《Magic and Chaos: Book 1 - Key》


 Introduction

    *


    **


    ***


    ****


    How do you start a story?


    It¡¯s a weird question, right? But it¡¯s one that¡¯s been troubling me.


    Do you start by showing the world?


    That can¡¯t be right because the story does not begin with the world; the world starts with the story. Your world didn¡¯t begin seven billion years ago; it started when you first opened your eyes.


    In the period it took you to open your eyes and cry out into the world, an entire universe was created. Cosmos collided and ripped asunder, giving life meaning and death a purpose.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    That was how your world began.


    But this isn¡¯t your world; it''s mine. This is a world made from my dreams.


    Dreams are worlds that take you away and transport you to a beautiful place you¡¯ve never seen before.


    A place with far everlasting fields and high azure skies. Where the deepest ocean blue becomes an unforgiving black abyss, and the dark underground crevices light up with a fiery red.


    A place where fields of green turn into mud from the marches of war. And the hearts inside beat to the rhythm of hope.


    That is my dream,m and dreams begin when you close your eyes.


    So close your eyes and listen.


    Listen as your reality is slipping behind you.


    Feel as my dream takes hold of you and pulls you into the story.


    ****


    ***


    **


    *

 Chapter l

    Tick


    Tick


    Tick


    Tic-


    Isaac sat in the back of the classroom, waiting for the time to change. The clock on the wall was deafening. Its constant ticking was the only thing Isaac could hear over the chatter of kids around him.


    Isaac just knew that clock was messing with him, hanging on to the last minute, drawing out each second as long as possible. There was just no way that it wasn¡¯t.


    He had been staring at the clock for the last five minutes, watching it loudly tick its way up¡ªeach second, another tick.


    Pushing his glasses up his face, Isaac glared at the clock.


    Just one more minute, it was just one minute. Why is it taking so long? Minutes fly by all the time, but the one time he needs it, it takes its sweet time.


    ¡° Hey, everyone, settle down!¡± Mr. Rayfield, the school''s algebra teacher, tried to get the kids quiet.


    Rapping his fingers against his desk, Isaac tried to ignore the teacher, but his voice was just so loud. Didn¡¯t he know that he was making more noise than they were? Not only that, but he was doing this minutes away from the bell. Who cares if they''re talking? They¡¯re about to leave anyway.


    There was no reason for him to be this strict with them, but as always, the teacher was just trying to exert whatever little power he had over the kids.


    Maybe Isaac should say something; it would be fun to see Mr. Rayfield turn red again. No, Isaac thought, focusing back on the clock. This wasn¡¯t the time to have some fun with the teachers.


    Isaac needed to be ready; if he wasn¡¯t ready, then he could miss lunch. Lunch was the most important part of the day, and the further away your class was, the faster you had to be if you wanted to get your food on time.


    Unfortunately, Isaac drew the short end of the stick for his last year. His last class before lunch, and it was all the way on the other side of the school on the second floor; you couldn''t get further than that.


    If that didn¡¯t make it hard enough, the teacher stopped anyone from lining up at the door. This meant that twenty kids would get up and head for the door at the sound of the bell. In their need for food, they would all fight to push their way out the door, where they would all pile up, barricading the door with their bodies.


    But not Isaac; Isaac was prepared.


    His bag slung over his shoulder, his butt halfway off the seat, his knees straining from pressure. Isaac was ready to sprint out the door before anyone else got there. Nobody was going to stop him from being first in line.


    All he needed was that last hand to move. Fixing his glasses one last time, Isaac waited for the clock to ring.


    12:15.


    RIIIIIIIINNGG


    The bell rang throughout the school, startling some people who were not paying attention while the rest calmly packed their bags.


    ¡°HA!¡± Isaac laughed; he was free. With his bags already in his hands, Isaac didn¡¯t need to wait; he was already ready to go.


    Jumping up, Isaac ran out the door, not even giving his classmates a chance to leave their seats. And before they even realized it, Isaac was out of his seat and racing out the door.


    ¡°Cantor Get Back Here!¡± The teacher tried to call Isaac back, but it was too late; Isaac was already out the door.


    Outside, kids were already filling the hallway, each preparing for their mad lunch rush.


    Every day, it was a race to be first. No one wanted to be stuck in line as the seconds of precious lunchtime ticked away. Standing there, waiting as all of your friends got to sit and talk while you had to wait, hoping that you were lucky enough to taste your food, at least before you were forced to move on to your next period.


    But no matter how fast they were, Isaac was faster.


    Rushing past them, Isacc ran toward the end of the hall. At the end of the hall was a set of stairs leading down to the first floor. It was the only staircase on the second floor and the second hurdle for Isaac. If Isaac let them, the mass of kids would fill up the stairs, doubling his time.


    Slowing down meant giving students on the first floor a chance to be first, but going too fast meant a possible journey to the hospital with no food to show for it. So everyone tried to be careful going down the stairs, as it wasn¡¯t worth the risk.


    But where others might have hesitated, Isaac gunned it. Pumping himself up, Isaac ran faster towards the stairs; everyone around him who had seen this before lept out of the way, and when the first step was under his foot, he jumped.


    It was an eight-foot drop to the first floor, a fall that could break your leg, but that didn''t stop Isaac. When his foot touched the ground, he was off again, racing down the hallway.


    Anything he could do to go faster, he was doing. It didn¡¯t matter if he got injured or not. Isaac wasn¡¯t going to let anyone be first in line.


    Even pushing someone down the stairs wasn¡¯t off the table.


    It wouldn¡¯t be the first time either, Isaac thought, smiling. A year before, some girl was purposely clogging up the stairwell so that she could talk to her friends. Like a damn on a lake, she held up the entire second floor stooping everybody on their way to lunch. A quick flight down the stairs took care of that.


    Funny enough, after that, no one wanted to be on the stairs when Isaac was.


    Isaac laughed, thinking about the sound she made going over the railing. He got in a bit of trouble the next day, but it was still one of the funniest things that Isaac had ever done. He didn¡¯t feel sorry for her either.


    And now, whenever they saw him coming, people knew to stay off the stairs during lunch. Isaac wasn¡¯t afraid to send someone down a flight or two if they got in his way. The race to the cafeteria was a ritual for Isaac; if something tried to get in the way of it happening, then he wouldn¡¯t be happy.


    It was the only thing that made his day worth it.


    Well, that and the food- nothing beats having a good meal when you''re bored.


    By now, the first floor had started getting crowded. As each second passed, more and more people came out of their classes, filling the hallway¡ªa wall of flesh with his goal on the other side.


    Isaac felt like he was getting slower. Last month, he had made it to the cafeteria without trouble, but now he was forced to squeeze past the flood of bodies.


    Of course, he thought, smiling as he ran. The challenge is half the fun.


    Diving into the sea of bodies, Isaac pushed and squeezed his way past. Startled yelps came up behind him, but Isaac didn¡¯t give them a second thought. Faster, faster, he tried to push himself.


    Finally, he was shot out of the mass of students right in front of his prize, the cafeteria.


    Like every other place in this school, the cafeteria was a plain square room. The walls were a boring beige, with a faded yellow border of paint being the only splash of color. Large windows going halfway up the wall filled the right side of the cafeteria, where outside, you could see the school''s football field.


    Four doors led into the kitchen toward the back. Inside, lunch ladies would be waiting, ready to hand out food to hungry kids. Picnic-style tables filled the room, and slow-moving fans hung right above them.


    The lunch ladies had barely opened the kitchen doors when Isaac came running in. Looking around, Isaac saw that no one else was there.


    ¡° Yes!¡± He shouted he was the first one here.


    Nobody looked up at the noise Isaac was making; they were already used to Isaac and had come to see his unique energy as a fact of life.


    But that didn¡¯t matter to Isaac; the only thing that mattered to Isaac was the food. When you came to get lunch, you had four choices. Door one was the Lunch lane. Generally, they carried the lunch specials: spaghetti, hamburgers, or nuggets, whichever happened to be there that day.


    Door three was the pizza line, where you were given day-old pizza by the slice, one per person. Door four was the dessert line, where kids with extra change could get frozen treats before having to brave the rest of the day with sugar low.


    But Door Two was his favorite. Door Two was the sandwich line, with a chicken patty between two buns and a side of fries; what was not to love? They even had spicy patties for the daring.


    Those were the four doors of the lunch room, each one practically the same with one glaring difference. The Lunch lane was free; it was the only lunch line given to the students that, as required by law, was meant to be provided in schools nationwide. Paid for with taxpayer money, and it showed.


    The food in the Lunch line was horrid. It was one of the only things that the school had control over, and they used that control to make themselves richer. They gave children the cheapest, barely edible food possible and pocketed the rest.


    The other food lines came after a heated PTA meeting many years ago, during which parents of children came forward to fight against this tyranny. After many grueling hours and bloody shouting matches, the mothers and fathers realized that the evil dictators of the lunch would never give up their ill-gotten gains.


    So, instead, a compromise was made: two more lunch lines were added, and a third line for dessert was added. The food would be of better quality, with the only caveat being that they would have to be paid for collectively by the parents.


    These were the only choices they gave them, so if you wanted a good lunch, you had to choose wisely.


    Most people would choose the pizza line, but those people needed to understand his brilliance.


    Why pick the pizza when you only get one, maybe two slices max? The sandwich line sells spicy chicken patties, which you can get two of.


    Two spicy sandwiches for the price of one¡ªyou won¡¯t get a better deal anywhere else.


    That''s what was so great about middle school. In elementary school, the only lunch options were to pick something off the menu or bring it yourself. Here, you had choices.


    Sadly, the idiots always seemed to choose wrong.


    As he walked through the kitchen doors, Isaac smiled to himself. Then he saw who was behind the counter. Mrs. Mayde was serving the sandwiches today.


    Mrs. Mayde was an older lady with graying black hair. She was kind and gentle, sometimes acting like other kids'' grandma. Her face was set in a permanent grin. In fact, Isaac couldn''t think of a single time when she failed to greet the students with a smile. She was always so happy to see everyone walking through the cafeteria doors.


    Sighing under his breath, Isaac stepped behind the counter. The best thing to do was just grin and bear. The faster he got his food, the faster he could return to enjoying himself.


    There was nothing wrong with Mrs. Mayde; she was always happy, always waiting to serve with a smile. But she was just so hard to deal with.


    ¡° You got here quick, Isaac. I hope you didn¡¯t run over anybody.¡± She said, smiling at Isaac.


    ¡° Not today, Mrs. Mayde.¡± Even though Isaac was dying to start eating, it never hurt to be nice.


    ¡° Well, make sure that you follow the rules, alright? We don¡¯t need you falling down the stairs just because you wanted to be a few seconds early.¡± It was the same every day. She¡¯d say hi, and he¡¯d say hi back. She¡¯d talk about ¡° running someone over,¡± and then he¡¯d say he hasn¡¯t.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    It''s been the same since sixth grade.


    ¡° I¡¯ll be careful, Mrs. Mayde. Can I have two spicy chicken, please?¡± Isaac grinned, trying to move along.


    This was torture.


    ¡°Ok, sweetie, here you go.¡± Handing Isaac his food, Mrs. Mayde waved her hand as she started serving the next kid in line.


    With his food in hand, Isaac hurried to the register, hoping to leave the line before anyone else tried to start a conversation. Small talk had always been his weakness.


    Walking out of the kitchen, Isaac looked for a place to sit. The problem with the cafeteria chairs was that they were all just one long table. If you didn¡¯t have people filling the spaces for you, you ran the risk of sitting with people you didn¡¯t want to be around.


    Fortunately for Isaac, most people didn¡¯t want to be around him. Hell, if he knew why. Some people just couldn¡¯t get past his personality.


    Scanning the room, Isaac looked for a particular spot to sit. He wasn¡¯t looking for any particular space, just the person sitting there.


    Finding her was never a problem for Isaac. She was the kind of person that stood out in a crowd, even if she would rather be invisible. She had tried once to understand why so many people paid attention to her; Isaac told her it was because she shined.


    She said it was her hair.


    Either way, it didn¡¯t take him long to find her tucked away off in a corner, quietly eating her lunch by herself.


    She always brought her own lunch, so she never had to wait in line and got to pick the tables for them. Today, she was tucked back away in the corner all by herself.


    Luciana, or Luci as everyone called her, was pretty much his only friend in the whole school. He first met her during the sixth-graders open house after his mom forced him to go, hoping he would make friends.


    Like that was going to happen, most of those kids were the same ones that he went to elementary with; none of them were ever going to want to be his friend.


    So there he was, standing off to the side, back against the wall, wondering when they would leave, when he noticed that he wasn¡¯t the only person standing there.


    A girl was standing a few doors down from him. He couldn¡¯t see her face, but she looked around the same height as him, so he assumed she would be in his grade.


    The first thing that caught his eye about her was her hair. It was long and frizzy, like a black bush on her head. She was wearing an all-black outfit that stood out against the beige walls of the school.


    Already feeling bored out of his mind Isaac thought that he might talk to her, at least have something to do before his mom decided that they could leave.


    So he went up to her and tried talking to her. Tried being the main word, she never even once opened her mouth the entire time he was there. She just stood there, hiding behind her hair like it was a shield against the world.


    Starting to feel bored again, he decided to change his strategy. If she wouldn¡¯t open up with words, maybe she would with actions.


    So he poked her shoulder again and again and again. For almost five minutes, he poked her shoulder, never saying anything to her; he just kept poking her shoulder. He even did it in beats, hoping that the different rhythm would get to her.


    But nothing. Finally, when he was about to give up, she did something.


    She punched.


    She punched him right in the mouth.


    It took him completely by surprise to, he wasn¡¯t even looking at her when he did it. He was looking out in the hallway wondering when his mom was going to come back, finger still poking her should when all of a sudden she turned and hit him, full fist against the cheek.


    Dazed from the punch, the only thing that he could do was sit there on the ground and look at her as she glared down at him. Her hazel eyes standing out against her pale skin as she finally opened her mouth for the first time.


    ¡° Stop it.¡±


    And when she felt like he got her message, she walked away.


    Sitting there, Isaac was too confused to stop her. He didn''t know what to do. So he did the only thing that seemed right: he laughed.


    To him, it was the funniest thing that had happened. No one had ever hit him like that before; usually, they would just complain to an adult.


    From that point, he knew that she was going to be a fun person to be around.


    And since that day Isaac stuck with her like glue, following her around everywhere. Never once leaving her side.


    Walking towards her, Isaac began chuckling to himself. It was hard getting her to be his friend, he thought, and his usual go-to social interaction, talking her ear off, did not work like he thought it would.


    Or, really, it was working precisely as he thought it would, just not in any way that would help him.


    At first, she couldn¡¯t stand him. She was always ignoring him or hitting him. But he never gave up. Every second of the day, he tried to stay close to her.


    He would pick a seat right beside her in classes, and in the hallways he always made sure that he was right next to her. The only times he wasn¡¯t around her were when they had separate classes, or she ran to the restroom to escape.


    He tried following her in one time, but that didn¡¯t go so well. He had just planned to stand in the corner facing the wall, waiting for her to finish, but apparently, some other girls in the restroom didn¡¯t like that.


    Thinking back on it, their reactions were pretty funny. Then the teachers got involved, which was fun, but when his parents were called in, it was less fun. Then, he got to meet Luci¡¯s parents, which was fun.


    Then, all the adults spent hours nagging him about what was right and wrong and ¡° what was he thinking? Didn¡¯t he know better?¡± He just felt like none of it was worth the hassle so he never did it again.


    Isaac just didn¡¯t know what was wrong. He tried to be friendly; he tried talking to her, tried giving her his homework, he even brought food over to her house one time. But nothing worked. She still hated him.


    It got so bad that at the end of their first year of middle school, her parents wanted to pull her out of school.


    Thankfully, Luci decided that letting Isaac do whatever he wanted was just the lesser of two evils and told them to drop it. After that, they just started to get closer together. Isaac got less intense, and Luci learned to tolerate his presence.


    Now, after three years of middle school, they had become a sort of friends.


    Sitting down next to Luci, Isaac put his tray down. ¡° Good morning, Luci; how¡¯s your day been?¡±


    Ignoring Isaac, Luci continued eating her lunch, not even lifting her head to look at him. But that was fine; by now, Luci knew he wasn¡¯t looking for any answer anyway; it was just his way of saying hello.


    Sitting next to her, Isaac couldn''t help but notice how much she had changed since sixth grade. Back then, she had longer hair reaching down below her shoulders. But now she kept it short, barely growing it past her ears.


    She never said why she cut it, but he saw one time how she got it stuck in a door. The next day, it was scalp-level short.


    Looking at her, with her poofy hair and black aesthetic, she reminded him of an 80s goth band chick who had just stepped off the stage.


    They were so different, him and Luci. Luci stood out in crowds, her looks drawing attention everywhere she went. But Isaac was kind of normal. He was like every other Hispanic kid in this school: curly hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and a pair of square glasses over his face.


    It was kind of funny, thinking about it, because even though they were both from Hispanic families, Luci had the palest skin color that he had ever seen


    Taking a bite out of his sandwich, Isaac pulled a book out of his bag. He had already finished it, but he didn''t mind reading it again. Books were important to Isaac. They were the only things that helped him get through the day.


    Looking up from her food, Luci pushed a loc of curly hair out of her face. ¡° Are you still reading that old book? How many times has it been?¡±


    ¡° Why, what''s wrong with it?¡± Isaac asked.


    ¡° Nothing really, but you always seem to be caring around.¡± Frowning, Luci went back to her food. ¡°I was just wondering what was so special about it.¡±


    Isaac smiled. This book, Emotional, was an older book from when his great-grandfather was a kid. It was the first book that Isaac had ever read, and even now, it remains one of his favorite books.


    ¡° Nothing, really.¡± Repeating her words back to her, Isaac thought about what he was going to say. ¡°I guess it just stuck with me, you know.¡±


    Flipping through the pages, Isaac imagined the world between the pages.


    ¡° The books about a kid traveling the world and having fun.¡± As Isaac talked about the book, he started getting excited. ¡° The story isn¡¯t all that great; it''s the same: the good guy wins, and the bad guy loses, but the words flow together and pull you in.¡±


    Standing up, Isaac moved over closer to Luci. ¡° Look right here, where the author describes the dark temple as the hero steps in. Look how the words leave enough for your imagination to push you to turn the next page.¡±


    ¡° ¡®And as he stepped into the dark, John felt as if he was leaving something behind. Here, he knew that there would be no turning back.¡¯ Can¡¯t you feel that? How do you feel about the character?¡±


    Luci just rolls her eyes at him. ¡° Yeah, it''s great. Sorry for asking.¡±


    Isaac chuckled. ¡° It¡¯s Ok. I know it''s not for everyone.¡±


    Going back to his book, Isaac ate his food in silence. It was nice; this type of calm never


    bothered Isaac. It wasn¡¯t perfect. He needed the book to distract him, but having a nice meal with his friend was nice.


    It didn¡¯t last long, though.


    A few guys came over to sit at their table, which was not strange, as the lunch room wasn¡¯t large enough for everyone to have their table. The only thing you could do was ignore the strangers and talk to your friends.


    When more of them started showing up, they realized there was going to be a problem.


    ¡° Hey, can you guys move our friends? They''re trying to sit down,¡± someone asked.


    Luci looked up from her food. Already, more of them had showed up and were awkwardly standing around the table, needing a place to sit.


    ¡° No,¡± Luci sneered at them. ¡°We¡¯re already sitting here. So you guys can go and find somewhere else to sit.¡±


    ¡° Hey, there¡¯s only two of you guys. Move. We have more guys coming, and we need the space.¡± Someone else came from behind, supporting his friends.


    Studying the crowd surrounding their table, Isaac noticed that a few were starting to get heated. They stood around the table, glaring at the two people stopping them from enjoying their lunch.


    They were tired from standing in the long lunch line, waiting their turn to get food. And now they just wanted to sit down and enjoy their lunch.


    Most of them were pretty big guys, probably thinking that they could force them to leave their table.


    Looking around the room there were plenty of places to sit, but every single one had most of the tables filled in. Apparently, by the time these guys had gotten their lunch, the rest of the cafeteria had filled up, leaving no place for their group of friends to all sit together.


    So, if these guys wanted to sit with their friends, they needed Isaac and Luci¡¯s table.


    Too bad both Isaac and Luci loved being difficult. It just warmed them right up.


    Laughing to himself, Isaac began thinking that this was perfect. Today was getting a little too stale for his taste.


    Isaac closed his book. ¡° Come on, Luci. Don''t you feel bad for these guys? Their strays, they need a home, and we can provide it for them.¡±


    Taking off his glasses, Isaac stood up. Grabbing a couple of guys by the shoulders, Isaac swung them around and presented them to the slowly-forming audience of the cafeteria. Pulling them closer towards him, Isaac began shouting as if he was presenting them at a charity auction.


