writers – Page 3 – The Ringmasters Society

2. Loose in the Library

February 15, 2025 imeryli

It was mid-afternoon. The halls of Ringmasters Training Academy were dead silent. And the only thing that could be heard was the sound of Headmaster Devil’s footsteps as he walked down the hall, clacking his fancy dress shoes against the floors with Rey and Neil following him. The two were feeling very intimidated as they entered the office. As the two came inside, they expected to come into a scary looking place resembling hell. After all, this office was often referred to as the Devil’s Lair. And such a name for a mere room would scream of flames, demons, and possibly lingering souls.

But when they looked inside, their mouths dropped wide open at what they saw. Right by Headmaster Devil’s desk was a tall, elegant looking woman who wore a high slit dress in black that had long sleeved lacey sleeves. She had beautiful shiny red hair and her lips were bright red. She stood proud like the beauty that she was as she tapped her long red finger nails on the desk. And Rey and Neil couldn’t stop staring at her. Headmaster Devil went up to the woman and said, “Shaina! What are you doing here?!”

“You told me to wait for you, sweetheart. And that’s what I’ve been doing for the past ten minutes. This is how you treat your girlfriend?” the woman retorted.

“Girlfriend?!” Neil exclaimed.

“What a player. The rumors are true then,” said Rey.

“What rumors?” Neil asked.

“Everyone’s been talking about how Headmaster Devil’s never been married. People think it’s because he spends his time with women in his office every day,” Rey whispered to Neil.

“Shaina, we’ll meet up later tonight. I have business to take care of,” Headmaster Devil told Shaina, holding her soft hand. “Okay?”

“All right. Anything for you, Devil,” Shaina smirked. “Give me a call when you’re free.”

With that, Shaina flipped her hair and made her way out of the office while Rey and Neil looked on. “Hey! What are you boys looking at?!” Headmaster Devil asked Rey and Neil, seeing them eyeing Shaina.

“Nothing, sir!” Rey and Neil replied in unison.

“Yeah right. I know. She’s quite a beauty. But she’s not for your eyes to stare at,” Headmaster Devil shouted. “Now sit.”

And with that, Rey and Neil sat down in the chairs that were provided in front of

Headmaster Devil’s desk. Headmaster Devil then made his way to his desk, sitting in his throne-like chair. He looked at both Rey and Neil, glaring down upon both of them while the two boys gulped as they sat in the chairs. He then drew out a jug of orange juice from a mini fridge that was behind the desk, and took out two glasses, pouring some juice.

“Have some orange juice,” Headmaster Devil told Rey and Neil.

“Yes, sir!” Neil obeyed, taking the glass of juice from Headmaster Devil.

“Uh…no thanks,” Rey said.

“Why?” Headmaster Devil asked.

“I really don’t want,” Rey said, turning away.

“It’s Vitamin C. Take it,” Headmaster Devil said.

“Um, sir. Rey doesn’t like orange juice,” Neil intervened.

“Like?! Forget like! I hate it!” Rey cried.

“Oh…fine then,” Headmaster Devil said as he pushed the jug aside, continuing to keep an eye on Rey and Neil.

Man! For a player, he can be really intimidating, Neil thought.

I wonder if Shaina has a younger sister, Rey wondered. But I don’t want to ask.

“May I ask why you two were spying on Aiden?” Headmaster Devil asked Rey and Neil.

“Spying?! We weren’t spying!” Rey exclaimed.

“Do I look dumb to you? You both were following him and even planning to sneak attack him,” Headmaster Devil retorted. “And for what? Oh wait!”

“What?” Rey and Neil asked in unison.

“Now I understand,” Headmaster Devil said. “Neil, I know very well that Aiden is your twin brother.”

“Does that have to be brought up all the time?!” Neil said, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t know what enmity exists between you and Aiden. And I don’t know why the hell you two have that going on. But whatever it is, don’t bring it up in school. The battlefield is not here. This is a learning environment,” Headmaster Devil lectured. “Is that understood?”

“Yes, Headmaster Devil,” Rey and Neil replied in unison.

“Now…I need to figure out the right punishment for you both,” Headmaster Devil said as he tapped his fingers on the desk, pondering. “Ah! Yes, I got it! And since Sana and Heer are your partners, you will need them as well. After classes are over, you will be put on library duty. Which means you will be cleaning up and reorganizing the books over there before the school closes.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Neil asked.

“I don’t kid. Now move along. I’ll be expecting to see a clean and organized library by tomorrow morning,” Headmaster Devil said.

***

And so, after classes were over and majority of the students had gone back to their dorms, Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer were in the library, cleaning and organizing the books on the many shelves across the room. “I can’t believe we’re in this mess because you two idiots had to spy on Aiden,” Sana said as she placed a book on a shelf.

“Hey! We were just gonna challenge the guy and see how strong he really is!” Rey exclaimed.

“But was that really necessary, Neil?” Heer asked Neil.

“That’s what he gets for glaring at me in the hall,” Neil retorted. “Just the sight of him annoys me.”

“Well look what we have here,” a voice said.

Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer looked around to see Krystal had come in the library along with Prince. “What are you guys doing here?” Sana asked.

“We were trying to find you guys. But we got the word that you were sent here as

punishment for Rey and Neil trying to sneak attack on Aiden,” Krystal replied.

“Nice to see the two idiots put in their place,” Prince smirked as he chewed on his orange-flavored candy cane.

“Oh, shut up, Prince!” Rey exclaimed.

“Is that the real reason you both are here?” Heer questioned.

“Our next circus show is coming up. And I’m trying to convince Prince that we should wear an orange combo for our outfits so we can coordinate,” Krystal said.

“There’s no way in hell that I’m wearing that color,” Prince said.

