Dad drove the car down to the foot of the mountain, where the on-duty security guard opened the gate for us.
"Good morning, Master and Young Master." She bowed respectfully.
"Good morning, Martina."
"Sup?"
"Have a wonderful day."
Again she bowed, sending us off.
"You too Martina."
Dad responded.
Dad drove the car through the thick foliage surrounding the estate, we call it the outer garden.
The outer garden had a rather special ecosystem; I don't know what caused this bizarre mutation.
Every form of life living there was carnivorous. The animals, the plants, everything that was alive, was out for blood. Any normal ecosystem has a category of animals at the bottom of the food chain, but here there is no food chain, just food.
There is no such thing as a cute and cuddly defenseless animal here, and there is no such thing as a beautiful, fragrant flower here. What you see is all a façade, if you see a beautiful flower, you've been hypnotized. If it smells fragrant, it's poison. If you see a cute and defenseless animal, it's bait to lure you in, once you're close enough it won't be so cute and cuddly when it bites your face off.
At the end of the outer garden, we were greeted by the sight of the morning sun rising over the city of Elysium. Rays of red and orange struck the windowed sides of skyscrapers, creating a Windows lock screen wallpaper-like image.
I hate it.
It looks like shit.
It looks nice the first couple of times but after a while the sight of it is just irritating; the bright glare irritates my eyes.
Elysium, like any other vibrant city, never had a moment of silence or stillness. It was always bustling, noisy and full of life.
Of course, this vibrant city would not be complete without a few dark, shady alleys with sketchy looking characters lurking about.
We finally arrived at Star Academy, the only academic institute in Elysium.
I have no idea what my major is, I don't have a clue what my subjects are.
Do I attend class? Yes. Do I pay attention in class? No.
When people talk about topics I have no interest in, like what's happening in their personal lives or their thoughts on the economic state of the world, I would be there listening in body but in mind I'm in the fucking stratosphere.
Same thing happens in class, the imaginary scenarios and conversations I would be having with myself in my head would be much more interesting than whatever the teacher was talking about.
Dad stopped, then I tried opening the door but it was locked. I turned to look at him only to find him staring at me expressionless.
Sigh
I raised my right hand unwillingly.
"I won't add to the population, I won't subtract from the population, I won't end up in hospital and I won't end up in jail."
"Alright..."
Click
He unlocked the doors allowing me to get out of the car, then he drove off to work. Though I arrived in a luxury sports car, there were barely any gazes of admiration or envy, there were other more popular kids that arrived in fancy cars.
When I got out of the car no one paid me any mind, just the way I like it.
Though dad is not as outspoken as mom, he is quirky like her. Is that why they ended up together? So they can be weird together? If both my parents are weird doesn't that make me weird? Will I be just like them when I grow up?
These thoughts ran through my head as I walked to my classroom. I sunk so deep in my own thoughts that I walked past my classroom. It was only when my hoodie was yanked from behind that I snapped out of it.
"Why are you daydreaming so early in the morning?"
As the voice entered my ear I knew exactly who it was.
"Ah~ Gabriel, my best friend."
I opened my arms to hug him, Gabriel put his palm to my forehead and pushed me away.
"Best friend? I'm your only friend."
"That's what makes you the best!"
We walked shoulder to shoulder all the way back to our class. As soon as Gabriel stepped in heads sharply turned, squeals of joy with eyes full of admiration locked onto him, from both male and female. Gabriel was quite the star in the academy, stellar in both academics and sports, and also doing charity work in his spare time. Adding to his attractive appearance, he was always in the limelight.
Tall, well-built, medium blond hair and deep blue eyes, he was a snack for the ladies. I was barely even noticeable walking around with him, people probably thought of me as his underling or something. But I don't really care, as you may have noticed, I tend not to think about things don't care about.
I'm perfectly fine with being in his shadow.
Gabriel sat way at the front and I sat at the back near the window, a perfect spot for daydreaming and not paying attention in class.
'I hope I see that cool bird again today or maybe an interestingly shaped cloud.'
For the entire day I would be either blankly staring out the window or face down asleep, just like that it was the end of school. The class emptied out, some students going to hang out and some bidding each other farewell.
The sun set, only I was left at my desk in deep slumber.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Gabriel returned to the class.
He grabbed the thickest text book off the bookshelf at the back of the class.
Boom!
He smashed it on the side of my desk, I instantly shot up.
"Wakey wakey sleeping beauty."
"... Fuck you."
"You think I'll let you with the drool on your face?"
"What time is it?"
I asked wiping the drool off my face with my sleeve.
"It's 5pm."
"5pm? Looks like I'll be walking home."
If I wasn't out waiting at the entrance of the academy within 10 minutes of school ending which is 2pm, Dad would leave without me.
I grabbed my backpack and walked out with Gabriel.
"What are you still doing at school?"
"I had club activities. What? You don't wanna see me any more? Even after saying you wanna fuck me, I'm hurt~"
"It seems someone actually wants to bend over for me~"
"Why do you presume I would be the one bending over?"
"Oh fuck off,"
Gabriel had a car waiting for him at the drop-off zone—a Bentley—with a butler waiting for him with the door open.
"Alright, later."
"Stop dozing off in class, you'll miss something important one of these days."
"I have you to remind me."
We gave each other a fist bump and went our separate ways.
I looked at the long journey ahead a sighed. With a quick look around to make sure no one else was around, a started jumping up and down to get the blood pumping.
Crash!
The ground beneath my pushing-off leg cracked open as I sprinted all the way home. I ran through the area most congested by pedestrians without touching a single person, precisely controlling my muscle movements and accurately predicting the pedestrians' movements.
Once I was out of the congested area I was on the final stretch home. I suddenly noticed something off. Elysium is a city which supposedly never sleeps, so why was it so quiet all of a sudden?
There was no rumble of car engines, no hurried footsteps of pedestrians, no clatter of trains on the tracks—not even the chirp of a cricket.
The street was dead silent, not a soul in sight.