《Voids & Ventures》


 Volume 1: Worlds Worst

    It all started five years ago, April 5th,20XX. That was the year everything changed; for better or worse is for you to decide.


    The world is at the age of the superhero, but that also meant the rise of crime, corruption, and villainy. The world was on the verge of eating itself alive and there was only one with the power to change it all.


    Sadly, I must say, this is not the main focus of this story. In fact, to be honest, the main character of this story is as irrelevant to the whole of this story as it gets.


    ¡°Dammit Jordan I''m tired of your bullshit! You''re a dickless, incompetent, impotent, dipshit! I''m so done with you!¡± shouted Amy to Flash.


    ¡°Come on babe, that was one time in the cold, don''t say that. You''re just stressed from work.¡±


    ¡°You''re talking to me about work you fucking bum?! I''m the one supporting us you worthless bastard.¡±


    ¡°Look we could work this out. I just...don''t think you should be talking like this. Especially with customers around.¡±


    ¡°Hey, so I know I''m interrupting something, and as I do find it hilarious to watch a grown man getting castrated in public, but is my caramel frap ready yet?¡± nonchalantly spoken by a customer.


    ¡°Yeah here you go, have a nice day!¡± with a drastic shift in tone, from irritable to cheerful, but now back to irritable. ¡°Get the fuck out of my life you fucking reject. I''ve already burned all your things this morning, so there''s no point in coming back to my apartment!¡±


    ¡°You burned my Sailor Moon collection?!¡±


    ¡°You''re a real loser. You know that? Get out of here before I call the cops.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, but when you cool off just call me.¡± he says as he walks out of the coffee shop.


    His name is Flash Jordan, a socially awkward, 26 year-old, unregistered power user, with below average intelligence, anxiety disorders, and almost no redeeming qualities; also the main protagonist of this story.


    With no other options, he makes his way through East City to a public housing unit for powered individuals. ¡°What do you mean I can''t stay here?!¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Look here buddy, this place is for registered freaks, and even though you sure look the part, you ain''t registered.¡±


    ¡°Come on! I don''t have anywhere else to go. My girlfriend kicked me out of my place and I don''t have any cash on me at the moment. Can''t you just give me a break.¡±


    ¡°Hey asshole, I didn''t get into this business to argue with scabs like you. Now scab off!¡±


    Jordan then began to walk out of the building until he was approached by a strange man in a trench coat with an upturned collar and glasses that concealed his identity. ¡°Hey friend, need a place to stay?¡±


    ¡°Ummm sure..¡±


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Jordan naivety leads him to follow this strange man outside the building and around back to an alleyway. ¡°Uhh..you''re not gonna try anything weird are you?..¡± He says as he finally comes to his senses.


    ¡°What do you mean? Oh you''re probably worried because I haven''t even introduced myself. Sorry about that!¡± The strange man then proceeds to open up his trench coat and reveal that he is wearing nothing else underneath.


    ¡°Oh God!¡± exclaims Jordan, horrified by what is being shown, a naked blue man.


    ¡°My name is Clark Peters, but my registered name is Crystal Meth Man. Nice to meet you!¡± He puts out his hand to shake Jordan''s but Jordan hesitates as he is still reeling at the sight of the naked man before him. ¡°Oh I see... you''re a hugger!¡± Crystal Meth Man then proceeds to quickly embrace Jordan as Jordan tried to push him away with no success. ¡°You''re a pretty good hugger. Don''t you just love pressing faces with a new friend?¡± Crystal Meth Man says as he moans and rubs his face against Jordan''s happily and after a whole five minutes letting him go.


    ¡°Uhh nice to meet you too..¡± Jordan says cringing.