“If you can chew on orange for a whole hour, then you can wear it for a one hour circus event!” Krystal exclaimed.

“To hell with the drama,” Prince said, shaking his head.

“Why orange?” Neil asked Krystal.

“It’s going to be color themed. And I absolutely love orange. So, I got matching outfits for us. Can’t you guys see it?” Krystal asked. “Two orange stars in the bright yellow spotlight! Just imagine!”

“I really can’t imagine,” said Rey. “I hate orange, so I’m on the same page as Prince.”

“You do realize that you’re a tiger,” Sana stated to Rey. “And tigers are orange.”

“No! It’s more of a creamy, brownish orange! Which I don’t mind!” Rey countered.

“Moron. Whatever. Prince and I are leaving for circus practice,” said Krystal. “Have fun working in the library!”

“And remember…the school closes at six. If you don’t remember to leave by then, you’ll be stuck here till morning,” Prince said. “Later.”

“Bye guys,” Heer said as she waved bye to Krystal and Prince who made their way out of the library.

“What time is it?” Neil asked.

“It’s almost five,” Heer replied as she looked at her watch.

“How are we going to finish cleaning before six?” Sana asked.

“Guess only more work can help,” said Rey.

And so, the four individuals continued to clean up the library. They kept working, even when all the students had left the school to their dorms and only the cleaning staff remained inside. “Where do these books go?” Neil asked as he held a stack of five textbooks.

“Put those in the Energy Knowledge section,” Heer told Neil. Neil went ahead to the Energy Knowledge section of the library, which was near one of the exits, and started placing the books on the bookcase. As he was placing the books, he noticed a small green switch on the side of the bookcase. The switch caught Neil’s full attention.

“Hey guys!” Neil called out to Sana, Rey, and Heer.

“What is it?” Rey asked as he, Sana, and Heer came by.

“Look at this. I found a switch on the bookcase,” Neil pointed out to the switch.

“Wow. What a discovery, Neil,” Sana said, rolling her eyes.

“Come on, Sana. How often do you see a switch on a bookcase?” Neil asked.

“He has a point,” Heer said.

“Press it then! Let’s see what happens!” Rey urged Neil.

“Hold on, Rey,” Sana said. “How do we know it’s safe?”

“Sana, if it’s a green switch, it’s safe. If it’s red, it’s not. And this one’s green!” Rey exclaimed. “So, it’s safe!”

“And what kind of logic is that?!” Sana questioned, trying to comprehend Rey’s statement.

“Neil, just press the damn switch,” Rey told Neil.

And so, Neil went ahead and pressed his thumb on the switch. Once the switch was pressed, it gave off a green flashing light. Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer stood back when all of a sudden, the bookcase slid to the side, revealing a door on the wall.

“Whoah! Cool!” Neil exclaimed.

“Has that always been there and we’ve just never noticed?” Heer asked.

“Looks like it,” Rey responded. “Let’s open the door!”

“Hold it. I’m getting nervous about this,” Sana said.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Rey told Sana. “Neil, open the door.”

Neil then opened the door on the wall, which led to a small room. Sana, Rey, and Heer followed Neil inside the little room. It was completely blank and empty with only plain white walls and a white-colored tiled floor. The only thing inside was a small desk with a little box that sat upon the desk. The four individuals went towards the box, looking at it with curiosity.

“What’s in the box?” Neil asked.

“We’ll only find out if we open it,” Rey replied.

“I say we don’t. It’s obvious something is supposed to be hidden in there. Otherwise they wouldn’t lock it behind a secret door,” Sana said.

“Who cares?! No dark beast is going to pop out from there!” Rey exclaimed. “Open it, Neil!”

“Be careful,” Heer told Neil.

Neil then grabbed hold of the box. He took a deep breath and removed the lid. Inside the box was what appeared to be a small white-colored egg that had black spots on it. Neil took out the egg, showing it to the others.

“It’s an egg,” Heer said.

“Out of all things possible, why would an egg be stored in here?” Sana wondered.

“Beats me. But it looks cool,” Rey said as he looked at the egg.

“So, now what?” Neil asked.

“Just put it back. We’ve done enough snooping! We should get back to work!” Sana asserted as she made her way out of the room with Heer following.

“You heard her. Let’s go,” Rey told Neil as he started to leave.

Neil placed the egg on the table and headed out, closing the door. Little did he realize was that the egg had fallen off the table onto the floor, cracking its shell. And right from the inside of the egg’s shell, an eerie glow flashed from it.

Once the foursome had left the room, the school’s automatic speaker system went on and said, “The time is now six. The school building will now close and reopen tomorrow morning.” The foursome’s eyes beamed upon the end of the announcement. Sana rushed to the doors of the library and tried to open them, but they were locked.

“Damn it!” Rey exclaimed. “Now we’re stuck in here!”

“This is your fault, Neil!” Sana shouted. “If you didn’t go on about the mystery behind the switch, we would’ve gotten out on time!”

“Well sorry then!” Neil talked back. “It’s no big deal! We’ll just have to hang out here for the night!”

“Sana, we should inform Krystal,” Heer told Sana.

“You’re right. I’ll call her now,” Sana said.

***

In the girl’s dorm, Krystal was sitting alone in her room, smacking an orange lipstick on her lips as she sat in front of the dresser, looking in the mirror. Once she was done, she smiled upon seeing herself. “Now this color will look great for the show!” Krystal exclaimed.

Suddenly, Krystal’s cellphone rang on the dresser. She picked it up, seeing Sana was calling, and answered, “Sana! Where are you and Heer? You’re supposed to be here by now.”

“We’re stuck in the library now.”

“What?! Didn’t Prince tell you guys to leave before six?”

