Once again, just like any other day in class, Link was fast asleep at his desk. His arms were folded in front of his face so Mr. D wouldn't see his closed eyes. That didn't mean that the girl behind him couldn't see what he was doing.
She picked up her eraser and chucked it at the back of Link's neck. He lifted his head and frantically turned in his seat until he faced her.
"Jeez, what was that for?" Groaned Link.
"Well Mr. Darunia started talking about ancient Greece. Thought you might be interested since you always talk about traveling there."
"No," replied Link. "I said I wanted to go to Europe." Slowly, his sky blue eyes started to close again. The girl then reached over and plucked Link's green beanie off his head. Cursing under his breath, Link tried to take it back but she held it far from his reach.
"Greece is in Europe, dunce! Just thought you'd like to hear about the heroes and monsters and stuff. That's pretty much the majority of Greek culture."
Link sighed. If there was one thing in history class that held his attention, it was the stories of chivalrous heroes defending the weak from the bad guys. Always on adventures, always saving the princess, always getting the girl. He particularly liked the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Unfortunately, Link never had the patience for reading (textbooks or otherwise) so he based most of these interests on movies he had seen.
"Fine, I'll stay awake for the rest of class. But only if you give me back my hat."
"You've got to promise," she cooed while wagging a finger under his nose. Link scrunched his thick brows in a scowl. Then he sighed, raised his right hand in imitation of a Boy Scout, and said; "I, Link, solemnly swear under the presence of the all-powerful Zelda, to stay awake for the remainder of this class period. How's that for a promise?" Zelda giggled into her hand and handed back the beanie.
"Miss Zelda?"
She stopped her snicker abruptly, making a strange hiccuping gasp. "Yes, Mr. Darunia?"
"Could you please inform the rest of class as to what you believe is so funny pertaining to Greek mythology?"
Zelda took a deep breath and stood up. Out of habit she started to play with the buttons of her light purple jacket. Sometimes her fingers would move to a loose string on her elaborately laced pink blouse. Although her hands were having a nervous fit, she stood with an air of confidence, demanding for everyone's attention without uttering a word.
"I don't think the rest of the class will find it as humorous as I, but I thought it was ironic how the Romans adopted the Greek culture when they seized Greece. In a way, Greece managed to take control of the Roman Empire inadvertently."
"An interesting opinion," announced Mr. D without blinking his dark and smiling eyes. "Although we still have quite a ways to go before we reach that part of the lesson. You may take your seat, Miss Zelda." Nodding her head in a curt bow, Zelda silently took her seat once more.
"Nice save," whispered Link as soon as Mr. D continued his lecture.
"You'd know this stuff too if you did the reading occasionally," she replied sarcastically.
"Only when you stop reading ahead."
"Lazy-ass!"
"Bookworm!"
Link smirked and turned in his seat before either one of them got called out again.
The rest of Mr. D's history and geography class continued without further incident. Meaning that Link finished class with half-opened eyes. Finally, the bell rang and students dashed out in a hurry to catch their buses. Hyrule Academy's front doors exploded outward in excitement, unable to contain the plethora of tired and stressed teens.
Out in the hallway behind the masses, Link and Zelda walked side by side towards the front of the private school. A booth caught Link's eye, drawing him to it.
The booth was shaped from two tables in a 'L' pattern in a corner of the hall. Draped over the tables was a royal blue tablecloth. Sunlight streamed in from the nearby windows and highlighted the polished bronze of several medals laid out on display. A tall man in a Navy uniform stood behind the booth holding brochures. His eyes bored into Link, scrutinizing his appearance, as the brave teen approached.
Link ignored him, his gaze captivated by the medals. Some he recognized from his Dad's own collection in the glass display case in his study. The tall man had apparently finished his assessment of the young man when he wordlessly handed Link a brochure. He didn't even blink when Link accepted it. Zelda then grabbed the sleeve of Link's white t-shirt and dragged him away.
"What was that all about?" Zelda smiled, but Link could tell it was forced.
"Oh nothing," he replied. "Some of the medals reminded me of my Dad's."