    ¡° These poor, homeless strays need a home, and we can give it to them!¡± Swinging the guys in his arms around, Isaac tried his best not to laugh. ¡° And for just five dollars, you too can help unwanted strays like these and give them the home they dese-oof, hehehe.¡±


    One of the guys had elbowed Isaac hard in the side, forcing him to let both of them go. But he didn¡¯t care. He just laughed it off. If you were going to play the clown, you had to be prepared to take a few hits.


    ¡° What the Hell!¡± One of the guys screamed. ¡° You don''t touch another man like that.¡± You know, it might just be Isaac''s imagination, but he thinks they might be a little upset with him.


    Also, man?


    Someone thought highly of himself; everyone here, including him, was still a child. There might also be a little bit of insecurity there. He was going to poke at it; that would be fun.


    But before he could go any further, Luci interrupted him. ¡°You sure you want to do this, Isaac? It''s our last week.¡±


    Luci tried to sound disinterested, but Isaac knew what she was like. Even if she never acted like it, Isaac was still the only person she was close to. So even if she tried to act like she didn¡¯t care, she still worried about him sometimes.


    At least, he hoped so. She could also just be asking for the sake of saying that she tried when she eventually got called down to the principal''s office.


    But either way, she already knew his answer. He liked doing what he liked, and what he liked most was making problems.


    That¡¯s why he was constantly getting into trouble. He just couldn¡¯t keep still. Every time he got too bored, he would do something that ultimately led him to sit in the principal''s office. This past month was the longest he had gone without being sent to the principal''s office.


    He had one more month of school left, and he would be free to do whatever he wanted. He had told his dad that he would try to be on his best behavior.


    But this was just too fun to pass up.


    ¡°What''s your problem, Isaac.¡± Someone came up and shoved Isaac backward.


    Looking at him, Isaac stared at him in confusion. ¡° Sorry, what''s your name.¡±


    ¡° Are you serious? I¡¯ve known you since 3rd grade!¡± he yelled. ¡° It¡¯s Tanner.¡±


    Looking at him, Isaac tried to remember who he was. But his face was just so typical that he was drawing a blank, and his blonde hair and blue eyes weren''t unique either. He was coming up with nothing.


    ¡° If you¡¯ve known me this long, you should know how this works now. I don''t know people; people know me. I''m supposed to remember everyone I pass in the hall. Come on.¡± Isaac complained.


    Turning around so he faced Luci, Isaac threw his hands up into the air as if remembering someone was such a hard thing to do. Luci just rolled her eyes. She knew he was just messing with them, trying to get them angry¡ªit''s what he always did.


    ¡° You know what, Isaac,¡± Tanner muttered as Isaac smiled at Luci. Sighing, Luci just put her head down, waiting for the teacher to come and clean up the mess about to happen.


    Isaac did this to pass the time. He got so bored that he decided that messing with people was the best way to have fun. Most people are always trying to be on ¡°their best behavior¡± and to ¡°always be kind.¡± But that''s not how they feel.


    People get angry, and sometimes they want to hit other people. There''s nothing wrong with that. It''s good to get those things off your chest. Isaac just wants to help them express what they''re feeling.


    Isaac did not even care what Tanner was doing. He kept on smiling even as Tanner''s fist slammed into the back of his head.

 Chapter 2 - Part 1

    When Isaac felt Tanner¡¯s fist crash into his head, the only thing that he could think of was finally. If he hadn¡¯t thrown a punch after all of that, Isaac wouldn¡¯t have known what he would do.


    Isaac didn''t stop smiling even as his vision swam from the force of the punch. This whole week had been nothing but a boring mess. It honestly made Isaac feel like he was moving through sludge.


    But this fight was going to brighten up his whole week.


    He did feel sorry for Luci, though.


    She had been trying so hard this last month, distracting him with books and playing interference with the more short-tempered classmates, not because of him, she said, but because she wanted to finish this school year on a quiet note.


    And now all her hard work was going to waste.


    But Isaac Cantor doesn¡¯t end things quietly; if he goes out, it¡¯ll be with a bang.


    Letting his body fall with the force of the punch, Isaac fell into a sort of T-pose, his back perpendicular to the ground and his leg rising between Tanner¡¯s legs.


    Off to the side, Luci sat there with her forgotten food. Already knowing the outcome, the only thing that she could do was sigh and hold her head, waiting for all of this to finish so that she could go home.


    Not expecting a counterattack from Isaac, Tanner could not defend his most vulnerable area. Feeling an exploding pain between his legs, Tanner fell to the floor, unable to even let out a gasp.


    The crowd was shocked; they expected to see Isaac on the floor, not Tanner.


    His friends dropped their food trays as they came over to help Tanner stand back up. The cafeteria was silent as more people started noticing what was happening. People were already pulling out their phones, and some looked to be trying to get a teacher.


    Not wanting the fun to end too quickly, Isaac immediately attacked. There was no time for any witty banter, so wasting no time at all, Isaac ran up to the first guy in front of him and punched him right in the face.


    It was hard to see who he punched as everything was blurry, but he would rather fight without his glasses than mess up another pair. If he had to replace his glasses again, his mom was going to spank his ass red.


    ¡° Come on, let''s keep going.¡± Isaac taunted as he stood over their downed friend.


    What he said must have woken them up because they quickly stopped what they were doing and came straight for Isaac.


    Not wanting to let go of his momentum, Isaac ran towards them, knowing better than to let himself be encircled in a fight.


    Aiming for the centermost blurry mass, Isaac ran straight to him and didn''t stop.


    People were screaming in the background as Isaac tackled the leading guy, carrying him as he ran. Isaac, still holding his unwilling passenger, ran straight through the circle of people surrounding him, sending them all out of the way before slamming his passenger into a table at the end of the cafeteria.


    Isaac barely turned around before a punch to his face threw him to the side. Not one to let things go, Isaac grabbed the extended arm and pulled it straight down, forcing the attacker to the ground before Isaac kneed him in the face.


    ¡°Isaac, what are you doing?¡± someone screamed at Isaac. Everyone was in a state of shock, and no one knew what to do.


    Fights were common in this school, Isaac causing the majority of them these past few years. But those fights were small things that people could watch and enjoy. This was a brawl, a brawl where anyone could get pulled in.


    But none of that mattered to Isaac. Their safety was the last thing on his mind. He just wanted to keep fighting.


    The whole cafeteria was in chaos now. Other people who had nothing to do with Tanner started joining in. As the fight went on, people went down, and when they went down, new ones came in. It was chaos as people who weren¡¯t even part of the original group had joined.


    Some helped Isaac, while others fought against him. A small minority started having their fights off to the side.


    By this point, no one was sitting at their table anymore, and the ones not fighting hugged the wall, trying to stay as far away from the fight as possible. Their lunches lay forgotten under overturned tables,


    But as the fight went on, people started to worry that things were getting out of hand. If this continued, someone would get seriously hurt.


    ¡° Hey, that¡¯s enough!¡± They cried. ¡° Stop!¡±


    But Isaac wasn¡¯t listening to them; he was having too much fun.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°HAHAHAA!¡± Laughing, Isaac launched himself at the next guy.


    The guy in front of him was a beefy kind of guy, obviously someone who was on the football team. So far, Isaac has been keeping up momentum, taking them out faster than they could react. But this guy was ready for him.


    Dodging Isaac''s first punch, the beefy guy reached around and grabbed Isaac tightly around his arms. Isaac was too fast for them to hit, so they had to hold him down, or they would never bring Isaad down.


    Before Isaac could try and wiggle his way out, the rest of the beefy guy¡¯s friends came up behind him and started beating him with whatever they could find. Fists, trays, a leg of a chair, all of it rained down on Isaac.


    They hit Isaac on his shoulder, his ribs, and his back. Needing some space, Isaac head-butted the beefy guy right in the nose.


    ¡°ARGH!¡± He screamed in pain as he brought his hands up to cradle his bloody nose.


    Dropping to the floor, Isaac hurried away from the group of guys around him, sliding underneath a table right beside them. Isaac needed to take a second to catch his breath. Laughing and fighting at the same time makes it hard to breathe.


    ¡°How many left, five?¡±Laying on the floor, dead tired, Isaac counted who was still standing. This fight had been going on for at least a few minutes, and even though he had knocked out so many people, five were still standing.


    Isaac couldn¡¯t stop smiling.


    This was fun. No useless classes or dull day-to-day activities; this was living. Blood-pumping adrenaline flooded his ears, a pounding in his heart. He knew he would get in trouble for this, but that didn''t matter right now.


    Right now, five guys are picking up the table to get to him, and if he lets them, they will beat him, and it will hurt.


    The pain he was okay with. You don¡¯t start a fight and then get mad over getting socked in the face. No, he was glad they got some punches; it made the game fair.


    Losing, though, losing isn¡¯t fun. Isaac didn¡¯t start this game with the idea of losing.


    If he was going to play, he was going to win.


    As soon as they lifted the table, Isaac punched the closest ankle he could reach, sending whoever it was down in pain. As the first guy fell to his knees, Isaac was already moving on to the next one.


    They tried to kick him while he was still down, but he was too fast for them.


    Blocking and dodging their legs, Isaac hooked his legs between one of their legs, tripping them and sending them into their friend.


    Still on the ground, Isaac grabbed the leg of someone kicking him and pulled, making him fall on his back. Rolling out of the way, Isaac pushed himself up before kicking the guy already on the ground. Continuing his motion, Isaac then turned and punched down on the head of the guy with the hurt ankle, knocking him out.


    Standing up, Isaac looked around. They were nearing the end of the fight, and almost everyone had left the cafeteria. The only ones left were the ones still standing and the ones unconscious on the floor.


    Not counting Isaac, two guys were still standing. Isaac couldn¡¯t remember their names but knew they were both part of Tanner¡¯s group. Both were pretty big guys, taller than Isaac and uglier too.


    They looked at one another. Isaac was all alone, but neither could take him alone. So, they decided to attack Isaac simultaneously. One on the left and one on the right ran towards Isaac, hoping to hurt him as much as possible before the teachers showed up.


    As Isaac stood there, waiting for them to get closer, he couldn¡¯t help but notice the look in their eyes. They hated him.


    What for? He didn¡¯t know.


    It wasn¡¯t like he was a good little boy before. After three years in this boring hellhole, he had to find some way to entertain himself. The students were just his unfortunate victims.


    So no, he didn¡¯t know why they hated him so much. But that was okay. He didn¡¯t need to know. He was having fun.


    The guy on the right was faster than his friend; he reached Isaac first. When he got close enough, he threw a punch right at Isaac¡¯s head. Dodging to the side, Isaac returned the favor with a gut shot, sending him to the ground. The second guy, ignoring his friend on the ground, tackled Isaac, throwing him onto the table behind them.


    His back screamed in pain¡ªthe hardwood and whatever else on the table made for a poor cushion. I think there is a fork in my back, Isaac thought.


    Isaac fought to keep his mind steady, and the pain helped. But his attacker wasn¡¯t going to let up. As he lay on the table, fist after fist, he hammered down onto him. Guarding as best he could, Isaac waited out the rain of blows before he grabbed his arms and pulled him down onto Isaac.


    Before the guy could get up, Isaac took his head under his arm and put him in a chokehold. With his head under his armpit, Isaac felt as he struggled to get out of the hold.


    Hooking his hands together, Isaac kept a firm grasp around the guy''s head, holding him until he stopped squirming.


    After making sure that he was still alive, Isaac pushed the body off of him and slowly got up from the table.


    ¡° Urgh.¡± With a grown, Isaac twisted his back this way and that, stretching out all the kinks, hoping to lessen the pain.


    Standing up, Isaac saw the last guy finally getting up from the ground. It had taken him a while, but he finally caught his breath and was ready to face Isaac.


    Smirking at him, Isaac held his arms in a guard in front of his face, waiting for the last guy to copy him. When he did, Isaac began to walk around him. Following his move, they started to circle each other slowly.


    Keeping a solid distance away, they circle each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.


    Klang!


    A loud ringing sounded like a gong as a metal bottle slammed into the guy''s temple, sending him back to the ground, out cold.


    Out of nowhere, Isaac swiftly turned around, grabbed a fallen metal bottle from the table to his side, and swung, knocking his opponent unconscious.


    Isaac stood in the empty cafeteria, bodies sprawled all around him. Luci had left a long time ago, leaving Isaac all by himself.


    Catching his breath, he waited for the inevitable. He had his fun, and now came the hard part.


    Behind him, the cafeteria doors swung open, crashing into the walls. In the doorway stood a horde of adults, all looking around in disbelief and horror at the carnage in front of them.


    Finally, the teachers arrived.


    ¡°ISAAC!¡±

 Chapter 2 - Part 2

    * * *


    If you¡¯re thinking about getting into a fight, make sure the other guy punches first.


    Don¡¯t think about winning or losing; that''s not what matters. What matters is that you''re not seen as the aggressor when the cops show up.


    Go outside and look around; if you''re lucky, you''re going to see a pair of guys screaming and yelling and daring the other to throw their fist punch.


    Why?


    It¡¯s so that, win or lose, they can say it was self-defense.


    Defending yourself is fine because attacking someone is wrong. People only care about the person who threw the first punch. It doesn''t matter who wins or loses; the person who takes all the blame is the one who attacked first


    So, if you¡¯re considering getting into a fight, make sure someone else takes the first shot.


    Isaac sat in the school¡¯s office, waiting to talk to the principal. Parents were being called and would show up later, but the principal wanted to speak to the main instigators separately before they had a chance to change their stories.


    So far, he was the only one left who hadn¡¯t been called into the office. Mrs. Dion wanted to talk to everyone else before talking to him, leaving him alone in the office with nobody to talk to except the two school security guards on either side of him.


    They kept a wide berth around him, and no one else dared to get near him. They were all afraid that he was going to attack them. So they just quietly worked as their eyes tracked his every move.


    Not surprising. Everyone knew who he was; there wasn¡¯t a doubt in their mind that he started everything.


    Giving Isaac a chance to talk was just a courtesy to his great-grandpa.


    Leaning back into his chair, Isaac felt everyone¡¯s eyes on him. Their eyes felt like little weights pressing against his skin. All of them were judging, thinking that he shouldn¡¯t be here, that he should be rotting in jail, and all that other fun stuff that they said behind his back.


    Which was fine, he guessed. It''s not like he didn¡¯t deserve it.


    No one walked out of that fight untouched. Bruises, concussions, somebody even got their hand broken.


    Everyone was being carted to the hospital. The school¡¯s nurse couldn¡¯t take on this many injured children, and multiple ambulances would be needed to transport everyone.


    What was getting into trouble compared to that? Isaac knew that he caused problems for everybody. Did that mean that he was going to stop? No, that just meant that while he would act however he wanted, he would also accept responsibility when everything was over.


    Doing whatever you wanted came with a price. If you weren¡¯t prepared or willing to pay that price, you shouldn¡¯t have done what you did.


    But none of that was as distracting as the shouting coming from the office behind him. The two vice principals, Mr. Goui and Mr. Longuiz, went in a few minutes ago, and neither has left.


    Most schools in Texas have one principal and one vice principal, but due to its size, the Rain Wilde Middle School had two vice principals.


    He couldn¡¯t hear what they were discussing, but Isaac knew it had to be about him. Whenever those two were seen arguing, it was usually about him.


    Mr. Goui never liked Isaac. Some people never know if someone truly doesn¡¯t like them, but Isaac knew. He knew because Mr. Goui told Isaac himself. He told him he was a ¡° Rude, selfish disruption to the other students and that he didn''t like him, not one bit.¡±


    Isaac just saw him as a grumpy old guy who wanted his way, and no one else did.


    But even if Mr.Goui wouldn¡¯t be nice to Isaac, Isaac would at least try to be nice to him. He tried talking to him in the hallways, asking how his day was going, giving passing hellos, and even giving him hugs¡ªall of it Isaac did because he was a nice person], also because he thought it was funny.


    Mr. Goui saw it as disrespectful.


    Mr. Longuiz, on the other hand, was an old friend of the family. He always tried to stay on Isaac¡¯s side, even when he was in the wrong. But this time, it didn¡¯t sound like he would have much luck. This time, Isaac went too far.


    Over twenty kids were going to be sent to the hospital because of Isaac. Some were never even part of the fight; they were just unlucky enough to be there when it happened. There was no way for Mr. Longuiz to spin this for Isaac.


    Bang!


    Across from Isaac, Tanner exited the principal''s office, slamming open the door as he left, the door crashing into the wall with a bang. His feet were heavily stomped out of the room. His face was all red and scrunched up in anger while his eyes darted all over the office.


    Through the sea of busybodies, Tanner searched for Isaac. As Isaac watched him fail to find him, he had an idea: What if he helped him?


    ¡®This is going to be funny,¡¯ Isaac thought to himself.


    Putting on the largest smile that he could, Isaac waved at Tanner. Acting like he was one of his bestest of friends. Isaac waved him over, calling him over to his side to sit with him.


    Man, if Isaac thought Tanner was mad before, it was like a bomb went off in his brain when he saw Isaac. His eyes were wide with fury, and Tanner glared at Isaac. His nostrils flared out as he breathed out. He was like a bull seeing red; he was so mad.


    His hands were clenching and unclenching by his sides, almost like he was imagining them around Isaac¡¯s neck.


    He looked like he was ready to go over there and restart their whole fight right in front of everyone in the office.


    But, before he could even take a single set, the offices on either side of Isaac stepped in front of him, blocking Tanner''s view of Isaac. Isaac could see as Tanner glared down at the offices, daring them to move out of the way, but the officers were like rocks. They stood there and didn¡¯t move an inch.


    ¡° Mr. Maifield!¡± Mrs. Dion called from inside her office. ¡° Watch how you act, or I might change my mind.¡±


    Tanner acted as if he didn''t hear her. Instead, he glared at Isaac, his eyes like daggers stapping into him. Isaac could see him torn between walking away or taking a swing.


    ¡° Well?!¡± She called out again, warning Tanner.


    Tanner snarled under his breath; there wasn¡¯t anything he could do. He had to walk away.


    ¡° Yes, Mrs. Dion, " he growled out. With one last glare aimed at Isaac, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away.


    Apparently, punching Isaac wasn¡¯t worth getting in trouble with Mrs. Dion.


    Watching him trod along, Isaac couldn''t help but laugh as he watched Tanner through the officers'' arms. Waving Tanner goodbye, Isaac¡¯s eyes followed him until he left the office.


    ¡° Isaac,¡± Mrs. Dion called from her office, summoning Isaac in.


    Signing, Isaac slapped his hands on his knees and pushed himself up. It was time to get this over with, he guessed. Shrugging to the officers beside him, Isaac waved them goodbye before walking into the office.


    A cool breeze wrapped around his body as soon as he entered the office. Five fans were placed around the room, all working at maximum strength to keep the temperature almost freezing.


    Before moving to Texas, Mrs. Dion originally lived in Washington, where she was more used to cooler weather. No one knew why she moved so far south, but she obviously hadn¡¯t adjusted to Texas¡¯s almost desert heat.


    It was almost impossible to find her outside the office in the spring. She mainly stayed inside, away from the heat.


    Mrs. Dion was a small woman with bright red hair that always stood out whenever she was outside, the light lighting up her head like a bonfire. She was nice enough for a principal, always patient and willing to listen to students constantly bothering her. But she was alson¡¯t afraid to lay into some of the students.


    Once, two guys were fighting in the hall, right in the center of the hall they were fighting. No one was getting in between them; they were afraid of being dragged in. But Mrs. Dion marched right up to them, grabbed them by the back of their shirts, dragged them straight outside, and closed the door behind them.


    She was someone that all the students respected, even Isaac. But that didn¡¯t mean that he liked her. Isaac hated being in her office, and every time he came here, there was another reason to hate.


    When Isaac walked in, Mrs. Dion was sitting at her desk, looking at the papers on her desk. Standing in front of her, Isaac decided to wait for her to notice him before doing anything.


    Just because he didn¡¯t like her meant he couldn¡¯t be polite.


    When she saw him standing in front of her, she motioned for him to sit down, still working while he did. Only after he had sat down did she put aside her papers and fully look at Isaac.


    Leaning back in her plush leather chair, Mrs. Dion silently stared at Isaac as she folded her hands over her stomach.


    Her eyes were bearing down on Isaac as she stared at him with silent judgment. The clock ticked loudly behind him as they waited in silence, waiting for the other to break the tension first.


    Isaac already knew what she was doing. She did this every time he came in here. Hell, Isaac figured that she did this to every kid who sat down in front of her.


    She¡¯d stare solemnly at them, wait for them to speak, and when they nervously broke the silence with their desperate need to speak, she would jump on them with her patronizing words.


    She¡¯d start with the usual, ¡° Mr. Cantor, do you know why you¡¯re in here?¡± Then she¡¯d say, ¡°I¡¯m so disappointed,¡± and ¡° I know you can do better.¡±


    And then, when she¡¯s said all she can say and practically talked Isaac¡¯s ear off, she¡¯ll finally let Isaac go with a final word of calling his parents and the hours of his detention.