“It’s a long story. Anyways, do you think you can help us get out?”

“Sana, the school security is like state of the art. I should know since my dad was the one who provided it. Besides, I really don’t want to get my hands dirty after painting my nails.”

“Oh whatever. We’ll just manage here then.”

“You have fun with that.”

“Yeah. Bye. “

***

After hanging up, Sana placed her cellphone in her bag, which she placed down near a table.

“So…anyone got food?” Neil asked.

“We’re stuck in a library for the rest of the night and all you can think about is food?!” Sana asked Neil in an annoyed tone.

“Neil, I have some crackers in my bag. Come,” Heer told Neil.

While Neil followed Heer to the other side of the library, Rey and Sana remained where they were by the table. “Man, how are we going to stay here till morning?” Rey asked.

“We could do some reading. After all, we have that test tomorrow in Energy Enhancement class.”

“Don’t remind me about that.”

“God knows what you’d do without me. I could imagine you’d be stuck in the remedial classes!”

“Oh, shut up. I’ll have you know I got straight B’s last semester.”

“Says the guy who gets kicked out of class all the time.”

“You know I’m not gonna argue with you. Girls always need to be right in everything. “

“Whatever. I’m hitting the books. It’s not like we have anything else to do.”

Sana grabbed a stool near the bookcase and reached out for a book on the topmost shelf.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Rey warned Sana.

“I’m fine,” Sana said, annoyed. As she got the book, she suddenly tripped off the stool, falling off. As she let out a small scream while falling, Rey caught her in his arms to which Sana threw her hands on Rey’s shoulders. She looked up at Rey, flustered.

“You idiot! I told you to be careful!” Rey told Sana, still carrying her.

“Who are you calling an idiot?! I was fine until you kept talking to me!” Sana shouted.

“Um guys,” said Neil as he and Heer had returned with Rey and Sana turning to both of them. “Are we interrupting?”

At that moment, Rey immediately dropped Sana down on the floor with Sana dropping her mouth wide open in shock.

“We’re good. She almost fell. That’s all,” Rey replied.

“You could’ve dropped me gently!” Sana yelled at Rey.

“Well then. I’m gonna go get my bag,” said Heer as she went back to the other side of the library.

“So, what are you guys doing?” Neil asked.

“Trying to study for the Energy Enhancement test tomorrow,” Sana replied.

“Damn it! I forgot about that!” Neil exclaimed.

“We should probably study…if we at least want to pass,” said Rey.

Suddenly, the sound of a scream echoed in the library. Sana, Rey, and Neil turned around.

“That sounded like Heer!” Neil exclaimed. Sana, Rey, and Neil ran to the other side of the library to look for Heer. When they looked around, they found Heer lying on the ground. Neil rushed towards Heer, holding her and called, “Heer! Can you hear me?! Heer!”

Slowly, Heer woke up. “Are you all right?” Neil asked Heer as she carefully got up. “What happened?”

“I saw something. It almost attacked me,” Heer replied in a state of shock.

“What almost attacked you, Heer?” Sana asked.

“I don’t know. It was some kind of creature,” Heer answered.

“Well, there’s nothing here right now,” said Rey.

Suddenly, all the lights in the library blew out, leaving the room in pitch black darkness.

“Who turned off the lights?” Sana questioned. The four turned around to see a series of six red eyes. Emerging from the darkness, a large-sized dark creature with three heads growled upon seeing Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer.

“That’s it!” Heer pointed out.

“What the hell is that?” Neil said.

“How’d it get in here?!” Rey asked.

“I don’t think now is the time to ask questions!” Sana exclaimed.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s take it down!” Neil exclaimed.

Just then, the dark beast’s three heads each launched a dark energy beam attack from their mouths directly at the foursome. They gasped, running off before they could get hit while the three headed beast went after them.

“What are we gonna do?! This thing can easily murder us!” Rey exclaimed.

“I think we established that!” Sana said.

“Quick! In the secret room!” Neil told the others.

Neil rushed to the switch, pushing it until the bookcase slid. He opened the door of the room, letting the others in. And then he closed it right before the dark beast could enter. As he closed the door, the dark beast tried to hit against the door with its heads to get in.

“What kind of beast is that?” Heer asked.

“The better question is where did that beast come from?” said Rey. “The whole school is locked so there’s no way anything could get in here.” Sana then looked down on the floor, and noticed the egg lying near the desk. She went towards it and picked it up to see the shell was completely cracked.

“Um guys…the egg here is broken,” Sana said.

“But how’s that possible?” Heer asked.

“Oh crap!” Neil exclaimed.

“What did you do?!” Rey questioned Neil.

“While I was rushing to get out, I forgot to put the egg back in the box,” Neil replied.

“You moron!” Sana and Rey shouted at Neil.

“Guys, it was an accident,” Heer defended Neil.

“That explains it! That thing must have come out once the egg broke. I bet Headmaster Devil hid it here because he knew it would release a beast if hatched,” Sana said as she analyzed the egg shell. “And now it’s on the loose.”

“But I’m confused. How does a thing that big come from an egg?!” Rey disputed.

“Wow, I’m surprised to see you being so inquisitive,” Sana mocked.

“Oh cut the crap, Sana!” Rey talked back. “Don’t you agree?! A dark beast with that much power and size doesn’t just hatch in seconds. Why would Devil have something like that hidden here to begin with?!”

“You know you bring up good points,” Sana admitted. “But we’re not in a position where we can find answers. That thing will kill us the moment it finds its way in here or if we even think to make a move.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Heer asked. “The beast is waiting outside. And the library is locked so the only way we can survive the night is if we take it out.”

“Heer’s right,” Neil agreed. “I was ready for that until that thing decided to play the first move!”

