... [9 years ago...]

Wednesday  4:30 pm on a hill at the end of town

"Yaaawwwn*"

"Whats the matter Lief?"

"Nothing, its just that... Do you ever wonder what itd be like to just leave this place?"

"I haven't the faintest idea"

"Oh come on, You're saying that genius, round and enormous forehead of yours doesn't have dreams?"

He sighs and chuckles before he says

"Ok first off, its not that big and second of course i have "dreams" its just a little bit hard to choose. I wanna be a pilot, doesn't mean that I'm any good. I could be a professor or a doctor, doesn't guarantee I can do it well"

"All Im hearing is that Milo Cryss is a lazy couch potato"

Milo sarcastically replies "Ha ha very funny, anyway what about you? What do you dream of then?"

Lief looks off into the sky

"Ok then... Look around you, what do YOU see Milo?"

"Hmmm, I see  old buildings, some old people and thats about it. What does this have to do with your dream?"

"Its simple Milo, I dont wanna grow old here. People are born here and they die here, I wanna see the world, I wanna feel the wind in my hair and not have to do the same old thing here with you-"

"What's wrong with me?"

"You know what I mean, Its suffocating and I'm not going to be like my parents, I've got bigger dreams than this old town. You get it... Right?"

"I guess-"

Ring!*Ring!*  Ring!*Ring!*

Milo opens his eyes and looks around and slams his arm ferociously to stop his alarm clock.

He takes a few seconds to make sense of what happened

And gets up from his bed and sighs discontently

"I still cant answer you Lief"

[Present Day]

Friday 6:00 am Milo's room

"MILO! You're gonna be late if ya dont get your ass of that damn-"

"Yeah Mom! I know, no need to get profane."

Milo rushes down

"You know you have to wake up early"

"Yes"

"So why dont you wake up early?"

"Yes"

"If you know the answer then do something about it, what happens if I leave you?"

"Now we both know, you love me too much"

Milo's mother simply rolls her eyes and smirks yet sternly, says

"Of course sweetie but you gotta take care of yourself. What would Lief think if she saw you like this?"

Milo simply walks to the door in a hurry

"Mom if its all the same to you, dont bring that up"

And shuts it

Fanfare on television plays as a program plays

"WELCOME! One and All to the biggest fighting stage in the world! Welcome To The Grand Nexus!"

It slowly fades into the distance as Milo passes the window of the furniture shop

I wonder how many people actually buy that?*

Beep*Beep* Beep*Beep*

"Holy- Im really running late!"

"Okay everybody! Settle down" said the teacher to the roaring classroom. With no effect he tries a different approach.

"Okay..." he steps on to his chair and props himself onto the table

"If there is anymore noise by the time this eraser hits the ground! One of you will be selected to recite a poem made by... Miss Faye"

The students stopped at the sound of her name and scrambled to their seats

What followed in the next few seconds was silence, completely dead silence

"Huh, if thats all it takes then I'm going to be makimg this threat more often. Now allow me to introduce myself, My name is Mel S. Robert but you may call me Mr. Mel"

In unison "Good morning, Mr. Mel"

"Now If you dont mind I'd like to take attendance, If I call your name raise your hand. I want to remember your face in case I forget your name, now... Alvin Mint?"

"Here!"

One by one Mr. Mel called on his students

Tap* Tap* Tap* Tap*

"Luna Comb?"

"Present!"

Tap* Tap* Tap* Tap*

"Milo Cryss? Is there a Milo Cryss here?"

Tap* Tap*

"No Milo Cryss? Anyone at all? -"

Knock*Knock*

"Who is it?"

"Its Milo Cryss! Im sorry Im late!"

Its like Beetlejuice, you say his name too many times and poof waddya know?*

"You may come in Milo"

"Thank you so much- who are you? Wheres miss Lowell?"

"Oh Im sorry, Miss Lowell was transferred. Im her replacement, You may call me Mr. Mel"

"Well ok then"

"If thats all please head to your seat, I have a schedule to keep and an announcement to make"

Milo hurriedly takes his seat at the back

"Very good. Ok then speaking of transfers we were supposed to have a new student joining us but it seems she's not here, so just in case, I will tell you about her. Her name is Laura Alder she's 16 from Canada and when she's here you can ask her about everything else. Now! Lets begin shall we?"

- Class went on as normal... Im still wondering if I can answer Lief's question. How long has it been? -

"Mr. Milo? Mr. Milo!"

"Who? Huh what?"

"Class is done, schools over, but Im a little concerned if you were listening. You were paying attention, right?"

"Uh..."

"You're hesitation astounds me Mr. Milo, no matter since its my first day and I dont wamma send anyone to detention, you have my mercy."

