaped ring in a gold color that had a big red bow with a golden bell attached to it.
“Prince, use your Sonic Roar attack! I’ll add more power with my sonic bell!” Krystal ordered.
Prince nodded and immediately let out a mighty roar, which emitted large sound waves towards the beast. Heer got out of the way, while the beast remained traumatized by the loud noises from Prince’s Sonic Roar. Krystal then rang her sonic bell and plunged it into the ground, which released a sonic boom attack that further weakened the resistance of the beast.
“I’ll make the next move,” Sana said as she took out her wand and tapped it to transform it into the grand trident known as the trishula. “Rey, attack with a fireball move!” Rey emitted a fireball attack directly from his roar, which hit the beast until it was down on the surface. Sana then jumped in, plunging her trishula into the ground, which created a ring of flames around the beast.
“I think you need some cooling off now,” Neil said as he took out his own wand. Once he tapped it, the wand turned into a blue archery bow with an icy looking arrow attached to it. He pulled the arrow onto the bow and then hit it directly at the beast, striking it in its heart. At that moment, the arrow had not only hit the beast, but it spread a coating of ice that completely froze it.
“Why in the world would you freeze it?!” Sana shook her head. “That thing would’ve burned to ashes anyway.”
“Hey! My arrows do that. They freeze targets once they’re weakened,” Neil talked back.
“Quit complaining! You can just melt it down, Sana,” said Krystal.
“Right. Rey, go ahead,” Sana ordered Rey.
Rey released another fireball attack at the frozen beast, completely melting it down until there was nothing left but its ashes. “Eww! The smell of those things once they’re dead is horrible!” Krystal cried.
“Good work, guys,” said Sana. “Looks like we can call it a day.” And so, Rey, Prince, and Heer all transformed back into their human forms. “Well, that was a good work out!” Rey exclaimed.
“Thank God that’s over. I need to take that cat nap,” said Prince. “Good night.”
***
The next day, it was a silent morning at the Ringmasters Training Academy. All the students of the academy were just entering the school from their respective dorm rooms. However, there was one boy, who for some reason was being constantly looked at as he walked down the halls of the academy.
The boy was indeed sharp looking, as he came dressed in a fine white suit with cream-colored shoes, a blue shirt, and a white necktie. His hair was even well groomed, smoothened out with small spikes coming from the top. He made his way into what was known as the Devil’s Lair, also referred to as Headmaster Devil’s office. The boy opened the door and the headmaster looked up from his desk and said, “Good morning. Please sit.”
The boy made his way to the seat in front of Headmaster Devil’s desk, crossing his legs as he sat down. “I’m glad you were able to come,” Headmaster Devil told the boy. “This is a great opportunity for you.”
“Not really for me. More for your students.”
“Right. As you know, this is the Ringmasters Training Academy, one of the most exclusive academies in the country for students who excel in the performing arts and are fit to be professional circus performers or even better, ringmasters. Now besides you, me, and the rest of the academy, everyone else in the city and beyond simply thinks this is a school for a bunch of circus artists.”
“But I know that you all have a larger purpose beyond the mere entertainment for city folk.”
“Of course you do. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come here. This academy doesn’t just train students for the circus world. A ringmaster is known as the leader of the circus and the main star of the show. But for us, there’s a different meaning. Students in this school are divided into two groups…ringmasters and human-beasts. Every ringmaster is partnered with a human-beast. The ringmasters are students who are capable of coordinating themselves and their quick thinking skills with their human-beast partners. The human-beasts are the students who are able to transform into wild animals and use their own abilities to match up to those of their partners. Every partnership is formed based on compatibility and usage of skill as each human-beast has their own special power that matches up with each ringmaster, who yields a wand that transforms into a weapon that carries the same power. All these characteristics are what make up the ideal ringmaster duo.”
“Headmaster Devil, I know the deal. You don’t need to go into all the details that have been pounded into my brain many times before even entering this building. I myself am a highly trained human-beast, so I would know how things work around here. That’s why you brought me to your school. The question is…which students are the best at capturing the dark beasts? This school can only create so many exceptional students. And by exceptional, I mean ones who are qualified for recognition in the Ringmasters Society.”
“Of course. You had to bring that up. But let’s focus on the important matters. The dark beasts are everywhere. No one knows who or what they are or where they’ve come from. Heck, no one even knows why they continue to exist. All we know is our students are the only ones who are fit to stop them from wreaking havoc across the city and other places in the world. And since you’re a highly qualified human-beast yourself, you’ll be a great example for the students to follow.”
At that moment, Headmaster Devil’s office phone rang. He immediately took the call.
“Hello?”
“Headmaster Devil, the students are seated in the auditorium for the assembly.”
“All right. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Headmaster Devil hung up the phone and got up from his seat, with the boy getting up as well. “It’s time for the presentation,” Headmaster Devil told the boy. “Shall we?”
The boy nodded his head and followed Headmaster Devil out of the office and into the halls. The two made their way towards the auditorium. Inside the auditorium, while students were getting seated, Sana, Rey, Krystal, Prince, Neil, and Heer all sat down in the first row, near the front of the stage.
“Why didn’t you wear the pink blazer I gave you?” Krystal asked Prince.
“Please. I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that color,” Prince said as he chewed on the raspberry-flavored candy cane that was in his mouth.
“Well, now look at you. You’re wearing navy blue which completely clashes with the pink ensemble I have on,” Krystal said as she pointed to her light salmon-colored blazer, pink halter top, rose pink ruffle skirt, and pink-colored pumps. “If you’re going to be my partner, at least coordinate matching colors to show it! And why must you always have those candy canes in your mouth? Christmas time is not all the time!”
“To hell with the drama,” Prince said.
“You can be so mean sometimes, Prince!” Krystal cried. “If you would at least cooperate in coordination of color combos, then we’d be the style icon duo of this school! Just imagine!”
“No one wants to imagine,” Prince mumbled as he shook his head and continued to chew on his candy cane.
“Does anyone know what this assembly is for?” Sana asked.
“From what I heard, Headmaster Devil is introducing some special guy to the school,” Rey replied.
“What makes him special?” Heer asked.
“Beats me,” Rey said. “From the rumors, I heard he’s a professional human-beast. So he’s supposed to be like a mentor at the school now.”
“Wow. Really?!” Sana asked.
“HA! I bet he’s not that good!” Neil smirked.
Then, Headmaster Devil entered onto the stage of the auditorium, heading towards the podium. All the students and professors stood up from their seats as the headmaster looked upon them. “You may all sit,” Headmaster Devil permitted. And so, everyone sat down, looking anxious as they waited for the headmaster to begin.
“Students and faculty…I am very pleased with the progress of our students at the academy. To others in the world, we may seem like a bunch of clowns or slacker circus artists. But we are more than that. And I am proud to have you all as students of the academy,” Headmaster Devil began speaking. “With time, I have begun to see that there are some of you who have the potential to qualify for the Ringmasters Society. Only the best of the best can be recognized for acceptance. For some of you, that would be a great honor. But only the most elite can make it to such a prestigious position. And now that I see students are training more and more to enhance their abilities, I would like to introduce a new addition to our academy. He is not joining us as a student…but as a mentor. He is one of the most well trained and highly skilled human-beasts in the city. In fact, he has trained all over from Europe to Asia. And so, he will provide great guidance to some of you. Please give a warm welcome for Aiden Galloway.”
While the other students clapped, Neil’s eyes beamed as his mouth dropped slightly in shock upon hearing that name. And at that moment, the boy, Aiden Galloway, made his entry onto the stage. As Aiden walked onto the stage, Sana, Rey, Krystal, Prince, and Heer all shared the same shocked face as Neil had.
“Neil! He looks exactly like you!” Krystal exclaimed.
“How is that possible?” Heer asked.
“That’s because he’s none other than my twin brother,” Neil replied as he sulked in his seat.
The others gave off surprised faces as they watched Aiden stand before the students and faculty on the stage. And it was true. He looked exactly like Neil from head to toe. And Neil wasn’t too happy to see Aiden on the stage. Sana looked up at Aiden, who gave off a stern, yet confident stance as he stood before the student body. I wonder what it’s going to be like with this guy around, Sana thought.
***
After the assembly, Sana, Rey, Neil, and Prince were walking down the hall during free period while Krystal and Heer had gone off to get breakfast in the cafeteria. “So…what do you guys think of Aiden?” Sana asked Rey, Neil, and Prince.
“I don’t think he’s so tough,” Rey replied. “I bet me and you could take him out.”
“Is he as strong as everyone says, Neil?” Sana asked Neil.
“Why should we care?!” Neil retorted. “He’s not a student here. Besides, he’s not the kind of guy to mentor anyone! I don’t know what drugs Devil was on that made him pick that guy to be a mentor here!”
“Someone’s a bit touchy,” Rey whispered to Sana.
“Typical,” Prince rolled his eyes. “A stupid tough guy who can’t stand his obviously better brother.”
“Did you say something, Prince?!” Neil said.
As the four kept walking, they stopped to see Aiden coming right in their direction. Aiden looked up, stopping as he saw the foursome together. He then turned to Neil, who glared at him in return. “You got a problem or something?!” Neil shouted at Aiden. “Quit looking at me!”
Aiden closed his eyes, smirking. “Still the same old idiot,” he said.
“What’d you say?!” Neil shouted further at Aiden.
“So, we finally come face-to-face with the school’s top dog,” Rey said. “We got thirty minutes till class starts. That’s plenty of time for a little battle. You in on this, Neil?”
“Oh, I’ll join you!” Neil agreed, fist pumping Rey in agreement.
“What?! You guys are crazy! We’ll get in trouble!” Sana exclaimed.
“Come on, Sana. We’ll take this guy out in a flash,” said Rey.
“To hell with the drama,” Prince said as he then turned away. “I’m outta here.”
“What the hell?! Why are you being such a wuss?!” Rey asked Prince as Prince began walking away from the group.
“I don’t do stupidity,” Prince replied as he continued walking with his back turned. “Later.”
“What a chicken!” Rey exclaimed. “You ready to fight?!”
“If you morons wish to get expelled, then be my guest,” Aiden replied.
“Guys, just go to class,” Sana told Rey and Neil. “Besides, we have a test for our Energy Enhancement class.”
“We have a test?!” Rey exclaimed.