“Then we need a plan,” said Sana. “And it has to work.”

“Well you’re the genius, Sana. Think of something,” Rey told Sana.

“I think the beast has moved away from the door. But I don’t know when it’ll strike back,” Neil said.

Sana stood, pondering. There has to be a way to get out of this mess. But in order to take on such a powerful beast, we need more than our usual attacks, Sana thought. We need more energy. Suddenly, Sana realized something.

“What’s the matter, Sana?” Rey asked Sana.

“Rey, I just thought of something. And it relates to our Energy Enhancement class,” Sana replied.

“Is this really a time to be talking about that test?!” Neil asked, irritated.

“While you guys were thrown out, Professor Luna went over one important thing,” Sana said. “You obviously remember, Heer.”

“Of course! Energy conservation. Prince and I were called up to demonstrate. And Professor Luna wanted us to focus and keep our energy intact. With time, the energy within us grew at a higher limit as we kept it sealed within. The more focus we had, the higher our energy levels rose,” Heer explained.

“Exactly,” Sana said. “Rey, for this plan to work, we’re going to have to use a very strong attack. We haven’t done it before. But in order to defeat that beast, we need to use it. Which is why we’ll need some time before we can make our move.”

“What the hell?! I don’t understand a thing right now,” Rey said, confused.

“You will. Neil and Heer, you two are going to have to hold the beast long enough for our attack to work,” Sana told Neil and Heer.

“Don’t worry, Sana! We got you covered!” Neil agreed as he held a thumbs up to Sana.

“I just hope we can hold it up long enough,” Heer said.

“All right then. Here’s the plan,” Sana began explaining.

***

Outside the small room, the three headed beast was wandering around the library, prowling its way down the aisles like a mighty lion. Neil slowly opened the door of the room to see the beast outside. He then stepped out of the room with Heer, shutting the door.

“Ready, Heer?” Neil asked Heer.

“All set,” Heer replied. And so, Heer went ahead and transformed into her snow leopard form. The beast then turned to Neil and Heer.

“Time to take this ugly thing back to where it belongs!” Neil exclaimed. “Heer, attack it directly.”

Heer nodded and ran towards the dark beast, tackling it into the bookcase. As she tried to hold it down, one of the heads of the dark beast went ahead and bit Heer on her ear, causing her to feel great pain.

“Heer, hold on! Just attack it with your paw!” Neil ordered. Heer raised her paw and scratched the faces of the dark beast’s heads. The dark beast then pushed Heer into the wall and all three heads launched a dark energy beam attack at Heer.

“Heer, get out of the way!” Neil ordered. Heer managed to dodge the attack as it hit into the wall.

Inside the room, Rey had transformed into his tiger form. Once he had done so, Sana drew out her wand, tapping it to transform it into her trishula.

“Okay, Rey. Just close your eyes and focus. Maintain your energy from within,” Sana instructed Rey. Rey closed his eyes, keeping his concentration in tact as he sat in his beast form. Sana held her trishula to the ground, closing her eyes and focusing. Once the two were both in focus, they both started to give off a red orange glow from their bodies as they maintained equal concentration. That’s it! Now that both of our energies are in sync, we can expand it! Sana thought.

Outside, Heer was trying to get away from the dark beast.

“Okay, Heer! Enough running!” Neil told Heer. “I think it’s time you used an ice attack!” Heer nodded as she formed an icy energy beam from her mouth. She then launched it directly at the dark beast, hitting it into the wall.

Inside the room, Sana and Rey both opened their eyes, still giving off the bright glows from their bodies.

“All right! I think it’s time!” Sana exclaimed. “You ready?” Rey nodded. Sana opened the door of the room with the dark beast turning right at her. Rey leaped forward, standing before Sana.

“I hope she’s got this!” Neil said.

“Let’s go!” Sana called out as she threw her trishula into the floor, while Rey prepared for a fireball attack. “Ring of Fire!” At that moment, the trishula gave off an orange glow, which in turn released a series of flames that circled around the beast. Sana maintained balance, despite the immense strength of the attack, while Rey then launched the fireball attack at the dark beast. Once it hit the dark beast, the ring of fire closed in on the beast, engulfing it in the flames as it yelped in pain. Neil and Heer looked on in surprise.

“Damn. That’s some intense power,” Neil said in disbelief.

The fires consumed the beast completely. Once the fire died out, there was nothing left but the ashes of the beast on the floor. Sana began to breathe frantically as the attack was finished. Rey then transformed back into his human form.

“We did it!” Rey told Sana. But he was surprised to see Sana pass out, falling onto the floor.

“Sana!” Rey called out as he went to Sana with Neil and Heer coming to her as well.

Rey held Sana in his arms, looking at her unconscious face. “Sana, can you hear me?!” Rey asked Sana.

“I think she must be exhausted,” said Heer as she transformed back into her human form.

“That was quite an attack! And since you guys did it for the first time, she must be completely out of it,” Neil added.

“Well, now what?!” Rey asked, concerned.

“You look after Sana. Neil and I will clean things up here,” Heer told Rey.

“Are you guys sure?” Rey asked.

“Trust me. We got things from here,” Neil told Rey, patting him on his shoulder.

With that, Neil and Heer left Rey alone with Sana, going off to the other side of the library to clean up the mess. Rey held Sana in his arms, looking down upon her solemn face. He then lifted her and took her aside to the corner of the library near a bookcase. Once he helped her rest against the bookcase, he sat by her side and went to sleep on his own. Once Neil and Heer had finished cleaning up, the two of them yawned in exhaustion.

“I’m starting to get tired right now,” Heer said, yawning.