"Thank you"

"However... You are the last one here so, in return for my mercy i want you to clean this place up a bit. Nothing too fancy, just rearrange the chairs and tables and sweep the floor"

"Sounds fair enough. I'll do it"

"Thank you, dont expect me to be this forgiving next time. I encourage you to at least make an effort like everyone else Mr. Milo. I'd hate for even one person to fail my class especially if my class is the easiest compared to the others"

"I'll try Mr. Mel"

"Oh right its Mr. Robert now, yes a student pointed out that I shared the same name with one Mr. Mel Gunther. So to avoid confusion I prefer you call me Mr. Robert"

"Ok then, Mr. Robert"

"Very good, Well then I'll be off. The janitor will probably be here late since the other rooms are also in need of cleaning. He'll lock up once you're done"

"Thanks for the heads up Sir"

The day was done yet Milo was left behind to clean although it didn't take him long he was feeling rather sleepy again so he finished up sweeping and started to head home

In the hallway however something catches his eye, a girl in a white dress runs across the end of the hall

"Hello?"

Milo curiously followed this maiden clad in white, he turns his head at the conjoining hallway spinning lefy and right until he sees her dark ebony hair in the stairway

"Hey, hold on!"

He quickly runs down the stairs jumping to skip the last few steps. He runs into the open area in the middle of the school, and sees this beautiful lady in white with dark ebony hair almost shining with the sunset and brown eyes that matches amber like resin underneath the big tree in the middle of the school.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Been a while silly!"

"Lief...? Lief is that you?"

Milo moves closer to get a better look and is dumbfounded at the sight of his old friend

"It really is you!"

He runs towards her only to be blown back by a strong gust of wind knocking him on his butt

Woah!*

"I think that's far enough Milo"  She smiles and chuckled lightly

"Ouch, Jeez what the heck was that?"

"It's nothing special so how are you?"

"I could be better. Not the same without you around"

"Aww no adventure in your life?"

"Nope, there's just no one around to make sure that bee's nests dont go unpoked"

"That was fun though, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't, but I dont mind. Why didn't you tell me you came back? There's so much you missed out on!"

Lief's smile slowly disappeared from her face

"Milo, Im not back... Im not even here"

"W- what? What are you talking about? You're here look I can hold you-"

Milo reaches for her hand but his hand phases through

"Milo... Are you still trying to sleep your problems away?"

RING*RING*RING*  RING*RING*RING

Milo wakes up in a cold sweat and hesitates before he puts his hand on the clock, stopping it

"Lief?"

It didn't dawn on Milo at that moment nor did it ever in any point in his life but for a brief second he asked

"What did you want from me?"

Its the morning after and Milo goes on with his day as usual

Wakes up early this time, passes the Furniture shop with the big TV in front, and walks through the gates of school although he hears a whisper this time as he reaches the steps

"Aren't you bored?"

"Hm?"

Milo turns to his left but sees no one, he presses forward into his class and this time he's early

"Ah! Mr. Milo, early this time eh? Looks like you're taking my advice"

"Im trying to Mr. Robert"

"Well thats ok, baby steps turn into giant leaps eventually. What matters is that you are changing Milo!"

"I respect the enthusiasm" Milo said slyly

"Well, everyone please take your seats we have a new student coming in. I believe I already told you so quiet now!"

The students return to their seats in no rush, more calm rather than reluctant Milo simply put his head down to rest for a bit before class

"Great, You may come inside Ms. Alder"

Milo peaked a little just to see who was coming inside, however the first thing that catchea his eye is her dark ebony hair and brown amber eyes, she bares a great resemblance to

"Lief..." he said under his breath

"Care to introduce yourself?"

"Yes, Hello my name is Laura Alder, Im 16 from the UK although I was born in America"

Milo couldn't believe it, she looked so much like her yet it wasn't her exactly he felt his heart pounding, his leg was fidgeting, so antsy that he couldn't stay still. In fact he has drowned out this lady's whole introduction to the class

-Who the hell? How the hell? WHAT the hell? Is all he thought when suddenly

"And thats my story. I moved from Boston when I was 7 to the UK and my parents sent me here so I can live with my Aunt while they work"

"Thats wonderful Laura, now how about you find yourself a seat while I get the projector ready?"

Laura's eyes dart around the room looking for a seat meanwhile in Milo's head

-Not here, not here. Simple just dont make eye contact, its really easy-

"Theres a seat here!"

-Damn it, whats wrong with me?! -

"Thank you"

Laura sits down and looks at Milo

"Thanks for offering me a seat"

Gritting his teeth Milo replies

"Dont mention it" and grins

"Yes very gentlemanly Mr. Milo, now if we're all done todays topic is..."

