"Get up, Ollie, it's time for school."
Len was hovering over the little blonde English boy's bed, hands on his hips. No matter how loud the alarm clock was, he would never wake up. Only the teen could wake him up.
He had gone through various methods to awaken the boy; food, music, books, money. . . It was a complete hassle. Today, though, he didn't feel like doing much. His body was still sore from last night's run.
Oliver's eyes fluttered open and he stared at Len before going back into sleep. Irked, the blonde teen pulled off his blankets. "It's 7:15! Get your ass off of bed!"
"Shut up, banana brain. . ." muttered the boy. "I'm trying to sleep. . ."
"You're going to be late for school!"
"Then so be it."
Len brought out his phone. It was an old Nokia that he got four Christmases ago from his aunt. It might not be as advanced as the rest of his classmates' phones, but it was something. He had over thirty songs downloaded into it – a wide array of eccentric songs.
He played Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez. It was a very dark song about a broken and dysfunctional family. With Oliver's half-asleep state, it might shock him back to reality.
He knew it was a little mean to use such a dark song, but this is what Oliver gets for ignoring him. And for calling him 'banana brain.'
"Mom, please wake up, Dad's with a slut."
"WHAT!?" Oliver shot up from his bed. "DAD IS WITH A WHAT!?"
It took him at least thirty seconds to realize what happened. Putting on his nastiest glare, he directed it toward an unusually happy Len. "I hate you."
"I love you too. Now, get up! You're going to be late."
. . .
Their school was an academy for all ages that had only three buildings. If you enter, you'd see the first two buildings (Saint Brigid of Kildare and Saint Benedict) which are adjacent to each other and the other one (the gym) across you. And yes, it was a school for Catholics and Christians.
Len's mom stopped at the front gate, where a guard watched at the side. The two students unbuckled their seatbelts and wished her goodbye, exiting the car shortly after.
"Ugh, I hate this place so much." Oliver muttered, pulling his blue backpack closer. "I can't believe it's even considered a 'great, nurturing, Catholic institution' with all the stupid motherfu—"
"Ollie."
"—dgers. Motherfudgers."
Len nodded approvingly. It was a start. He then walked to the guard, showed his I.D., and then entered. Oliver did the same, but glared at the guard; he never was good terms with any of the staff. But how can he when he was a huge troublemaker?
They both entered the Saint Brigid of Kildare building, which held the grade 5 to grade 10. It was dark inside the building and the morning chill still hung in the air. On the first floor was the offices and canteen while the second floor had the rooms for grade 5 and 6; the counselor's office was all the way down the hall. On the third floor were the rooms for grade 7 to 10. The bathroom for the girls was at one end at the hall and the bathroom for the boys was at the other end.
At the second floor, Len bid Oliver goodbye. It was amazing how fast the kid was growing. He was now in 6th grade and it was near his retreat; soon, he'll be in high school with him.
Len sighed and placed his bag down beside him, sinking down onto the floor. It won't be until 8 that the classroom doors will open. Despite the rule of opening by 7:30, Teacher Kaito was always late.
"Don't tell me you're going to fall asleep in the hallway, Len!"
Len looked up to see his M.A.P.E.H teacher, Gumi Megpoid. She was a very rebellious teacher – she dyed her hair green and always sowed strange things onto her uniform (such as a cat and carrot). But she was pretty cool. With her upbeat personality, she always has her class hyped.
Len smiled sheepishly. "Eh, I can't help it, teacher. I'm always so sleepy."
"That's why you should be sleeping early in the night!" Teacher Gumi points an accusing finger at the blonde teen. "I see you online in Facebook until 11 in the night! Honestly, it's not good to spend too much time on the internet."
Len doesn't exactly stay up all night on the internet. He's always fighting of monsters and when he's done, which is very late in the evening, he checks his Facebook. Why? Well, after saving everyone's asses, a little time being a normal teenager is appreciated.
"I'm so sorry, teacher. I'll try to sleep early."
"You better. Well, I gotta get goin'! I need to open the doors for my class. Take care, sweetheart!"
Then she was off.
Len checked his watch. It was 7:35, which meant he had 25 minutes to sleep. Ugh. He wasted 5 precious minutes talking to his teacher. Those mere minutes could have been spent catching up on his ever so important sleep!
"I'm surprised you're awake." Rui Kagene said, staring down at Len with an astonished look. "You usually sleep at this time."
Len groaned. "Shouldn't you be in class? Teacher Gumi just opened the door."
Rui huffed and folded her arms. "Well, is that all I get? I notice you and you reply with a snarky comment? Honestly."
Len rolled his eyes and waved at her dismissively. "I don't care, just go. I need my sleep."
"Huh~ At this rate, you won't be as good as my brother."
That snapped a string. The blonde monster hunter glared at her with eyes made of ice-cold hatred. She only responded with a smirk.
"Like, ya know, Rei is so mannerly! Even though he's antisocial, at least he knows how to treat someone right. Put in his amazing monster hunting skills and bam! He's perfect." Rui then smiled sweetly. "Unlike you."
