Wednesday, April 3
Coming out of a stall in the washroom, John met an unexpected guest, waiting eagerly to inflict pain upon him. John's heart thumped in fear, but his expression was as nonchalant as ever.
Standing without a flinch, John asked the person whom he knew would not answer and proceed to beat him down, "So...Kane. You never give up, huh?"
Kane was leaning his back and stomping a foot against the wall, folding his arms and giving him a deadly glare along with an irritated frown.
Closing his eyes and proceeding silently to him, he simply pulled back a fist and shot it straight to his guts. In reaction, John leaned forward a little, blinking. "You..," he said in a struggle.
Leaning down along with him, Kane muttered, "Don't you dare mock me,"
He ascended his hand slowly to his neck and clasped it, pushing him straight to the door of the stall. "Now, now. Have you ever forgotten the deal we made? Make one stupid move to expose us and we'll kill you. Understood?"
"Y-Yes," said John, unable to breath.
He looked at him with a creepy smile for a couple seconds before saying, "Good." he released his neck.
John quickly leaned down, holding his chest and gasping for air. His heart still rocked in nervousness, but he wanted to retaliate. He looked at him with fury for a moment, before clenching his hand and leaning back up.
Knowing what to expect, Kane gave him a vigorous punch to the cheek, sparks emitting as he propelled his fist. It was fast, and John could feel it.
Trying to mentally accelerate at sound speed wouldn't be enough, yet John tried it in hopes of getting him. Since he was a 2.4 he couldn't possibly surpass his speed.
Kane was a 3.2, and could increase upto two times that which John can handle.
As time slowed down, John's reaction level increased. His mind was focused, and fast processing. However, Kane's fist was still two times faster, and the moment John tried dodging, it was too late.
Kane's sparking fist made its impact on his cheek and jolted him back against the door of the stall. John's face turned around and hit the cold metal surface on its other side. He blinked from pain, and immediately tried his own fist, which unfortunately wasn't fast enough.
Kane accelerated as well, and caught it in his palm like it was nothing. Giving him another smirk, he resumed with a second one to his guts again.
"Ahh," shouted John in agony, before falling to his knees in defeat. Staring down at the dirty, wet ground, he whispered, "Won't you ever learn, idiot..,"
"What's that?" asked Kane, crossing his arms and leaning down with a smug face. "Thought I heard something,"
He leaned back up and walked to the bathroom door, "You better not mess with us again, Johnny boy,"
John glared at him one last time before he touched the door handle. "What do you gain from all of this?"
Kane paused, and sighed, "I don't know, to be honest,"
John's eyes widened in surprise.
Turning around, he continued "But I guess it's just to let out my anger with you,"
He proceeded to the door, "See you later, reckless bastard,"
After that last quote, John's idea of peace changed completely.
Can violence really be avoided? Or is it just a vital part of life? Sins are, right? Wrath is inevitable.
A deep thought he never expected to get, loomed in his head.
***
Pico tore the plastic packet of the energy bar, and ate part of it, coconut flakes landing softly on the floor. As soon as he reached halfway, he took out the complete covering and threw it in the trash bin as John came from behind. He passed by his side and continued walking, ignoring him due to his mind still being occupied with thoughts.
"Yo. Johnny," said Pico, munching his lunch and following him briskly.
As he walked through the hallway with a frown, John listened to Pico blabbering about how he could improve his attack creation skills like his sister.
"So mom told me I could also try that orb attack Pika used on me. I think it would be epic," he said, and shot his fist to the front against the air in excitement.
"Yeah. As if I care," said John, his face turning aggravated.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm sick of those delinquents. That asshole, Kane, just beat the shit out of me in the bathroom. All because of yesterday,"
"Dude. Are you for real? You gotta report this,"
"They'll forgive him. What's the use?"
"I know, but what about his parents. They'll tell 'em just so they teach him, so he won't mess with you again,"
"Those guys need a beating, not a lecture,"
"Don't be a negative bro. Like your brother, hehe," he giggled.
"You think I should simply forget what they did to me? I need revenge...But I can't, or else I'll be expelled,"
"Of course. Revenge is a sin after all. And a big one at that...especially if it reaches killing,"
"Yeah. And if a life is lost, you're jailed and lectured." He sighed, "Man..Neutrals seem to be much better,"
"They're still bad in some way. They don't forgive violence just like us, but also repeat it in a cycle,"
"You mean...Justice?"
"I guess.."
"But I thought it's good.."
"No, I don't think so. Equality is a sin here too, remember?"
"Anyways. So what are you playin' now?"
"Haven't finished 'Road Fighter' yet,"
"Oh, you seem addicted,"
"Well I do like arcade games. For a young soul like me, it seems like a Terran legend. A game from another world, and galaxy,"
"Yeah. Can't believe this game is more than a thousand years old too,"
Alex came from the back and bumped into his shoulder.
