《Five Squared》


 Chapter 0 - Asymptote to Null

    I stood before my adversary, a gross, towering figure of rock, metal and moss. The creature''s expression, a twisted mix of chrome and concrete that gleamed grotesquely, shifted intensively as it let out an abrasive roar.


    Oh.


    This certainly was unexpected.


    With but a second''s delay, it swung a metallic appendage down upon me with extraordinary speed. I rolled out of harm''s way, my sheathe pressing painfully across my back as I did; the rocky sound of crunched bricks resonated from where the creature struck, where I was just moments before.I got to my feet, adjusted my hoodie and observed it through the slits in my mask. The creature had lodged itself pretty hard into the brick path and was now struggling to break free. I felt the sudden urge to put a palm to my face.


    Hang on, I was wearing a mask. Nevermind.


    With another almighty roar, the creature forced its metal arm out of the ground, sending bricks flying and dust spewing everywhere. I calmly dodged some stray rubble that came my way; perhaps it was time I brought down this guy.


    "Let''s make this simple, alright?"


    I stretched my right hand behind my shoulder, grabbed my blade''s handle and unsheathed it with a steady hand. In one swift motion, I swung my sword forward to face my opponent.


    I raised my other hand to adjust my mask.


    "You''re strong, I know that much. Let''s see whose steel cuts deeper, shall we?"


    I took a stance and the earth shook as the golem roared once more.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    Darn. What a disappointment.


    To say the least, the golem was nothing. Indeed, it was ''strong'' but all it took was one hit to knock it off its feet and another clean blow to finish it. Not to mention there wasn''t even anything worth salvaging; the golem had been made from steel, concrete, graphite and some kind of glass coating. But for now, nevermind the golem; I was here for more important reasons. I dusted myself, sheathed my sword onto my back and got up to continue on my way toward the Altar.


    This place¡¯s existence was a tightly kept secret, they said. Yeah right.


    Frankly, that golem I just fought was quite the surprise. From where I was, sand spanned as far as the eye can see. It should have been near impossible for anyone to intercept me, given that this brick road and the Altar have been very wellhidden within this desert. According to my comrades, anyway.


    Speaking of whom, one of them was supposed to be waiting for me along the way. Where was this guy?


    "Hey,¡± came from behind me, ¡°Pick up the pace. Or are you waiting for my golem to get up again?"


    Jeez, that really made me jump. How the heck did he get behind me so quietly? I could literally feel him breathing down my neck.


    ...Wait. That was his golem?


    "Anthony, you can always tell me beforehand if you''re going to set up your experiments in my way."


    "Then what? It''s not going to stop you from destroying them."


    "So why do you set them up?"


    "So you can destroy them."


    "...Fair enough."


    Unlike me, he didn''t wear a mask. He donned black pants and a dark purple trench coat complete with a crimson undershirt. On his head was a top hat, under which his black hair stuck out from all sides. He wasn''t carrying any weapons.


    Throw on a set of fake teeth and he''d be ready for Halloween.


    Perhaps he read my mind - always wondered if he''d mastered that - because he continued, monotonously, "And you''re still wearing this dull jacket? It''s probably grey from all the dust it''s gathered on you. Do you even wash this?"


    "Please leave my laundry out of this. What''d you make that golem out of? It was so weak it was hardly an obstacle."


    "Steel. Concrete. Graphite, it acts as a lubricant for the limbs. Glass-"


    "I was wondering about that. Glass on a golem? Like, really?"


    "It acts as sacrificial armour. Apart from being hard, the shards should break outwards when shattered and injure the attacker."


    "I dunno, the glass won''t shatter outwards if it is struck from the outside, would it?" I said, scratching my head. "Besides, glass is much more useful as an offensive material."


    "That one was a prototype, it was pretty experimental so I left it there to see how you''d handle it. Can''t say I got much data though, considering it was destroyed before it could really do anything..." He briefly gave me an annoyed look. "You''re right about the glass though, I should probably incorporate glass cannons or some other kind of projectile. It shouldn''t be too hard to get more anyway." He gestured both ways; sand was on either side of the path.


    "So, are we discussing construction materials for golems or getting to the Altar?"


    "Oh, right."


    We continued walking, Anthony lagging somewhat to my left. I side glanced at him.


    Anthony was always a difficult person to read. It was never easy to understand what he was thinking, not that it helps that many aspects of him were usually unorthodox. His voice never seemed to go anything beyond empty, even during his overly logical jokes, and his face always looked like he hadn''t slept in a day or two save for the lack of unkempt facial hair. His brown eyes always appeared to be a bit sunken, although that''s probably just the shadow of his top hat against his face.


    He, to me at least, always seemed to be tired.


    Ironic, considering I was the one wearing a mask and he could still read me like an open book.


    "So... why do we have to go to this Altar place? The Priestess wasn''t very specific."


    "If there''s something you don''t know, what makes you think I would?"


    "You could have just said you didn''t know..."


    "Whatever. I say what I want, when I want. Look, there''s the Altar." I looked farther up the path. About two or three hundred metres ahead, the road sloped upwards rather startlingly onto a sand dune (At least it seemed like a sand dune. How does one build a path on sand like that?). It had looked a lot flatter when I was about a kilometre or so back down the path.


    On top of the dune at the very end of the path, barely visible on the horizon, was a structure silhouetted against the bright blue sky. It was probably safe to assume that that was the Altar.


    "Why''s the path curved like that? Wouldn''t stairs be more practical?" I observed the curvature of the path. It looked like a 50 or 60 degree tangent from the ground at most, obviously too steep for anyone to walk on it normally.


    Anthony, being the indifferent fellow he was, said, "I''m pretty sure this road is imbued with a gravity charm. Just keep walking and you should be fine."


    "If you''re wrong, I''ll break you."


    "If I''m wrong, gravity would break me first." At least he could still make jokes.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    We spent another minute or so to reach the base of the curved path. The dune was at least seven stories high, give or take a few yards; itlooked a lot more intimidating up close. Anthony took the lead.


    "Ok, I''ll go first so you''ll see what it''s like. This is your first time, isn''t it?"


    "Pretty much."


    "I see. Alright, so you just keep walking normally and don''t panic. You''ll be fine if you run or stop but don''t do anything stupid like jumping off or whatever."


    "Sounds simple enough."


    "It is. Alright, here I go."


    He put one foot on the curve and, without hesitation, continued his stride like there was nothing unusual. I kept watching him as he went along, eager as always.Eventually he was halfway up the dune, pointing a stark 45 degrees from normal. Then he stopped, took his time to turn (he had to tilt his head upwards to see me) and shouted, "You gonna take the initiative or do I have to do some literal hand-holding?"