They passed through the large oak doors of the Academy. Zelda then stopped her brisk walk and gave him a concerned look.
"You're not thinking of joining, are you?"
Link shifted his feet unsteadily and stared at the ground. "The thought might've crossed my mind."
"Wh-Why?"
Link reluctantly lifted his head. Zelda's intense stare was immediately rendered more awkward when she had to look up at him. Link hoped a snicker would arise from his lips, dissolving the animosity growing between them. It also would've helped if Link wasn't actually terrified of what Zelda was capable of.
"I just think it's a good way to serve my country." Link smiled half-heartedly.
Zelda's delicate brows furrowed in an angry pout. "You can't go."
"What?" Link blinked in surprise. "Why not?"
"B-because you'll have to train really hard, and the trainers could be really mean!"
He just smiled and walked forward down the path to the stairs. Zelda followed closely and stopped him just before his worn sneakers hit the first step.
"I'm being serious. I don't think you're up to it."
"Come on Zelda," he said. "I may not have much in academic smarts, but physical training is nothing to me."
"The Navy is not something that you can breeze through," Her gaze hardened into two blue orbs of ice. "It takes real initiative, determination, conf-"
"Are you saying I don't have those qualities?"
Zelda took a step back out of surprise from his response. She teetered on the edge of her purple sandal-heels. "No, of course not."
"Then tell me what you're really thinking."
"I don't want what happened to your parents to happen to you too!"
Silence. Neither of them made any move, any sound. Pressure built around and between them, threatening to crush them, until Link briskly walked down the flight of steps and dropped his skateboard to the ground.
Zelda choked down tears she wouldn't allow to surface as Link skated away.
His mind was racing faster than his board, which made it difficult to steer straight.
Why would she say something so selfish?Doesn't she know me better? Argh! She's too spoiled!
Of course Link didn't think she was spoiled. It wasn't Zelda's fault she was born into a rich family. But it was her fault if she thought Link was going to obey her every last whim as her parents did.
Link barely noticed the person on the sidewalk ahead of him until they nearly collided. His feet tilted the board with the precision of a well-tuned machine, causing him to swerve around the pedestrian. He was too focused in his own thoughts to realize what had just happened. Or to notice the obscene gesture the small girl in black threw in his direction.
Aloha's streets blurred past Link in random order. He wasn't ready yet to take the metro home. Instead, he let his anger steer him to any location it chose. Eventually he came to stop at a construction site.
What used to be an empty lot beside a church was now the half-finished structure of a two-story building. Three of it's four walls were finished, pale brick. The fourth wall was simply a web of steel beams where windows would someday reside. Smooth concrete was in place of a floor. The workers inside were currently adding more supportive beams for the half-finished ceiling. Several rumors floated around small and bustling Aloha about what the building was destined to be. Many believed it would become a Walgreens, adding competition to the Albertson's across the lot. Some argued that soon another Wal-mart would dominate the neighborhood.
Either way, Link disliked the eyesore. When it had still been an empty lot, Link would hang out there with Zelda after a visit to the nearby Dairy Queen. It was a sacred place that held many memories of his childhood. Including the painful moment when he received the news concerning his parents' leave of absence.
His anger reserves now fully restocked, Link decided to do something drastic.
Without a second thought, he dashed forward past the workers on the outskirts of the site. Link grabbed the metal beams framing future windows and swung himself and his board onto the concrete floor. Men wearing hard-hats rushed after him, yelling for him to stop. Link ignored their pleas and dodged them with ease. He laughed ecstatically when four workers blocked his path. Adrenaline egging him on, Link grabbed a nearby pole standing in the center and used it to swing himself the other way.
He turned to smirk at those he evaded. Then saw the ceiling collapsing behind him. Link then chose the wrong moment to look at his hands to find the pole still there.
"Oh sh-." Before the words escaped his lips, Link collided with the steel beams of the fourth wall.
He didn't remember falling. Only two hits; first against the steel beams, the next his head on the concrete. Darkness crawled its way across his vision. He couldn't do anything to escape the two men who grabbed him while he slipped into unconsciousness.