“Damn it! I didn’t study!” Neil cried.
“We’ll settle this later! We gotta hit the books now!” Rey said as he and Neil dashed off down the hall.
“I’m sorry about them,” Sana apologized to Aiden. “They can be a bit of a handful.”
“Don’t be sorry. I know how my sad excuse for a brother is like,” Aiden replied. “You’re one of the first students I’ve met around here. What is your name?”
“Oh…Sana,” Sana answered. “Sana J. Malik.”
“Sana,” Aiden repeated in a quieter tone. “Well then…it’s nice to meet you. I hope to see you again.”
“Uh…sure,” Sana said.
With that, Aiden walked away, heading down the hall while Sana looked on.
***
Later on, Sana made her way to her Energy Enhancement class. She walked over to her seat, which was right next to Rey in the middle of the classroom where all the desks were set up side by side in three columns. “So I heard you met Aiden during free period,” Krystal told Sana, sitting behind her and Rey next to Prince.
“Who told you?” Rey asked Krystal, turning around.
“I did,” Prince replied. “Whenever someone does something stupid, someone has to talk about it.”
“I’m not stupid!” Neil exclaimed, sitting on the right column, next to Heer.
“Why are you so surprised about him being here?” Heer asked Neil. “He is your brother after all. Didn’t he tell you he was coming to the school?”
Neil sulked in his seat. “Let’s not talk about that,” Neil said while Heer sighed, shaking her head.
“But I saw you speaking to him alone, Sana,” Krystal said. “What was he like?”
“You spoke to him when we left?” Rey asked Sana.
“Only for a moment. Then he left,” Sana answered. “Why do you look so upset?”
“Shut up. I could care less,” Rey said, turning to the front of the classroom.
“Anyways Sana, tell me. What’s Mr. Aiden like?” Krystal asked Sana. “He may look like Neil, but somehow he’s actually more polished. There’s something charming about that guy. So, what did he talk to you about?”
“Would you shut up already?” Rey said to Krystal, turning back to her.
“Well then!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Krystal, he just asked my name and that’s all there is to it. You act as if he was ready to propose to me or something,” Sana said.
“Oh fine. Whatever you say,” Krystal said.
Once the bell rang, the teacher, Professor Luna, entered the classroom. She placed her briefcase onto her desk, brushing aside her neatly combed blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail. “All right, class. I know you were all expecting a test today. But I have decided to postpone it till tomorrow,” Professor Luna announced.
“Are you kidding me?!” Rey exclaimed. “I did fifteen minutes of cramming for nothing?!”
“Instead, we are going to discuss the importance of energy conversion during battles,” Professor Luna said as she began writing on the board. She then turned, and looked at Prince, who sat back in his seat, chewing on his raspberry-flavored candy cane while placing his feet on the desk. “Prince Blake,” Professor Luna called on Prince.
“Yeah?” Prince replied.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to put your feet on the desks?” Professor Luna said to Prince. “And why do you keep having those candy canes in your mouth during class?”
“To hell with the drama,” Prince mumbled, rolling his eyes.
“What did you say?!” Professor Luna asked Prince.
“I was just wondering why you care so much. My family has paid every damn dime to get me in this school. That makes the academy my home. So I can treat it like home. If treating it like home means chewing on my candy cane and putting my feet up, then deal with it,” Prince replied. “Besides, I do pay attention in this class.”
“He’s actually talking back,” Krystal said in a whispering voice, sounding surprised as ever.
“Is that so?! Well then, why don’t you come up before the class for my demonstration of energy conversion,” Professor Luna stated. “And I need another volunteer. Ah! Heer St. Hale! You come up with Prince to the front of the class.”
Heer nodded her head silently and went up to the front of the class along with Prince. As the two went up, Rey and Neil noticed Aiden through the window of the classroom, walking in the hall. The two looked at each other and Rey whispered, “He’s right there. Here’s our chance.”
“Rey Murgatroyd! Neil Galloway!” Professor Luna shouted. Rey and Neil turned to Professor Luna. “You think this is chatting time?! Fine then! You two can go out in the hall!”
Rey and Neil got up from their seats, giving off smirks as they left the classroom. Sana moped in her seat. I have a bad feeling those two are going to cause some trouble, Sana thought, shaking her head.
Outside of the class, Rey and Neil stepped out into the hall and hid quietly behind the pillars as Aiden was walking down the aisle. “I say we sneak attack on him,” Rey told Neil.
“Right. You can pounce on him from behind. Then I’ll make a move,” Neil added.
“Good idea!” Rey exclaimed.
“What are you two doing?!” a voice asked from behind Rey and Neil.
Rey and Neil gasped as they turned around to see Headmaster Devil standing right behind them.
“Headmaster Devil!” Rey and Neil exclaimed in unison.
“You didn’t answer my question. Why are you two out lingering in the hall?” Headmaster Devil asked.
“We were sent out of class, sir,” Neil replied.
“I see,” Headmaster Devil said. “So, what was this whole sneak attack plan you both were discussing?”
“Oh…that…um,” Rey mumbled. “We were just talking about an act…for the next circus show! Right, Neil?!”
“Right!” Neil agreed.
“Yeah, yeah. In my office,” Headmaster Devil ordered. “Let’s see what I have to do with you two idiots.”
It was noon on a Saturday in Daredevil City. Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer were at their local park where they were playing a game of basketball. Well, Heer was just watching from the comfort of the bench, working on a knitting project.
“This is what happens when you play two against one, Neil,” Rey said.
“He’s right,” Sana said.
“Heer, are you sure you don’t want to play?” Neil asked.
“I honestly wouldn’t be of much help,” Heer said as she continued knitting. “Besides, I’m almost finished with this scarf.”
Neil sighed and said, “Fine. It’s fine. Things will be even better once I actually kick your asses.”
“Keep dreaming, buddy,” Rey said.
“Come on. One more round,” Neil said.
“I’m fine with that. You’re getting ice cream for us after this,” Sana said.
Sana, Rey, and Neil commenced in another round of basketball. As they were playing, Heer went back to her knitting. As she was finishing up the ends of the scarf, she heard a buzzing sound. She looked down and saw Neil’s phone was ringing.
“Hey, Neil, I think someone is calling you,” Heer said.
“Who is it?” Neil asked as he got ready to block the shot Rey was about to make.
Heer picked up the phone, looking at the caller ID. She said, “It’s your mom.”
Neil became stunned. He turned to Heer and said, “Huh?”
And at that moment, the ball hit Neil in the head, and he fell down. Sana turned to Rey, who had a look of shock on his face. He rushed to Neil and said, “Are you okay, man?!”
“Huh?” Neil said. “I’m good. I’m good.”
“Are you sure? That was quite a hit,” Sana said.
“Um, yeah,” Neil said as he got up. “Can we go now?”
“Go?” Heer asked as she got up from the bench. “I thought you wanted to finish the game.”
“I’m good with heading out,” Neil said as he got his phone from Heer.
“Do you at least want to get ice cream?” Rey asked. “I’ll buy for you…since I hit your head.”
“No, I’d rather just go home,” Neil said as he began to head off.
“What’s with him?” Rey asked. He started to follow Neil, saying, “Hey, man! How can you say no to ice cream?!”
“Heer, who did you say was calling him again?” Sana asked.
“It was his mom. What are you thinking, Sana?”
“I’m thinking that was the reason for his sudden change in behavior.”
***
Later in the day, Neil was in his room at the boys’ dorm house. He was trying to find something to do. Something other than look at his phone. After the call from earlier, he got two more missed calls and five text messages from his mom. He didn’t open or check any of them. And staring at the assignments on his laptop didn’t help with distracting him from thinking about his mom. He got out of his seat and landed flat on his bed, sighing. Before he could figure out something to do, he heard a knock on the door.
Neil got up and hurried to the door. Once he opened it, he saw Rey was standing outside.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” Neil asked.
“Hey! We were planning on hitting up that new bowling alley at the mall. Are you coming?”
“Oh, sure thing. Let me freshen up quick.”
Neil quickly headed to the bathroom while Rey came inside. Rey looked around and said, “So, are you okay? You kinda just took off during our game.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I just had a headache,” Neil said as he washed his face.
“Must have been a hell of a headache,” Rey said as he looked over, seeing Neil’s phone ding. It was a message from his mom. Rey noticed several missed calls and messages from Neil’s mom on his phone. He’s still ignoring his mom, Rey thought. I wonder what’s up with that.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Neil said as he got out of the bathroom.
“Dude, is everything good with you and your mom? She’s texted and called you a dozen times.”
“Oh…it’s no biggie. I’ve been so busy today. I’ll call her back later.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
Neil immediately walked out of the room, leaving Rey puzzled. He had a feeling something was up, and Neil wasn’t telling him everything.
***
Later on, Rey and Neil joined Sana, Krystal, Prince, Heer, Zayn, and Akira at the bowling alley. As they were playing and munching on mozzarella sticks and churros, Rey could see Neil was still troubled. It wasn’t long till Sana and Heer both came up to him while Zayn was up to strike.
“So, did he say anything to you?” Sana asked Rey.
“No. He says it’s nothing,” Rey said.
“Do you believe him?” Heer asked.
“No,” Rey said. “He’s clearly got stuff going on in his mind. I don’t know why he’s acting like this.”
“Well, family has always been a touchy subject for him,” Heer said. “You can’t blame him for not wanting to talk about it.”
“But there’s a difference between not wanting to talk about it and acting like you’re completely fine,” Sana said.
“Hey, Neil, you ready for your turn?” Krystal asked.
Neil turned around to Krystal. He was pretty distracted, so he didn’t even hear what Krystal said. He asked, “Sorry, what did you say?”
“She asked if you want to bowl now,” Prince said.
Before Neil could say anything, his cellphone rang. He could feel the irritation boil up inside of him as he looked to see it was his mom again. He walked away and answered the phone, saying, “Can’t you understand that I don’t feel like talking, Mom?!”
“How dare you talk to me like that?! Your behavior is getting worse!”
“My behavior?!”
“Yes. You were so much better when you were younger.”
“What do you want?”
“If you read my texts, you would know. Have you figured it out yet?”
Neil sighed. He didn’t read the texts, but he knew exactly what his mom was talking about. What he couldn’t stand was his mother bringing up this conversation over a phone call.
