March 13th
Monday,
3:52 PM, in front of the A.C.T.P.
Jinn had just gotten off the bus, and was now waiting on Chloe, who said she'd come on foot today. As he was waiting by the gate, he saw a familiar friend, along with a girl and an unfamiliar kid.
Yeah, you guessed it. None other than...
"Yo, Matt... Did ya' have a kid...?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You two seem like parents, standing right next to the lil' guy..."
Matt wanted to facepalm, but be fought the urge, and didn't do it.
"N-No, dude... Looong story... For real. I'll tell ya' later..."
"Aight man, see you later then."
"Yeah, cya."
As Matt, Emily, and the kid walked by Jinn, he yelled out from behind.
"Use protection next time, 'kay??"
"He's not my kid! I'm seven-fucking-teen!", yelled Matt back.
Jinn chuckled a bit, then murmured to himself.
"Heh... That kid seems interesting..."
As he was lost in thought, Chloe suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Helloo~"
"Ah, exactly the person I was waiting for."
"Did ya' wait long?"
Yes. Class was about to begin. She almost fucked both of them over.
"Nope! Not at all. Let's get going."
...Alright then. Fuck me and my narration I guess, Mr. Boyfriend...
Oh, right, right, since we've been keeping a close eye on Matt for the last few days, this dude went and got himself a girlfriend. I'm so proud, I think I could cry... *Sniff*
Anyway, as the two went inside, and sat down in their seats, Jinn noticed that the two parents weren't here. By parents, I mean Matt and Emily.
So he got curious.
"Hey, hey. Patt. Where's yo' brother?"
"Hmm? Y'mean Matt?"
...Well, uh, who else, dude...?
"Yeah. Where'd he go? I saw him today..."
"Well, uhh... Ah, actually! He said that he was gonna skip this class because he's got something to do. Since Emily's skipping as well, it's probably just young love~"
Does this dude ever filter what he says? Like, ever at all? In his life?
But, this did catch Jinn's interest...
"Right. Thanks."
Jinn got up from his seat, and was just about to walk towards the door, when...
It got opened, by none other than Mr. Drum.
"Ah. Kinko. Where're you going? We're about to start."
"Sir..."
Jinn thought for a moment, then said the best lie of his whole life. It was honestly so good, unprecedented and flawless... There was a 0% fail rate and a 100% success rate, guaranteed!
"My stomach hurts. I'mma go take a shit."
"...Uhm. Right. So it's a... medical thing. Alright then. Get uh, going."
"Thank you, sir."
Flawless, as I said and as it was expected!!
Too easy. Jinn left the classroom unnoticed and casually. Nobody would even realize that he was gone, or what excuse he used to disappear. He was a ghost. As expected of Killjoy...
He did wonder why he could hear his whole class laughing behind him, though... But it didn't matter. He had to start searching for Matt.
Ah, speaking of Matt, where is he right now...?
***
4:03 PM.
The principal's office.
Found him.
Matt, Emily and Alex were all talking with Mr. White.
"No, no, you don't understand sir..."
"Yes, I think I do. He's 14. There's no way he can join four years late."
"This guy pisses me the fuck oooofff!!", screamed Matt internally.
"But, sir... It's not like he's just joining now. He already did four years of training back in Europe."
"Yes, I understand, but still, joining now is a bit..."
Matt had just about had enough of this bullshit.
He started thinking. And it came to him. A lie. A perfect one. A flawless one. One that had no way of failing, and a 100% success rate.
"Sir, he's my cousin."
What, why're you smiling? I said it was a good lie... Ya' didn't believe me?
Emily and Mr. White then both said at the same time, "He's your what?"
Emily then corrected herself.
"I mean uh, yeah, that's right! He's uhm, Anderson Alex, Matt's cousin!"
"Mr. Anderson, for all we know, all hybrids and gatelings are cousins..."
"No. That's not what I meant. My dad and his mom are related. Both human."
"Ah... Is that so..."
Well, obviously not. But Matt's lie was holding up pretty good.
"Yessir."
"Well, in that case, have your father come on down here with all the necessary papers, and we'll sign him up."
"I have everything on me. Can we do this without him?"
"...I guess so."
"Alright. Wait here for a second, please."
Matt and Alex stepped out of the room for a while. They came back after about two minutes, after Alfred and Emily sat in the most awkward silence known to man since the dawn of time.
"Here. It's everything you need."
After Alfred looked around for a few seconds, he said.
"Yes, indeed... Fine then. I'll enroll him by tomorrow. Today he gets to go home."
"Alright, thank you sir."
All three left the room, then stood in silence for a few seconds outside the door. Then Matt punched the air, and whispered.
"Fuck yeah!!"
Now, as to explain a bit... Ah, to hell with it, just look for yourselves.
