Chapter 2: Pace Your Actions
pretty badly due to the stress from yesterday. Slept at 11 and woke up at 4, I usually wake up at 6. Around 5:35 I got up from bed and went to the bathroom. I brushed my sharp dagger like white teeth, washed my face, and afterwards decided to take a shower. It's repetitive I know, but I didn't have much else to do and I didn't want my sister looking at me without reason after my beat down from 'her'. The water was cold, it's always cold here so I usually take showers after my sister so she can have it as hot as possible.
"Hey lexy!" she shouted outside the bathroom
"Hey sis what's up!" I shouted in the shower
"I made crepes, make sure to have some after you shower- oh and they're jelly filled!"
"Wait strawberry jelly or raspberry?"
"Both!" She excitedly yelled out
"No way! thanks Lex!".Honestly I was trying to get on a diet but, isn't it rude to deny a gift?, especially if it's some divine crepes.
I got the soap bar and started scrubbing my skin as fast as I could, afterwards I put some shampoo on and wiped myself dry and looked in the mirror. 172 centimeters, and I'm also of above average physique with a cute face due to the refined care of my face; Slender but defined like a marble structure of high status; I could be a half decent street brawler- anyways I bolted down the stairs so fast i almost tripped over nothing and ruining my tight blue jeans and beautiful light blue suit. I've built myself yet it seems as if I'm eager to ruin what I've worked so hard for.
"Oh hey Lexy, enjoy." (Sis)
"Thanks-" Before I could continue my urge took over, I jumped on the table and shoved those wannabe French sugar taco things into my throat and ran out!
Across the neighborhood into the streets ahead I reached the academy, and then at 6:55, 15 minutes before class started I just realized... I forgot my backpack.
Before I could whine about my animal urges and apathy totally destroying my own perception I noticed Amber running up to me.
"Hey I'm sorry for what happened yesterday" Amber said meanwhile also panting from what I'm assuming to be the grand search for me.
"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault anyway" honestly It wasn't, I wanted to feel stimulated and so I took her own regard for me as stupidity and pity when it was natural concern, I was honestly getting red from sheer embarrassment.
Before she could respond she looked at my face almost as if she was inspecting a bug, her eyes were actually big as if they were bug eyes. It was getting weirdly close but I realized she noticed my injuries. For the last two days I've been in a horrible mood, disregarding things in plain sight but since I got a better look at her now including her whole body her whole fit is interesting. Despite the uniforms we were supposed to wear from the second day onwards she didn't have a suit on but a big dark blue t-shirt with the drawing of a fox's face colored in white, and instead of a skirt with stockings she was wearing sports pants. Her amber hair was wavy and put into a messy ponytail again. the bright freckles on her face weirdly contrasted her tan skin which looked like it spent a comfortable stay at the beach, her build was average although her curves stood out along with her somewhat bushy brows, but before I could ask about the outfit-
"I told you this would happen, but you decided to fight her anyway" Amber said to me with a concerned look, her big reddish orange eyes giving off a near hopeless sense of acceptance, acceptance of my idiocy.
"Come, walk with me." she uttered as she patted my bruised arm with one arm. When done her soft fingers slid over my skin and waved yonder.
"Hey it's nothing serious they'll heal in about a day or two" I said to try and reassure her, but she wasn't budging at all.
When we approached the nurse's office. I could notice the soft white 'beds' , me and Amber both immediately noticed "her"
"There's no way how could SHE get here!" (Lexy)
"What the fuck are you looking at" Alqa glared at me, I was scared but even then i glared at her in disdain
"Don't start this again before i-" (Lexy)
Before I could continue Amber put her hand on my shoulder and lightly patted it
"It's clear why you're here" (Nurse)
The nurse immediately grabbed my arm hard. I started twitching from the pain caused by yesterday's incident, unlike when amber patted them. In the blink of an eye It stopped twitching and it seemed as if the purple on my arm started to faintly disappear ... it's as if they're back from before Alqa knocked them out.
