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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Welcome to the team, bro," Matt said as he hugged me after he announced that I was accepted into the school's football team. I was fifteen at the time when I applied to the team.
"Of course, all for Beauty." I shrugged my shoulder with pride.
"What?"
"I read her message. She's looking forward to seeing you play football." I laughed as Matt's eyes went round in surprise.
"Hey, that's an invasion of privacy," Matt remarked.
"She'd be pleased to see her future husband play football, too," I replied, dismissing his words.
"Hey, I haven't approved of you yet," Matt bantered and playfully messed up my hair.
"Why? I grew up to be a good boy."
Matt giggled and put his arm around my shoulder.
"Fine, but only when she turns eighteen."
#
Another year passed, and I always wish I could turn back time. I was so excited that she turned eighteen, but everything changed in a snap. I just want us to be sixteen forever, even if that means I will only love her from afar. Just so Matt stays with us.
It was a beautiful day. The calming sound of crashing waves filled my ears as I lay in the sun lounger, enjoying the ocean that extends beyond eternity. The sky reflects the hues of orange, yellow, and purple that hint farewell, all mirrored in the serene waters below as the sun is about to set. On my side is the sandcastle, standing strong and tall, reminding me of a wonderful memory of our solid and beautiful friendship. The salty ocean breeze gently caressed my skin. I took a deep breath, inhaling the delightful scent of salt and marine life. I saw Matt approach me from the side. With each step, he sinks softly, leaving trails in the fine white sand. Despite having been in Scotts' secluded resort countless times, I still could not stop but fall in love with its beauty over and over again.
"Are you thinking of my sister again?" Matt quipped as he sat in another sun lounger beside me.
"Sort of," I bantered. Matt showed a faint laugh.
We stayed silent for a few minutes and enjoyed the splendid scenery in front of us. Later, Matt cleared his throat which caught my attention.
"I guess things will change a bit that I am now of legal age," he started. I observe him breathe heavily. His eyes are still focused on the ocean. Matt just turned eighteen yesterday.
"Are they pressuring you to follow in their steps?" I inquired.
Matt moved his lips and showed a faint smile and eventually answered, "Yes".
"Do you not want to?"
"It's not like that. I am just…" Matt glanced at me and defensively replied, but he failed in his attempt as he was unable to complete his sentence. He took a deep breath and regained his composure.
"I am scared, Damon," Matt admitted. We stared at each other, and I saw the honesty in those sincere eyes. He is truly scared. He had been like a big brother to me, so I know him well. We know each other very well and it also bothers me seeing him torn like this. I reached out to his arm and lightly tapped it as a gesture of showing support.
"Hey, we've always known you're a competent and responsible man. You can do it," I said, trying to comfort and uplift him. Matt, again, showed his faint smile as a sign of appreciation.
"It's complicated, bro."
I understand Matt. The Scotts are one of the most powerful in the field of business worldwide. This is because they have entered various markets, especially in terms of modern inventions. All of this is not out of luck but because of the hard work and brainpower of Alfred and Fe Scott, their grandparents. Señor Alfred and Madame Fe are feared by all the people. Aside from their power, they have a reputation for showing no mercy. They fight with anyone who gets in their way. I would not be surprised if they would disown Matt, Beauty, and Lorde if they rebel against what they want. Even so...
"It's your life, Matt. Choose what makes you happy. We will support you all the way." We would not want Matt to be miserable his whole life for not following what he truly wants. He is selfless. He deserves the best.
"I have people to protect," Matt replied with a sound of finality. Just like that, we kept silent. We spent half an hour enjoying the waves like a piece of music to our ears. I let Matt be lost in his thoughts because I knew he needed it. After a while, Matt spoke again.
"Since I was a child, I have always longed for mom and dad – on graduation day, family day, and any other event. But not once did they come. They'd come home at most twice a year," Matt said, careful not to break his voice. I kept my silence, willing to listen to whatever he had to say.
"I needed a mom to cook for me. I needed a dad to read me some stories. But none of the three of us experienced that. I could not even understand why they chose to have Beauty live abroad. No matter how much I think about it, I could not understand their decisions." This time around, Matt's voice broke, and his tears started to fall.
