How many wishes were placed on the star that raced across the sky on that thick summer night? How many people put their hearts into the fire that ran across the sky? Could they have possibly known the truth hidden within the false star? Was it possible to determine that the shift of red was falling like an angel cast to hell?
Conner Mcknight was on the soccer field again. The grass tore under his feet as he rushed towards the checkered ball. His cleats hit the ball at full speed, sending it flying through the air before crashing into the net.
"That's crazy!" Conner's short, blond haired friend, Brian, said with wide eyes. "That's
the twelfth goal you made in a row!"
"What can I say?" Conner said with a smile, "I've got mad soccer skills."
"You have mad truancy skills as well." An icy voice said from behind the two teens. Brain screamed as his eyes locked on the brown haired monster with a round face and almond eyes.
"Principal Randall …" Conner mumbled, "I can explain."
"Save it." She said in a bored voice, "Just do me one favor Mcknight, next time you choose to play soccer instead of coming to class, don't play on school property." Conner flushed crimson as he was led back inside the building and told to wait in Principal Randall 's office while she handled Brian. Brian was off the hook, mostly because Principal Randall didn't hate his guts.
Conner sighed, he didn't know what her deal was. Rumor had it her fiancee died a week before their wedding, but Conner was starting to get the suspicion she killed him herself. She had the look of a killer, it was something in the way her eyes moved duly around the room, or maybe it was the sharp stare she would constantly stab into you.
"I don't know if your last school was tolerant towards this sort of behavior." Principal Randall said after she returned and rooted herself into an overstuffed office chair, "But here at Reefside High, we aren't." Conner looked away from her fierce eyes and instead noticed the way the pale fluorescent lights reflected her bronze name tag. Sabrina Randall, Conner read silently to himself, he wondered if anyone actually called her Sabrina, or if she was strictly a just a Principle to everyone in her life.
Conner nodded, he didn't have much else to do really. He could plead for his life, but he didn't really feel like he was on the outside at least, on some deep level, he felt like he was in the heart of a lion's den.
"I'd like to inform you that'll be contacting your mother."
"My aunt." Conner corrected with an annoyed tone.
"Yes… whomever it may be." Principal Randall signed and stood up from her desk. She paced around the room, rolling her eyes across the various pictures that lined the walls. "Let's have a brief discussion about potential." Principal Randall said in a slimy voice. "All humans are inherently born with a certain level of potential." Principal Randall narrowed her eyes at Conner, "You, Mcknight, have more potential than you ever realized. You could be whatever you want, but only if you learn how to channel that potential."
Conner tried to maintain eye contact with the cold woman, but he found it nearly impossible. Something about her strange potent stare struck so much fear inside him that he could only gaze past the side of her head. "Shouldn't you be disciplining me?" Conner asked.
"Ah, yes." Principal Randall said with glimmering eyes. "I was just getting to that."
Principal Randall slid over her desk and collected a paper from within its depths. She handed the paper to Conner. It was a consent form.
"What's this for?" Conner asked.
"A new program we're developing." She explained in a sneaky tone, "A personality development class, it's designed to give you character through physical and psychological training."
"So it's some kind of JROTC?" Conner asked.
"No." Principal Randall said, "This is something more personal."
"What if I don't sign this?" Conner asked in a concerned voice. His brain tried to conjure up what sort of class would produce a smile like that from a lady such as Principal Randall . The idea made him shiver.
"You'll face expulsion." She said in a rather dull tone. She sat back down at her desk, leaning back and watching the sweat collect on Conner's face.
Conner weighed his options. If he got booted out his aunt would probably kill him. On that same note, Principal Randall would probably kill him as well. He sighed, figuring he might have some hope of escaping Principal Randall 's wrath. He signed the paper.
Principal Randall grew a very venomous grin. "I'm glad to see you've found reason. Class will start next Monday."
Ethan James was on the verge of crying. He helplessly held his hands over his face as Principal Randall shot knives through his skin with her sharp black eyes. He tried to melt into his seat, or hopefully skip that portion of the hydrologic cycle and just evaporate. Anything to escape her wrath.
"Let me get this straight." She said in a demanding voice, "You hacked into our system and changed your grade?"
"Y-yes ma'am…" Ethan mumbled. He wiped a bead of sweat away from his forehead. It shined against his skin under the artificial light.
"From an A- to an A+ none the less." Principal Randall uttered a shrill laugh, it sounded akin to a dying animal. "That's one of the ridiculous cases I've ever seen!"
Ethan felt his face growing extremely hot. He knew his actions were wrong, but that didn't affect the reason he did them.
Ethan's father was a computer programmer for INET, a head supervisor for the Florida division. A man like that expected nothing but the same from his own flesh and blood. People like that didn't get A-'s
"Normally someone in your situation would face immediate expulsion." Principal Randall explained. "But after considering your intellect and value to our programs here at Reefside High, I'll cut you a break."