The day went on as normal and by the end of it Milo looked like he had seen better days his face looked shaded

Laura tapped his shoulder

"Hey! Um, I don't know this school very well. I was hoping you would... Give me a tour?"

Milo knew the right answer for himself, it was no but he couldn't very well leave a person lost in a new environment

"Yeah... Sure uh just let me grab my stuff and we'll walk around till we reach the exit"

"Thats great!"

Ziiiiip! *

"Ok, ready?"

"Yup, lead the way Mr. Tour guide!"

-Oy vey-

Milo gave a brief explanation for each segment of the school

"This what we are on is the second floor obviously, then theres the third floor for the where you'll find the Audio Visual Room or AVR for short, uh the library is also up there it also doubles as kindergarten for the children here. The hallways kind of criss cross so uhm theres the front of the school and back and we go around this little center here"

"This place is enormous!"

"Yup! On the first floor we got the Teachers office, The janitors place and clinic. The fourth floor aint anything special it just has the teachers lounge and a few extra classrooms"

"What are these spaces with Black boards?"

"Those are for students who are behind on certain subjects and this is the exit and entrance, did you get all that? Oh and there are available restrooms on every floor"

"Yeah but I have a question"

"Ok, shoot"

"Did I say something wrong? Or did I leave a bad impression? I just feel like you're... Well, avoiding me I guess?"

"Avoiding you? I just took you on a tour of the school how does that even make sense?"

"That! Right there, you're mad at me but I don't know why"

"Im not mad, just stay out of it will ya?"

"I guess"

Milo knew he acted far and aloof, he knew it wasn't appropriate but he couldn't care less. He was just overwhelmed with Laura's presence and her resemblance to Lief

"Listen, Im sorry. Im going home now"

"O-ok..."

In Laura's head

-Great job you nut! Get a friend, its that simple. Already you you botch the first day by sleeping in and now a kind stranger shows you around your new school and you cant even get his name? -

On her way home she said to herself

"Bollocks... I'll just try again, Im sure I'll get it right next time"

Meanwhile on Milo's side

"Aaauuuughggghhh!" he yells into his pillow

-what was that? I don't think I've ever yelled at anyone. Not even online! Damn that was rude... I need a walk-

Milo grabs his jacket and goes outside for fresh air, hoping to clear his head, he notices that the wind is a little strong tonight

"Its really chilly, thank god I brought my jacket."

-She really did look like Lief though..."

Milo walked for a while and soon finds himself on the hill where he and Lief would relax and talk

"This place is still so empty huh Lief" he said to himself

~ almost as empty as that jar you used to keep under your bed~

"Huh?"

-There it is again-

~Milo looks around trying to find who keeps saying stuff in his ear~

"Hey, whoever you are just come out!"

~Milo~

"This isn't funny"

-Lief?

"Lief if thats you, tell me where you are!"

Milo's head starts spinning yet he cant find anything to link the voice to

~Wind... Take him home

Suddenly, a small breeze picks up between Milo's fingers he feels the wind pushing him forward and finally from his feet...

WHOOOSH*

" Aaaahhhh! Oh my f%#&!# God!!"

Up into the air Milo goes, flailing around helplessly grabbing at imaginary strings he keeps going up and up

"Somebody, please... Help me. Lief..."

He shuts his eyes as he rises to the very height of the clouds and hopes that he is once again only dreaming, until two hands grab his face he hears

"Hey stupid, open your eyes. This is the best part"

Milo pries his eyes open

"Lief?!"

"Correctamundo!"

Milo grabs her close and hugs her tight

"Milo you're choking me..."

"You're alive!-"

"Wrong again, sheesh and I thought you were smart"

Milo looks around him and remembers that he was floating in the air

"Lief..."

"Yes?"

"Dont drop me"

Lief chuckles heartily at Milo's well founded fear

"You wont fall Milo, cant you see where you are?"

Milo stops staring at Lief for a moment and looks around one last time

The clouds clear from underneath his feet and he sees the town, glowing beautifully in the night. Cars and streetlights coloring the roads, he looks up to see a much bigger Moon and lets go of Liefs hands

"Where are we?"

"Thats the town we grew up in, its beautiful isnt it?"

Milo turns to Lief

"Yes, you are"

Lief chuckles

"Ha! Nice try, almost made me feel something"

"Lief, there's something you're not telling me. How are you here? Why are we floating?"

Lief turns to Milo wearing a grim look on her face and rushes towards him burying her face in his chest

"Im sorry Milo... I couldn't make it"

Milo's eyes teared up and as he tries to hug Lief once again she pulls away with her back turned she says

"Forget about me Milo... You can live your life now, Im sorry I got you in to my mess"

"What are you saying? I dont care about your messes, I just miss you"

She turns and smirks...

"If you ever wanna talk, Im always listening"

End of Chapter 1