Atdonus High

Middle of who-knows-where.

Who-knows-when.

At Atdonus Highschool.

It was the second month of the year, the weather was still slightly chilly, the grounds still covered in a thin layer of snow. In a school compound, roughly a kilometre long and wide of classrooms, two cafeterias, sports facilities and more. It was not the most prestigious of schools, nor the most decrepit, rather, the school was registered as 'lost'. Students there lived in dorms, away from their family, only making the occasional phone call back home.

Those students were not the most 'normal' of students, each with their own idiosyncrasies and problems.

In that school, in the second years' third class, sat one teenager alone in the corner. The classes had been scrambled upon advancing to the second year, so he knew few of his classmates. Regardless, already being the second month, cliques and groups had already been formed within the class.

The only one left out was him.

Standing at around 191cm tall, he was slim with some muscle on him. His hair, raven black, curly and messy, was usually kept as is. He sat on his seat, swinging his legs to rest on top of his desk, his bag carelessly put on the ground. He got quite a bit of attention, his classmates staring at him, not with anything like curiosity or awe, only with fear.

He glanced quickly around him, those staring instantly averted their gazes. He had eyes like a hawk, sharp and intelligent. With his height alone, he had already scared a few, but the main cause of the fear had nothing to do with his looks.

"He uprooted a tree and threw it..."

"He bench-presses over a hundred kilos..."

"He once announced that he was robbing a store a week in advance before actually doing it..."

He sighed, facing the ceiling before closing his eyes. These rumours had been haunting him since his enrolment, having been seen as a gangster by his classmates and even the teachers. He disliked socializing, talking, troublesome things, and most of all, he hated the idea of 'good' and 'bad'.

He hated it when someone told him he was bad, hated it when someone was complimented to be good. If he could he would bring down that entire ideology. He thought it to be dumb, and would rather not partake in it.

After hearing some rustling, noises like the shifting of chairs, tables, the shifting of feet and whispering, he opened his eyes and looked to the front. There, in front of the class, was the teacher, Mr Andrews, their Math teacher. He was a stern man, acted like one, looked like one. His hair was cut short, originally black but now a slight grey due to old age. He was roughly 56 years of age, stood 179cm tall with a relatively built body. He held himself with confidence and pride unrivalled by others in the school.

Mr Andrews scanned the room. Their eyes connected for a split second before Mr Andrews looked away. The veteran teacher slammed his textbook on his desk, silencing the whispers of the class. Mr Andrews cleared his throat and looked at the clock hanging above the blackboard.

It was exactly 8:07am.

"So..." Mr Andrews started, every student straightening with attention. "The school has seemingly brought in a new student."

There was silence, not a single soul spoke up or cheered. It was odd that anyone would want to transfer in at that time of the year. The 'gangster' moved his legs off the table, instead, crossing his arms while leaning back in his seat. Mr Andrews scanned the room once more before facing the door and saying, "You may enter now."

The first thing to be heard was the footsteps, soft steps at equal intervals. Not long after, a figure walked into the room to stand before the class.

She caught his attention.

Standing 159cm tall, she wore the female uniform, however, both the top and the skirt were grey in colour. She wore a grey beret, below it, long silky black hair, reaching her waist, fading into grey near the ends. She had dark eyes, looking into them, he could tell she was spacing out, as if thinking. It only happened for a moment before she started looking at everyone, her expression remaining neutral without much sign of emotion.

She started to say something, most likely her name. Her voice was soft, so he did not manage to catch her name. She bowed to the class before Mr Andrews allowed her to seat anywhere that was empty. She scanned the class once more before turning to Mr Andrews, "Sir, there seems to be no available seat in the class at the moment."

She spoke politely, perhaps not to stand out, or perhaps out of respect.

"That's unfortunate... You might have to stand through the lesson until the table and chairs can be transferred in." He replied, scratching his chin.

It was by no means bullying her, it was only because the school only provided what was needed, nothing more, nothing less. The management team was slow, and transferring of equipment could only be done at night.

"Mr Andrews!" Someone shouted out.

"What is it?"

The person who shouted was named Evan Aquarius. He was about 180cm tall, thin and tanned. He had long, straight, blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail. His eyes were blue, a shocking blue that almost reflected the sea.

