"WHAT?"
"Yeah, and that's what Mr.Rosen told Auntie." Fuyu replied.
"Wow, so you will be getting free healthcare and your Aunt is a caretaker now too? Amazing!"
"Yep. Mom initially applied for a job in Bracnia's National Medical Center and sent Mr.Rosen both her and Auntie Akiya's resume without Auntie knowing. Mom did that because Auntie seemingly wanted to aid her struggling brother who couldn't afford his and his fiancé's wedding fees, but ..." replied Fuyu, teary-eyed.
"Aww, it's okay, Fuyu. I am sure your mother would have been joyful knowing Aunt Akiya got hired." I said.
I tried my best to smile for Fuyu; however, seeing her heartbroken like this is intolerable.
I truly applaud her stoicism and perseverance. She is not only a fighter, but a survivor. In one week, she didn't just lose her mother, but she also discovered that her father may possibly be alive and that she was a kinetic phaser. In one week, an Agent named Cyclops from X-Vision attacked her at the hospital , shot a laser at her , attempted to kidnap her, then gave up and tried to kill her. In one week, she had to bear the burden of hiding her phasing abilities from her own Aunt. In one week, her powers became her blessing AND her curse. They saved her life, but at the cost of her mother's. She saved Dr.Macmillan, but she wouldn't have been able to go back to him if it weren't for the 5 officers who sacrificed their lives for hers.
In one week, Fuyu almost lost everything and everyone she cherished, even me.
I couldn't begin to imagine how much of a toll last week's events could've had on her. But I knew I had one goal in mind: alleviate her pain. Because she didn't deserve this. This was supposed to be her first week of senior year, and we were supposed to be at my home , watching another one of my father's favorite cheesy 90s sitcoms, while our mothers made chocolate pudding.
Instead, here we were at the school cafeteria, writhing in our shared pain and sorrow.
"When will this end?" I thought.
SMACK! Another food tray was placed on the table.
I jolted. Fuyu jumped in her seat and almost dropped her milkshake.
"Hey, witches! I hope you are ready for this year's Science Fair? Cuz I can't wait to smash the competition this year!"
Enter, Darla Jones, our feisty, exuberantly frisky, sassy, but not-so-patient friend.
I looked at her as she sat down next to me, shoulder to shoulder.
"You say witch like it's a bad thing." I rolled my eyes.
"C'mon nerds!" sniggered Darla, "it's not like we are gonna flop this time, are we? And to be extra prepared, I already did some research on the topic!"
"Which is?" I asked, preparing myself for the worst.
"The use of Luminol in Crime scene investigations, of course!" said Darla , enthusiastically.
"Oh god." I said, looking back at Fuyu's reaction.
"What? Is there something wrong? Luminol's blue light is useful for a wide array of Clinical and Non-Clinical Applications, not just for investigations. Plus, you said it yourself, Fuyu, it's 'enlightening'
It's Crime Scene Chemistry 101!"
said Darla.
I scratched the back of my right ear. Fuyu's face darkened. I wanted to melt in my seat. Darla's timing is outrageously auspicious.
"Are you done, with your show, Darla?" I annoyingly said.
The thing is, the warehouse explosion and hospital bombing incidents were talked about on the news and media all week, so it sounded bizarre and impossible to me that Darla didn't know what happened. They even named Fuyu's mother as the sole victim at the warehouse explosion!
"Huh? Excuse me? Harpy, if both of you have something to say , just spill it. I am not gonna sit around all day and waste the few weeks of free time we have before exams catch up! You both saw how sadistic Mrs.Olivia looked when she talked about grading our lab reports this year. So, what is it?" Darla said, getting discontented.
I was awestruck. Darla genuinely didn't know Fuyu's mother died. The news about the warehouse explosion were spread everywhere.
"My mom died." Fuyu said, holding herself together.
Darla was left dumbfounded. She took a few minutes of silence before saying,
"I am so sorry to hear that, Fuyu. I didn't know. My temper got the best of me. I apologize. "
"Yeah, no. You're tripping. Pretty little liar." I blurted.
"Harper, that's enough. Darla, it's okay. It's my mistake, I should have told you earlier." interrupted Fuyu.
The three of us continued eating our food without talking for the next 15 minutes or so until recess was over.
So far, it was a pretty typical boring day for everyone at Bracnia's Sacashire High. Most guys and gals were either chatting about the homecoming party we were having tonight at the school's ceremony hall (which was, truth be told, the most thrilling part of the day) or the "Pro/Anti-Phaser Controversy" that came to light due to last week's tumultuous events.
Speaking of controversy, our perspicuously Anti-Phaser government announced a complete lockdown of the city : all highways and exits leading into and out of Bracnia city were blocked, and security was tightened at all public and private facilities around the state.