    "Can''t we just jump up there? Surely our Aero boosters can handle this height." I had said that with a hint of uncertainty. The most I had ever ascended with these propulsion soles were four or five stories; I didn¡¯t have time to test out the recent upgrades.


    "Well, it''s your pick. You may well want to quit dawdling down there, our light''s going out."


    "Light? What light?"


    "Sunset." I hadn''t noticed the sky going orange.


    "Tch, sunset always lasts for a good two to three hours here. This isn''t exactly Earth, y''know."


    "Still, we need all the time we can use. Remember what the Priestess mentio-"


    "Yes, yes, I know. She wants us to minimise our time spent here so the rebels and their reptilian friends don''t sniff us out along with this place, I get it."


    "Yeah, so hurry your ass up here because I''m definitely not going to wait." And with that, he turned back to the path and continued walking as if to show he really wasn''t going to wait.He had a way with showing he was being frank sometimes.


    I looked down at where the curve began, then up at Anthony, then back down again at my feet and gulped. Well, now I really wish I had tested these soles.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    As far as I was concerned with artificial forces, I wasn''t quite sure I enjoyed that.


    The moment I had stepped on the slope, it felt as if the very earth itself was holding me at an angle. It was a strange, suspended sensation, like you were underwater; you knew you weren''t upright, you could see you weren''t upright but you didn''t feel you weren''t upright. I expected my hoodie to follow the normal pull of gravity and fall off my head but it stayed on just fine. The journey didn''t cause motion sickness or anything of the sort but I did feel a bit queasy. Maybe that was just altitude sickness from getting up here, or dehydration because I haven''t drunk anything since getting on my way.


    Actually, now that I thought about it, I could really use some water.


    "Hey Anthony, gimme one of those spare bottles you got." He was standing not too far across from me. He took a moment, then materialised an empty plastic bottle and threw it to me.


    "I meant a bottle of water, you dope!" I lobbed it at his face but he still managed to catch it smoothly with his right hand. It melted into thin air under his grip just as he materialised another bottle in his left, this one half filled.


    "Wouldn''t kill you you to be a bit more specific," he said, throwing it to me with a swift underhand.


    "Wouldn''t kill you to have some common sense," I said, catching it between my thumb and index finger. I uncapped it and took a swig while looking down at the base of the dune where we had started. Now that I was actually up here, it felt a lot higher than seven stories.


    That reminds me. We should really get a move on.


    "So, that''s the Altar, right?"


    "Most likely."


    We both looked at the structure, the shadow of which we were sitting under. It was a white temple covered in moss and ferns, among other overgrowth. The walls were lined with broad, white pillars that stretched the height of the Altar, appearing to support the margin of roof under which they stood. At the front was a portico with a few steps before it, the roof held up by the same plain pillars. Some of the pillars had several small holes in them.


    ¡°Nothing unusual but what¡¯s up with the plants? We¡¯re out in the desert.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled, they¡¯re part of the Altar.¡±


    ¡°Ah right, that¡¯s a thing.¡±


    Nothing too extravagant, though the architecture would have looked a bit Greek if these pillars were at least carved. But what was this white material? It had looked like marble but now that I got a better look, it looked a lot more... fine. When I approached one of the pillars and placed my hand on it, it was dusty to the touch. Some of the powder got on my fingers.


    "Hey, what''s this white stuff?"


    "Looks like a form of calcium carbonate, most likely marble."


    "Yeah, well, it feels like chalk."


    "What?"


    I held up my hand to show him the dust.


    "It''s all fine and powdery."


    "Wait, let me see that." He came over and touched the pillar, getting the same white stuff on his hand. He scrutinised the spot on the pillar where his hand had made contact.


    "...This powder is neither from nor part of the pillar."


    "Eh?"


    "This pillar is made from marble, the whole structure should be. This powder - it''s not chalk - came from an external source,¡± he said, tilting his head up to look at the plants across the top of the Altar. ¡°See, the overgrowth is covered in it as well.¡±


    I took another look at the foliage up top and with a bit of squinting, I made out what he meant. White specks rested on the leaves and moss, almost invisible at this distance.


    "How''d you know it''s not chalk?"


    "I''ve spent enough time in the field to observe these kind of things."


    Hey, don''t get cocky.


    "So what is it then?"


    "It appears to be Leimatian gunpowder."


    "Gunpowder-" I hastily wiped the stuff off onto my jacket.


    Damn, now it''s on my jacket.


    "W-why''s there gunpowder here?!"


    "Relax, Leimatian gunpowder decays into a white powder after a week if not used, this stuff should be harmless. I''m assuming that somebody had tried to pile up gunpowder on the Altar here and set it off with gunfire."


    "But someone had been here at the Altar? And what do you mean, gunfire?"


    "Look." He was pointing to the next pillar there were some of those odd holes, of which up to this point I hadn''t bothered to observe. Now that I actually looked at them, the implications were obvious.


    They were bullet holes.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    We made for the door of the Altar; night would be upon us if we delayed any longer. Knowing what had gone down recently, we had all the more reason to hurry.Apart from the expired gunpowder and bullet holes, we found evidence of other attempts to destroy the Altar, all ending in apparent failure. Under the layer of powder, there were numerous but shallow blade marks all over the walls. We found several explosive fragments, broken caltrops and even segments of razor wire lying around in the sand.


    Naturally, we held a certain sense of apprehension when we approached the door.


    "Well, hopefully the interior isn''t as crap."


    "We won''t know till we know," he said as he placed a hand on the damp doorknob.


    But he didn''t turn it. He just stood there with his hand on it, as if he was expecting me to do something.


    "Hey, what''s the hold up?"


    It was unlike him to hesitate.He knew something I did not.


    And so he said to me,


    ¡°Whatever you do, whatever happens from this point on... do not look back.¡±

 Chapter 1 - A Book With No Cover

    "Ugh...what..."


    He opened his eyes to darkness, lying on his bed. The upper bunk bed, to be exact.


    As far as he knew, the room was pitch black. Either he''d forgotten to draw the curtains back the night before or the sun hadn''t risen yet, possiblyboth.He rolled onto his side to see the clock hung up on the wall. In this absence of light, it was barely possible to make out the positions of its hands.


    ...It was 6:00am. He got up too early again.


    He''d only just realised how warm the room felt. Maybe he had forgotten to switch the fan on last night as welland, now that he thought about it, he couldn''t hear the fan whirring.But he was positive he wouldn''t forget to do something so routine. It musthave been switched off sometime duringthe night, and he had a pretty good idea by whom.


