[V2] Chapter 21: An Unfriendly Reminder

Date: Monday, April 24

Location: Recreation

Operation: None

19:00

“You have a death wish, Connor,” Tisiah said, his voice dripping with concern. Nikki was standing beside him, her hand pressed against her forehead, clearly in an act of utter despair. We were the only ones inside the training center since the heat outside was unbearable.

The rest of the students, however, didn't seem to care.

“Listen, alright?” I began, trying to justify myself. “She was going to snitch on me and expose that I was following Jamal. Either way, I would’ve been dead.”

“Who is Jamal?” Nikki asked, looking between Tisiah and me. We both answered in unison, “Graffiti on his jacket.”

Nikki nodded slowly, her face contorting into a look of disgust.

“As I said before, she was going to snitch on me and tell Jamal I was following him. Either way, I would’ve been dead.” I repeated, my frustration growing.

“Rather by a goon or Mari?” Tisiah asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mari sounds more legacy-like,” I responded, trying to make light of the situation.

Tisiah snorted. “A man, no matter how pro-gender equality the world is, getting folded by a girl will definitely make people laugh at you. And I’m sure September won’t want a man who can’t protect her.”

“She very well can protect herself,” Nikki shot back, her tone sharp.

“Don’t worry, I used the mallet before,” I said, trying to reassure them. “I’ll just use it again.”

Tisiah scrunched his face. “Sure… yeah… why not?” he said, clearly unconvinced.

“Where is she even at?” Nikki asked, her voice laced with curiosity.

“Most likely in the nurse’s office,” Tisiah said. “She’s probably using an ice pack. Apparently, that mallet made her fly. Somehow.”

“Yeah,” I said with a nervous smile, feeling the weight of the situation. I never actually stopped to think about what would happen afterward. It was scary, being what she was going to do next.

But one thing was for certain: that mallet was effective.

I was starting to appreciate it more, but then another thought crossed my mind—the update on the wand.

“Also, also, also,” I said, my voice gaining energy. “Remember when we had the three cards, and you would choose one and get your weapon?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Nikki responded, sounding intrigued.

“They apparently updated the system, according to Mari. They said it now just gives you MP points, and you buy weapons from the shop based on your level.”

Nikki scoffed. “Should’ve done that from the start. All I’ve got right now is a boomerang. If I had—wait, a shop?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Apparently there’s a shop, but I couldn’t find it on this small screen.”

“It probably means you have to go to a machine or a person to trade MP for weapons,” Nikki reasoned. “That makes sense.”

“Where though?” I asked, feeling a little lost.

“I’m not sure,” Tisiah chimed in. He took out his phone. “Okay, I’m going to charge my phone real quick."

Nikki looked at me, then gave a little shrug. “I’ll leave you alone if you want,” she said, nodding at me. Without waiting for a response, they both exited the room.

And then there was me, alone in the training center.

The time was still technically recreation before our last two classes. I could easily go back to my dorm and contact Greg, but before I could decide what to do, two large footsteps echoed through the hallway. Elf and Maddie stepped into the room. My heart dropped. What were they here for?

“Hey...” I started, trying to act casual, “I’m going to tell her soon, I’m going to—”

“No need to speak any more, Connor,” Maddie interrupted, slamming the door shut behind her with surprising force. “Jamal told us quite the story. Apparently—” She paused dramatically. “—you assaulted someone here.”

“I’m sorry?” I asked, my throat tightening. “Where did you get this from?”

“Jamal didn’t tell us who, but it made us wonder if that’s why Malachi was escorted by a hundred agents,” she said, her eyes cold.

“Because I supposedly assaulted someone who isn’t Malachi?” I asked, trying to sound confident.

“So, you did hit her,” Maddie said, her voice tinged with accusation.

I froze, dread settling in my chest. This was exactly what I had feared.

“I never said that,” I stammered. “And even if I did, it makes no sense as to why Malachi would be escorted.”

Maddie glanced at Elf, who then looked back at her. “He saw you.”

“He—” I froze again. Elf smiled, a smug expression creeping across his face.