"What are you going to do?" Ethan asked but immediately winced. He hadn't considered that she might not have anything planned, and him asking might give her a cruel idea.
Principal Randall reached into her desk and drew a piece of paper. She handed the paper to Ethan, a thin smile on her face. "We're going to transfer you to a new program we're developing."
"Alright…" Ethan said in a soft voice.
Ethan signed the paper and handed it back to Principal Randall . "Thank you." She said with a grin, "I figured you wouldn't be much trouble."
Thirty-seven unexcused absences." Principal Randall said to Kira Ford. "What are you doing that's more important than school."
"It's not like I do a lot when I show up." Kira shot back. The teenage girl threw her feet onto Principal Randall 's desk, her combat boots clanked against the oak, causing dirt to crumble over her papers.
"Your utter lack of respect is repulsing." Principal Randall said with a scowl.
"Your lack of understanding is repulsing." Kira said, "Maybe if you designed the curriculum to be more exciting I'd bother to show up."
Principal Randall 's cheeks turned a bright red. "So tell me." She said in an acidic voice. "How is Randy doing? Has his decision to leave on the third trimester of his senior year worked out for him?"
Kira bit back to urge to slap the Principal across the face, but she kept her cool.
"Look, I'm going to cut you a deal." Principal Randall said in a serious tone, "Since I haven't finished working through your boyfriend's paperwork I'm not in the mood to add yours." Principal Randall offered Kira a paper. "Sign up for this class and you can stay at school here."
Kira was fuming. Principal Randall had this whole thing planned out. She knew Kira wouldn't agree to sign her shitty paper, so when she didn't they'd just boot her out. She didn't even bother reading it, she just scribbled her name on the line.
"Interesting choice." Principal Randall said, "I'll see you Monday."
Ethan carefully opened the door to his living room. He moved swiftly through the halls and took a deep breath when he realized the place seemed empty. He then stumbled into this room, that was when he noticed his father sitting on the bed. Ethan's father was a very stern looking man. His general facial structure was similar to Ethan, but the stress of his job left him with a very wrinkled complexion.
"Your principal called." Ethan's father said in a strained voice.
"Yeah?" Ethan asked weakly. The look on his father's face said it all. There was a deep sense of disappointment. It was enough to make Ethan feel like crying.
"I can't have my own son pulling stunts like that." There was a sense of finality in his father's voice. "Give me your Gameboy, and you won't be allowed to use your computer for a month."
Ethan handed his tech over. It wasn't worth fighting for, especially with his father.
After his dad left Ethan slumped across his bed and gazed at the ceiling. He felt strange, like a storm, was over the horizon. He could feel the electricity in the air, it threatened to ignite the world around him and create a swirling inferno.
Kira walked out of the grocery store with a plastic bag in her hand. It contained simple stuff, eggs,bread, and a pack of cigarettes. She moved with great haste, Randy got temperamental when she was home too late.
She was already at her car door when the strange man stopped her. He approached with a calm sort of panic, he was dressed in a polo shirt with black slacks. The standard Florida heat was beating down on him, causing his sand-colored hair to stick to his forehead.
"I'm sorry to bother you." The man said in a very courteous way, "But I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the closest bar."
"Yeah." Kira said she pointed south, "There's a small joint right off Main Street." That was Randy's favorite place to hang around so she figured it was alright.
The man smiled, "Thank you very much," He said and walked away.
Kira watched him, he was certainly a curiosity. First, he was a newcomer, which was something Reefside rarely got. Secondly, he carried a strange aura around him, it was like a cloak that hung around his figure. He mounted a rather expensive looking, high-tech motorcycle and drove off.
Kira entered her car and rushed home. She was already late.
Conner Mcknight was moving walking along the empty sidewalk. His hands were resting neatly in his pockets and his eyes were directed towards the ground. He didn't exactly feel the best, but he'd been worse. He was kind of stuck on that strange island nestled between okay and not,
He felt strangely discontent with his life, a feeling which had steadily begun to blossom in his chest since he moved to Reefside. He didn't really understand this feeling, especially when considering the conditions he faced with his father.
Conner's father wasn't a bad guy, that was one thing he tried to stress to every single family member that tried to barrage him with apologies and hugs. His dad was simply troubled. The time he spent in the military left him shaky and unstable. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, most people called it.
It was like he'd caught a strange bug in foreign lands, the bug nestled itself in his brain and left him screaming in the middle of the night because he swore he heard the faint rustle of enemy boots treading across the dirt…
To cope with that he took to drinking. That wasn't an uncommon thing to do for people in his situation, and Conner knew he was lucky that his father wasn't a mean drunk. The problem didn't directly come from his father's drinking, more so the fact that it drained their income and prevented him from gaining any sort of stable job.
