Patty just wanted to be lazy. He didn't want to stay in this dreary place after school when he could have been laying in bed while doing absolutely nothing. He most certainly wouldn't want to be sitting in the middle of a cold white room with no windows and a single white overhead lamp hanging above his head.
This was detention–a room for miscreants like him, though he didn't remember breaking any state or federal laws that would warrant his being here. All he did was fill up some survey form about his future like any student would when forced by his teacher. Speaking of whom, his professor seemed to be saying some important things that he should absolutely be paying attention to.
"Are you listening to me, Patrick?"
The chair creaked as Patty sat up straight and nodded his head like the good student he was. "Yes. I am. Yup. Definitely."
The professor stood there with his neatly combed and gelled hair staring at Patrick sternly as if he didn't believe him. The student in question was infamous for being the lethargic one in the herd, the kind that wouldn't take notes during class and pride himself in doing the bare minimum to pass–the kind he absolutely hated the most.
Of course, Patty was listening. Mostly.
"Prof Ortez, you were telling me to, and I quote, 'Don't do the extra work,'" he said confidently.
The professor shook his head in disappointment. "It's Professor Wraithborne."
"And that's not what I said. I said that you shouldn't be satisfied in doing the bare minimum. That's not enough to succeed in this world. Your classmates are all participating in clubs, signing up for internships, practicing their martial arts in their dojos, while you…you who have no influential background, no trust fund to fall back to, and no discernible talent, are satisfied with doing the bare minimum."
Professor Ortez put his hands on his waist, and creased his tucked-in white polo shirt. "If you want to sit back while your classmates work hard, don't. DO THE EXTRA WORK."
"You can see why I misunderstood that. Who phrases it like that?"
The professor ignored that last comment.
"All of us have dreams–dreams that are hard to fulfill even if you have the talent to achieve it. People say that this is a world where anything can happen, but don't be misled by that. Only a lucky few ever get the chance to get a glimpse of the pinnacle in their lifetimes."
Exposition, blah, blah, blah. Patty didn't want to listen to another incessant lecture about achieving impossible dreams, and how the only way to achieve them was hard work. He simply didn't believe in that.
"If I was back in my youth like you, I would have given anything to work hard and be recruited by the military."
And all Patty wanted to do was to get home, prepare a nice bowl of cereal, and watch some tv like a normal teenager should. If only he could erase what he wrote on the paper, then the professor would have no choice but to send him home. No body, no crime, no time.
Patty looked down and saw his fallen pencil just a few inches away from his leg. He tried to extend his toes to the best of his flexibility; he even slid down from his chair without the strict professor knowing about it. Hopefully, he was still too concentrated on his lecture to notice that his favorite student was getting smaller and smaller from his view.
Of course, he could always stand up and get the pencil that way, which would be easier. But Patty didn't want to. That was extra work he wasn't willing to do.
"In this world, people like us achieve our dreams through the use of Teqx. These metaphysical phenomena allow us to achieve abilities beyond the normal human. Summoning fire from air, flying over mountains, and even stretching our bodies beyond the normal limit. Anything is possible."
The pencil was only an inch away from Patty's black shoes. All he had to do was completely slide his bottom away from his chair to finally get that extra horizontal height to finally reach the pencil, when all of a sudden, the chair creaked.
CREAKKK
"Stop fidgeting and listen to me! This is important." shouted the professor.
Patty sat up straight and watched as the pencil rolled away from him, forever out of his reach. At this point, it would be better to endure the lecture than to spend all that energy chasing the pencil, only to be scolded yet again for not listening to the professor.
"Why did you fill it up like this?" Professor Wraithborne took the paper on Patrick's desk and showed it to his face. It was a survey that was sent out to all the students in the class that contained questions about what they wanted to achieve in their life.
The paper was divided into three sections: POWER, MONEY, and FAME. Each of those sections had different subsections under them that corresponded to jobs that fulfilled that type of dream. CEO was in the money section, Martial Master was in the power section, and President was in the fame section.
There were a variety of jobs that the students could pick as their ultimate dream–the goal that they would pursue for the rest of their lives. It was a big decision, which others took seriously and spent many nights grueling which one to pick until they finally had to encircle one word in the survey question that would change their life. But Patty was different.
"Why did you fill it up like this?" asked the professor.
Patty shrugged. He wasn't really sure why his answer merited this punishment. His response was valid, at least in his opinion. It may be a little harder to achieve than most conventional dreams, especially given his inclination to stay at home and laze around all day. But the survey asked what his dream was, and Patty answered honestly. Nothing wrong with that.
"Everything is wrong with this. Are you even serious? You can't achieve this improbable–nigh impossible task of fulfilling this." Professor Ortez slammed the paper on Patty's desk.
It showed a winding line that connected each and every job listed on all five pages of the survey questionnaire. He connected CEO to Martial Master to President to Engineer to Gardener to … to all the way down to the last job. He didn't pick an impossible dream. He picked every impossible dream.
"If you didn't want to answer seriously, then you shouldn't have even submitted it in the first place."
Patty's only reply to that was, "Prof Ortez, are you trying to tell me to…don't do extra work?"
"It's Professor Wraithborne."
Patty shrugged his shoulders in triumph.
"You are lazy, unmotivated, and a good for nothing student that barely passed the exams. You won't get a decent Teqx from any organization even if you tried. You don't even try."
"Thank you. I try to be." Patty replied.
