Tuesday, Atlantean Royal Academy for Boys

I can't believe it. I can't believe I had not dropped dead over over-exhaustion yet. I mean, I had never run more than one hundred metre, ever. Not that I'm fat, or anything. I'm bony. It's just that I've got a weak constitution (heart, lungs, kidneys, you name it), and my parents were very cautious with the amount of exercise I did in school. Like even though it's a sports test, or whatever, I'm always excused. I don't know if it's because I'm a Prince or really had a weak constitution, but I was still excused.

Not that I was bummed because of that. In fact, I was deliriously happy. I got to read books (mainly non-fictions on the different dimensions we exist in) and expand my knowledge. Apparently, this reasonable excuse didn't work out. Not in the slightest. And not just because Mitchell's training me, either.

I can't swim very well. Oh sure, my parents always made sure I got the skill to survive if I'm ever marooned on an island or anything, so I know how to climb trees (apparently, being sticky-eared and small like a monkey helps a lot) and how to stay afloat. So at least I won't drown.

You should see the size of the pool. Olympic sized, that's what. (Not that I know how big the size of an Olympic-sized pool is, but I figured it was that big.)

And ten laps around the pool. I mean, yeah, I'm not an athlete, but I doubt your average guy don't swim even that far. But apparently Mitchell can. And obviously he's not your average guy, at least not when exercise is concerned. He's an exercise freak.

Lia says she thinks it's because he wants to challenge me for my throne (um, excuse me, how does bodily-abled make you an eligible contestant for the throne? I mean, it's a hereditably position. And if he does take a whack at me, you can be pretty sure he'll go to jail. I mean, attacking royalty.)

But then Lia pointed out that during challenges, he can set a topic for the challenge. "And knowing Mitchell, he'll challenge you in physical areas."

So what? I'll just challenge him in the brain area. Unless he somehow punches me in the head and makes me lose my knowledge?

Anyway, he was near doing that today. Thank god that I was in the pool.thats

What happened was: I was trying my best to swim. When suddenly, half a dozen of Mitchell's friends, including Mitchell himself, joined me in the water.

"Hey, Mike," Mitchell said, "let's take a break from all those laps.

You wanna play a game?"

"What game?" I asked.

"A game that improves physical endurance," Mitchell said, eyes glinting. "You just hold hands with everyone and then go underwater. See who can last the longest."

"Um, no thanks. For one thing, games like Survivor that tests our limits are actually harmful to our body. We could get brain damage or anything. No, I'll just watch you guys play." I said.

That apparently wasn't the way I was supposed to reply, since Mitchell just hollered, "Get 'im!" And suddenly seven guys were struggling to grab my legs and pull me into subaqueous, holding me down.

Luckily, since I was standing neck deep in the pool (I was too short, Mitchell and the others are only in chest deep), and that water actually refracts light, so when they were trying to grab my legs, they couldn't make out which angle my legs were. This gave me the chance to blow my whistle that summons Pollo to me.

Pollo immediately broke up the "party" and said, "That's enough for today. Mitchell, didn't you realise that you cannot manhandle the Crown Prince?"

Mitchell mumbled, "Twas only a game to help him relax his undeveloped muscles."

Pollo lifted up his sleeves. "Want to show real undeveloped muscles? Then show me your peanut-sized biceps compared to mine."

And Pollo was right. Even though Mitchell had some muscles, his six-packs are only recently developed. Not like Pollo's, trained for over a decade.

But, like Lia said, they'll only try again and again. I'm not really safe anywhere anymore. And somehow, bringing me to Atlantis was really a bad idea, because there, most people know me and wants to kill me, where else in New York, nobody knew me.

And Pollo can't always be there to protect me.

So, like Lia said, "It's me against the Atlantean Royal Family", and they won't give up until they succeeded:

To kill me.

But you still have me.

Yeah. Guess I should be glad that at least I've got a friend to consult with about my recent endangerment. I mean, I'm like the blue whale, being hunted, yet I'm esteemed, and all alone and endangered.

But still, like the bullies in my old school say, big deal.

(Big deal in having Lia, I mean. Not being a blue whale.)