Yesterday.
"So, Alex. Let's recap. You can... Turn invisible, heighten your senses, and you can create stuff, all of this... Just by burning calories?"
"Yeah. So I usually eat a lot. But since I've been on the streets for a while... And had to create some stuff... I-I'm hungry..."
Alex slightly blushed, embarrassed that he had to ask for food.
"That's no problem. Let's go to a restaurant. There's one right down the street. Ah... Are you... By any chance, thirsty?"
"Y-Yeah, why...?"
Matt smirked.
"Lucky you! Miss "mom" over there is the world's best human fountain!"
"I'm not his mom..."
"Yet you're the best candidate for the job, no? So we're sticking with it!"
"Then what, you'll be the dad?"
Matt smirked again.
"Ain't no way."
"...Why?"
"I refuse to elaborate further! Now, let's go eat!"
Alex, who just sat by and listened to the two, was now laughing.
"Hmm? What's up, Alex?"
"Nothing, nothing... You two are just a bit funny, that's all."
Matt looked around him, as of he was searching for something or someone.
"Funny? Us? Surely you're not mistaking us for someone else?"
Emily then tapped Matt on the shoulder.
"Nah. I think you're pretty funny, "dad"~"
She then started walking away, towards the restaurant.
"Ain't that cheating...? Anyway, c'mon Alex. Let's go."
Back to the present.
So, in short, he made Alex falsify some documents, and now not only is he a official A.C.T.P. member, he's also Matt's cousin, from Europe. Hooray!
As the three were walking, Emily started making conversation.
"Hey, so, since we don't have to go to class right now, what do you guys wanna do?"
"There's not a lot we can do, to be honest... Let's show Alex around. This place is pretty tricky, after all."
"Yeah... We used to get lost around here all the time, no?"
"Stop, stop with the nostalgia. We'll look like parents in their forties revisiting a place with our kid..."
"My bad, my bad. Wouldn't that be nice, though?"
Matt then crouched down to Alex, and started talking to him.
"See, Alex, your "mom" here has a really "great" taste of humor, as you can see..."
Emily then crouched down as well.
"And your "dad" never understands that mom's usually serious..."
"...What?", asked Matt, in awe, basically flabbergasted.
"Ah, you're gonna have to excuse me, boys, I'm going to the bathroom. Wait for me riiight there~"
Is this girl an expert at changing the subject or something...? Jesus...
"...Uh, Matt?"
Matt, who was staring in the direction in which Emily went, finally came to his senses.
"Ah, ah, right, sorry. What's up, lil' man?"
"Well, there's a not-so-little man standing right there.", said Alex as he pointed to somewhere behind Matt.
"...Huh?"
Matt got up from his crouching position, and looked behind him.
Standing at about 15 meters away, was Jinn. And he was just standing there, menacingly.
"Ah, what's up, Jinn. Hasn't class started?"
"Yes. But I made my way out flawlessly and undetected."
"...Gotcha. So, uh, how can I help ya'?"
"You said you'd explain the situation with the kid. So... Go on."
You see, humans, normally, have 5 senses. Touch, smell, sight, taste, and hearing. However, in that brief moment, something was telling Matt to shut up. He didn't listen to it though, and tried to fight it.
"Ah, yes. Well, you see..."
Suddenly, the hairs on his arms rose up, and he got chicken skin. Meaning, his fight or flight kicked in.
"Yeah, go on."
"...Cousin. He's my cousin. He's from Europe."
Matt has lied to Jinn.
Jinn, who suddenly seemed to have "awakened" his sixth sense as well, called him out on his bullshit.
"How so? There aren't any recorded gateling bothers or sisters."
"The humans. His mom, my dad. They're siblings."
"Hmm. Why is your dad's sister in Europe?"
"She, uh, works there, as a doctor."
Jinn then pointed at Alex.
"What's his name?"
"...What?"
"His name. What is it."
Matt rolled up the sleeves on his hoodie.
"It's Anderson Alex."
Jinn did exactly the same.
"Hmm. That so. Shouldn't he take after the father's name?"
Matt started rubbing his hands together.
"Well, you know. It's Europe. They're weird there."
Jinn had his hand pointed at a nearby chair.
"Yes, maybe so. But he looks rather Russian, no?"
Matt fixed his footing, and shoved Alex behind him.
"Fuck me, man... You're way too good at this, Jinn."
The chair Jinn was pointing at started flying towards Matt. He pushed Alex out of the way.
"Hand him over."
Matt ducked below it, then flipped Jinn off while having his tongue out.
"Oh, fuck you, Matt..."
Jinn threw his hand behind him, and called whatever was there to him. And the gamble he took gave him a... Wait for it... A stick!
If you're wondering where the hell did a stick come from, it was used to support a plant. That's why there's dirt on it. And uh, a plant.