"Hey. Watch it!" said John, stopping for a moment along with Pico.
He halted and turned his smug face over his shoulder, "Seems like you got beaten, eh?"
"How do you know?"
"A bruise on your face," he pointed at his cheek.
John tried hiding it with his hand. "Yeah. So what?"
Alex scowled, "Keep that arrogant attitude and you'll be beaten everyday like when you were a kid, loser."
"Psh. I don't need your help. Thank you very much," he looked away with a pout.
"Hmph." Alex turned his face forward and continued walking.
After the lunch break was over, everyone went back to class.
The sociology teacher came into the room with a single book and sat behind her desk for a few minutes, before standing up and knocking it softly a couple times for the students to stop their chatter.
A blonde with violet eyes. She was the great granddaughter of Genos Bolt, the first positive Civlosar who managed to flee from Minus before turning into a negative. He was an intellectual with big connections with the King, and given the right to choose the national coin known as 'Bolts'. A minister and leader of scientific research. He also married from Cerulean and became a proud Havrocsiv—citizen or native of the region.
"Hey everyone. My name's Mercy Bolt," she said with a cheerful smile, curling her long hair.
Pico's eyes widened as he stared at her and gasped, "She's a Solarian...Like us," he murmured.
"Yeah? So what?" murmured back Pika with her complacent look.
"And a Bolt too,"
"Mom isn't one of them though."
He sulked, "I know...I'm just saying,"
Miss Bolt walked over to the students in the front desks, "So will each of you introduce yourselves?"
Starting from the first to the last benches, each student introduced themselves.
After a few minutes, everyone was done, and she headed back to the board. "Okay. You must be familiar with what sociology is. It's the study of society obviously...But more so about human behavior,"
She wrote on the board, "A group of people living in a territory, following the same rules and having a common culture is a society."
Facing the class again, she continued, "The first thing anyone should learn about a society...Is that it has values and norms that should be followed. Those values shape our behavior and interactions with our peers.
"For example, in Plus, killing is not allowed. Same goes for stealing, rape, harassment, bullying, cursing excessively and publicly without justification, etc. However, not just the people must follow those rules, but also the government.
"This means that executions are prohibited, burglars must not be jailed or fined except return what they stole, and the Royal army must not take action against citizens unless they retaliate or go against the King's ideals. Even in retaliation, very minimum injury is allowed and only for tranquilizing them.
"Basically, anything that hurts a citizen financially—causing mental stress—, physically or mentally is not allowed.
"Now you might ask, what should the government do then about criminals? Well, obviously lecture them. With readjustment programs and mental therapies, crime rates have shown to have dropped drastically. Financial aid is given to those who need it, and so on.
"What if criminals don't accept what's taught? Then they will be exiled and live their lives as outcasts from our society or go to the negatives or neutrals and become one of them.
"Violence is the mother of all sins. But this doesn't mean we aren't bound to commit it, just that we cannot repeat it, and instead, eliminate it from existence.
"Peace and forgiveness is the way. Or so did we learn from our ancestors and religion. This is what forms our culture. If not followed, then the person is not accepted by society and kicked out 'mentally',"
"Uh, ma' am?" asked Luna, raising her hand.
She looked at her and replied, "Yes?"
"Are we born with that mindset, though?"
She walked over to Luna's desk, "Not exactly. Even though positive electro leq runs through us, it may not influence our behavior completely. That's why the philosophy is engraved in us ever since childhood...Except we are bound to not follow it sometimes,
"Nevertheless, our society must be perfect. A utopia..Or a paradise, with peace and harmony. So we should always work towards achieving that rather than otherwise."
"But why are we bound to commit such things?" asked John.
Staring at the last bench, at him, she crossed her arms and gave him a smile, "Well.." she raised a finger, "That's because we are fundamentally neutral,"
Everyone in class gasped in shock.
She closed her eyes and walked to her desk, leaning at its edge, "You see, our bodies were originally neutral, because we are humans nonetheless. But since Electro, our planet, has the substance known as Leq, that we have in our bodies, we are bound to fall into its influence.
"Leq is what gave rise to our ideology, and our superpower. Due to its influence on our brain, we are bound to lean towards righteousness, peace and forgiveness. But Leq has no complete control, only partial and minimum at that. Our original, neutral selves will eventually get to us, and we might commit crimes if we follow its bad side.
"You see, demons still cross to this side, even if the negatives don't. However, the guardians protect us against them. That's what religious preachers might say. But violence is inseparable and like everything in life, we love it but try to avoid it...Unlike negatives, who hate it in reality, but cannot avoid it due to their twisted rules."
"What?! But we don't," said Luna in startlement.
