8. Playing with Insecuirties

God's Pov

May 19, 2011

A commotion had broken out in the sports room. The root cause of the commotion though laid sunken by his elbows on the sofa, brazenly spreading both of his legs, resting them on the glass table, casually pushing the mess on it to the side. 

Max's eyebrows certainly raised every once in a while as people came by to get a peek at his face like the delight of finding something under the blue moon. Though, they appeared hardly anything else than listless baggage of black dots constantly staring at its observer. 

His face had no sense of delightfulness or happiness, as a young boy on his birthday might be expected to have. The curse of utter loneliness weighing heavily upon his heart left him with little reason to even contemplate celebration, let alone feel delighted. 

Yet, his mind remained unaffected by the somber lyre of his heart and those eyes sternly refuse to let any ounce of emotion out on the surface. Being able to gaze at the world as he desired -in that lay his soul's perseverance.

Once the chattering among the onlookers got loud enough, it inadvertently founds its way into all corners of the room, unbounded by contours of block, sections, and doors -tempting the senior most fellow to make his way towards the source of the noise. 

This senior fellow's face was as pale as the face of the person waving back at someone only to find out that he wasn't the person being waved to. Despite that, there were several freckles across his face, a trait not uncommon to sportsmen toiling under the sun. Like others, he had only returned from training a short while ago so despite the change of clothes, one could feel the odor of sweat residue in his t-shirt. 

The crowd of students which might have dispersed soon out of boredom now started to struggle, pushing each other elbows to enjoy the spectacle about to take place with keen interest when they saw the boy staying still in his seat, without any change in his expression.

"It must be hard to manage this unruly crowd, Lazaneus. You have my sympathies." The boy made the first attempt to break the ice, giving an amiable smile. 

"I am sure that you are no stranger to the precarious position that you have put yourself in. So I hope it better be worth it, Max Ryder." He reposed himself on the sofa beside the table, with an icy glare.

"Oh! It seems I am famous." Max tilted his head amusedly. "I will make this as short as possible. Out of all jockeys here, whom do you think could have fixed the horse race? Any suspicion, even remote one will be appreciated."

Lazaneus raised one of his eyebrows nonplussed before bursting into a burst of laughter. "For Asterix to go after a first year, I knew something had to be off. What are you playing at, brat?" 

The accumulated crowd of onlookers was taken aback by the sudden outburst of their captain. Since they were peeking from beside the gate, leading to the hallway and there was a lot of murmuring and chattering going on, they were only perplexed at witnessing such a development.

"It is a simple and reasonable request" Max continued, latenting his distaste towards the latter's attitude "Unless you are the culprit yourself and know them, there is no merit in playing the clown. Of course, if you are genuinely bewildered, consider me impressed that your team has managed to fare so far in the matches under you."

Lazaneus stared aghast , with his mouth half-open as his eyes witnessed a first-year scoundrel hurling insults at him with zero hesitation. Was this kid bonkers in the head or purporting to abet him to commit something disgraceful in front of his teammates? Yes, that must be it. With that conviction in mind, he raised his fingers in the air gesturing Max to stop, who obliged at once.

"You are just trying to get me at my ego. Unfortunately for you, that tactic won't work on a sportsman like me. To not let our immediate personal and intrusive thoughts is the first principle taught to us when we start our journey." Lazaneus crossed his arms with a smug smile of victory, under the solemn belief of having been able to tear apart the latter's plan.

"What kind of person goes to a blind person seeking his opinion on beauty?" Max hitched his shoulders, shaking his head disappointedly.

"In case you have omitted it from your memory already, let me remind it again that you came here of your volition and prompted me to entertain your feeble ego. What a shame ! Madam Janis and Senior Agnes will surely be disappointed." With that, Max put his leg back on the floor pushing it down firmly before standing up.

Madam Janis! Helping th...Wait, was this kid sent here by the Principal? If that were the case, it could mean big trouble for him if he doesn't proceed carefully. All of sudden, Lazaneus felt sweat trickling down his forehead. 

"Hold on a moment. Did Principal Mam authorize you to come here?" Without even realizing himself, his voice was laced with a strange softness.

"I was a fool to come here." Max sighed exasperatedly "On second thought, I think I should rather go to senior Asterix. Maybe that will help to mend my relationship with her since I am sure she would love any chance to fall in the good graces of the Principal for upcoming Council elections."

A sharp jolt of fear coursed through Lazaneus's body. The mere foreboding of destined danger is like a current of grief and pain, a source of inescapable dread for the puny little hearts of humans. The fear of being swept away by this current holds much greater power than the hell it may land one in, for it is the sensation of end that haunts a man rather than his end. 

 For a man who had his dreams and aspiration crushed in several fields, the field which remains as his abode becomes a precious sanctuary. A sanctuary whose slightest defilement causes him anguish comparable to a lunatic's quest for understanding. The very thought of being ousted in hard-earned popularity by his competitor Asterix who holds no excellence in any field enraged his heart. 

