"See you tomorrow, Mister Zane!"
"See you tomorrow, Amanda! Great presentation you did in class today!"
"Bye, Mister Zane!"
"Bye, Patrick! Don't stay up too late tonight so you won't be late for school again tomorrow!"
"Catch you later, Mister Zane!"
"Catch you later, Malik! Don't forget Chess Club tomorrow! I'm planning to even our head to head!"
"Thanks for today, Mister Zane!"
"You're welcome, Catherine! And if you ever feel sick again, don't hesitate to ask help from me, the other teachers, or your friends, alright?"
It was now late afternoon and the Pioneer Public Middle School of Axis had just ended their classes for the day. Students were rolling out from the school's premises, eager to go home and proceed with more fun activities.
Standing by the school's gate to ensure the student's safe exit from the school were several teachers. One of them was our enigmatic brown-blazer-wearing John Zane. Saying goodbyes to his students as some of them passed him by.
Soon, the flock of students diminished from hundreds to dozens to ones and, finally, to nothing. With no students to keep watch any longer, the teachers by the gate returned to the school building and made their way to the faculty lounge where the rest of the teachers and school staffs were already present. Seeing how they were all gathered, apparently they were about to have a meeting.
John Zane made his way to an empty seat next to a red-haired woman in silver dress. He sat down and immediately leaned his head closer to the woman's ear.
"Do you think the principal will announce that budget increase we've been asking for?"
The woman chuckled at John's inquiry.
"Stop dreaming, Mister Zane! We've been asking that increase since even before you got employed here. It's not going to happen anytime soon. Especially since the school just spent some money to repair the windows and replace the science lab equipment after they were all broken from that dragon attack last week."
"That's too bad. I really wanted the school to purchase that new history textbook for my students."
"And I wanted more resources for my Art class. We're in the same boat, Mister Zane."
This woman speaking to John Zane was Sarah Partridge. She was John's senior teacher in Pioneer and his assigned mentor during the duration of his first year as teacher at the school.
They had spent quite a lot of time together, professionally of course, which led them to develop this close relationship with one another.
"So, why do you think Principal Wu is gathering us today?" asked John.
"I'm not sure. There's a lot happening ever since that dragon appeared. So I'm guessing it's something related to that."
John took a more attentive look on Sarah's face. He noticed a hint of uneasiness in her expression.
"How're you handling it, Sarah? The dragon, I mean."
"I'm not sure… Scared, I guess. And confused." replied Sarah. "I mean who wouldn't after seeing a literal dragon with their own eyes, right?"
"Do you really find the dragon disturbing?"
"Well yeah, John! I mean, I'm an Art Teacher. I majored in Art back in college. Dragons are just something I'd see in pictures and movies. Not in real life." said Sarah with slightly frantic tone. "And, to be honest, after seeing the dragon emerged from that shining crimson crack in the sky, I've been a bit scared painting with the color red or even seeing the red sky when dusk approaching. Because they kind of reminds me of that awful day."
Hearing her tale of distress, John could not help but to feel pain in his heart. The horror that crimson crack and the dragon had brought to the people around him pained the man as so.
"I'm so sorry, Sarah. I wish I could've done something to help you."
The red-haired woman once again chuckled at John's reaction.
"What are you apologizing for? I'm sure everybody's feeling the same way as me. Don't you, John?"
The man who defeated the dragon could not help but to be taken aback by this question.
"Um… Y-yes. Of course, I'm also afraid!"
John did not exactly lie though. He had been worrying about what will happen from now on. Whether another crack will appear and came from it another dangerous monster. The history teacher could not help but be plagued with worries of what could happen in the future. Which was why, John was, in fact, did not lie to Sarah.
"That being said," continued Sarah. "even with the dragon appearing, I still somehow find myself hopeful. As in I'm not thinking this will be the end for all of us."
"Why? What made you think like that?"
"Why else? It's because of that mysterious man, of course!"
Even more so than the previous question, John was completely taken aback by Sarah's statement.
"W-what d-do y-y-you t-think of…him?"