It was in this constant state of anxiety that Conner found he was most calm in. Back then he had an enemy, something he could pin all of his troubles on. Alcohol had been Conner's biggest rival, and their duel had been ongoing for five long years. Now his father was three states away and Conner found himself trapped within the confines of a gray reality.
The sun was quickly setting, which only managed to remind Conner that he spent his entire day walking around aimlessly. He quickly turned to rush home, but when he slide along the bottom of his heel he quickly found himself bashing into another human.
The person he bumped into was a boy with short black hair. The boy tumbled over, landed on his backside and began to swear in a jarred voice.
"Dude I'm so sorry." Conner spat out while trying to stomach the embarrassment that was digging into his body.
"It's fine." The boy said with a sympathetic smile, his reaction actually shocked Conner because it implied that he was more to blame then Conner was. The boy stood up, brushed the dust off his white flannel and quickly went his own way.
A figure cloaked in a green hoodie moved through the emptying street. Reefside had a tendency to clear out not long after eight o'clock. This made scouting conditions very favorable. The cloaked figure stood in an alley thaHt stood adjacent to a shady looking building that had recently been harboring strange energy signals.
A truck with tinted windows carefully pulled in next to the building. This caused the figure to raise an eyebrow. Creatures in bulking trench coats carried cardboard boxes out of the truck and into the building. The boy swore aloud, he wished he had the chance to see inside them.
The figure moved in for a closer investigation. He slid against the side of the truck, luckily for him he could hear the driver talking from the other side of the truck.
"If Zeltrax doesn't get those Sigma Gems soon Mesogog is gonna kill him."
"I know." A rough sounding voice said, "God forbid he sends anyone competent on that mission."
"My bet is that Galvidi will take his place." The other voice suggested.
"That would be nice, least he has some proper experience."
The truck roared to life and the figure took that as his cue to descend back into the darkness.
Ethan came in early Monday morning. He figured being studious would be his first step towards winning his new teacher found that he was mourning the recent loss of his Gameboy. It allowed him to momentarily distract himself from the everyday stress of being an honor roll student.
A brown haired boy in a red t-shirt came in next. His hair flopped around and he jumped into his seat. Ethan recognized him as Conner, one of the dime-a-dozen jocks that floated around the school.
Conner didn't seem interested in Ethan, which was actually a relief. Ethan might not have been the target of many bullies, but he wasn't interested in gaining any.
"I heard you changed your grade." Conner said with a smirk, "That's pretty cool."
"Yeah." Ethan said shyly, "I guess so."
"You play games?" Conner asked the question seemed out of nowhere considering Ethan's current situation,"Have you played Halo 2 yet?"
"I don't really play X-BOX that much, but I've tried it." Ethan said rashly, "It was good, though." He quickly added.
The teacher strolled into the room moments before the bell. He was a seemingly young man, his dark brown hair gave the slightest hints of curls and he was clad in a brown suit with elbow patches.
"Look's like is a no show." The man said under his breath, "Nevertheless, I guess I should introduce myself. You can call me , and I'll be your teacher for the next few months."
"Now-" He began to say, but before he could stutter his next words a blonde haired girl with a leather jacket and thick eyeliner busted in the room. " ." said, "Please take a seat."
, also known as Kira, sat down on the opposite end of the room. She slumped her head down as if trying to sleep. Mr. Park watched her with the corner of his eye and continued his speech. "You were sent here as a last chance, meaning they would have just thrown you away if I wasn't here." He looked at the teen with a very serious gaze. "Don't forget that."
He picked a folder off his desk and examined its contents. "I was given a strict list of activities and guidelines for you to follow throughout this year," He stopped his speech to thoughtlessly throw the folder in the trash, "But I think I understand teenagers a little more than Principal Randall."
"So what are we going to do here?" Ethan asked.
"Well, that's entirely up to you," said. "If you can manage to behave yourself I think we can have a lot of fun here," He then glanced again at Kira, who actually managed to lift her head above her shoulders.
"With that aside." explained with a charming, "I'm here in your best interest so if we can all get along I think this can really work out."
The final bell rang out across the high school and led out a relieved sigh. In all his years as a high schooler, he hadn't ever imagined it would be this hard. The students were annoying and unbearable, and those weren't even the ones he was teaching.
He loosed his tie and slumped down in his chair, and looked over his notes. His students were promising, though he was a little bummed that he only got three.
He was glad to making a difference in the youth, it was something he wished he could have received during his high school years. He'd been so concerned with his other activities he hadn't gotten the chance to experience the youth he'd been gifted with. He wanted to make sure this fate wasn't shared by the next generation.
A/N: This is something I've been working on for awhile now, the reason I hadn't posted it yet had to do with the fact I haven't finished Thunder Squadron yet, and some plot points float into this story. I don't have the motivation to work on Thunder Squadron at this moment and I feel like I won't for a while, so I have decided to post some of this story just so I'm not keeping anyone waiting.