    Crystal Meth Man then proceeds to modify his body so it becomes one with the concrete floor and creates an entrance to the basement of the building. Then he reconstitutes himself to his normal form once a pathway is finished being made. ¡°That''s pretty cool Clark!¡± Jordan exclaims. ¡°How did you do that?!¡±


    ¡°Well about fifty years ago, I used to be a well renowned scientist. Up until I got into a lab accident creating a vaccine to cure the common cold. After that my body has been able to change its molecular structure to whatever form I choose.¡±


    ¡°Oh okay..so why the name?¡±


    ¡°Well that''s the other thing, the chemical I also created that day was actually meth amphetamine. I gotta say it worked well for me!¡± He says as he pulls out a meth pipe and starts smoking. ¡° Haven''t had a cold since! By the way, I have a job for you. It''s a job that was issued by the city for my skill level, but since I''m dancing with the devil for the next couple of days I won''t be able to do it. Think you could do it?¡±


    ¡°Ahh..sure, since you''re letting me stay here.¡±


    ¡°Awesome bro! All the information you need to know is in this envelope.¡±


    An hour later passes, and Jordan is on his way to his new assignment by foot. ¡°I wish Meth Man would''ve told me that the job would be in two hours. He seems weird...but nice I guess; also pretty unreliable.¡± Jordan stuck in thought unknowingly bumps into something and feels that he walked into someone short. He looks down to find a child not paying much attention either walking home from school. ¡°Oh shit, sorry about that kid. I was just thinking about everything I''ve gone through today. Being dumped, kicked out of my place, my precious belongings being destroyed, having a blue drug addict show me his¡­¡± He is suddenly interrupted by a beeping sound.


    ¡°Time to take my pills¡­¡± the young boy then takes out a bottle of pills ¡°one pill, two pill, three pill, blue pill¡­¡± The dullness in his eyes intensifies as he takes four pills at once with a bottle of water, and continues to look off into the distance; at a bird sitting on a power line. ¡°Aren''t you a pretty one? Wouldn''t you like to come home with me?¡± he says. ¡°Come and I''ll let you eat the neighbors dog food.¡± The bird then flies to him, lands on his bag, and the boy just walks away without paying Jordan any mind.


    ¡°What a strange boy..Oh shit we were standing in the street.¡±


    ¡°Get out of the road asshole!¡± A driver shouts as he swerves around Jordan.

 Back-Up Feature 1: Bailey, Kid Enigma

    ¡°My name is Bailey...umm...we should leave it at that. I''ve lived in this city for as long as I could remember...five years I think. It''s hard to remember things clearly due to the pills my parents make me take. They make me drowsy, but my parents tell me it''s to even me out. I don''t think I''m a problem child..¡±


    This is Bailey, he''s a twelve year old with a list of psychological issues that make him prone to antisocial behavior,mood swings, and trouble focusing. The last time he forgot to take his pills he walked into the neighbors house in the middle of the day, ate all the cereal in their cupboards, and peed in their oven while a roast was being cooked. He has yet to remember or apologize for that incident because he wiped their memories to avoid being grounded. He was still grounded because his parents are unaffected by his abilities.


    ¡°I wish I could get my parents to let me stay home so I wouldn''t have to deal with Ashley. I think I would be annoyed with her if I could anything anymore.¡± Bailey''s stomach growls ¡°I feel hungry...I hope she doesn''t throw my food on the roof again. I would do something about it, but I don''t want to get in trouble with my parents again. Maybe I could get a dog to hump her leg. That''d be pretty funny.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Although Bailey has a hard time processing emotions, he usually empathizes well with stray animals and usually has them walk with him to and from school. He even has a pet mouse named Shelby his parents don''t know about that he keeps in a small lunch box he poked holes in. By the time he gets to school he averages about thirty animals that follow him that then disperse when he walks through the school gates. His animal friends are the only things that keep him grounded to reality.


    Bailey may be only ten years old but he happens to be one of the strongest telepaths on the planet;though the medication he takes strictly inhibits his abilities.


    Despite that he is still a threat to many around him, and if he were to discover the reach of his abilities, the world would be at his mercy; including Ashley.

