December 11, 2023

"Alright, kids." Mr. Furish said, stopping the whole plethora of us in front of the doors to our school.

We all walked to school together, and it was always at the crack of dawn because we needed to make it into Room 41 without the rest of the school notices.

I don't know if anyone in the entire school knew we existed, because we always came in early, and stayed especially late.

The principal obviously knew we existed, because he talked to Mr. Furish frequently.

Of course, none of us had ever talked to him before, but he had seen our faces.

We were practically invisible to the entire school.

It made me feel more comfortable with myself, as there weren't as many people who could really judge me, or know my backstory. There were already enough people who could do that.

There were many reasons why I shouldn't want to tell them:

1: They would be extremely mad at me for lying to them for 3 months, about pretty much everything about me

2: Telling then that I practically killed someone might not bode well

3: Telling them that I left my family, and was an ignorant little brat who couldn't see that they might actually care for me, also might not do me good on my loyalty

4: If they knew everything, they might not accept me or like me for who I am, and what I've done because I certainly wouldn't like me either

5: They would be extremely mad at me for lying to them for 3 months, about pretty much everything about me ...oh wait I did that twice

We all turned our heads to look at Mr. Furish, as he continued.

"Kids, me and the principal, Mr. Galvin, have been talking."

"And?" Luke asked, interjecting the silence.

Luke, who stood to the right of me, ran his long boney hand through his lofty hair, which floated just above his forehead neatly. His bright sky blue eyes shined in the winter sun, contrasting with his dark hair and pale skin. He wore a light green sweatshirt,  grey jeans, and light blue Nike's, which was a bit overdressed for winter in Arizona.

"Well, despite what I said to him, he believes that it'd be good for you guys if you joined the main school." Mr. Furish said with a sigh.

We all exchanged glances, as to see if everyone else agreed with what Mr. Furish was proposing. As I expected, everyone was unsure and seemed like they could go either way.

"Sir, why are we just doing this now?" Isabel, who stood with Lauren in between me and her, asked, raising her hand high into the air.

She asked the same question that all of us were wondering.

She put her hand down and tightened her short, wavy, auburn ponytail with her tan hands. Her deep brown eyes stayed dim, even in the sunlight, and but that wasn't the same for her clothes, which were a sequined tank top, a jean jacket, tight black leggings, and glittered running shoes.

"We won't be doing it just yet." Mr. Furish answered, "We will join them after winter break."

"Sir, I know this is a pretty big deal, but why were we separated from the rest of the school." I asked, prying deeper, squinting my amber eyes in suspicion.

"We will talk about it at practice today." Mr. Furish answered, "I just wanted to let you all know because they will be introducing you all as new students in a week."

"Why are you telling us this today?" Camden, who was standing to the right of Luke, asked.

Camden played with his shaggy, light brown hair nervously, as this had been the first time he had ever spoken loudly in a crowd.

His light brown eyes, like honey, reflected in the morning sun like the rest of ours. He wore his black and white basketball jersey, with the number five imprinted on the front, and his last name, Dizcery, placed directly under it. It was a slightly chilly morning, so he wore a dark blue jacket on top, along with dark jeans, and red, high-topped, basketball shoes.

Captain stayed silent, ending the conversation, but he didn't need to say anything.

I knew why.

Captain was setting the timer for when he would tell everyone who I was.

The second we left our little secluded group, my friends might leave me for better friends, and I'd be all alone again.

They'd have the free will to tell whomever they like, and might not even acknowledge me.

Then everyone in the whole school will know...

I struggled not to stare daggers into Mr. Furish's black eyes and instead looked into Lauren's shining light green ones.

She stood directly to the left of me, so when Mr. Furish stopped talking, she turned towards me, and said, "I wonder what that was about."

"Yeah." I answered, absent-minded.

"Hey, you okay?" Lauren asked, I stayed silent, so she assumed yes, and finished, "I am too. That's so many people..."

I broke out of my daze, and said, "Well, it's better this way."

"How?" she asked, her dark brown hair sliding to her back, as she quickly turned her neck to look me directly in the eyes.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully, "I just want to stay positive."

She laughed a little, and said sarcastically, "Well good luck with that, while you're in the FOF."

"What do you mean?" I asked her confused, my eyes widening at her comment.

"Oh, it's nothing." she said quickly, looking away from me.

Her wavy brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, as she looked downward at her grey Adidas, which complimented her light blue capris, that had a white, short-sleeved T-shirt tucked in.

"I see your wearing pants today, Princess. Where'd the shorts go?" I said, changing the subject, as we began walking towards the school with the rest of the group.

I ignored the fact that I was actually wearing jean shorts as well, today, along with a black Adidas sweatshirt, long athletic socks, and light blue Nike's.

She sighed and laughed a little, "They're in the wash."

"I knew you'd never willingly wear pants instead of shorts!" I exclaimed as if I had just solved a crime.

She laughed, looking back at me, and responded, "Alright, maybe it's just a little cold today too."

"But I'm still here, I don't understand." I said sarcastically.

She just glanced at me and sighed.

"One day you'll like that joke!" I yelled, running ahead of her, and into the school building.

______________________________

We repeated the rules of the FOF monotonously in synchronization again, just as Mr. Furish requested.

"Kids, today we will be-"

"Sir, you said you would answer my question at practice. And here we are." I said, interrupting Captain, nonchalantly.

"And that I did." Mr. Furish said, rolling his eyes.

"So? Why weren't we with the rest of the school?" I repeated.

"The FOF is a secretive organization, and the more people that know you, the more people that know about the FOF." Captain said quickly.

What he said made sense.

I'd guessed he would say that.

"Is that why you made us move away from our families?" Lauren asked condescendingly.

I was surprised by her sudden attack.

Lauren wasn't usually this mad about anything, and certainly never raised her voice or said anything the way she did.

Well... except for me.

Mr. Furish seemed surprised by her sudden stab too, just as everyone else was.

"Yes..." Mr. Furish said with a sigh.

I intended on asking Lauren, about why she was so mad, later tonight.

Lauren stayed silent for a moment, then said starkly, "Alright. I was just wondering."

Everyone stared at her, and she wasn't even red in the face (which was a pretty big surprise too) and didn't even care that everyone had seen her do that.

"Anyway," Mr. Furish continued, "Now that that's been all said, I thought you all should meet the principal officially."

"As in now?" Luke interrupted.

"Yes, now as in now." Mr. Furish said cooly.

"Wait- where is he?" Isabel asked confusedly.

"Behind the wall listening to us right now. Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Furish announced, beginning to read off of a notecard, "I present to you... the incredible and amazing..."

Mr. Furish made a face at the notecard, "The extremely relatable..."

I looked over at Lauren, who's hard expression was still the same. I gave a glance with wide eyes, and she made it an obvious point to not make eye contact with me.

"The incredibly DISTURBING" Mr. Furish shouted, "William Galvin."

Weird. I recognized the name.

A tall man, who I assumed was the principal, emerged from behind the wall and made jazz hands. He had blonde hair that was neatly gelled, bright blue eyes, and peach skin.

I began to laugh hysterically.

Everyone just kind of stared at me as I practically fell to the ground in laughter.

"Parker!" Mr. Furish whisper shouted to me, as to shut me up.

I reluctantly stood up straight and held back a few giggles, and looked at the presumed principal.

"You're Parker, I'm assuming?" the tall man asked.

I nodded, and responded, "Yes, that is I."

"Weird." the man said, "I feel like I recognize you."

I didn't respond, but instead gave him a confused glare, just to be safe in case he knew me from before I ran away.

I had never paid much attention to the man, as he and another woman, who I assumed was his wife, passed us at the door occasionally.

"Anyway. I'm Mr. Galvin, but you can call me Will." the principal announced.

"And why would we do that?" Isla asked, obviously amused by the man who didn't seem to take his job very seriously.

"Well, just in case you think it's too formal." Mr. Galvin answered calmly.

"Mr. Furish thought his name wasn't formal enough, so he makes us call him Captain." I declared.

"Does he?" Mr. Galvin asked, looking at the man, "Do tell, what is your first name, Captain?"

Mr. Furish rolled his eyes, because Mr. Galvin obviously asked a question that he already knew the answer to.

"Maximus." Mr. Furish answered, almost embarrassedly.

"Now, does anyone have any nicknames for him?" Mr. Galvin asked excitedly.

Camden raised his hand and shouted, "We should call him Max-Chan!"

"Where did you get that from, buddy?" Luke asked him.

"Anime..." Camden mumbled shamefully.

"What? You like anime?" Isla interrupted with a laugh.

"It's not weird." Camden declared, "I'm a weeb and I'm proud of it."

"So what does Max-Chan come from?" I asked, clearly confused by whatever was happening.

My parents never let me watch anime because they said it was inappropriate, and had 'graphic art'. My parents were a little protective about their child's innocence.

"It's pretty much the lowest level of hierarchy in Japanese culture, meaning friend, or same level class man. With the highest level being Max-Senpai, or Furish-Sensei, and if you're really attracted to someone, they're known as just Senpai." Camden explained with the utmost detail.

"What's the difference between Max-Senpai and Senpai?" I asked, still perplexed.

"If you put their first or last name before Senpai, it means upperclassman, or master. Senpai is somebody who you want to-" Camden was cut off by Lauren covering his mouth with her hand, as to stop him from finishing his sentence.

"Somebody you want to what?" I asked obliviously.

"You should be able to fill in the blanks here." Luke said with a laugh.

"You don't want to know, Parker. You don't want to know." Lauren asserted defensively, removing her hand from Camden's mouth, leaving him a bright red.

"I can't believe you don't know." Luke continued.

"Don't lead him on." Lauren sighed.

"But I want to know." I rationalized, I almost began talking about my parents, but then stopped myself at the last second.

Mr. Galvin watched us, obviously taking mental notes as he put his fingers in a check mark beneath his chin, and tapped his toe rhythmically.

"I will not go by Max-Chan, you will call me Captain." a loud booming voice insisted.

"You can call me Will." Mr. Galvin repeated with a wave.

"Anyway." Max-Chan continued condescendingly, "We wanted you tell you that Mr. Galvin-"

"Will." Mr. Galvin corrected.

"WILL's son will be joining us in class and the FOF." Max-Chan finished.

"He's hiding behind the corner too, isn't he?" I asserted.

"Yeah they made me do that." a boy said, emerging from behind the wall.

"This is Charlie, everyone!" Mr. Galvin announced enthusiastically.

"Dad, don't say it like that." Charlie whisper shouted.

"Okay, sweetheart." Mr. Galvin said, whisper shouting back at him.

"Dad..." Charlie facepalmed, and rolled his eyes at his energetic father.

Charlie had an emo look to him, with his black bangs, pale skin, and he looked like he was of Chinese ethnicity. He had on a sweatshirt, ripped jeans, and black boots. He didn't look anything like his energetic father, but I assumed that he probably was more like his mother. But at the same time, I thought I recognized him.

"Anyway, he'll be joining the FOF and will be living in the house with us." Max-Chan announced.

All that I could think was, He's going to make me tell this kid, isn't he?