"Hey what just happened to me" I was, so perplexed but it felt great!
"It's clear, I healed you now go to class you're already late" she said with a diminishing look full of weary certainty
Alqa scowled into the nurses eyes.
"I know you're the one who caused his bruises and wounds, you deserve slow healing to truly understand your actions" shock started to vaguely appear on alqa's face
"I'll let your wounds heal on their own until you learned your lesson" she said with the same tone but with a tint of annoyance, guess some people here aren't completely helpless.
"But that little shit-" before Alqa could continue the nurse slapped her
'Shut up." she said apathetically, worsening the wound, she then grabs alqa by her face smothering her makeup.
"You need to stop picking fights with people you have no reason fighting".I could tell she was mad, as she stood up tall letting go of her face, the nurse seemed even taller than me, her body type was similar to Amber but more athletic and her skin was more of a natural white then Alqa, couldn't see much of her hair but it seemed straight and hazel with a piercing face that is also smooth and elegant. She definitely had eyebags but everything else was clear and her lips were a bit thick like Amber's- why do I keep saying that..
Through my pause of thought, Calamity walks in and immediately recognizes Alqa's burning irritation. Like a dog sitting down in shame after their owner punished them. He walked over to comfort her but she backed away from his fingers. I would slap her if I was Calamity. Bitch.
"Hey Alqa you can't just keep sulking over a little fight, you won after all, right?"
"Yeah"
"So.. that freshman kid, about him I suggest you don't really pick on him anymore" he says, completely disregarding my presence
"What the hell are you saying" Alqa was was striking calamity's eyes with a sharp, almost blinding, stare
Alqa gets up and grabs a hold of Calamity's tie. Looking him in the eyes full of perplexed anger, she grabs him and sighs
"He's the reason I'm here, even if he is here, i will make him pay another visit"
"That punch he hit you with, It was the the same punch you threw at him, its almost like it it was perfectly copied, with no distinct differences"
"Calamity what the hell are you on about?" Honestly I was also confused, but equally intrigued
"You know what, forget about it man, probably just me" Calamity responded, with nothing but fluff through his speech contrasting the very thing he brought up, annoying.
The bell rings and Calamity gets up.
"Well"
He sighs.
"Goodbye!" he shouts, almost slipping the mask he's put on since we've met him, or so it seems
"Hey,wait, I'll write you a slip in case you two get late." The nurse kindly offered.
"Uhm sure, thank you." I said without much of anything really, it was a nice gesture and I appreciate it, but it's weird sharing the room with the girl who beat me up just yesterday you know?
"What the hell did Calamity mean by "he used your punch".. alqa whispered, I could barely make it out but deciphered it out of context.
It was silent for a while after Calamity left, all I could really hear was the nurse typing on a computer and Alqa was just staring at me. It felt like being in a kids hospital, so i just decided to politely leave; My head and my legs; They felt heavy, like wood, even after healing i felt tired and unmotivated. Maybe because Alqa kinda scared me, if she were to catch me off guard- I suddenly felt a chill down my spine. I felt a paranoia and sorrow i've never felt before.
"You okay?" I didn't respond. It was Amber, I left her at the nurse's out of my own lack of basic comprehension and regard for her. I mean, even if Alqa caught me off guard, then couldn't the nurse be more responsible, instead of putting that faith in... I was scared, my legs were so stiff as if they were becoming wood from those memories of her tearing through my skin. It hurt so much
"Lexy, stop avoiding me." She demanded, stopping me in my way to the fugue way to nowhere, and i chose to respond, even if i agree with what i say or not say
"Uh- ye'." I managed to mumble out, despite my lack of clarity she could tell I didn't want the matter to be pushed, I guess if it isn't killing me now, then to wonder over the science of possibilities would kill the magic of the moment was probably her thought process Huh. Her face went from a concerned look to a soft tender smile full of a divine blissful ray of sunlight. Shethen proceeded to snatch my hand like it wasnt mine
"C'mon let's head to class we only got 15 minutes left!" She said to me energetically
"Uh I don't see the point we're already late as shit."
