Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. There is no relation to any real persons, groups, events etc. They are all fictional.

Chapter 10

School Life - The Play (Part 3)

**** Aden’s POV ****

“Well…I was late and the ceremony already ended. So I skipped it.” Yumi answered, flustered.

Thinking back, she moved to this neighbourhood on the day school started. So it makes sense why she was late. 

“Can I ask why you moved here?” I asked

When I was expecting an answer, she laughed out loud. A few strands of her black hair stood in between our eyes from the wind through the window. 

“They really didn’t say anything to you, did they?” 

My brows rose in confusion and I got ready to leave in embarrassment. She leaned against her table facing me. 

Who are “They”? The voice in my mind asked.

“The practice for the Play happens in the Auditorium.” Yumi chuckled.

I imagined slapping myself, it was obvious that the practice for the play happens on stage. After all, the students who are doing the play, including us, are mostly new. So the seniors definitely asked Sir Abraham for the stage.  

“Were they so busy that I was not informed about this?” I sighed.

Again she laughed quietly as her hand covered the mouth. I closed my book and started pack everything in my bag. 

“You know you don’t need your bag right.” Yumi pointed out.

“I just don’t want to forget things. You know we can be careless sometimes.” 

The hallways were filled with students who were participating in the Talent Fest, some were making charts to be hung on the wall and the stage, while others were just there for fun. 

As we were walking, I curiously looked inside a classroom. Inside were a few students who seemed to be singing, but I could not really tell due to the soundproofing of the classroom’s walls. 

“I heard they sing very well.” Yumi commented.

I smiled. Yumi seems to be changing for the better. She is becoming more talkative.Then I noticed that I stared too much when Yumi gave me a smile. 

“Whatcha thinking of?”

She tilted her head to me and our eyes locked. But this time, I didn’t freeze up in embarrassment. Instead, I diverted her attention.

“The flower is starting to wilt.” 

I pointed at the yellow flower that was resting on top of her head supported by the gaps between braids. 

She took the flower in her hands and stared at it with a dale face.

“Don’t worry, the flowers from the tree where you got that flower from will be blooming again tomorrow.” I assured her.

When I looked at her, the hallway suddenly went silent. All the students and the birds who were chirping outside had disappeared leaving me and Yumi alone with a wide smile on her face. 

We talked and talked. I don’t know how much time has passed or how much time it took us to reach the front glass door of the school building, but I know it took way more than it should have. 

“Where is the auditorium?” Yumi asked.

“You can see it when you turn left from the door”

Yumi ran to the door after hearing my answer but when I was just about to yell to slow down, she bumped into someone familiar. 

Jake.

He stood there the same as I remembered him.

“Tsk. Look at where you're going would ya?” He paused the moment he realised it was us. “I’ve been searching for you guys.”

Yumi stood there in shock.

“Don’t worry I’m not here to fight. How should I put it? Uh… it's more like I am here to apologise.” Jake assured us. 

Even after hearing him, Yumi didn’t let her guard down. 

Just what happened to her in the past?

Just then, I heard a female voice. “Jake, weren’t you talking about them?” 

I only just noticed a girl was standing near him, it was the Leader of the StoryTellers club. She was clutching Jake’s arm and stared at us. 

I tried comforting Yumi, but I could still see the fear in her eyes. Actually, it looked like she was more worried for me than herself.

“I’m so sorry about what happened on that day, I wasn’t really thinking straight.” Jake apologised while bowing his head down. 

“It’s alright, I’m sorry for hitting you too.” 

Suddenly, the Leader of the StoryTellers club yelled out. “I know you! You're new to the school aren't you?”

Before answering, I looked at Yumi. She seemed calmer but was still silent.

“Yeah, we were on the way to the Auditorium for practice."

Her face brightened up after hearing the word “auditorium”. 

“Oh you guys are in the play too!” She paused for a while before continuing. “Sorry for the late introduction.My name is Lyra and as you already know this is my boyfriend, Jake” 

Not only her appearance, her name is also like Ayra. 

Is she Ayra’s lost sister or something? 

“My name is Aden and–” 

“And my name is Yumi!” Yumi interrupted loudly while shaking Lyra’s hand. 

Wasn’t she… Never mind. 

