'The difference between the living and the death is that those that remain have yet to face their demons. Do not fear death, little Andrew... fear what comes after'.
In the middle of a bustling Manhattan, there was a prominent high school. Horace Mann School is reputed for its excellence and high academic standards. The price tag was also noteworthy, but the campus directory preferred to leave that detail aside.
Sons of businessmen, daughters of models, future renowned doctors, and so on and so forth. The responsibility of the next generation's elite was carried on the shoulders of a bunch of unruly brats that were spoiled rotten. Among them, however. There was an exception. A great exception.
The bells rang at 4:00 pm on Monday 21st of May, signifying it was already time to leave, but during this junction, the math teacher decided that the last student had to step up to sort out the most difficult equation for the first years. He was a rather old man in his sixties with greyish hair, a moustache and a beard. An Eistein-looking fellow.
Any other student would be a waste of time and an assured failure, but there was someone he could place his trust in. The boy sitting at the corner back towards the window, looking at the streets below with a dazed expression, clearly not paying attention to class.
He had black hair and blue eyes, and was tall almost six feet high... his countenance was clear and bereft of spots, but there was a single problem with him. Chubbiness. One could tell the boy loved his burgers.
"Mr Mayers, please solve this problem for us in the class before we leave today, everyone... pay attention".
Upon being addressed, the classroom's gossiping went silent. Some boys groaned, and some girls giggled as if anything funny had happened at all. Other people merely glanced at the boy with interest. Regardless of the outcome, he wouldn't go unnoticed.
The tall and chubby boy stood up and walked with hunched shoulders towards the chalkboard. His chest wasn't stuck out proudly like an individual of his stature. Instead, he resembled a person that just woke up from a long slumber.
The reason he called for attention was not his height, his chubby appearance, his blue eyes or any of the sort. The reason was that Andrew Mayers was the 'wealthiest' kid in the whole school, top ten in the city when it comes to status. The only son of the Mayers family; owners of the Multi Billionaire American Tech Powerhouse, Archonte. The corporation was founded by his father, Max Mayers more than twelve years ago.
The same man passed away five years ago in an accident during a business meeting in Japan together with his wife, Alexandra Ivashchenko. From then, the one to get custody was Max's younger brother and the current Chairman of Archonte, Christian Mayers.
There was a single issue. Andrew's father had left him everything... an Empire that he was to take over when he became an adult, with fifteen years... Andrew had merely three years to prepare himself for the responsibility that was to fall on his shoulders.
There were several 'truths' not known to the public. The majority of the kids believed Andrew's life was filled with Luxury and pleasure. Nothing farther from the truth.
The boy spent less than two minutes on the board to sort out a problem that could easily be into a college entrance exam. Without even looking back, he returned to his table to start packing up his books and notes.
"Correct answers, as always... we will be seeing each other in two days, boys... remember there is an exam, study and follow Mr Mayers' example for once" The teacher dismissed everyone and the gossiping commenced right after with more than half of them having comments of the chubby boy's display on their mouths one way or another.
"Teacher!"
"What is it, Carter?"
"I won't be able to come to school in two days..."
Ignoring the fuss around him, Andrew packed up his stuff only to see how a beautiful girl approached him, she had long blonde hair, blue eyes and a rather busty figure... however, for him, this girl produced nothing but budding feelings of disgust.
"Andrew..."
"What can I do for you, Clare?" His voice was neutral, but if one looked closely, one could see the boy shivering. Whether it was out of fright or wrath, no one knew. Everyone in the class paid attention to them.
"You haven't gone out with me in a while... do you want to see a movie and then we can catch up?" The girl leaned down, showing her ample cleavage as if in a tantalising manner. However, her seduction failed to produce waves in the current Andrew.
"Are you going to pay?" Those were his cold dry words that made Clare stutter, for the briefest second she frowned before regaining back an 'awkward' smile.
"You know I can't Andrew... I already told you I have to help my father with his expenses" The girl twirled her hair shamelessly lying between her teeth with a pitiful excuse.
"Then we're going nowhere... see you later".
"Andrew!"
Seeing the boy ignore her calls, Clare twitched her lips and turned around to see the mocking gaze of the other girls in class that seemed to be rejoicing at her failure. Clare could not be called the most beautiful girl in school, but she was definitely the most 'blessed' in many departments. She had immediately spotted a fat cash cow from the first day at School, Andrew Mayers. They had known each other for months now, only he could 'afford' the opulent life that she received her whole life from her rich father.
For the lonesome boy, the prospect of a relationship was thrilling, until he realised that his pocket was being drowned faster than a vanilla milkshake during a heated day of summer. Without even giving him so much as a kiss, Clare swallowed everything he had.
For the girl who believed him to be filthy rich, this was not much, in fact... she hoped he'd give away more. But once again, the reality was different from what everyone expected about the son of a powerhouse corporation.
...
'If only he was as social as he is intelligent'.
'The ugly duckling from the Mayers family'.
'Hopefully, Chairman Christian Mayers will have a son soon, otherwise, the family is doomed under this useless boy'.
They never stopped. Those words were the ones Andrew had to deal with every single day. And not only that, Christian Mayers... the person his father had given custody to and his uncle. Despised him. Within the Mayers family, Andrew's life wasn't easy, but he thrived.
The class finished, Andrew packed up his books to head right away to his next destination; the library. When all boys and girls left to have fun, he remained to study and perfect his skills. On his way onward, he noticed a girl coming his way. Her name was Sophia, a second-year girl who was also one of the school belles.
Sophia was charismatic, unagreeable and always showed herself beautiful and perfumed, this time... there was an incoherence which Andrew couldn't miss. Her purple eyes were bagging as if she had cried for hours, her countenance pale and her uniform although not in disarray; lacked the perfectionism of her usual behaviour.
It wasn't only him that noticed, but it was only him that wasn't aware of the context, that was until he focused on the hallways' gossiping.
"Have you heard the rumours?"
"She hung herself, two days ago, right? Sasha..."
"I knew it was going to happen, Mariah went too far last time, they stuck her head inside a toilet".
"How pitiful..."
"They said... it was because she was Sophia's friend that they picked up on her".
"Oh my god!"
...
Having received the context, Andrew's gaze contorted just slightly.
'Suicide' those weren't pretty words for anyone, but more so... for him. Andrew turned around to look at the progressively falling sun... in the periphery of his vision across the floor's hall, he caught the glimpse of someone walking along the corridor, she had a school uniform, glasses and long auburn hair that reached her hips in braids. Her silhouette looked darker than it should and Andrew witnessed her walk from one extreme to the other.
The corridors at the end of the hall resembled a 'T' shape that was divided in two. The dark silhouette of the girl moved from one side to the other.
Andrew gulped and walked along the pathway towards the library that was on the right side. He has gone through this path several times in order to stay in the library for a few hours to study.
That's why he knows. This corridor doesn't break into a 'T' shape, instead... it is an 'L' shape.
That dark silhouette of a girl had phased through a wall.
...
There was another secret that nobody knew about Andrew Mayers. From the moment of his birth, he was always quite sensitive to the paranormal. Andrew could see ghosts... as broad as if they were living beings.
From five years of age, a tingling sky-blue dot had always been visible in the periphery of his eyesight. Upon inadvertently focusing on it. It would always show the same display.
Quest: Consume your First Soul.
Reward: System Activation, Ability - Soul Bound.