Amber disregards what Lexy says.
"Sorry but no way am I gonna miss my friends talk about the new song from Penelope and the suitors!" Wait what and the suit?, uhm alright- I'll follow along, so I let her pull me along, her strong arms almost pulling my muscles. The sensation I got seemed just like how it'd feel after I finished carving a statue with the same level of precise skill and effort as Donatello's David statue made hundreds of years back. It felt as if something we inquired about had finally been replicated
I haven't really thought about it until now that I'm walking with Amber, but the campus here is ginormous. It's effectively a miniature town isolated from most people over the age of 18 that don't specifically govern "it" nor the "population," such as some of the staff like the teachers. Aside from that, the place is absolutely gigantic. Even just in building 2, where my class with Amber is, it's nearly comparable to the benchmark size of a skyscraper. Just a single one of these buildings can dwarf my house... terrifying, imagine if me or another normal dude went on the roof of this and fell off.
After a bit of daydreaming, Amber released her bear like clutches and I snapped back from that lack of sensation derived from my inevitably painful fate, finally giving some relief.
"Wow, you have a strong grip, dang." Amber gave a smirk at me almost as if she intentionally did it to teach me a lesson- wait hold on, before i could speak she knocked on the door and the teacher let us in. Walking in, I was met with glares from nearly everyone, douchebags. The looks they were giving were worse than yesterday. Then again, a 'normal' person like Amber was with me... I felt a gross feeling in my stomach. These people are making me wanna gag. They choose to stare but they don't have any intentions of making the situation any better
After a couple of mundane seconds, I felt a sudden sharp poke. It didn't hurt, but I didn't like it. It felt as if a human nail or pencil was trying to wiggle into the skin of my shoulder, but nope, it was just a poke from that Layom kid.
"Oh it's just you." I honestly wasn't very impressed. I don't care if he has sharp nails or whatever.
"I heard you got into a fight yesterday." What the-, how does he know about this?!
"Uhm, how did you-" Layom starts to move his torso closer to me, his face near my ear, and softly whispers.
"Well, I was watching it from the rooftop."...
"You know I'm very surprised on how you lost, alqa is strong but she's not even in the top 30 in this academy" How... Alqa could hit hard enough to damage concrete and she was way stronger than me while not even trying- am I really that weak...
"But it's not as you're even in top 50 from that beatdown-" suddenly I felt a sharp pain, as if a shard of glass was lodged in my throat, I talked such a big game against Alqa and not only did this guy see it but I didn't lose to someone strong, no... no.. how can I "protect- her".
"Huh what" (Layom)
"I'll show you who's weak!" I was overcome with inferiority, this guy was speaking the truth, but I don't care. Even if it was enlightening I just don't wanna keep on feeling like an irrelevant cell in this place. I grabbed his tie with a hard enough grip that it's as if I could break steel, and then I punched him.
"Hey, please don't interrupt me." Layom said as if I was some child, and I suppose I was as soft as one as my punch landed, it landed!, yet why was he perfectly okay, why is my hand all contorted, why am I so angry?
"You?... want to fight me?" Layom spoke followed with a chuckle, my body couldn't move. If Layom really wanted, he could've knocked me out with under 3 punches. I chose to stand down.
"I lost." Maybe I should've really let him finish, now everyone is looking, even Amber.
"Alright settle down so we can start class" the Teacher said nonchalantly, we haven't even spent 5 minutes back here and I lost again.
"Alright, now let me finish lexy." Layom said cheerfully. Blood started to flow in my legs again, in a tempting situation, i felt relief.
"I heard what you said to Alqa, calling her of no value." He said softly to me so no one else could hear us, so I decided to follow that beat.i felt vigor again, it felt as if the shame in my heart had vanished.
"Well, it's true, she is trash." Layom sighed and spoke with a harsher, near disappointed tone.
"If you truly think so, after we head to the nurse, let's discuss this after school at Finger park." Wait finger park?, that's down the block from my house but isn't it abandoned?"