 Volume 2: Enter The Zealot

    ¡°The Mayor is ineffective at his job and must be replaced with someone who knows what he''s doing! Poverty and crime is on the rise and things are only going to get worse if we let this man continue doing nothing while we all suffer!¡±


    An overzealous man speaks to a crowd. Raising fiery passion and fear upon the spectators. Hundreds standing in watch of his loud venomous words and his animalistic snarling face ready to strike against anyone who dare stand in his way. Little does he know that he''d be meeting another zealot today.


    ¡°Dammit why can''t I catch a break? How am I gonna make it through this crowd? Ugh...I hate being in crowds it makes me feel claustrophobic.¡±  Jordan thought to himself as he sweat through his shirt due to anxiety. A crescent moon shape contoured his man boobs and he began to smell profusely due to his refusal to wear deodorant. Luckily that was masked by the common stench shared by the mob.


    ¡°Hey man,you need help getting through this crowd?¡±


    ¡°Who was that?¡±


    ¡°Maybe if you turn around you''d find out.¡±


    Jordan turned around. ¡°Oh shit, my bad.¡±


    He turned towards this young man in his early twenties wearing a big pair of headphones and trendy clothing, and rage glasses. ¡°Don''t worry about it dude. I''ll get us through this crowd. My name is Li by the way.¡±


    ¡°Awe thanks man. I owe you one.¡±


    Li smiled widely ¡°I''ll hold your word to it.¡± He then proceeds to do some martial art hand and for gestures movements a kin to tai chi. ¡°Heavenly Step Through The Dragon''s Gate!¡± He then announced and a emerald green flash of light consumed them both and they appeared next to the stage.


    ¡°Holy shit what was that?!¡± Jordan exclaims.


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Li responds smugly. ¡°By the way there''s something up with this crowd.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°I mean they''re being emphatically controlled by this loser at the podium. He has a power to increase people''s emotions and he''s using it to make the crowd pissed off.¡±


    ¡°Oh geez. What should we do?¡±


    ¡°I''m going to do something about it, but first I want things to play out first. If anything, one of his goons seems to have noticed that we''re probably gonna be trouble.¡± Li points out a strong looking man in a suit. ¡°He has superhuman strength so he might be some trouble for you.¡±


    ¡°I could take him¡±


    ¡°Good for you.¡± Li shrugs then continues to watch the crowd on the edge of rioting.


    Jordan then ran up to the man and punched him in the face. Seeming unfazed by his attack the man slammed both of his arms on Jordan''s shoulders, dislocating them both. ¡°Why God? Why me?¡± he shouted in pain, arms flailing around like a Muppet.


    He tried running away, but the man grabbed him by the hair and slammed him to the ground like a rag doll. ¡°You''re not getting away chump!¡± The man shouted in anger winding up for another attack.


    Jordan in a desperate attempt, flailed his right hand to slap the man in the face. Then Jordan channeled all the electricity he could to his opponents face in a light girlish slap frying the man like roasted duck. The man smoking body fell on top of Jordan like a sack of potatoes.


    ¡°I-it worked..¡± Jordan then wiggled his way out from under the man.


    ¡°You smell like shit man. I mean shittier than before if I''m being honest.¡± said Dao.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± said a random crying child running towards the smoldering corpse.


    ¡°You''re a monster man. Killing that kids dad like that.¡±


    ¡°W-what?! I thought that he was a bad guy!¡±


    ¡°I never said that. I thought you just wanted to fight someone dude. I didn''t know you were gonna kill the guy.¡± Dao then looked at the now orphaned little girl. ¡°Hey there honey. Sorry about what happened here. You wanna come with me and get some ice cream?¡±


    ¡°S-sure.¡± she replied.


    ¡°Alright let''s go.¡± he said to her smiling a huge grin.