"I understand." She gave her a serious look, "However, as positives, we must love and never hate, even violence. And since that is what we lean towards—love—we are bound to become violent because we love it just as anything else. And that usually happens unintentionally, even if we don't realize it, as a result of Leq."
"That's just insane. I can't believe it," said Luna, looking down with a frown.
"Just think of violence or blood like wine. We crave for its taste as demons haunt us, but we avoid it at all costs due to our morality and ideals. In other words, we love it innately, but don't express it, unlike negatives."
"And since we are aware of that, we forgive the killers and never execute them?" said Luna.
"Indeed. Because it's not their fault, but the demons haunting them, so instead we appoint professionals to deal with their mental health or preachers to guide them,"
With his back leant against the chair, Alex was looking out the window with arms folded. He chuckled for a moment, then turned his face to her and said with a listless expression, "Right now some of them are being murdered by hired assassins,"
Miss Bolt walked back to Luna's desk, and looked at Alex, who sat by John in the last benches, "Yes. If you follow the news, some people are actually seeking revenge from serial killers since the authorities won't handle the situation themselves. The BFA is one such organization that acts as a guild for assassins to be hired by individuals or firms,
"Vigilantes are also popping up at an alarming rate, especially in Midnight city, claiming to be heroes of justice.
"Of course, we all know that justice is false...And so is revenge."
"Will the peacekeepers handle the situation?" asked one student.
She looked at her with a reassuring smile, "Yes. Don't worry. This happens mostly in the cursed Night region,"
"It's not cursed," replied Luna with a straight face.
She glared at her for a moment, before giving her a fake smile, "Well..It is the region with the most problems,"
Leaning back, Luna smirked and folded her arms, "As if we aren't bound to cause problems. Like you said we aren't always perfect,"
"That's enough, Luna." said Miss Bolt with her upbeat tone, slamming her hand softly on her desk.
Luna gave her a glare, but didn't say a word after that.
Turning to the class, Miss Bolt continued while walking to the board, "Anyways. The second topic beside Functionalism, would be the type of societies.
"There are six types...And Plus is a post industrial society, while Minus is still industrial. Neutralia has multiple types of societies from hunters and gatherers to agriculture, but never beyond industrial due to rejection of tech,
"We owe the rapid industrialization in the past five to six centuries mostly to Earth-humans rather than the 'Development-neglecting' neutrals and negatives."
Doodling on his new notebook's back, John sat giggling quietly while the teacher blabbered in the background. Some delinquents—including Larry—snotted and drooled over their desks behind him. Kane was snoring, but the noise was somehow inaudible.
Since it was their first class of the year, they didn't have to take out their books, except John was curious as to what would happen if he gave away a little of his discipline. He wondered what Alex's reaction would be if he showed him a humiliating drawing of him kissing the window.
Usually John would be in good behavior, however, a few seconds after the teacher let her sights off him, he took out his notebook in hope to add fuel to the fire in Alex's head.
Staring forward at the teacher, he lowered his hand below the desk and reached out to him, tugging his shirt softly in the gut area, "Psst. Hey Alex," he murmured, hiding his smiling lips with his hand.
Alex turned his head around to meet his eyes when John simply raised the book and turned it to him without facing him. The drawing had something written above it, 'Did you confess to the window?'
Enraged by the drawing, Alex narrowed his eyes, holding himself together from the taunting.
You'll pay asshole. Thought Alex, grinding his teeth, Just you wait. I'm gonna—
The bell rang abruptly, and some students sighed in relief, others packed their bags for next class. Pika, who was asleep, woke up to the ring with a drooling mouth and puffy eyes.
Meanwhile, the Python twins were waiting till Miss Bolt left the scene.
Now it's time. Thought John with a confident grin as he closed his notebook and stared at Alex standing up from his seat with closed eyes and a firm face.
Alex turned around and glared down at him. "You're in for a real smack, bro." He said with a serious tone, clenching his fists then cracking his knuckles a little.
"Next time we'll be studying about Feminism and Patriarchy. Don't forget to bring your textbooks, alright?" said Miss Bolt, taking her only book off the desk and heading to the hallway door.
"Yeah..okay..whatever," said Pika with a bored tone, yawning and sleeping again.
Luna glared at Miss Bolt with narrow eyes as she left, holding her cheek and pouting.
The moment she was out of the territory, John burst out in laughter.
"Huh?" hearing him, Pico looked curiously at the twins. He swiftly went to them. "Hey, what's going on dude? Why are you laughing?" he asked.
"Bro. Look," he opened the notebook's last page and pointed at the silly drawing.
"Pfft," Pico tried holding in his laughter by sealing his lips. His cheeks got stuffed with air and he could barely manage to let it out.
"Stop this, you..You fucking—" Alex muttered, lowering his raging face in shame.
"Uhh whahat?" asked John sarcastically, "I can't hear yoouu," he placed his hand by his ear.