"I was mad, bro. At a young age, I wanted to rebel just to get noticed by them. But as I saw Lorde growing up, fear overwhelmed me. He rarely speaks. He rarely smiles. He didn't have a friend. That fear motivated me to be a good brother to him," Matt said between his tears. He wiped his tears with his shirt before he continued.
"So, when Ethan introduced himself to me as Lorde's friend and when Ethan told me one day that Lorde protected two boys at school, I was extremely happy. I felt like I raised him right. I raised a good human. It inspired me even more to be a good person." Those words made me smile genuinely.
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Everyone has all eyes on her. Her mouth-dropping aura is a bomb. Heck! How can she be both charming and cold at the same time?"It's ridiculous to act like a fangirl in situations like this, right?" Venice murmurs, keeping her eyes on Thania and addressing her questions to me and Blair."Definitely," I agree with a nod, while Blair giggles quietly.Thania moves forward, making the captain look anxious. He fakes a cough twice, then bows his head. There are only around half of his guards who are still standing up. The rest are lying on the ground, enduring their wounds."Good day, My Lady! We are just trying to inform you that we found these students…escaping your premises," he says nervously. I step forward to stand beside Thania. The aliens seem to be admiring her so much, too. Thania just stares at the city guards' captain for a while, making him even more nervous."We will now leave, My Lady. Thank you," the captain says politely while lowering his head and gulping twice."Let me re
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His powerful punches and flawless kicks overpower his opponent at every turn. We are simply amazed by the display of his abilities. This makes me wonder how he got injured while they were escaping. Then I remember Beauty once said it was because he was protecting them. With a single decisive blow, he seals his triumph, emerging as the undeniable champion of the match.The final fight is between Lorde and Xhyee. Xhyee's face reveals concern about their fight. It is clear to me who will win between the two of them. However, I think Thania intentionally does this to test Lorde if she is capable of hurting a weak woman in the name of success. This is a serious test, in my opinion.It is an unexpected matchup, a fight between a weak lady and a strong gentleman. The crowd gathers in anticipation, curious to witness how this peculiar challenge will unfold. Xhyee stands shyly in the center of the ring. Facing her is Lorde while standing in between them is Alhyssa who is confused as to why the
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The days go by quickly, and I rarely see Thania. She is busy gathering information about the spies lurking around the school and investigating the killings that have occurred inside.I am currently lost in thought on the rooftop of the classroom building when I hear a rustling sound from behind me. I look back and immediately notice Quinn stumbling from his standing position. I rush over to him."Hey, are you OK?" I ask, supporting him. He nods while showing signs of dizziness."I just came back from the world of humans," he says, as I had expected."Thank goodness I am brought back here with you," he adds, surprising me.I quickly recover and speak, "Well, that's a good thing because if anyone else saw you, you would be in danger."When he seems to have recovered from his dizziness, I let go of him. I turn around and go back to my contemplation. He follows me and sits next to me."I've been looking for you for a long time, Blair," he says, surprising me. My eyebrows raise in disbelie
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I do not know the reason, but I feel fear in Lorde's presence. He is too cold compared to Jax who, though serious, has a playful aura."You're now dismissed," Alhyssa says. Without a word, Thania stands up and leaves the room. We wait for Quinn to leave before following. I am the last one to leave, so I close the door. When we get out of the elevator, we stop, and we see Grams and Pops. Grams has a pout on her face while sadness is evident on Pops' face."You go ahead," Venice tells Quinn, who immediately refuses. "We'll come with you. They're our companions," Quinn says. We do not say anything, just nod. Grams and Pops approach us while Quinn stands by our side."Grams! Pops! Why do you look sad?" Alhyssa asks as they approach."Is it true? Did another student die?" Pops asks as a follow-up question."Yes, Pops. That's why we're going to see them," Alhyssa answers."That's probably why Thania didn't even look back when we called her. She's probably angry again about what's happening.