“It's a pleasure to meet you! Lets go they might be waiting for us”  

We said goodbye to Jake after we chatted for a few minutes. He said he had a Badminton Competition at Talent Fest. Well, it's like a surprise that his girlfriend was Lyra. Then it suddenly hit me. I forgot to ask him about what happened that day, and why my hand was injured.  

“Jake!” 

I yelled as he walked in the opposite direction of us. 

“What?” He asked with confusion while turning to me. 

“What exactly happened on that day? I really don’t remember anything.”

“Huh?” 

Confusion was plastered on his face, and of course he must think I’m crazy for asking such a question, as according to Yumi, I was the one who nearly hit him in the face. 

“You actually don’t remember?” 

He asked again to make sure I was not joking.

“Yes, I want to know what happened to the point where I injured my right fist.” 

I waved my injured right fist in front of him. The pain was mostly gone, but the wound wasn’t recovered fully so I still had to wrap it up in a clean white bandage.He went into thinking, processing the things I asked. 

He finally answered. “I don’t know what happened to you but I didn’t do it alright?”

“Yes, I know.” 

“Well after you fell down to your knees you suddenly jumped and stared at us then babbled something in an unknown language. But that wasn’t all. After you babbled, you suddenly kicked me.”

He paused, face turning into one that showed a broken pride.

“N-Not saying you’re faster, but I let my guard down at that time.” Jake unnecessarily added, trying to salvage any pride he has left.

“After the kick, I fell down to the road, and just when I came to my senses, you jumped on top of me and you punched straight to my face. Luckily, I dodged it, resulting in your fist hitting the road.”

That explains the injury…but I spoke in a different language? And I kicked Jake down to the ground?.While answering my question, more questions popped up in my mind.

As I was trying to figure out the answers, I heard Yumi call out to me.

“Are you coming, Ady?” 

“Coming!” I answered.

But I wanted to ask one last question which popped up when I saw Jake. 

“Did my father come to you?”

“No, he didn’t.” 

I knew his answer would be no because if Dad caught him, for the forest fire he might have been in custody already. Another question popped up. 

Why did Dad suddenly leave that day?

As I was thinking, Jake spoke. 

“Also I am not sure If we were the ones that caused the massive fire.” 

This sentence was shocking to me, and I was immersed with more questions. 

“Again, I am sorry about everything that happened that day. The thing is, we were inside the forest when the fire happened, so I thought someone from the rival gang caused the fire with ill intentions.”

When Jake was about to turn around, I stopped him.

“Jake, be careful, my Dad is the one in charge of this case, and if you get caught by him, who knows what’ll happen.” 

Jake took the warning and we left each other. But one thing is certain. Something was happening to me. As I am a “Reader” of fantasy novels, it felt like someone was possessing me.

Someone possessing me? That will only happen when pigs fly

I left the spot and went straight to Yumi and Sis Lyra who were waiting for me at the double doors.

“What were you talking about with Jake?” 

Yumi asked with curiosity. I wasn’t surprised by the sudden change in Yumi’s personality but I don’t want the current Yumi to change. 

“Nothing much” 

“Ok lets go in!”

Lyra pushed open the same double door to a large hall, then I saw a group of students in a circle in front of the stage, far away from the double door. Among them, the leader of the theater club, Emily, stood there. 

Emily wore slim glasses while the brown hair flowed down her shoulders. She was a little chubby compared to others but that doesn't mean she’s fat. Her look gave a sense of a confident and a proud leader. 

“Where have you been Lyra?” Emily shouted as we walked to the crowd. 

“Sorry but on the way, I have met with these 2.” Lyra pointed towards us.

“We’ve been waiting for you! I mean how we could practice without the most important characters!”

That sentence gave me chills down to my spine. 

Important characters?

“Oh! Is Ady playing the Knight Role?” Yumi asked excitedly. 

I was left confused by others. Just when I was processing what was happening, Emily spoke. 

“Yes! As you guys already know each other, we assigned you as the Princess and Aden as the Knight.” 

Great. Just great. We’ve become the main focus of the play.

I let out a longer sigh after figuring out what was happening. 

“Let me explain the basic structure of the story.” 

Emily took out an exam board which was placed on top of the table in front of the stage and distributed the paper that was clipped to it. 