“Hello? Can’t you say something?” Neil’s mom said.
“Isn’t this the kind of thing you talk about in person?!”
“No matter what time it’s brought up, you don’t say anything. You know people keep asking me what your future plans are. What am I supposed to say?”
“I have to go, Mom.”
“We’re not done talking, Neil!”
“Well, I am.”
Neil ended the call. He felt like throwing his phone. Then he remembered how expensive it was to get a new one. He turned around, seeing the others were looking at him, seemingly concerned. Neil grunted, feeling like he was being a damper on everyone’s fun. He went up to Rey, handing him his cellphone and said, “Take it and throw it somewhere. I’m heading back.”
As Neil took off, Krystal said, “Hold on! Neil!”
“Too late,” Prince said as Neil left.
“Whoah. That was intense,” Akira said. “I knew something was off with him, but I never guessed it was this bad.”
“You think he’s heading back to his room?” Zayn asked.
“Looks like it,” Heer said.
“No, he’s not just going back to his room,” Rey said. “I think he’s leaving the school.”
Sana was surprised to hear what Rey said. She could tell everyone else was equally surprised. She asked Rey, “What makes you say that?”
“I have a feeling. Look, I’m gonna go follow and catch up to him before it’s too late,” Rey said.
“Shouldn’t we come with you?” Heer asked.
“No, it’s better if I go alone,” Rey said as he started heading out. “I’ll keep you guys updated!”
***
Back at his room, Neil was starting to pack his backpack. Rey was right. He was leaving school. He didn’t know where he would go. He just knew he had to leave. As he packed a pair of socks in his backpack, he heard multiple knocks on his door. He sighed, knowing Rey probably followed him.
Neil opened the door to see he was right. Rey was there, sweating and panting like crazy.
“You seriously ran a marathon, didn’t you?” Neil said as he let Rey in.
“Well, duh! I had to stop you from leaving! Why won’t you just talk about what’s going on?”
“You know I hate talking about my issues!”
“Dude, that’s exactly what the problem is.”
“Oh, like you’re one to talk!”
“Dude, not cool.”
Neil sighed. He realized he was letting his emotions out on the wrong people. He turned to Rey and said, “I’m sorry. I…I just feel stressed out.”
“So, let me help with that.”
“How? Unless you can have your parents adopt me, I don’t think anything can help me right now.”
“Well, I can’t do that, but I may have something in mind.”
“What?”
“Just trust me on this. We’ll go out tomorrow early in the morning.”
“You know I hate early mornings on Sundays!”
“Well, make an exception this time around.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Just know that we’re going to go somewhere to help you clear your head.”
Rey began to head out while Neil stood by and watched him go. He was confused as to where Rey would want to take him. Rey stopped as he opened the door and said, “Don’t even try to leave before morning, or I will find you and beat your ass.”
Neil grunted at the thought of Rey challenging him. Rey left, leaving Neil alone. The anticipation of waiting till morning was annoying. But Rey was his best friend. He figured he should go ahead and trust him.
***
Early morning, Neil got ready to meet up with Rey at the front of the academy. Rey told him to only bring a few essentials with him and nothing else. He still had no idea where Rey was taking him. As he got to the front doors of the academy, Rey was already there, talking to Zayn and Akira. Sana and Heer were there as well.
“Thanks for letting me borrow your hoverbike, Zayn,” Rey said.
“Just don’t break it,” Zayn said.
“What?! You don’t trust me?!” Rey questioned.
“His hoverbike is pretty precious. I’m surprised he’s even letting you borrow it,” Akira said.
“Yeah. Why are you letting him borrow it, Zayn?” Sana asked as she held onto a hoverboard.
“Look, I’m not heartless. You said it was important, so I’m letting you borrow it,” Zayn said.
“Well, thank you,” Rey said. “Neil, are you ready?”
“Uh, yeah,” Neil said. “You still haven’t mentioned where we’re going.”
“It’s a surprise. Just know that it’ll be a safe space,” Rey said as he got on the hoverbike. “Now, hop on.”
“Are the rest of you guys coming?” Neil asked.
“Sana and I will be tagging along on hoverboards,” Heer said.
“We would come, but we got homework to catch up on,” Akira said.
“All right, we’ll see you later then,” Sana said.
With that, Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer took off, riding into the sky. Zayn and Akira waved bye to them. As they were waving, Akira looked at Zayn and said, “So, what was the real reason you lent it to him?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act clueless with me. Prince told me that Krystal practically twisted your arm to lend it to them.”
“Nonsense. So, she said something. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Are you mocking me?”
“You should know by now. Come on. Let’s get some breakfast.”
***
Later in the morning, Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer arrived in Salaar, a prominent town in the state of Aroma. It wasn’t too far from New Iris, so it didn’t take that long for the group to reach there. Neil was new to this area of the country, so seeing it for the first time was a sight to behold.
“So, can you tell me where we’re going now?” Neil asked
“You’ll know soon enough,” Rey said.
“How much longer till we land?” Sana asked.
“Coming up in a few minutes,” Rey said.
And in a few minutes, Rey led the group to land right in front of a brick red house that was amongst other alike houses in a small community. They landed right in the front yard and Rey was happy to see his parents and his sister, Alicia, standing right outside.
“Hey, Rey!” Alicia exclaimed.
“Hey, sis!” Rey waved as he parked the hoverbike.
“Wait, is this your family?” Neil asked.
“You bet,” Rey said.
“Nice to see you all again,” Sana said.
“Same to you, Sana,” Araceli said. “When Rey said he was visiting with friends, I was more than happy to accommodate.”
“Son, introduce us to your other friends,” Royce said.
Rey got off the hoverbike, immediately being hugged by Alicia. As he hugged her back, he said, “All right. I want you guys to meet Neil and Heer.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Heer said.
“Very nice to meet you,” Araceli said.
Neil was surprised. Of all the places to go to, Neil was surprised that Rey brought him to his parents’ house. Then again, it was better than visiting his own parents right now.
“Neil, are you good?” Rey said, seeing Neil space out.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Neil said. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Murgatroyd.”
“Same to you, Neil,” Royce said. “Rey, bring your friends in, and we can start brunch.”
With that, the group went inside to eat brunch with Rey’s family. Araceli had made eggs with chorizo along with tamales. As they were eating and conversing with each other, Neil couldn’t help but pay attention to how nice the atmosphere was. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had a nice family meal.
“Neil, is the food okay for you?” Araceli asked.
“Oh, yeah! It’s been a while since I had tamales this good,” Neil said. “Thank you, Mrs. Murgatroyd.”
“You’re very welcome,” Araceli said.
“I’d argue she makes the best tamales in our family,” Royce said. “Then again, some might say I’m biased.”
“Is it true that this whole community here is just your extended family?” Heer asked.
“Wait, seriously?” Neil asked.
“That’s right. We also have some other fellow Tiger Clan members here. We’ve always been a tightknit pack,” Royce said. “Though Araceli’s side of the family lives in their own community back in Mexico.”
“Wow. It’s amazing how close everyone is,” Sana said.
Hearing all of this made Neil realize how different his family was from Rey’s. It made him understand Rey’s excited nature better.
“Rey, let’s go play outside,” Alicia said as she tugged on Rey’s arm.
“Alicia, don’t you want to wait for your cousins?” Royce asked.
“Oh, who’s coming over?” Rey asked.
“Thiago, Carmen, and Triana are visiting,” Araceli said.
“All right then!” Rey exclaimed. “Ready for a piggyback ride, Alicia?”
“Yeah!” Alicia exclaimed.
Alicia immediately got on Rey’s back and he held onto her, rushing outside to the backyard as she laughed with glee.
“Be careful, you two!” Araceli exclaimed.
“We should go outside, too,” Sana said.
“You coming, Neil?” Heer asked.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Neil said.
***
Later in the day, after Rey and Alicia’s cousins arrived, it was a complete madhouse at the Murgatroyd residence. Rey and Royce were keeping Alicia and the other kids occupied. They were playing all sorts of games while Araceli was cooking dinner. Sana, Neil, and Heer were watching them have fun.
It was taking Neil back. He remembered the times that he would play such games with Aiden and Shuto after a long day of training. He took himself back to one day in a quiet winter. After completing their training, Neil and Aiden were having a snowball fight to themselves. Neil was in the middle of creating the biggest snowball he could ever make. When he got it ready, Aiden struck with three snowballs to his face, making him fall.
Neil got up and said, “No fair!”
“Ha! It’s not my fault you’re slow!”
“I’m not!”
“Yes, you are!”
As the two bickered, Shuto came in and struck them both with snowballs. Neil got up and said, “No fair, Uncle Shuto. You never said you were playing.”
“How else would I get you two to shut up?” Shuto asked.
“Neil, let’s team up and take him down!” Aiden exclaimed.
“Yeah, good idea!” Neil said.
“All right. Bring it on,” Shuto said.
Neil couldn’t believe how long ago that memory was. Sometimes he thought about how it was hard to believe there was a time where he and Aiden got along.
“Neil, are you thinking about something?” Heer asked.
“Oh, yeah. I was just remembering something from my childhood,” Neil said.
“Something good?” Sana asked.
“Actually, yes,” Neil said. “I guess seeing Rey and his dad having fun reminded me of a time in my life where things didn’t feel so bad. I’m sorry. I’m being a downer, aren’t I?”
“No. After all, there’s a reason Rey made us come here today,” Sana said.
“What is that?” Neil asked.
“He knew that you were having issues with your mom. So, he wanted to bring you to a family environment that was warm and welcoming,” Heer said.
Neil watched Rey joyfully play with his cousins. After understanding his gesture, it made him see just how great of a friend Rey was.
“Rey really takes after his dad, doesn’t he?” Sana said.
“Yeah, the resemblance is uncanny,” Heer said. “Do you think Mrs. Murgatroyd needs help in the kitchen?”
“You could go ask her,” Sana said. “I’m going to join Rey and the others.”
“Uh, Heer, I’ll come with you,” Neil said.
Heer nodded. Neil and Heer went inside the house while Sana played with the others. Once they got to the kitchen, Heer helped Araceli with cutting vegetables while Neil stood by. He wanted to talk to Araceli, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Araceli herself noticed Neil was aloof. She said, “Rey told me about your mother.”
“Oh, yeah. I figured as much.”