    ¡°Dao! We''ve got a mission to do!¡±


    ¡°Dude he''s gonna kill himself in a couple seconds. Chill out.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I''ve had enough of living now! Now I''m going to kill myself!¡± he said as he grabbed his tie clip and slit his throat.


    ¡° WHAT THE FUCK!¡± Jordan shouted in confusion as everyone in the crowd started fighting each other. ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?¡±


    ¡°It seems to be that after he killed himself everyone got a thought of death. Now they''re all trying to kill themselves.¡± Dao then shrugged. ¡°They''ll snap out of it I''m sure. My job''s done! Let''s go sweetheart ¡±


    As Dao finished that statement and was preparing to leave the area with the orphan child, a strange figure appeared suddenly. It looked to be cloaked in a dark shroud and looked more like a shadow than a person. It had a what looked to a plague doctor''s mask but it was definitely it''s face. A bird like shroud of prey. It was definitely no man.


    It outstretched it''s arm and opened its claw to the crowd, and spoke no words. Then the people all dispersed in an orderly fashion. It seemed too orderly; almost like what a beehive would look in the presence of it''s queen.


    The shroud then floated down towards Jordan and Dao, growing human legs and boots.


    ¡°Who is that?¡± asked Jordan.


    ¡°Not sure...I''ve never seen him before.¡± Dao looked worried and thought to himself. ¡°This guy isn''t real. I could feel it ...but I can''t feel him. He''s a sand construct, bending light to make a hologram, but other than that I can''t feel his presence. Just like I could stay off the charts; he could do the same. He''s a void, just like me.¡±

 Back-up Feature 2: March 13th; Hour One

    We turn back the clock to five years ago. Things were what you would think of a world with villains and caped crusaders. An endless cycle of senseless violence and self glorification, but today was when things changed, and something was born.


    ¡°My name is Eustace Keller, and I''m a serial killer. My therapist told me that acceptance was important if I ever wanted to be truly happy. Accepting the things we can''t change, and I''m not changing anytime soon.¡±


    Eustace recalled what happened earlier that night.


    ¡°I''m a charitable guy. I''ll start with that. I make pretty good money in my line of work. I am the editor in chief of my own fashion magazine, ¨¦blouissement d''une femme.


    It''s the eldest and most cherished in the city, loved by a large variable of women, blog posters, and other various news sources. Sorry if I''m getting ahead of myself, but I''m being honest hun. Anyways, I''m a fan of the night life, and I like taking a drive through the slums of the city. My car gleams through the streams of lights dancing through the night. Ladies of the night leaning against light posts, selling others comfort in exchange for their own discomfort. Dancers strolling out these bars, clubs, alleyways. Leading a lifeless, loveless existence; devoid of any commitment or love. Girls, girls, girls. I''m a philanthropist of sorts. That sort of freedom of responsibility or general respect for themselves or others is something to remark. These women make me so goddamn depressed when I see them on this stage, strung out, beat up, and left for dead. It makes me...want to save them.


    It was nine months ago when I first saw her, couldn''t be older than sixteen; I was itching to save her, so I pulled up beside her. She was filthy, her long black hair couldn''t hide the filth of the city on her face. Her clothes were also tattered, and worn; stained with sin, falling apart by the seams.


    I got out of my car slowly. She looked ghastly, a phantom sobbing silently haunting the deepest parts of my soul. Life was too disheartening and cruel for her to handle. Alone that was.


    I asked her if she was in need, and wanted somewhere warm to stay, to clean herself off, help her get back on her feet. My guess was that it had been far too long since someone had treated her Human; as she winced back and covered herself. I extended my hand to her, and her trembling hand reached; weakly gripping. She had so much potential for true beauty.


    I took her back to my chateau, which is on the upper east side, neighboring many well known celebrities. I cleaned her up, fed her, and gave her a bed to sleep in. She slept for almost two days, and when she woke, I brought her breakfast. I am phenomenal chef, and don''t appreciate most foods unless I have prepared it myself; besides the occasional hazelnut candies I sneak from time to time. She was ecstatic by my grandeur and pleased with the sweet taste my strawberry crepes, topped with milk cream and a coffee on the side.


