Zeus concluded his phone call, the sound echoing through the silent office.
Zeus: "I'll be at the school shortly, you'll see for yourself."
Chris nodded, typing notes on a pad.
Chris: "Alright, I'll get the preparations ready."
Ben's excitement grew, his eyes shining.
Ben: "Are you serious?!"
Mrs. Michaels confirmed, her voice calm.
Mrs. Michaels: "Yes, Ben, we're serious."
Ben asked, leaning forward.
Ben: "And he's coming here?"
Sam cautioned, his brow furrowed.
Sam: "Your enthusiasm for this is somewhat off-putting."
Ben defended, gesturing animatedly.
Ben: "Dude, it's a Newton for crying out loud; you should be showing more enthusiasm."
Sam explained, his tone measured.
Sam: "'Newtons' are considered special, even among us abnormal humans called "Products." Everything about them is different: their atomic energy emission, power, and lack of backlash.
Kevin intervened, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder.
Kevin: "Are you done?"
Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sam: "Whose side are you on?"
Kevin clarified, grinning.
Kevin: "It'll be our first time seeing a Newton, so I'm intrigued. For once, don't be a killjoy."
Frederick interrupted, his voice firm.
Frederick: "Regardless, preparations need to be made, so unfortunately, your little tour must be cut short. Please return to your class for the time being."
The students complied, their footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Students: "Yes, sir."
Two hours later, Leonard reflected, sitting in the crowded assembly hall.
Leonard: "The NI has its little celebration where they welcome new staff members, gathering the whole school to offer greetings. This celebration was even more spontaneous since you were a special case, and the person being welcomed must say a speech as well."
Zeus and Chris stood together, flanked by the school's administrators, as Scott delivered his speech. The fluorescent lights overhead cast an eerie glow.
Zeus whispered, his voice barely audible.
Zeus: "So, do you feel it now?"
Chris nodded, his eyes scanning the crowd.
Chris: "I'm sure everyone does, it's not really hard to miss, which is pretty concerning."
Zeus shared, his brow furrowed.
Zeus: "I know; he's a strange man."
Chris observed, his gaze fixed on Scott.
Chris: "Something's off about him. All of us are aware of how Newtons can change the wavelength of their atomic energy to mimic ours."
Zeus explained, his hands clasped.
Zeus: "The calm and gentle stream of a Product's atomic energy versus a Newton's intense vibration stream."
Chris urged, his voice low.
Chris: "Rest assured, I'll keep a close watch on him."
Zeus reassured, his expression stern.
Zeus: "Please do."
Zeus inquired, his eyes narrowing.
Zeus: "By the way, how are your students?"
Chris mentioned, his tone thoughtful.
Chris: "Oh, yeah. There's something I wanted to mention."
Scott concluded his speech, his voice echoing through the hall.
Scott: "... This is why, while I'm here, I will be dedicated to making your lives better so that we can do so for the rest of the world. Thank you."
The audience applauded, a sea of faces smiling. The sound filled the hall, accompanied by the faint scent of freshly polished floors.
Leonard stared at Scott with concern, his eyes squinting.
Nick approached, his footsteps light.
Nick: "You got a lot on your mind, don't you?"
Leonard denied, shaking his head.
Leonard: "Huh? What do you mean?"
Nick observed, his gaze piercing.
Nick: "You've been quiet for a while now."
Leonard downplayed, waving his hand.
Leonard: "Well, what I'm thinking isn't really important."
Nick shared, his voice low.
Nick: "If you say so, anyway, Zeus's daughter asked me to tell you that he wants to see you and the two other guys you're always with."
Leonard acknowledged, his brow furrowing.
Leonard: "Oh, thanks."
As Leonard left through the crowd, Nick added.
Nick: "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you this. I've been wanting to say that you did good standing up to Ash, especially since you don't have a hang on your nuclei."
Leonard's eyes widened, surprise etched on his face.
Leonard: !!!
Nick praised, clapping Leonard's back.
Nick: "You got guts, we'll probably get along because of that too."
Leonard smiled brightly, relief washing over him.
Leonard: "I hope we do."
Later, Leonard, Kevin, and Sam waited near the office, the sound of murmured conversations drifting from within.
Kevin groaned, shifting his weight.
Kevin: "Ugh, where was the restroom again?"
Sam teased, raising an eyebrow.
Sam: "Really? So the tour was for nothing?"
Kevin defended, holding up his hands.
Kevin: "I forgot, okay!"
Sam joked, shaking his head.
Sam: "You're hopeless."
He glanced at Leonard.
Sam: "We'll be right back."
Leonard nodded.
Leonard: "Alright."
As Kevin and Sam walked away, Kevin whispered.
Kevin: "You see that too, right?"
Sam confirmed, his voice low.
Sam: "Yeah."
Moments later, Mrs. Michaels strolled by, her heels clicking on the floor.
Mrs. Michaels: "Oh, hello. You're the student in class A1, right?"
Leonard turned, his eyes meeting hers.
Leonard: "Yes, ma'am, I'm Leonard."
Mrs. Michaels' warm smile put him at ease.
Mrs. Michaels: "Well, Leonard, it seems as if something is troubling you."