    But none of that would have mattered because by the time he left, her words would have already slipped out of his head, and he would continue on his day as if nothing had ever happened, only with a few hours of his life missing as a reminder.


    And normally, that would be fine: a few hours of incessant talking, a couple of days of boredom in detention, plus his parents. That''s fine; it''s a great trade-off for having fun.


    But this would be the last time he would ever step foot in this office. He didn¡¯t want to leave here without getting one last good look at the place, you know, before Mrs. Dion messed it up even more.


    He didn¡¯t want to spend his last day in this office by having a starring contest with the lady who ruined it in the first place. So instead, he was ignoring her while he looked around the room.


    The Rain Wilde Middle School was a legacy school for Isaac¡¯s family. His family had been coming to this school since it was first built. Isaac had seen pictures of his relatives going to this school, some of them in this very office.


    Some were there for good reasons, while most of them - eh, not so much. Of course, that was most of the Cantor family, now that he thought about it. But that wasn¡¯t the point. The point was that Isaac knew what the inside of this office was meant to look like.


    Letting his eyes wander around, Isaac noted all the decorations and nicknacks Mrs. Dion had cluttered the room with.


    ¡®Man,¡¯ Isaac thought. ¡®almost ten years working here, and she¡¯s filled this room with junk.¡¯


    That sounded mean. People were allowed to decorate their space however they wanted, but she ruined the room with all her junk.


    None of her stuff fit in with the old furniture, so she got rid of it. She repainted the walls from forest green to boring cloth grey, and she even removed the old wooden chandelier and replaced it with one of her stupid fans.


    Isaac¡¯s great-grandfather was twelve years old when this school was built. In fact, the Cantor family were the ones to build this school. Cantor hands put up the walls, raised the ceilings, and built this office.


    The wooden bookshelves embedded into the wall, the stained wood floor, the trim work along the walls, and the wooden barrel wheel chandelier with lanterns hanging down were all done by Cantor''s hands.


    This office had never changed, even after seventy years of use. The previous principals loved the room, so they kept everything the same.


    Then Mrs. Dion shows up and decides that she was just going to mess everything up.


    Curtains over the beautiful arched windows, trimmed out with stained wood. An ugly rug that covered the stained hardwood floor. Full bookshelves filled with large antique books were emptied and then barely filled back in¡ªstupid glass figurines cluttering up the open space and five stupid fans that froze the nice summer heat.


    She even removed all of the previous principals'' photographs¡ªover a hundred pictures of the school from the past to the present¡ªto make room for her personal photos.


    Some of Isaac¡¯s family were in those old photos.


    The first time Isaac came to Ran Widle, he was so excited to see this office¡ªthe office that his great-grandfather helped build. Isaac even purposefully made some kid cry so he would be sent to the principal''s office to see its beauty firsthand.


    What did he do to the kid? Hell, if he knew, he just needed an excuse to get to the office.


    He was so happy walking into the principal''s office. Finally, he was going to see it. After years of only seeing the office through pictures, he would finally step into it for real.


    Then he walked in.


    The rest of that day was a blur for him. He didn¡¯t even remember what was said in that office. Throughout that entire experience, a single question kept popping into his head: Where was he?


    This wasn¡¯t the room he had seen in the pictures; everything was different. Surely, he must be in the wrong room. When he finally accepted that Mrs. Dion had changed everything, Isaac knew that he was never going to like Mrs. Dion.


    His family''s history were on those walls, and she took it down.


    ¡°Mr. Cantor, please pay attention.¡± Mrs. Dion asked, exasperated.


    Isaac rolled his eyes. Reluctantly, he sat up, turning around to face Mrs. Dion.


    Looking at Mrs. Dion, Isaac waited for her to say something as she studied his face, looking for any sign that he wasn¡¯t paying attention. It was only after she knew that he was listening that she continued.


    ¡° I am disappointed, Isaac. Three more days, and you would have been gone for summer, but here you are again in the same place you have been in for the last three years, and this time you have really outdone yourself. ¡± She said, leaning forward.


    Isaac tried to act as confused as he could. ¡°Mrs. Dion, I didn¡¯t do anything. Tanner was-.¡±


    ¡°I know, Mr. Cantor, I know. Just like how I know that you antagonized Mr. Maifield to the point that he would fight you.¡±


    ¡° I have no idea what you''re talking about .¡± Isaac tried his best to fight against the growing smirk on his face. But from the look on Mrs. Dions'' face, he obviously wasn¡¯t going to win that particular fight.


    That¡¯s fine; it''s not like he was trying to hide it that hard anyway. He didn¡¯t need her to think he was innocent; in fact, it would have been more funny if she had known. At any other time and for any other person, Isaac would gladly have taken responsibility for what happened.


    But today, Isaac was feeling particularly bored, and Tanner was being particularly annoying, so now he gets to take all the blame.


    ¡° I do not want to play any of your games today, Isaac! " Mrs. Dion exclaimed. ¡° We have the end of the year to finish wrapping up, and I''m at my wits'' end with you!¡±


    Mrs. Dion took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She looked tired as she asked Isaac, ¡° What? What made you decide that starting a brawl in the middle of the cafeteria was a good idea?¡±


    ¡° Mrs. Dion-.¡± Isaac tried to explain again, but she interrupted him.


    ¡° Stop, Isaac, no more games. Why?¡±


    Mrs. Dion was begging Isaac now. She needed to know why. Why would Isaac do this so close to graduation? He was leaving in two days and never coming back. Why did he do this to her when the end was so near?


    Looking at Mrs. Dion, Isaac saw how much this question bothered her. She just couldn¡¯t understand why Isaac did the things that he did. And Isaac could have lied to her. He could have told her anything right now, and she might have taken it.


    He could have told her that Tanner and his friends were rude to him and Luci or that Isaac never started the fight¡ª'' it was Tanner and his friends.¡¯


    Isaac could have explained to Mrs. Dion that Tanner was a bully who belittled and hurt anybody he didn¡¯t like. That, in sixth grade, it was Isaac and Luci who were his prime targets. How he bullied and attacked them until they cried.


    But it would be a lie.


    Isaac and Luci were never hurt by anything those kids said about them. They never cared what anybody said about them. And while Tanner was a bully, he never once bothered them. Tanner preferred softer targets, not ones that can fight back, like Isaac and Luci.


    In fact, Tanner meant so little to them that before today, Isaac barely knew Tanner¡¯s name.


    So, after three years of attending this school, attending classes, and causing problems. After having all the fun that he could possibly have, why lie now?


    Isaac told the truth.


    ¡° Because it was fun,¡±


    Mrs. Dion frowned; that wasn¡¯t the answer she was looking for. But it was the truth. Everything Isaac did, from following Luci to disrupting classes and even getting into fights. Was for fun.


    After Isaac¡¯s answer, the room fell into heavy silence. Neither one of them said anything. Isaac was perfectly comfortable in the quiet; it certainly beat talking to Mrs. Dion.


    Mrs. Dion stared at Isaac, waiting for him to add anything else. After waiting over a minute, it became clear that Isaac had nothing more to add.


    Sighing out loud, Mrs. Dion said.


    ¡° That is very sad to hear, Mr. Cantor.¡±


    Putting her glasses back on, Mrs. Dion got up from behind her desk and went over to her filing cabinets. Reaching in and pulling out a file, she started to ask Isaac a question.


    ¡° Mr.Cantor, do you know what your teachers think about you?¡±


    Isaac was confused. What did they have to do with this?


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡° I don¡¯t think they like me very much, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Isaac knew that he wasn¡¯t the best student. Sure, he did the work and turned in his homework on time, but he was constantly bored. When he was bored, he found ways to make things fun. Cracking jokes and being silly just livened up his day.


    It made the constant back and forth between classes seem less cold and more joyful. At least to him, it did.


    ¡° No, in fact, they actually think that you are a very bright child, Mr. Cantor. They see how you speed through your work and how well you understand what is being taught.¡± Sitting back down, Mrs. Dion placed a folder on her desk.


    From where he was sitting, Isaac was barely able to make out his name scrawled across the top of the folder.


    ¡°Your entire school file is in this folder, Mr. Cantor.¡± She said, flipping through the first few pages. Then, she began to read out loud what was written there.


    ¡° Isaac Canto is one of the brightest kids in his year. If he can bring himself to focus, he can go so much further. That was from your algebra teacher, Mrs. Greene. Mr. Trent says Isaac is a joy to have around. He always makes the class laugh and have a good time. Unfortunately, this is the time for many students to put in the work. Many students can not afford to have Isaac as a distraction. If Isaac is not moved, many of his fellow classmates will surely fail this year.¡±


    Mrs. Dion closed the folder, placing it in front of Isaac before leaning back into her chair. ¡°There are many more like that, Mr. Cantor, many teachers who think you can be so much more than who you act to be.¡±


    Isaac didn¡¯t know what to say. This was the first time that he had actually heard what the school''s teachers thought of him.


    He tried to act indifferently, but Isaac couldn''t help but feel a warm sensation in his chest. It was hard not to feel good when people complimented you, especially when no one seemed to like you for being you.


    Isaac knew no one liked him; he¡¯d known this since he first met other people. He could see it in their eyes as their smile slowly fell with each word he said.


    He wasn¡¯t deaf to their groaning, nor was he blind to their frowns. People hated hearing him talk and hated being around him.


    When he was younger, he never understood why kids didn¡¯t want to be around him or why the teachers would angrily tell him to be quiet. He was just having fun, wasn¡¯t everyone else? If he finds something funny, surely everyone else will also, right?


    It took Isaac a long time to learn how different he was from everyone else. Not everyone wanted to laugh all day, and sometimes, the jokes stopped being funny. Sometimes, it''s time to be serious and work.


    But Isaac just wanted everybody to laugh with him, to smile, and to have a good time. Most of all, he wanted to have a good time. Isaac doesn¡¯t want to be serious; he wants to laugh and play all day.


    Why should their happiness be more important than his? What right did they have to tell him to stop? If he¡¯s not doing anything illegal, then they can just ignore him.


    What''s the point of living if you''re not laughing? Why is it so wrong for Isaac to be happy?


    That¡¯s why, even though he liked hearing people say good things about him, he wasn¡¯t going to stop. If being liked by everyone means stopping being happy, then Isaac would rather everyone leave him alone.


    But they were interrupted just when he was about to say that to her.


    Shouting was heard from outside, broke the atmosphere in the office. Isaac and Mrs. Dion looked at each other in confusion. Neither of them knew what was happening outside.


    ¡°-ere is he!!¡± They heard as the voices got closer.


    ¡° Ma¡¯am, he is in a meeting with the principal right now. Please wait while they finish up.¡±


    Isaac flinched as he realized the voice that was storming its way to them.


    It was his mom.


    Very few things scared Isaac: the dark, bugs, and his mom. Soffia Cantor was usually a very nice lady. She was someone Isaac was comfortable joking with and the one he told everything to.


    But when she got mad, things got scary. Isaac was surprised that there was actually anybody brave enough to get in her way. Due to Isaac''s long history of being called to the office, the Rain Wilde Middle School has become very familiar with his family.


    And the first thing that they learned was not to get in his mom¡¯s way. When Soffia Cantor is on a warpath, people know to get out of the way.


    Once, she turned one of his teachers into a crying mess just by glaring at him.


    ¡° Move out of my face! Come on, Patrick, forget them; he¡¯s over here!!¡± Soffia screamed, her voice getting louder as she closed in.


    Isaac was sweating in his chair. His mom did not sound happy right now, and just hearing her scream, Isaac knew that things were bad. His mom never screams.


    When Soffia gets mad, she stops talking and stares at you. Her eyes turn into frozen pools of liquid rage that stops your heart when you look at them. When she speaks, she talks slowly, so slow that you can hear every word. And she gets quiet, to the point that you strain your ears just to hear her.


    Isaac had never once heard her scream like that in public. For a second, he didn''t even believe that it was his mom coming to the door. Obviously, it was someone else. His mother would never raise her voice, especially to a stranger.


    And then she walked in.


    Bang!


    After seeing the door slam open, Isaac no longer had any doubts¡ªthat was his mom. Because what other four-foot-eleven would just bust into a school principal''s office with no permission and stand there in her casual T-shirt, jeans, and nice heels like nothing happened?


    Isaac could see that Mrs. Dion was stunned. He didn¡¯t blame her; he would be, too, if he didn''t live with her.


    His mom was not somebody that you can prepare for.


    People are always surprised, meeting his mom for the first time. They know of her, from the stories people tell about her, about how scary and mean she is. They all fear her before ever having met her.


    You expect a monster to come smashing through your doors from the stories you hear about her.


    Nobody expects a tiny Latina lady to come walking through their doors.


    But when she stormed into that office, she looked ten feet tall. It was like she was standing over everyone''s heads, looking down at them like they were the small ones.


    Coming into the office, Soffia Cantor was like a goddess of war. She was beautiful, but at the same time, her face was like a general going to war¡ªno emotion but eyes blazing with an intense fire. Nobody said a word, afraid that her eyes would land on them.


    Ignoring everyone else, she continued walking into the office, her heels echoing through the silence.


    Behind her was his dad, Patrick Cantor. He was at the door apologizing to everyone as he nervously ran his hands through his short hair. Fixing his glasses on his face, he awkwardly followed Soffia into the office.


    Isaac was surprised to see his dad here. His dad didn''t like anything to do with confrontation. He was a timid guy, so he usually left these kinds of visits to Mom.


    But before he could even begin to question why his dad was here, his mom was already in his face, screaming at him in Spanish.


    ¡° Isaac, una pelea, ?para eso nos has hecho venir aqu¨ª?¡± She shouted.


    ¡°Tu padre tuvo que salir del trabajo, tuve que llamar a tu abuela para ver la cena - s¨®lo por una pelea, ?y no s¨®lo eso sino una peque?a pelea! Si nos van a llamar aqu¨ª porque empezaste una pelea, ?ser¨¢ mejor que sea porque fue una gran pelea, no esta mierda de jard¨ªn de infantes!¡±


    She was screaming so load that some of Mrs. Dion¡¯s figurines were shacking on their little shelves.


    All the while, Isaac sat silently, not saying a word, letting her voice wash over him like she wasn¡¯t even there. Years of living with his mom had taught him that talking back would only make things worse.


    It was better to say nothing and just keep nodding his head.


    ¡° Hey!¡± Soffia said as she smacked Isaac across the head. ¡° Are you listing me?¡±


    ¡° Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Isaac muttered.


    Mrs. Dion tried to intervene. ¡° Mrs. Cantor, please, we do not allow physical violence on this property. Now, if you could please sit down-.¡±


    That was the wrong thing to do. You do not draw attention to yourself when a bull is right in front of you.


    ¡° Excuse me? How I disciple my son should have nothing to do with you, Bree. If you can¡¯t-.¡±


    ¡°Soffia, please calm down. She''s just doing her job.¡± Patrick placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.


    Shrugging his hand off of her, Soffia ignored Patrick. Instead, Soffia started to get mad at the principal, completely forgetting Isaac for a second as she marched towards Mrs. Dion.


    ¡° That is Mrs. Dion, Mrs. Cantor. And in case you haven¡¯t forgotten, I speak Spanish as well. So if you would stop lecturing your son about this ¡° small fight¡± that doesn''t interest you, we can all sit down and talk, " Mrs. Dion said.


    ¡° Yes, why did you call us down here, Bree? Don¡¯t you know how to deal with Isaac by now? He¡¯s been here long enough; you shouldn¡¯t need us to hold your damn hand every time Isaac gets called down here. Handle it your own damn self!¡±


    Soffia stood in front of Mrs. Dion, her hands pressing down on her desk as she leaned down towards her, getting right in her face.


    Mrs. Dion tried to keep a calm face, but Isaac could already see how her eyes tightened as she looked at his mom. It looked like his mom wasn¡¯t the only one ready to pop off right now. Isaac¡¯s never seen Mrs. Dion get mad; this should be fun to see.


    ¡° Mrs. Cantor, I am trying to be respectable here, but as of right now, you have not only interrupted my meeting, but you have also rudely entered my office without my permission and are now blaming me and my staff for not disciplining your son over the trouble that he has, Trouble-.¡± Mrs Dion then lifts the folder in front. ¡° - I might add that your son has been causing for the entire three years that he has been in my care at this school.¡±


    Standing up so that she was above his mom, Mrs. Dion continued.


    ¡° Now, before I call the offices outside those doors and have you escorted off of this property, please sit down so we can have a civil conversation.¡±


    Everyone was quiet for a second, waiting to see what his mom would do. For a second, Isaac thought that he was going to see his chock-slam, his almost 6-foot-tall principal, through her desk. But thankfully, after a few seconds of tense silence, she backed off the desk and sat down next to Isaac.


    ¡° Bring a chair over here and sit down, Patrick.¡± She called back to Patrick, not taking her eyes off Mrs. Dion.


    ¡° Uh, there aren¡¯t any more chairs here, Soffi-¡± Patrick tried to tell her as he looked around the office.


    Annoyed, his mom turned to yell at his dad.


    ¡° Well, go get one out there!¡± she gestured to the door. ¡° Hurry!¡±


    Jumping up, his dad quickly ran out of the office, coming back a few seconds later with another chair. Placing it right next to Isaac, he quickly sat down. Seeing everyone waiting on her, Mrs. Dion nodded as she sat back in her chair.


    ¡° Now, before we say anything else, I would like you both to know that we at Rain Wilde know and appreciate the long history that the Cantor Family shares with Lubbock.¡± Mrs. Dion started, making sure to look at all three of them before continuing,


    ¡°However, " she pauses. ¡°That does not mean Isaac can be allowed to continue this disruptive behavior.¡±


    Looking directly at Isaac, she addressed him specifically. ¡° You have been given more leeway than anyone else. And given the situations you find yourself in, maybe too much.¡±


    ¡° Hey!¡± His mom tried to interpret, but his dad held her back


    Mrs. Dion ignored his mom. ¡°Many of your actions should have, at the very least, deserved suspension or even jail time. But you have not. Do you know why that is?¡±


    Of course, Isaac knew why; everyone knew why. And they always made sure to remind him every time he was in trouble.


    It was because of his great-grandpa.


    Thanks to his great-grandpa, Isaac could slide past almost any trouble he created thanks to his great-grandpa.


    Two years ago, during sixth grade, Isaac threw a girl off the stairs so that he would be the first one in the cafeteria.


    Now, that wasn¡¯t as bad as it sounds. People say, ¡°Off the stairs,¡± but it was only a couple of steps, not a whole story like the news was trying to tell.


    She was fine. She only had a few bruises, maybe a sprain or two, nothing major.


    Now, Isaac could have been charged with assault, and honestly, he should have been. However, the judge sentenced Isaac to just five months of comity service, during which all the money that he made would be given to the girl and her family.


    The school¡¯s punishment was that he would be in detention for the rest of the year, after school for three hours.


    Oh, and he got a personal ass beating from his mother, but that¡¯s beside the point.


    The point was that Isaac could not have gotten off so lightly if not for his great-grandpa Jaime Cantor.


    When his great-grandpa was four years old, his family moved to America from Mexico. Like everyone else who came to America, they were looking for new jobs and opportunities. In Mexico, they had nothing, but in America, they believed they had a chance.


    At that time, the Great Depression was starting to wind down, and Lubbock, a relatively new city, was looking for framers and construction workers to help build its town.


    While not knowing the trade in the beginning, the Cantor family quickly built themselves up to be the number one contracting family in Lubbock. There was not a job that his family wouldn''t do, big or small; they worked on them all.


    Pretty soon, other relatives from Mexico joined in, all wanting to build new lives in America.


    In 1956, his great-grandpa turned their small practice into a large family business. By the time his mom was born, the Cantor family had basically built Lubbock from the ground up. House schools, industrial warehouses, and government buildings were all built by Cantor''s hands.


    To this day, not a person in Lubbock knows the Cantor name. Many people will not even look at a house if it hasn¡¯t touched Cantor''s hands.


    His family has built up a lot of goodwill with the people of Lubbock. Thanks to that goodwill, Isaac can get away with so many things.


    Anything that could be considered ¡°youthful fun¡± could be brushed aside.


    As long as Isaac didn¡¯t commit any serious crimes, like drugs or permanently harming someone, then everything else could be dealt with by lighter punishments. While his family wasn¡¯t going to let him rot in prison, they also weren''t gonna let him get away scot-free.


    By their logic, he would be okay if he stayed in school and out of prison.


    ¡° It is because of your grandfather that you can enjoy your privileges. But that is over now.¡± Reaching into her desk, Mrs. Dion pulled out another folder.


    She handed his mom the folder and told her, ¡° In this folder are the emails between me and five other high schools in Lubbock. They have been in touch with me ever since Isaac¡¯s first year and have inquired about his academic progress as well as his general behavior.¡±


    ¡° I have not lied to these schools, nor have I led them astray in my words with them.¡± She told them.


    His mom didn¡¯t even open the folder or care what was written in it. She knew what her son was like.


    ¡° What does that have to do with anything.¡± She said.


    ¡° The point, Mrs. Cantor, is that over the years, Isaac''s behavior has worried many of these schools; many of them are not willing to put up with his behavior, and many are not able to.¡± Mrs Dion turned to his mom.


    ¡° Because, while he is a bright and talented child, Isaac is a very poor student. He refuses to listen to his teachers, constantly creates distractions as a personal joke, and, as of today, has caused over fifty kids to be sent to the hospital.¡±


    As Mrs. Dion spoke, the words seemed to come out faster. The words were pouring out of her mouth like a river finally breaking free of its damn. She was letting go of three years of anxiety.


    ¡° And, forgetting the thousands of dollars of property damage and the hours of additional time and money that he has cost this school cleaning up after his shenanigans that he so readily causes. Isaac does not seem to be sorry for any of it; he seems to thrive on this kind of mischief, and it is time for it to end!¡± Mrs. Dion shouted her last words into their face.


    At this point, Mrs. Dion was already standing on her feet, having stood up somewhere in the middle of her speech, when her emotions started heating up.


    This was a surreal experience for Isaac. For the first time since he¡¯d been here, Mrs. Dion had lost control over herself and yelled at a family. Over the three years since he¡¯d been here, Mrs. Dion had always been the picture-perfect version of calm, never raising her voice at even the toughest of students.


    But today, she was standing over his parents, towering over them red-faced and breathing heavily. Her feelings were coming out after holding them in for so long, and it didn¡¯t look like she was trying to hold them in any longer.


    His mom was not far behind her; she was still sitting down, but at any moment, she was going to pop off. She couldn¡¯t stand somebody talking down to her and her family. Especially when what they are saying is not true at all


    All of those instances that she had mentioned were all paid for by their family. The school paid nothing to the families or the teachers. And why did the Cantor family do that? Because while it might be a surprise for some people, Isaac was not the worst person to come out of their family.


    The Cantor family is famous for its work in Lubbock, but they are also known for being the craziest family in Lubbock. And this isn¡¯t something new. Before Jaime ever set foot on American soil, the Cantor family had been a family of troublemakers.


    So, Isaac''s behavior was not surprising to them. Every Cantor who has ever walked these halls has acted the same way, sometimes worse than Isaac.


    Soffia¡¯s Tia was even famous for planting a paint bomb in the boy''s locker room when she was in high school. The explosion resulted in the entire football team being sent to the hospital with broken bones and covered in pink paint.


    But no matter how bad the mess was, the family always made sure to be there to clean up afterward. Nothing was ever so bad that they couldn¡¯t fix it.


    The kids knew how far they could go. They never did anything that time couldn¡¯t heal, and they were always punished when they got caught.


    There was a reason that they were no longer willing to take on Isaac, and Soffia was starting to suspect why.


    On the other hand, Patrick felt the exact opposite of his wife. He was feeling embarrassed. He was so ashamed that he couldn''t even look at Mrs. Dion in the eye.


    Patrick had married into the Cantor family. He wasn¡¯t born into it like his wife; he didn¡¯t have the family''s special brand of crazy. And he certainly didn¡¯t think this was okay like his wife did.


    People who married into the family eventually came around to the family''s way of thinking, but not Patrick. Patrick was different from everyone else in the family; at times like today, that difference reared its head.


    Patrick had no idea what he was getting into when he married Soffia. He was originally from New Hampshire, living there as an only child with his parents by the sea. He wasn¡¯t the brightest kid, so college always seemed like an impossibility to him.


    So when he got a full-ride scholarship to Texas Tech, he didn''t even stop to pack his bags before he made his way to Texas.


    Of course, he had heard all about the family when he moved to Lubbock, but he assumed that they were rumors or, at the very least, stories blown way out of proportion.


    So when he first saw Soffia, he didn¡¯t even think about her family. It was love at first sight for him. He didn¡¯t care that she got into fights or interrupting the professors with silly jokes that no one laughed at.


    He just loved the way that she laughed or how she was always smiling no matter what happened. Her smile lit up his world.


    No matter where she went, his eyes followed her. Something about the way she walked, about how confident she was in herself, stuck to Patrick.


    At the time, he had no idea who she was; he only knew that he wanted to be with her. Too embarrassed to even approach her, he settled for sending her letters at school, slipping them into her lockers when he thought no one was looking.


    Of course, she knew who sent it as soon as she opened the first letter. It wasn¡¯t hard when he was the only boy on campus who would even look at her. Everyone else was too scared to even want to be friends with her because of her family, so meeting someone who wasn¡¯t was like a miracle.


    Not wanting to scare him off, she was content to let him have his secret as she waited patiently for his next letter.


    Over time, as his confidence gradually increased, he eventually introduced himself to Soffia. Talking to her for the first time was the most magical thing to ever happen to him.


    He even got her to go on a date with him; he couldn¡¯t believe it. He was so happy that he almost forgot to pick her up for the movies.


    After that, it was no time before they were married and living in a two-story house built by her family. He didn¡¯t even care that he was the one taking her name. It didn¡¯t even matter that his parents disapproved.


    They were happy and ready to start a family together. He had finally got the girl of his dreams, and nothing could ruin that.


    Then Patrick got to really know the Cantor family. Before, he had only talked to Soffia, and any interaction with her family was kept to an all-time low because she was scared that they might scare him off.


    But once they were married, there was nowhere else to hide them. He didn¡¯t have many friends, and those he did have were too scared to get close to the Cantor.


    The only person he could talk to was his wife, so he followed when she went to see her family. That was when he truly learned who the Cantor were.


    They were loud, crazy, idiotic, and wild people who did outrageous things for laughs. Most of the horror stories that he heard about the family didn¡¯t do them any justice. However, they acted out in public they were a hundred times worse when they were around family.


    They would start fights for no reason, trash the house, and then go right back to whatever they were doing before. They would say some of the most horrible things to one another and treat it like it was all a big joke.


    One time, they were going to celebrate Soffia¡¯s grandma¡¯s 65th birthday, and when they showed up, he found most of the adults sitting and drinking while their kids started a no-holds-barred wrestling match in the backyard.


    And Soffia¡¯s grandma was right in the middle of it all, wrestling each one of her great-grandkids to the ground.


    He loved his wife; he truly did. But when it came to the way that she and her family acted, he couldn''t feel farther from her; it was like they lived in two different worlds.


    Patrick was kind and gentle; he could never even imagine doing or saying the things his wife¡¯s family do and said.


    He felt like he was trapped, drowning in an ocean of crazy people and drunken brawls.


    For years, Patrick prayed that his children wouldn¡¯t end up like his wife¡¯s family. That, maybe, he could teach them to be better.


    But it was no use; the Cantor blood was too strong for hopes and prayers.


    While his two daughters are not as wild, his son is the worst. He takes after the worst aspects of his wife¡¯s family and barely any of the good.


    And now it seems that his behavior has finally caught up with them. His son has finally crossed the line.


    What were they going to do? What would Isaac do if no school in Lubbock accepted him? He can¡¯t progress in life if he doesn¡¯t go to school, and Soffia could never move to another city.


    They would have to ship him off to boarding school.


    And what if he does the same thing again? How many schools would he have to be kicked out of before he learned to be better? Would they have to just homeschool him?


    What would everyone think? Them having a son who couldn¡¯t even be accepted into highschool.


    What would his parents think?


    And Isaac, what was he doing while his parents worried about his future?


    He was smiling, thinking about what would be for dinner, and did not care at all about what his principal was saying.


    Isaac didn¡¯t think any of this mattered. So what if the schools wouldn¡¯t accept him? He could go to plenty of other schools, and if not, well, oh well.


    Either way, everything was going to be fine. Whatever happened, Isaac knew that he was going to be okay. The world will keep on spinning, and Isaac will still be Isaac.


    He was sad about not going to high school with Luci. It would have been fun, and being with her would have made high school a little more bearable.


    Besides, if high school were just going to be the same as middle school, Isaac would rather not go at all. It was either that or he was going to put someone''s head through a wall the next time he wanted to have fun.


    It would be pretty funny to see anyway, them with their head in a wall, trying to pull it out as their feet dangled in the air.


    That made him chuckle just thinking about it.


    You know what? He was going to do that anyway. Now, all he needed was a guy¡¯s head to shove into a wall; he wondered where Tanner slinked off to.


    Uh oh, Isaac must have chuckled out loud because everyone was looking at him now: Mrs. Dion, his mom, and his dad.


    ¡° Mr. Cantor, do you think this is funny.¡± Mrs. Dion questioned.


    ¡° No, Ma¡¯am.¡± Isaac replaid. ¡° Was just thinking about something else.¡±


    ¡° I hoped you would take this more seriously, Mr. Cantor; this is about your future.¡± Mrs. Dion was starting to get angry again. Her face was already starting to get a little red. If Isaac didn¡¯t answer with what she wanted, she was going to blow again.


    But Isaac was bored now; he had other things to do than listen to someone he was never going to see again. So, looking up at her, the only thing that Isaac could say, with a giant smile, was.


    ¡° I understand, ma¡¯am. Can I go now?¡±


    Now, where was Tanner? He had to catch him before he left. His head wasn¡¯t going into a wall by itself.

 Chapter 3 - Part 1

    After talking with Mrs. Dion they didn¡¯t stay at the school very long.


    Their talk in the office should have gone on longer. But after what Mrs. Dion said, Soffia just got up, took her husband by the hand, and left. She didn¡¯t say or do anything; she just got up and left.


    And they should be ecstatic that¡¯s all she did.


    Because from the way his mom had looked, it had taken everything that she had not to leap across that desk and strangle Mrs. Dion until she was blue in the face.


    They left so fast that his dad could only vaguely promise Mrs. Dion that he would " talk to Isaac¡± before he was forced out of the room.


    And then, with a final tug of the arm, he was gone.


    Isaac, seeing no reason to stay, gave his goodbye to Mrs. Dion, grinning as he followed after his parents.


    There were still a few hours of classes left, but Isaac didn''t see anybody try to stop him, so he decided to treat it like a half-day. He still had to come back tomorrow, though.


    Apparently, his guidance counselor is going to go over what schools he can still attend with him. She¡¯s supposed to help him choose what school he likes and then contact them with his answer.


    After leaving the school, they immediately hopped in the car, where his mom only had to say ¡° Drive¡± before they were off.


    It was a very quiet drive home.


    Which was bad for Isaac; car rides always made him sleepy and taking a nap right now is not a very good idea.


    And, let it be known that Isaac was, in fact, not stupid. He knew when it was okay to joke around and when it wasn¡¯t. It''s just that most of the time, he didn¡¯t care.


    But there were times when he had to acknowledge that some things just shouldn¡¯t happen.


    Falling asleep in a car with your angry parents is one of them.


    But besides his mom stewing angrily in the front seat, it was a pretty peaceful drive. The lunch rush had just ended, so the streets were empty as his dad drove them home. And compared to a city like Houston, Lubbock barely had any traffic to begin with.


    Looking out the window as they drove past, Isaac wondered what Luci would do next year. He didn''t want to sound mean, but he was her only friend.


    In fact, She was more of a loner than he was.


    Not that Isaac thought himself a loner. No, loners tried to stay away from people; people stayed away from him.


    Now, some people might think that people stayed away from Isaac because he was a violent kid who got into fights, but that wasn''t true at all.


    People stayed away from Isaac because he was annoying, not because he got into fights. Not that he didn''t get into fights, but there weren¡¯t many people to fight with in Rain Widle. But if you got past Isaac''s general deposition, you would find he was a pretty nice guy.


    Luci, on the other hand, pushed people away by not being a very nice person. She¡¯ll rip into some poor kid faster than a shark if she gets a chance.


    And don¡¯t let her find something you''re sensitive about cause if she smells blood in the water, she¡¯ll go for the jugular.


    Without someone like Isaac to bring her out of her shell, she¡¯ll just turn into another goth loner sitting by themselves in dark corners reading books, putting on dark eyeliner, and being generally unhappy.


    Okay, she already did that, but Isaac''s shiny demeanor offsets all her snarky and moody thoughts, so it balances out.


    At the end of the day, Luci needs Isaac to brighten up her day, or she will kill somebody.


    Heh, and good luck finding somebody to replace him. It took Isaac almost an entire year for Luci to begrudgingly let him hang around her. And Isaac still thinks it was because she believed that not letting him would be an even bigger headache than if she would let him.


    Not saying that she was wrong, just that Isaac had to be very annoying and very persistent to achieve ¡°the privilege of being in her general vicinity¡±; her words not his.


    Man, he¡¯s going to miss her; everything was so much more fun when she was around. Now everything is just going to be so boring without her.


    Feeling the car take a turn, Isaac looked out the window and saw that they were already turning into their driveway. Without him even noticing, they had already made it home.


    Resting his head against the cool glass window of the car, Isaac couldn''t help but think that sometimes his family could be a little cruel.


    The pranks and jokes they do are never really done with malicious intent; it''s just that their sense of humor doesn¡¯t really translate well to other people.


    Their house is the perfect example. Normally giving a house as a present is being generous. But when you see the house they live in, you can''t help but feel that it''s¡­a little out of place compared to other houses in the neighborhood.


    They lived in a nice neighborhood with nice little houses and a park down the street. It was a nice, quiet, low-middle-income neighborhood.


    Then there was their house, a beautiful two-story house covered in smooth white clay and accented by stained wood siding. With a five-car garage and a pool in the back, it is literally the most expensive house in the neighborhood.


    The house was so big that during the day, it cast shadows completely covering the houses next to it.


    The house is a standing symbol for Patrick, letting him know that he is a Cantor.


    Or at least, that¡¯s what they told his dad.


    Isaac thinks that it was actually meant as a joke. They weren¡¯t trying to be mean, probably.. maybe? It''s a very Cantor-style joke to make a big house fun of the new guy, but the house has kind of put his dad in a poor situation.


    To start with, it¡¯s a big house that Patrick was never going to be able to afford, and then it was put in a neighborhood that didn¡¯t match its style or price. That, plus the general nature of the Cantors, made all their neighbors believe that his parents were arrogant people who liked to lord their money over people.


    The house takes up two lots; for god¡¯s sake, there weren¡¯t even two empty lots when they started building. They had to buy two houses, move the people living there, and then bulldoze them down before they could even start building the house.


    Not to mention that their house inadvertently raised the housing prices in their neighborhood. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was enough that a few people got their rent raised out of nowhere.


    So yeah, it''s a great house and a weird and expensive joke for the family.


    After opening the garage door, Patrick quickly drove inside, not wanting the neighbors to see them. Soffia, still mad, didn''t even wait for the car to stop before jumping out and stomping her way into the house, slamming doors behind her as she went.


    Patrick, already used to her temper, just finished parking. Turning off the car, Patrick took a second, sighed, and then followed after Soffia. When he was closing the driver''s side door, he glanced at Isaac and saw that he wasn¡¯t going to follow them, so he closed the door and left Isaac there.


    Still in the car, Isaac sat quietly in the back, resting his head against the seat. He wanted to enjoy the silence a little bit longer¡ªyou know, before he steps into a warzone.


    His parents loved each other, but they were also two completely different people. And while two different pieces can sometimes come together, they can also collide.


    His parents, more often than not, collided.


    It''s never fun hearing your parents argue, and it''s even worse when you see it. You hear them in your room and wonder, is this the fight when they break up? Every scream and slamming of the door makes your blood race with fear that something bad is happening.


    When you see them in each other''s faces, yelling hurtful things at each other, you get afraid. You get afraid that one of them will say something or do something that can never be taken back, and you won''t be able to stop them.


    You¡¯re afraid, believing that it''s your responsibility to step in and stop them from arguing, but that if you do, then their anger will be on you. Then you become afraid that, even though you''re standing right there, you would have missed your chance to step in and stop this from getting worse.


    And when you know that it''s your fault that they are arguing, the guilt inside you eats away until you wonder why you''re even alive.


    Isaac hates being the reason why his parents argued. He knows that it¡¯s his fault, that if he just changed how he acted, that they would be happier.


    But he doesn''t.


    Because Isaac decided a long time ago that his happiness was more important than his parents.


    Being able to do whatever you want also means accepting the consequences of your actions; that¡¯s what it means to be a Cantor.


    At least that¡¯s what Grandpa Jaime used to say. He always told everyone to ¡° Do what you want, but be prepared to take responsibility.¡± That is how all the Cantors lived.


    His Tio Julio couldn¡¯t keep it in his pants, always with some other women. And sometimes, when these women came back pregnant, what did he do?


    He took responsibility. To this day, he has four wives and ten children, almost all from different mothers.


    Great-Tia Mari loved stealing things; doesn¡¯t matter what, as long as it''s someone else''s, she¡¯ll steal it. Currently, she is serving her final year of a five-year sentence, almost completing her twelfth time in jail.


    Did she put up a fight when the police came to get her? No, she gladly admitted to all crimes and peacefully went to jail; no fuss needed.


    The Cantor are a strange bunch. They know it; no one needs to tell them. And part of that strangeness is an unusually high amount of empathy.


    They feel the pain and trouble that they inflict on people. They know what they are doing is wrong, and if they could stop, many would.


    It''s just that they also really love causing chaos. They love being crazy, and they love being strange. They¡¯ll never stop doing the things that they love, so the only thing that they can do is gladly accept their punishments.


    This guilt is just part of Isaac¡¯s punishment.


    Feeling that he¡¯d wasted enough time stewing in his thoughts, Isaac finally got out of the car and started heading inside. If he had waited any longer, one of them might have come out to get him, and that certainly would have made things worse.


    Walking past all the bikes and boxes clustering their garage, Isaac reached the door leading inside the house. Before he even opened the door, Isaac could already hear their voices shouting from inside.


    It''s not like the door to the garage directly connects to the house; you first walk through the laundry room and then past the sunroom before you can even get into the house. So, to hear them from the garage means they must be pretty loud.


    Walking through the house, Isaac began to hear them more clearly as he got closer.


    ¡°-Not sending him away, Patrick! A Cantor stays in Lubbock!¡±


    ¡° What do you want him to do then? He can¡¯t just not go! How is he ever going to get a job if he doesn''t at least graduate High school?!¡±


    ¡° Who Cares? Let him work with Tony! He doesn''t have to go-¡±


    ¡° I am not sending him to work with your brother; he needs more than what your family can give him! My son has more options-!¡±


    ¡°What''s wrong with him working for the family? Your work with them!¡±


    ¡° No, I work for your family !¡±


    ¡° Don¡¯t start that! They were kind enough to give you a job, and you can be glad-!¡±


    Rounding the corner, Isaac looked into the living room where his parents were already at each other''s throats, screaming their heads off. It made an interesting site, his short mom against his taller dad towering over her.


    Now, most people would be surprised to know his parents get into fights; many of them probably think that his dad wasn¡¯t the type even to get angry.


    But even if he doesn¡¯t show it in public, his dad could get pretty heated if he wanted to, just like right now.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡° I am surrounded by your family everywhere I turn. There is not a place that I can go to where another one isn¡¯t around the corner, ready to fuck with me!¡±


    ¡° Oh, Please! Grow up, they¡¯re just messing with you!¡±


    ¡° All they do is mess with me. It¡¯s the Cantor¡¯s that needs to grow up, and that is what I am trying to teach my son, To Grow Up!¡±


    ¡° And what about me?! Huh! Do I need to ¡°grow up¡±?! Am I just ¡°messing with you¡±?!¡±


    ¡° THis!-This isn¡¯t about you. This is about my son not going to high school.¡±


    ¡° There it is again! Your Son, he isn¡¯t just your son. He is a Cantor! And a Cantor-¡±


    ¡° I DON''T WANT HIM TO BE JUST ANOTHER CANTOR!!¡±


    At this point, his dad was almost bent over, screaming in Soffia''s face. His face was turning an unhealthy shade of red from all the screaming he was doing. His hands were clenched tight at his sides as his breaths came out in rapid gasps.


    Soffia saw how angry her husband was; she wasn¡¯t any better. If she weren¡¯t holding herself back, she would have already broken his nose on her fist. That¡¯s why fights with Patrick were always so difficult; everything had to be done slowly with him.


    If he were a Cantor, they would have already settled this by now¡ªa couple of hits and then a few drinks afterward, and then everything is okay afterwards.


    But Patrick wasn¡¯t a Cantor; he was more sensitive than that. It''s what she loves about him, that he isn¡¯t like her family. She never wants that to change; she¡¯d rather he stay as he is over what others would prefer him to be.


    That he can show that he cares and not throw in a confetti canon just because, yes, there are times that they will fight, and that''s okay because, at the end of the day, Soffia knows that they will always love each other.


    It¡¯s just-he..he just doesn''t understand how her family does things; part of it is that he can''t, while the other is that he just doesn¡¯t want to.