Matt, who was unarmed, was clearly at a disadvantage. He yelled out towards Alex.
"Alex, fucking run! Number 1, as we discussed! Go get mom, now!"
He talked in a way that Jinn wouldn't understand. As you see, Jinn wasn't the only smart dude around here.
Given that he just yelled out, commotion could now be heard around them. People were staring to come, and they won't have much more alone time.
But, where's Alex? He's nowhere to be seen...
Jinn got flustered by this fact.
"Where's the kid, Matt?"
As Jinn started to move, Matt yelled out again.
"Stop!"
Jinn stopped.
"Jinn, fucking stop! I don't know why you're after the kid and I don't wanna find out!"
Jinn gripped his "weapon", the stick, harder, and took another step.
"But if you take one more fucking step, or try to put your hands on him again, I'll fry you the fuck up!"
Jinn, again, took another step.
"Don't fuck with me!"
As Matt was about to shoot with his fingers, Chloe appeared behind Jinn.
"Guys! What're you doing?!"
Matt stopped, then swore.
"...Fuck."
"Jinn? What's happening?"
Jinn looked at her.
"...Chloe. Please leave."
"No! I don't know what got into you guys, but you have to stop!"
"...I can't do that."
Matt then screamed at him.
"Yes, you abso-fucking-lutely can! Leave him alone!"
"...I can't do that either."
As Jinn took another step, he got sprayed in the face with water.
"Hey asshole, don't you know not to pick on kids?"
"...Loth. What do you want?"
"For you to fuck off, obviously."
Chloe then exclaimed.
"Emily! Wait! Don't add fuel to the fire! Let's stop them!"
Jinn then looked at Chloe, again, then spoke to her.
"Chloe. Please leave. This is something personal."
"No way! I can't do that!"
"...Then you'll have to watch"
Jinn started running towards Matt. Matt, who was ready to shoot up until that point, let his right hand down, and stretched it out, to his left.
"Bingo~"
Jinn could see a white flash to his left, but he didn't bother looking. Then, as he was about to swing his stick, he suddenly had to pull back.
Why? Well... It's because Matt swung at him with his right hand. But it wasn't empty, oh no no no. He was holding... His specialty~
As Matt was spinning his scythe around, he started to talk with Jinn.
"You ready to call quits now?"
"Yeah, as if I can do that..."
"Sure you can. I'll forgive and forget! ...Well, probably. Maybe. Nah."
Jinn's brain started running.
"A scythe... Where did it come from?"
"I can't beat him like this. He has his best weapon, and I have a stick."
"There's the possibility that might be a real weapon, too."
So, he only had one plan in mind.
"Alright. I give up."
"Took ya' long enough, Kinky. Now, my turn to start questioning."
Matt pointed his scythe at Jinn.
"Why're you after Alex, asshole?"
Jinn chuckled, then, for the first time ever, showed his true side to someone other than Oliver.
"That's 'cause he looked fucking interesting, y'know?! There's no way I could've left him alone!"
Because Chloe was behind him, he couldn't see his wicked smile, and dead green eyes. She was still under the idea that he's a good guy.
She was wrong.
"...You're not okay, Jinn. You're just not."
By this point, a number of kids and teachers were watching. And yet, they couldn't do anything about it. They all just sat by, waiting for it to be over.
"Ah, by the way, Matt..."
"What do y'want."
Jinn, once again, smiled just like a true psychopath.
"You should pay more attention behind you, dumb fuck!"
A screwdriver, some nails, and a hammer were flying towards Matt's head, from the janitor's closet across the hall. The door was open all along.
Shit. Matt couldn't react in time. He wasn't fast enough.
So... Was this the end? Did he lose, this early on?
This was kinda embarrassing. He never got to spend much time with Emily. And he never helped Alex get home. This sucked. This really sucked.
Was this what it meant to have your life flash before your eyes...?
Well, it wasn't that bad of a life. Matt was content with it. He was fine. Everything was gonna be fine. He just hoped that Alex would be-
Wait a second. Alex and Emily. Once Matt was dead... Who was gonna protect them from this crazed Jinn?
No one. The answer was no one. Nobody else had the strength or the wits to fight Jinn. They'd get killed in an instant, and so would Alex and Emily.
Shit... Well, now, he wasn't as content with it. Actually, he was a little pissed off. Maybe even a little mad. No, actually... He was fucking furious!
His brain went into overdrive, and started thinking.
"This isn't fine"
"I'm not okay with this."
"I'm not gonna die like this."
"I'm not gonna let Jinn be a fucking dumbass and do whatever he wants!"
"I'll fucking kill him for even trying to hurt Alex and Emily, even if it's the last thing I fucking do!"
"Fuck you, Kinko Jinn!!"