3 CHAPTER 2

Jeff shook his head with the smile never leaving his face. He opened his closet and picked up his father's gray racing jumpsuit, and gray H-Board, which had the shape of a skateboard–both of which were now his. He arranged the jumpsuit into his bag pack, changed into a blue shirt and jean trousers and picked up his Head-Plate. He was about wearing the Head-Plate when he noticed something that made him drop it immediately.

His heart sank into his stomach and the tingling feeling in his brain, left him with a wide mouth as he stared at his glowing hands.

"What in the five square is happening to me?" Jeff rubbed his hands on his trousers, with the aim of brushing off the glow, but that was to no avail. His hands continue to radiate a yellow splendor, which burned with an inexplicable heat.

Pools of sweat broke his brow and the hotness he felt inside, refused to touch the goosebump on his skin. Reflexively, he turned towards the bathroom for water to drown his glowing hands, but something else distracted him. Jeff spun instantaneously to the direction of the only window in the room, where he knew the sound had come. He took a deep satisfying lungful of air when he saw the window ajar and nothing out of ordinary. He was pretty sure he'd heard a flapping sound like that of a bird, but a part of him doubted it.

Jeff pulled the knob of the door, only to notice that his hands were no longer glowing. He was perfectly fine. The inner heating and the burns were all gone like the puff of smoke.

"This is very strange." He muttered.

Some part of him was still tensed though, but he decided that there was no cause for alarm and relaxed. He picked up his Head-Plate where it had fallen and clipped it around his ear. The familiar sensation of the Head-Plate around his left ear added a little comfort to his growing curiosity.

As Jeff flung his bag pack behind, he noticed a gold envelope sitting comfortably on the window sill. Startled than afraid, he placed his burden back on the bed and moved over to see what it was.

The golden envelope bore an unrecognized seal, with silver embroidery running from the top to bottom on each side. It was not up to the size of a file envelope and nothing on it suggested how long it had been sitting there or who had dropped it.

Jeff dared anyone to hover the two-story building at this early hour to drop an envelope, or was it his mother who had dropped it? He couldn't tell for sure. Courage was far from him; it was curiosity that led him to pick up the envelope.

Nothing on the unfamiliar envelope gave away the address of the sender or the recipient. But for the silver embroidery, it was a plain brown paper that could go unnoticed even to the most curious eye.

Who would be sending an envelope in this digital age? The red seal on the envelope was as hard as a nutshell that it didn't bulge when Jeff tried to break it. The envelope itself, though was made from what seemed to be paper, was much harder than the seal when Jeff tried to tear it open.

"What is this?" He asked himself again as he turned the strange envelope over. He couldn't feel what was inside.

Giving up the idea of opening the envelope at that precise moment, Jeff tossed it into his drawer.

"I will deal with you later, for now; I have a race to win." He said surprising himself. The words still mingled with uncertainty, but it was as if they brought courage and determination and he was glad. Shooting one last glance at the drawer where the mysterious envelope now was, he walked out the exit.

The aroma of coffee and baked caked streamed the air, as Jeff walked down the stairs. They were popping out from the plate seating perfectly on the dining table. Save for the food and a glass of orange juice sitting on the table, the table was bare. Matt sat on one of the brown leather couch, with eyes buried on the screen of his device. Jeff's mother was nowhere in sight.

"Is that a new video game?" Jeff asked, noting the serious face Matt wore. Some are addicted to alcohol but not Matt. He was strongly attracted to food, his creative work, and video games. The latter seemed to be taking effect now.

"Yea, it's Dr. Jakins' newest"

"I suspected as much, that man needs a soft pat on the back, he has done much for this city" Jeff walked towards his friend to get a clear view. "Hmm...race gladiators, you really need to brush your skill on this one. How much is the cost?"

"Hah, if anybody needs to work on their skill, I think it's you; you shouldn't forget I whooped your ass on XZ-combat," Matt laughed "I bought this for 20 Qiz, after much plea. The original price tag was 22 Qiz"

"Too costly"

"Yeah" Matt adjusted his weight "I heard the king would be acknowledging some laureates today. Do you think Dr. Jakins might be on the top list?" He asked, not sparing Jeff a single glance.

"I can't tell; the king has a strange way of doing things. Let's hope he acknowledges the poor man for his effort towards the growth of this country."

"Poor man?" Matt scowled "I can't believe you just called the richest scientist in the whole of Anadan poor Well, that depends on your definition of the term"

"Emm...please pardon my choice of word teacher Matt; don't grade me with 'Fs', I will make an adjustment and improve next time. I promise."

"You don't have to worry; F is your portion"

Matt shouted but jumped from the couch to get away, as Jeff pursued. Their laughter echoed through the wall.

"I will break your jaw" Jeff threatened and rubbed his knuckle.

"Just like I broke yours in XZ-combat?"

"You are getting puffed up. I want a rematch"

"Oh, I will love that" Matt chuckled and bowed his head like a monk.

"We should get going. Have you seen my mom?" Jeff asked his friend who stood at the opposite end of the table. The absence of his mother made him consider the possibility that she might just be the one who had dropped the envelope on his window.

"I think she went through the back door, didn't say where she was going."

"It's almost time and late coming shouldn't be our first impression, especially in the presence of the other extractors."

"What about the food, have you forgotten that already?" Matt gulped.

"Oh," Jeff raked his dark hair with his hand. "Maybe when I get back, we need flexibility."

Jeff noted a slight frown on Matt's face that disappeared almost immediately.

"Let's roll then," Matt said as they stepped into their Hover-Board and soared into the busy air.