    There are times like these were he just has to let these things go, and he can¡¯t accept that. He tries so hard to change how their family behaves, and at times, it''s sweet in its own way. But if he keeps pushing her to the edge, she might just say to hell with it and take a leap off that edge.


    Show him how a Cantor really settles things.


    Then, just as she was about to, something caught her eye. Isaac was standing there against the wall, watching his parents raise hell at each other. It stopped her and made her think about what she was doing. Their fighting wasn¡¯t anything new; they usually fought at least once a week.


    Not that that was a bad thing. In fact, Soffia felt like their fights actually helped their marriage, kept things interesting. But she has never wanted to hit her husband like this before.


    That bitch must have really got on her nerves if she was already thinking of hurting her husband. Just another to hate her.


    Looking back at Isaac, she could see how this was affecting him. Cantors are emotional people; they wear their hearts on their sleeves. So, seeing how worried and tense her son was watching them fight made her heart twist deep in her chest.


    Teenage years are hard for Cantors; it¡¯s the time in their life when new emotions rear their head and tear them apart. A time when they feel like nothing that they do is right. Dout and depressing and ruin a Cantor''s life far worse than anything else in this world.


    Soffia wants to show her son that how they live their life isn¡¯t wrong. Something that punching his dad definitely wouldn¡¯t help.


    Taking a deep breath, Soffia tried to calm down. She had to be the better person, show her son that nothing was wrong, no matter how she felt. So gritting her teeth, Soffia took a deep breath and said.


    ¡° Isaac is a Cantor; whether you like it or not, nothing is going to change that. He will stay here, and either he gets lucky and gets into a school in Lubbock, or he starts helping the family.¡±


    ¡° That is not your decision to make.¡± Patrick, lowering his voice, said.


    ¡° It doesn¡¯t matter what you think. When you married into the family, you knew that there were going to be things that you wouldn¡¯t like. This is one of them; Isaac will not be leaving.¡± Soffia said.


    Partick growled; he couldn¡¯t understand why his wife, no, why the whole Cantor family had to be so stubborn. It''s like they live in their own little world, and everyone else just has to follow along.


    But now, their little world was crumbling down. Everyone knows this, and many people are not going to let them just carry on like nothings changed. Whether they like it or not, things are going to change, and if they keep on doing the same thing that they have always been doing, then they are going to end up in a lot of trouble.


    ¡° You can¡¯t keep protecting him, Soffia.¡± Patrick tried telling her.


    But Soffia was unmoved; nothing that he could say was going to change her mind.


    ¡° Whatever. Let''s stop talking about this now, ok?¡±


    Now that she had calmed down, Soffia didn¡¯t feel like arguing anymore. This hole back and forth was stupid. The decision was already made, and there was no use in arguing about it.


    A Cantor never leaves Lubbock.


    Steeping forward, Soffia gave Patrick a big hug around the waist. Holding him tightly she wanted him to know that they were done fighting, that everything was okay now.


    But Patrick didn¡¯t feel that way.


    ¡° Soffia, Stop!¡± He said, pulling her arms off of him.


    ¡° What?¡± She asked, confused.


    Looking down into her eyes, Patrick almost let it go. He should have just let it go, moved on, and gone about his day, never trying to bring this up again. Look, already her brand new smile was being wiped off her face, and it was all his fault.


    Her soft brown eyes looked so lost as she stared back into his eyes. Asking him why, why was he pushing her away.


    But he couldn¡¯t just move past this. He tried bringing this up before, trying to talk to her before they went to sleep, but he.. just couldn¡¯t say the words. He¡¯d always stop short and tell her never mind.


    This time, he couldn¡¯t back down; he had to convince her that things were not going to be like they were.


    Not anymore.


    ¡° Soffia, you know that they are using Isaac as an example.¡± He said. Still hoping that she would get what he was trying to say without him having to say it.


    But Soffia just scoffed. ¡° So, what? Cantor¡¯s aren¡¯t afraid of a little bit of trouble.¡±


    Smiling up at him, Soffia tapped him on the chest. ¡° Plus, this isn¡¯t the first time they¡¯ve tried that. Heck, they try to get a couple of us in jail every few years.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, Patrick.¡± Smiling at Patrick she went to hug him again, trying to reassure him.


    But he didn¡¯t let up. Grabbing her hands before they could wrap around him, Patrick brought them to his chest, holding them there so that she could look at his face.


    ¡° NO, it won''t be Soffia, Not with-.¡± He tried to say, but the words were caught in his throat.


    But it was enough. Patrick could see in her eyes that she knew what he was trying to say. And she didn¡¯t like it.


    She was getting mad again; even Isaac from the hallway could see that. Tearing her hands away from him, Soffia reached out, grabbed Partick by his shirt, and dragged him down. She brought him to her face, so close that their noses were almost touching.


    Looking him deep into his eyes, she wanted him to see just how angry she was. Her eyes were a mad flurry of movement as she searched every inch of his face for a speck of reason for why he was saying this.


    ¡° With what!? Patrick, what were you going to say.¡± She was daring him, daring him to finish what he was going to say.


    Patrick, feeling that he had to get it off his chest at least, continued.


    ¡° Jaime died, Soffia, and the city is-¡± But before he could finish his sentence, Soffia was already moving.


    A loud, crisp slap echoed out in the house, cutting off Patrik before he could say another word. Soffia slapped him across the face, not wanting to hear another word out of his mouth. She hit him with everything she had, turning his head to the side as a red handprint glowed on his face.


    Not wanting to do anything she might regret, Soffia turned and walked away. Leaving Patrick alone in the living room. A few seconds after she left, a loud bang followed, she locked herself in their room, slamming the door behind her.


    Sighing, Patrick could only walk in the opposite direction, waiting until she calmed down before trying to talk to her again. He still believed that he was right in what he was saying, but he also knew that right now, Soffia wasn¡¯t ready to listen to what he had to say.


    Alone in the hallway, Isaac could only imagine what his mom was thinking.


    Great-grandpa Jaime died six months ago. He was Seventy-three years old when he died in his sleep. Having lived through the great depression, multiple wars, and the moon landing, he was the oldest living person in the family.


    Six kids, twenty-seven grandkids, and seventy-two great-grandchildren. All of them there by his side, no one wanting to miss a single second as he lay there in his bed.


    Isaac could still remember everyone crowding around Grandpa¡¯s house for the entire month of November. Tents littered their yard for people to sleep. The space inside the house was almost nonexistent as everyone piled in, waiting for their chance to be with Grandpa.


    The entire Cantor business ground to a halt as everyone refused to spend even a second away from Granpa Jaime.


    Chuckling to himself, Isaac could still feel his shoulders being squeezed on both sides as him and his sisters were squished together at the dinner table with all of their other cousins, all fighting for more space.


    Everyone was crying, the morning after they found him. Man, the noise they made must have sounded like a tornado siren. They almost woke up the entire city because they were so loud.


    But what could you do? They were sad. Grandpa Jaime was the glue that held them all together. He made them what they were today, and now he was gone.


    After the funeral, it became almost an unspoken rule not to bring up his death. Everyone seemed to just want to remember the good times when he was still alive and healthy.


    It''s why his mom refuses to even talk about his death; it¡¯s like they''re trying to keep him alive, in their own way.


    But Isaac also understood what his dad was saying. Grandpa Jaime was old, old enough to see this city when it was still a baby. And it¡¯s because he¡¯s so old that he was able to affect the city this much.


    Granda Jaime did so much for this city. He didn¡¯t only build their homes; he was also a very charitable guy. If someone needed help, he helped them in any way he could, extending payments, free remodels, you name it.


    Once, he, with the rest of the family, built an entire neighborhood of houses that he then gave out for free to whoever needed it.


    All of that led to him making a lot of friends, friends that would later help him keep his children and their children out of jail because of their practical jokes.


    Grandpa¡¯s friends knew that Cantors were a wild bunch, but they were a kind, wild bunch. They agreed with Jaime that his family didn¡¯t need to be vilified, just ¡°directed¡±. So long as any damage was fixed and paid for, then the Cantors could avoid jail time, you know, as long as it was nothing too serious.


    But the old guards were changing. Old friends were stepping down, and new ones were taking their place. And now, with Granpa dead, a lot of goodwill towards the Cantors was starting to fade.


    His mom didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but Granpa Jaimes''s death might have a greater lasting impact than they think on the family.


    Wiping his glasses with his shirt, Isaac wondered what he should do now. His parents just stopped fighting, so everything was going to be quiet for a while. Guess the only thing to do was lay down and wait for dinner.


    Putting his glasses back on his face, Isaac moved away from the wall and started walking to his room.


    Checking to make sure that no one else was around, Isaac quickly scampered past the living room before making it into the hallway on the other side. It¡¯s worth mentioning again, but Isaac lived in a big house.


    A two-story, five-garage, and five-bedroom house plus a couple of open rooms for thrown in for the hell of it. It was a big house, big enough that Isaac and his sisters could each have their own room and still have one left over. You know, in case anybody wanted to stay the night.


    It''s a great house; there''s just one tiny problem.


    It¡¯s a Cantor house.


    Now, the Cantors have been in the framing business for a long time. They make good, sturdy houses while also being affordable, everyone loves them. However, they have jokes hidden in the walls.


    It is, at this point, almost a scientific fact that a Cantor can¡¯t do anything without making a joke about it. They¡¯re the kind of people that, when they go to a wedding, they¡¯ll be the ones throwing water balloons at people. If there''s a funeral, they¡¯ll put glitter bombs under every chair and set them off while playing a trumpet on top of the casket.


    So if a whole team of Cantor spend weeks building a house, then you know it''s gonna have a couple ¡°surprises¡± for anyone living there.


    Fake skeletons, squeaky floorboards, weird light coloring, anything and everything that they find funny you might find in a Cantor house. It''s never anything serious, just annoying. Some people learn to live with it, mostly though they just pay someone to fix everything.


    Apparently, the Mathews family is making pretty good money doing that.


    For family, the Cantors went all out on their jokes. Switching the hot and cold pipes so that cold is hot and vice versa, making all facets have a water pressure that is barely above a trickle. They even somehow made it so that every garage door remote opens a different garage door every time you use it.


    But what they did to their rooms is almost diabolical. All the bedrooms were put down in the same hallway, each one lining the walls, while the master bedroom was put at the end of the hall, watching over all the other rooms.


    The doors are so loud that you can hear them every time they open or close, especially when you''re asleep. They even made it so that only the bedroom walls are thin, making it almost impossible not to hear what anyone is doing.


    Isaac''s room was the first one on the right, the farthest from his parent''s room while also being the closest to the kitchen. It also made it especially easy to slip inside without alerting his parents.


    After getting inside, Isaac quietly closed the door, holding on to the doorknob. Isaac waited. He was waiting to make sure that no one heard him going to his room. Even though he was pretty sure he wasn¡¯t in trouble with his mom, he still didn¡¯t want her to think about him right now.


    His mom had a pretty one-track mind when her emotions were involved. If she was angry at one thing, she was angry at everything, and if she couldn''t be mad at something, then she¡¯d make a reason to be mad.


    And right now, he didn¡¯t want to deal with that.


    Right now, Isaac just wanted to rest, maybe take a quick nap. After all, he had quite the workout during lunch.


    Comparing Isaac¡¯s room to his sisters'', it¡¯s pretty plain. No poster on his walls or shelves full of stuffed animals. He didn¡¯t have stereos for his music or piles of clothes on the floor. He didn¡¯t even paint the walls like they did; he didn¡¯t think there was a reason to.


    What¡¯s wrong with a nice beige?


    There''s no need to paint the walls pink or purple; just be happy with the nice beige already there.


    In fact, the only color in his room besides the beige walls were the navy blue sheets on his bed and brown on his wooden dresser.


    Beside the bed and a closet, the only thing that he had in his room was a shelf for his books, a dresser for clothes, and a TV for his games. He didn''t even have a chair to sit on; why would he when he could use his bed instead?


    As he took off his shoes, Isaac found himself thankful that the rooms were at least carpeted. Everywhere else in the house was either tile or hardwood floor, made it hell to walk around barefoot¡ªanother one of his family''s jokes.


    Walking to his bed, Isaac wondered what people would think if they saw his room. They probably wouldn¡¯t even believe that it was his room to begin with. Nothing about this room reflected the Isaac they knew- a loud, annoying ball of energy that couldn¡¯t stand sitting still.


    What they didn¡¯t know was that the only reason Isaac was like that was because he was around so many people. Put him in a room by himself, and he¡¯ll never say another word. Come on, it¡¯s not like he¡¯s insane; there¡¯s no fun doing all that if nobody is around.


    Isaac loves messing with people. Seeing their silly reaction to everything he does just seemed to make the world, brighter. In his mind, he was doing this world a favor. He was taking these boring and serious people and making them silly.


    But if everyone ignored Isaac, then he would leave them alone. It''s no fun playing with statues.


    Well, no, that''s not true. Because Isaac would just try harder; statues are just made of stone; after all, sooner or later, they¡¯ll break.


    Like Luci, it was fun getting through her shell.


    As Isaac layed down on his bed, he couldn¡¯t help but think back on everything he and Luci did together.


    The pep rally shower of snow, the spicy water through the plumbing, the pastenote teacher longe. True, it was mainly him doing all of those, but Luci was always right there behind him, he was sure of it.


    Was she..she was right behind him right? You know, now that he''s thinking about it, was she there for any of it?


    Maybe he told her.


    Eh, who cares? If he had fun, then he had enough fun for both of them.


    The last thing that Isaac thought as he drifted off to sleep was that it was gonna be pretty sad not going to school with Luci.

 Chapter 3 - Part 2

    ***


    ¡° Come sit down!¡± Someone screamed, waking Isaac up from his nap.


    Still groggy, Isaac tried to rub his eyes, only to find that he still had his glasses on. He had forgotten to take them off again. At least he¡¯s not the kind of guy who moves when he sleeps, or else he might have messed up his glasses.


    Ignoring his glasses for a moment, Isaac tried to figure out what woke him up. The only thing he heard was someone screaming ¡° down¡±.


    Which wasn¡¯t all that helpful when you live with the kind of family he had. Down could mean many things: the TV is down, he fell down, put down that gun.


    It hadn¡¯t been a real gun, but in this family, you had to know what was happening around you.


    Checking his phone for the time, Isaac saw that it was already six-thirty. Dinner was usually from five to seven, depending on how late everyone was. So, his mom was probably calling everyone for dinner.


    Wait, six-thirty?


    Frowning, Isaac tried to remember, what time did he go to sleep?


    They had gotten home around one, and then his parents argued for a while, so by the time he actually got to his room and laid his head down, it should have been around two.


    Four hours, he had slept for four hours.


    ¡®Damn it,¡¯ he thought ¡®It¡¯s gonna take forever to go to bed now.¡¯


    He had just wanted a small nap, not actually go to sleep. Now, tonight, when everyone else is asleep, he¡¯ll be stuck wide awake, bored out of his mind.


    ¡° Unh!¡± Tasting his mouth, Isaac let out a grunt. He doesn¡¯t know why, but his mouth always tasted terrible after waking up.


    Welp, can''t eat tasting sleep breathe, can he?


    Getting up, Isaac walked out of his room and down the hall into the restroom. Isaac was the only one in the house without a restroom in his room, meaning he had to use the one in the hallway. Which was ok; the other ones were too small, so he got more space¡­to still be able to put nothing in.


    Walking to the sink, Isaac stuck his head under the facets before turning on the water. He stayed like that for a couple of minutes, letting the cool water fill his mouth, not drinking it but just enjoying how cool it felt.


    But, knowing he needed to hurry, Isaac quickly got to work. Lifting his head, he started swishing the water in his mouth, moving it around, just trying to get that old sleep taste out of his mouth before spitting it out. Then he did it again, filling his mouth with water and spitting it out.


    Finally, when he no longer tasted it, he turned off the water and went to the kitchen.


    Today was Wednesday, meaning that they were having something American tonight. Not his favorite; those were Mondays when they had Italian or Fridays with pizza night.


    On Wednesday, they usually meant something fried or grilled. Like hamburgers or chicken fried chicken. And by the smell coming from the kitchen, they were having hamburgers.


    Walking into the dining room, Isaac saw that he was the last one to come to the table. His mom and dad were already in their spots while his two sisters, Anne and Mirra, were just barely sitting down with their plates.


    Anne was his older sister, already seventeen and hard as nails. If Isaac had to describe her, she was like those old-school Rocksters, always listening to loud music and going out late with her friends.


    Looked like them, too, with her short black hair, her dark round glasses, and her leather jacket with the patches.


    She was the ¡°quiet¡¯ one in the family, always serious and stone-faced but caring¡­in her own way.


    He thinks¡­she punched that kid who was making Mirra cry that one time so that counts for something. It was really funny too because of how short she was. The kid was actually taller than her.


    He was also taller than Isaac, but that wasn¡¯t the point.


    Anne wasn¡¯t as loud as Isaac, but when she wanted to, she could stir up just as much trouble. She was also an artist, quietly sketching in her room while chaos unfolded around her.


    Mirra, on the other hand, was the happy child. Barley eleven years old and already a ball of sunshine, skipping everywhere she went, acting all cute. She is the kind of person who wouldn¡¯t sit still if something bad was happening.


    Annoyed the hell out of him is what she did. Here he is trying to make his jokes, and then she comes around acting all cute and ruins the whole joke. Telling him that he wasn¡¯t nice and needed to stop or she¡¯d tell Dad.


    She¡¯s so sweet that she¡¯d make friends with anyone, even with people who are mean to her.


    She¡¯d be standing there all cutesy with her long brown hair swept back with her pink headband and just look at you with those light brown eyes so full of joy. Asking you to be her friend as she twirled in her immaculate white baby heels.


    Being the middle child wasn¡¯t a bad thing; it just made it seem like he was stuck between two extremes. One always serious, and the other always happy.


    Seems like he¡¯s the only normal one.


    ¡° Good morning!¡± Isaac exclaimed, walking past them as he went into the kitchen. Only getting an exasperate ¡°It''s almost seven¡± from Anne and a ¡° good morning¡± from Mirra as he went by.


    In the kitchen Soffia had spread out all the ingredients for hamburgers on the counter. The patties, already grilled, were by the buns while the tomatoes and lettuce were set off the side. Cheese and condiments were kept in the fridge while the fries sat on the stove in their tray.


    After making his hamburger with pepperjack and tomatoes and a plate piled high with fries, he made his way back to the table.


    But before he sat next to his mom, Isaac leaned across the table and stole some of Anne¡¯s fries from her plate.


    Snorting, Anne rolled her eyes as she quietly ate her burger. Chuckling, Isaac sat down, his prize added to his own pile. Annoying Anne was like a game; you had to do it just enough that she¡¯d find it funny but not enough that she¡¯d get mad and leave.


    Now, most people would think dinner at the Cantor''s house would be a crazy mess, showcased with screaming and food flying everywhere. But it was actually quite the complete opposite.


    In fact, most dinners were kind of mild compared to the rest of their day. They do some pretty hectic things during the day, so it''s nice to come home and enjoy some family time.


    That''s why his mom is eating with them instead of in her room. Dinner time is family time, which means no fighting, screaming, or skipping.


    As he bit into his burger, Isaac peeked at his parents, wanting to see if they had made up by now. It had been hours since their fight, so they should have calmed down by now.


    But looking at them, well, the only thing that Isaac could say was that at least they weren''t screaming at each other.


    His mom seemed fine; she just quietly ate her food, not saying a word to anyone. Happy to ignore whatever was said and move on.


    His dad, on the other hand, didn¡¯t look ready to move on. He looked like there were still some things that he wanted to say. Every few seconds, he would look back at Soffia, waiting to see when she¡¯d finish so that they could continue talking.


    The only thing stopping him from bringing it up at the table was that he didn¡¯t want to ruin their family dinner. He was probably the one who liked dinner the most, as it was the one time that the family could be normal.


    But when dinner was done, he was going to try again; Isaac just knew it.


    Looking at Anne and Mirra, Isaac could see that they were tense. They were trying to act normal, but Isaac could tell. Mirra was talking less, and Anne was barely looking at her phone at all tonight. It didn¡¯t feel right, everyone acting like this.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Everything just felt heavy at the table.


    So, trying to fix this mess, some would say that he caused, Isaac decided to break the ice.


    ¡° So, how was your day?¡± Flawless, he thought.


    Smiling, Isaac looked around the table, waiting for someone to speak up. If he was going to break this tension, he needed to get people talking. Thankfully, there was always someone ready to talk.


    And she didn¡¯t disappoint.


    ¡° Oh! Today, I got to play dodgeball in the gym. It was so fun to play, and everyone had such a good time. Jacy and I were working together where I would catch it, and she would throw-¡±


    Getting Mirra to talk wasn¡¯t hard; just give her the mike, and she¡¯ll go on for hours. But if he was going to break this tension, he needed both of his sisters. Anne was harder to get talking, but not impossible; she just needed a little push. One that Mirra is perfect at giving.