Covering his mouth with his hand, Pico giggled until he noticed Alex raising his threatening face. He looked at him with insecurity, his heartbeat accelerating as he saw his eyes get lit with blue sparks.
"E-Err...John...I-I think we should stop," Pico's smile wore out into a scared expression.
"Heh. C'mon bro, don't be a scaredy fox," said John, looking at him with a smug face.
Slowly walking backwards, Pico immediately retreated. He turned around and went back to his sister.
With a frown, Pico patted his sister's back, "Hey. Get up, sis. We're going," he urged.
"Where to?" she asked in a lethargic tone.
"...It's martial arts now,"
Pika cracked her eyes open in an instant. "What? she sat up, "Omg, why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't know?" He lifted his brow.
She immediately rose to her feet and took her bag, heading straight to the door.
"Wait!" He followed her.
He grabbed her sleeve, tugging her. "Hey, wait."
"What?" she turned her face to him.
"What were you doing last night?"
"I-I couldn't close my eyes, duh? I was thinking about some possible scenarios with…," she paused, looking left and right, "Ahem!" she fakingly cleared her throat, then approached his ear, "With my crush," she whispered.
Pico smirked, "Well. I think you'll be disappointed,"
"What? Why?" Pika gave him a confused look.
"Because he's dating the window now," he chuckled.
With an astonished look, she tilted her head, staring at Alex charging up far behind, currents circling around him. She smiled and cracked up. "You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm not. Hehe."
"That just makes him more cute," she said quietly, giggling.
He turned around, "But he's about to beat John 'cause he drew him kissing the window," he said with a worried look.
"What? That idiot did that?" she asked with a straight face.
"Yeah. You gotta stop Alex before he blows up the class,"
She sighed, "Okay,"
Pika walked over to the other side of the room, then to the end, towards the window where Alex stood by.
John sat unflinching, staring at him with a confident grin. "C'mon. Let's try out your speed, dude." He said, motioning for him to go for it and taunting him again. "I bet you're real fast,"
"Shut up," said Alex, clenching his teeth in fury.
John replied, "I won't,"
Alex couldn't handle it anymore. He instantly lifted his boiling head and thrust a fist straight to John's face.
Just before he hit his cheek, Pika came with her palm and blocked the way for his fist, grabbing it firmly.
John, on the other hand, was so prepared that his hand almost immediately rushed in a flash to catch his fist the moment Pika's arrived in the middle, freezing in its position as John's eyes widened at the sight of her grave expression.
"Stop this, you two. We gotta go," said Pika.
"Tsk," muttered Alex, "You'll regret this, piece of shit," walking away to the doorway and shutting the sliding door behind him.
Dropping his hand, John shouted at her, "Why the hell did you stop him? I wanted to see how fast I could block his punch. That's all,"
She slammed his desk and leaned forward, "Were you shipping him with the window or something? 'Cause that's what i heard from Pico,"
"So what if I did?" he said, handing her his open notebook, "Here take a look,"
She looked at it for a moment, then shoved it aside, "I don't care. You should know better than to mess with him. Know your place, weakling."
"Careful. Your brother is hearing,"
"I know. What I meant is, you shouldn't have drawn that,"
"Why? Are you jealous of the window or something?"
"No! I mean you angered him,"
He smirked, "Then you must be caring for his feelings, huh?"
She blushed and leaned back, "What's wrong with you? I mean, aren't you afraid of him?"
"Nope. I'm never afraid of anything," he said with a determined face.
"What if he beats you up?"
"Look. I didn't need your help and I certainly didn't ask for it,"
"I didn't do it for you,"
"Alright. But I wasn't gonna let him beat me up, because I was actually testing my speed, if it had improved beyond his. Even if he beats me, it's fine. It's none of your concern,"
"Why do that? You know you're not stronger than him,"
"I'm...You just don't know. Don't think I'm a simple geek,"
"Ugh. You're such an idiot," she said, twirling around. She stomped her way to her brother, clasping his sleeve and tugging him. "C'mon Pico, let's go,"
"Wait. I wanna talk to him," he raised his arm in John's direction.
"Leave him. Let's just go," she urged.
Pico sighed and turned around as she slid the door open and the two left the class.
Meanwhile, Larry was waking up the sleeping delinquents sitting behind John and most of the class was gone, including Luna.
"Hey John? Are you alright?" asked Larry as he came from behind.
Widening his eyes, John flinched and hid the drawing, "Y-Yeah," he turned to him with a nervous smile.
"Then come with us!" replied Larry with a cheerful smile, going to the door with the rest of the delinquents following him lazily.
John lowered his face and looked at the drawing with a frown, feeling a bit silly. Yeah, whatever. He put the book back in his bag and headed out of the room in a jiffy.