Dachii Jones, a young African American boy, woke up from his dream, a dream unlike any he'd dreamt before. He heard the usual ringing of his alarm clock and knew that was his cue to get out of bed.
"Yep, another lame day of school. Typical teen life."
He struggled to sit up in his bed, and he reached for his walker. He almost managed to grab it, but he fell out of his bed and crashed into the ground, hitting his walker and breaking it. "Ow."
His little brother walked into the room, only to find Dachii crawling on the floor. Dachii looked up and gave a wave and a casual nod. "Oh, morning Marachii." Marachii sighed and gently picked Dachii up, with Dachii leaning onto him for support. "It's time for school so, we should, you know, go."
Dachii started coughing. "Yeah, sure, right." The two walked out the door (with Dachii having a noticeable limp), and their mother, Kia, greeted them in the house's kitchen.
"Hi, kids! Here, I made you guys breakfast!" There was some bacon and some waffles on the table, and the pair quickly ate, almost like a pack of wolves.
"Alright, bye Mom!"
Dachii and Marachii waved and left the house. The school bus was set to be on its way soon, and one of their friends, Mihina, met them at the bus stop. "Dachii! Marachii! What's up?" She walked over to them with a smile on her face. Marachii gave her a hug, and when she went to hug Dachii, he stared into her eyes.
"So fine…"
His voice was but a whisper, but it caught the attention of both Marachii and Mihina.
"What was that?"
Dachii immediately tensed up. "Uh, nothing. Nothing." Mihina struggled to try and hug him too, then stopped when he fell to the ground.
"Oh! Sorry!" She immediately tried to help him up.
"Dachii, are you okay?" Marachii grabbed his left side, and Mihina grabbed his right side, but Dachii didn't seem to be too pleased.
"Ow. Ow. Owww. Ow. Ow! OW!"
Marachii jumped back. "Sorry!" Mihina gently got behind him, and she and Marachii eventually managed to get him up. Marachii was borderline carrying Dachii on his back at this point, and Mihina had to address the elephant in the room.
"Well, has your condition been getting better?"
Dachii groaned out a reply. "No." Mihina sympathetically stroked his face, and Dachii appeared to be enjoying it. But not long after, the bus came, and the three got on it. They all sat in the back row, where more of their friends gathered: Zentaruo and Chiho, or as Dachii called them: the Jokesters. The two brothers high-fived each of the three.
"Whaddup, Whaddup?"
Mihina was the first to reply: "Hey you two! Still as ugly as ever." Dachii laughed at this, and so did Chiho, but Zentaruo looked offended.
"Shut up and go put on some make-up, nasty rat!"
Dachii laughed at this too, but stopped and fake coughed when Mihina glared at him. After some more petty back-and-forth insults, the boys took their seats. The bus driver motioned for them to quiet down and drove off. Dachii was sitting in between Marachii and Mihina, who were both watching him to make sure he was okay.
Zentaruo and Chiho began pulling out their phones and listening to music, as the rest of the kids on the bus began to do normal things like play around on social media, watch online videos, and sit back and relax. The bus made a few more stops, picking up some more kids, and Dachii couldn't help but look at every female who walked on.
Marachii caught wind of this, but he didn't say anything. He went back to stare out the window.
The bus made it to Silver Oak High School, which was named after the city Dachii and everyone else lived in. The bus pulled up to the bus loop and all the kids got out. Dachii and his friends waited until the bus cleared, and then Mihina and Marachii helped him off the bus. The group walked in to get breakfast, and Marachii placed Dachii down at a table, then he went to get them both plates.
The lunch lady, Ms. Furiame, noticed Marachii in line and allowed him to skip it.
"Hey, kid, you can come through!" She directed him to come to the front, and she gave him two plates of pancakes, bacon, and milk.
"Is your brother doing any better?"
Marachii didn't know how to answer that. "Uh, sort of?"
Ms. Furiame had a look of pity on her face, shaking her head. "That poor boy, I wonder if he'll ever get better." Marachii thought the same thing to himself, before thanking Ms. Furiame and taking the plates. He gave Dachii his plate and sat down next to him.
"Oh, thanks." Dachii patted him on the back, which took some visible effort to do. The two began to eat, just as the others gathered next to them at the table. Mihina took a spot next to Dachii, and she could tell he was struggling to pick up his fork.
"Do you need help?"
She looked at him with a hint of sympathy, and Dachii immediately took his chance and smiled with devious intent.
"Uh, yeah! Most definitely!"
As the others just watched and shook their heads, Mihina began to feed Dachii like a baby. Zentaruo whispered something to his brother, which made him laugh. Mihina helped Dachii drink his milk just as the bell rang.