    ¡°-and then, after lunch, we got to hear that Isaac made another mess. At first, I didn¡¯t believe it, well no, I believed it, what I didn¡¯t believe was that he would do this and not invite us again, he said ¡° Mirra, the next time that I get in a fight I¡¯ll let you watch¡± and did he do that, nooooo-¡±


    ¡° Shut up, Mirra.¡± Finally, Anne couldn¡¯t take it anymore; she had to get Mirra to stop talking.


    ¡° You can''t say shut up. Mom tell her that she can''t say that. We can''t say shut up at the table; that goes against the no-fighting rule. If you are going to ignore the rules, then I¡¯ll-¡±


    ¡° ARGH!¡± Anne screamed, her hands covering her face.


    ¡°What''s wrong, Anne,¡± Isaac asked, smiling at her.


    Moving her hands, Anne glared at Isaac.


    ¡°What''s wrong? What''s Wrong!? Well, let me tell you what''s wrong. First, today, I had to hear that my brother got into a bit of trouble with Marleen¡¯s brother.¡±


    ¡° Oh, who was that?¡±


    ¡° TANNER YOU IDIOT! Her brother is Tanner! Argh she¡¯s going to have the biggest end-of-the-year party at her parent''s house, and now I¡¯m not invited.¡±


    ¡° Hey, you can¡¯t yell at the table, Anne; dinner time is a happy time where no one yells, and -¡±


    ¡° AND then she had to go and say those stupid things about you and the family, so then I had to punch her in the mouth, and I don''t care what those teachers said, but dam,n was it satisfying, but now I¡¯m defiantly won''t get to go to her party. ¡±


    Covering her face with her hands again, she let out another sorrowful groan.


    ¡° Uh, Aziel and I were going to go to the party together, kick off summer with a bang, and now what is he going to do? He¡¯s going to go without me.¡±


    As Anne continued talking, Isaac leaned over to Mirra. ¡° Who¡¯s Aziel?¡±


    ¡° Come on, Isaac, Aziel is her boyfriend; she¡¯s been dating him for a few months now and-¡±


    ¡° Wait, I thought her boyfriend was Mark?¡±


    ¡° No, that was the one before Lane.¡±


    ¡° Oh yeah, I remember, Lane, what a stupid name.¡±


    ¡° Don¡¯t say that; there is nothing wrong with Lane. I have a friend whose name is Kneeb, ooh you should meet him, come one next time I see him I¡¯ll take you, he usually lives near the United on 50th street but now that it¡¯s warmer he should have moved down to University.¡±


    As they talked, Isaac could see that Anne and Mirra were starting to relax visibly. Their talking was actually helping. It didn¡¯t look like it, but as they talked, their shoulders started to relax as the tension in their bodies left them.


    Sure, it looks like they were fighting, but this is just how their family is. And it''s fun.


    Even his parents were looking more relaxed. Sure, his mom still wouldn¡¯t look at his da,d and his dad was probably still going to talk with his mom, but right now, things were returning to normal.


    Ding-Dong


    All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. It was so unexpected that everyone immediately quieted down. Looking at the clock it was already past seven. No one should be here right now.


    ¡° Isaac, go see who it is.¡± His mom said, speaking for the first time that night.


    Signing, Isaac wondered why he was the one that always had to get up. Anne and Mirra could go; their legs worked just fine. But instead of saying that, he put his food down, got up, and went to the door.


    Checking the window by the door, Isaac looked to see if anyone was outside. He didn¡¯t see anyone, but he still wanted to be careful, last year someone had tried to break into their house. They never got anything, but it never hurt, just to make sure.


    Turning on the porch light, Isaac opened the door. He was expecting to see a car in the driveway at least, but there was no one there. Stepping out onto the porch, Isaac looked up and down the street, trying to find anyone who could have rang the doorbell.


    And while the sun was going down, making it harder to see, he saw what looked like a van driving down the street away from their house. Strange, but it''s a street. There are cars everywhere.


    Who rang the bell?


    Just as he was about to head inside, his foot touched something. It was a package, a box, wrapped in brown paper and placed neatly on their welcoming mat.


    Now Isaac was really confused because the Post Office had stated in no uncertain terms that neither they, nor anyone in the shipping industry, was going to walk up to a Cantor¡¯s door.


    Way too many incidents with a paint gun. Even though his cousin Matt did something unique with some string, tape, rubber duck, and elephant glue, really funny when they watched the video during Christmas.


    Picking the package up, Isaac tried to see who had sent it. He didn¡¯t bring it inside, oh no; you learn quickly as a Cantor not to bring strange things inside, from family or otherwise.


    The package was box-shaped and very sturdy. Didn¡¯t give at all when he tried pressing down on it. Which meant that it wasn¡¯t going to be something nasty. Those you leave in a bag and let it rot, boxes just stop the smell from spreading further.


    It also didn¡¯t have any breathing holes, so no animals, well, no living animals.


    The folding and taping were pretty nice, like someone wrapped a Christmas present.


    Isaac didn¡¯t know what was in this thing. It was small, so it wasn''t anything too dangerous, and not something that was going to explode either. Isaac had given it a good shake to make sure, and while he did hear something in there, it wasn¡¯t a bomb.


    Those would have gone off with how hard he shook it.


    Turning it over, he tried to find some kind of name, sender''s note, or something. And while it did have his name, written in large letters on the back, there wasn''t anything else.


    After he was sure that the package wasn¡¯t anything too dangerous Isaac finally brought it inside.


    Locking the door behind him, Isaac walked back into the dining room. Everyone was still there waiting for him as they continued eating.


    Setting the package on the counter, Isaac sat back down and continued eating.


    Ignoring their looks, Isaac grabbed some fries, ate his burger, and enjoyed his dinner.


    ¡°Well?¡± Anne finally asked.


    ¡°Well, what?¡± He asked back after swallowing his food.


    ¡° Who was outside, what did you bring in? Did you get us something huh, is it something that we shouldn''t know, like a present or a love letter? You know Mary got a letter like that in her locker; she wouldn''t tell me who-¡±


    Isaac was content to let Mirra talk herself out as she rambled on if he let her, maybe she¡¯ll distract everyone long enough so he can finish his dinner.


    But it seems his mom is not that patient.


    ¡° Ok, Mirra. Isaac, go get it and show us what it is.¡±


    Sighing, Isaac, once again forced to put down his food, stood up and returned with the package. Giving it to Mirra Isaac let her have all the fun of opening the damn thing.


    Plus, if it turned out to be something bad, then at least it didn''t happen to him.


    ¡° OOO thanks, Isaac, what is it? The paper is nice it''s almost like a present, so I was right. It''s for Isaac; look, his name is on it. I wonder what is underneath? Oh, and inside is a box, look nice too. It''s stained and everything, all glossy. And¡­Uh, Isaa,c look.¡±


    That was weird. Usually ,if Mirra has something new in her hands she¡¯d go on for hours, listing all the things that make it unique and special. She normally doesn¡¯t try to give it to him.


    Looking over, Isaac wanted to ask Mirra what was wrong, but the words got stuck in his throat. Under the box and the back side ,someone had carved in a name.


    Jaime Cantor.


    Thats¡­That¡¯s not right. Grandpa never had a box like that because they would have seen it. Mirra was right. It was a nice looking box, they would know. Their family, along with selling houses, does a little side business with carving furniture and sculptures, it''s something that everyone does.


    And this box was done nicely. The wood was sanded down well and the staining was down with a dark, almost black, brown stain with red highlights peeking through.


    The thing was small, barely fitting in their palms. And the lid was not something they see often, instead of a hinged doo,r this one looked like it slid open. Altogether it was a very nice box.


    And not something that they had ever seen Granpa have.


    And even if it was his, who would give it to him?


    The will reading was done four months ago. Everyone already got what he had given them; this box wasn¡¯t even on the list of things that were handed out.


    Everything about this box just raised more and more questions, questions that he couldn¡¯t answer. And by the looks of the rest of the table, they couldn¡¯t either.


    Not knowing what else to do, Isaac took the box from Mirra and, under everyones watchful eyes, slid the box open.


    Someone gasped; he couldn''t tell who. He was too busy trying to figure out why someone gave him a key.


    In the box, sitting on a velvet cushion, was a golden key. It looked old, like one of those skeleton keys you see in the movies, but more innate. The bow at the top was an intricate rhombus with a stylized picture of a lock in the center.


    When he picked it up, Isaac noticed how the key shined in his hand. The gold reflecting the light as he turned it over. It felt weird holding it in his hand. The key was tiny, sitting perfectly in his palm, but it was also heavy, almost like he was holding a rock.


    Tied to the key was a note, turning it over Isaac read only four words.


    DONT TRUST THE TOWER

 Chapter 4 - Part 1

    The next day, Isaac was back at Rain Wilde, walking by himself down an empty hallway. Besides the teachers, everybody else was gone. Isaac was the only student left in the school.


    Today was a half-day, so all classes ended just before lunch. Everyone got to leave early, everyone except Isaac, who had to go talk to his consular.


    Alone in the hallway, Isaac¡¯s hand drifted to his pocket. Inside was the key from last night. It felt strange, having that extra weight in his pocket. He constantly felt it thumping against his leg.


    He just couldn¡¯t get it off of his mind. It¡¯s already eleven, and he¡¯s barely taken his hand off this thing.


    This key supposedly belonged to Granpa Jaime, but no one knew anything about it. Last night, his mom called family and old friends, asking if they recognized the key. But as far as they knew, he never had a key like that.


    It hadn¡¯t been in the will, and it wasn¡¯t on him when he died, so where did it come from? The only thing that they do have is questions.


    He doesn¡¯t know what it¡¯s for, who gave it to him, or even why they gave it to him. He doesn''t even know why he brought it with him.


    The only thing he knows is that he wasn¡¯t just gonna leave it at home.


    Because, according to the box box, this key was his Grandpa Jiame¡¯s.


    A gift from beyond the grave, how cool was that? It would be nice to have something that he could actually use, but he didn¡¯t mind. It was a nice-looking ornament if nothing else.


    The note was weird, though.


    What Tower, and why couldn¡¯t he trust them? Was Granpa part of the Illuminati or something? That¡¯d be hilarious if he were.


    Just the thought of his Great-grandpa, dressed in some black robes with a giant Pyramid on his head, made Isaac laugh.


    ¡°Hehehe-ack, ow.¡± Isaac started laughing only to be quickly reminded about the bruises on his ribs.


    Hah, that guy really got me with the table, he thought, and it wasn¡¯t just his back, either. Isaac¡¯s whole body was covered in cuts and bruises from yesterday''s lunchroom brawl.


    He looked like an old banana.


    And he loved it.


    Fighting for Isaac was just supposed to be a way for him to stop being so bored. Get his body moving, shake off that slump.


    Who¡¯d have known it¡¯d be so much fun?


    Ever since he was in third grade, he¡¯s been getting into fights. Most of the time, he wasn''t even trying to, but after years of finding new ways to get into fights he¡¯s almost got it down to a science.


    It''s not even that hard with most people. Just shower them with his charming personality, and they¡¯ll throw the first punch within five minutes or less.


    Have you ever been on a roller coaster when the lights go out?


    When there are no lights, you feel everything on the track, your gut starts anticipating the drops, and your ears go deaf from the noise around you. That''s what fighting was like for Issac, and he couldn¡¯t get enough of it.


    It''s too bad no one else feels the same way. If they did, then maybe he wouldn¡¯t have to come down here so often.


    He¡¯s been to the consular¡¯s office so many times that he can walk here blindfolded. He doesn''t even need to be paying attention, and his feet will still bring him here


    Speaking of which-.


    " Hello, Isaac, come on in- oh dear, did you get into another fight."


    " Hey, Ms. Margrave." Issac smiled as he waved at her.


    " Now, none of that. Come sit down, you must be so hurt. Also, I told you to call me Anna; we''ve known each other for so long that we are practically family." She said, smiling as she held the door open for him.


    Mrs. Margrave, or Anna as she liked to be called, had been his consular ever since he¡¯d been in sixth grade. She was a large woman, filling out more than some of her colleagues. Her darker skin almost contrasted perfectly with her greying hair.


    She was actually one of four other counselors in the school, each one assigned a group of kids to work with by their last name.


    It just so happens that Mrs. Margrave got the group that ended in, among other things, M.


    Hugging the door frame, Isaac squeezed past her larger frame into her office.


    "- Ok, Anna." Isaac had to stop himself from saying anything else. He knew from experience that she wouldn''t take anything but Anna. And frankly, he just didn¡¯t want to argue with her. He¡¯d learned the hard way that that never got anywere.


    Mrs. Margrave closed the door behind him, her hooped earring jingling as she pulled up a chair and sat beside him, instead of behind her desk.


    " Well, now that I have you here, tell me how you have been doing. What''s new? Is your mother still taking care of that flower I sent?" For the next twenty minutes, Anna talked like this. Chatting with him like they were old friends.


    Asking him things like ¡°What has he been up to?¡± and ¡°How were you after yesterday? I hope you''re alright ¡±. And man, it''s just so hard talking to her.


    Not that he had anything against her personally. No, she was a nice lady.


    She¡¯s just too nice.


    Isaac didn''t know how to deal with nice people. He could handle rough, sarcastic people; those people are fun to talk to. Say a snappy comeback and a few jokes and soon you got a group of friends to laugh with.


    He could talk with those kinds of people for hours¡­or at least until they got tired of him.


    That''s how his family was. His Tios and Tias, Grandpas and Grandmas, sisters and cousins all acted like that. The Cantor family was loud and rude, and they liked it that way.


    But you put him before a genuinely nice person, and he clams up. He can''t joke with them; he doesn¡¯t know what¡¯ll upset them. And if he upsets them, then he feels like he¡¯s the bad guy.


    Nice people also don¡¯t get into fistfights with other people, so he can''t connect with them like that either.


    It''s just so hard, talking to a nice person.


    "- Oh, before I forget, the reason why you''re here." That made Isaac''s ears perk up. Finally, this hell would end.


    " Yeah, the schools-."


    "I''m supposed to be talking to you about where you''ll be going to high school, right?" Getting up from her chair, Anna reached around her desk and pulled out a folder.


    " Yes." Isaac said. There were supposed to be at least a few schools that wouldn¡¯t mind him attending, so he needed to look them over before his Dad had a heart attack worrying about where he¡¯d end up.


    "Good, good. Now, there are a few options that you can choose from. They might not be the most popular, but I can assure you that they are just as good as Lubbock High or Monterey." Mrs. Margrave said, putting her curly hair into a messy bun with bits of grey hairs sticking out.


    Getting her hair out of the way, she went back behind her desk and started pulling out multiple folders, each one having the name of a school on them.


    Sitting back down, Mrs. Margrave explained, "These are the schools still open for you to explore. Now, don''t be intimidated by their size; they''re mainly the school''s history, notable graduates, and just any interesting facts that you might want to know."


    ¡° This first one is to Mathews, a nice school down by Levelland. They¡¯re well known for their track team, and many people that go there can get good scholarships for South Plains.¡± Handing the folder to him, she quickly moved on to the next one.


    ¡° Next, we have Talaho; they¡¯re smaller compared to the rest, but they''re here in Lubbock, just off of 19th actually. We also have Danak and Andrews; those two are over in New home.¡±


    One after another, she kept handing him folders, not even giving him time to look them over. Already, four of them were in his lap, and more were coming.


    For the first time, Isaac was surprised that there were so many schools that still felt comfortable letting him attend. And they weren¡¯t just these either; there were ones from Buffalo, Midland, Shoot and Short ( and wasn¡¯t that a surprise, why is a town with only one street sending him a notice), and even down to Brownsville.


    But the last folder made Mrs. Margrave pause.


    ¡° Finally, we have this one¡­Oh, I¡¯ve never seen this school before.¡±


    A school that she doesn¡¯t know about? Now that got his attention. Because, whether they liked it or not, Isaac and his family were kind of imortant figures here. The Cantor family were basically the royals of Lubbock.


    That meant that whatever school he went to was going to have a lot of attention thrown their way. So you better believe there would be some not-so-great people trying to get him to go to their schools.


    Every single one of these schools had to call, email, and send letters, all with their information before the city would even consider mentioning one of them to Isaac.


    They probably had to spend weeks verifying all of this information.


    Can you imagine the type of publicity if Isaac got sent to a fake school? Or, God forbid, a Bad one.


    Not to mention what his family would do to them. They would think they were trying to pull a prank on him, and you don¡¯t prank a Cantor without starting a war.


    But somehow, an unknown school ended up here. Coincidentally, right after, Isaac gets a present with a cryptic warning inside.


    Putting the pile of schools on the floor, Isaac took the folder out of Mrs. Margrave¡¯s hand. To him, it didn¡¯t matter if it was real or fake. If it was real, then it¡¯d probably be more interesting than these other schools. If not, then the Cantors were going to have a great summer.


    Either way, it was going to be fun.


    The name on the folder was Garden Academy, not a school he¡¯d heard of before. But he also can¡¯t remember some of his relatives'' names either, so that''s not a big surprise.


    Holding the folder in his hand, he was surprised by how light it was. There were only like ten pages inside; the others had at least thirty.


    And the ones they did have didn¡¯t tell him much either. They didn¡¯t say where it was or what they taught. They just had the address for their office and a list of notable graduates, which he guessed they must be really proud of or something.


    The other schools only had a few lines of celebrities and historical figures that went to their school. Here, besides the first page, the other nine were about their graduates.


    They listed people that he¡¯d never even heard of before: Mathew Macd, Olivia Greane, and Jelee Uyl. Not only that, but they also put in some fake names.


    They had Andrew Jackson, the seventh president, as one, which made no sense. Jackson went to school in North Carolina, and that was back in the 1900s.


    There was Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, Carrie Nation, that crazy woman from the Prohibition, and Edgar Allen Poe, the poet.


    This had to be a joke. Most of these people have probably never even set foot in the U.S., much less Texas. Why would they go to a school here?


    As he went down the list, Isaac barely noticed as his hand drifted to his pocket. Grabbing the key, Isaac didn¡¯t know what to think. Nothing here should be true, and yet, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was.


    But when he got to the last name, everything stopped. There must be a typo or a cruel joke being played. He knows jokes, and Isaac will be the first to say that he and his family can sometimes take jokes too far.


    But even they know when things go way too far.


    Because the last name on the page was his Great-Granpa¡¯s name.


    Jaime Cantor.


    Isaac doesn¡¯t know how long he sat there staring at that name. Hundreds of thoughts were going through his mind at the moment, and he wasn¡¯t sure that he¡¯d even notice a bomb going off.


    Jaime Cantor went to Lubbock High when he turned sixteen in 1957. He didn¡¯t graduate, but that''s where he went. Everyone in the family knew that, so why does this school have his name?


    After he finished going through his thoughts, Isaac closed the folder and stood up. Then, without saying anything, he took the folder and left. He didn¡¯t say goodbye to Mrs. Margrave or stop for the other folders.


    He just got up and left.


    Isaac doesn¡¯t know why this school had his Granpa as one of their graduates, just as he doesn¡¯t know how he got this key. But one thing he does know is where he wants to go to school.


    Any place that can write something so outrageous is either too stupid to know how to lie, or they''re telling the truth, and you just can¡¯t accept it. Either way, they got his attention now.


    Let''s just see if they can keep it.


    Now, all he had to do was get home and let his parents know.


    ***


    The next day, Isaac was in the car thinking.


    Garden Academy.


    A school he''s never heard of, that his dad has never heard of, but, for some reason, his mom has.


    Oh, she didn¡¯t say that; no, she, like his dad, said that she¡¯d never heard of it. But she didn¡¯t have to.


    When he brought the folder to his parents, telling them that this was where he wanted to go, he expected them to be surprised. And they were.


    Or at least his dad was.


    His mom, she was quiet. She didn¡¯t laugh about the graduates or find it weird that they didn¡¯t tell where the school was. She definitely wasn¡¯t surprised that Granpa Jaime¡¯s name was there. Barley gave it a second glance.


    She acted like it was a joke that she already heard.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    His dad was surprised. He was surprised enough for the both of them. He thought it was a joke; in fact, he still thinks it''s a joke. And he definitely didn¡¯t like that this was the school Isaac chose.


    He tried to get Isaac to change his mind, to ¡°stop playing around, and choose a real school¡±. There were so many schools to choose from, and Isaac was lucky enough to get half of those offers. Now, all he had to do was pick one of them.


    But nope, Isaac wanted to go to Garden.


    And when his wife didn¡¯t back him up like he thought she should, Patrick was, understandably, upset.


    Soffia just told him to let Isaac do what he wanted. Let him try out this school; even if it was fake, that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t choose another.


    Patrick was confused; if anything, he thought she would be furious that these people used her grandfather¡¯s name in their joke. But instead, she was oddly ok with it.