"Uhm sure I guess" eh why not, I'm probably not gonna get jumped or kidnapped and have my organs sold on the black market.
"Wait, why haven't you told the teacher about what I did?" This was his softest whisper, a concerned one full of unadulterated curiosity, well my answer was quite simple.
"You gave me respect and gave me time, almost no one else here has."Layom did just break my hand but, I'm the one who provoked him. If I got pissed off at him for defending himself wouldn't that be a little hypocritical? But fuck it does hurt I feel like my hand has been scrubbed with rough chalk for a decade straight.
I could hear larger brusque whispers though, of people calling me a 'swine' who doesn't know his place in the world
DING DING DING
Oops time to go to the nurse again-, I quickly bolted out the room to the point that when I nearly hit the wall after turning I tripped- I'm gonna fall because I tripped on air!
Thump
Ouch... now what?
"Hey you good?" Oh it's Layom, he offered a hand to me and I took it, this is actually kinda going decently. Maybe i might gain some callous
"Hey be careful with the hand, if you want I can give you a mini tour after you finish the nurse stay." He said cheerfully, Layom wore the same uniform as me but his colors were reversed to be the same Alqa's, a minor change but like with Amber no one paid attention to it.
"Uhm- sure" I accepted graciously although apart of me is unsure of letting the dude I just punched help me out without risk of getting jumped- anyways we started walking out of building 2 and arrived at the nurse's office, the weather was surprisingly chilly despite it being August, it was cloudy for sure but not too much rain luckily enough, it was cold, but I suppose silver cotton candy spanning endlessly is nicer than a ocean wonderland from time to time.
We eventually got back to the front of the nurse's office, because of my injuries I never really cared to notice but the door handle is actually kinda nice, it's not wooden like period 1's door and it looks a bit less charming due to it, but hey times change in this small town. As I was about to head through the door I noticed Alqa through the window.
"Ugh it's Alqa In there" I spoke out with annoyance, Layom patted me on the back and smiled.
"Hey relax, I know we were gonna discuss it later but trust me Alqa isn't as 1 dimensional as you think-"
"nah she's definitely a 1 dimensional Saturday morning cartoon villain" we both started chuckling, but I guess I'm interested in seeing what Layom's answer is, considering how he's self aware and competent to not whine and assault someone over a joke.
"You seem more like a sunday morning Dr.Doom" i chuckled in disagreement but paid no mind to actually respond.
I decided to look into the window, now that I don't have to get beat up by this Dumbo I can actually look at her, wait- woah. Alqa's build is kinda thin but her upper body pops out a bit due to her clothing and her stockings work well with her thighs, she's wearing her blue suit from yesterday, although it seems a bit too tight for her athletic build like those suits you'd see a female officer worker wearing. Her hair is straight and long and bear a hazelnut hue that line in with her similarly colored eyes nicely with a tiny thick fringe laying down, right above her right eye covering some of her eyebrow which are pretty normal and of a somewhat thin size compared to Amber, her lips are a bit thinner than Amber's too but their tender unlike her sharp eyes, assuming she put some decent amounts of lip balm on, okay maybe a little too much lip balm but at least the light peach colored eyeshadow balances it out. Yeah surprisingly she's actually kinda cute when she isn't being so smug. If she tried to be more normal and less creepy then maybe, just maybe I'd almost not want to bash her teeth out
After a couple minutes I contemplated just jumping in there but Alqa opened the door, the look on her face went from an almost cute casual expression into becoming an annoying smug grin, almost like shes trying to exemplify my prior points
"Hey, ignore her cmon!" Layom pulls me in and the nurse looks at me, a bit disgruntled and very irritated, like my sister when I come too late to the house. Let's just hope she doesn't get too mad about this.
Let's just say she wasn't happy, the annoyance and sheer disappointment from learning we fought out of nowhere and how the teacher barely intervened,made sense but honestly I tried to drone out her yelling, anyways afterwards me and Layom left the office and he was gonna show his tour, I'm honestly excited to see more of this school.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone