Daybreak

In a very much typical weekend afternoon, a typical guy in his late teen years is dozing off under a typical 100-year-old tree in their backyard still figuring out if he'll do something productive or just kill his time relaxing outdoors. Moments later, a compelling yell fills the area which screams out his name it's as if something really bad happened and it has something to do with him. But hearing the voice of whoever called out his name, is something far from seriousness as this certain someone who yelled wants it to seem.

 "Tobi!" Someone yells as this guy who is also in his late teen years jumps over the fence and then runs towards the tree. This person exclaims in an obvious haste that it seemed he has a big news to share. "Tobi, Have you heard the news lately!?" He continues as he catches his breath.

 "What about the news, Raf?" The guy lying under the tree asked as some kind of newspaper was covering his face.

 "This! This is the news." This Raf guy said while pointing out an article from the newspaper. "You've been having this newspaper with you but you're not reading it." Raf said still slowly catching his breath.

 "Oh, don't be a nag. I read it, alright. I was just taking a quick nap so I had to cover my face with something." Tobi explains, yawning and still fighting the drowsiness he's been in since a while ago.

 Nobility Inquirer: Alleged "Anomaly" Discovered along Border Maria. Border Maria is one of the borders that surrounds Noble Asia which situated at the nation's north lands.

 "Another Anomaly surfaced in our nation." Raf said with curiosity in his tone. "Those wicked bastards!" He yells as he blows a huge punch towards the tree expressing his anger towards the idea that more and more Anomalies are being discovered in their homeland. Hate is the word that described his view in the entirety of the Anomaly and Tobi understands this emotion his friend has since Raf and his family were once victims by a rampage of an individual with this 'illness' who has an ability to harden its body like steel which killed his Father and made his Mother be on a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

 "Raf, I understand where all this anger is coming from." Tobi said, trying to calm his friend down. "Come on, I know you better than you know yourself." He continued jokingly. Remembering the tragic event happened to his friend's family. It's still very fresh in their memories since it just happened a few months ago.

 "By the way, our most awaited series will start to air in a few minutes. Care to invite me in your house?" Raf immediately changes his tone from a serious one to being goofy, trying his best not to be tainted by negativity so much.

 "Oh, forget it. I'll just invite myself in." He continued knowing that his friend won't contest to it. Tobi said, "Yeah, whatever." While gesturing his hand letting his friend know that he can crash inside. As for Tobi, since he still has a few minutes to spare, he still chose to lie down on the grassy roots of their backyard tree.

 Tobi decided to make himself come inside their home to watch the series they're most excited to witness. As a guy who lives alone, a friend's company is a necessity from time to time because in Tobi's case, it helps him pull his mind out from the occasional silence, void and loneliness. Those moments that he finds himself staring into the horizon even without looking at something at all and those moments he feels aloof from the rest of the world and finds himself very much stoned yet still calmed.

 "Come on, T! The show's 'bout to start." Raf invites Tobi, already made himself comfortable on the sofa with food and drinks already prepared.

 "Well, look at you claiming my sofa. I should probably sit on the floor, yeah?" Tobi jokingly said, gesturing to sit down on the floor but he then jump and landed at Raf.

 "What the f-!? You can just ask if you want to sit on the sofa!" Raf exclaims as some of what he was eating was thrown off then both shared a bunch of laughs.

 The two brawly bastards enjoyed their most anticipated series which was about the military force rounding up individuals with Anomalies for research purposes. The main story will surround with its main protagonist named General Galahad and his troops. Tobi and Raf are not the only ones who are excited about the show. Almost everyone wants to witness the story of the brave General. The show is so awaited that it's being aired across all five nations.

 Some minutes later, "T, our food bowl is empty. Should I order some more bites?" Raf asked, eating what's left of their food.

 "Yeah, you definitely should. Order some pizza." Tobi answered. "Thin crust." He added.

 "Anything else?"

 "No more. Enough junks for the day."

 "I should probably order fries to be sure." Raf whispers to himself.

 Tobi heard then said, "Rafael Inoue. No, you will not." Trying to stay calm.

 "Okay, no need to recite my full name Tobias Liu." Raf replied then started to dial the pizza parlor's phone line.

 They continued to watch the series and they're now on the part where the first few Anomalies are being discovered and being accompanied to the research facilities. The first Anomaly is a mild one which was the ability to jump in great heights which was used by a circus performer. Second was a somehow eerie one since the person can have himself possessed by spirits, good or evil, but still keeping his original soul after being possessed. Or so they say. Almost half an hour passed and their order is about to be delivered.

 "T, what happened to you?" Raf asked as he noticed his friend went silent and holding his head. "You havin' a headache?" He followed up.

 "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Tobi answered, still holding his head.

 "It's been a few months since you started to get those headaches. You sure you don't want to have that checked?" Raf asked in worry.

 "I said I'm fine. Don't mind me." Tobi answered, trying to calm his friend and himself down. "A little few headaches won't kill me, 'ya know!" Tobi joked as he punches Raf's shoulder teasingly. Then, the doorbell rang.

 "I'll get it!" Raf jumps off from the sofa then ran towards the door. As he came back, Tobi's back to normal.

 "What happened to you? You fine already?" Raf asked in confusion.

 "Told you that was nothing." Tobi replied, letting out a laugh afterwards.

 "You freaking weirdo." Raf teased. "Let's just continue watching this thing." Pointing a finger towards the flat screen television.

 After one full hour, the series' first episode is now on its closing credits. Leaving the two much more excited for the next episode which will be aired same time, same day the following week. This episode didn't disappoint anyone as waves of comments, reviews and feedbacks were posted on dozens of social media sites which confirms the success of the show and of course, some of those are from Tobi and Raf themselves.

 "It was hell of a ride watching the show!" Raf exclaims, still stuffing himself with what's left from their snacks.

 "Hell yeah." Tobi agreed with his eyes being a bit teary from the emotions.

 "Can't wait 'til next week to watch the 2nd episode!" Raf replied, finishing off the food in his mouth with a few more chews.

 "I feel you but don't forget that we have a week of studying before the 2nd episode." Tobi explained.

 "No!" Raf screamed as he throws himself back on the sofa.

 Both realized that their lives will go back to normal yet again. That moment when relaxation will be replaced by a week-long agony, week-long stress and week-long hardship. There may be good things that happen anytime in a week but let's be perfectly honest, the best things about going to school are going back home, friends, recess and some other fun stuff on the side of course.

 "I'll get going then!" Raf said, showing himself off from Tobi's house. "See you in class tomorrow, T!" He adds.

 "Look at you messing around here and not helping me clean up." Tobi teased as his friend pretended not to hear and continue to walk off.

 "You don't need me. You can do it!" Raf teased back. "Brotherly Love!" He added, making his fingers do the heart-shaped thing most millennial kids do then finally shutting the front door close leaving Tobi alone cleaning the mess they made.

 Night fell and the drowsiness is slowly kicking in. As Tobi prepares himself to sleep, he can't help but think the random headaches that keeps on happening to him. It happens very unexpectedly that it strikes even in the most unappealing moments like when he was about to take the stairs in a crowded mall, he slipped on the very first step due to the headache causing most of the crowd burst from laughter so he now takes the elevator whenever possible. There's also an incident when he was almost got himself into a vehicular accident since the headache hit him while riding his motorcycle and almost crash to a school bus full of school kids.

 He remembered that this started a few months ago. He visited a nearby clinic to check if this is being caused by high blood pressure but as the nurses confirmed, he's perfectly healthy so he was just asked to take vitamins daily. He also thought of buying a few pain killers to ease the awful sensation but it doesn't work at times. The thinking spree eventually made him sleep without coming up with any logical answers.

 The next day, since Tobi did a lot of deep thinking the night before, he woke up not so energetic as he planned to be so making himself get up from bed is very much challenging not to mention all the other preparations that needs to be done before heading to class. Taking a bath, eating a meal, getting clothed and taking his meds are pretty much a lot of work to do already but eventually, he did it because he doesn't have any other choice.

 In his surprise, the headaches didn't hit him on the way to school so that added a pinch of positivity to his mood. Even though he anticipated the headache popping any step he takes, it didn't happen so far. As he approach the academy's building where his class is, he bumps into a random student and quite new, he can tell, because as he glanced at this student from head to toe, he didn't recognized him at all. With a darker toned skin, strange markings on his neck to his arms and the grim stare this student is giving to him is not familiar. Right then, the headache smashed his head causing him to fall to the ground. The strange guy just walked away as if nothing happened. Luckily, he manages to stand up on his own as the headache slowly subsides.

 "What's up with that guy?" Tobi whispers, trying to keep his balance. He took a pill or two of his pain killers then walked straight to their classroom.

 "Hi!" Someone said and it sounded that someone's sending a greeting to Tobi. As he made his way to one floor lower from the floor where their classroom is, a cheerful girl's voice rings Tobi's ears making him pause for a bit and tried to look where this voice came from but even before he finds who said that, the headache came back. Thanks to the pain killers because the headache didn't hit him much like the previous one.

 "Hi!" The mysterious girl greeted Tobi again as she stands behind him reaching out her right hand for a handshake.

 "Oh, hello." Tobi greeted as well as he reached for the girl's hand for a handshake. The handshake lasts roughly about fifteen seconds while they're just smiling at each other.

 Tobi finds the girl fine. Very fine actually with her tall height which almost reach his, her long brunette hair, porcelain skin which seemed to be as soft as a marshmallow and her beautiful sweet voice. The only thing that made him feel off about himself is that the girl approached him first instead of him making the first move. Odds are in his favor. He might just be lucky today not including the shady guy from earlier whoever he is or wherever he came from.

 "My name is Saoirse. Saoirse Blossom." The girl introduced herself with a huge smile on her face.

 "I'm Tobias Liu." Tobi replied mirroring the girl's huge smile. "You can call me Tobi." He continued.

 "I know." Saoirse said.

 "How?" Tobi asked with a bit of surprise.

 "It's on you name tag, silly." She answered then laughed in a very feminine manner.

 "Oh, right." He realized and then laughed as well. "Why did you approach me though? Do you need anything from me? Any help?" He asked.

 "I just noticed that you're in the same class as I am so I introduced myself ahead of time." She answered still wearing that glowing smile she had. "And you're the first classmate I came across so, yeah. I think I just got excited."

 "So you're the new girl they've been talking about." He said pertaining to the recent talks of his classmates specially the guys about having new faces in their bunch. "But how did you notice that we're in the same class? Are you a witch or something?" He jokingly asked.

 She paused for a bit with a blank expression on her face but immediately went back to being cheerful and said, "It's written here. See?" She held Tobi's bag tag that has their class name written on it.

 "Oh, yeah. I forgot that we have these things dangling around." He said. "We just got these things made a few months ago so I'm still getting used to it." He explains and Saoirse nodded in agreement.

 Few seconds of awkward silence passed and Tobi decided to ask, "Saoirse, would you like me to accompany you to our classroom?" She once again showed her smile and replied, "Thank you but I need to be somewhere else real quick." She politely rejected. "Nice meeting you, though." She added.

 "Class will start in a few minutes. Are you sure? He said, trying to persuade her but failed.

 "It's fine. I won't be late. See you!" She finally said as she waved her hand goodbye and ran off somewhere.

 Tobi finally reached his class and immediately went straight to his seat. Due to a rough night sleep, he decided to take a quick nap since there's still a few minutes to spare before the bell rings which indicates the start of their first class. Unluckily, his best buddy is also his classmate so as he's seen by Raf dozing off, pens were put in his nostrils making him gasped for air for a second or two.

 "You bastard!" Tobi exclaims, throwing the pens back to Raf.

 "Don't die on us, T." Raf replied in laughter. "The class is just about to start."

 "Whatever, man. I'm not in the mood of monkeying around yet." Tobi said then went back to rest his head on his desk but just a few more minutes later and just before he completely doze off, the bell rang. A huge sigh is the only thing Tobi could do. As expected, all students hurriedly ran back to their seats.

 Not a moment to waste, their class advisor came inside the room with two unfamiliar faces while walking alongside him. Unfamiliar for most of the students but not for Tobi. He immediately noticed that one of the new faces is the guy with weird markings on his skin and that grim stare he has is still there. What's unsettling for Tobi is that the guy came in and initially stared at him it's as if he did something very awful to the guy. As the three walked in to their classroom, Tobi started to feel his head pumping again. Thanks to the pills he took earlier, it's been manageable so far.

 "Hey, T." Raf called out his friend with a tap on his shoulder from the desk at the back. "I think he has a bad blood on you." He said.

 "I don't know, man. I don't freaking care either." Tobi replied, sending out a glare to the grim guy.

 Tobi's mood immediately changed as he panned his view to the next person. He recognized that it was Saoirse Blossom. The beautiful and jolly girl he thought was a witch from earlier. Her glowing smile is not fading at all it's as if she absorbed all the positivity in the entire academy. He just also noticed a doll-like figure attached to her skirt which is like some kind of a keychain dangling along her waistline.

 The advisor and the new faces finally reached the front for the whole class to see then tapped the board with his stick and said, "Good morning folks! I'm with your new classmates." He introduced. "Please acquaint yourselves to the rest of the class." He said, signaling the new faces to introduce themselves.

 Without any ado, the grim looking guy took a step forward and started to introduce himself. "Pleased to meet you all." He said without sounding pleased at all since he just had a blank expression on his face. "I'm Thandiwe Ojibwe." He continued. Hearing an unusual name, most of the students couldn't help themselves but say "Oohh.." in perfect unison. "I was born in Gallant Africa but I now live here in Noble Asia. Again, pleased to meet you all." He finishes his piece then took one step backwards.

 "Thank you, Mr. Ojibwe." The advisor said, gesturing a small bow to the guy then turned his head and looked at Saoirse. "The floor is yours." He added, gesturing for her to introduce herself. Knowing this, the guys in the class immediately cheered her on like fan boys cheering for their idol. It seemed that it didn't bother her at all as she didn't budge and took a step forward then the crowd went silent to hear her speak.

 "Hello, everyone!" Saoirse exclaimed, filling the whole room with positivity. As she greeted everyone, someone uttered a soft "Aw.." from the background and definitely from one of the boys. "My name is Saoirse Blossom. You're bubbly neighbor from New America but just like Mr. Grumpy guy here, I now reside here in Noble Asia." She explains. "Welcome Saoirse!" Some of the boys from the back exclaimed making her smile at them for a while. "It's very nice meeting you. Let's work hard together." She added then said, "Hi Tobi!" while waving her hand to him still with her radiant smile. To not let Saoirse be embarrassed, Tobi waved back with a smile on his face as well.

 This interaction triggered most of the guys in the room to go mute and slowly glare at Tobi with disgust, envy, hate, etc. which Tobi found funny so he just scratched his head, smiled at the guys, and pretended that it didn't happen. After she finished her piece, Saoirse did a girly bow by holding her skirt from both sides while slightly bending a knee then took a step back. This time, the advisor once again took the floor to give them some expectations about the class itself, himself, and their new classmates.

 "T, what's with you and this Saoirse girl? Is she your ex girlfriend or something that I didn't know about." Raf rushes to Tobi from the back.

 "It's nothing like that, Raf. I just met her earlier today." Tobi explained.

 "Oh, so do you have any plans on making her your girl? If not, I'll go and have her mine instead."

 "Do what you want with her, Raf. I'm not into her anyway. She's too positive for someone like me."

 "Suite yourself. I'll ask her out after class."

 "Too fast, Raf. Too fast."

 "Just as they say; The early worm catches the bird."

 "You might've mixed that up. It goes; The early bird catches the worm."

 "That's what I said. All this headaches are affecting your hearing now. Very alarming." Both laughed hard.

 They didn't notice that Thandiwe and Saoirse were standing in front of them trying to look for a vacant seat that they could and they saw a few from the back rows of the class but it seemed that they didn't want to be seated on that part of the classroom so what they did was pretty much different.

 "Can I sit here?" Thandiwe asked the student who is having the desk from Tobi's left in a what seemed to be a polite manner but sounded otherwise and due to the guys presence, the student who is sitting there immediately stood up and took his bag. "You can sit there." Thandiwe pointed to the seat from the far end corner of the room then the student willingly followed.

 "Hi, Gusion." Saoirse approached the student sitting to Tobi's right as she read his name tag. "Can you be a dear and lend me your seat? I'm having trouble with my sight so I can't be seated at the back." She asked. Without any signs of disagreement, the guy she asked stood up and walked towards another empty sit from the not-so-far back of the room even though he too has poor eyesight.

 The seating plan makes Thandiwe - Tobi - Saoirse at the first row and Raf's by the second-row desk behind Tobi's. As the two new comers settle into their seats, Tobi still feels the pumps of his headaches. Even though there's help from the pain killers, he's still being bothered by it.

 "T, that's becoming intense." Raf reached out, noticing his friend holding his head. "You should probably drop by to the infirmary." He suggested.

 "Are you okay, Tobi?" Saoirse asked. This also caught Thandiwe's attention.

 "What a wimp." Thandiwe uttered to himself.

 "What's the commotion about, Mr. Liu?" The advisor asked, trying to sound firm even though it's not in his personality. Since Tobi couldn't respond due to his headache, Raf immediately stood up and explained the situation.

 "Oh, is that so?" The advisor validated. "Can someone accompany Mr. Liu to the infirmary please?" He asked.

 "I'll do it!" Saoirse volunteered. As she volunteered, some of the boys from the back shouted, "What!?" showing their objection but the advisor didn't mind them.

 "Very well then. Mr. Ojibwe, please go with them." The advisor asked.

 "With all due respect, sir. Are you serious? " Thandiwe asked also showing his objection.

 "I'll accompany them, sir!" Raf also volunteered. "I'm more familiar where the infirmary is than the new kids." He explains.

 "No, you can't. Don't forget that you have a violation for loitering last week so you can't go out to the academy halls if it's class hours unless you're the one who has illness or you're going to the bathroom." The advisor explained. "You must have someone accompany you as well if you need to go to the bathroom I may add." He continued, making Raf to sit right back down. "Get a move on now you three." The advisor commanded Thandiwe, Tobi, and Saoirse to get out of the room and go to the infirmary.

 Moments later, Tobi woke up on an infirmary bed not remembering what happened after the three of them walked out from their class. As he still recollects himself, he tries to look around to see where are the new faces. But what he saw somewhat made him baffled. He saw Thandiwe having what it seemed like an argument with the infirmary's medical assistant. Surprisingly, this female medical assistant appears to be around their age as well and with exceptional beauty like Saoirse. What feels a little off is that only Thandiwe is saying something and the medical assistant is just silent and not even opening her mouth but even though she seemed not responding, Thandiwe keeps on talking. Tobi couldn't figure out what are they talking about due to the dozy feeling he has probably by the meds given while he's unconscious.

 Thandiwe stopped talking and then made himself sit on a chair from the corner of the infirmary then Tobi heard a woman's voice. He thought it was Saoirse but it was a more subtle yet sweet tone.