    Looking between the two of them, Patrick could see that they weren¡¯t going to change their mind. Knowing that he was outnumbered Patrick decided to back down. But he made sure to let them know what he thought about this school.


    Later, he realized it wasn¡¯t a big deal. If the school was real, great; if not, Isaac would choose another, preferably one he selected.


    With that out of the way, Isaac then had to make an appointment to meet these people. Calling the number that they left on the folder, Isaac was able to talk to some guy named Keal¡ªnice guy, had a real quiet voice, made it hard to hear anything he said.


    Keal told Isaac that he could visit their office whenever he wanted. Just let them know in advance, and they¡¯ll set up a consultation for him with their ¡°new student coordinator,¡± whatever that was.


    Not wanting to wait, Isaac scheduled himself for nine o¡¯clock the next day. Now, here he is, in the car with his mom, wondering if he should ask her or not.


    She clearly knows what this school is; that¡¯s obvious. She didn¡¯t even ask him where their office was. She just got him into the car and started driving.


    Kind of sad how bad of a liar she is.


    He should ask her, but he wasn¡¯t. If she wants to tell him, then she¡¯ll tell him; if not, then he¡¯ll just have to find out for himself.


    Looking out the window, Isaac watched as the new building they were driving past slowly turned into older, more run-down buildings.


    The Garden Academy Office was in the downtown part of Lubbock. You know, that weird area where the streets turn from black asphalt to red bricks. Don¡¯t ask him why they did that, he doesn¡¯t know either.


    The road isn¡¯t even flat; it''s all bumpy and curved, and it just feels weird to drive on.


    But yeah, it''s right across from the old Mahon library. Isaac loved that library; it¡¯s the best one in Lubbock, or at least it''s the biggest.


    In the summer, his mom would bring them there to pick out books to read during the break. And if they were good, they got to rent a movie.


    They had a collection of some real old movies right near the front desk. Not the most thrilling thing to watch, but it was fun.


    Driving around Mahon library, Isaac tried to see where this office was. He already knew what most of these buildings were for, but he had seen their office before, so he was curious where it was.


    Going around the bend, though, Isaac started to get confused. There¡¯s no buildings back here, just an empty parking lot. But when his mom parked the car, Isaac couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    Because right in front of their car, where there should be just an empty parking lot, was a big orange-bricked building.


    Isaac wondered how they had never seen this place. Mahon Library was literally across the street.


    ¡° Huh,¡± Isaac said out loud. ¡° How long has this thing been here?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± She asked, not paying attention as she put the keys in her purse. ¡° Oh, this thing, it''s been here for a long time. Your Granpa Jaime helped build it, you know.¡±


    No, no he did not. Maybe if she had told him, he would. But he wasn¡¯t going to say that. It¡¯s a long walk home, after all.


    ¡° That¡¯s so cool.¡±


    ¡° Yeah, come on, let''s go inside.¡±


    Getting off the car with his mom, Isaac looked around. There wasn¡¯t any sign telling them this was the right place, but his mom seemed pretty confident that it was, so he just followed her.


    He will say one thing though, their office was huge. The place nearly took up the whole lot, and this place was almost as big as a football field.


    It¡¯s a nice place, obviously. His grandpa apparently built it. But it wasn¡¯t just that; it looked brand new. The bricks weren¡¯t even faded, and stained wood accents looked like they were just put on.


    He¡¯ll say this, his grandpa went all out when he built something.


    In the front were these two canted bay windows, framed by stained wood and topped with red-tiled shingles to block the rain. Hanging from the window sill were planter boxes filled with bluebonnets.


    The front door was nice too. It was put in an arc way between the front windows, with frosted glass on both sides of the door. And there was even a half-circle of stylized glass above the door. The image on the glass looked like a rising sun over the door.


    Looked nice, gave it an old rustic look with some style.


    Opening the door, a little bell rang above them. Inside, dozens of desks filled the entire floor with people working endlessly all around. There was a constant buzz of noise from phones and computers filling the gaps as Isaac stood in the entryway, not really knowing where to go.


    Thankfully, he didn¡¯t need to, as his mom was already walking to one desk.


    ¡° Hello, my son is here for an appointment, he¡¯s suppose to meet a coordinator.¡± She said, talking to a lady behind the desk.


    ¡° Yes, one moment.¡± the lady said, typing on her computer. ¡° And what is his name.¡±


    ¡° Isaac Cantor.¡± That got the lady''s attention.


    ¡° Oh, another Cantor, well he can go ahead and on up; our coordinator isn¡¯t here right now, so he¡¯ll have to wait a little bit.¡±


    Another Cantor?


    Now, where has he heard that before? Oh yeah, that¡¯s what every teacher says on the first day of school when they see his name.


    What the hell, Mom?


    How many Cantors have been to this school?


    Isaac looked at his mom, wondering if she was going to say anything. But nope, she just kept talking to the front desk lady like everything was normal.


    ¡° The stairs are just over there.¡± The lady says to him. ¡°It''s the second floor, last office down the hall on the left; you can wait in his office until he comes back.¡±


    Now what? Isaac didn¡¯t want to go and wait in some guy''s office, probably get bored out of his mind in a minute.


    He wanted to stay and ask some questions, but not only was the lady at the desk looking at him, but so was his mom. They were both waiting for him to leave, their eyes basically telling him to get moving.


    Sighing, Isaac realized that he was going to have to find out everything himself.


    There was one upside to heading to the second floor. The second floor was much quieter.


    The first floor was like a reception area, a place where people could do their work while also interacting with anyone coming in. The second floor was more upper management. Up here, everyone has a personal office.


    There was another reception desk on the second floor, but Isaac ignored them. He already knew where he needed to go.


    Going left, Isaac started counting every office he passed. Most of the offices were empty, but some of them had people working inside. The last office, though, was the only one that had its door open.


    Like the lady at the front said, he wasn¡¯t here. The lights were on, but no one was sitting at the desk.


    The nameplate on the wall said, Henry Perez but no one was inside. Like the lady at the front said, he wasn¡¯t here. The lights were on, but the office was empty.


    Stepping in, Isaac looked around, wondering if there was anything that¡¯d let him know when Henry would be back. But he found nothing, not even an calender with his schedule.


    He would say though, Henry had kept his office kinda empty. There weren¡¯t any pictures or posters. All he had was his desk, a window, and a bookshelf. There was a few little nick- nacks on his desk but nothing that was interesting.


    There were a few chair against the wall while two more chairs sat right in font of the desk. Taking a seat, Isaac wondered how long he was going to wait. The lady didn¡¯t say what Henry was doing; all she said was that he wasn¡¯t there. For all he knew, he could be having lunch.


    It was barely nine-twenty, so probably not, but who knows maybe he takes his lunch early.


    All Isaac knew was that he was stuck here, waiting for this guy to come back.


    Taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, Isaac thought about what he was going to do. Because he was already starting to get bored, and he just sat down. Usually, he¡¯d at least have his phone to look at, but his dad grounded him.


    So he¡¯s got nothing.


    Seconds ticked by as Isaac looked around the office, looking for anything to focus on. But the only thing that he could find was a Newton¡¯s cradle on the desk and that got old real fast. Only so many ways you can slam those balls together before you get bored.


    Well, this was terrible; Isaac was going to lose his mind before he meets this coordinator. If he was going to have to wait for this guy, then he¡¯s going to have to find some way to make it fun.


    And since this guy got nothing in his office, there was only one thing left to do.


    So, after getting comfortable in his chair, Isaac let go of his mind.


    Not in the crazy kind of way, no, it''s just what Isaac calls it when he starts daydreaming. He says, ¡°letting go of his mind¡± because when he starts daydreaming, he stops paying attention.


    It''s a trick he learned in school. When things started to get a little too boring, he¡¯d just look off in the distance and start daydreaming. He¡¯d start imagining dragons and kingdoms, underwater adventures, and spies toppling governments.


    And when he woke up, class was done.


    When he realized that he could do this, just ignore everything and imagine something better, he ¡°lost his mind¡±.


    He started doing this whenever. In classes, on the ride home, during dinner. Whenever he felt bored by everything around him, he¡¯d just shut off his mind and go off to his own world.


    He apparently got so good at it that people had to actually touch him to get his attention.


    One time, a teacher wanted to see how long he would stay like that, so he told everyone to leave him alone. He sat there for hours, sitting perfectly still as he stared off into the distance. He was so still that people thought he was dead, but they still didn¡¯t touch him, too afraid to break the spell.


    He only woke up cause his mom slapped him across the head, telling him it was time to go.


    That teacher taught his first period, first thing in the morning.


    What can he say? Sometimes, he just gets lost in his own head.


    But then, one time, while he was away in his imagination, he missed something. Apparently, one of his teachers was doing something illegal under the school''s nose. So the cops came during class and took her away.


    From what people have told him, she made a pretty big scene; she even tried smashing through the window to escape. All classes were forced to stop as everyone left their classroom and watched as this teacher got dragged into the back of a squad car and taken away.


    Not Isaac, though. No, Isaac was too busy imagining living through a giant bug apocalypse.


    So he tries not to lose his mind so often. In case he misses something.


    But seeing as there is nothing here-.


    If anyone saw Isaac right now, they might have thought that he was a statue. Because right now he was just sitting there, alone in an empty office, starring off into space.


    But if they saw what was going on inside of his head, they¡¯d have a seizure.


    Comparing Isaac¡¯s mind to everyone else''s is a little bit tricky. All brains move along the same path; Isaac¡¯s just a little bit faster. If a regular person''s mind is walking, Isaac¡¯s is skipping- going faster while also moving weirdly.


    If we go along with that same analogy, then right now, Isaac¡¯s mind would be running.


    It doesn¡¯t take much to daydream; you just sit down and imagine something. What¡¯s harder is ignoring everything else, ignoring it to the point that they don¡¯t even exist.


    Monks spend years meditating to empty their minds, ignore worldly delights, and even ignore their bodies'' hunger.


    Isaac can¡¯t do that.


    His mind just moves too fast. So, instead, he makes it go faster.


    Isaac imagines so many details that his mind can''t notice anything else. He¡¯s imagining so many things at once that he¡¯s practically building an entire world inside his head.


    And right now, that world is built entirely around this key in his pocket.


    What is it? What does it do? Is it a key to a safe of his Granpa¡¯s? Does it open a secret map to treasure?


    It could be a key to a castle for him to inherit or a hidden relic. Maybe it¡¯ll show him a secret that¡¯ll lead him to a long-lost family inheritance where he¡¯ll take up the mantle of king.


    And then-.


    ¡° OW!¡± Isaac screamed out in pain.


    Right as he was imagining himself ruling the world on top of an epic pyramid, someone came up behind him and donkey-punched him in the back of the head. It hurt worse cause he wasn¡¯t even expecting it.


    Who hits someone for no reason?


    Not only that, but who wakes someone up like that? They destroyed such a beautiful dream.


    Now Isaac was mad.


    He usually doesn¡¯t care if someone hits him; he usually deserves it. But to wake him up when he¡¯s dreaming?


    It doesn¡¯t matter who it is: his mom, his dad, even a little kid. If you wake him when he¡¯s dreaming, then you''re getting punched in the face.


    Turning around, Isaac looked behind him. But before he could even say anything, he stopped. Because he knew who hit him, he just wasn¡¯t expecting her to be here.


    It was Luci, who, on the list of people he was expecting to see behind him, wasn¡¯t even on the list. And she was just standing there, in the doorway, with her arms crossed, glaring down at him like he was the one in the wrong.


    He didn¡¯t know what to say about this. Why was she here? Wasn¡¯t she going to Lubbock High?


    This completely blindsided him. He didn¡¯t know what she was doing here. He hadn''t talked to her since the fight in the cafeteria.


    After he left the principal¡¯s office, Isaac¡­kind of¡­ forgot to call Luci. Usually, he calls or texts her, but with the whole key thing and not being able to go to school thing, everything kind of slipped his mind.


    So he was kind of off his game right now. But benign quiet wasn¡¯t helping, especially when she was glaring down at him, waiting for him to say something.


    First things first though, finding out why she¡¯s so angry.


    ¡° Oh, hey, Luci, what are you doing here?¡±He asked.


    Thought he¡¯d start off like that, get a feel on her.


    Apparently, that wasn¡¯t the right thing to say because her glare went from ¡° talk¡± to ¡°shut up¡±. Without saying anything, she walked up and hit him again.


    ¡° OW! What was that for.¡±


    ¡° That was for leaving me to clean up your mess. Again!¡± She screamed.¡° Do you know what it feels like explaining to the teachers and cops that you had nothing to do with what you did? Let me tell you, it''s not nice!¡±


    Yeah, she was mad.


    ¡° You didn¡¯t have to talk to the cops! I did! You just get to go off like nothing happened!¡± Now, she was practically leaning over him as she screamed. ¡° And then you have the audacity to ghost me! Not a single world in two days!¡±


    Oh, now he¡¯s starting to feel bad. He didn¡¯t know that not saying anything would be this big of a deal. Whenever he talked to her, it was mostly just him doing the talking. While any text he sent would be left unread for days, while calls would be unanswered.


    Honestly, he thought she¡¯d be happy not to hear him. Plus, he thought that he¡¯d never see her again, so, to him, it didn¡¯t matter if he stopped talking to her now or later.


    Guess she cared about him more than he thought.


    ¡° Hey!¡± He said loudly, trying to get her attention. ¡° Hey. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t think about that. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He was trying to be sincere and he hoped that she understood that. But really, he just wanted her to stop hitting him.


    She looked at him for a while, not saying anything. For a second, he thought that she would start screaming again, but she just signed. Walking around him, she sat down in the chair next to him.


    ¡° Whatever. Why do I even bother.¡± She muttered. She turned away, looking out the window while resting her chin on her hand.


    They sat in silence for a while before Isaac started getting bored again.


    ¡° By the way, what are you doing here.¡± He asked.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡° I don¡¯t know. I thought you were going to Lubbock High.¡±


    ¡° Huh...I was. But then they sent me a letter in the mail asking me to come here. So I thought, might as well go check it out. Plus apparently they help you get into college so that got my parents happy...Didn¡¯t expect to see you here, though


    ¡° Huh? Good for you, I guess. It was pretty much the same for me.¡±


    ¡° Yeah? Wonder why they want both of us though. I mean, you nothing special.¡± She smirked. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.


    ¡° You know Luci, you say some pretty mean things.¡±


    As they talked, they waited for Henry to show up. Talking with Luci was nice. He was scared about what she¡¯d do without him next year, but it looked like he was worried for nothing. They were still going to be together, them against the world.


    Oh, but before Isaac forgot.


    Checking to make sure that she wasn¡¯t paying attention, Isaac quickly whipped out his hand and punched Luci in the arm. It wasn¡¯t a nice little tap either; he hit her hard enough to send her out of the chair and onto the floor.


    To Luci¡¯s credit, she didn¡¯t make a single sound as she crashed into the floor. Not even a shout of pain escaped her lips. All she did was glare at him from her spot on the floor.


    Just because he deserved getting hit doesn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t going to get back at her.


    What kind of person would he be that didn¡¯t hit a girl when she hit him first?


    A boring one, that¡¯s right.


    ¡° For the record, that''s for waking me up.¡±

 Chapter 4 - Part 2

    ***


    Isaac didn¡¯t know how long they waited before Henry showed up. It couldn¡¯t have been long, like thirty to forty minutes, maybe. All he knows is that by the time Henry did show up, his office was worse off than when he left it.


    Now, this wasn¡¯t Isaac¡¯s fault¡­ completely. At least half of it was Luci¡¯s.


    Isaac was perfectly fine with moving on. Luci was not.


    After she got up from the floor, Luci dusted herself off and fixed her hair. Her face was set in stone. She acted like she hadn¡¯t just been thrown from her chair and onto the floor. Then, calmly, she turned around, grabbed her chair, and picked it up.


    The next thing Isaac knew, he was lying sideways on the floor, still sitting in his seat. Luci was off to the side, putting her chair back where she had it.


    She hit him with her own chair. She used her chair like it was a bat and hit him. Man, he wished he could have seen it. It would have looked so funny seeing a little, skinny girl lifting up a chair with both hands, only to swing it and hit someone.


    ¡° HA!¡± Isaac laughed as he picked himself up. If that¡¯s how she wants to play then Isaac was happy to play along.


    Isaac took off his glasses and set them aside. Thinking about it, Isaac wondered when was the last time they got to play like this. It must have been before they became friends cause after that, she stopped hitting him as much.


    Probably cause she knew that if she did, he¡¯d just do this.


    Grabbing the Newton''s cradle on the desk, Isaac threw it at Luci¡¯s head, only for her to smack it out of the air before it even reached her. That''s fine; he wasn¡¯t trying to hit her anyway. It was just meant to distract her.


    And it did, giving him just enough time to tackle her and ram her into the wall behind her. Not finished, he pulled his fist back and punched towards her face.


    Most people would say that Isaac shouldn¡¯t be hitting a girl. Isaac would say that he is not hitting a girl he¡¯s hitting a person, and people are stronger than they think.


    Case in point when Luci not only blocked Isaac''s attack but then proceeded to elbow him in the neck. All the while kicking herself off the wall to push him away.


    Just like Isaac Luci likes fighting, she might even like it better than him. She just hides it better. She¡¯s been learning tae kwon do, karate, mixed martial arts, boxing, and wrestling ever since she was little.


    Unlike Isaac, though, she¡¯s not doing this cause she wants to have fun, she¡¯s just doing this cause she likes beating people up. Honestly, sometimes she scares him.


    They continued fighting like that for a while. Punching and kicking each other until they wore themselves out.


    It wasn¡¯t until after they were cleaning up that Isaac noticed that no one had come to check on them.


    No one came running in to tell them to stop; no one called the cops to drag them out. No one was concerned about the two kids left alone in the office. It¡¯s not like they were trying to be quiet either. They were screaming and breaking things, slamming into walls, and just plain being loud.


    And yet nobody opened the door.


    Afterwards, when he saw the mess they made, Isaac felt a little bad. He hadn¡¯t meant for things to go this far, he was just playing with Luci.


    So, after getting Luci to help, they started fixing the overturned chairs and the knocked-over shelves, trying to make everything look more presentable before he came back.


    Course, that was when Henry decided to walk in.


    They didn¡¯t see him come in. They were so busy picking books up off the floor that they forgot to pay attention to the door. They thought that they had some more time before he came back.


    Isaac, now with his glasses on, was the first to notice Herny. He didn¡¯t know who he was at first, just some tall guy that came walking in. And he was tall -so tall he practically had to duck his head when he walked through the door.


    He was also really sweaty. His dark skin was practically glistening with sweat as he hurriedly tucked in his shirt.


    Watching him almost hyperventilate cause he was so out of breath, Isaac figured that he ran here or something. Cause honestly, he looked like he had just come back from running a marathon.


    That was when Isaac saw his name tag, Henry Perez.


    Isaac froze; that wasn¡¯t good. They hadn¡¯t finished cleaning yet. There were still a lot of things on the floor and on his desk. Oh man, this wasn¡¯t good.


    Isaac actually wanted to go to this school, not get expelled before the semester even started. And destroying the coordinator¡¯s office might not be the kind of thing these people are willing to overlook, no matter how well they know his family.


    They need to go to this school. Isaac wants to learn more about his grandpa and this key, while Luci¡­well, he doesn¡¯t know what she wants, but he wants her there. The point is that they can¡¯t mess this up.


    Kind of hard to do after already messing it up, but he¡¯ll work with what they got.


    Leaning over to Luci, Isaac whispered his plan.


    Right now, Henry hasn¡¯t yet seemed to realize the state of his office. He was too busy stuffing papers into his bag to look up. That means they don¡¯t have much time.


    Quickly, before he noticed, they threw what they had in their hands aside and jumped into their seats. Doing some last-minute touches on their hair and clothes, they then put their hands on their laps and looked forward.


    They were going to pretend that they had nothing to do with this. That was their plan, total deniability; no one saw them, no one heard them, so no one can prove that they did it.


    Yeah, not the greatest idea, but in the moment, it was the best that Isaac could come up with. There was just no way of hiding this mess. Because, really, his office was a disaster. It looked like a tornado had gone through it and spat it back out.


    Books were on the floor, papers just thrown around, his Newton''s cradle was thrown across the room. And in the middle was Isaac and Luci, trying to look as innocent as possible.


    Kind of hard to do when you got bruises and cuts everywhere. But hey, they tried. It didn¡¯t work, but they tried. As long as they can make Henry believe that they had nothing to do with this then they win.


    When Henry finally looked up, Isaac was expecting him to explode. He was already prepared to tell this big lie about finding a bird in the office and that he and Luci had ¡°worked hard to chase it out, and that''s why the office was such a mess.¡±


    But instead, Henry just ignored the obvious destruction around him and immediately started apologizing to them.


    ¡° Sorry ..huh...guys. Oh.. let me catch my breath...huff." Isaac was staring to get a little concerned, this guy looked like he needed help.