“Yeah. We should get some rest,” Neil said. Neil turned to a desk nearby where he sat down and rested his head against the table, falling asleep. Heer followed, sitting at the same table and putting her head down, where she drifted off in a matter of minutes.

***

In the early morning, at the crack of dawn, the light from the sun shined in the windows of the library. Rey and Sana both woke up slowly, looking right at each other as they got up. Sana tried to get up, but was having trouble with doing so. Rey assisted her, holding her by her shoulders till she could stand.

“You okay?” Rey asked Sana.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sana replied. “Thanks.”

Rey and Sana turned around to see Neil and Heer had gotten up as well. “Rise and shine, guys!” Neil exclaimed.

“Oh wow. It’s already six in the morning,” said Heer. “Do you feel better, Sana?”

“Yeah. I’m fine now,” Sana answered.

Suddenly, the doors of the library had opened. The others turned around and were surprised to see Aiden standing right at the doors. Neil turned away, unwilling to look at his brother.

“You guys have been here all night?” Aiden asked the others.

“Um…yes. Thanks for opening,” Heer told Aiden.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s get out of here,” Neil said.

“You know…I saw what happened here last night,” Aiden stated.

Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer were surprised upon hearing what Aiden said. Rey then yelled, “You mean to say you watched us last night and that you didn’t even bother to help?!”

“You seemed to have had everything under control by the time I got here. So, I felt no need to intervene,” Aiden replied. “But it seems you were able to handle the power of a fusion dark beast.”

“A fusion dark beast?” Sana pondered.

“And what the hell is that exactly?!” Rey questioned.

“What you dealt with is the result of experimentation,” Aiden replied. “Headmaster Devil has been in touch with a team of scientists who have been experimenting with the genetics of dark beasts. The beast within that egg wasn’t an ordinary one because it contains the DNA of various species of animals combined with the dark energy. And as you know, every regular dark beast usually maintains a singular genetic makeup.”

“Well, that explains the above average hideous looks,” Rey rolled his eyes.

“But why would our own headmaster be dealing with people who are making these beasts?” Sana asked.

“This is the only one,” Aiden responded. “Headmaster Devil had no deadly purpose behind this. In fact, this experiment was simply done to get an idea behind the creations of these creatures. In order to find out how these creatures came to be and how to defeat the many dark beasts in this world, it’s important to understand their construction.”

“I see,” Heer understood. “But was Headmaster Devil planning on hatching the egg at all?”

“Of course he was. But he’s obviously not a bright man to hide it in somewhere like here,” Aiden shook his head. “And since you guys are responsible for hatching the egg, I will have to tell him.”

“Oh great! More trouble on us!” Sana exclaimed.

“Whatever, I’m outta here,” Neil said as he headed out through the doors while Heer followed him.

Aiden looked on as Neil and Heer left, shaking his head.

“Come on, Sana,” Rey told Sana. “We should get ready for that test today.”

As Sana and Rey headed out, Sana was stopped by Aiden, who grabbed hold of her by her arm. She turned, confused, while Rey, who was already outside of the library, turned to see Sana held by Aiden through the library window.

“What the hell?! Why’s he stalling her?!” Rey exclaimed.

“Um…do you need something?” Sana asked Aiden.

“That attack you used during the battle was quite the spectacle. It was very powerful. Almost too powerful for you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah…it was.”

“You handled the attack till the end. How did you manage? “

“Sana!” Rey called from outside of the library, looking impatient.

“As much as I’d like to answer your questions, I have to go,” Sana told Aiden, making him remove his grip on her arm. “Excuse me.”

And so, Sana made her way out of the library while Aiden looked on. I should tell Devil about this, Aiden thought. Outside, Sana noticed Rey waiting and headed off along with him.

“What was he talking to you about?” Rey asked Sana.

“I don’t know. He’s still a mystery to me. Anyway, forget him. We should get something to eat at the cafeteria.”

“And what about studying for our test?”

“Come on, Rey! In a way, we already studied. That attack last night took all the energy we needed.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But you took the hit for the most part. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I should be fine.”

***

In the cafeteria, Sana and Rey came over to where Neil, Heer, Krystal, and Prince were seated at a round table. “There you guys are!” Krystal exclaimed. “Neil told us about everything that went down last night. You okay, Sana?”

“I’m fine, Krystal,” Sana replied.

“Hello?! What am I?! Chopped liver?!” Rey exclaimed.

“Yeah you are, Rey,” Krystal talked back.

“That’s enough, guys. Save the backtalk for performance classes today,” said Heer.

“Performance classes?!” Sana said, confused.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Heer asked. “Headmaster Devil cancelled all regular classes today so that we could have rehearsals for the Colors Day Circus Show.”

“Oh yeah! Colors Day is coming up!” Rey exclaimed. “I almost forgot. So, that means no test today. Sweet!”

“So, that’s why you were obsessed with getting your orange ensemble for you and Prince,” Neil said to Krystal.

“And I’m still not wearing it,” Prince said, chewing on a peppermint-flavored candy cane.

“Well, now we’re doing a rainbow ensemble. Then we’ll stand out for sure. Just imagine!” Krystal exclaimed. “Two rainbows among an array of single colors!”

“It sounds kinda stupid to me,” Rey chuckled.

“Oh really?! Well then. I have a present for you, Rey,” Krystal said as she took out a cup of orange juice, shoving it in Rey’s face.

“Get that away from me! I hate orange juice!” Rey shouted.

“Didn’t your doctor ever tell you orange juice has Vitamin C?” Krystal taunted. “No wonder your tiger instincts are as low as your IQ.”

“Shut up! And get it away from me!” Rey retorted as he pushed away the cup of juice.

“To hell with the drama,” Prince rolled his eyes.

