It was a hot, sweltering day in the garden and still
Malik had insisted on training with his father. Such a young boy at
his age would usually be and sitting alongside his little brother
watching the television while spongebob was still on, but no Malik
wasn't that type of boy.
He always fought until his opponent was on his ground,
groveling in the dust under his feet, and it usually turned out that
way, even with adults. That day though, was a large turning point for
him. He spent an hour with the punching bag his father held up in
front of him with as practice for a challenge that another boy posed
him after lunch.
Another kick rippled across the already rumpled punching bag
as Malik's stomach grumbled, signaling him that a good meal was in
order. He ignored it until his father said, "C'mon Malik, one more
dropkick and we'll go and have lunch." Malik nodded, determined that
this last kick was going to be his best.
"901...902..." Malik's exercises were then interrupted by
his father. It was already after lunch and it seemed the mystery boy
that seemed so eager to wrestle him was late. "Malik, the boy I told
you about is here." Malik turned to face him. "It seems he knows pro
wrestling too."
There was a whistle in the background as Malik inspected the
handsome boy about his age. He had golden eyes, light brown hair, and
was as muscular as a boy of seven gets.
Malik shook his head. It was no time to be staring at this
boy! He was potentially the one person that steal his spot at the top!
This wasn't going to EVER happen on Malik's watch. "With that
compliant face?" Malik felt it was an appropriate time to make a snide
comment.
"Better than having all that black stuff under my nose." The
boy snapped. Malik was taken aback, he never wouldn't thought that a
boy with such soft, gentle features would make such a come back. Then
Malik touched his upper lip. There really was soot there! He turned
away and rapidly wiped it off as his face turned beet red.
Embarrassed, he found the courage to turn and face the boy
once again. "Say what's your name, BOY?" Malik crossed his arms
stubbornly. "Altair Ibn La' Ahad." Altair said with a stuck-up tone of
voice. 'Flying Eagle, Son of No One eh? What a curious name.' Malik
thought.
"Alright then La'Ahad. I'll let you fight me, if you think
you're up to it." Altair then smiled smugly, "Are you sure about
that?" Malik's confident grin faded away as he grew curious of
Altair's question. "You might get embarrassed." Malik's insides
bubbled in anger as he suddenly charged at the other boy, becoming
even more angry when he didn't even flinch.
In what seemed like a nanosecond, Altair had thrown him onto
the ground, hurting two things: his pride, and his bottom. Malik
glared at him with eyes full of contempt and malice while Altair
glared back with playful eyes that had made Malik hate him. And from
that day, a rivalry was born! As we move closer to present day, Malik
and Altair are both high-schoolers in Creed High School where the two
of them are in the Special A class, where the top seven students
battle it out to see who will be the number one student! One who is at
the top of their class in athletics, academics, and attitude! Who will
rise? Who will fall?
"Leaving so early, Malik?" His father said as Malik struggled
to pull on his socks. "Yup! I should get to school early to show that
darned La'Ahad who he's messing with!" His father raised his fist up
from working on a table to show he was completely supportive. Malik's
father was a local carpenter while Altair's father owned a
multimillion dollar corporation and Malik thought that was the only
thing that was different between them and that things influenced by
money were never much of a competition winner. Malik has always
believed that hard work was what made a person a winner.
Kadar rubbed his eyes as he walked onto the porch in front
of the zen garden with a bottle of ramune in his hand. "Hey bro, go
and get dressed! School's about to start and you're still in your
pajamas!" Malik laughed, hitting his brother on the back in a friendly
manner. Kadar made a groaning noise in reply as Malik continued to
smile as he ran out the door.
"Bye mom! Bye dad! I'm gonna go and beat La' Ahad at his own
game!" After Malik had left, his mother was doing the laundry and his
brother was just loping around looking for his backpack and uniform
his father suddenly exclaimed, "That's my son!"
Malik ran towards the school, excitement filling him and
running through his veins. All the blood left him as it was replaced
by adrenaline. Today, he knew that Altair was going down.
Once he reached the iron gates of the school in his white
uniform (which had contrasted highly with the quaint brown uniform of
the normal students) he smiled at the other boys and girls not in the
class and waved at them. Suddenly he was surrounded by the whole
school as they bid him good morning in unison. "I already told you
guys to stop doing that!" he shouted. He hated being treated more like
royalty rather than an average student it had frustrated him.
"Hey Malik!" Malik spun on his heel to meet the eyes of
another privileged student of the Special A class. Once he exited the
private limo he knew immediately it was his good friend, Shaun.
Glasses glinting in the sun, he strode over to Malik to embrace him.
'Hastings, Shaun. The son of an airline company director. 6th place.'
Malik thought to himself, as he grinned in a friendly manner towards
his friend.
"I really hate when all those students gang up on us like
that." As they walked towards their classes they continued to speak of
the non-SA students. "Well, it's only because they don't see us very
often and also because we have different classes, different uniforms,
and more down times in-between. We usually get chosen once per quarter
when the big tests come up, but you know we're all here to stay."