“He didn’t go into detail. He figured that it was up to you on how much you wanted to share.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be honest. Part of me thought that seeing you all so happy would make me jealous. But I know Rey. He wouldn’t want to make me feel that.”
“You’re right. My son has a good heart.”
“He sure does.”
“Mrs. Murgatroyd, I finished cutting. Is there anything else I can do?” Heer asked.
“No, that’s it. Thank you, Heer,” Araceli said.
Heer nodded and headed out of the kitchen to go back outside. As Neil watched Araceli get hold of the cut vegetables, he said, “Seeing them outside, I remembered this time I was playing with my brother in the snow.”
“Aah. Rey mentioned you had issues with your brother.”
“I do. Though I’ll admit…a lot of it might just be projecting…from me. I don’t know.”
“Is it related to your mother?”
“Look, I don’t know what moms are supposed to be like, but with mine, she’s always on my back. It wasn’t like that when I was a kid. It was so much easier. Now that I’m in the academy, she’s always harping about my future and how I have to have a plan. She always talks about how my brother and all my cousins know what they’re doing. And I don’t. I just…I can’t take it…”
“Do you think she’s worried and trying to help you, but ultimately it’s not helping you?”
Neil was surprised to hear Araceli ask him such a question. In his life, it felt like most of the adults he encountered never asked such thoughtful questions.
“Yeah,” Neil said. “That’s exactly how I feel.”
“Look at that. You were able to share how you felt.”
“Yeah, I did do that. So, do you have anything else to say?”
“Well, I’m a mother myself. Rey is growing up, and I think after what he’s been through, he’s trying to focus on the present.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“While the future is important, you can’t spend too much time on it. There are so many unknowns. You’re a good kid, Neil. You may not know the answers to your mother’s questions now, but you’ll figure them out in your own way. On your own pace.”
Neil could feel a lightness in himself that he hadn’t felt in a while. It was almost overwhelming. He looked at Araceli and said, “Mrs. Murgatroyd, this might be an odd request, but…would you be okay with giving me a hug?”
Araceli smiled and did just that. She hugged Neil, and the warmth of this gesture gave him peace. This was something he desperately needed.
As Araceli let Neil go, she said, “If you ever need somewhere to go, you’re always welcome here.”
Neil wiped a few small tears that came from his eyes and said, “Thank you.”
“Now, I should finish preparing dinner,” Araceli said. “How about you go outside and play with the others?”
Neil nodded, leaving the kitchen. As he went outside, he saw everyone was continuing to have so much fun. Rey stopped, looking at him. It didn’t take long for Rey to go up to him, put his arm around him and say, “You coming to play?”
It was a quiet afternoon at Ringmasters Training Academy. This wouldn’t be normal for someone like Rey or Neil, but it was the norm for Aiden. At least when Rey and Neil weren’t randomly trying to jump him during the day. Aiden got up from his office desk. He got together a bunch of papers and placed them in a file folder. Once Aiden exited his room, he headed over to Headmaster Devil’s office. As soon as he walked in, Headmaster Devil was alone to his surprise. He was instead more occupied with a book in hand.
“Is this the Tatia effect?” Aiden asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You seem to spend less time with women in here.”
“Since no one knows how to knock around here, this is no longer a good place to invite the ladies over.”
“When was it ever a good place for that?”
“Enough bickering. What do you need?”
“I have the one file you wanted me to put together for you.”
Aiden handed the file folder to Headmaster Devil. “Nice work,” Headmaster Devil said as he briefly flipped through the folder’s contents. “So, you’re with Shuto tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How are things going over there?”
“Not much has happened yet. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s a nice break from all of the work you do here. Anyway, I’ll see you next week.”
“Yeah. See you.”
Aiden left the office and let out a deep sigh.
***
The following day, Aiden reported to the Ringmasters Society building early in the morning. He grabbed an egg and cheese sandwich from the cafeteria for breakfast and headed upstairs to Shuto’s office. Before he could knock on the door, Shuto stepped out of the room and said, “Good morning, Aiden!”
“Good morning.”
“Did you already eat?”
“Yeah. I got a sandwich. What are my duties for today?”
“About that…I have a rather simple task for you today.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“Today, your task is to have fun.”
Aiden found himself puzzled. He was wondering if Shuto was messing around with him. He questioned, “Is this a joke?”
“No, it actually isn’t,” Shuto chuckled. “You see it’s been a while since I took Yashi out. Work here gets pretty hectic. So, I thought I’d take the misses for a nice day out.”
“That’s cool, but what about me?”
“That’s why I’m telling you to take the day to enjoy yourself and relax. You hardly take any time off, so here’s a chance for you to do that.”
“And do what exactly?”
“Seriously, boy? You need to get out more often. Catch a movie. Go roller skating. Anything. Just go have some fun.”
“But…”
“Look, I really have no work for you today. I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Shuto headed off while Aiden watched him leave. He couldn’t believe he had a whole day to do whatever he wanted. Normally, anyone would be elated for a day off, but he was stumped. He didn’t have a clue as to what he would do today. Aiden took the elevator and headed down to the lobby. As he was about to exit the building, he heard a voice say, “Hey, Aiden.”
Aiden turned around to see it was Haruka. She walked up to him and said, “How are you this morning?”
“Uh, I don’t know. Master Shuto gave me the day off.”
“Oh, that’s nice. It’ll be good to enjoy yourself today.”
“Not really. I have no idea how I’m going to spend my time today with no assignments or tasks to do.”
“Sweety, you’re fifteen. Save this energy for your thirties.”
Aiden sighed. He really had no idea how he was going to spend the day.
“Here’s an idea for you. Take yourself back to Daredevil City. I’m sure a bus ride there can help you pass the time.”
“I guess so. I’ll see you later then.”
As Aiden left, Haruka watched him leave. She shook her head, thinking, That boy…he really is something.
***
And so, Aiden took a bus to Daredevil City. As he was on board, he thought about what he would do while in the city. He could go to the city library, or he could go to a local coffee shop and read. Though he did think that Shuto would give him an earful for not adhering to the concept of “having fun” today. Aiden realized the best way to go about this was to treat it like an assignment. He looked at the bus schedule in his hand and noticed the next stop was Orchard Springs Park. He figured that would be a good place to start.
After some time passed, the bus stopped at Orchard Springs Park. Aiden got off and headed inside the park. As he entered, he realized it wasn’t your average park. With springtime, there were flowers blooming within all of the trees. Fallen petals covered the grass like beautiful jewels forming a necklace. Aiden thought a stroll around a peaceful place such as this would be a nice way to pass the time.
Aiden began walking around, taking note of how quiet the park was. There weren’t many people walking by, which was fairly normal for the time of day. As he continued to walk along the pathway that went through the park, he found himself at peace, but as time passed, he was bored. It wasn’t the scenery that bored him. It was the fact that he was all alone in a decently vacant park.
Aiden sat down on a bench and sighed. With no responsibilities at hand, he had no idea how to spend an entire day’s worth of free time. This sucks, Aiden thought. Is my life so bland that the only thing that I can think of doing now is work? I wonder what Neil’s doing now. It’s Friday, so class probably won’t be all day. Then again, that doesn’t stop him from skipping or anything.
Before he could get lost in more thoughts, Aiden was smacked in the head with a soccer ball. He fell off the bench as the ball rolled further away from him. As he got up, irritated, a kid about his age with short brown hair and brown eyes ran toward him with some other kids behind him. The kid shouted, “Hey, what did you do with our ball?!”
“Nothing, considering I was hit by it,” Aiden said.
“I don’t care about that. Thanks to you we lost it!”
“How exactly does that make sense?”
“If you weren’t in the way, it wouldn’t have gone so far!”
“Well, that’s a pretty stupid argument.”
“What did you say, kid?!”
This is absurd. I’m arguing with this kid over nothing. I should just go, Aiden thought.
As Aiden was about to leave, the kid shouted, “Hey, punk! Where do you think you’re going?! I’m not done talking to you!”
“Kid, I’m no punk. I certainly don’t want to waste my time with a useless argument.”
“Useless?! HA! You’re just afraid of me!”
“Listen, I’m now in a very irritable mood. So, if you want to agitate me further, you’re not going to like it. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
The kid got his fist ready and aimed to swing at Aiden. But before he could land his punch, Aiden caught his fist, surprising him. Aiden said, “I’ll say this once. You threw the ball that hit me. Therefore, you’re responsible for losing it. Not me. Your second mistake was trying to blame me for your incompetence. And thirdly, you tried to throw a punch at me when I told you I’m not to be messed with. What does that say about you? You’re a foolish little boy. Now, leave and don’t make things worse.”
Aiden released his grip on the boy’s hand. The boy looked very shaken and began to scurry away along with the other kids. Aiden sighed. He turned around and was stunned to see Shuto with Yashi at a bench not too far from him. While Yashi was seated at the bench, Shuto was standing and very clearly looking at him. Aiden couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he could certainly tell he had something to say.
***
After seeing Aiden, Shuto took him to an ice cream shop called The Scoop. He was still set on spending the day with Yashi, but she didn’t mind some time away, so he agreed to meet with her at a different park. While they stood in line, Aiden couldn’t help but wonder why Shuto had to take time away from Yashi to talk to him.
“So, what are you ordering?” Shuto asked.
“What?”
“I brought you to get ice cream. So, you’ll need to tell me what you want.”
“You brought me here to talk about me almost getting into a fight with that kid. Can’t we just get to it already?”
“Boy, I’m helping you out with this “having fun” thing since you clearly suck at it.”
Aiden was stunned. He sighed while Shuto put in an order, saying, “Hey, can I get a small scoop of Ube ice cream?”
Shuto looked over at Aiden, waiting for him to place an order. Aiden sighed and said, “I’d like a medium scoop of strawberry ice cream…with cheesecake bites.”
After getting their ice cream, Shuto and Aiden took a seat at one of the tables inside the shop. Aiden was eating the ice cream, and he was quite fond of it. He hadn’t had ice cream in ages and tasting it again felt rewarding. As he ate, Shuto said, “Enjoying it?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty great. How’s yours?”
“Very nice. You can never go wrong with Ube. So, do you want to talk about what happened back there?”
“Not really. It was simple. A stupid kid got in my face, and I told him off.”
“I know. You’re not to be blamed for how you handled it, but it seems today’s assignment is harder than anything that’s been given to you in the past.”