Len gritted his teeth. Rei was his all-time rival in the monster hunting world. Sure, the guy saved him but a few times, but that didn't excuse the fact he was greater than him. And he hated that. Len always wanted to be top, but Rei was always in the way. In fact, he was considered a prodigy for getting number one in the ranks!
"Relax, relax! You look angry. It was just a joke – a joke!" Rui grinned, putting her hands up in defeat. "Anyways, I'll see you later! Sit with me and Rei at lunch, 'kay? You always eat with your brother, try making some friends!"
"Tch. Whatever."
. . .
"And then she said I'll never be as good as him! Some nerve!" Len humphed and turned to look at a bored Oliver. "Hey, are you even listening?"
The little boy yawned and shot him a disinterested look. "I'm listening. It's just every day I always hear you talking about Rui. I bet you have a crush on her or something."
"What?! No! Definitely no! She's self-centered, selfish, sassy, and—and prissy!"
"Okay. So, like a girl version of you?"
"Ollie!"
"It's the truth!" Oliver sighed. "Oh, just forget it. We're here in the Monster Hunting Headquarters; let's just look at the bulletin board to see if that Manananggal is up for grabs."
"Whatever."
"Seriously? 'Whatever'? Is that all you teens say?"
"It's my favorite word, next to shut your mouth."
"Those are three words."
"I swear—"
"Len! Oliver!" Rin Kagamine, Len's cousin, approached them. She was about the same age as him with nearly the same features. It's just that she always wore black and punkish things; Len wore casual, baggy, and comfy clothing. "What are you doing in the headquarters so early, eh? You don't usually come here until 7. Finished your homework?"
Len shook his head. "We only plan to check out something. We'll do our homework after."
"Oh, so you're going to the bulletin board then? Great. I'm heading the same direction. Let's go there together."
She wrapped her arms around their shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. Then they were off.
The halls were bustling with monster hunters of many ages. They were holding folders containing the details of missions, dragging injured hunters into the infirmary, and checking out the weaponry displayed in the shops. It was a busy sight.
The bulletin board was in the first floor at the far end of the building. It was a huge, brown board that stretched from one end of the wall to the other. Hundreds of jobs were pinned onto it. It was so crowded that the papers overlapped.
Currently, only a few were looking at the jobs. It wasn't unusual for only a handful to look through jobs in this hour. Everyone usually picks their own job early in the morning, right before the sun rises. As they say, "The early bird catches the worm."
The trio approached a woman with silky, beautiful pink hair and aquamarine eyes. She was dressed in black and gold clothing that covered her whole body. Of course, that didn't stop her rather large breasts from bulging out.
"Luka, where is the Manananggal section?" asked Oliver.
Luka. That was her name. She was the one who managed the jobs and often hung around the bulletin board room to help out those in need.
She walked to the middle of the bulletin board and tapped the lower area. "This one, Ollie," she said in a quiet voice. "Please choose any job you'd like." Then she walked away.
Oliver waved her off and looked through the papers. They were all about the Manananggals with blurry black-and-white pictures of the vampires themselves. The details were in dark ink in intricate detail.
He skimmed through all of them, but to no avail. There was no job offer of a Manananggal in the old abandoned mayor's office.
"Len, I think someone might have gotten the job. Oh well." He shrugged and turned his heel. "Let's get outta here. I don't feel like going on a job today."
Len sighed. It looks like someone has gotten the job. It wasn't like he was disappointed or upset. Heck, the job didn't even look appealing. Manananggals were hard to kill; they always hide their lower half in places so clever it takes a genius to find them. They just weren't his type of prey.
"We'll see you soon, Rin." Len shot an awkward smile at his cousin, which she returned with a rather bright one.
"Bye-bye, Lennykins!"
. . .
They had spent the whole afternoon doing homework and the evening playing video games. It had been a while since they last took a break. It was refreshing.
"Hey, Oliver, get off the couch and into your room," ordered Len. "I ain't liftin' your sorry ass up your room."
"Too tired. . ." muttered the Brit.
Len groaned and rolled his eyes. "Alright. Fine. Don't come complaining to me once you get stiff neck, 'kay?"
The blonde teen then proceeded to shut the TV and put away their controllers. They had left the lights off while they played so he was plunged into darkness the moment he clicked the TV off. But his eyes, which were highly trained in the dark, adjusted quickly.
He lugged his tired body up the stairs and into his room, where he flopped down onto his bed. It was fun doing normal teen things. He wished he could do often. But no, he had to be born in the monster hunting business.
He was slowly sinking into sleep—sweet, sweet sleep that he so well deserved. . . But then a loud crash from downstairs woke him up.
His eyes shot open and he sat up. A little to instantly. Caught in a dizzy spell, he fell back down onto his bed.
What was that noise. . .?
It sounded a little too loud to be Oliver falling off the bed. It was more like glass breaking. . . Did the stupid twat finally decide to get up only to break something?
Slowly, Len got up and dragged himself back downstairs. The more steps he took, the more the noises increased. He was starting to get worried. Oliver can't be that clumsy.
Picking up the pace, he hurried down the stairs only to meet the sight of a disheveled living room. The TV was broken, the furniture was strewn, and the window had a gaping hole in it. But worst of all. . .
There was no Oliver in sight.