Max's selves relished in internal harmony as they watched the helpless sap of a man caught in the conflict between the preservation of his ego here and in the future. For him, it made little difference whatsoever as to the choice undertaken by Lazaneus right now, for his unconditional surrender was guaranteed. 

"Let's have a chat then. Just not here." Lazaneus sighed, the color from his face drained of all the vigor.

'A self-assured way to retain the immaculate pride that you have left. Well, not that matters to me. ' With that thought in mind, Max made his exit out of the sports room with a blank-faced man, pride of the school and yet the object of disappointment in his mind.

..........

No matter how much Kate wracked her brain for a definite answer as to why her mind wasn't in the class, she couldn't find it. It had only been a week since she had started to know Max and in just two confrontations, the very beliefs validating her existence as unique appeared no more than excuses anymore. 

She couldn't put her finger on exactly what allowed Max to penetrate people's minds easily. Maybe it was just his unusual way of subverting expectations, not for the sake of surprise but simply out of pure whim. 

 He was a pure being of logic or at least that is what he presented himself to be and to some extent, his erratic behavior conformed to that. Yet, there were several of his antics that were inconsistent with that image. An action highly unsuited to a being of such an intellect.

If he didn't need her, why bother going to such an extent to instill that belief in her? Was it all a simple ploy to get her help merely to free himself of the predicament hatched by Asterix? Such a simple explanation appeared too arbitrary and unacceptable to Kate's mind. Either way though, whatever Max's intentions might be, she was sure that it wouldn't be possible to figure them out by simply thinking.

Her life and her goals were equally, no, more important and she could sense no willingness on the part of Max to honor the promised deal. In her mind, Max had relegated her from his possible partner to a throwaway after having achieved his end. Thus, once again, like in old times, she must let herself be embraced in the clutches of the necessary monster again.

Thus, she waited, her eyes affixed like a coco bird at the wall clock of the dorm in the senior wing, her ears eagerly listening to every footstep in wait of the owner. She felt her breath getting heavy as the familiar footsteps approached the door. With a rustle, the visitor opened the heavy iron door. CREAK! CREAK!

"Oh, you are finally done with your little wanderlust. ' A contempt-filled voice reverberated throughout the room.

"Yes," Kate answered meekly, her eyes peering at those sharp blue hues again. "I have realized my place and ..come ..here to share my concern."

"I am aware. Don't fret. Rather, rejoice. If you had been indecisive for any longer, I would have probably not taken you back in. The arrangements have already been made." Shivers went down Kate's spine as she felt her hand being grabbed by the latter. "We are going to have so much fun now."

A necessary monster..indeed!

...........

"I see. That does make a lot of sense. I don't understand much about relationships but if this guy Judy Lane broke up with Reina Krystalinger, then she might have a good motive to botch the race so that he doesn't win. But the fact that Judy lost despite being the best rider in the second race does raise some serious questions undoubtedly.

 But that still doesn't explain as to why the first race was fixed. After all, it was in the third year, and ....Reina and Judy are both in their seventh year. Hmm..well thanks anyway." Max forwarded his hand in gratitude earning a stunned look from Lazaneus.

"Are you just going to leave me hanging there? It makes me feel awkward." Max rolled his eyes at him, keeping the last part to himself.

"Of course not." Lazaneus shook his head shaking his hand. There was no reason to dread anymore. After all, he had done all that was desired of him. And in the end, he was just a kid so it wasn't like he could be backed into some corner. 

It would be selfish and counter-productive. Get a hold of yourself, Max. He gave a bright smile while pinching himself to repress the strong urge bubbling within him to come out clean to witness the aghast look on Lazaneus's face.

After parting ways, several possibilities imploded at once in Max's mind. 

First of all, if Reina is the Fixer, then she may be fixing all races to hide the fact that Judy's race was the only one tampered which would immediately pinpoint the attention of seventh years towards her. Secondly, she would need to meet the eligibility requirements of holding expertise in chemistry as well. 

Thirdly, she would also need to have access to school surveillance cameras since the cave's south side contained cameras. Fourthly, the sarin gas used was way pure and clear...to clear so was it even possible to make that in biology lab? Fifthly, If not, then how would a simple girl manage to obtain highly restricted VX gas and sneak it inside Wonavilla? Sixthly, did Kate have some sort of connection with Fixer? Seventhly, what was Asterix's role in all this equation? Was she a mere passer-by?

There were so many questions that he had yet to find answers to. 

I suppose I may have to actually use my brain after all. He pouted, dreading the mental expense ahead.

Unknown to him for now, in a room, located not too far away, his fate was already sealed as the stamp approving his expulsion was pushed on the office paraphernalia.