    We went into the city, I took her to my physician, who is the best in the city, to make sure was healthy. Bought her the finest clothes, custom tailored by the trendiest tailors, and took her to the local spa to be cleaned and pampered. She was radiant, a model of beauty among women, but not the model of perfection that I could see in my mind.


    We were together for nine month, she was healthier, happier, much more confident since I brought her by my side. She always hid her smile from me whenever I would glance over at her in admiration of what she had become, but I didn''t need to see. Her happiness eradiated from her vessel like a sweet perfume. On the ninth month she had thanked me for all I had done for her, and told me if I hadn''t come to drag her from the hellish existence, she would have clearly perished by this time. If not sooner.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    I brushed that off cooly and told her follow me to my bedroom. She followed without any hesitance, and I opened my doors for her. I lead her to my vanity area and told her to sit in front of the mirror. I then brought out a small box topped with eggshell lace. She lit up and thanked me again. I told her that there was no need to thank me and told her to open it. The box glimmered in her hazel pupils as she did. They were my grandmother''s antique diamond earings, I said to her. She held my hand tightly as tears began to stream down her cheeks. I asked if she needed help putting them on; she could put them on herself and that I had already done enough for her. I love you, she had professed. I replied by kissing her deeply. She pressed her sweet lips against mine, warm breaths exchanged, and an embrace shared.


    Stab! The sound of my knife piercing her abdomen. I grabbed the back of her head so she couldn''t pull away. She danced in my arms; a dance of death as the knife brought us to the crescendo. It twisted and turned. Ribbons of her entrails swinging and slowly making their way to the floor, decorating the floor like tinsel on christmas day.The drums died out and her spotlights dimmed as her lungs strung out, taking her last breaths away. Her last performance and what a grand one as her organs made its final exit out.


    You''re perfection personified. You angel, you.¡±


    ¡°Do you regret your actions at all?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not. I was saving them! Don''t you see that?! They were as good as dead! I gave them a life to live! Someone to believe in when there was no one to believe in!¡±


    ¡°You gave them hope and then took away that hope!¡±


    ¡°No...no! I''m a good person! I''ve lived my life making this world beautiful! They were all so beautiful!¡±


    ¡°You''re a psychopath and a monster. You deserve what''s coming to you.¡±


    A distant voice began to coo.


    ¡°Euii.. [Yoo-Ee]¡±


    ¡°What? No.¡±


    ¡°Euii...my handsome grandson.¡±


    ¡°How?..¡±


    A voice from a ghost long passed was calling to Eustace. This spirit was one of an aging woman who looked pale, but beautiful, almost translucent. She was wearing clothing from a time long past, and pearls had strung around her neck and a petruding collar bone sticking out the side of her neck. The blood had dried, but the longer it stood in his presence, the more the blood had began to animate and seep once more. The phantom had become more flesh like and much more terrifying.


    ¡°Get back in the ground you fucking bitch!¡±


    ¡°How dare you say something so hurtful to me you child. I never did anything to have you do what you did to me.¡±


    ¡°That''s fucking bullshit! I saw you! Yes-yes, I saw you! You would bring men to your home-our home, and I would see you bring them into your bedroom! The bedroom may I add that I wasn''t allowed to enter! Luckily our home was victorian style and had many hidden canverns hidden all around the house, behind the walls. My curiousity was bound to discover something, but my child like innosence was not prepared for what my eyes would uncover.


    There was so many of them...so many. The faces became indistinguishable from eachother as they all took turns gazing upon your beauty. The contours of your form, arms reaching, hands ran up and down your skin. Such velvety smooth skin. An artist couldn''t express such purity justice.


    It was the first time I had felt the pleasures of a man. My manhood held tightly in my hand, but it was all out of my reach.