“Well, you’re not wrong about that.”
“Do you know why that is?”
Aiden sighed. He hadn’t really given it much thought. He took a few seconds to think before giving an answer.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve never really done the typical fun things kids do. From when Neil and I were kids, all I focused on was training.”
“Are you sure that’s it? Or do you just not remember what it was like to have fun?”
“What?”
“You don’t seem to remember that Haruka used to take you and Neil out for ice cream all the time back in those days. If they didn’t have strawberry, you’d get cookies and cream.”
“With the extra chocolate chunks. And Neil would get mad because he’d want the same thing and they only had enough for one person.”
“Yup. Haruka would make you flip a coin to see who gets it.”
“How could I have forgotten all of that? I’m like an old man.”
“Hey, respect your elders, boy!”
“Sorry, it’s just…I didn’t know how much I’ve been missing out on.”
Aiden let it all sink in. It was a lot for him to think about. And as he was processing it all, another surprise came walking in. Krystal, Zayn, and Neil walked into the shop. As soon as they walked in, Aiden could see Neil stall upon making eye contact with him. Shuto turned around to see the group and said, “Well, I think now is the perfect time for me to take off.”
“Seriously, old man?! You leave when I come in?!” Neil exclaimed.
“It’s not about you, boy,” Shuto said as he got up from the table. “Have a good day, kids.”
As Shuto left, Krystal said, “So, Aiden, what brings you here?”
“Shuto took me out for ice cream,” Aiden said. “I’ve been having a rough day.”
“Oh, yeah?!” Neil said.
“Neil, come on,” Zayn said.
“It’s okay, Zayn. So, why are you guys here?” Aiden asked.
“I was going to take Zayn out for ice cream, and Neil decided to tag along,” Krystal said.
“Why do you sound like you wanted to just go with him?” Neil asked.
“Zayn, let’s get in line,” Krystal said as she quickly got in the line with Zayn following.
Aiden was left with just Neil. He could tell Neil didn’t want to say anything. He figured he’d try to say something himself.
“So, what are you going to get?” Aiden asked Neil.
“Cookies and cream.”
“With the extra chocolate chunks?”
“You remember that?”
“I was just talking about it with Shuto. Those were the times when I used to actually have fun.”
“Geez, you sound like an old man reflecting on the mistakes of his life. Get a grip. You’re fifteen not fifty.”
Neil went in the line while Krystal sat down, holding a spoon and a cup with a scoop of raspberry swirl in it. She said, “So, what’s going on?”
“I was supposed to be doing internship stuff today, but Shuto decided to give me the day off to go learn how to have fun.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“Well, considering all I did was walk in a park, get bored, and almost get into a fight with some annoying kid, it’s been pretty bad.”
“To be fair, I think we tend to forget you’re our age.”
“That’s the problem. I don’t even act my age. Hell, Neil just told me off for acting like an old man.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say you act like an old man. Maybe you’re just very mature for your age. You’re also quite the workaholic.”
“Yeah.”
“Lucky for you, I can help you.”
“You can?”
“Yeah! Not to brag, but I’m slowly helping Zayn out of his loner boy phase. He hasn’t thanked me yet, but one day he will!”
Zayn and Neil came back to the table with their ice cream. Seeing them come back, Krystal said, “Hey, guys, why don’t we go to the beach after finishing our ice cream?”
“I’m cool with that,” Neil said.
“Same,” Zayn said.
“You coming?” Krystal asked Aiden.
“If you’re fine with it,” Aiden said.
***
And so, later on, Krystal, Zayn, Neil, and Aiden took a bus that eventually stopped at a small beach called Onyx Beach. Once they got there, Aiden could feel just how loose everything was. The way the breeze gently waved over the water, the way the shells popped out in the sand like little sparkling specks, and the way the others took in the atmosphere was all so freeing to him.
“You like it, Aiden?” Krystal asked.
Aiden turned to her and said, “It’s beautiful.”
Aiden walked closer to the water, hoping the waves would touch his feet. While Krystal and Zayn slowly walked in the sand, Neil stopped and watched Aiden. This may have been the calmest vision of him he had ever seen.
The water finally splashed at his feet. He could feel it caress him ever so gently. He let out a deep breath and thought, So, this is what peace feels like.
As he basked in the freedom he was feeling, Krystal called out and said, “Aiden, after this, do you want to go see a movie?”
Now recognizing he certainly had the time and the energy, Aiden said, “Sure.”
“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.
“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.
Hello! Normally, I’d post a story every month revolving around the characters of The Ringmasters Society. This time though, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to take the time to talk a little bit about one of my favorite characters in the series: Heer St. Hale.
When it came to creating Heer and the other characters, the most important thing was showcasing a range of characters that varied in personalities. Heer’s was certainly one that stood out amongst Sana, Rey, and the others for her softer nature (as you can hopefully see in this illustration). I won’t give too much away for those who are yet to delve into the series, but one of the things that I can say about her is that she represents strength in a way that we don’t recognize. There is much beauty in vulnerability and I think Heer represents that. Because of which, she’s one of my favorites amongst the large cast of characters in the series.
Want to learn more about Heer? Definitely check out my series, The Ringmasters Society, by clicking the Books tab on my site. And follow the site for more content! I post bonus stories with the characters and will try to post more of my illustrations and other work!
“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.
“So, any ideas what he could possibly want us for this time?” Krystal asked the others. She along with Rey, Sana, and Akira were all heading towards Headmaster Devil’s office. They were in the middle of class when they were called and if anyone wasn’t in the mood to go, it was Krystal.
“I have no clue,” Sana said.
“More specifically, why us four?” Krystal asked.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Rey said.
“Well, we’ll find out,” Akira said. “Maybe he just needs to talk to us.”
By the time they reached the door of Headmaster Devil’s office, Sana went ahead and opened it. She entered along with the others, seeing Headmaster Devil was actually not at his desk. He was watering some plants that he had sitting by the window.
“Hello there, kids,” Headmaster Devil said as he turned towards the group.
“Uh, hi,” Akira said. “Since when did you keep plants?”
“For a while now. It’s a new hobby I’ve developed,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Well, that’s nice and all, but why exactly did you call us four?” Sana asked.
“Oh, right,” Headmaster Devil said. “I have a mission for you four.”
“Mission?” Krystal asked. “Why us four specifically?”
“I’ll get to that if you let me talk,” Headmaster Devil said.
Krystal pouted as she gave a side-eye to Sana, Rey, and Akira who were seemingly chuckling at her. Headmaster Devil put his watering can down and said, “In Ringling City, there have been a strange number of disappearances occurring within Ringling High School.”
“You mean disappearances related to dark beast activity?” Sana asked.
“That’s what signs are pointing towards,” Headmaster Devil said. “The scene of every disappearance at the school has involved the discovery of residue from a spider’s web.”
“Eww. Clearly someone needs to get an exterminator,” Krystal said.
“Krystal, try to see the bigger picture here,” Headmaster Devil said, shaking his head.
“Are they all kids?” Akira asked.
“Yes. Six students have disappeared in the past two weeks,” Headmaster Devil said.
“So, what are we supposed to do then?” Rey asked.
“I want the four of you to go undercover in the school as students and investigate the situation. See if there really is a dark beast behind all of this,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Hold up. I understand going undercover, but why us four specifically? Can you at least answer that?” Krystal asked.
“Part of it was availability. But mainly I felt all four of your skills would work well together,” Headmaster Devil said. “When you get to the school, you’ll meet with the other student you’ll be working with.”
“Other student?” Sana said.
“You four will be working with a student from Crimson Phoenix,” Headmaster Devil said.
“What’s the student’s name?” Rey asked.
“The headmaster didn’t tell me,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Why?” Akira asked.
“Let’s just say she likes to mess around with me. She’s all about surprises,” Headmaster Devil said. “She did say she sent one of her best though.”
“Don’t tell me she’s one of your exes,” Krystal said.
Headmaster Devil rolled his eyes and said, “You better get going. Your mission begins tomorrow morning.”
Krystal shook her head as she walked out of the office with Sana, Rey, and Akira. Yep. Definitely one of his exes, Krystal thought.
***
The following morning, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Akira took off to Ringling City in West Viridian. Traveling didn’t take as long thanks to the hoverboards they got from school. The group landed near the building of Ringling High School. It was your average school building with a brick exterior, certainly not as big as Ringmasters Training Academy. Sana watched the students go inside the building. She turned to the others and said, “Okay, what’s the game plan?”
“Uh, aren’t we supposed to meet with the student from Crimson Phoenix?” Rey asked.
“But we don’t even know what the student looks like,” Krystal said. “Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder if Devil knows what he’s doing.”
“Honestly, I feel like the student is going to find us,” Akira said.
“How do you know?” Sana asked.
“Look,” Akira said.
Sana turned around to see a boy coming right up to them. He had dark hair with indigo highlights that was tied in short braids and golden clips on both sides of his head. He had sharp, dark eyes as well. He looked rather muscular and wore a blue tank shirt with a silver medallion over it, gold wristbands, gray trousers with golden trim, and gray boots.
“You must be Sana, right?” the boy asked.
“Yeah,” Sana said. “Are you the student we’re supposed to be meeting?”
“Yup,” the boy said. “I’m Rainer. Rainer Driskell.”
“Rain or drizzle?” Rey said.
“That wasn’t close, Rey,” Akira said.
“You’re a funny one,” Rainer said to Rey. “So, you’re the famous Rey.”
“Famous! I’m famous?!” Rey exclaimed. “Oh, hell, yeah!”
“And you two must be Krystal and Akira,” Rainer said.
“You seem to know us pretty well,” Krystal said.
“Headmaster Carmine knows how to gather intel,” Rainer said.
“How come your headmaster wouldn’t tell us about you?” Sana asked.
“Uh, let’s just say she’s an eccentric one,” Rainer said. “Anyway, I’m sure your headmaster told you guys about the job, right?”
“Yeah. Do you have a plan in mind?” Sana asked.
“Uh, I’m more of a one step at a time kind of guy,” Rainer said.
“Okay. You don’t have a plan,” Sana said.
Rainer could feel his cool guy act die in seconds. He knew Sana was right. After all, Headmaster Carmine didn’t give him too much of a plan. He also felt overwhelmed with working with RTA students. He had already heard all the stories about them.