“Yeah, Jamal saw you in 4K,” Elf chuckled. “And there’s nothing you can say to change that. Since you’ve been so inconsiderate about our requests, we’ll make sure the school knows about this and make your life a living furnace.”

“You mean—” I started, but they both interrupted me.

“Don’t interrupt us,” Maddie snapped. “We still have that proposition. Tell Nikki about Jamal, and you’ll be in the clear.”

“Why doesn’t Jamal come and tell me this himself?” I asked, feeling the anger rise in my chest.

“Because he doesn’t want to associate with someone like you, who’s probably the main suspect in what happened with Malachi,” Maddie said, her tone dripping with disdain.

“You guys praise him too much. He’s just a good agent,” I muttered, barely holding my ground.

“And you are?” Maddie asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged. “Can’t say I’m not.”

Maddie shook her head. “He’s still our friend, and that’s something you should understand. You have this week to fix things. Now, please don’t waste our time.”

“Sure,” I said, forcing the words out.

Maddie and Elf exchanged a look before they left the room, and my heart began to race, thudding painfully in my chest.

Malachi’s goons had just made my life infinitely harder.

***

Wednesday

15:10

The final school bell rang. I had survived another school day, but I was certain Jamal had already sent his spies to find me somewhere secluded—probably in the bathrooms or alone in the hallways—to jump me.

Every time I saw Jamal, he would flash me the number of days left with his fingers. I didn’t want to tell Nikki, but I had started to fear those fingers more than Mari.

But I never told Greg. And I realized now that was probably a mistake. I had to tell him, because even though he could be discouraging at times, he was right.

I spotted Greg getting on his bike by the corner of the school.

The school grounds were lined with palm trees, and the grass was freshly mowed. Greg loved riding his bike on the grass, even though he’d gotten detention twice for doing it.

“Greg!” I called out, racing toward him. Thank God he had the ears of an elephant, because anyone else would’ve raced away into the horizon.

“What?” he asked bluntly, looking at me as I approached. “Something you want to tell me?”

“Obviously, Greg. But I’ve got a situation, and I need your advice,” I said, my voice serious. “Please.”

Greg’s eyes widened as he smiled. “Oh... something juicy happened, didn’t it?”

I nodded. “Most definitely.”

“Well, we live close to each other, so we might as well go,” he said, motioning for me to hop on.

“But I want to say it where my mom or your mom aren’t,” I explained. Greg nodded slowly.

“I know that,” he said. “Hop on.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Get on. I’ll drop you off. After all, I’m the one with the bike,” he said, flashing a smile that could blind anyone with its brilliance.

I reluctantly hopped on, and we pedaled away, exiting the school grounds. We immediately stopped at the nearest crosswalk, where three other bikes joined us.

“So, hit me,” Greg said, eager to hear what I had to say.

“Remember the Lowman mission?” I asked, and he nodded. “Well, we had suspicions about three specific goons of Malachi.”

“Goons? What do you think this is, a high school drama?” Greg laughed. “You might as well break out in song in the middle of the highway.”

“Either way,” I said, ignoring his teasing, “there were three goons we were suspicious of. I didn’t want to say it, because with how many friends Malachi has, this goon probably already sent someone to spy on me.”

“Really? You got some enemies, huh?” Greg asked, glancing around as we crossed the street.

“Apparently. So, I followed one down there and found out he wasn’t doing anything at the moment. But then, Mari caught me.”

Greg turned to me with wide eyes. “Ohhhhhh,” he chuckled hysterically. “She was just going to snitch on you? So you hit her with the mallet?”

“Yeah,” I said, embarrassed. “And apparently, it was given steroids or something. I’m not sure why she flew.”

Greg turned around, still laughing. “Mallet?! And she flew from that?!”

“Yeah,” I said, trying to shrug it off. “But then the goon found out what I did and threatened to tell the school, unless I did what he wanted.”

“So he asked you to—?”

“Yeah,” I said, “to basically tell Nikki to go out with him.”

“So tell her,” Greg said, his voice laced with urgency.