“Guys, I think playtime is over now,” Sana intervened as she took the cup of orange juice and drank it herself.

“You’re right. After all, I should save the arguing and constant bickering for you two,” Krystal smiled, talking to Sana and Rey. “You know…when you both get married.”

“What?!” Sana exclaimed.

“What the hell?! Do you really think I’d fall for someone as nerdy as she is?!” Rey asked.

“Hold it. What is that supposed to mean?” Sana questioned Rey. “And you don’t have anything distasteful about yourself? You’re the one who’s scared of orange juice.”

“I’m not scared! I just hate orange juice!” Rey retorted.

As Rey and Sana continued to bicker, Neil, Heer, Krystal, and Prince just watched.

“You guys obviously see what I’m saying,” Krystal said. “Just imagine!”

“I think we’ve had enough imagination for one day,” said Heer.

Books, fantasy, Volume 1

1. Welcome to RTA

January 8, 2025March 4, 2025 imeryli

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.”

Rey and Neil gulped.

Uncategorized

…a friend in need

December 2, 2022 imeryli

“Hey, that wasn’t a fair shot!” Neil exclaimed.

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?”

Neil smiled and said, “Yeah.”

Uncategorized

Aiden’s Day Off

September 30, 2022 imeryli

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.”

Books, fantasy, Uncategorized

Stuck in an Old Story Part 1

June 4, 2022 imeryli

“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.

Uncategorized

With Friends Like These

May 16, 2022 imeryli

It was a cool, breezy Sunday afternoon. Sana, Rey, Neil, and Heer were hanging out at Devil’s Diner for lunch. After paying, they began to head out when Rey said, “Do you think Krystal is gonna be pissed that we got Marigold Surprises without her?”

“I saved some of mine for her in my leftover box,” Heer said.

“There you go,” Neil said. “When in doubt, we always got Heer to the rescue.”

“Oh God,” Sana said.

“What? What is it?” Rey asked.

Rey looked to see exactly what was agitating Sana. A boy in a gray hoodie and blue jeans was seemingly taking her picture with his cellphone. Before Rey could say anything to Sana, she started marching over to the boy. He knew this wasn’t going to go well.

“What the hell are you doing?” Sana asked the boy.

“What?”

“Are you taking my picture?”

“No.”

Sana grabbed the phone from the boy’s hand, looked at the screen and said, “Then what is this?”

“Oh, come on,” the boy said. “You’re pretty famous around here. You should take it as a compliment.”

“I don’t appreciate my photo being taken without my permission.”

“Oh, come on. It’s a public place. I have the freedom to do so.”

Sana was about ready to smack the boy until Rey immediately stepped in and did the smacking for her, much to her surprise. The boy let out the biggest ouch Sana had ever heard.

“She said she doesn’t want her picture taken! Respect that, boy!” Rey exclaimed.

“Yeah, you get him, Rey!” Neil exclaimed.

“Thank you, but you already knew I was going to hit him,” Sana said.

“I was doing you a favor!” Rey exclaimed. “Krystal did your nails earlier today. Do you really think she’d want you to ruin them?”

Sana sighed and grabbed the phone from the boy, deleting the pictures off it. She handed it back and began to leave with Rey saying, “I better not catch you taking anyone else’s picture again!”

The boy took off with Sana saying, “The nerve of some people.”

“Man, Rey, you really whacked that guy,” Neil said as he came up to Rey and Sana.

“You know I would’ve whacked him just as hard,” Sana said.

“Yeah, but we’re used to you whacking people,” Neil said.

“Hey, I’m fully capable of giving people a smacking!” Rey exclaimed. “Especially when my friends are being wronged!”

Sana noticed Heer was looking at something, seemingly startled. She asked, “Heer, what’s up?”

Heer turned around, looking like she had seen a ghost or something. Sana turned to see a guy standing across from them. He had dark eyes and short black hair, covered by a blue baseball cap. He wore a blue hoodie with black shorts and gray sneakers.

Neil was surprised to see Heer walking away, not saying a word. She started pushing her long hair, hiding her face.

“Heer, where are you going?” Neil asked, calling out to her. Heer didn’t answer. She just walked away. It was quite unlike her to just leave without saying anything.

“Hey, dude, did you say anything to our friend?” Rey questioned the guy.

The guy rolled his eyes and scoffed. His attitude annoyed Rey.

“Hey, man, we asked you a question,” Neil said.

“I didn’t do anything aside from just walking by,” the boy said. “If you should be questioning anyone, it would be her.”

The boy shook his head and left. Sana was very confused, and she could tell that Rey and Neil were as well. She knew there was more going on that she didn’t know about.

***

Later on, in the evening, Sana was alone in her room at the dorms. She pondered over what happened earlier in the city. What could have happened to Heer? Sana tried to talk to her when she got back, but she said she was tired and needed to rest. Sana wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth or just making an excuse for space, but she wanted to respect her need to be alone.

Sana was about to get out her notebook to do some studying until she heard a knock on the door. She got up to answer it. It was Krystal standing outside in the hallway.

“Krystal, what’s up?” Sana asked.

“What’s up with Heer? She handed me the rest of her Marigold Surprise and wasn’t happy about it.”

“Really? That’s how you figured she was upset?”

“You don’t get it. Whenever Heer does something nice for someone, she gives the most wholesome smile. This time she just handed it to me and left. That’s not the Heer I know! What happened?”

“I’m not really sure. Things were fine until this boy showed up.”

“A boy?”

“Yeah, it seemed like they knew each other. She like turned away and just left without saying a word. Rey and Neil questioned the guy about it, and he just gave us an attitude and said we should ask Heer.”

“Did you get the boy’s name?”

“No, we didn’t. It was really unusual.”

