"This fucking stinks!" yelled Casiopea. The five were now in their third, final, and most boring class. Their teacher was an old octoling who stuttered on nearly every word, and was probably half asleep. They were receiving a lecture on morality and honor, as well as "team spirit" or some shit. Nearly everyone in the class was on the cusp of closing their eyes and resting. This had been especially hard on Casiopea, who expected the day to be full of "kicking of the ass". Of course, it was instead filled with sitting and lectures.
As the old octoling continued to ramble on, Octavio found himself slowly falling asleep. His head slowly began to fall back, until it eventually hit the person behind. Unfortunately for Octavio, the person right behind him was lighting a cigar. Octavio's hair had now been lit on fire, which seemed to be a cause for concern. Craig yelled, "Oh, fuck! I'll go get a big bucket of water!" The rest of the class began to yell and panic, the teacher saying, "Oh, we're all adults here. It's just a little fire in his hair, don't act like children. Anyways, to truly understand ethics, you must first blah the blahbitty blah..."
Craig ran out the room, and now Octavio was left with his hair lit on fire. Louis tried to blow on it, to which Octavio responded, "Don't blow on it you dumbass, it'll get worse!" Casiopea attempted to bite at the fire, Ammoses yelling, "Fire isn't solid, Casiopea! You can't eat it!" A classmate tried to slap Octavio's hair, which only set his hand on fire. Now, there were two people with fire on their bodies. The inkling who was lighting his cigar quietly left, never to be seen again. Ammoses pulled out a notepad and a pen, trying to brainstorm ways to put out the fire.
Craig eventually ran back in, with a bucket full of water. He tossed the water at Octavio, successfully putting it out. However, Louis pointed at the man who's hand was still toasty. "I uhhh, think you forgot someone." Craig let out a loud "FUCK" and ran out the room again. Casiopea licked her lips and walked towards him. "Sir," she asked, "May I have some of that fire?" The guy hadn't even registered her voice, as he was too busy screaming and panicking as if he was on fire. "I believe that's a yes!" she joyfully exclaimed.
She began to suck in air like a vacuum cleaner, and somehow, she sucked in the fire on his hand. She chewed it for a bit, and then patted her belly. "Absolutely delicious." Immediately, Louis let out a "what the fuck". Craig came running back with yet another bucket of fire, only to realize that it had already been put out. "Don't worry, I've taken care of it!" exclaimed Casiopea. Craig sighed as he plopped back down in his chair. The rest of the class became peaceful as well, and everything went back to normal. The professor continued to talk as if nothing ever happened.
After was felt like a few centuries, the class had finally ended, and the first day of the Arowana Military Academy was now over. "I wanna fuckin' die!" yelled Louis along with the other four, as they walked out the school. Octavio replied, "But 'ey..." Craig and Octavio both yelled in unison, "It's only a yearrr!" They high fived. Casiopea sighed, "We outta actually do shit tomorrow. No more sittin' around! The only good thing that happened to me today was that five star meal!" Louis pulled out a piece of raw salmon which he had been saving for dinner (he had it stored in his pocket), and shared a piece with Ammoses.
About 30 minutes later, Octavio was back home. He opened the front door, and set down his backpack on the nearby couch. "You're finally back. How was it?" asked his Dad, who was playing solitaire at the dinner table. "It was alright. We didn't do much. And my hair caught on fire, but that's not too big a deal." His Dad chuckled, "Let me guess, you fell asleep and leaned back, causing your hair to collide with a lighter." Octavio looked at him, flabbergasted, "That's exactly how it went down... huh? How did you-"
"Heh, happens every year! I remember when I first attended that academy as well. Those were the days. Life was good. Until of course, my legs became immobile after a particularly nasty turf war. This is serious business, Octavio. Remember that. There isn't a re-spawn point, we're not in the future. If you get injured, you get injured. If you die, you die." "I understand that, Dad. I'm not going into this recklessly. I want to cause change. I want to reshape the future of our world, I'm not just joining the military because I think it's fun."
"That change will be for the better, right?" "Yes." "That's good to hear. I've got high hopes for you, son. By the way, can you bring me my lantern? It's getting dark now." "Of course." Octavio went into his Dad's office and grabbed the lantern, bringing it to his Dad. "Y'know Octavio, it wouldn't be too hard for you to influence people. People are familiar with our family name. We're not incredibly famous, but we aren't unknown. You outta use that to your advantage. Truly change this world. As we stand, a lot of pointless violence continues, causing wars and such. Wars like the one which cost me my leg!"
Octavio smiled, "I understand that. Trust me Dad, I'll get rid of pointless wars and conflict." Octavio went upstairs into his room, which was neatly kept. He pulled out a book, and laid down on his bed, which was near the window. The book was about octarian history, and Octavio read it until it became too dark to see the pages. He put the book away, and closed his eyes, thinking of a glorious future for himself.
To Be Continued