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Blair's Standpoint"Yes," I confirm. They are all silent, and shock is plastered on their faces, except for Thania who always discovers things first."Did you become friends? As I remember, we were ten years old when you had surgery, Quinn, and we visited you. We do not see a child," Ethan asks with a tone of doubt."Although, she looks familiar. She's the girl you look at on the cellphone before Matt drowns, right? We even mistake you for a pedophile," explains Ethan who also cannot believe everything that happens. Quinn looks at me slightly as if his eyes are signaling something."We only meet twice. First, when her grandmother donates blood to me. Second…" Quinn stops abruptly. At the same time, I look back on the past.#I played quietly in the playground of the human world. After the war in Guhya, my parents sent me away to the human world to save myself from the war. There I was with my grandmother who lived in the real world despite being a Dji. Because she believed that we wer
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We are even more shocked when Alhyssa flies backward because of Lorde's kick. Although Alhyssa is thrown, she recovers easily. She points her weapon at us again."Who is he?" Alhyssa asks out loud, perhaps shocked by what is happening. Thania comes closer and gets between us, so Alhyssa quickly withdraws the weapon."Thania, what are you doing?" She asks a confused question.Thania is silent at Alhyssa's question, and she turns to us."Load him and follow us. Venice, Blair, stay here," commands Thania.Before she can turn around completely, Blair stops her."I'll go with you," Blair almost shouts out of panic. Thania does not answer so we follow her and so does Blair. Ethan immediately loads him with our help. We board the subway train in silence. We feel each other silently. We easily reach the forest and as usual, Thania kneels and touches the ground, causing the dimension to open and the gate to appear. We quickly enter and follow them to the Administration Building. After a while,
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"Beau?" They ask in chorus."Trust me this time," I say without looking at them and continue with my pace."Are you sure about this?" Damon asks as he grabs my hand. I look at him intently and nod, our hands still holding each other."I think I know the way," I say as I look at them one by one. "How?" This time, surprisingly, Lorde asks."I see it in my vision. I think I've been here before," I say, and they all furrow their brows."What are you saying, Beau?" Ethan asks, not able to believe what I just said."I don't know, Ethan, but you have to trust me in this," I demand. Despite their doubt, they follow me, and we rush in the direction I point out. With all the twists and turns, I find the path to the exit without hitting dead ends solely based on my memory. But with each passing moment, it feels like we are just going back and forth the same way."Beau, I think your vision is wrong," Quinn finally butts in again."No, we're almost there," I say, trying to defend myself."Beau, yo
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We placed next to Max who has been constantly in the first place. The last round became difficult. I feel my vision blacking out and I am about to pass out. Even so, we remain at our place."Are you well, Beau?" Ethan asks, shouting from the side.I bob. My vision is turning around at a breakneck speed. One more step, and everything goes black. I wake up to the bumpy feeling and realize Damon is loading me on his back, while Ethan, Quinn, and Lorde are holding my back and cheering Damon on as they run at the same pace. I watch the finish line, and eight students are already there, while we are about twelve meters away. We continue and in a few minutes, we finish the race."Mr. Han, is that allowed?" One of our classmates asked about Damon's choice of loading me on his back."Race is about reaching the finish line, so that's technically acceptable," Mr. Han replies smiling. The race finished with the five of us being accepted. I also noticed Sachz finishing the race, her being in fifte
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Things move quickly and two weeks pass with the whole school being quiet. The students are full of excitement for the upcoming ten selections that will be held two days from now. According to them, the chosen ten rarely happens in a century. Also, we hear that it is fun to be part of the chosen ten because they are given special privileges at school. Because of this, we have also become interested in the said selection, hoping that this will be the way to get out of here. However, no one has mentioned the specific way in which the students will fight, leaving everyone unprepared for the impending battle.I am walking down the hallway when I hear someone yelling from one side. I recognize it as Kate and her two friends."Kate, are you going crazy? Why are you fighting us?" asks one of his friends who is annoyed. She is shocked when Kate pushes her, just enough to make her step backward."Because you betrayed me," Kate shouts."What are you talking about, Kate?" Kate's friends are confu