    I continued watching for years, slowly losing my ability to hold my desires back, and I finally had to succumb to my urges.


    You were walking to the staircase, an hour after a usual session; the smell of desire still lingered through the air. I was torqued and ready to burst when I quietly followed an arms reach away from you. A creak from the floor alerted you to my presence, and my hand reached out to you as you turned. I failed to grasp you as you fell backward, floating through the air, shortly followed by a loud tumble down.


    It wasn''t long until the rouge made it''s way to the surface of you. It pooled a wellspring of deep red, and it deeping around you, painting the hard wood floors with the lively color of autumn red leaves. It was true perfection.


    Since then I can''t help myself from trying to replicate that tapestry of mortality."


    "So you are irredeamable. Nonetheless, your punishment is inescapable."


    "Are you taking me away...to the abyss...to hell?"


    The darkness from inside him began to manifest and consume him.


    Their was no comfort in this. It was cold and unassuring. It became hard to breath.


    Nothing could be seen, and he was lost to it.


    Drowning in a heavy sea of sin.

 Back-Up Feature 3: I Was Pretty Sure She Was 18

    ¡°So that''s the third time I slept with her sister. I''m pretty sure it was okay since she knew about it, and anyways she was getting a little too old for me anyways.¡± said Li to Jordan.


    ¡°Didn''t you say she was just finishing middle school?¡±


    ¡°I know...tragic right? Anyways how''s life without that bitch of a girlfriend? Must be a pain paying for sex again, huh?¡±


    ¡°It does suck! Hey...how''d you know about that?¡±


    ¡°When you''ve mastered ki the way I have, it becomes second nature to read the people''s around you thoughts and emotions, and boy is your mind an open book.¡±


    ¡°Can you not?¡±


    ¡°Sorry I don''t take requests. How about you just stop thinking so loudly? You kinda lose track of your priorities when you overthink.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you''re right...that''s why I couldn''t stand military life for too long.¡±


    ¡°That''s when you hid in the dumpster.¡±


    ¡°Yeah the worst thing was that it was mystery stew night the night before, so there was a lot of vomit in there. They found me three days later when they finally tracked back the crying.¡±


    ¡°That''s pretty pathetic. Also it was mystery Stu. The chef''s name was Stu.¡±


    "Then what was in the?.."


    ¡°Umm..so are you going to order something sir?¡± interrupted the waitress, aggravated by the fact that she was standing there for five minutes; waiting for them to stop talking so she could take their order.


    ¡°I''ll have a water.¡± Jordan responded very moody.


    ¡°That it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°If you''re short on cash I could pay for you.¡± said Li.


    ¡°I''ll have a Loaded Skillet then, and a coke.¡±


    "I''ll have a cheeseburger, and coke," added Li.


    The waitress rolled her eyes and walked away, annoyed.


    ¡°So your first day of hero work went pretty well.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? That guy killed himself!¡±


    ¡°So like I said, pretty well.¡± Li then turned around to the waitress who was busy with another customer. ¡°Hey! Can I get more water?¡±


    Her head nodded in confirmation but her eyes said cease with your living asshole. The food appeared in her hands shortly after, along with refills.


    Jordan took a bottle of hot sauce and doused his skillet with it. He dug his fork in, blew a couple of times, and then took a bite. He flinched, and then gasped to vent out the heat.


    ¡°Hot!¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°The food, the hot sauce, or your brain processing thought?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Sounds like the last one.¡± Li then took a bite from his grilled cheese.