"Even if you somehow get sponsored with a Teqx from a middling organization, which I doubt any decent one will do, you'll only get a run-of-the-mill Teqx that will barely help you achieve even one of these dreams, let alone two, let alone three, let alone all of them."
All of his classmates, batchmates, and schoolmates, spend sleepless nights and weekends studying for their exams to finally get that perfect score or they spend 3 hours at the gym everyday just to shave that extra millisecond off their running track record, all for a chance at a better Teqx in the future.
Some inherit theirs from their family, some encounter it after a dangerous journey through a man-eating forest, while most have to get sponsored by an organization or conglomerate to get theirs. But Patty wasn't even sure if he wanted a Teqx.
"It's not like Teqx magically falls right in front of you," Professor Ortez walked back to the blackboard and reminded Patrick of the cruel reality he was living in.
But then, completely out of the blue, a magical ball of light fell down from the roof and landed right in front of Patty. Levitating just inches away from him, its pulsing light tempted him to reach out. That incorporeal form that had no boundaries, that metaphysical aura surrounding it and distinguishing it from the rest of the physical world, there's no denying it: it's a Teqx.
Patty stretched his arm and found that it was still out of reach. But he could reach it if he wanted to. If he just stretched his body more and got out of his seat a little bit, he could touch this object and change the whole trajectory of his life.
"Teqx are mystical spheres that can bestow upon you a random power. Now, that fact is disputed. Some believe it's random, some believe it's not, some believe its fate. But there is one thing for sure: not every Texq is equal."
TAK TAK TAK
Professor Wraithborne furiously stroked his chalk so fast that Patty wondered how it still didn't break. He continued his lecture and ignorantly wrote down theoretical facts about Teqx, unaware that Patty was staring right at a physical manifestation of one of the most mystical powers in the universe.
"Teqx are categorized by three distinct colors: Red, Yellow, and Blue.
Red Teqx will give you abilities that are related to physical strength, might, or overall dominion of the physical world. Martial Masters and Sport Athletes aim for these abilities.
The Yellow Teqx will give you abilities that can control an economic edge of this world. Examples are smithing, mining, or any other production abilities.
Blue Teqx will bestow upon you a charisma that cannot be ignored. They can give you killer looks, mesmerizing singing abilities, or transcendent talent in the arts. The Blue Teqx might be underestimated by most people because it will only give its users an aesthetic beauty that can't be used in battle, but make no mistake: all three powers are equal in its own right."
The floating ball of light demanded all of Patty's attention so much that he didn't have to consciously ignore the professor's lecture. Its color was distinct, as if the other colors or hues in the universe were mere virtual projections of color, and only now was he seeing its true beauty.
"As you might have guessed, these three colors correspond to Power, Money, and Fame."
Patty's hands inched closer and closer to the Teqx, just a hair's breadth away from making contact.
"Blue Teqx or also called Money Teqx, are perfect for entrepreneurs. But it requires years and years of foundation and build up to fully create an empire that can dominate the global market. Yellow Teqx or Fame Teqx are also the same. You have to build up your reputation brick by brick. You have to prove to everybody that you are the best singer, artist, or idol in the world. Red Teqx are different."
"Unlike the two Teqx where you have to build up yourself alone, users of Power Teqx can have the power of the military on their side. If you get a B-class Power Teqx or higher, you can get recruited by the national military. They will take care of your physical regiment, your training, your nutrition, and even your bathroom time. They will build up your body for you."
What color was the Teqx in front of him? Red.
"And what's the difference between high quality Teqx and low quality ones? You will see that inside the light, they have a distinct tempest of mystical aura that distinguishes the best ones from generic ones."
What did the red Teqx have? Swirls of sparkling clouds.
"Getting a Teqx is a gift, but is also a burden. You must be prepared to spend the rest of your life cultivating your powers because it is your responsibility to make the most out of your talents for those that didn't have the opportunity to do so."
Patty can reach it. He just needed a little jerk, a little more effort to finally get a Teqx that anybody would want. And just as he was about to grasp this new power, his hand stopped. He actually listened to the professor's lecture.
Did he want to spend the rest of his life waking up at 4 am and jogging 5 kilometers while his commanding officer shouted at him to jog faster? Did he want to eat chicken and broccoli every day? Did he want to fight on the front lines, risking his life to achieve greatness?
No. He didn't even study for quizzes. He doesn't even iron his clothes. There was no way he would want to drastically change his life and be dropped in a survive or die environment. He doesn't even want any Teqx.
He wants to be lazy. He will be lazy!
"If you're lazy, pray to the Supremes you don't get a Teqx this good."
Patty retracted his hand and let the ball of light fall through the floor, never to be seen again.
"The physicality tests are coming up. Prepare for it. You won't be lazy, will you?" the professor turned back to Patty.
The eager student took his hand and bumped his chest declaring, "no, of course not sir. If I ever get a chance to change my life, I will not hesitate to take it. I will not be lazy."
Before the professor could question Patty's weird response, there was a knock on the door.
KNOCK KNOCK
The visitor didn't wait for a response and opened the door. That fiery red hair would stand out in every room that was in black and white. The frustrated look on her face was the only crease that would indicate her age, which no one was allowed to know.
"Prof Ortez, why are you taking too long?! Didn't I remind you that we have an emergency meeting today?
Before the professor could reply, Patty answered for him.
"Please don't humiliate him, principal. The professor is just…doing extra work."
The professor broke his chalk in anger.
"Oh, and it's Professor Wraithborne," Patty said as he winked at the professor.