    If he wasn''t so tired, he would have had half a mind to jump down and give them a whack.


    "Tch... dude, when did you switch the fan off?"


    There was no response, so he continued,"I know you''re awake, damn it."


    Someone stirred on the bottom bed, making a peculiar sound akin to that of sniffing. It sounded like he was trying to muffle his snickering with a pillow.


    "Yeeep, alright, you got me."


    "Fan. Now."


    "B-but I''m lazy!"


    "God damn it..." The boy above let out an annoyed groan and sat up in his bed.


    He if wasn''t so hasty, he probably wouldn''t have struck his head against the wooden ceiling so sharply. And so loudly too, for that matter.


    "ARGH!!" He clutched his head where it hurt.


    "Oooo, hit your head? That''s the second time this month."


    "Shut up, ow..."


    "Meh, lol."


    "Switch on the damned fan!!"


    "Alright alright, jeez bro. Talk about getting up on the wrong side of the bed."


    "Just get on with it already..."


    Still clutching the back of his head, he could hear his roommate below put on his glasses, slide off the bed and click the fan.Except he couldn''t hear the fan starting up.


    "Hm, welp, looks like the thing''s busted."


    The boy on the bed above said nothing.


    "Ey, you alright up there?"


    "Tomus, how did you switch the fan off?"


    "Simple! I pulled the plu- Oh."


    Somewhere in the corner of the room, he heard Tomus click the plug back into the outlet.


    ...The fan was silent and still.


    "Yep, it''s dead," Tomussaid and plonked himself back down onto the bed. The silence that followed was awkward, permeated only by the song of birds chirping outside.


    "...Ugh, make way."


    "You coming down? It''s 6 in the mornin¡¯, yo."


    "Yeah well, I''m gonna go get an ice pack for my head."


    "Is the closet even unlocked at this time though? Lol."


    "I''ll just go get it myself..." His voice wavered ever so slightly on the word ''myself''.


    "Nah man. Glesto, you wait here and I''ll go get it for ya." Just as Tomus made to get up again, something flat and heavy forced itself on his head."Hey hey hey! Get your foot offa my hair!"


    "Oh, uh, sorry." Glesto lifted his foot and tried feeling for the ladder again, to no avail.


    "Yo, the ladder''s over here."


    "Thanks."


    "...Ya sure you wanna go? I know you don''t wanna."


    "Well then, you know you''re gonna have to come along if I do so get up."


    - - - - - - - - - -


    Glesto and Tomus Rheeman.


    The two were brothers, the classic elder and younger sibling pair.Glesto was 15. Tomus was 13.


    The two of them had polar characters, yet they were inseparable. In particular, Glesto was a tad wary of accepting any kind of help from Tomus since he knew all too well that his younger brother often had a prank waiting under his sleeve. Fortunately for him, not in this case.


    Their names were also undeniably peculiar, but their situation was even more interesting.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    "How are you able to see in this darkness? You''re the one with spectacles."


    "Eh, did you forget? I always do those late night explorations you never follow me on."


    "Point being?"


    "Just follow me, don''t flip and land on your head again."


    "I won''t say ''land'' is the word I''d use in this context. It''s not like I ''landed'' myhead against the ceiling."


    "Yep, you straight rapped your head on it."


    "I wouldn''t say I ''rapped'' my head on the ceiling either..."


    "Pfft. We''re here, let''s get the packs and go, lol."


    Glesto groped around gingerly in the dark for the door''s handle. His palm came upon something fabric and firm.


    "I know I''m hot, but hands off please."


    "Ah, sorry."


    He turned around and felt along the wall, coming upon a protrusion from the wall.Although, it felt too small to be any kind of door knob, and certainly too high...


    "Tomus, what am I holding?"


    "That''s the clothes peg, genius."


    "...Maybe you should get the ice pack instead."


    "Oh come on, why''d you insist on coming down here yourself then?"


    Glesto heard Tomus walk somewhere to his right and open a door ("Oooh, it''s unlocked."), who then proceeded to pull him inside the room by the shirt.


    "Hey, easy on the collar..."


    "Here we are, aaand let there be light!"


    He clicked a switch, and the lamp flickered to life.The lightbulb was rather weak, but it was enough to brighten the shelves and the various items littered on them. Among them were medical drugs, cough syrups and bottles of possibly-expired orange juice.


    The ice packs they sought were on the floor. Tomus bent over to pick them up.


    "Hm, don''t really remember these things being on the ground."


    "Might be rats pushing things off again, she won''t be happy to find more of them around..."


    "What won''t I be happy to find more of around?" The firm voice came from behind and seemed to echo in the brief shocked silence that followed.


    "Ah!? Oh, u-um, hi ma''am."


    "Hiya Aunt Kole!"


    - - - - - - - - - -


    Secondly, the boys lived with a distant but caring relative, Aunt Kole.


    The two of them had no issues living with her apart from the occasional, trivial arguments.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Every once in a long while, someone found an unwanted critter in the house. Sometimes it was a rat, sometimes a lizard, sometimes cockroaches. There had even been a mantis once, although it was promptly stepped on by Tomus (before Glesto could get it in a jar).


    It wasn''t always them who found the pests first, for they certainly weren''t the only three living there.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    "Alright you two, what were you up to?"


    They blankly stared at Aunt Kole, though they couldn''t see her face properly in the dark; she was standing outside the closet where the light didn''t reach. Even so, they could tell that she was definitely staring back.


    "Well? Were you two trying to steal the orange juice again? Certainly they''ve expired by now, I should probably get rid of it all."


    Tomus pursed his lips. He was still clutching the ice pack. With both hands. Behind his back.


    "Tomus, I know you''re hiding something."


    "...Aw, you got me. But this was Glesto''s idea!"


    "Hey, since when was this whole thing on me?"


    Aunt Kole tooka deep breath.


    "Please don''t start bickering at this hour, you can both continue when the sun comes up." She shifted her view towards Glesto.


    "Although if I had to guess, is this about Glesto bumping his head on the ceiling again?"


    "Yes ma''am."


    "Yep."


    She sighed with a hint of a smile.


    "Oh alright, you two are off the hook. But no more wee hour item snatching, alright? Go and help wake Lucas and Karen for me."


    "Yes ma''am."


    "Alrighty Aunt Kole!"


    Aunt Kole nodded, fiddling with a switch somewhere to the left of her shoulder (Glesto couldn''t quite see what she was doing in the dark). Without time for reaction, the lights outside the closet came on.