“Sorry, that was a bit much. Maybe its best we come up with a plan together,” Sana said. “I mean that’s why we were chosen to work together, right?”
“Oh, yeah! You’re right!” Rainer said. “That’s a good start.”
“First thing we can do is figure out a way to get into the school,” Akira said.
“I got that covered,” Rainer said as he took off his backpack. He took out a few sets of uniforms. “We’re gonna need to change into these.”
Rainer handed everyone a uniform. Krystal looked at the uniform, which consisted of a white button-up shirt, red necktie, and a khaki skirt. She said, “They really make their students wear this? Why can’t schools take note from anime? At least the uniforms in those shows are cute.”
“Krystal, this is not the time to complain about fashion,” Sana said, rolling her eyes.
***
Sana, Rey, Krystal, Akira, and Rainer went inside the school and changed in the bathrooms. Once they had changed, they stepped out into the hallway. Krystal had gotten a good look at herself in the uniform, and she said, “You know…as tacky as this uniform is, I certainly pull it off.”
“Okay, now what?” Sana asked.
“Now, we just slip into one of the classes,” Rainer said. “Based off the intel I got from Headmaster Carmine, four out of the six students were from the sophomore class. The other two were juniors.”
“Okay. Maybe we should split up then,” Akira said. “One group can join a sophomore class and the other will join the juniors.”
“That’s a good idea, Akira,” Sana said. “Rey and I can join the sophomores and you guys can join the juniors.”
“Actually, I think I should team up with you, Sana,” Akira said. “I have a feeling that’ll work better. Also, Rainer, you might need to babysit these two.”
“Babysit?!” Rey exclaimed.
“You two have been known to make dumb moves every now and then,” Akira chuckled.
“Hey! I am not dumb!” Krystal exclaimed. “I happen to know five languages!”
“I never said YOU were dumb. Just that you make dumb moves,” Akira said.
“Let’s just go with that plan. I’ll go with these two,” Rainer told Akira.
Akira nodded and went off with Sana. As Krystal walked in the other direction with Rainer and Rey, she said, “I think everyone underestimates my intelligence.”
***
After Rainer figured out where the junior classes were, he led Rey and Krystal to classroom 3C right when class was about to begin. Rainer could tell the teacher, Ms. Robinson, was looking at them suspiciously. However, he managed to convince her that they were indeed new students and she had them sit all the way in the back.
Rey couldn’t help but feel a need to daydream during class. Classes at the academy were far more fun than the calculus class they found themselves in. He saw Rainer was taking notes, trying to go along with the act. He thought he should do the same, but he looked over at Krystal, who was just retouching her lip gloss. Instead, he thought about what Sana would do. She would focus on the mission and look for any clues in her surroundings.
One of the students was called by Ms. Robinson to the board. Rey immediately took note of how slowly the brunette-haired girl was walking. He couldn’t see her face as she wrote on the board, but even her hand movements were slow. What was striking was he could faintly see a strange marking on her right leg. It was miniscule, yet noticeably squiggly.
Rey looked over at Rainer and whispered, “Hey, the girl at the board has something on her leg.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s some weird marking.”
“Rey, do you have something you wish to share with the class?” Ms. Robinson asked.
Rey gulped as the other students turned towards him. “Oh, nothing. I was just discussing the equation,” Rey said. “Calc is so fascinating.”
“Ms. Krystal, are you paying attention to the board or your makeup?” Ms. Robinson asked.
Before Krystal could even say anything, the bell rang. Students started getting up and Rainer signaled to Rey and Krystal to get out as quickly as possible.
“Honestly, what’s her deal?” Krystal said as she headed out with Rey and Rainer. “Everyone needs a touchup here and there.”
“Well, let’s not focus on that,” Rainer said. “What’d you see, Rey?”
“There was a strange marking on that girl’s leg. Plus, her whole body was acting so slow. Almost like she was drained out of energy,” Rey said.
“Okay. But how does that have to do with the disappearances?” Krystal asked. “How do we know she didn’t just pull an all-nighter?”
“The marking could be a clue though,” Rainer said. “Sophomore lunch is supposed to be after the next class. Maybe we can watch her there.”
“That sounds solid,” Rey said. “What do we do till then?”
“Till then, we can slip into sophomore chemistry,” Rainer said.
“Can’t we pick a fun class for once?” Krystal asked.
***
On the other hand, Sana and Akira had exited out of the English class they were in. As they walked down the hallway, Sana stopped upon hearing her phone ring. She took it out from her backpack and saw she had received a text from Rey. Akira turned to her and said, “Something up?”
“It’s Rey. They found a girl in their class with a suspicious marking on her leg. He said we should look out for anyone with a similar marking.”
“Strange marking? Did he say anything else?”
“He also mentioned she was very low on energy.”
“Hmm. Strange markings and low energy.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking the disappearances are probably linked to a dark beast. But I don’t know what kind. Though if spider web residue was found in the disappearances, that could be it. This almost reminds me of Madame Naga.”
“You’re right. I hope its not as serious as that.”
“All right. What do you think we should do now?”
“I think we should let Rey and the others follow their lead. In the meantime, we can snoop around and look for clues.”
“Don’t you think that isn’t wise considering some faculty member could be lingering around the halls?”
“True. We just have to be stealthy about it.”
***
After a few minutes passed, Sana and Akira headed downstairs to the first floor. They hid behind a section of lockers and Akira subtlety checked the hallway. Seeing no one was around, she said, “Clear.”
Sana and Akira stepped out into the hallway. As the two walked, Sana looked around everywhere to see if anything was out of place. Her searching came to a halt when she noticed something on the floor. She bent down and picked up what appeared to be a spider web.
“Akira, check this out,” Sana said.
Akira bent down and looked at the spider web that Sana was holding in her hand.
“Well then. Either this school has a bug problem, or a dark beast of the spider variety is behind this.”
“How do we find out for sure?”
Before Akira could answer, she could hear the sound of footsteps coming near. “Someone’s coming,” Akira whispered. “Quick. In the bathroom.”
Sana and Akira quickly headed into the bathroom before they could be seen. Once inside, Sana found more spider web residue on the bathroom floor. Seeing the residue herself, Akira said, “Okay, this is definitely not just a bug problem.”
“Let’s check the stalls,” Sana said.
Sana went to the end of the bathroom, looking at each stall. Akira went to one on the other end. She saw nothing, but as she turned to head back, she could feel something strange on the floor. She stepped on the floor again, hearing a creaking sound.
“Sana, get over here,” Akira said.
Sana walked over to the stall that Akira was at. Akira looked at her and said, “I think there’s something up with the floor here.”
Sana looked down at the tiled floor where Akira was standing. She pressed her foot against it, feeling an odd shaking sensation from it. She bent down and looked closely at the tiles. The more she looked at them, the more she noticed they weren’t fully pressed into the floor. Sana pulled at the tiles, taking them completely out. What was left was a big hole that seemingly led to the basement.
“So, does this qualify as a clue?” Akira asked.
“I would say yes. Unless this school is seriously behind on maintenance.”
“Well then…I say we go down and see where it takes us.”
Akira nodded. Sana slowly got down and jumped through the hole with Akira following her. Sana was about to walk ahead till Akira said, “Wait. We could be walking into enemy territory.”
“Yeah?”
“So, we should make ourselves discrete. I’ll transform into my siren form and carry you. No one will hear our footsteps then.”
“Aah, I gotcha. Sounds good.”
Akira proceeded to transform. Her golden glow enclosed her body and faded once she was in her siren form. She flapped her wings and began to fly, carrying Sana by holding onto her shoulders. Now they had a real search ahead of them.
***
Later on, in chemistry class, Rainer, Rey, and Krystal were seated in the back. They all continued to blend in, working on an experiment just like the rest of the class. Rainer was in the middle of mixing a solution when he asked Rey, “Hey, can you give me some water?”
With no response, Rainer turned to Rey, seeing he looked distracted.
“Rey, what’s up?”
“I smell something weird.”
Suddenly, puffs of smoke were emerging around the classroom. The smoke alarm went off and the teacher seemed to be caught off guard.
“Everyone! Exit the classroom and evacuate the building,” the teacher ordered.
Students began following the teacher out of the classroom, one after the other. Rainer, Rey, and Krystal headed towards the door. Rey tried to open it, but it was seemingly locked.
“Rey, lets go!” Krystal exclaimed.
“I can’t. The door won’t budge,” Rey said.
“Hold up. Why do I have a feeling there’s something in here with us?” Rainer asked.
Rey could feel what Rainer was feeling. He turned around and realized he was right. “Guys, look,” Rey said.
Rainer and Krystal turned around. Before Rey and the others was a woman. She had dark hair tied in a top bun, purple eyes, and a devilish smirk. Her pale gray skin glistened in the sunlight from outside along with the black gown she was wearing. The most eye-catching thing had to be the shiny red pendant she was wearing.
“So, you’re the kids snooping around on what I’m doing here,” the woman said.
“Damn. She found out what we were doing, and we’ve never even seen her,” Rey said.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Rainer asked.
“I don’t owe you my name, but I can tell you what they used to call me back in the day,” the woman said. “They call me the Spider Queen.”
“Uh, not in that outfit, honey,” Krystal said.
“As for what I’m doing, your friends downstairs seemed to have gotten the idea and I don’t like repeating myself,” the Spider Queen said.
“She got to Sana and Akira,” Krystal said, preparing herself by drawing out her wand. “She means business then!”
“Well, I say we show her a thing or two, guys!” Rey exclaimed.
“Don’t mind me if I do as well,” the Spider Queen said as her eyes glowed bright red.
Suddenly, several large spiders emerged from the sinks of the desks. The sight of them made Krystal shriek, “Eww! Spiders are one thing. But spiders in water is just nasty!”
“This is gonna be hard without Sana by my side, but we gotta attack!” Rey exclaimed as he transformed into his tiger form.
As the spiders made their way towards them, Krystal and Rey got into action. Krystal launched one sound beam after the other towards the spiders while Rey launched fireballs. It was all seemingly going just fine till Rey stopped and looked at Rainer. He had transformed his wand into what looked like a winged sword. But he was just standing there, seemingly frozen as he looked at his sword. Rey transformed back and said, “Rainer! What’s up with you?”