"Bro, I hate this school—-!"
He immediately caught himself and coughed. "I mean, thanks! You're such a good friend, Mihina."
She smiled and gave him a hug. "No problem, just text me if you need anything else!" She was the first of the group to get up, and a big dude came up and wrapped his arms around her waist, leading her away.
As Zentauro and Chiho both got up as well, Dachii grumbled under his breath as he watched the couple walk to class.
"Okuda..."
Dachii gritted his teeth and had a murderous look on his face. Marachii gently helped him up and the two began to walk to their first class: History.
Marachii noticed Dachii still looking at Mihina and sighed. "You have to let her go, man. She has a boyfriend now."
Despite this, Dachii kept eyeing the two.
"It doesn't matter, he'll be out of the picture soon."
Marachii simply rolled his eyes, and they entered their history class. A teacher was at the door to greet them, with a nametag that read: Ms. Funai Michiko.
"Welcome boys! I've missed you two!"
She hugged Marachii then hugged Dachii, who was barely hanging off Marachii's side. She stepped by, allowing them to enter the class. "You two can take your seats." And of course, Dachii's seat was in the very front. Marachii helped him into the chair and then took the seat right beside him.
After 10 more minutes, the late bell rang, and Ms. Michiko closed the door and greeted the class. "Welcome back, class! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Break!"
Dachii yawned, looking around the class.
"No girls at all."
The teacher continued: "I'll give you all a few minutes to get ready, then we will begin our Mythology Unit!" Marachii straightened up, now curious:
"Mythology? What myths are we learning about?"
Ms. Michiko walked over to her computer, and after a few button clicks, a PowerPoint was displayed on the whiteboard. The kids all began to pay attention, even Dachii, who had been attempting to fall asleep, perked up when he saw the name.
"The Ancient War"
Marachii spoke up again. "What is that, Ma'am? I've never heard of that."
She looked at him with a smile. "Oh Marachii, there are things hidden deep in history many people don't know. That's what this unit is for! To shed light on a few myths and lore of the past! Fun, right?"
Marachii nodded, his excitement evident, but Dachii just kept looking at the PowerPoint, which had a mysterious flaming background and bright lights of white and purple.
"Lights…?" Dachii thought to himself, recalling the faint glimpses of his dream. Ms. Michiko waited for quiet, and then she began to speak.
"Long ago, legend has it that a war took place between two forces, a force of light, and a force of dark." Dachii began to put his head back down, whispering to himself: "Typical fantasy stories. Force of good and force of evil."
She continued: "The two armies had a brutal battle, that devastated the land and changed it forever. It is said that order and chaos were shattered in the battle, and that the aggressors of the attack disappeared for good."
Marachii raised his hand and spoke. "Excuse me? But did this happen where Sliver Oak is now?"
Ms. Michiko shook her head. "It was stated to happen on the other side of the world. Not in any part of Estrium." This made the whole class go quiet, and it recaptured Dachii's interest. Marachii raised his hand again.
"You mean, the Unknown Side?"
Ms. Michiko nodded. "Yes, the land of the Unknown. Where terrible things happen to those who cross, no one has ever gone there and come back." The class all gasped. Ms. Michiko laughed.
"But it's all myths! The only thing over there in the Unknown is giant forests and wild animals. It's just a wilderness, for animals who do not wish to be disturbed."
Dachii laid his head back down, deep in thought.
"Welp, cool story, I guess. Is it true? Probably not."
The rest of the class just stared at the PowerPoint, the flames and flashes of light seeming to become more and more terrifying with every passing second. Ms. Michiko turned the PowerPoint off.
"Now class, turn to page 273 in your history books. It should have more information on the War there, and some questions for you to answer." Most of the kids turned to the page, but Dachii kept his head down, both in thought and for rest.
"Imagine something exists on that side that could help me be normal again. Eh, probably just overthinking."
The teacher walked over to him. "Dachii? Are you alright?" He slowly picked up his head, eyes opening.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just…give me a minute."
She rubbed him on the back. "Okay, dear. Take your time."
Then he passed out.
40 minutes later, the bell rang, and Dachii was woken up by Ms. Michiko. "Dear, it's time for the next period." You can do the History work another time. Dachii yawned again.
"Okay."
Dachii and Marachii stayed in Ms. Michiko's class for her English period. More random students came in, and to Dachii's annoyance, not a single girl was among them. He watched as the girls all went to the yoga class across the hall, and Okuda escorted Mihina into the class, kissing her before she walked in, to Dachii's aggravation.