The club is relatively small compared to other clubs, there were only 15 to 16 members, and this is when its two clubs combined. 

After everyone was ready with their papers, Emily placed her slim glasses in her face and read the story.

The story was set in a medieval time period where monarchy was active. A strong kingdom who was ruled by King Adrious was at peace. He had a wife named Sofia and a daughter named Lora. They were protected day and night by Royal Guards. The commander of the Royal Guards was a man named Roy who was told to safeguard the princess Lora at all times. Last but not least the Butler of the King and Queen, Loris, served them without delay even at his old age.

As the time went by, it was time for the “Festival of Fire” to begin. The whole kingdom was filled with cheers and flamed cages rose in every corner of the kingdom. Princess Lora and Commander Roy were travelling together to the Hall of Royals, where records and possessions of the previous Kings and Queens were placed. Suddenly Commander Roy was distracted by a woman who ran to them crying. 

When Roy was comforting the woman, someone kidnapped Princess Lora who was still in the carriage and the weeping woman escaped while Roy was shocked by the sudden disappearance of Lora.  

In the end, Commander Roy finds Lora and arrests the criminals who disguised themselves as some travellers of another kingdom. 

Missing a good plot twist, the story is good but predictable.

“So in this Play there will be 8 characters with the Knight and Princess being the main role, Any questions?” 

Emily looked at everyone for a while, but I was immersed in thinking about the story of the Play. 

The plot twist was that the criminals were from different kingdoms disguised as travellers but that was it? 

“But it takes many days to finish the props like the King’s crown and the valley where Lora gets kidnapped.” 

A boy among the group which handles the props walked forward. 

“Yes, thats why we need to start today, after all we only have one month to do this.” 

There was tension in the Prop group, some whispered with each other and the boy stood there thinking.  

“I know it will take most of your time but we need to do this, this is the time where we show that clubs like ours can do something other than slacking off.” 

Lyra stood in the center and looked at us. Then at last she looked at the boy from the Prop group. 

“Thats why I am leaving this duty to you” 

In the end the Prop group gained their motivation. But I was still thinking about the story. I wanted to change some stuff.  

“Emily, I have a question!” 

I put my right arm into the air and everyone stared including Yumi who was standing near me. 

“What is it, Aden?” 

After looking at the paper for the last time, I opened my mouth. 

“What is the Genre of the story?” 

Every story has its own genre which controls the flow of it. This Play sounds like a straight forward one with less unexpected plot twists. 

“It's Romance Fantasy.”

I nearly let out my laughter, there were barely any plots that gave the concept of “Love”. 

“No rudeness to the writer but can I make a few changes to the story?”

All of them stared at me and silence spread among us, maybe thinking, is this kid serious? But Lyra was smiling and Emily didn't express any emotion

“Can you make the story better?” 

Emily broke the silence. The heavy pressure from her stare made me shutter a bit but I didn't let my confidence down. 

“It depends on the audience.”  

Even if the story has good plots and great twists, it depends entirely on the audience to decide whether the story is good or bad. Emily was silent for a while which made me think that she was going to refuse it but I was wrong. 

“Yes you can re-write it but I can only give you a few days.” Then she turned around. “Does anyone else have anything to say?” 

Everyone in the auditorium stopped whispering to each other like the order was absolute. 

“Thank you! Don't worry it won't take that long.” I was thankful. 

“If there are no questions, then I am going to dismiss today’s practice. See you tomorrow.”

As I grabbed the papers where the story was printed, Yumi came to me and asked.

“Will you be able to finish it soon?” 

“You don’t trust me?” 

“No not that” Her tone changed to distress in an instant. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that. “It’s just you will be busy with it for days." 

“Don’t worry, I will finish it by today.” 

“Okay but don’t work too much.” 

Her eyes were filled with worry and care. I felt like she is slowly becoming my mom.  

We left the auditorium and the day went on. 

_________________________________________________________________________

**** Aden’s dad POV ****

“Captain!” Justus rushed inside my office with a few papers in a hurry. 

“Look at this!” 

He handed me a paper which left my body frozen. 

“I know it's not the news you want to hear.”

Author = Ryujin 

Editor/Proofreader = Tricky 

Art = Sara

Instagram = ryujin._.200