While Shaun smiled understandingly for Malik's discomfort, he
still couldn't shake the fact that the students still seriously
bothered him. Once they reached the greenhouse, Shaun opened the
double doors to reveal huge amounts of vegetation, including: trees,
flowers, and hanging plants. A dirt path from the door led to a raised
platform with a couches and a coffee table that already had Ezio and
Cesare standing around it.
'Ezio Auditore de' Firenze. Son of a famous music producer
and composer. 3rd place.' Malik thought himself when seeing his
gleaming white uniform as he watered the plants. He looked to Cesare,
the quietest one of them all, who had used a notebook to communicate
in order to preserve his opera voice. 'Borgia, Cesare. Also son of a
music producer. 4th place.' "Good morning you two!" said Cesare on his
paper of course.
"Oh! Good morning Cesare, Ezio." the two them smiled as Ezio
gently placed the bucket he had used to water the plants on the
ground. "Wait, where's Leonardo?" Shaun asked, skimming the space
around him in order to try and spot the artist. Leo had currently been
deep in the garden, painting a picture of man.
At the sound of his name he turned and shouted, "I'm right
here!" 'Da Vinci, Leonardo. Son of a Sports Manufacturer President.
7th place.' All heads turned in his direction as they had made their
way there. Once they had reached the painting Malik saw it was only
the face and wondered what the rest would look like.
When Cesare and Ezio had seen it was a man, they were
convinced that it was one of them. They then commenced fighting with
each other on the subject, arguing, throwing punches, and pulling hair
because they were convinced that Leonardo liked them better to the
point he would paint a picture of one of them.
Ezio then grabbed his violin and Cesare threw his notebook
aside after writing that Ezio was going down. This was going to be
settled by music. "LEONARDO!" Shaun yelled, forcing Leo to turn to
inspect the scene and see what was wrong. Ezio was never a good
musician and Cesare's opera voice didn't sound even close to being
that way when you were within a close proximity of him which never
made anyone want to listen to them. Leonardo took out a whistle and
told them to stay. Within a moment the two of them were all over him,
hugging him and repeating his name.
"Leo's been with the two since they were kids, the three
are inseparable." Shaun smiled. Malik then saw a large, dirt covered
figure hovered over them. Once Shaun saw Desmond he screamed at the
top of his lungs, the sound echoing along the walls of the greenhouse.
Desmond fell to the ground in front of them as Malik
shouted, "Is it a corpse? An experiment? Genetically modified?" Shaun
replied in confusion at Desmond's dirty body at their feet, "I don't
know!" Desmond slowly pulled himself up, "It's me, Desmond you guys...
Do you have anything to eat?" Malik plugged his nose from the stench
that emanated from him and thought, 'Miles, Desmond. Son of the Board
Chairman of the school. 5th place.'
Everyone was seated as Shaun began to serve the day's
brunch. "Today we'll be having avocado prawn sandwiches and Darjeeling
tea. I decided on Aynsley teacups-" Loud gulping was heard from
Desmond's side of the table. Shaun turned robotically towards Desmond
as his eye twitches. Desmond removed the cup from his lips and made a
satisfied noise and sat back, "There I was, alone at the Tsugaru
Channel. No money and no train card either."
Malik placed his cup gently on the table, unlike the former
and replied, "I see. Everyone here was really worried about you since
you weren't here for two weeks." Shaun balled his hands into
threatening fists as he glared at Desmond, "You there! Would you stop
ruining the mood? You and your vagrant habits need to stop!"
Desmond leaned back more into his chair and raised an arm as
he crossed his legs, "You could just call it a man's romance!" That
was the last straw for Shaun, "But more importantly seconds!" Desmond
inquired, but got a face full of tea kettle for his trouble. "Get it
yourself you uncouth, ungrateful freak!"
Malik took another sip of his tea when he looked at the
empty chair beside him, ignoring the wrath that Shaun was unleashing
upon poor Shaun. "Does anyone know where La'Ahad is?" he asked,
wondering why he wouldn't be there.
"He told me he was going to the computer lab and he just
left." Leo answered, spinning a paintbrush between his fingers.
"Missing me already, are we, Malik?" Malik began to cough up his tea
and his head shot up to see the playful smirk. 'Ibn La'Ahad, Altair.
Son of the La'Ahad group president. 1st place.' Malik thought,
disgusted. He stood up from the chair and brought his face
threateningly close to Altair's. "Don't be stupid! I just thought that
you forgot about our challenge!" Altair frowned at his hard-headed
opponent. "You already know that no matter what you do you won't beat
me."
"Today will be different!" Malik shouted confidently. "Hmph,
very well then. Third period is P.E. right?" Malik nodded. "I'll see
you there then, Miss Rank Two." Malik felt as though a ton of bricks
had fallen upon his head, taking the shape of a number two. Malik was
second only to Altair and even though his father was poor he still got
out of his way to pay for he expensive private schooling to give his
son a chance at beating his rival. "Opps, I believe I forgot my
manners. Your name was Malik right? Miss Rank Two." he grinned,
expecting Malik to go up into flames.
"Don't call me... MISS Rank Two!"