    They were blinding.


    "Oh dear, perhaps I shouldn''t have done that so soon," Aunt Kole said with squintedeyes.


    "You''re right about that, ma''am," said Glesto as he raised an arm to shield his eyes. Tomus, on the other hand, had no such reaction apart from a mischievous grin.


    "Welp, I have transition lens so I don''t much care! Haha! Ha! Haa... I''ll go get Lucas."


    - - - - - - - - - -


    Tomus had gotten myopia from an early age. He had sustained an injury to both eyes, rendering permanent damage.Although after he got his glasses, his happy-go-lucky nature never quite faltered.


    Glesto had an irrational fear of the dark. He was entering his pre-teen years when it became apparent he was adamant against getting up at night, even if he had to really go to the bathroom, resulting in Tomus''s constant teasing of having wet his bed.When Tomus had pressed him to explore Aunt Kole''s home at night, Glesto was rather against the concept of walking around in the dark even if his brotherwas there to guide him, though he did impulsively decide to follow Tomus on several trips. Perhaps as an odd side effect to the phobia, it became harder for him to see in the dark. Or maybe he was just unwilling to open his eyes.


    Lucas was aware of this as well, but Karen actually tried to help Glesto overcome this fear.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    "Hey. Hey! HEY! Lukey!"


    "Unngh, calm down. I''m trying to sleep here, Tomus."


    "That ain''t no way to get up in the mornin''! Now get yo lazy ass UP!"


    With that, he pulled the sheets entirely off of Lucas.


    "...Oops, only meant to pull these aside, not onto the floor."


    "Crud. Fine, I''ll get up."


    Lucas was a rather small boy for his age. He was also 13, but was at least three inches shorter than Tomus who stood at 162 centimetres.


    "Ooo, you''re even shorter when you''re sitting down."


    "Who isn''t?"


    "Right."


    Someone walked past the bedroom door; Tomus took care to eavesdrop on the passing conversation.


    "Say, Glesto, did you hit your head on the ceiling again?" This voice was female, meek and cheery. Karen had gotten up quick.


    "Figured you''d have heard that."


    "Well, your room is right next to mine after all. I thought you would have learned to watch the ceiling after staying here so long."


    "Did I actuallywake you up with that?"


    "Yes! From the sounds of it, you bonked your head pretty hard!"


    "Don''t I always hit my head pretty hard?"


    "Well uh, yeah. But still!"


    "It''s bad enough that I need another ice pack for it is what you mean."


    "I guess. Looks like mom''s already waiting for us downstairs, did you wake her up too?"


    "No, she''s the one who caught..."And their voices trailed off as they walked down the stairs.


    Tomus pretty much forgot Lucas was right next to him.


    "Would you kindly leave the room so that I may change?"


    "Eh? Not even a ''hi'' first?"


    "Hi."


    Then Lucas proceeded to shove him outside. Tomus could feel the force of the door slamming behind him.


    "Sheesh, much privacy..."


    - - - - - - - - - -


    Karen Kole was Aunt Kole''s only daughter aged at 14, younger than Glesto by only a few months. She was a friendly soul, a bright and enthusiastic girl blooming with charisma to friends and acquaintances alike.


    Lucas Wyera was a friend of Karen and Tomuswho sometimesvisited for overnights. Not that Aunt Kole disapproved of their friendship, but Tomus could have sworn that he saw her forcing Lucas to take the storage room the first time he visited, which happened to be the farthest from Karen''s room.


    The brothers'' first few months living in Aunt Kole''shome were awkward; Karen was once shy and hid from them, but she grew to befriend them over the years.


    In a few days, however, they would be leaving for a short while.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    "So you and Tomus are going the morning after next?"


    "Pretty much. I bet I''ll get homesick in no time."


    "Don''t you wonder what Europe''s like? It''s probably a lot more happening than here in Melbourne."


    "Have an open mind, you won''t know till you see it for yourself."


    "I guess. By the way, here comes your brother."


    "Oh, hi Tomus."


    "Hiya bro!" Now that all the lights were on, Tomus got a good look at everyone:


    Glesto was in a sparingly striped black over red shirt. He was in a casual set of long green pantson which there were several cosmetic yellow streaks. Hisblack hair black hair was combed but from the looks of it, he had done a rather shallow job as usual. Glesto''s eyes were a deep brown that could pass for blackand his skin was quite tan, making everyone else seem several shades whiter.


    Karen had changed intoa white polo tee paired with yellow skorts. She tied her brown hair into a ponytail today, the front falling forward as bangs. Her cyan eyes were restless, darting between Glesto and Tomus as if expecting some kind of dramato begin. Like her mother, her skin was fair.


    Aunt Kole, who was walking into the kitchen next to the stairs to make breakfast, was still in her indigo nightgown dotted with white flower patterns. She had already worn her contacts (she wasn''t bumping into anything, after all) and appeared to have already done her black, shoulder length hair as well; she didn''t tie it up or anything of the sort, but she did comb it. Her eyes were dark green, holding a certain maternal authority.


    Tomus himself was wearing a dark purple shirt that had a stitched grey patch over the left chest and was checkered around the short sleeves. It had the letters¡®GR¡¯ painted in black on the front, an addition made byTomus himself. He resorted to wearing grey bermudas to bed because he was too lazy to look through the rest of the cupboard the previous night, and he was apparently too lazy to do his messy brown hair in the morning as well. His eyes were not as dark as Glesto''s -- a lighter and more obvious brown -- and his skin was fair with a very slight shade of yellow.


    Lucas, coming down the stairs right behind Tomus, was wearing a light brown t-shirt and blue jeans. What really made him really stand out was his short statureand his striking blue eyes. And the fact that he actually managed to comb his blonde hairproperly, parting it neatly to the right. Being white, he naturally stood out from the rest of themanyway.


    "Hey guys," Lucas said, hands in his pockets.


    "Herro, Lucas!" saidTomus.


    "Hi Lucas," greeted Glesto. "I can''t believe you really wore those jeans to sleep.Did Tomusshake you awake again?"


    "Nah, he pulled the sheets off."


    "Classic."


    Karen glanced under the stairs where the closet was.


    "You know, I always wondered why mom always put those ice packs in there."


    "Something about keeping stuff in there cold. She swaps them everyday with packs inside the freezer."


    "What? I''ve never seen her do that."


    "She does it when we''re in bed. She always walks past each of our bedrooms to make sure that we''re asleep, then goes down to make the switch. Tomus told me about it."


