Written & Created By: Eddie Yagami
*Readers Discretion is Advised*
Magic, alchemy, and the supernatural... all things that disappeared from our world long ago. But many have asked, "Can it return?" It's a question that countless people in the fields of science and medicine have pondered, only to be denied the truth of its existence—if it ever existed at all. But the real question is: should it return? No one can ever know if the timing is right or even why it vanished in the first place.
A shimmering light can be seen in the distance, surrounded by complete darkness. Upon closer inspection, the light pulsates slowly but steadily. What could this light be, and where did it come from? A mystery that may never be solved—at least not yet.
One thing is certain: this light has an odd presence. As it appears to get closer and closer, the light speaks, "My time is near." But who—or what—is it speaking to? And what does it mean by this cryptic message? A true mystery indeed.
Santera Private High School is a prestigious institution for those aiming for successful and lifelong careers. But it's no ordinary school—most students come from wealthy families or have earned their way through sheer talent. However, one student stands out, sitting idly at his desk, gazing out the window, waiting for class to begin.
"Hey, Mac!" someone calls from the doorway of classroom 3A. The voice gets the attention of the student by the window—Chandler "Mac" McCullen. He turns to see two familiar faces approaching, one waving. As they arrive, Mac greets them both with a fist bump. One friend takes the desk in front of him, while the other sits next to him. The three begin to converse.
"Ready for another shitty year?" Mac asks his two lifelong friends, James "JR" Rickson and Lucille "Lucky" Garcia, whom he met back in elementary school. Lucky looks at Mac, slightly annoyed.
"You do realize that college is just around the corner, right? We have to stay on top of our grades," she says, before glancing at JR, remembering how he barely passed last year. With a small chuckle, she adds, "Well, at least one of us does."
Mac and Lucky start laughing at JR's misery as he recalls one of his stricter teachers. JR shakes his fist in mock frustration. "I swear Mr. Keyes wanted to fail me every chance he got!" His retort only fuels more laughter from Mac and Lucky.
"Why must you laugh at my suffering all the time?!" JR asks dramatically. As the comic relief of the group, his antics always keep them entertained.
Shortly after, the other students file into the classroom as the bell rings, signaling the start of the day. An older gentleman enters the room, clipboard in hand, and walks to the front of the class.
"Mornin', class! How are we doing on this fine Monday morning for everyone's first day of school?" he asks. The students respond with a variety of greetings.
"Good! Well, I'm Mr. Parker, and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. Let's all settle down so I can begin roll call."
As the class quiets, Mr. Parker starts calling out names, while Mac retreats into his thoughts, waiting for his name to be called.
"So, another year has begun. I just hope nothing too crazy happens this time around," Mac thinks to himself, recalling the chaos of the last two years. He snaps back to reality as Mr. Parker calls out Lucky's name, knowing his name is next.
"Chandler... McCullen?!" Mr. Parker calls out, immediately recognizing the name. He pauses, scanning the room for a response. From the back corner near the windows, Mr. Parker hears a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, I'm here," Mac replies.
The room erupts in whispers. Mr. Parker, being new to the school, wasn't expecting a situation like this but feels compelled to ask. "If I may ask, are you the same McCullen whose...?"
Before he can finish, Mac cuts him off. "I know you mean well, Mr. Parker, but I'd rather not. Trust me, everyone here already knows, and I'd prefer to avoid making a scene."
Mr. Parker glances around and sees the students already staring at Mac, especially the female students, whose eyes seem locked on him, ready to pounce. Mac shudders, feeling a chill down his spine.
"I understand. Let's move on," Mr. Parker says, respecting Mac's request.
"We're off to a great start, huh, bud?" JR sarcastically whispers to Mac, who glares back at him.
"You wanna get knocked out?" Mac responds, equally sarcastic. JR chuckles, but before they can continue their banter, Mr. Parker calls out, "James Rickson?!"
"I'm here!" JR replies.
