Finally, after 20 minutes of running around, James was standing in front of a green door with the words: Grade 10B inscripted neatly.
Standing there, James chest was pounding severely. He stood there with mixed feelings and thoughts of entering or not.
Eventually, he gave in and opened the door. His face was met with a man probably in his mid 30s.
The man was in a white shirt and jacket, accompanied by a black long trouser. The man's name was Eric Brayden.
As James stood by the entrance, the man's eyes were shooting daggers at him, making James chest pound faster than ever.
"Why are you just entering my class?"
"I-I..." James was lost of words.
"You must be one of the notorious ones! Is this your first time in my class? I haven't seen your face before. Show me your tag!!" Eric just kept saying whatever enters his mind.
"I'm so sorry sir. It's my first time in Braxton, so I had trouble locating the class and I-I also forgot my tag at home" James hastily replied with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"I see... have your seat and don't let this repeat itself!" Eric sternly warned. "Bring out your Biology textbook and open to 135."
'I'll just have to check with the school administrator' Eric thought and continued his teaching.
"Earlier on, we were discussing association between living things, and I got to the different types of associations we have. I also asked if anyone knows what parasitism is as a type of association before we got interrupted by a certain someone." Eric smirked before he continued. "So, tagless guy can you explain that? Do that and introduce yourself to the class."
'Is it me or is this teacher being a jerk? Well then, I'll just prove to him I'm not a nobody. It's good I studied ahead.' James thought before he stood up.
"I'm James Craig, an ex-student of Middleton... parasitism is an association whereby an organism benefits from another organism and also causes harm to the other organism. The one that benefits is known as a parasite and the one that suffers harm is known as the host. A good example is the tapeworm, being the parasite and man, being the host." James stated.
Eric's eyes widened and his jaw almost dropped. He didn't expect James to give a well detailed explanation just like he himself would. It clearly proved James understood what he explained and didn't cram it beforehand.
"Impressive!" Eric recomposed himself. "I must say, you explained just as I would have."
James smiled and sat down, but he was frowning inwardly.
'What the f*ck? He was acting like a jerk and now he's praising me? What a weird man.' James thought.
The class went on and plenty of questions were asked, many thrown to James to which he answered well.
"James!" Eric called. "You're a good example of the adage not to judge a book by its cover. I look forward to our next meeting."
Eric said with a smile plastered on his face before leaving the class.
With Eric gone, the class became noisy. Chit-chats were going all around several groups formed by students.
'How can they be idling in the class now? Shouldn't the next teacher be here now?' James thought to himself.
He stood up to take a look at the timetable and as he checked, he was no longer surprised by the state the class was in now. It turned out they were having a free period.
James sat for about twenty minutes with no one approaching him. He eventually decided to bring out his drawing book to make few sketches.
Just as he turned to reach for his bag, his gaze locked onto a familiar face - a blonde with symmetrical face framed by her dazzling blue eyes and round pink lips. Her blue dress highlighted her curves, portraying confidence and brilliance. She was the girl James met in the taxi - Priscilla Barnes.
"Hi, I'm sorry..."
"It's alright! I understood what you meant. Will you keep saying sorry?" Priscilla asked with a smile on her face.
Truth is James still felt guilt deep down. He was not the pervert type that jumps from one to another or gets down with any girl that come his way, even with his flawless facial look.
"So... do you mind giving me a tour around the school since we're not in a lesson now?"
James asked, a bit hesitant.
"Sure! Just give me a sec." Priscilla arranged her books and placed it in her bag.
The two headed out of the class after Priscilla was done arranging. However, they were not the only one that left the class.
The moment the two left the class, a short blue haired boy ran out. The boy was so short that one would mistake him for an elementary school student.
"Hey! Wait up!" The boy shouted.
He soon caught up with James and Priscilla and a tiny droplet of sweat could be seen on his forehead. He only ran fifteen metres or so, but to him with his short legs, he ran fifty metres.
"I want to talk to you James." The boy managed to say under his breath.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" James said with one of his eyebrows raised.
"He's Kelvin. He calls himself kin..." Priscilla informed James before Kelvin cut in.
"Yeah! I'm Kelvin, Kelvin Brooks. I'm the king of books!" Kelvin said with his chest puffed out.
"You see, I was astonished by your brilliance. It's been long I've seen a student this knowledgeable. " Kelvin continued. "I don't know, looks like every new student in Braxton had their brain vaped or something."
"The only one who has been able to keep up with me is Priscilla there by your side." Kelvin paused and smiled to Priscilla. "And I'm tired of competing with the same girl every semester. In short, I want you to be my rival! We compete every semester for the best student in academics." Kelvin's eyes were sparkling like a dog seeing a bone dangling in front of it as he finished his speech.
In response, James stretched his hand out for a handshake and said; "sure! As long as you're not another Jeremy."
*********
Meanwhile, in a big mansion with gargoyle statues and white candles lit up, a man ran in with full speed.
The mansion itself looked like it had been abandoned for ages. Cobwebs were all over the mansion and even the main entrance gate that was as gigantic as five cars placed on each other had rusted-out. Stains of dried blood could be seen on the floor and on the gate.
Scattered on the floor were bones of different sizes and different parts. But, the most distinctive object was the insignia of two crescents placed oppositely in a circle and a paw right in the the middle of the crescents carved all over the mansion.
However, the interior was a complete opposite to what was outside.
Candles were lit up everywhere in the mansion and gargoyle statues as well as the insignia were everywhere in the mansion. The entire interior of the mansion were embedded with several marbles and sparkling crystals that gave a radiant look to the whole of the inner mansion. The whole inner mansion was neat and hardly would you even feel a spec of dust.
In the mansion sitting room, a man sat on an oversized chair tapping his foot on the floor anxiously.
Suddenly, a man rushed in with full speed and some of the candles that were lit were blown off.
"I always tell you not to blow off the candles!"
The man shouted in a booming voice that echoed in the mansion for a minute.
Even the wind that came out of the man's mouth blew some candles and the gelled hair of the man that rushed in.
"Tell me Stark! What news do you have?" The man with the booming voice spoke again.
It appears the man James saw in elegant suit with glowing eyes few days ago was named Stark. He was also the man that stood on James's lawn staring at his window.
"Master! I'm sorry for blowing the candles but I rushed in because of the urgency." Stark said enthusiastically.
"Tell me, what is it? Don't keep an old man waiting!" The man said.
"The stone! It's in his possession sir. The moon stone, I think it's in Jim's son possession." Stark said with his voice abit shaky.
The man leapt from his chair, and in an instant, he was standing in front of Stark grabbing him by his collar. The floor reacted to this little action as cracks formed where the man's feet were earlier.
"Are you sure about this? Did you see it with your two eyes" The booming voice echoed again.
"I-I didn't... see it with my very own eyes, but, I felt the immense power. I also recognized the feeling and I-I think it could only have come from the stone sir." Stark gulped and answered in stutter.
"Jim! I can't believe it. So after all these years, the stone was in your son's possession?" The man muttered. Although the man said it under his breath, it was still audible for Stark with his sharp ears.
"Very well then. We shall send Jeremy to do the job".