    "But I don''t get it, why doesn''t my mom just leave it all in the fridge?"


    Glesto shrugged.


    "Beats me. She just takes random things from the fridge and puts them in the closet, like that orange juice from weeks ago."


    "Maybe she''s putting those ice packs in the closet so it''s slightly easier for you to get them."


    "Heh, maybe. She''s cared for me and Tomus like we were her own since we were kids. I''m really grateful to her, she can probably take a break with us gone for a while."


    Tomus was starting to get restless with no conversation. He looked a bit frustrated.


    "Eh, you guys over there done with your life stories?"


    "Not really," replied Glesto. "Why don''t you join Lucas over there?"


    Lucas was quietly peering into the kitchen where Aunt Kole was.


    "Oh, might as well," Tomus mumbled.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    Aunt Kole lived in a quiet part of Melbourne, Australia. The boys had a long flight ahead of them to Germany for a school exchange programme, one of those long, stayover exchange programmes that lasted a month or so. Lucas was also going to be following them on the trip; he and Tomus happened to be classmates.


    Glesto couldn''t imagine how he, his brother and Karen''s welfare (not to mention school fees) were all handled by Aunt Kole. He had always been one who sought to reciprocate kindness, and had heartfelt gratitude toward Aunt Kole. Tomus didn''t really seem to care and always got chastised by Glesto about it.


    Perhaps they would have guessed after staying with her all this time, but Aunt Kole was much more than merely their legal guardian...

 Chapter 2 - Degrees From Normal

    "Alright children, breakfast is ready!"


    Sunlight shone in through the window and illuminated the kitchen. Aunt Kole watched as the four teenagers entered the room: Tomus was the first, coming for his plate at almost running speed ("Please don''t run in the house, Tomus!"). Lucas came in next, almost tripping at the door in his haste. Karen skipped in after him, and Glesto was the last one to enter at his own pace.The same order was observed as they ate: Tomus finished first, followed by Lucas (the two of them appeared to be racing), then Karen and finally Glesto who was still chewing on a relatively large portion of scrambled eggs.


    "Looks like you beat me this time, Tomus."


    "There''s always a next time, Lukey. And another after that if you''re gonna keep screwing up!"


    "Sure. Don''t you get a bigger kick out of challenging your brother though?"


    "Glesto here''s more brawn than anythin¡¯. He''s nowhere near my level of sexiness."


    Glesto paused to process what he just heard, then tilted his headup at the clock.


    "If you two are done, can you just go change and get your school bags?" he said. "We''ll be late again if you make me wait for you like last time."


    "Hm, looks like he might have a brain after all. I''m still sexier though," Tomus declared sheepishly, leaning back in his chair.


    "Can you make some sense, please?"


    "Understand dem jokes, yo!"


    And with that, Tomus bolted out the room with Lucas following closely behind, almost toppling over his own chair in the process.


    Their absence left peace to linger in the kitchen, filled withthe sound of Aunt Kole washing the dishes. Glesto finally swallowed his last bit of egg.


    "Hey, Karen."


    "Yeah?" She was trying to pick up baked beans with her fork.


    "I''m just, uh...a little worried."


    ¡°About what?"


    "Would you be alright without us around? I mean, my brother and Iare going off for about a month."


    Karen smiled without looking at him.


    "I will! You''ll write postcards twice every week, right?¡± she said, giving a small laugh.


    Glesto noted that her smile seemed a littleweak.


    "Of course I will, don''t worry," he said as he got up and dusted his shirt."Well, I''ll be going now. Thanks for the breakfast, ma''am."


    "Glesto, you can always feel free to address me as Aunt Kole instead of plain old "ma''am"."


    Karen stiffled a snickerbehind his back.


    As he left the kitchen, Glesto found Tomus tying his shoes outside the closet.


    "Um, why are you wearing your shoes inside the house?"


    "I was halfway puttin'' my shoes on, see, then I remembered I hadto grab this bag!" Tomus gestured at one of the clothes pegs next to the closet door, from which hung a plastic bag filled to the brim with multiple round objects.


    "You could''ve just worn your shoes outside and asked me to bring this bag out for you, not to mention..." Glesto took the bag and stared down into its contents. "...why are you bringing all these oranges to school anyway? And where''d you even get all these?"


    "Aunt Kole was nice enough to, eh, ''lend'' me some."


    "Why, though?"


    "Imma throw these at Kent!"


    Glesto rolled his eyes.


    "Kent''s your senior by two years. If you don''t get in trouble, he¡¯s going to pummel you."


    "But he ain''t your senior."


    "It''s not like I¡¯m gonna do it, no way in hell."


    "Aw, pwetty pwease?"


    "Hell no, hearing you make that voice gives me the chills," said Glesto as he made to walk outside with the bag of oranges."I''ll help you bring these to school anyway, hope you don''t mind me using some of them to perform electrolysis or something.¡± He looked into the bag again. ¡°And probably explains why Aunt Kole has so many cartons of homemade orange juice."


    "Meh."


    Tomus continued tying his shoes quietly, the only sounds being madeby Glesto opening the door and Karen helping with the dishes in the kitchen. Then he stopped and suddenly started undoing his shoelaces.


    "Aw, dammit. Lucas, a li''l help!"


    He had forgotten to wear his socks.


    - - - - - - - - - -


    "Can. You. Stop."


    "Why?"


    "Please!"


    "Aw, don''t be like that."


    "Then get those stupid fruits away from me!"


    Glesto shoved away Tomus''s hand that was repeatedly nudging him an orange.


    "Come ooon, let me at it.¡±


    "I said stop!"


    Lucas laughedas he came out from the house. The brothers were waiting for him under the tree that grew outside Aunt Kole¡¯s house, the pavement littered with several yellowed leaves. All three of them were in their green school uniforms.


    "Oh man, watching you two going at it never gets old."


    "About time you came out. Now help me get my bothersome brother off- Stop it!"


    Lucas kept laughing as he watched Tomus push an orange into the back of Glesto''s head.


    "Ugh, I give up..."


    "Hey hey, this ain¡¯t as bad as what imma do to Kent later! Just you wait, it¡¯ll be awesome!" Tomus saidas he dropped the orange back into the bag.


    "Not exactlycomforting information, but I''ll take your word for it."


    Glesto fished a scrambled Rubik''s cube out from his pocket.


    "Lucas."


    "Wha- oh, alright."


    Lucas grabbed the cube from him and turned it over and around in his hand.


    "Gee, this combination here''s an annoying one."


    "When you say ''annoying'', you mean you''ll solve it a few seconds short of your best time, right?"