As roll call concludes, everyone is accounted for, much to Mr. Parker's surprise. He expected to mark a few students absent on the first day, but this being one of the most prestigious schools in the country, the students take their education seriously. However, Mac feels that this year won't be any different from the last two... at least for now.
Before the class ends, Mac approaches Mr. Parker. "Mr. Parker, is this your first year teaching here?"
"Yes, it is, Chandler. Why do you ask?" Mr. Parker responds.
"I was wondering if I could leave class a little early and head to my next class ahead of everyone else."
Mr. Parker is confused at first but quickly pieces it together. "Does this have to do with who you are?"
Mac nods, and Mr. Parker grants his request without hesitation.
Mac waves goodbye to Lucky and JR, knowing he won't see them until lunch. As he walks out, he glances back at the classroom—mainly at the female students who are still watching him closely. With a heavy sigh, he leaves.
Outside his next class, Mac waits for the bell. As expected, a horde of female students charges down the hallway toward him from both directions. Without missing a beat, Mac calmly steps into the classroom. The moment he crosses the threshold, the students suddenly stop in their tracks and begin walking normally, as if nothing happened.
Even now, Mac doesn't understand why they behave this way, but he knows one thing—it annoys him to no end.
Mac spends the entire day dodging hordes of female students between classes. By the end of the day, he has a plan. He hides in the boys' restroom—the one place his fans dare not enter—waiting for the coast to be clear. Once the hallway is quiet, he heads to the main entrance, muttering to himself, "Damn those girls. Don't they have anything better to do?"
As Mac nears the main entrance, he spots Lucky waving at him in the distance. He casually waves back. Once they meet up, Mac gives her a quick hug and asks, "Where's James?"
Lucky points in the general direction, and Mac immediately knows what JR is up to. On the other hand, JR's luck is just not in his favor today. Mac lets out a dissatisfied sigh. "When will he ever learn?" he mutters.
In the distance, JR can be seen desperately attempting to ask out nearly every girl he comes across, with no success. Mac and Lucky share an amused glance as they watch JR's failures. Lucky suddenly remembers something. "So, how's your fan club doing? Did they give you a hard time today?"
Mac shoots her a blank, irritated stare, but Lucky just laughs. "You've got to give them credit for trying at least," she teases.
Mac isn't having it. "The only credit I'm giving is this smack to the back of your head for annoying me!" he exclaims, though Lucky only laughs harder.
Not long after, JR approaches them, looking completely defeated. He slumps onto the bench next to Mac and Lucky who were already sitting down, sighing heavily. "So, what did we learn?" Mac asks, rubbing in JR's failure to pick up any girls.
"That all the girls in this school only care about one thing—trying to get into a relationship with you," JR responds, clearly frustrated.
Mac karate-chops JR on the head, exclaiming, "WRONG ANSWER!" JR dramatically falls over, laying his head on Lucky's lap, playing up his defeat.
Mac begins to formulate some cruel ideas and can't help but laugh. JR, still lying on Lucky's lap, wakes up confused. Looking up at Mac, he wonders why he's laughing. He then glances down, realizing where his head is. "Are these... someone's knees?" he thinks, then quickly turns his head toward Lucky, who is red-faced and flustered.
"Oh shit!" JR exclaims, jumping up and walking around to Mac's side of the bench. "Dammit, bro! Thanks for putting me in that situation!" JR says, while Mac continues laughing. JR, knowing how Mac's mind works, is sometimes scared by his cruel ideas, never knowing what Mac might pull next.
"If you want to date someone, why not just ask Lucille? I'm sure you'll have a killer time together," Mac jokes, struggling to keep a straight face before bursting into laughter again.
JR isn't amused. He glances at Lucky, noticing how red her face is, and whispers to Mac, "Hey, I think you broke her."
Mac finally stops laughing and looks over at Lucky. He realizes he might have gone too far this time. "Fuck," he mutters under his breath as he slides over to her, cautiously placing his hands on her shoulders and giving her a gentle shake. "C'mon, Lucille, you know I'm just joking, right?"
Snapping out of her flustered state, Lucky proceeds to punch Mac hard in the stomach. "Yep, here it comes," Mac thinks to himself, taking the blow without protest, but hardly reacting to the pain.
"How many times do I have to tell you—that's NOT funny!" Lucky yells, storming off while Mac recovers from the punch.
JR chuckles. "Nice job, bro. You pissed her off—again. At least you didn't dodge her punch this time. Honestly, you kind of deserved it."
Mac shoots him a glare. "First of all, fuck you. Second, she'll be fine. Third, I saw it coming. And lastly, fuck you again," he responds, then they both laugh it off.
"All right, let's go see if she's calmed down," Mac suggests, and the two boys follow after her. Lucky isn't too far ahead, waiting near the school's exit.
Mac knows that Lucky can never stay mad at him for long, though why that is, only she truly knows. As they catch up to her, Mac notices something out of the corner of his eye—a black luxury sedan parked in the student pickup area, with a tall man in a suit standing by the car. He has an earpiece in his ear, and Mac already knows who the man is there for.
"Not again. Why does she keep doing this when I've asked her to stop?", Mac grumbles to himself as he begins walking toward the school's exterior exit. JR and Lucky pause, glancing toward the car, immediately understanding why Mac is upset. After a moment, Mac shouts back, "Y'all coming or what?"
JR and Lucky quickly catch up. "Wanna hang out at my place for a bit?", Mac asks, and they both nod in agreement as they leave the school grounds.
The man standing by the car sighed in disappointment, pulls out a phone from his jacket pocket and makes a phone call. "Hello, ma'am. You asked me to call if he didn't use the car?"
A woman's voice replied from the other end of the line. "Let me guess, he decided to walk home with his friends instead?"
"Yes, ma'am," the man confirmed. "Shall I stop him and make him get in the car?"
"No, don't bother," the woman said. "For now, just continue to show up at the same time every day. If he keeps refusing, then I'll just have to go there myself."
"Understood, ma'am," the man replied before ending the call. He pocketed the phone and sighed again, watching Mac and his friends walk away.
Inside a large, elegant office filled with bookshelves and what looks like a large meeting table covered in different technological equipment, the woman placed her phone down and let out a heavy sigh. "I should've known this would happen. I know he wants his privacy, but I hope he understands I'm just looking out for him," she said to herself, her voice tinged with worry.
Meanwhile, Mac, JR, and Lucky arrived at a tall, sleek and modern apartment complex with ten floors. They got into an elevator and rode it up to the top floor, then as they got out, Mac pulled out a set of keys while walking down the hall towards his apartment door and unlocked it. Mac's apartment was very large and luxurious for a single student even though it was meant for a large enough family, it belonged to Mac, who lived alone.
"Home sweet home," Mac said as they entered. JR and Lucky headed for the living room to relax while Mac walked into the kitchen. "Y'all want anything to drink?" Mac asked.
JR, always the jokester, replied sarcastically, "Yes, sir! I'll take an ice-cold be—" But before he could finish, Mac threw a cold water bottle at JR's face, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"I swear, every time you say that joke, it pisses me off," Mac said. JR picked up the bottle, opened it, and began to drink, mockingly muttering something under his breath.
Mac turned to him with a furious look. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asked.
"Nope, nothing," JR responded quickly, taking another swig of water, slightly terrified.
"Anyways, want a beer, Lucky?", Mac asked as JR, who was mid-drink, spat out a mouthful of water all over the coffee table.
"What the fuck, dude? Really?!" JR shouted, Mac and Lucky just burst out laughing at his reaction.
"Yeah, okay, very funny. Laugh it up," JR said, clearly not amused. A towel was tossed his way, "Clean up the mess you just made, Water Boy," Mac said as he chuckled.
As JR wiped up the mess, he suddenly remembered something. "Hey Chandler, if I'm not mistaken, hasn't it been a year since you moved into this apartment?", asked JR.
Mac nodded, "Yep. Yesterday was the anniversary," Mac replied, then Lucky chimed in, "Even though I know why you moved out, don't you miss living with your parents?"
Mac shrugged his shoulders, "Always, but with how busy they are and all the attention they get, I just wanted to get away from it all and live a normal life as much as possible," said Mac, Lucky and JR give him a sarcastic look.
"Yeah, there's nothing about your life that is normal, but we get what you mean," JR said, sharing a knowing glance with Lucky. Time flew by as they chatted, and soon it was getting late. Lucky and JR both needed to head home.
"Y'all want me to whip up something to take with you?", Mac offered, sensing their hesitation. "Sorry, Chandler, but you cooked for us yesterday, and I still have leftovers at home," said JR.
"Yeah, same here. Let's not forget you also cooked the day before that as well," Lucky added, and she and JR exchanged glances.
"And the day before that," JR joked.
"And even the day before that," Lucky teased, noticing Mac's growing annoyance. "Alright, I get it! Laugh it up," Mac said, exasperated. "Either way, I'm walking y'all home, and I won't take 'no' for an answer."
They already knew he'd say that, so they all headed out together, walking toward the neighborhood where JR and Lucky lived.
At the outskirts of the neighborhood, they passed through a quiet, well-maintained area. JR and Lucky had lived there most of their lives, sharing both good and bad memories along the way.
When they reached Lucky's house, she said her goodbyes and headed inside. Mac and JR continued walking toward JR's place, and on the way, JR broke the silence.
"Hey, Chandler?"
"What's up?" Mac replied.
"I was wondering... it feels good to be back in school, right?" JR asked, though his mind seemed elsewhere, contemplating his future.
Mac looked at him, puzzled. "I mean, I guess? You hate school, so what's changed this time?"
JR sighed heavily. "I had an argument with my dad over the weekend. He's pissed about my grades from last year and said I need to do better. If not, then he's sending me to military school. It just... sucks."
Mac knew JR's dad was a strict man, especially since he was former military. But lately, it seemed like his father had become even stricter, and Mac wasn't sure why. Maybe it had something to do with what happened a few years ago. Mac pondered it for a moment before asking, "Do you have to deal with Mr. Keyes this year?", Mac asked JR.
"Nope, thankfully I don't have to deal with Mr. Keyes this year," JR responded, his tone filled with relief. But before he could fully celebrate, Mac lightly smacked the back of his head.
"Ow! What was that for?!" JR exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head.
"You know why," Mac said with a smirk. "If you hadn't been so stubborn and told me what was going on sooner, I could've fixed the issue with Mr. Keyes much earlier in the year."
JR sighed, realizing Mac was right. "Yeah, I guess I can be pretty stubborn sometimes."
"Not sometimes—all the time," Mac replied, then they both start to laugh as they reached JR's front door. After doing their signature handshake, they said their goodbyes, and Mac started his walk back to his apartment.
The walk back to his apartment didn't take long, and as Mac approached the main entrance to the building, he noticed a large hooded man standing near the entrance. The hooded man was playing with a knife in his hand before pointing it directly at Mac.
"Can I help you, good sir?" Mac asked nonchalantly, staring the hooded man down with a calm, blank expression.
"Yeah, you can, you rich brat," the hooded man snarled. "Give me your wallet and any other valuables you have on you, and I won't end up stabbing you. And don't make me repeat myself."
Mac wasn't carrying his wallet, but he decided to play along. Slowly reaching toward his back pocket, he asked, "Rich, huh? What makes you think I'm rich?"
The hooded man looked at him confused, then started laughing, clearly amused by Mac's question. "You can't be serious? You live in these fancy ass apartment building, and you expect me to believe that you're not rich? That's fucking hilarious!", shouted the hooded man as he continued to laugh.
The hooded man continued laughing hysterically, pacing around and unknowingly turning his back toward Mac. Seeing the perfect opportunity, Mac made his move. The hooded man barely had time to react before noticing Mac's foot closing in on his face, knocking him out cold. Everything went dark for the hooded man.
To Be Continued….