Rey immediately got attacked by a swarm of spiders. As he tried to fend them off, Krystal rushed in to help. But she too was ambushed by them.
“Ugh! Get these nasty things off me!” Krystal cried as she tried to hit them with her sonic bell.
The Spider Queen held out her hand turning it to signal the spiders. They started shooting webs at Rainer, enclosing his body. She began to head towards the door, and she said, “It seems my work is done. It’d be best if you leave yourselves out from this point.”
With the Spider Queen gone, Rainer realized he had to get out and help Rey and Krystal. He quickly tried to raise his arms and said, “Come on. Come on.”
His golden wristbands began to glow brightly. As he emerged from the webs, he concentrated the energy in his hands, and he created a giant sphere of water. He launched the sphere towards the spiders, washing them away. In the process, Rey and Krystal got wet as well. The spiders had all disintegrated one after the other. Krystal slowly got up and said, “You know, for once, I’m not mad that my outfit is ruined.”
“Uh, you hated the uniform anyway,” Rey said as he got up. “Damn. We’re soaking.”
“Sorry, guys,” Rainer said. “I messed up.”
“No, no! You just saved us right now!” Rey exclaimed. “Also, that move you just did was really cool! How’d you-”
“Guys, we need to get to Sana and Akira!” Krystal exclaimed.
“Oh, right! Let’s go!” Rey said.
The trio headed out through the door. By the time they got to the hall, Sana and Akira were right there. Rey was shocked to see them both. Akira was holding onto Sana, who was seemingly injured.
“Sana! Are you okay?” Rey asked.
“We’re fine, honestly,” Sana said.
“Fine?! That Spider Queen injured her leg,” Akira said. “Judging by the way you guys look, it seems she got to you as well.”
“Damn it! My hair is frizzing, isn’t it?!” Krystal cried.
“Look, we need to get out of here and find a safe spot to retreat,” Akira said.
“There’s a small park down the street. Its usually not crowded,” Rainer said.
“Let’s go there then!” Rey said as he helped Akira with holding Sana.
***
Rainer led everyone to Rowling Park. The park was indeed quiet. Hardly anyone was present there. Once they were there, Rey and Akira helped Sana sit down on one of the benches. Krystal took a spare scarf she had with her and used it to tie around Sana’s leg.
“How did it happen?” Rey asked.
“The Spider Queen used one of her spider legs to pierce Sana’s leg in combat,” Akira said.
“Hold on. She can transform herself?!” Rey exclaimed.
“We found her in the basement of the school. There’s an abandoned room where she’s keeping the missing students,” Sana said. “It looks like she’s using their energy to fuel her powers.”
“What the hell?” Rey said.
“This is absurd. I’m gonna call Devil and find out if he has any intel on this Spider Queen,” Krystal said as she started dialing Headmaster Devil’s number on her phone. “There’s gotta be something we’re not getting here.”
Krystal’s call was indeed answered. But instead of Headmaster Devil appearing on the screen, it was Zayn.
“Zayn?!” Krystal exclaimed. “Why are you answering?!”
“Uh, hi to you, too,” Zayn said.
“What’s up, man?” Rey asked as he walked over to see Zayn on Krystal’s phone screen.
“Uh, nothing much. I just needed to get something from the office,” Zayn said.
Zayn handed the phone to Headmaster Devil. Once he was on, he said, “Krystal, how are things going with the mission?”
“Well, a lot of stuff has happened today,” Krystal said. “I need to know if you know anything about someone named the Spider Queen.”
“The Spider Queen? You ran into her?” Headmaster Devil asked.
“So, you know her?” Rey asked.
“Yes. But her name hasn’t come up in a long time. She went off the radar years ago,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Who was she?” Krystal asked.
“She was a notorious dark beast. Not as powerful as Madame Naga, but definitely similar in abilities. After she was defeated by a ringmaster from the Ringmasters Society, she was never heard from again,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Wait. Maybe this ringmaster that defeated her took away a lot of her power,” Sana said. “That’s why she’s using the kids to fuel her power. She’s trying to regain it.”
“But how could she do that?” Akira asked.
As the others were pondering, Rey thought on it for a moment. He suddenly remembered something and said, “Maybe it has something to do with that red pendant she was wearing.”
“Oh! The pendant must be what draws out the energy from the humans,” Krystal said. “But why go after regular kids?”
“It’d be easier for her to swallow energy from normal humans than ringmasters or human-beasts,” Headmaster Devil said.
“Are the kids still in the basement?” Rey asked Sana and Akira.
“They are. But their energy has already been taken. We need to find her and break the pendant. I’m pretty sure that’s the only way we can restore their energies,” Sana said.
“Well, you’d have to find out where she’s heading to do that,” Headmaster Devil said. “Krystal, send me her description details and I can see if I can get any intel on her location.”
“Sure thing,” Krystal said.
Headmaster Devil ended the call. While Krystal was preparing to send details, Rey took note of Rainer. He was sitting on a bench by himself, and he was awfully quiet for a while. He noticed Rainer was looking at his winged sword. Rey wondered why he didn’t use it when they were fighting the Spider Queen. Something about it seemed to bother Rainer.
“Rainer’s been pretty down,” Rey said.
“I noticed. Do you know what’s wrong?” Sana asked.
“Not exactly. But he keeps looking at the sword,” Rey said.
“I wonder why he has it if he doesn’t even use it in battle,” Krystal said.
“Well, someone should go talk to him,” Akira said. “To work better as a team, we have to understand each other’s emotions.”
“Akira has a point. I’m gonna go talk to him,” Rey said.
Rey got up and walked over to where Rainer was sitting. He could tell Rainer wasn’t even aware that he was coming. Rey said, “That’s a nice sword you got there.”
“Oh, thanks,” Rainer said, startled upon hearing Rey’s voice.
“I gotta ask…that trick you did back there was really cool. Do your wristbands allow you to control water?”
“Yeah. They help me concentrate my water energy.”
“That’s cool. If you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you use your sword back there?”
Rainer wasn’t surprised that Rey would ask this question. After all, he couldn’t stop looking at his sword. Rey sat next to him as he pondered over how to respond.
“I understand if you don’t wanna talk about it,” Rey said. “I wanted to ask because it seems to bother you. I know we just met and all, but you’re a cool dude and I really think we could be good friends.”
“And we want to help you if we can,” Sana said.
Rainer looked up to see Sana, Krystal, and Akira had come by as well. Seeing all the support around him, he felt as though he could trust the others.
“Okay. This sword isn’t any ordinary ringmaster weapon,” Rainer said. “It’s the legendary sword of Shango.”
“Sword of Shango?” Sana said.
“Yeah. According to my ancestors, the sword belonged to Shango, the ultimate thunder ringmaster,” Rainer said.
“Thunder! You have water and thunder powers?!” Rey asked.
“Yeah. This sword has been passed down in my family for generations. For every generation, a worthy successor is chosen. This time it was me. My dad gave it to me recently. We had a whole ceremony as per tradition,” Rainer said.
“I see. So, it’s a lot to handle, isn’t it?” Akira asked.
“The power of this sword brings a lot of pressure along with it,” Rainer said.
“By any chance, do you mean family pressure?” Krystal asked.
“Oh, yeah. The elders had a lot to say about my dad’s decision. Of course, nothing beats the fact that my mom was against it,” Rainer said.
“Your mom?” Akira said.
“Yeah. There’s some history there. Not the good kind,” Rainer said. “Even though she and my dad aren’t together anymore, I still see her. And every time, it just gets worse.”
“That bad, huh?” Rey said.
“She didn’t even speak to me at the ceremony,” Rainer said. “And she waits a whole week later to send me a message explaining why she didn’t speak to me.”
“Wow. Mother of the year,” Krystal said.
Hearing the little bit of Rainer’s history with his family made Rey put things together. He looked at Sana and from the way she looked at him, even she could understand where he was coming from.
“So, your mother and the pressure from your family is making you doubt your worthiness of wielding the sword?” Rey asked.
“Pretty much. I haven’t even talked to the sword,” Rainer said.
“The sword talks?” Akira asked.
“When Shango died, he sealed his spirit in his sword so he could live on with every swordsman after. Kinda like a guide I guess,” Rainer said.
“Hey, isn’t that similar to your zodiac wand, Krystal?” Sana asked.
“I guess so,” Krystal said.
“Rainer, I may not have known you for long, but I think you’re a cool and capable guy,” Rey said. “You gotta believe in yourself, man! You got this!”
“You really think so?” Rainer asked.
“Definitely. You totally saved us back there. It may have messed up my hair, but a bad hair day is worth it when you’re still in one piece,” Krystal said.
“Your headmaster sent you here for a reason. She believed in you. You just have to have faith in yourself,” Sana said.
“I don’t know how this sword works. But if you trust in yourself, I’m sure the sword will trust you,” Akira said.
Rainer looked back at his sword. The golden wings on its hilt and its shiny sheen captivated him. He felt something different when looking at the sword this time. It was elation. He felt a sudden drive in him that he didn’t feel before.
Rainer stood up from the bench. He could tell the others were looking at him, possibly wondering what was on his mind. He turned to them and said, “Thank you, guys. I’m ready to get down to business.”
“Yeah! That’s what we like to hear!” Rey exclaimed.
“All right. We have to figure out where the Spider Queen is heading,” Akira said. “Sana and I didn’t get much insight from when we ran into her. That means we’ll have to use our brains and figure this out.”
“Well, let’s start with the basics. Why would she go to this school in the first place?” Sana asked. “One thing I can think of is that this school has the largest student body in the state. That aside, students are easy victims.”
“How so?” Rainer asked.
“They’re easier to get to. Remember those spiders she summons? I’m pretty sure she’d have them bite the students she chose as victims. Once they were bitten, they’d be vulnerable enough for her to abduct them and drain their energy,” Sana said.
“Those are good points,” Akira said. “But why did she leave the school entirely then if it was her perfect pool for victims?”
“Maybe because we caught onto her plan?” Rey asked.
“Seems too simple,” Rainer said.
As the others were trying to figure things out, Krystal said, “Oh my gosh! I got it! I know where the Spider Queen is!”
“You do?” Akira asked.
“Yes! I know the exact place she’d be heading,” Krystal said. “You said the reason she came to this school was because of the large population, right?”
“Yeah,” Sana said.