Other than that, Fuyu received a lot of condolences from our colleagues after the school administration board announced a moment of silence for her 'mother's unfortunate passing' this morning , and the benevolent teachers expressed their desires to support Fuyu during these tough times. I wish I could say the same thing about our government though.
Mayor Harrison Bridge made headlines today when he made the order to pass new legislation banning all pro-phasers activists from participating in what he quoted as "a blatant lie and a breach of the 'non-violent, peaceful protests' that we were promised!": meaning, pro-phasers will no longer be allowed to advocate for phaser's rights. All because of the festering "controversies".
Whereas the government believes in controversies , I believe in the truth. And the truth was evidently pellucid and transparent in nature : the reporters are lying and there was no deny that their poor attempts at covering this whole "sham" (as they would often call it) failed. And it's now coming to bite them hard. The backlash from pro-phasers with the power and fame like my dad's is cracking down on many government officials.
As a result, the government decided to retaliate and impose more sanctions on pro-phaser companies like the one my father owns in an attempt to bring the pro-phaser movement to an end.
But it will never end! Even if they try and succeed at covering the truth with the thickest shades of lies and force our schools to embrace the Anti-Phaser agenda, they are only sweeping a small fraction of their problems under the rug, while the ACTUAL underlying faults with their laws fester.
My father isn't the type of back down, and I am damn sure I inherited that from him too.
However, the way Fuyu avoided talking about what happened back at the hospital is arousing more suspicion. Throughout the day, when I try to ask her,
"Are you sure nothing happened back the hospital ?
Nobody touched you? You weren't injured at all?" She wouldn't reply.
When I tried to ask her about her thoughts regarding her burns healing quickly and her powers coming into the picture, she said,
"May be you shouldn't be asking me publicly in school like this, where everyone is watching us. Additionally, I think it's better we just never talk about them anymore."
Why would she say that to me? Plus, she never brought up the subject about her mother alluding to her "non-existent" father in the letter again. Not to me nor to Mrs.Akiya.
So , is she hiding something from me?
But why would she? Was I too pushy?
No, it has to be something else. It will only be a matter of time before I find out. Or should I not bother? What if she doesn't want me to know?
What if I am being a pest again and sticking my nose where it doesn't belong? What if Fuyu loses her trust in me? What if I LOSE Fuyu?
"Harper? COLLINS!" yelled Mr.Walter , our chemistry teacher.
I was daydreaming, again.
"Oh, sorry, Mister Walt, how can I help?" I said , awkwardly.
Mr.Walter frowned in confusion.
"Help?! Answer the question! Do you know what chemiluminescence means?"
"Ah, it's the emission of light as a result of a chemical reaction."
"Very well. That's correct! But please, focus next time!"
Ah yes, Chemistry class, how have I NOT missed you. Mr.Walt loves to make it "interesting" for us by asking us a trivia of questions and testing our knowledge on the contemporary sciences.
Suddenly, 20 minutes into the trivia, while everyone was asleep with their eyes wide open,
someone poked my arm with a sharp pencil tip.
"Ow! What the hell?!" I jabbered.
"Psst! LOWER your voice down!"
I looked behind me to find the source of the voice, and it was Franz Schmidt, our German newcomer from Junior year.
"Is there something wrong, Harper?" asked Mr.Walt
"No, uhh, it's nothing." I said , cautiously.
He started drawing and characterizing the different types of flasks we would probably be using in the chemistry lab this year.
Again, nobody was in the mood to be interested in this stuff (especially on the first frickin day of school) except for Fuyu, who was sitting beside me as always, and drew every flask Mr.Walt illustrated on the board in detail.
Our class wasn't very spacious. It was divided into 4 columns of desks, with 5 students in each column, adding up to 5 rows, and making a total of 20 seniors.
Half of those 20 sprouted up in this school. Those included me, Fuyu, Brian, Ahmed, Derek, Lee, Diana, Violet, Saanvi, and Adnan. The other 10 enrolled during consequent years.
Out of the 20, I and Fuyu were the socially awkward nerds. The only reason I wasn't called a nerd like Fuyu was is due to my "daddy's clout" , Jennifer would put it bluntly in her laughably ridiculous terms .
Straight from the shoulder, I don't care for my father's fame. All what it brought me and mother is the lack of privacy and tranquility in the confines of our own vast home. As a result, my mother begged my father to do something about the paparazzi chasing him around and taking pictures of the "great" former actor and entrepreneur legend.
But he didn't comply. He loved being the star of the show. He hated not being in the spotlight. He gets off of it. That's what drove mom and dad's married life and relationship into the dirt. As such, my mom is waiting with the patience of Saint till I graduate from high school , so she would divorce dad and take me with her to enter Community College at her hometown. As it turns out, it's I and Fuyu's relationships with our fathers that is drifting us further away from each other , not ourselves.