    Lucas opened his mouth to object, then realised Glesto was right.


    "Anyway, we should hurry. You can solve it later."


    "Yeah." Lucas was already sizing up the patterns on the cube.


    "Hey! Don''t forget about me, y''all!"


    Glesto turned back to look at Tomus and glimpsed someone in the kitchen window. Karen was looking at them.


    Their eyes met. Today, for somereason, she seemed tiredin comparison to her usualcheery self; Glestostared back for perhaps a moment too long. Hewaved at Karen and shereturned the gesture with a smile.


    ¡°Hm... Gles, d¡¯you like Karen?¡±


    ¡°Eh? What do you mean, do I like her?¡± asked Glesto as he turned away from the window.


    ¡°There¡¯s obviously somethin¡¯ between you two. Iship!¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±Glesto glanced down to check that his shoelaces were properlytied, just in case."Alright, are we ready to go?"


    ¡°Hold up," Lucas began, "we aren''t gonna be running again, are we-¡±


    ¡°Yes we are, you better keep up.¡±


    Lucas suddenly looked crestfallen.


    Their school wasn''t too far from Aunt Kole''s house. The walk was at most eight or ten minutes, but to Glesto, that wastime gone to waste; in his opinion, a quick jog to school was the simplesolution. Not thatthe othersreadily agree with the idea.


    "Ey! Ey!! Stop runnin'', Gles!"


    "And be late? Suit yourself."


    ¡°We¡¯re half an hour ahead of time, yo!¡±


    Lucas, being the slowest of the three, was panting behind them as he struggled to keep up with their pace, and the searing February sun wasn¡¯t helping.


    "Tomus''s right, ugh, slow down a bit would you...?" Lucas barely managed to utter between gasps.


    "Are you actually serious right now?" Glesto muttered in disbelief. He didn''t stop but somewhat decelerated such that Tomus threatened to overtake him.


    "I wonder, are you running away from a relationship with Karen? Hmmmm?" Tomus said as he caught up.


    "Shut up, Tomus!" Glesto went back to his normal fastpace.


    They were nearing the gate now, along with several other students on their way into the school compound.A sign at the side of the school gate bore, in large letters: Yulgard Secondary School.


    "Bruh, I don''t see anyone else in a hurry!"


    "What do you care?!"


    Heads turned as they dashed past the bewildered students around the gate, juniors, seniors and teachers alike. Some of themwere shaking their heads.


    "Don''t judge, ya nerds!" Tomus pulled an orange from his plastic bag and pretended to aim it at one of the seniors.


    "TOMUS! Is now the best time!?"


    "Pfft, you''re so boring."He pocketed the orange and resorted to blowing raspberries instead.


    Lucas brought up the rear after he hastily apologised to some of the students they ran past.


    "Glesto, c-can you remind me what we''re rushing for?"He was gasping for breath; sweat was pouring down his forehead.


    "No reason."


    "Really?!"


    Glesto and Tomus raced up the stairwell, leaving Lucas behind to the echoes of their footsteps.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "Argh, can you two at least wait up!?"


    Suddenly, Tomus jumped back down the stairs and almost straight into Lucas.


    "You asked, and so I shall deliver. Let''s be lazy together and take the lift."


    "...Sure."


    Glesto had always been extraordinarily quick with the stairs; he bumped into Tomus and Lucas just as they were exiting the lift on the fifth storey.


    "You got lazy again, didn''t you?"


    "Meh, this was easier." Tomus was looking down at his phone.


    "Wellat least we''re all up here now, there''s no need to rush anymore."


    "Tell that to Lukey over here, lol."


    Lucaswas still panting with a hand tohis chest. His other hand was busy solving the Rubik''s cubewith distracting clicks.


    "I''m doin'' the timing for him," Tomus said to Glesto, eyes on his phone.


    "I''m a-almost done here, g-give me a moment..."


    He flicked the last few pieces into place and finally solved the last layer, Tomus stopping the timer as he did so.


    "Here, good enough for you?" huffed Lucas, handing the cube back to Glesto.


    "Time taken?"


    "23.6 seconds," said Tomus.


    "There''s room for improvement," said Glesto. He almost smirked at Lucas.


    "Yeah yeah, big surprise.¡± Lucas nudged Glesto in the shoulder.


    Tomus, meanwhile, was getting restless again.


    "Eh, Gles!"


    "What?"


    "You wanna help me out with the prank? The one involvin'' the tape."


    "I want to say no."


    Lucas remained silent. When it came to Tomus''s pranks, he preferred to keep his distance.


    There wasn''t actually much of a reason for Glesto wanting to rush to school. He simply felt at ease being early, even if it meant waiting for an hour or so for lessons to begin.Tomus, on the other hand,usually spent that excess time enlisting the help of his brother and Lucas in setting up pranks. To be fair, he reallydidn¡¯t have anything else better to do.


    In particular, one of his favourite practical jokes was putting transparent tape across a door frame.


    "Oooh, I wonder who''s gonna walk into this one today," chuckled Tomus as he stretched the tape out across the length of the door.


    "Don''t get your hopes up, it''s not like people can''t see this. And if it''s Kent again, you might really need those oranges," said Glesto as he helped cut the strip of tape. He tore and stuck it across the door frame at eye level.


    "That''s the plan though."


    "Shut up."


    They were at Lucas and Tomus¡¯s classroom of1C, just one floor below Glesto¡¯s classroom of3B. Against his better (and most definitely more reliable) judgement, he had eventually agreed to detour from his classroomto help Tomus set the prank up.Lucas was sitting alone in 1C while scrambling and solving the Rubik''s cube repeatedly, filling the room with distracting clicks.


    ¡°Today''s a bit odd, isn''t it?" he said as his eyes darted betweenthe different colours on the cube.


    "How so?" Glesto was stretching out another layer of tape over the existing one.


    "This is usually the time when my classmates start turning up."


    "But nobody''s here."


    "Case in point." Lucas tried to rotate the cube with a finger trickbut it spun too quickly and it fell from his grip onto the floor. A corner piece popped out as it landed with a clack.


    "Oh, crud. Not again."


    "Relax, it won''t be the first time the cube''s fallen apart."


    "You should get a new one, Glesto." Lucas bent down to pick up the cube. The moment itleft the ground, the rest of its pieces suddenly gave way and fell apartinto a pile of 26 cubic pieces.


    "...Well, looks like Murphy¡¯s Law is deciding to be a total dick today."


    "Don''t worry about it, I''llput it back together."


    "Ugh, take your time."


