MTLNOVEL Chapter 34: PTSD
Whatever game he was playing was indeed dangerous. Provoking these girls will not only get him beat in front of everyone, he will also become a target for others who saw him getting dragged about by two skinny girls.
"I don't even have Loca's pen with me again. I really shouldn't have thought of this," he regretted.
"What did you just call me?" the tall, slim girl yelled at him. Leo had thrown shots at her wide mouth and she wasn't getting none of that.
Now that he thought of it, he wasn't even sure that provoking Rosa's friends will make her leave him alone. The girl cannot be predicted with things like this. And from the way she acted earlier when she saw her friends, it was obvious that she wasn't that attached to them. The two were probably forcing themselves on her. It might be too late, but Leo realized this tactic won't work against Rosa.
He could see that some energy was already building in the girl's hands. Now might be the time to apologize, even though he doubted it will have any effect. The girl was beyond furious. She must have had a bad history with people abusing her big mouth.
"Wait...wait. I didn't mean..."
He was about to apologize when he heard sudden beepings from every angle in the canteen. Leo looked round and saw that everyone was looking at their watch. He saw the notification on the watch of the other girl and it displayed, [Class starts in 5 minutes. Don't be late on your first day]
"You'll pay for this later," the angry girl promised while she swirled her hair and turned to walk away from him. The other one who was quiet all along just stared in a threatening manner for a while before joining her friend. Together they joined the rest of the students leaving the canteen for the class.
Leo kept his eyes glued on the door, scanning every student as they went out. He was trying to see if Lam was here. The crowd dwindled but he still didn't see Lam. He became worried for the little boy. He remembered how torn he was after the test. He got an F-rank which indicated that he was an Impossible. Everyone had discriminated against him that day, even the notification system didn't congratulated him properly. Lam got back to his seat, completely different from before he went out.
"Lam really needs help, even more than me," Leo said. "But where is he?"
Before his eyes, the last student stepped out of the canteen. Leo saw the mess the students have caused this beautiful place. Plates still full with meals scattered everywhere, some were even splattered on the beautiful walls.
A door opened behind the counter of the server, and five service bots wheeled out carrying cleaning equipments. Instantly, they set to work, turning the place around to like just like it looked before.
"What am I waiting for..." Oh right, the girl."
"Leo! Come outside you duffus!" Rosa shouted from the passageway.
He ran out to meet his saviour for the day, stepping round a busy bot and tripping on an empty bucket.
"It's all done. Let's go. We have only one minute before the classroom door is locked. Mr. Alpha is the one holding the first class and he's a ruthless one according to a senior," Rosa explained.
He didn't say a word as they continued running. On Rosa's watch, he could see that it remained 48 seconds. If the classroom was away from this building, there was no way they'd make it. Preparing for the worst, he asked, "what is the punishment for late coming?"
"Mr. Al told me we'll be asked to help him arrange the students files and help him store them in his brain. I don't know what that means but it is a very boring and terrible punishment," Rosa said.
"I agree. Your quirk is Telekinesis, right? That thing you did that made me float on the field." Leo asked.
"Stop talking. Run faster, huh," Rosa shouted.
"But you can make us fly and arrive there faster," Leo was panting already.
"I can't do that yet. Run!"
She sped up and left Leo behind. Her stamina was obviously more than Leo's. He tried to cover the distance between them but failed. He looked ahead and saw that she has stopped at the entrance of a bulding. "Why is she waiting?"
He finally got to the entrance too and together they stepped into true classroom. Rosa's watch read 00:00 as soon as they got in. The class was already filled with students. Before them was Alpha, their teacher. His long hair appeared even darker as it fell on his face. He has thin sharp eyes that scanned students till they confess to whatever offence they might have been suspected of. He was dressed in all black, black top, black pants, black robe, and black gloves. He has a really imposing look.
"Here we have our first late comers of the year. An applause please," Alpha said to the students.
Obediently, the class shook with a thunderous applause.
"Mr. Al will be very pleased to have you in his company after class is over. Go to your seats."
Rosa wanted to complain that they entered the classroom before the time ticked zero, but as soon as she met Alpha's gaze, she fell silent and turned away.
"Why did you wait for me? You could have escaped detention," Leo whispered to her harshly as they walked to their seats.
"Detention, Leo? That word was last used about 80 years ago. How did you come about all these old words?"
He didn't reply. Rosa found two empty seats. She sat on one and urged Leo to sit too, but he didn't. He walked further down the classroom and found another at the back.
"I wouldn't want Jade to see us together. I know I'm already in trouble walking into the classroom with you" he thought to himself.
The class started...
"As I have said before, my name is Alpha and I'll be teaching you Earth's History for now. This was supposed to be Mr. Al's class but the old man has been busy with some assignments which our two latecomers will be helping him with today...
"I will be taking other quirk improvement classes with you later but for now, I'm your History teacher... C'mon applaud me," Alpha said jokingly but with a serious face. The students obeyed. "Ah, yes. I love that sound."
"I know we all are here for one thing in particular which is to improve our quirks to the highest level possible for us. And we all know the grand scheme for this academy setting placed by Earth's council. I don't have to start telling you who our common enemy is. If you don't know, raise your hand so I can direct you to Mr. Al also...
"Now before we improve our quirks, is it not right to know why this all started? Is it not right to know how these all started? Even if you don't agree, I'm telling you that it is very right. What more can push you to your limit if you don't know how our enemies destroyed our once peaceful planet?
"It started exactly 78 years ago..."
Leo's head rang as soon as the man mentioned that year. He was about to experience a major trauma again. His eyes started fluttering and a sickening feeling set at the pit of his belly.
"...which one of you was born 78 year ago? None, yes. So open your eyes and listen well as the whole event is narrated by some secret source."
Aloha stepped aside and a screen opened up behind him. On the screen was a bold title, 'Earth's Doom'.
A dark blue sphere was shown slowly rotating in space. The narrator talked about how earth was one completely whole and spherical before the public enemy from another star decided to ruin it in order to exploit earthlings of their precious resources.
Leo saw the red mark across the sky as the narrator talked about the first sign of the appearance of the Xollante race. Everyone had thought it was a comet, but it turned out it was a nuclear weapon bulding at the bottom of the Xollante ship. The earth's space force engaged the Xollante in battle close to Earth's atmosphere, but they couldn't subdue the intruders.
The camera zoomed close to the ships and showed how the destructive weapon was launched on Earth.
Leo closed his eyes and started sweating profusely. His forgotten feeling of regret was now setting in again. "I failed Earth. I failed Earth," was ringing repeatedly in his brain. His head swirled as he heard the sound of the weapon whooshing through space, breaking Earth's attack terminators, edging closer to the beautiful planet. Something snapped in his head and he doubled over.
"Somebody help. We need a healer here. He's dying! Help him!" a female screams sounded from somewhere far away.