    "I ...had another appointment ...that went a little bit longer than ..I thought, but I¡¯m here now.¡± He finally managed to huff out completely ignoring the mess around him.


    Isaac turned his head towards Luci, wondering if she was just as confused as he was. It didn¡¯t seem like he even noticed the state of his office. He just walked in like it was any other Monday morning.


    No, he had to know, Isaac thought. There was no way he didn¡¯t know. He watched him have to waddle over the mess on the floor just to get to his desk. He even had to clear off his desk just so that he could set up his laptop.


    Watching him work despite the chaos around made Isaac, for the fourth time that day, feel lost. That didn¡¯t happen often, but today seemed to be just that kind of day. This building, his family, Luci, and now this guy- nothing was going how he had imagined it.


    Here he was, worried about getting kicked out, and this guy doesn¡¯t seem to care at all. I mean, come on what was the point of any of this then? They could have left everything just the way it was and just relaxed - no problem.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Man, this guy¡­No respect at all for the work that they had to put in.


    ¡° Ok. Hi, I¡¯m Henry Perez. I¡¯m going to be your student coordinator this year. What that means is that I¡¯m here to help you get enrolled and signed up for your classes next year.¡± He said, reaching out to shake their hands.


    Glad to move on, Isaac immediately grabbed his hand and started shaking it.¡° Hello, Mr.Perez, I¡¯m Isaac Cantor, and that¡¯s Luciana Silva. Don¡¯t mind her, she¡¯s shy.¡±


    Isaac tried to ignore Luci¡¯s shoe digging into his foot, thankfully, she wasn¡¯t wearing any heels, but man, did it hurt. He doesn¡¯t know why she¡¯s so mad, if you ain¡¯t gonna speak up for yourself, then he¡¯s just gonna keep on talking.


    ¡° We¡¯ve been waiting for you for over forty minutes.¡± Luci huffed, crossing her arms in front of her as she glared at the wall.


    ¡° Yes. Sorry, I tried to get back here as soon as I could, but they had a lot of questions about the school, so I stayed behind to answer a few - But I¡¯m here now and ready to answer any questions that you two might have.¡± Taking his hand back, Herny reached into his bag and pulled out some papers.


    ¡° Now, first things first, these are the forms that you and your parents need to fill out to apply for next semester. We also have a link at the top if you want to finish it online.¡± He said, handing them the papers.


    Taking one, Isaac handed the other to Luci, who reluctantly took it as she stared out the window. Flipping it over, Isaac started reading the requirements that they


    ¡° While you guys look that over, let me tell you a little bit about our school. Now, fun fact about our school is that we are actually a college and high school combined. This is so that if you wish to further your education into higher fields, then we can help you with that. Another is that, as an Academy, we can be more selective in how we enroll our students, we-. ¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± Luci asked, looking down at her packet.


    Henry paused, confused at being interrupted. He probably thought that they¡¯d hold their questions for after, but they weren¡¯t very patient people.


    ¡° Hmm?¡± He asked.


    ¡° The page for ¡®classes to take¡¯¡­What is this? ¡±


    ¡° I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t-.¡±


    ¡°Right here, it says Introduction to Magic. Is this supposed to be a joke? I thought that this was an actual school, not a school for magicians. I mean, why even send us letters if you''re just gonna show us something like this?¡± She said, waving the packet in Henry¡¯s face.


    Introduction to Magic Isaac wanted to see what Luci was talking about. So, taking his own packet, he flipped to the classes section, and sure enough, there it was. Right there at the bottom of the page was something called Introduction to Magic for freshmen and sophomores.


    That wasn¡¯t the only weird one either. The ones for math and English looked fine, but then they had Alchemy instead of science, Runic for Language, and something called Magic Circle Comp. as Writing.


    Heh, this just keeps getting better and better, Isaac thought. Setting his packet aside, he looked up, wondering what Henry would say. If he didn¡¯t give Luci a good answer, then she might just walk out of here.


    Henry didn¡¯t look worried though, just a little surprised. ¡° Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I thought you would already know since you were friends with Isaac.¡±


    Know? Know what? He doesn¡¯t know anything. What does being friends with him have to do with anything?


    Luci was looking at him for answers now, but what can he say? He doesn''t know what Henry¡¯s talking about. He¡¯s just as lost as she is.


    Isaac tried to think about what Henry could mean. Was he talking about his family? Were they supposed to tell him something? Too bad they never tell him anything. He would have loved holding this over Luci¡¯s head.


    ¡° Uh, usually, we have someone else introduce this to you, but okay, let''s start simple. Magic is real, " Henry said.


    Isaac and Luci waited for him to continue but Henry seemed to think that that was all he needed to say. And what a what to tell them. He didn¡¯t give them any kind of build-up or try to add any weight to it. Nope, just blurted it out. He threw it out onto their laps and then expected them to do something with it.


    Isaac had to turn away to keep himself from laughing. He had seen Luci making the face. The one where she scrunches up her nose, and her nostrils start flaring while her eyes get all sort of wide-eyed. It''s the face she makes when she can¡¯t understand the words being spoken to her face.


    It''s funny, usually, he¡¯s the one making her make that face.


    But seriously, what did he say? Magic?


    If Isaac wasn¡¯t paying attention before, he is now.


    ¡° You mean ¡°pull a rabbit,¡±- ¡°is this is your card¡± magic?¡± Isaac asked as he leaned forward in interest.


    ¡° Tch, Isaac, this is stupid. This idiot¡¯s just messing with us. Should have known better than to come here.¡± Luci said.


    Isaac didn¡¯t know. He wanted to believe him.


    Normally, when you hear something this crazy, your gut reaction is disbelief. Luci thinks he¡¯s lying, probably thinks this whole place is a lie too. But Isaac thinks that he might be telling them the truth.


    Isaac knows lying, he also knows when someone is trying to prank him. And right now he couldn¡¯t see Henry doing either of those things.


    If he was lying, then why use such an obvious lie? They¡¯d know he was lying immediately, making the lie meaningless.


    If this was a prank, then it was a pretty sad one. What, you just tell them a lie and move on? Come on, where were the lights and the smoke, you know, the special effects. Make them believe it. Otherwise, what''s the point?


    The more he thought about it, the more Isaac wanted to believe him. Magic, it''s crazy, but he wanted it to be true.


    And at the end of the day, it doesn¡¯t matter. Cause he¡¯s going to this school. This school has something to do with his family, hell, Granpa Jaime built this place. So he¡¯ll go along with it, for now, see where this takes him.


    Henry laughed at Luci. He didn¡¯t seem to mind her calling him an idiot and instead tried to placate her.


    ¡° No, no Ms. Silva. Magic is quite real.¡± He reiterated.


    ¡° No, magic isn¡¯t real.¡± Luci grounded out. ¡° I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing, and quite frankly, I don¡¯t care. What I do know is that you''re wasting my time. You brought me down here, made me wait for over an hour, and the only thing you have to say is this stupid joke!!¡±


    At the end, Luci was on her feet, slamming her hands on Henry¡¯s desk. She tried to be calm, but Henry¡¯s insistance on this lie was really making her mad.


    Isaac didn¡¯t say anything. He just sat and watched, wondering what Henry would do to change her mind.


    Under Luci¡¯s angry gaze, Herny just calmy stood up and reached into his pocket. He acted like he had been through hundreds of times before. Without answering Luci¡¯s question, Henry pulled out a large key from his pocket.


    It was another skeleton key, just like Isaac¡¯s, except this one was bigger and silver. This was it, proof that this his key had something to do with this school.


    Isaac tried to keep his face blank, he wasn¡¯t expecting to find a clue this early so he was unprepared when Henry showed them the key. He had to get his emotions under control, he didn¡¯t want Henry to see how interested he was in the key.


    Isaac doesn¡¯t think it was a mistake that just yesterday, his key was delivered through an unmakred package after dark. Whoever gave him this key wanted to keep it a secret. Plus, the warning on the note made him doubly sure that he shouldn¡¯t be letting people know that he had this key.


    Right now, no one else, apart from his family, knows about the golden key. And until he knows more, that¡¯s how Isaac was going to keep it.


    Henry stepped out from behind his desk and walked around Luci. Stepping over the scattered books and papers, he reached the office door behind them and closed it.


    ¡° We normally save the tour for after, but I guess we can skip ahead,¡± he said as he pushed the key into the door.


    Isaac thought that was weird, the door didn¡¯t have a lock. And, maybe more importantly, even if it did, how was he going to give them a tour when he locked them in a room?


    ¡° Hey, what are you doing!¡± Luci shouted. Seeing an adult lock them in a room with him made her uneasy. If he was going to attack them, would anyone come? Stepping behind Isaac, she forced him to act as her shield in case he did anything.


    Henry ignored her. Instead, he turned the key and opened the door. Luci opened her mouth to yell at him, wondering what all that was for, but her words died in her throat as soon as she looked through the door. Hiding behind Isaac, she didn''t get a full view, but what she did see stopped her in her tracks.


    Because he was in the front, Isaac got a full view of it, and he still didn''t know what he was seeing. The only thing that he knew was that it was incredible. He only realized after that he was smiling when his cheeks started to hurt.


    Noise was pouring in from the open door, and the clatter and murmurs of a hundred people washed over them. As where there used to be a hallway, there was now a crowd of people mulling about in front of the door. None of them paid attention to the two teenagers gawking at them through an open doorway. From where he was standing, Isaac could see orange skies in the background and a larger building towering over in the distance.


    Isaac had to see that this was really. Without realizing it, Isaac began to walk forward. Ignoring Luci''s call for him to wait, he walked around Herny. Ignoring the pleased smirk on his face, Isaac grabbed hold of the door frame and leaned out.


    Past Henry¡¯s office door, an entire city was waking up to the morning sun. Though this sun was different from the one behind him, Isaac still felt the warmth on his skin. Walking through the door, Isaac looked around and noticed that the door he just came from wasn''t connected to a wall. Instead, it and several other doors stationed around sat on a large circular platform that hung over a giant hole leading to another city underneath. And the only thing holding it up were four roads that connected the platform to the city before him.


    Water from ponds waterfalled down into the city below between the roads as Isaac pushed his way past a line of people in front of him and made his way toward the city. Behind him, he could still make out Luci calling for him to wait, but he wasn''t listening anymore.


    Isaac didn¡¯t know what was happening, and he didn¡¯t care. He just didn¡¯t want it to be a dream.


    Stopping at the edge of the road, Isaac spread out his hands and started to spin. He didn''t care about the people staring at him or that he was taking up a part of the road. He was just so happy to be here.


    Herny and Luci finally caught up behind him. They stayed back, watching as Isaac got lost in his own little world. Henry apologized to the people around them as Luci walked closer to Isaac, her arms crossed across her chest as she looked around with apprehension. Catching a passing couple staring at them, she glared back at them, scaring them and making them scamper away from the terrifying little girl.


    Coming around, Herny stepped into the city in front of them.


    ¡° Welcome to Last Heaven.¡± He said as he smiled.

 Chapter 5 - Part 1

    Walking through Last Heaven made Isaac feel like he was walking through one of his dreams. Everywhere he looked, something new took his attention away. Isaac could barely keep his head straight as he tried to look at everything before he missed them.


    People walking around with capes hanging off their shoulders. Metal men marching up and down the streets in blue uniforms. Bright pink birds flew in the sky while magical animals walked side by side with people on the streets.


    There were people stirring cauldrons in shops using only sticks, while across the street, a man made fire with a jewel. Isaac was even certain that he saw a lady holding a hamster on her head that breathed fire as they walked by.


    Last Heaven was a magical city straight from one of his books.


    The only thing that ruined it for him was having to stay with Henry. Apparently, without their ID, they weren¡¯t allowed to wander around. Something about not being born here or something. Isaac didn¡¯t know he wasn¡¯t listening. Still wasn¡¯t, in fact.


    This sucked. He wanted to go and explore, not take this kiddy tour.


    Isaac clicked his tongue in irritation. He¡¯d leave if he could, but after years of putting up with him, Luci¡¯s become sort of an expert on making sure that Isaac stayed in line.


    Every time he tried to walk away, she''d just reach out and pull him back in.


    That¡¯s okay, he told himself. He¡¯ll come back later when he¡¯s got more time. Right now, he¡¯ll just have to settle for looking, he guessed.


    Not that he wasn¡¯t happy with what he was seeing. This whole thing was a new experience for him. He¡¯s never even left Lubbock before, and now, it was like he was being overloaded with all the new sights in front of him. He could barely keep up with everything.


    That was probably when Luci decided that it was time to get some answers. Cause as soon as Isaac was distracted, Luci started walking ahead. She had gotten over her disbelief of magic fairly quickly and was now looking for answers.


    Isaac saw her, of course, hard n. But she didn¡¯t need his help, so he hung back a bit, letting her take charge while he just listened in.


    ¡° Hey.¡± She called out, not caring if she came off as rude. ¡°You¡¯d said that you¡¯d answer any questions we had, right?¡±


    Henry just kept on smiling as he responded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m here to help you in any way that I can. What would you like to know?¡±


    ¡°Okay, first, the people here. Why are some of them¡­ different?¡± She scowled. She hated having to stumble over her words like that. She wanted to say they looked weird. But she¡¯d rather not offend anybody on the first day.


    She¡¯ll leave that to Isaac.


    Isaac knew what she meant though. Walking through Last Heaven, they saw all kinds of people, many of them looking like they came from all over the world. But there were some that made them question if they were even human.


    Like that one lady towering over everyone like a tree or those two girls with animal ears and tails. There was even a guy with rocks instead of skin.


    ¡° Oh, well, you¡¯ll learn more about this in class, but after a couple of years, many of the first settlers realized that their bodies were reacting differently to the new magic-rich environment.¡± Directing them down another road, Henry continued. ¡° This led to many people developing traits that were otherwise thought to be impossible, like the ones you just saw. Things are better now though, we later found a way to minimalize the effects and can now live without fear.¡±


    ¡° But some of it''s also a cosmetic effect that many people can get through stylist, like those people over there,¡± Henry said, gesturing to some people with his head.


    Off to the side, a group of teenagers were laughing uproariously as they sat at the table drinking. Isaac could see what Henry meant. Some of those guys had neon-colored hair that glowed in the light.


    The blond one noticed Isaac looking their way. He didn¡¯t seem too happy with them being watched. Isaac could tell by the way he gestured with his hand in a not-very-nice way.


    Isaac smiled. Looks like he was making new friends already. He wanted to memorize his face, but he knew that he¡¯d forget it soon enough.


    Isaac hoped that he¡¯d see him again, he needed a new friend now that what¡¯s his face wasn¡¯t going to be around.


    Walking away, Isaac caught up with Herny. Luci ignored him. She was too busy asking more questions.


    ¡° So Mr. Perez¡­ What is this place.¡±


    ¡° Last Heaven? Well, that goes into the history of the Magi, which, again, you¡¯ll learn more about at the Academy. Still, the bare bones of it is that after the exodus of magic, Earth became a barren wasteland in terms of magic. Magi like us could no longer live there. So after years of research, Magi from all across the world came together and opened a doorway using these.¡±


    Henry held up his silver Key, letting Isaac and Luci get a good look at it for the first time. Isaac got closer, wondering if he could spot any differences compared to his key. Looking it over, they didn¡¯t seem that different, the only thing was their color.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡° These Ether Keys, as we call them, allowed us to leave a barren world and come here. A new world full of magic. We named this world Eden and built Last Heaven as our refuge.¡±Henry continued.


    Ether Key, is that what his Key was?  That didn¡¯t help him at all. It just gave him more questions. Isaac glared as Henry returned the key to his pocket. Think, he told himself, what does this new information give him.


    Ok, Ether keys are what they call their magic door keys, thats easy enough. He¡¯s also sure that he saw people using those keys back there with all those doors, so everyone seems to have one. That¡¯s two things that he knows.


    But all those keys were silver. If Grandpa¡¯s key was an Ether Key, why was it gold? Were there different levels of keys that people could get?


    If silver Ether Keys open a door here, then were would the golden one go to?


    Something else was that the doors on the platform had runes engraved on their frames, and every time a key was inserted, they¡¯d glow. Does that mean that the door was on, or does it mean that the key was connected to the door?


    Would his key work and those doors? And if so, should he even try it?


    No better to keep things secret for now, better than having someone find out what he¡¯s got.


    He¡¯ll wait until he gets back home before he starts testing it out. He¡¯s got other things to look up when he gets home anyway. He¡¯s sure that he¡¯s heard of ether before, just got to brush up on his books when he gets back.


    ¡° Last Heaven has grown since those first days. And despite the will of those outside, we have built ourselves a city and have continued to thrive in this new world.¡±


    Coming back from his thoughts, Isaac was surprised to hear Henry still talking. He seemed to get really intense when he was talking about Last Heaven''s history.


    Though it seemed like Luci didn¡¯t like hearing about the great history of Last Heaven. From the way the veins on her temple were showing, she was probably a few seconds from punching Henry in the throat. He better step in before that happens.


    ¡°Hey, Mr. Perez, how many people live in Last Heaven?¡± This was something Isaac was generally curious about.


    From what he saw, Last Heaven didn¡¯t look that big. There weren¡¯t any skyscrapers or apartments around, so it shouldn¡¯t be that much. But this was also a city of magic, so who knows?


    Henry paused, having to think about it.¡° Well, last I heard, the population of Last Heaven reached around thirty-four to forty million last year.¡±


    Isaac¡¯s brain stopped for a moment. Forty million? That''s about the same population as Tokyo. Isaac knows he looked it up. Lubbock¡¯s only got like a two hundred thousand. How are there so many people here?


    ¡° Impossible,¡± Luci stated. She must have been thinking the same thing he was.


    Henry was looking smug again. He stopped turning to face them with his hands on his hips, and asked,


    ¡° Oh, how is that.¡±


    ¡°Forty million people can¡¯t live in a place this small. We could see the edge of town from over there. It couldn¡¯t be more than a few miles in diameter, not enough to hold forty million people. Especially in these little houses.¡±


    Luci rolled her eyes. She couldn¡¯t believe that forty million people lived here. Isaac stood silently to the side. He didn¡¯t know why she found that so hard to believe, they just walked through a magical door.


    What more does she need?


    Henry just huffed at them, laughing at naivety.


    ¡° The edge of town. Come on, let me show you something.¡±


    Turning around, Herny started walking back towards the street they just passed. Earlier, Henry had been leading them in a circle, making sure that the travel doors weren¡¯t out of sight for long. But now he was taking them further out into the city, out towards the edge.


    It took them a couple of minutes, moving through streets and pushing through the crowds. At one point, he even took them through an alleyway, but after a while, they were finally at the edge.


    That was when Isaac got his first good look at Eden. Before the buildings blocked his view, the only thing he could see was the sky. But now, now he could finally see what Eden was.


    Henry had told them that the first Magi had used the Keys to travel to a new world. Isaac didn¡¯t really understand what he was saying, but now it finally sunk in. They weren¡¯t on Earth anymore.


    Past the edge of Last Heaven, a large grassland stretched out before their eyes. Massive trees rose in the distance, and further beyond that, mountains rose into the sky. Mountains so tall that even so far away, Isaac still couldn''t see the top.


    That¡¯s not all Isaac saw either. Monsters, giant animals, prowling along the plains, hiding in the trees. Some of them looked like they could eat him in a single bite. And the only thing stopping them from reaching him was a giant moat standing between him and them.


    Henry, unafraid of the sight before him, kept walking closer to the edge. Not knowing what else to do, they followed after him. Isaac, was curious on how this answered their question.


    As they walked closer towards the edge, Isaac noticed that the moat was empty.


    Strange, considering that the moat was the only thing standing between the city and a horde of monsters knocking at their door. Except for how deep the moat was.


    It¡¯s hard to see from far away, but the closer they got the further down they could see. Hell, just from where he was standing right now, it looked like it could have swallowed up his entire school, and they were still so far away.


    It was only after they reached the edge of the city that Isaac finally realized that what he thought was a moat wasn¡¯t a moat at all. It was a cliff.


    Near the edge of Last Heaven, railings were planted into the stone. They were there to make sure that no one would fall over the side. Isaac, grabbing a hold of these railings, leaned over and gazed down the side of Last Heaven.


    Last Heaven didn¡¯t have a moat. It never did. It was a crater.


    This entire trip, Isaac couldn¡¯t stop smiling, he had been too happy to stop. But he wasn¡¯t smiling anymore. Because Last Heaven wasn¡¯t a city, it was a -.


    ¡°Last Heaven, a tower that stood the test of time, houses all forty million of us within her walls,¡± Henry explained.


    A tower. Last, Heaven was a tower.


    A Tower thousands of feet in the air, barely standing even with the crater that they were in.


    Isaac couldn¡¯t forget the last words on the note from his great-grandpa. How could he? He left it on the stand next to his bed so he could always remember.


    Don¡¯t trust the Tower.