    ¡°So what do you think that guy at the rally wanted?¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure dude. You didn''t hear him say anything now, did you?¡±


    ¡°I thought that you could read minds?¡±


    ¡°Ordinarily, but he wasn''t really there.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? We saw him!¡±


    ¡°That was a hologram. Awe wait..I know you''re not the sharpest crayon in the box, so I''ll level with you. Remember that scene from Star Wars where the Emperor was telling Darth Vader what to do about the rebellion, but he was really big and kinda faded looking? That was a ho-lo-gram.¡±


    ¡°I know what a hologram is.¡±


    ¡°I know, because I just told you.¡±


    ¡°No cuz..¡±


    ¡°Anyways, we should try our best to stay off his radar.¡±


    ¡°You''re already on my radar.¡± said a strange sounding voice. Like a scrambling of a couple voices deepened and overlapped. Then the masked being manifested, sitting next to Jordan.


    ¡°How''d you find us?¡± asked Dao, ¡°I masked my presence.¡±


    ¡°I followed him.¡±


    ¡°Nice one dick.¡± said Li.


    ¡°What did I do?¡±


    ¡°You existed,¡± Li looks at their new table guest, ¡°so what is it that you want?¡±


    ¡°I came here to warn you both to keep your heads low. There are eyes watching..¡±


    ¡°Is that what you''re worried about? The government is chump change. You know what kind of stuff they''re up to though? The stuff I''ve witnessed will blow your mind. Did you know they''ve weaponised soldiers at Fort Baison? There''s this one guy, Octane¡­¡±


    ¡°I''m not talking about the government.¡±


    Jordan gasped, ¡°The illuminati?!¡±


    Li and the veiled being looked at Jordan and said unanimously, ¡°Are you retarded?¡±


    ¡°I''ve tried my best to keep a balance in this gleefully chaotic world and I''m warning you both that if you don''t watch your step, you will surely perish, and doom us all.¡±


    ¡°What do you?..¡±


    It vanished again.


    ¡°What do you think he meant?¡± asked Jordan.


    ¡°I''m not sure dude. That dude was too vague. I''m no good at metaphors. All I know is that dude''s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he''s a villain?¡±


    ¡°Did you forget that he stopped that mob from killing each other? So maybe.¡±


    The sound of small footsteps approaching caught both of their attention. It was Bailey. He tossed his lunchbox on the table and began eating his sandwich.


    ¡°Hey Bailey.¡± said Li.


    ¡°Wait you know him?¡±


    ¡°Well no, but he seems like a nice kid, and doesn''t exactly have the most normal family. Not that I can relate to that. You two seem to be close. I don''t think it''s doing you any favors for your image hanging out with a twelve year old boy.¡±


    ¡°That being said by the guy with the twelve year old girlfriend."


    "Hey, I was pretty sure she was eighteen. Anyways, I''m seventeen, so it''s all good you pedo."


    "Hey wait...he''s eating my skillet!¡±


    ¡°You weren''t eating it. It was getting cold. Maybe you should try talking less and you wouldn''t starve.¡±


    ¡°Hey I don''t!..¡± That''s when Jordan''s head began smacking against the table uncontrollably. ¡°Why..can''t..I..stop?!¡±


    ¡°Nice one Bailey! Here''s a pudding cup.¡± Dao put a chocolate pudding cup on the table.


    ¡°I''ll have it after lunch. My parents said it would spoil my appetite.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good boy.¡±


    ¡°Would you like a refill on your coke?¡± said the waitress to Dao.


    ¡°Hey, you like memes?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± replied the waitress unenthusiastically.


    ¡°Then #;!_¡±\#€€¡Á&#;¡Â;*#€¡Á&!;_=;:_#*¡Á€¡Á€ ¡Â\*!(¡Á€/=7#\#&_¡Â*¡Â7\:\:8¡Á9#&:88=\*¡Â08=\;¡Â\¡Á9*¡Á*¡Â*:8=\*¡Â&=.¡± said Dao incoherently. The waitress looked in a daze as her mind could not process what was being said. ¡°Oh sorry. Guess you guys aren''t ready for that one yet. This one should be about your speed; Can I has cheezburger?¡± The waitress then started convulsing in a seizure and collapsed on the ground, foaming from the mouth. ¡°Yeah I like that one too.¡±