    Juniors could be heard shouting from the first floor as they ran about the parade square (¡°Tch, they¡¯re so noisy," groaned Glesto). Several students that passed by the classroom gave awkward stares at the sight of the brothers taping the door; Tomus stuck his tongue out at some of them. Glesto and Tomus took another minute to add more tape, then spent another two minutes looking for a spare tape rollfrom the teacher''s table after Tomus''s personal supply was exhausted, then yet another minute adding even more to the already overwhelmingly thick layer across the door frame.After all was said and done, it was ten minutes to assembly.


    "Huhu, this is gonna be great!" Tomus snickered, carefully removing the huge layer of tape and bringing itto his table for use later.


    "...This is when I start regretting life decisions," Glesto said as he returned the roll of tape to the teacher¡¯s table.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Glesto. I know what that feels like," assured Lucas, who was still moping over the broken Rubik¡¯s cube.


    On the way to the assembly hall, Glesto managed to put the cube back together while he was walking, which was no big surprise since he happened to be a better speedcuber than Lucas was.


    "You wanna hold onto it?" asked Glesto, holding it toLucas.


    "I might break it again."


    "I don''t really mind, it''d be your loss either way."


    "Wow, way to be blunt."


    As usual, Tomus couldn''t stand keeping to himself for minutes at a time.


    "Hey, Gles!!"


    "What''s is it?"


    "Nothin''."


    "Huh?"


    That seemed to satisfy Tomus.


    The hall was starting to get congested with students pouring in from all sides and the air was filled with the buzzing of countless conversations. Glesto separated from Lucas and Tomus, heading for where his class should be in the middle of the hall.But when he got to the line-up position where his class should be, he was the only one there.


    The other third year classes on either side of him were already queued with studentswhile he was by himself.


    ¡°Psst, hey," he whispered to a girl on his right from 3A. ¡°Did you see my class on the way here?¡±


    ¡°Nope, I don''t think so. You''re the only one here from 3B?¡±


    ¡°Sure seems like it. I guess I¡¯ll just stay here.¡± Glesto shook his head and just stood there, awkwardly looking around for any signs of his classmates. ¡°Where the hell are they...¡±


    ¡°Sup, G.¡± This voice was deep, loud and very familiar.


    ¡°Oh, hi Kent.¡±


    Kent Cugner was Glesto¡¯s classmate in 3B. He had black hair in a buzz cut, a large physique and, like Glesto, had a darker skin tone than most. In size, he dwarfed the rest of his class, Glesto included. In smarts, however, not so much; while Glesto concerned himself with scoring full marks, Kent was content with a borderline pass. The two were still good friends though, since they had common interests and were equally dense for the most part. They also shared assignment answers, Glesto providing pretty much allof them.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one here, dude? Maaan, where¡¯s the rest of our class?¡± said Kent, coming cover to stand behind Glesto.


    ¡°No idea, I don¡¯t see them anywhere. They can¡¯t possibly still be in class, can they?¡±


    ¡°It happens, man. You never know.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Glesto continued scanning around the hall. ¡°Come to think of it, 1C was quite empty today as well¡­¡±


    ¡°1C? What, the class that Lucas and your bro are in?¡±


    ¡°The one and only.¡±


    The only real problem with Kent was that he wasn¡¯t exactly on good terms with Tomus. Kent was an acquaintance of Lucas who regularlyvisited 1C to chat, but Tomus would always be there to pull some kind of prank. It also didn''t help that Kent wasn''t toobright.


    ¡°You see them anywhere, man?¡±


    ¡°Nope, where the heck are they? Assembly¡¯s about to begi-¡±


    The bell rang. Glesto jumped slightly at the sudden, shrill ring that reverberated throughout the hall, warranting a stunned look from Kent.


    ¡°...Dude, did you fake that reaction?¡±


    ¡°They need to change that fu- effing bell sound, it''s ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°It''s not that bad, man.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s literally just a stock sound effect...¡±


    As the bell¡¯s echoes faded away, a large and rather intimidating figure stepped up to the stage with hard footsteps. When the man put his voice to the microphone, the words he spoke were more booming than Kent¡¯s tenfold.


    The Discipline Master''s appearance caused the chatterthat previously filled the hall to evaporate.


    Glesto has had his fair share of ¡®discipline¡¯ when he and Tomus were caught setting up pranks for the previous year¡¯s April Fool¡¯s, easily Tomus¡¯s most favourite day of the year. Even though it was now only February, he already had plans for the upcoming April Fool¡¯s in two months.


    Speaking of which¡­


    ¡°Hey, Kent.¡±


    ¡°Sup?¡±


    ¡°Um, don¡¯t go to class 1C today. Whatever you do, just don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask. Oh look, there¡¯s the rest of our class. And there¡¯s 1C as well.¡± Two big groups of students were quickly piling in from either sides of the hall. ¡°That''s weird, why did our classes turn up this late?¡±


    ¡°Flag raising¡¯s about to happen, fam. Don''t stare at them or the Dick Master¡¯s gonna call us out.¡±


    After the flag raising ceremony was over, the first morning lessons came.


    Kent didn''t seem to understand anything being taught throughout Chemistry. He was apparently so dumbfounded by the concepts of organic chemistry, in fact, he just sat there with his mouth agapewhen the teacher revised the topic with the class for the third time. Glesto sat to the immediate left of Kent; he was taking down several trivial notes on the daily applications of organic chemistry (¡°Whoa there, G. Is all o'' that material on the test?¡±).


    Also, as it turns out, Glesto¡¯s advice to Kent went unheeded.


    When recess began where Chemistry ended, Glesto was still preparing to head downstairs when he heard yelling emanating from the floor below him.


    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YA, TOMUS! YOU PIECE O¡¯ SHIT!!¡±


    ¡°Aayy lmao! You needs to chill!¡±


    Tomus had shoved Kent through the tape door. Glesto was met with a rather comical scene of Kent chasing Tomus around the room, knocking over every chair and table in their path and sending the rest of the students running outside. Lucas was already outside the 1C classroom, backed up against a wall and caught in a fit of laughter.


    ¡°Ugh, I guess Kent still came down here huh?¡± moaned Glesto as he put a palm to his face.


    ¡°You bet he did, that was hilarious! Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Then I guess this means Tomus is gonna-¡±


    An orange rolled to their feet. Another hit the wall right next to Lucas¡¯ shoulder and bounced away.


    ¡°Yep, here come the oranges. Let''s go.¡±


    Glesto pulled Lucas upstairs to retreat from the bombardment of oranges that was Tomus; they could still hear him laughing over Kent¡¯s angry death threats.