Right at that moment, an elderly woman in a suit entered the faculty lounge and made her way to the front of the crowd. It was Principal Wu.
"I'm sorry I'm late, everyone! Let's get this meeting started so we can all soon go home."
Despite the principal being present, John kept staring at his mentor.
"Um, Sarah?" called John. "So, what do you think of him?"
"Shhh, John! Miss Wu is about to announce something."
Though John was still curious what Sarah thought about the mysterious man who defeated the dragon, he reluctantly shifted his gaze toward the principal in front of the room.
"As you all know, our 8th Grade science teacher, Mister Patel, fell down the stairs and got seriously injured when the dragon appeared last week. Which was why we've been subbing for his class since then." told the principal. "And I just recently got back from the hospital where Mister Patel is being taken care of and, unfortunately, I have some terrible news."
The teaching staffs were dreading to hear what the principal was about to hear next. It would be displeasing at the very least.
"Mister Patel's injury is not life-threatening so he's still alive and in recovery. However, his injury is serious enough to force him to retire."
The staffs breathed out a sigh of relief when they heard the science teacher was still alive. Though they were also disappointed to hear of his retirement.
"Poor Mister Patel." spoke Sarah. "He's been in this school the longest and the students loved him."
"I heard he did plan to retire. But he said he's still going to stick around for another four years, right?" said John.
"Yeah… It must've been terrible to end his career like this. We should visit him and throw away a small and nice send-off party."
The principal continued with their announcement.
"Until we find Mister Patel's replacement, I'll have to ask the school's science department to cooperate in subbing for Mister Patel's classes."
She proceeded to produce a stack of paper and instructed a staff to pass it on to everyone.
"On another note, the government has addressed the dragon incident." said the principal. "The government stated they're still investigating the matters surrounding the incident. However, they are instructing every official establishment, such as schools, to be ready whenever similar incident to happen again."
"How exactly are we supposed to be ready?" asked a staff.
"Well, we do have evacuation protocols in this school as well as a bunker in the basement." told the principal. "I want you all to be familiar with our evacuation routes and plan. Make sure you teach them to your students. The school will also be holding more announced and unannounced drills moving forward."
The principal then pointed to the papers she just shared to the staffs.
"Now, we will run through the evacuation protocols together. If you have any question, don't hesitate to ask."
The meeting went for a while longer as the school staffs were going through the materials regarding the school's evacuation plan. Once the meeting ended, the staffs spared no time to disperse so that they could return home.
As John and Sarah were walking to their cars in the parking lot, the history teacher stopped his mentor.
"Sarah, you haven't answered my question."
"Oh, really? What was it about again?"
"I asked you about what you think of…you know…the mysterious man."
The art teacher raised her eyebrows upon hearing John's question more attentively this time.
"Well…that is an interesting question. What do I think of him, huh?"
"Y-yes…"
John was very curious to hear what Sarah was about to say regarding the mysterious man. Since, for obvious reason, John was that very figure.
"He did defeat the dragon and because of that I am grateful to him."
"You do?"
"Yeah. He saved us and I'm glad he was there to protect us."
"But aren't you curious of who he might be? Where did he come from?"
"Well, I'd be lying if I say I'm not curious about him." replied Sarah with a soft smirk. "In fact, the whole world is also curious about him. Way more than the dragon and the crimson crack itself."
John put on a contemplating look. He carefully pieced the words he wished to say to Sarah next.
"If you could ask that mysterious man something, what would that be? Something that you really wish to know."
Sarah paused for a bit before replying to John. She tilted her head trying to come up with the best answer.
"I guess I'd like to ask who he is."
"His identity?"
"No, not just something as simple as his name. But his whole identity. Who he is and where he came from. All the things that made him who he is." answered the human who, amongst all of Earthlings, watched worlds collided. "I want to know who he is and why his own self drove him to defeat the dragon that day."
John listened to Sarah's answer and absorbed it into his mind. He used her words to help him decide what he should do next as the one who saved Earth on that horrifying day.