Leonard denied, shaking his head.
Leonard: "Oh, no, I'm fine."
Mrs. Michaels' gaze pierced.
Mrs. Michaels: "Leonard, please, I'm a teacher; we notice things you kids wouldn't notice yourselves. That's why I can see there's something on your mind."
Leonard hesitated.
Leonard: "Well...."
Mrs. Michaels encouraged.
Mrs. Michaels: "Yes?"
Leonard shared, his voice barely above a whisper.
Leonard: "I feel as if I lost my ambition for why I wanted to be here in the first place."
Mrs. Michaels leaned in, her expression empathetic.
Mrs. Michaels: "How so?"
Leonard's eyes drifted, memories flooding back.
Leonard: "Well, as a kid, I always pictured myself as this great scientist who saves everyone. But getting my nuclei, I feel like I was just over my head with everything. And also seeing that guy at the assembly made me remember why... I hated scientists so much back then."
Mrs. Michaels' eyes widened.
Mrs. Michaels: !!!
Leonard's voice rose, passion igniting.
Leonard: "This all started because scientists pushed the natural order of things too far. Why everyone is suffering, I despised them."
Mrs. Michaels asked, her tone gentle.
Mrs. Michaels: "So what made you want to become one now?"
Leonard's gaze softened.
Leonard: "My older sister, she had a disorder called haemophilia. For as long as I can remember, when I was younger, she was always bleeding. She broke down at some point. My mother, a high-ranked policewoman, having to cycle work and taking my sister to the hospital, went to different kinds of doctors, eventually trying the last one."
Mrs. Michaels' expression turned sympathetic.
Mrs. Michaels: "That's..."
Leonard nodded, his voice cracking.
Leonard: "Sad? Traumatic? Yeah, I've heard it all. It's good to see Mr. Jones again, even though he doesn't recognize me. He used to be a doctor, right?"
Mrs. Michaels confirmed.
Mrs. Michaels: "Your mother went to him as the last doctor, huh?"
Leonard's eyes sparkled.
Leonard: "After he heard about my sister's problem, I could see the actual concern in his eyes. I never saw someone operate day in and day out without fail until he decided to use his nuclei in her operation to stop the clots and regulate blood pressure. A few weeks after, I never saw her bleeding since. When we went to see him again, my mother was crying but had a smile on her face, my sister with eyes of relief and joy, hugging the doctor extremely tight. That's where my ambition started. I wanted to bring that joy into people's lives, figured I'd fix the source of so many people's suffering. But now I'm in a situation where I don't even know why I wanted to see that if it means I suffer, which is kinda selfish."
Mrs. Michaels offered, her voice warm.
Mrs. Michaels: "It's normal and important to put yourself first. There's not much I can say, though, other than to go through the path you desperately want. But since you don't know which one that is, you shouldn't think about what that feeling would be like. You should rather find out by experiencing it firsthand. That'll be the only way you find out if it is what you really want."
Sam and Kevin returned, their footsteps echoing.
Zeus stepped out of his office, his presence commanding.
Zeus: "Ah, sorry to keep you waiting. Please come in, you have a visitor."
Sam nodded.
Sam: "Let's go."
Kevin wondered.
Kevin: "A visitor?"
Leonard thanked Mrs. Michaels.
Leonard: "Thanks for the talk, ma'am."
Mrs. Michaels called out, her voice warm.
Mrs. Michaels: "Leonard!"
She struck a thumbs up, her eyes shining.
Leonard turned, a gentle smile spreading.
Leonard: "Thank you."
As the trio entered the office, a little girl darted towards Leonard, her ponytail bouncing. She wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tight.
Leonard's eyes widened.
Leonard: "R-Rose?"
Rose's mother followed, tears streaming down her face. She enveloped all three boys in a hug.
Rose's mother: "Thank you, boys, so much for helping my baby."
Sam smiled, his voice soft.
Sam: "Not a problem."
Leonard's gaze lingered on Rose, his thoughts swirling.
Leonard: "{Is this what she meant?}"
Moments later, Rose and her mother left, leaving the trio with Zeus. The office door clicked shut, and Zeus gestured to the seats.
Zeus: "So, tell me exactly why you boys want to be here. Leonard, would you like to go first?"
Leonard took a deep breath, his eyes locked on Zeus.
Leonard: "Well, sir, I just want to see more smiles like those."
Zeus' expression turned thoughtful, his eyes crinkling.
Zeus: "I see."
Kevin shifted, his curiosity piqued.
Kevin: "Sir, what's going on?"
Zeus leaned back, steepling his fingers.
Zeus: "All in good time, Kevin. First, I want to hear from each of you. Sam?"
Sam's gaze narrowed, his voice measured.
Sam: "I want to understand my nuclei, sir. And how to control it."
Zeus nodded.
Zeus: "And Kevin?"
Kevin grinned.
Kevin: I want to be the best, sir. And help others do the same.
Zeus smiled, his eyes sparkling.
Zeus: "Ambition. I like that."
The office fell silent, the only sound the ticking clock on the wall. Zeus' gaze lingered on each boy, his expression unreadable.
To be continued...