Alas, with last week's revelation that Fuyu is an air-phaser, I don't know in which direction our friendship is heading: likely shipwreck.
Anyways, I whispered back to Franz,
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
May be I did so a tad BIT louder than I should have.
"Entschuldigung (Excuse me), can you hand this envelope to Brian?"
"Oh. But did you HAVE to poke my arm? I protested.
"I gently called out to you, but you didn't respond." said Franz.
"Okay, would you mind telling us your problem, Frank?" interrupted Mr.Walt, looking visibly tired after a long first day.
"It's Franz, sir, not Frank." corrected Franz.
This is the 10th time someone mistakes Franz's name for Frank since he moved in.
"Sorry, Franz. But do you have a problem?" asked Mr.Walt.
"No, I was telling Harper to move her seat to the side , so I can see the board."
"Okay. Just tell me next time if you can't see it, or ask Harper more quietly instead of making a commotion. Also, wake up whoever is sleeping beside you." said Mr.Walt.
Franz sighed and woke up Josh , who was dozing off after staying up late at his Aunt's last night. I know because he told me that. In fact, he wouldn't stop talking to me and bothering me with his strangely-timed comments. He was even caught trying to get a peek at the girls' bathroom. Perverted weirdo!
Back to Franz, he outright ignored Josh and looked at me, "Give him the envelope, bitte (please) !"
I looked at the envelope and looked at Brian. He was two rows ahead.
Because of our small number and our spacious classroom, our homeroom teacher, Mrs.Lea, reorganized our seats into 2 columns. Each column was split into 5 rows of student pairs. Pairs of boys or girls.
But in actuality , there was some bias in how we were separated.
Each of these pairs belonged to either the 'cool/popular kids' , the 'brave daredevils' , the 'forever gamers' , or the rich 'trendsetter influencers' .
As for I and Fuyu, we are the 'expendable recluses' because we belong to none of those factions. And that's totally fine by me. They are energy bunch of extroverts and introverts desperately seeking attention and wanting to stick to the social norm.
But not me or Fuyu. Initially, we used to care how others viewed us, particularly Fuyu, but we eventually grew 'out of the box'.
That's all the more reason why I and Fuyu are so close. Our perceptions of the world are almost identical, and it was the shared relatability that brought us closer together till we became besties.
Back to the envelope, Fuyu whispered,
"Just give him the envelope already!"
"I know! But Brian is two rows ahead!" I whispered back.
"Then just give it to Saanvi!" she said.
"But you know Saanvi would keep it with her until class is over!" I replied.
"Okay now, what's going on, back there?" asked Mr.Walt. He paused and turned his head towards us.
Franz facepalmed.
"Okay? Don't give me the straight face. You're not kids anymore! You're grownups, almost adults. Spill it out!
"I..uh...Franz.." I hesitated.
"NEIN! Don't tell him!" ordered Franz, desperately.
"Franz, if you don't think I can't understand what you are saying or that I can't hear you, then you are being very disrespectful. How irresponsible of a pre-adult. Why shouldn't Harper tell me? Or better yet, WHAT she shouldn't tell me?" Mr.Walt pressured.
The whole class went silent.
"So? I don't like to repeat myself guys. It's the beginning of the year for God's sake. I am BEGGING you, if you have anything to tell me, say it now, or leave it until class is OVER. Is that clear?" spoke Mr.Walt
We all nodded in unison.
"Now, Adnan, as we were saying, do you know what do we use the round-bottom flask for?" Mr.Walt asked as he turned his head to Adnan.
Whew.
Fuyu broke the silence in our column,
"Okay? What's next?"
"Just give it to me back, Harper. I will deal with this." whispered Franz.
"Okay, that's it. I treated you like an adult, but it seems you are not willing to budge, Franz. Change your seat and sit right beside Adnan." demanded Mr.Walt.
"Danke schon (Sarcastic Thank You) , Harper. Useless as always."
Useless? I will show him "Useless".
Then, as if a light bulb went on in my head, I decided to do something both risky and stupid.
"AHHHH!" I yelped , clenching my belly.
"Huh? Harper, are you okay?" asked Fuyu, gravely concerned.
"What's wrong Harper?" asked Mr.Walt.
He started walking and approaching me.
"My stomach is sore! I think I need to go to the bathroom!"
"Oh, uh, alright, you may go." said Mr.Walt , clearing his throat.
I gently got up from my chair and prayed Mr.Walt doesn't catch me hiding the envelope in my pocket.
Fuyu went dead-silent.
I took two cumbersome steps forward before pretending to slip off Saanvi's foot and fall face-first onto solid ground.
What I didn't expect was the loud "THUMP!" noise I did when I fell. But I guess it made the slip feel more real now.
"AH! HEY! ARE YOU OKAY?" shouted Saanvi.
The whole class set their eyes on me. It isn't the first time I was the center of attention, but this felt more embarrassing than it should. Even Franz stopped walking halfway to his new seat.
I finally understood what dad meant when he described his acting days as difficult because it requires one to focus on his/her movements and painstakingly time them right to avoid humiliation & suspicion.
"I am fine! Thank you very much. I will go the to bathroom stalls."
Mr.Walt shook his head and continued,
"Right. Now , back to where we left off. Ah yes,
Chemistry is the study of change..."
Thankfully, my performance worked.
The real slip wasn't my fall, but "slipping" the envelope into Brian's lap while falling.
Perhaps, dad was right when he labeled me as
acting material.
I used it to despise acting. In fact, Grandma Lorraine herself (my dad's mom) pleaded me to stay away from dramas and acting. She's predominantly the reason why dad stopped and shifted to business and entrepreneurship too.
As for mom, naturally, she would also push me to disregard the arts and economics entirely and dive into the sciences, which is how I became wholly involved in Computer Science. It appealed to me as an avid tech-friendly user.
And that's how my father's tech company came to be, because of my influence on him.
Once I finished my university studies, I am planning to take over the company some day and shape it our image of the future. A brighter future. For both ordinary people like me and phasers like Fuyu.
That's my dream, and I am going to keep aspiring and exerting effort until I attain it.
Anyhow, when I left the bathroom, the bell rang, and everyone advanced to their lockers to grab their books for next class.
We had Calculus class next. The teacher was Mr. Jeffrey Thompson, who happens to me an old acquaintance of my father's. He was in the same class as dad , but both separated after dad moved to Grata city.
The school's corridors were decorated with colorful Homecoming party ribbons , and posters were adhered to the walls from the entrance doors to the school cafeteria. As part of the Homecoming celebration committee myself, I suggested we design the ribbons with the following colors : Mauve, teal, midnight blue, burnished lilac, lotus, and hawthorn rose.
This palette of floral colors was meant to symbolize purity, admiration, passion, and gratitude for the start of our final school year and our sought-out transition to a new stage in our lives.
But with recent events happening and shortage of resources, sadly, I wasn't able to implement the idea.
When I reached my locker, Fuyu came up to me and said,
"Was it really necessary to do all that? You could have just said no and let Franz do it himself instead. It's not like you care what that envelope has in it, right? What do you have to do with it?"
"Naw, I had to prove myself, girl. Nobody gets to call me useless and get away with it. Definitely not a German punk who can't say a whole sentence in English without incorporating some words from his mother language into it."
Fuyu giggled. She actually laughed for the first time since the warehouse blast.
A few hours passed, and classes were finally dismissed.
Everybody went to their lockers to bring their bags and leave for the day.
An announcement was made on TV.
BREAKING NEWS!
14-year old boy named Ezra , a Sacashire Middle School student, slips and accidentally flips on the fire alarm, almost turning what seemed like a peaceful first day of school into a hectic nightmare for students and teachers who prepared for thee worst: another pro-phaser terrorist bombing following last week's harrowing , explosive events.
Fortunately, security guards and police cadets rolled in to discover that it was a false alert. The issue was resolved and thankfully, no harm was caused by or to anyone involved. Ezra apologized to the school principal and staff. Consequently, everyone went about the rest of their day as scheduled.
"Wow." Fuyu said.
"Wow? I think you mean YIKES." I responded.
"True, but it's kind of hilarious how both of you slipped today." Fuyu stated.
"Wait, no, those are two entirely different slips and for different reasons." I said, slightly raising my tone.
"Are you sure it isn't about you holding a grudge against Saanvi and not just delivering the envelope to Brian because Franz called you useless?" pressed Fuyu.
Why does she always have to interrogate me like this? It's becoming a bad habit and an omen of things to come.
Before I got to answer , however, Principal Gordon made a broadcast by the administration office's microphone that was transmitted through speakers throughout the school's hallways:
"Harper Tristen Collins, please report to my office immediately."
"Huh? What's that about?" Fuyu asked, flabbergasted.
"I don't know. I will see what's going on."
As I walked into Principal Gordon's office, for some unknown reason, I sensed dread and great apprehension.
When I entered, I found Mr.Gordon sitting his office , with an old gray-haired woman who looked like she was crying HARD. Her black eyeliner was smeared and stained her cheeks from the tears.
"Harper, without wasting our time, did you give this envelope to Brian Heffley?" he said, pointing to the same one I slipped in Brian's lap earlier.
What did I get myself into?