    ¡°We should probably stay up here for a bit, Kent''s going to tire himself out if this keeps up.¡±


    ¡°Haha, ha! Oh yeah, Glesto, I wanted to ask you something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Kent was gonna tell me about this math test you guys had last week. He said your math teacher¡¯s giving them back today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, what about it?¡±


    ¡°So, how well do you think you did?¡±


    Glesto thought for a few moments.


    ¡°Um, probably above average but I might be wrong. Why?¡±


    ¡°Kent keeps mentioning how you¡¯re an overachiever.¡±


    A few stray oranges flew up the stairwell and splattered against the steps, accompanied by Kent¡¯s ragingvoice.


    ¡°COME BACK HERE YOU-!!¡± Something crashed downstairs.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true," said Glesto, "but as you can see, he¡¯s a bit, um... you know...¡±


    Tomus suddenly came running upthe stairs and whizzed past the two of them, dropping several oranges from the torn plastic bag he was carrying. Kent was in hot pursuit, some of the tape still stuck to his mouth. As if to prove Glesto¡¯s point, he tripped at the very top step and fell on his stomach with a painful thud, leaving Tomus to run off whilst blowing raspberries.


    ¡°ARGH!! Oww... Maaan, this sucks," Kent groaned as he slowly rolled over. He sat up to see a cross armed Glesto and a very amused Lucas watching him from the corridor.


    ¡°My brother did it again, huh?¡± said Glesto with a smirk across his face.


    ¡°Dude, don¡¯t even get me started. Just how many of these damn tangerines does he have?¡±


    ¡°Too many for our sake, you should''ve listened to my advice. And those were oranges, just saying.¡±


    Glesto helped Kent back up on his feet while Lucas went to gather the oranges lying around on the stairs. Thestudents downstairs were murmuring amongst themselves.


    ¡°Hey Glesto, a little help cleaning up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s a good idea. I mean, we should certainly clean up but someone may have alerted the DM.¡±


    ¡°Oh shit, you¡¯re right.¡±


    The three of them went up to 3B to wait out the Discipline Master¡¯s arrival. Tomus was nowhere to be seen, although he did leave an inconspicuous trail of juice-stained footprints (¡°Yeah well, that¡¯s my brother for you. Acting like the idiot he is.¡±). Not long after, they heard a distinctively formidable voice booming from the stairwell; it could only have belonged to one person.


    ¡°This is probably that Rheeman boy¡¯s doing again, the nerve of him. We¡¯ll need to have this mess cleared up immediately. I¡¯ll go find the boy, just get some janitors here.¡±


    - - - - - - - - - -


    Tomus had been camping it out in the restrooms.


    After dumping the remaining oranges, it was the only suitable hiding spot he could find. When the bell rang to signify the end of recess, he had tried to creep back to the 1C classroom. Tomus even had his route all planned out: a quick detour upstairs via the lift, a run past the fourthyear classrooms and then back down the stairwell to 1C, all the while avoiding 3B where the Discipline Master would be interrogating Glesto.


    He could have very well succeeded in sneaking back were it not for the luckless fact that the DM had been waiting to relieve himself outsidethe very cubicle Tomus was hiding in.


    Ultimately, Tomus got dragged back outside 3B alongside Glesto and Kent. They were standing side by side outside the classroom; Lucas was peeking at them from the stairwell even though classes should have already started.


    At the moment, Tomus was getting the brunt of the scolding.


    ¡°So, you think you¡¯re funny, huh? Pulling pranks on your seniors and disrupting classes, this all a big joke to you, is it?¡±


    ¡°Um, excuse me, sir," Glesto blurted. ¡°I don¡¯t think this was Tomus¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Standing up for you brother again? I must say, you can be rather naive sometimes.¡±


    ¡°But sir, he-¡±


    The DM held up a hand to silence Glesto.


    ¡°Kent, what exactly happened just now?¡±


    Kent pursed his lips; as much as he didn¡¯t like Tomus, he was loyal to Glesto and hated the Discipline Master more than anyone.


    ¡°Uhh, it was all just a big misunderstanding¡­¡±


    ¡°Really? Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah man. It was someone else and we couldn''t see who it was. That¡¯s all it was, uh, sir.¡± Kent leaned backward as the DM, who towered over everyone, glared down at him. Tomus was shaking a little; he seemed to be suppressing an urge to laugh and was getting desperate side glances from Glesto.


    ¡°Well, boys. If I find out that either of you are trying to cover up for him-¡± the DM glanced at Tomus, "-or anyone else who may be involved in this mess, you¡¯ll get it from me. Am I understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Glesto was the only one who replied, but the DM took it anyway.


    ¡°Good. Headback to your classes.¡±


    Tomus scurried off in the direction of the stairwell where Lucas was still watching, his head popping back behind the corner. Kent (¡°That stupid frikkin¡¯ Derp Master," he mumbled) and Glesto lamely shambled into 3B where their math teacher was waiting, the Discipline Master still staring them down from the corridor. Their classmates inside were either chatting or looking at them as they entered.


    The teacher himself was wearing a bluecheckered shirt with dark grey jeans. He was young, one of the newer teachers, and at the moment he seemed rather flustered.


    ¡°Oh good, you two are done. Come on now, back to your seats so we can get started.¡±


    The two quietly sat down next to each other like usual. Kent was still reeling from the Discipline Master¡¯s authoritative aura; Glesto just looked really bored since he had already read through and memorised almost everything in their current math syllabus.


    ¡°Is everyone accounted for? Yes? Good! So uh, today we will be beginning on a new chapter so can everyone please turn to page 43?¡± The teacher turned to the whiteboard and swiftly wrote a single cursive word in red marker. It was utterly illegible.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Today, we¡¯re doing Integration!¡± This was met with groans and sighs from half the classroom while the other half was still trying to process what was going on. Kent was from the latter.


    ¡°Now, now, it¡¯s not that bad. Heads up, Glesto!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Yes, Mr Harton?¡± He was still flipping to page 43.


    ¡°Please do, uh, questions 1 and 2 on the board. I know you¡¯ve already read everything.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°As for the introductory example, let¡¯s see¡­ Kent, you¡¯re up!¡±


    Kent was just about ready to nodoff; he hadn¡¯t even taken out his textbook.


    ¡°...Wha? Wait, me?¡±


    ¡°Yes you, now get a marker and come up front.¡±


    Glesto produced two markers from his pencil case.


    ¡°I got a spare if you still haven¡¯t bought yours.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, man.¡±