“Can you give me some details about his appearance?”

“What are you planning to do? Conduct a search?”

“Hey, I have ways of getting information. Just tell me some details about his appearance. Let’s start with what he was wearing.”

“Uh, blue baseball cap, blue hoodie…”

“What shade of blue was the hoodie?”

“What?”

“What shade of blue was the hoodie? Was it a cobalt blue? Or a sky blue?”

“I don’t know! Why is this important, Krystal?!”

“Heer clearly doesn’t want to tell us who this guy is, so I have to gain as much intel and find out myself. I’m gonna go work on that now.”

“Krystal, there’s no way you can find out who someone is based off such little information.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Sana. I have my ways.”

***

The next day, Sana was getting her books from her locker. She turned to see Heer was coming up to her. Heer said, “Sana, I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I shouldn’t have left so suddenly.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Heer,” Sana said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, who was that guy?”

“Um, it really doesn’t matter. Anyway, I actually have to do some stuff before class, so I’ll see you later.”

Heer left and Sana sighed. She wanted to help Heer, but it seemed like Heer didn’t want to talk about the situation. She turned to see Rey and Neil come up to her.

“Did Heer talk to you?” Neil asked.

“Yeah. She just apologized for what happened and jolted upon me bringing up the guy,” Sana said.

“She did the same thing with us,” Rey said.

“Man, I wish we could know who he is. She’s clearly affected by him,” Neil said.

“Me too. But at the same time, it’s her personal matter. We shouldn’t force her to talk to us about it,” Sana said.

“But we just want to help her,” Rey said.

“His name is Jac Ashton,” Krystal said as she walked up to the trio.

“Huh?” Sana said. “How do you know?”

“I told you I’d find out who he is,” Krystal said.

“How did you find out who he is?” Neil asked.

“Well, all I had was a lousy description from Sana, but I did some snooping on the web and I found out about some new transfers to this one high school downtown, Red Rock High. So, I contacted my friend whose father’s sister’s cousin’s daughter went to middle school with him,” Krystal said.

“Is anyone else scared of her?” Rey asked Sana and Neil.

“Shut up, Rey. The point is she said that Jac and Heer were really close friends in middle school and around the time of graduation, he just cut her out without warning,” Krystal said.

“Well, that explains why she reacted that way,” Sana said.

“Seriously? Is no one scared at how she gathered intel like that?” Rey asked.

“Forget that. What’s our plan for standing up to the guy?” Neil asked.

“Plan? Guys, we don’t need to do anything,” Sana said.

“What?! Why?!” Rey exclaimed.

“Heer didn’t even want to talk about this. Do you really think she would want us to get involved?” Sana said. “The best thing to do is to leave it be.”

Sana closed her locker and left with her books in hand. Rey couldn’t accept that Sana didn’t want to do anything. He looked at Neil, who looked like he had an idea in mind.

“Krystal, what school did you say this Jac guy goes to?” Neil asked.

“Red Rock High,” Krystal said. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason,” Neil said.

***

Later on, during after school hours, a group of kids were playing kickball outside at the playground of Red Rock High School. Among those kids was Jac. Rey and Neil came to see him playing without a care in the world. Rey looked at Neil and said, “Neil, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“This is perfectly fine. We’re gonna show Jac not to mess with Heer.”

“I know, but don’t you remember what Sana said?”

“Sana is taking the easy way out. We gotta teach this boy a lesson. He has no idea who he’s dealing with. Now, are you ready?”

“All right, let’s do this.”

Rey and Neil walked up to the group as they continued playing. Jac turned to them. Rey could see that Jac recognized them.

“What are you guys doing here?” Jac asked. “Your school doesn’t have a playground?”

“Our school happens to have a lot of cool stuff!” Rey exclaimed.

“We’re here to tell you personally that we don’t like how you treated our friend, Heer,” Neil said.

“And what do you know about that?” Jac asked.

“Well, not much, but considering how well we know Heer, we know you must have been a real jerk to her,” Neil said.

“Right. Because Heer is so innocent and nice,” Jac said. “Perfect little angel that could do no wrong.”

“Are you mocking her?!” Rey exclaimed. “Dude, we could give you quite the beatdown for that.”

“Really?” Jac scoffed.

“You bet,” Neil said as he drew out his wand while Rey got ready to transform.

“What are you two doing?!” a voice questioned.

Rey froze, knowing who it was. He turned around with Neil to see Sana with Krystal. Sana certainly looked displeased.

“Wow. Sana was right,” Krystal said. “You two would do something stupid.”

“How’d you know we were gonna be here?” Rey asked Sana.

“Krystal told me that she told you guys about Jac’s high school, and I knew you two would come to jump him,” Sana said.

“Hey, are you saying we’re predictable?!” Neil exclaimed.

“That and stupid,” Krystal said. “You’re lucky Prince is too busy hanging out with Zayn and Akira at Devil’s Delights to see this.”

“We have every right to jump someone in this scenario!” Rey exclaimed.

“Look, if you guys aren’t going to beat me up, I’m gonna get back to my game,” Jac said as he turned around to continue playing with the other guys.

Sana pulled Rey by his arm and Krystal did the same with Neil. She said, “This isn’t what Heer would’ve liked.”

“Yeah, but he deserves a beating for being such a jackass,” Neil said.

“You know what? Since you two are so hung up on this, why don’t we just talk to Heer?” Sana asked.

“I thought you said we shouldn’t ask her about it,” Rey said.

“That was before you guys started throwing tantrums over it,” Sana said. “Come on.”

***

Back at the academy, Heer was baking cupcakes in the home economics classroom. She was in the middle of frosting the vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry buttercream frosting when Sana, Rey, Krystal, and Neil entered. Before Heer could say anything, Rey said, “Ah! Cupcakes!”