Then, the guy turned and walked into Ms. Michiko's class and Dachii slammed his head into the desk. "Ugh. Why?"
He sat in the front of the room, relaxing in the seat. Marachii whispered to Dachii: "Well, I know you don't like him, but do we really want to make a scene in front of this whole class?"
Dachii watched as he looked out the door, locking eyes with Mihina, who waved at him. He blew her a kiss and she blew him one back, and Dachii sunk in his chair.
"…Pick me up please."
After 10 minutes, the next bell rang. The class was to begin, and Dachii put his head back down. Ms. Michiko put a reading book on everyone's desk, and Dachii looked up, just to see Okuda putting his feet up on the desk and pulling out his phone, texting Mihina hearts and roses…
…then he put his head back down. The teacher cleared her throat and began the lesson.
"Alrighty! Hello, class! I hope you've had a great break!" She continued with her introduction. Dachii kept his head down and tuned all the noise out, while Okuda took his headphones out and began to play music.
Despite his casual indifference, Ms. Michiko didn't seem to mind him. "Now then, I want you to work on the questions on page 12. Remember, we have a test this Friday!"
The kids began to work on their assignments. Dachii eventually got up and began to work as well. Marachii finished his work earlier than the rest of the class and began to draw until the teacher began to collect the papers.
"Okay! I'll grade these and return them to you once I'm done!" She took them to her desk, going one by one and grading them quickly.
Once she was finished, she handed them out one by one. Marachii got 98%, Dachii got 92%, and other kids got various grades from C's to B's to F's. Okuda got his paper last.
"100%! Yessir!" He took a picture and sent it to Mihina, who congratulated him with a nerd emoji and some hearts.
Dachii put his head back down and fell asleep, while the teacher walked to the front of the class again. "Alright! Since the bell is going to ring, just go home and study for your test this Friday!"
5 minutes later, the bell rang, waking Dachii up. After everyone else left, Marachii prepared to help Dachii up, and Ms. Michiko walked over to speak with Dachii. "Hey dear, I noticed you were side-eying Okuda. Is everything okay?"
Dachii nervously coughed, hoping she wouldn't catch on. "Yeah, everything's cool!" Then he coughed some more, prompting Ms. Michiko to give him some water. "Okay. Let me know if anything is up."
He nodded and she gave him a hug before he and Marachii left. While on the way to their next class, Marachii stopped to use the bathroom, setting Dachii on the bench outside.
Zentaruo and Chiho saw him and sat on either side of him.
"Hey bro, I see you made it out of class!" Zentaruo patted him on the back and laughed, while Dachii forced a smile but slightly squinted. Chiho gave him some bubble gum. "Here, take some, stole it from the Math teacher, Mr. Kitoharo, but he'll never know."
Dachii took the gum, chewing it, and then he swallowed it.
"Uh, you weren't supposed to, you know..."
But before Dachii could answer, Okuda walked up to them.
"Aye, you boys seen my girl anywhere? I was supposed to meet her outside class, but she never showed up." Dachii clenched one fist, veins bulging, and then took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. Okuda was the first to notice this.
"You good, bro?"
"Yeah. I'm cool." Okuda just glossed over it and left it at that, and Zentauro gave him his answer. "Nope, haven't seen her. Maybe she got lost?"
Okuda shook his head.
"Nah, she doesn't get lost. Plus, we got Art together next. She loves some art, and some me."
As he said this, Dachii fell off the bench.
"Ow."
Okuda jumped back in surprise, as Zentaruo and Chiho helped him up, supporting him on either side. Okuda shrugged this off too. Chiho spoke up. "Why don't we go look for her? I mean, she can't be far, right?"
Zentaruo nodded. "Yeah! Homegirl's gotta be in the school somewhere!"
Dachii started coughing.
"AHEM, yeah, sure, she's around."
He looked at the bathroom for a moment, but he figured that Marachii could handle a few minutes of him disappearing.
"Alright then, let's slide." Okuda walked down the hall, checking classrooms. The trio of boys followed him as he went room to room, remarking every time:
"Not in here."
Eventually, they got to the library, and Okuda waved for them to come in after he checked it. "Yo, come in the bathroom, I found something." The boys followed him to the bathrooms, creeping past the librarian, Ms. Gena. Dachii and the others walked into the boys bathroom, but Okuda stopped them.
"Not THAT one, the girl's one."
The other three looked a bit nervous, Zentaruo especially. "Uh, erm, that's only for girls, if some catch us---"
Okuda waved him off. "Just come on!" The four walked into the bathroom and saw the window to it was open.
Furthermore, they saw Mihina's backpack was left under it.
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