 "You're awake." The feminine voice said. Opening his eyes again, he noticed the medical assistant beside his bed patching things up.

 "Yes, Thank you for your help." Tobi replied, almost in complete consciousness.

 "No, problem." She said.

 "I'm Tobias Liu. Tobi for short." He suddenly introduced himself.

 "She knows." Thandiwe butts in.

 "Yes, I know. My name is Anastasia Ivanov." The medical assistant also introduced herself. Tobi suddenly noticed something weird. Anastasia hadn't opened her mouth since her interaction with Thandiwe earlier and she was just wearing a sweet smile on her face while she interacted with him.

 "Am I dreaming or I'm just really hearing your thoughts?" Tobi still being astonished by that possibility.

 "You're not dreaming and yes, I'm talking to you with my thoughts." She confirmed with her mouth still shut and with a sweet smile. Tobi became silent for a few seconds and wondered if he'd been drugged or if this was still an effect of his headache.

 "No, we didn't drugged you or something." Anastasia said.

 "You can read my mind too!?" Tobi exclaims in surprise.

 "Yes, I can. That's part of my Anomaly but I don't do it most of the time. I still respect peoples' privacy." She explains.

 Fear is slowly building up in Tobi's nerves as this is his first encounter with someone with an Anomaly. He suddenly remembered the tragedy of Raf's parents as an Anomaly. He immediately thought of jolting off and running away as fast as he could or taking something from the infirmary and making it a weapon just in case she planned to kill her but due to his weakened state, he realized that he couldn't do anything physically. Due to this, he thought of something else. He looked at Thandiwe and he confirmed that he was still sitting at the far end corner of the room while he watched the other two.

 Tobi remembered he was also accompanied by Saoirse to the infirmary but he's not seeing or hearing her at all. So Tobi asked with a nervous tone, "Where is Saoirse? Did you kill her?" Anastasia stayed silent in shock at the question.

 Thandiwe chuckled and said, "Don't be ridiculous. She just headed back to class moments before you wake up." He explained. Since Tobi confirmed that Saoirse is safe, he now needs to ensure his safety. He decided to scream his lungs out and just in case Anastasia stops him, he can just easily shove her off.

 Little did Tobi know, Anastasia was still plugged into his thoughts. As Tobi thinks of his plan, she also channels these ideas to Thandiwe. Tobi finally mustered his strength then as he's about to call for help, he saw Thandiwe tried to reach out to try and stop him but it's obvious for him that he won't reach so Tobi let out his all out scream. "Hel-!" He attempted a scream for help but couldn't finish. A snake suddenly showed up and acted as a gag to stop him from yelling then it slithered from his mouth to his cheek, went down to the back of his head then circled back making the snake tighten its grip a little.

 To Tobi's astonishment, he looked at where the end of the snake was because it seemed that it was stretched. He slowly followed the body of the snake and it also seemed that it came from where Thandiwe was sitting. Tobi was shocked as he saw him still sitting from the corner of the infirmary, slouching to be exact. He saw that Thandiwe reached out to them but instead of a hand at the end of his arm, it changed its shaped and became a live snake and now gagging Tobi's mouth. "Well, this is my Anomaly." Thandiwe said, leaving Tobi dumbfounded.

 Tobi is now thinking that he's really going to die. Fear of death engulfed him completely. Flashbacks of his happiest moments started to cloud his thoughts. He also sees his saddest moments as he reflects back to his life. He's now tearing up with all the emotions lingering in him. But before his life takes its final seconds, he once again screams but from inside him he only thinks of stopping what's happening with all of his might.

 Tobi felt that the snake rapidly slithered off from his face and he suddenly didn't hear Anastasia talking to Thandiwe through their thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked at the two. They look similarly astonished by what just happened. Thandiwe's snake-like arms came back to normal and it seemed that Anastasia's trying to connect to Thandiwe but she couldn't. After this, Tobi once again felt like his energy bar went from positive to negative making him unconscious.