“Really, Rey?” Krystal said as Rey immediately grabbed one of the frosted cupcakes.

“What? I’m hungry,” Rey said as he took a bite from the cupcake. “Damn. This is so good!”

“Thank you,” Heer said. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, we thought we’d talk to you about Jac,” Sana said.

“How do you know about Jac?” Heer asked.

“I did some snooping. I have quite the talent for it,” Krystal said.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t think she’d dig into it,” Sana said. “Or that these two would go hunt him down.”

“We had good reason,” Neil said.

“You don’t have to apologize. I probably should…for not talking about it this whole time,” Heer said.

“Have you been baking to distract yourself from talking about it?” Krystal asked.

“I guess so,” Heer said.

“So, who is he?” Rey asked as he grabbed another cupcake to munch on.

Heer sighed. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to explain herself. She looked at the others and said, “Jac was a close friend since I was in middle school. I didn’t have a lot of friends, but he was one of the few people who I felt like I could talk to about anything. We had a lot of common interests. From cartoons to baking, there was a lot we could share. It felt nice to have a friend like that.”

“So, what happened?” Sana asked.

“Well, there was a point where I noticed he would say things that I didn’t like or things that hurt me. When I would confront him about them, every time, he’d have an excuse or get upset,” Heer said. “It made me think I was doing something wrong. There was one time that led to an argument…or more so me getting yelled at. After that happened, I apologized in hopes we could move on and not let it escalate. And it seemed fine. But then one day, he basically said he didn’t want to be my friend anymore.”

Sana could tell that Heer was hurt just by talking about everything. It may have been something from the past, but Sana understood that memories from our past can still hurt in the present no matter how much time has passed.

“The reason I couldn’t talk about it is because sometimes…I feel like it’s my fault somehow,” Heer said. “Sometimes, I think about all the good times we had. I just wish it didn’t end like that.”

“I understand,” Sana said. “But you should know it’s not your fault.”

“Yeah. Dude was clearly an asshole,” Krystal said. “Ugh! Some people want to act like saints that can never do any wrong. Besides, who wants to have a friend who gets upset like a five-year-old child at a toy store every time you bring up something?”

“The only loser in this situation is him,” Neil said. “He lost a great friend.”

“And we gained one the moment we met here at RTA,” Rey said. “By the way, you need to make more of these cupcakes.”

Heer chuckled along with the others. It was the first time she felt a hint of joy since she encountered Jac.

“Thank you, guys,” Heer said. “I actually feel a little better now that I’ve talked about it.”

“Well, let’s make you feel even more better,” Krystal said. “How about we go to Devil’s Diner for dinner? My treat!”

“That sounds like a plan,” Sana said. “Is that okay with you, Heer?”

“For sure,” Heer said with a smile.

***

Later that night, Sana, Rey, Krystal, Neil, and Heer went to Devil’s Diner. Once they went inside, they were escorted to a table. As they sat down, Heer was stunned to see Jac sitting at a table not too far from them. Seeing her stunned expression, Sana turned around and said, “Wow. He’s here as well.”

“I swear that guy is everywhere,” Krystal said.

“Are you comfortable, Heer?” Rey asked. “We could ask to be moved away.”

“Or we could go somewhere else for dinner,” Neil said.

“No, I’m fine,” Heer said. She could see Jac had looked at her and went back to looking at his cellphone in hand. “I don’t want to run away like last time. I’m here to have a good time with you all. That’s all that matters.”

“Aww, that’s our Heer,” Sana said.

“Still, I’d love to give that jerk a piece of my mind,” Rey said.

“Same here,” Krystal said. “Just look at his outfit. His shirt looks like it was made of duct tape.”

“You know what?” Neil said as he got up. “Why don’t we say a few words to him?”

Krystal smirked and saw Rey smirk as well. The two of them got up with Neil and Sana joined them saying, “No fists. I don’t wanna get kicked out of the restaurant.”

Heer watched as her four friends circled Jac at his table. Jac looked up at them and said, “Now what do you losers want?”

“Ha. Losers? We should be calling you that,” Rey said. “For someone with such a huge ego, you don’t seem to have decent comebacks.”

“Whatever. I’m not the one trying to create a scene here,” Jac said.

“We’re not creating a scene. We’re here to let you know that the only loser around here is you,” Neil said. “You could’ve had a great friend in Heer. And you blew it because you’re a little baby that can’t handle a bit of honesty.”

“If you ever hurt Heer again or do anything to make her uncomfortable, we’ll be coming for you,” Rey said. “My partner here is pretty good at giving a smackdown.”

“It’s true,” Sana said. “I’d smack you in the head right now, but I don’t want to get kicked out before dinner.”

“We’re gonna be sitting close by. I hope us having fun doesn’t make you cry out of regret for what you could’ve had,” Krystal said.

As the group turned around to head back to their table, Krystal turned back and said, “Also, that shirt is ugly as hell. I’d burn it if I were you. Bye!”

Krystal joined the others back at the table, laughing with the others. While they were laughing, Heer watched them. She didn’t even bother to look at Jac anymore because she no longer cared about what she had lost.

“Hey, guys,” Heer said. “I’m really glad you all are my friends.”

“Aww, same here, girl!” Krystal said as she hugged Heer.

“Now let’s order food,” Rey said. “I’m starving.”

As her friends laughed some more, Heer realized that what she had right now was exactly what was meant to be.

Uncategorized

Meet Heer St. Hale

March 15, 2022 imeryli

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!

blog, Books, Uncategorized, writing

Prince’s Valentine’s Day

February 11, 2022 imeryli

“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.