“Well, I happen to know that Akshay Arora is having a show tonight in Ringling City to showcase his upcoming summer collection,” Krystal said. “It’s the perfect place to nab victims.”
“Why would the Spider Queen go to a fashion show?” Rey asked.
“Hello?! Plenty of young celebrities, socialites, and personalities are all seated in one area. Its an easy way for her to get a bunch of victims all at once with her spiders and snuff out their energy,” Krystal said.
Sana looked at the others, who were just as surprised as her. She couldn’t believe it. “Krystal, you may actually be on to something,” she said.
“I always knew my knowledge of fashion would get me somewhere,” Krystal said as she flipped her hair.
“So, we just go to this fashion show and stop the Spider Queen,” Rey said.
“Its not that easy, Rey. You have to be invited to those shows,” Akira said.
“And we need a proper plan,” Sana said.
“Well, when it comes to fashion, I have my ways,” Krystal said.
“And I think I can come up with a plan,” Rainer said.
***
In downtown Ringling City, the Akshay Arora show was being held at 21st Tower. Attendees were entering one after the other. And Krystal was determined to get the group in. The plan was in motion. While Rainer was planning to enter the building from the opposite side, Krystal was in charge of getting the others inside the show. It only took her a few hours prior to the show, but she was able to make a legit invitation for them to get in and she went the extra mile by creating matching outfits for them all to wear. The outfits had a red and teal color palette with variations on the same design. Krystal’s was a dress with over-the-knee boots, Rey’s was a set with a jacket and shorts, Sana’s was a one shoulder jumpsuit, and Akira’s was a cropped jacket with a matching skirt. The four of them were standing in line to enter the building for the show.
“I gotta hand it to you, Krystal. I’m liking these outfits,” Sana said.
“Though why do we look like a band?” Akira asked.
“That’s because for tonight, we are,” Krystal said, handing the invite she made to Akira.
Rey looked over to see what was on the invite. After reading it, he said, “We’re Ringmaster Pop? What kind of dumb name is that?”
“Its not dumb!” Krystal exclaimed. “It’s not like you have my creativity, Rey.”
“What creativity?! The name sounds like something a bunch of wannabe kids trying to act like pop stars would come up with,” Rey said.
“Dude, let it go. We need to focus on the task at hand,” Akira said.
“Rainer just messaged me,” Sana said, looking at her phone. “He says he’s in the building.”
“Good. Once we’re in, things will really go into motion,” Krystal said.
“You mean IF we get in,” Rey said.
Krystal put her annoyance to the side as she stepped forward in line with the others following. She handed the invitation to the security guard. After looking at it, he said, “Ringmaster Pop?”
“We’re very popular in France,” Krystal said.
“Oh, I’ll have to check you guys out,” the security guard said. “You can come in.”
Krystal smirked as she led the others inside the building. She turned to Rey and said, “What was that you said, Rey? You eating those words now?”
“Shut up,” Rey said. “Now what?”
“We have to be on the lookout for the Spider Queen,” Akira said. “I’m guessing she’ll be in the audience.”
“Rainer needs us to signal him when we spot her,” Sana said. “I think we should split up to cover the area of the room.”
With everyone in agreement, Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Akira split up, going in different directions to cover the whole space. Sana headed to the far-right corner. As she walked by, she stopped, seeing the Spider Queen was seated in the back at the end of the row. She quickly typed a message on her phone for everyone that read, “Found her. Stay in your positions.”
Sana notified Rainer of the sighting. Rainer was waiting in the balcony. He looked down at the audience, finding the spot where the Spider Queen was at. He bent down and drew out his wand, transforming it into the winged sword. The show had just started. Music was playing and the first model started walking the runway.
Rainer kept a close eye on the Spider Queen. He had to wait and see her make a move. He held tightly onto his sword. He looked at it and said, “Shango, if I need you, are you there?”
After a few seconds, Rainer wasn’t sure if Shango could hear him or if he was just talking to himself. But he wanted to put all his doubts aside. Suddenly, the sword’s blade began to glow. He also heard a faint yes. Rainer looked back at the audience and could see that the Spider Queen was getting ready to move, her pendant beginning to glow. Before she could summon her spiders to do their dirty work, Rainer raised his sword and a bright bolt of lightning emerged from the blade, hitting directly at the ceiling lights. The lights in the room went out and everything went dark. Audience members began to murmur amongst themselves. It didn’t take long for people to exit the area in masses. Once everyone was gone, Rainer raised his sword again, using the massive electric sparks from the blade to light up the space and bring back the electricity in the room. He could see Rey, Sana, Krystal, and Akira were together, standing on the runway. And not too far from them was the Spider Queen, who looked directly at Rainer.
“I should’ve made sure you were dead back there,” the Spider Queen said.
“Bet you didn’t count on this,” Rey smirked.
“There’s nothing to count on with a bunch of weaklings like yourselves,” the Spider Queen said.
“Let’s see if you still say that when we beat your ass this time,” Akira said.
“Everyone, go!” Sana exclaimed as she transformed her wand into her trishula.
Krystal got out her sonic bell while Rey and Akira transformed. The Spider Queen’s eyes glowed red and she unleashed her spiders towards Sana and the others. Sana turned to everyone and said, “Remember the goal. Don’t get too distracted by the spiders.”
Everyone nodded. Sana and Rey joined together taking on as many spiders with their fire combinations while Krystal used her sonic bell on them. Akira noticed Rainer still standing at the balcony. She flew over to him and said, “Aren’t you coming down?”
“You heard, Sana. We have to focus on getting that pendant,” Rainer said as he looked at the Spider Queen.
“We can’t all go after her at once. Not with those spiders.”
Rainer noticed that Sana, Rey, and Krystal were trying to take down spiders and get to the Spider Queen, but she just kept summoning more to get in their way. It seemed like they would keep coming no matter how many times they try to get to her. But then, something clicked.
“I have an idea. You’ll have to trust my lead.”
“Go for it.”
Rainer raised his sword up again, knocking out the lights in the room. The Spider Queen said, “This trick is an old one.”
“Is it?” Rainer asked.
Rainer illuminated the room again with his sword with Akira flapping her wings and launching a strong gust of sand towards the Spider Queen. “Now, guys!” Akira called to Sana, Rey, and Krystal.
Krystal launched a sound beam from her sonic bell at the Spider Queen. The Spider Queen deflected it with a dark energy beam from her hand. Rey went ahead and attacked her directly by pouncing at her. The Spider Queen pushed him off, making him hit into Sana.
Rainer once again turned off the light with his sword. This became a back-and-forth tactic he used so the others could continue to attack her directly. It didn’t take long for her to get agitated. She unleashed her spider legs from her back. Suddenly, she became a much larger presence.
“Damn,” Rainer said.
Along with the Spider Queen’s upgrade, there were still many of her spiders surrounding the group. The Spider Queen pinned Krystal to the ground by one her legs. Sana wanted to help her, but she knew she had to do something about the spiders. She looked at Rey, who nodded back at her. The two charged towards the spiders with Sana charging her fiery trishula through them and Rey launching one fireball after the other. Rainer looked at Akira, who nodded back at him.
“Krystal, I know its hard, but you have to ring your sonic bell,” Akira said.
“Ha! Like that’s going to stop me!” the Spider Queen laughed.
“Worth a shot,” Krystal grunted as she rang her sonic bell.
With the sonic bell’s sound, Akira aligned with it using her singing voice. The sound waves of her voice and Krystal’s sonic bell were able to freeze the Spider Queen in her tracks. It was just what Akira needed. Akira released the ribbons from both her arms and tied them around the Spider Queen’s legs, bringing her down to the ground. As she fell, the ribbons released and got back onto Akira’s arms, and she kicked the Spider Queen in the face.
With the Spider Queen down, Rainer took this as the opportunity to make a move. Seeing Sana and Rey taking out spiders and Akira and Krystal getting up, he said, “Guys, I need you to take cover!”
They quickly got out of the way and Rainer concentrated his energy through his wristbands. He launched a massive stream of water from his hands that hit the Spider Queen and all her spiders. Using this as a distraction, he grabbed hold of his sword and jumped off the balcony as the wings on the sword began to glow. He was flying. The sword allowed him to make his way towards the Spider Queen. With a clear shot at the pendant, he channeled everything into the blade, the electricity building up on it. Once he got near, he plunged the sword into the Spider Queen’s pendant, breaking it and sending a shock of lightning into her body.
The Spider Queen screamed in agony as she was struck by the lightning and the energy from her body began to get pulled out. Rainer stepped back along with the others as the spiders, the pendant, and the Spider Queen all disintegrated at once.
Shocked at his victory, Rainer fell to his knees. He felt pretty tired. Rey transformed back into his human form and said, “Way to go, Rainer!”
“Yeah, you totally saved the day!” Krystal exclaimed. “I can’t believe your sword lets you fly.”
“Great job,” Sana said.
“No. We all did a great job,” Rainer said as he got up. “I definitely couldn’t have done this without you guys.”
“Aww, come here!” Rey exclaimed as he gave Rainer a tight hug.
“Guys, the moment is nice and all, but we should really check on the students back at the school,” Akira said.
“That’s right!” Sana exclaimed. “Let’s go!”
***
After some time had passed, Sana, Rey, Krystal, Akira, and Rainer headed back to Ringling High School. They found the students in the basement, and they all had their energy restored. With them safe, they helped them get back to their homes safely. To treat themselves to a job well done, they decided to go to a restaurant called Bobby’s. Rainer chose it as he was a big fan of their chicken wings.
“Damn. How many wings have you had already?” Krystal asked Rainer.
“Oh, come on. He deserves it for how well he did today,” Akira said.
“Believe it or not, this is the way I like to treat myself,” Rainer said. “Well, this and a good night of gaming.”
“No way! Dude, we should totally game together sometime!” Rey exclaimed.
“I’m down,” Rainer said.
“You know, as crazy as this job was, it was great having you on board, Rainer,” Sana said.
“Same here,” Rainer said. “We’ll definitely be seeing each other again.”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Rey said.
“And hey, next time, you guys will have to meet my partner back at the academy. She’s awesome,” Rainer said.
As the group were laughing and talking amongst themselves, Rey was feeling stoked. Him and the others now had a new friend in Rainer. And he had a feeling there was more to look forward to in the future.
“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 