Chapter 2: Under the Summer Sky
"One, two, one, two."
Tiny droplets of sweat trickle down a young fellow's face.
"One, two, one, two."
The clouds above parted ways, allowing the summer rays to shine gracefully down upon the boy in a clearing on a small yet wide hill. Punch after punch, a warm breeze brushed across his golden hair. His sweat-soaked shirt clung tightly around his well-toned body, revealing his numerous scars. He punched the air with a radiant smile that paired pleasingly with his soft blue eyes. Off in the distance, a soft bell chimed from an old-looking schoolhouse that happened to be a large church one a lifetime ago. With heavy breaths, the boy walked over to a nearby bench and rested his head on the backrest.
"Why am I cursed to only be around weirdos?" While his vision was inverted, the boy watched a girl in a hazel school uniform with matching hair walk in front of him, her wet plastic bag brushing against his face. The boy sprung up and grabbed the bag faster than the girl had a chance to react. "Wow! Guess you like to stay hydrated, huh? Russell."
Russell grabbed a bottle of water inside the bag and chugged the entire thing in what seemed to be one gulp. He then turned to the girl and gave her a wholehearted smile as his strength was restored. "Thanks, Jasmine." He tossed the bottle back to her.
"Anytime." Jasmine moved towards the bench and sat down, fanning herself. "Say, why are you up here, anyway? You skipped class again, didn't you?"
"Guilty as charged." He grinned.
Jasmine clicked her teeth and shook her head. "You know you're gonna get kicked out for that, right?"
"Oh, spare me the lecture." The boy stood up and resumed punching the air. "And, besides…I…got a…reason." He spoke between breaths.
"Oh boy, let me guess. You asked the Sisters to somehow grant you immunity while you 'train' for the church while you are really just training for some street brawl?"
"Oh please, that was last year's excuse." Hearing his response caused Jasmine to roll her eyes. "But no, as of tonight, I will be an official member of one of the kingdom's branches."
Jasmine stopped fanning herself and stared blankly at the boy before her.
"You are? At this age?" She inched forward a little. Russell nodded while puffing out his chest. He stopped punching the air to face Jasmine.
"I can't say too much about the job itself, but it was like a fever dream," Russell said, squirming like a child, betraying his muscular appearance. "But you probably don't want to hear how it happened-" He grinned off to the side.
"Spit it out." She gave him a serious look. Her brown eyes locked onto him, glimmering with curiosity.
"Ok, ok." He gave an awkward laugh. "So there I was, walking through the upper slums, patrolling the streets like I normally do. Then, without warning, BAM! I bump into some old geezer, causing him to drop all of his bottles of alcohol. The man stared at the ground, heartbroken, before slowly turning up to face me with a murderous glare. I matched him with a much worse glare; his face changed to a creepy, awkward smile, and the man grabbed my hand. 'Hey kid, wanna do me a favor? In return, I'll help you get a job so you can pay off the rare alcohol you caused me to break.' I nodded, and he brought me to a strange building deep inside the red light part of the slums."
"Wait!" Jasmine interrupted him. "Did you just say that you followed a man you just met down into the deep parts of the slums?" She stood up and grabbed Russell's shirt, and lifted it up. His fine-tuned muscles were glazed with sweat. She looked all over his body, looking for something. After finding nothing, she dropped his shirt and walked to the benches. "You have some serious B.O., if not any scars." She fanned her nose while sitting back down.
"I'll pretend you didn't say that." His face turned a slight shade of pink as he cleared his throat. "After he opened the doors, a bunch of beefy-looking guys jumped out at us. Of course, yours truly beat them without taking a single hit." He flexed and smooched his biceps. Jasmine gave him a forced yawn. Russell quickly resumed his story. "After that, we made it back to Castle Town, and he told me where his office was and told me I start tonight. When I came to the school, Sister Kendra grabbed me by the collar and told me I could skip afternoon classes every Friday starting today."
"How did Sister Kendra find out?"
"That…I have no clue. But I guess it means that it's the real deal!"
"So why accept it?" Jasmine said, seemingly upset. Russell paused before answering, his brow furrowed in concentration. Looking at Jasmine's current expression worried him.
"
It was a free opportunity given to me. Plus, I can officially make money the legal way with these guns of mine."
Jasmine's right eye twitched as she turned to rest her forehead on her palm. She sighed deeply, turned her back on Russell, and took a few steps away. "I'm surrounded by single-minded nutcases. First that meathead of a sister, then that delusional bastard who can't bother to even care about himself, and now you."
"That second one. Were you referring to that manager of yours?"
"Yeah…him. Anyway, I need to head to work soon." She turned and gave Russell a forced smile. Her eyes failed to hide her anxiety. Russell frowned a bit.
"I guess you aren't too keen on me being a knight?"
She took her head. "It's not that. It's hard not to feel lost and directionless when I see everyone around me pursuing their dreams fervently while I'm still searching for mine. I'm just here, drifting with no purpose."
Russell walked to her and ruffled her hair as if she were a small child.
"You'll find it one day. You've got people watching from the shadows cheering for you." Russell smiled.
Jasmine pushed him away, slightly embarrassed. She grabbed a small piece of her hair and curled it. "I'm sure he is…" She muttered with disgust before walking off without saying goodbye to Russell.
Russell waved quietly. As she disappeared into the school building, he sighed before collapsing onto the bench and hanging his head towards the sky. "I was talking about me…not him." As Russell stared off into the sky, watching the clouds drift in the sea of blue, a pain crept into his chest. Thoughts of Lance replaced the pain he felt. "I wonder what would happen to those around him if he disappeared-" He then resumed his practice punches with the image of Lance in his mind as a target.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone