Nemo Farid:
"I think this mask will work the best," Oscar says. Out of all the monster masks in his hands, Oscar picks my slime monster mask.
"Awesome," I say. I think back to when that mask was just a simple paper bag. I colored it black before cutting out three holes; two for the eyes and a third, larger hole for the mouth.
While Oscar examines my slime monster mask, I take back the rest of my masks and put them back into my shoulder bag.
"Okay," Oscar says with a smile. "I like this. Now that we have the monster ready, we can--"
As Oscar explains to me the plan, I hear someone yelling and look around. Only a few steps in front of us, I see Noon falling down the stairs.
"Noon," I shout, running forward. Opening my arms, Noon falls right into them. Wrapping my arms and catching Noon, I stomp my foot back and steady the two of us.
"Noon," I shout. "Hey! Noon. Are you okay? Noon?"
For some reason, Noon is out of breath. She's breathing fast and heavily. As I look at Noon with her bright green eyes and red face, I brush a strand of her long brown hair out of the way.
Ovia Afternoon Encarnacion:
As Nemo brushes a strand of my hair out of the way, we look at each other. I can see as clear as day Nemo's dark brown eyes. Combined with his neatly-combed, jet-black hair, I immediately feel my heartbeat run like crazy. It's beating so fast that I think it might actually burst out of my chest and run on its own. It only gets worse when I feel Nemo's cold breath against my burning skin.
"Hey," someone says. "Noon!"
I look to the right and see Emica.
"She's pointing at Nemo," I think. "Why is she pointing at Nemo? Wait, what's going on? Is Nemo holding? Oh, man. Oh, man! Oh, man! Nemo is actually holding me! What do I do? What do I say?"
I open my mouth to say something but whatever I wanted to say, it doesn't come out. It feels like the words are stuck in my throat. Instead, what comes out is a bunch of coughs.
Emica Kana:
"Oh dear," I say, watching as Noon coughs again. She coughs and coughs before finally standing on her own. As she coughs, Nemo and Oscar step back while Nyssa rolls her eyes.
"Sorry," Noon says in between her coughs. "So sorry! Uhh, Nemo. Are you okay?"
"Don't worry," Nemo says with a smile and a wave. He then dusts off his sand-colored jacket with many pockets. "I'm fine. In fact, I should be asking you that. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Noon answers with her own smile. She dusts off her pink jacket and white shirt with long blue pants. "I'm fine! Thank you for saving me! I...I really appreciate it!"
I think Nemo is about to say something but before he can, Noon grabs Nyssa's hand and pulls her away. Flying close behind them, I listen in as Noon yells at Nyssa.
"Brilliant plan," Noon says to Nyssa.
"I know," Nyssa replies with a smile.
"I do think it was a brilliant plan," I say, moving up to fly at Noon's side. As I do, Noon turns to me. From the way her eyes are looking at me, I think she's a little mad. I shrug my shoulders. "You have been looking for a reason to be close to Nemo."
"That's not what I meant," Noon whispers. "Besides, that's not even a reason. That was just Nyssa pushing me down the stairs."
"Yeah," Nyssa says, grabbing both of our attention. "I pushed you close to Nemo. In fact, I pushed you right into his arms."
Noon sighs and slaps herself in the face. She shakes her head before waving her hand. "Come on. Let's just get to class."
About to walk up another set of stairs, Noon stops and turns to Nyssa.
"You first," Noon says, stepping aside.
"Relax," Nyssa says, walking past Noon and up the stairs. "Nemo isn't here. I have no reason you push him."
I turn around and see that Nyssa is right. Nemo and Oscar are still near the front gate, talking with each other.
"They're probably talking about the short movie Oscar is trying to film," Nyssa says. "Wait! The movie!"
Nyssa turns around so quickly that she startles Noon and knocks her down the stairs again. This time, Noon manages to catch herself by grabbing the railing.
"Will you please stop that," Noon begs.
"Forget that," Nyssa says, grabbing Noon's arms. "Wow, are we idiots or what? Noon. Oscar's movie!"
"Oscar's movie," Noon repeats.
Noon looks at me but I don't know what Nyssa is talking about either.
"Noon, I have a brilliant plan," Nyssa says with a huge smile.
"Oh no," Noon says with a frown. "Will I need a football helmet?"
"Don't worry," Nyssa says, letting go. She puts up a hand and places her other hand over her chest. "It doesn't involve any stairs this time. At least, as far as I know."
Nyssa then leans in. She whispers something in Noon's ears. Now a little curious myself, I lean in too and eavesdrop.
Akio Hisashi:
"And that is it for today's class," Ms. Cato, Nemo's history kyoshi (teacher), says. She ends the presentation and turns off the machine. "Class, please don't forget about your project. You need to type a paper so I can review it. If I like it, then you can proceed to the next step. If not, then I'd ask you to please pick a different topic."
As Ms. Cato says all of this, the students, including Nemo and Oscar, are quickly leaving the room. Flying through the wall, I catch up with Nemo and Oscar as the two walk down the stairs and toward the crowded front gate.
"Finally," Oscar says, bumping Nemo with his elbow. "Come on, we're losing daylight. The sooner we get to the park, the sooner we can set things up and start shooting."
As the two walk through the gate and out of the gakko (school), Oscar pulls out what I am told is called a cell phone. With his cell phone, he starts to call someone.
"Hey, it's me," he says while nodding his head. "Yeah. We're ready. Nemo and I are heading to the park now. Can you be there? You can! Yes! See you there!"
Oscar cheers as he raises his fists into the air before shooting them down. He puts his phone into his pocket and turns toward Noon.
"Come on," Oscar says again, now running. As he runs, Oscar claps his hands. "Claire says she can meet us at the park. She manages to finish all her homework early and is meeting us there. Let's go!"
Nyssa Alva:
"Ahhh," Noon moans while shaking her head. "I hate Claire."
"Don't be rude," I say, hitting Noon on the back. We watch from a few feet away as Nemo and Oscar start to run somewhere. Based on what direction they're running, I think the two are heading to Peters Park.
"I'm not," Noon says. She sticks out her tongue and lets out a raspberry. "I mean, I'm not saying anything too bad. I'm just saying I hate Clarie. Oh, Ms. 'Excellent', who goes to a private school and is from a super rich family and has everything anyone could ever want."
"Hey," I say, tapping Noon on her shoulder. "Ms. 'Not-at-all-Rich'. Your limo with your own private driver is here."
"Oh, thank you," Noon says. For some reason, Noon then turns to the side and gives a nod. She runs off but before she does, I grab her hand.
"Remember the plan," I say, pointing a stern finger at my best friend. "Go to Peters Park. Remember. Peters Park. Got it?"
Noon smiles as she looks at me.
"I got it," Noon replies. "And thank you. I can't thank you enough."
"Just remember me when the 'big day' comes," I say with a wink. Almost immediately, Noon's face turns a bright red. It makes me laugh.
"Come on," Noon says. She pulls her hand back and runs to her limo. As she jumps inside, I watch from where I'm standing as the limo does a U-turn before heading to Peters Park.
"Oh darn it," I say, slapping myself on the face. "I should've asked to give the wedding speech. Oh well. I got years to spare."
Oscar Almo:
"Nemo," Clarie says the second she sees us. Laughing as she walks right up to Nemo, Claire then gives him a big hug. Her arms quickly wrap around Nemo and squeeze him before letting go a few seconds later. "I'm glad to see you two again."
As Claire says this, she adjusts her long red hair and straightens her red jacket.
"Claire," I say. I smile and give Claire a high-five.
"Claire," Nemo says, smiling. "How are you doing?"
Claire's smile turns upside down.
"Busy, busy, busy," she sighs.
"Oh," I say, turning away. "Uhh, I'm sorry. Hey, you know, if you can't do this, it's okay."
"No, no, no," Claire repeats, swinging her hands right and left. "I am busy. Busy, busy, busy with a bunch of stuff I don't want to do. This isn't one of them. This is something I want to do. Now come on. Let's get this film rolling before I'm called back for something else."
"Okay," I say, nodding my head. "Okay! Let's go! Let's do this! I got everything ready! You two need to prepare for your scenes!"
"Got it," Nemo says, shooting me a thumbs-up.
"No problem," Claire answers with a nod of her head.
"Nemo. You're going to play the monster. Here's the--hey wait. Where's the mask?"
I try to reach for the slime monster mask but as I do, all I grab is air.
"The mask," Claire repeats. "What mask?"
"The slime monster mask Nemo made for this," I answer. I look all over and even dump everything in my backpack onto the ground. "I swear I put the mask right here. Wait, did I leave it at the school?"
"Hey Oscar," Clarie says, tapping my shoulder. "By chance, is this monster mask black, wavy, and has two small holes and one big one?"
"Yeah," I say, jumping up from the ground. "Do you see it? Where is it?"
"Over there," Claire answers. She points to a small kid, a little boy, nearby. Besides wearing a pair of overalls with a white shirt, the kid is also wearing the slime monster mask. He's running around, chasing other kids with it.
"Hey," I yell, getting up. I start to run after the kid but stop. Moving fast, I dig through my backpack and give both Claire and Nemo a notebook. "Here are your scripts! Read them for now! I'll be right back!"
I then run after the kid as he keeps roaring.
"Hey," I start as I approach the little boy. "Hey, easy there, little man. Listen. That's my mask. Can I have it back, please?"
"What," the kid says, stepping back. "No! This is mine! I found it! It's my mask now! Mine!"
Before I can say anything else, the kid runs off. He runs off and disappears behind a bush.
"Hey," I say, now chasing after the kid. "Come on, kid! This isn't finder, keeper! That is my mask! Well, it's my friend but still!"
I sigh as I start searching the bushes for the kid.
Don' Yokuna Yokubo:
I open my eyes and take a step forward. As I step forward, I spread out my arms.
"I sense the birth of a new dark spirit," I say. "Greed. Desire. Combined together, they form a dakura tchingu."
I tap the floor with my magical staff and start drawing a purple circle. As I draw the circle, a rune stone on my staff glows with dark magical energy. The dark energy gathers in the circle before transforming into a large shifting shadow.
"Go," I order, pointing at the window. "Go and find the hosuto (host) and become one with him!"
I slam my staff down and watch as my shadow shoots through the window and toward the outside. Through the eyes of my dakura tchingu, I can see the new world, filled with moving metal boxes on wheels, large stone buildings, and thousands of people.
"The ancient world is gone. This new world makes me sick but once I have the souls of Akio Hiacsashi and Emica Kana, I will have enough power to bring back the old world."
Following the greed and desire as it leads my dakura tchingu to a small park, it travels among the shadow before coming upon a tiny green bush, and there hiding in the bush, is a little greedy boy with an interesting monster mask.
I smile as I watch my dakura tchingu tower over him. Even before he can turn around, my shadow engulfs him.
"Hello young man," I say, speaking to the little boy. "My name is Don'Yokuna Yokubo."