"I forgot to do my homework, so do I have to leave the class?" Evan asked.

"Of course!" Mr Andrews snapped.

Evan stood up, slung his bag over his shoulders and strode out of the classroom, on the way, winking at the new student. She looked at him, her expression not changing in the slightest as he disappeared out of view.

"You may sit over there for today." Mr Andrews told her.

She walked across the students, some of them turning their heads as she walked past, others facing Mr Andrews with absolute attention. The new student walked to the back and sat down, right beside the class' 'bad guy'.

In just a moment, all those looking at her turned their heads back.

Mr Andrews opened his textbook and started his lesson, scrambling with the chalk to make up for time lost in the introduction of the new girl. His lessons were easy to understand and efficient, not many people would need to slow him down.

9:00am, the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson.

Beside him, the girl was staring into space again, not realizing the other girls going up to her to strike a conversation. Two girls tried to talk to her, standing at the side that was further from him. The girl, after realizing, spoke softly and normally, not much to mention about.

He was just waiting for the break, a chance to leave the classroom.

11:30am, the bell rang, signalling lunch break.

He got up, picked up his bag and strode out of the class, his classmates keeping their distance from him. He walked away from both cafeterias, instead, walking towards a stairway not many knew of, a stairway that led to the roof of the school compound.

He was at the peak of the school, the wind rustling his clothes gently, his messy hair getting messier. There was nothing else to say, from the roof, he could view what was outside. A normal, bustling city, except no students were to enter nor leave until the graduation ceremony of if a batch of freshmen were to enrol into the high school.

He sat down, feeling the wind.

From his bag, he pulled out a lunchbox, a plain design, simply just black and red. Inside it, was some fried rice he had concocted from leftovers. He was about to eat when he noticed something. Spoon halfway to his mouth, he put it back down and faced the intruder.

The new girl, standing there with a lunchbox of her own. She tilted her head after seeing him, his expression had become slightly confused. He made eye contact with her, thinking she would walk away, instead, she approached him.

"My apologies it seems I was mistaken that there would be no one here." She said, bowing.

He remained silent, just looking at her.

"I remember sitting beside you in class, may I have your name?" She continued.

He disliked striking up a conversation, but he had intrigued her because everyone else was ignoring him. She Felt like they were similar, outcasts, she felt like they could get along with each other. Perhaps she could make a real friend.

With no reply, she tried again, "To reintroduce myself, my name is Pandora Gappy."

He blinked, she had a weird name to match her unusual attire. He reached into his bag and started to pull something out. Pandora had thought that he was uninterested in striking conversation, and was about to take a step back when he pulled out something.

"Azel Dominico..." She muttered.

He nodded and pointed to his left before patting the ground. She understood what he was trying to tell her and sat down beside him. She had thought that he was unsocial and disliked talking, having taken out his student handbook to show his name instead of talking to her directly. It was true. True that Azel disliked talking for a reason.

He continued to eat his food nonchalantly, it was not the best, but better than starving. Pandora had also opened her lunchbox, revealing a more Japanese type of lunchbox, packed with rice, fried shrimp and pickled vegetables. He looked at her lunchbox and gave her a questioning look, his mouth full of fried rice. Pandora told him, "Yes, I made this."

They ate in silence, the awkwardness in the air unbearable.

However, with the both of them, they did not seem to mind the silence.

The break lasted an hour, it was meant for students to rest and socialize among themselves, make friends and have a good time.

11:57am, the bell rang, signalling the halfway point of the break.

Pandora heard it and stiffened up. Both of them had finished their food by that time, so they were just enjoying the breeze. She apologized hastily and grabbed her bag, running off to the stairway. Azel simply looked, not chasing after her.

He packed up his stuff and was about to make his way down when he heard faint footsteps. at the bottom of the flight of stairs, was a tanned, blonde guy. Evan saw Azel and frowned. He walked up to Azel, asking, "You know the new girl?"

Azel frowned.

"Isn't she funny? I wonder what she would do if she found trash on her seat? She seems like the kind to completely break down and cry. Won't it be funny? " Evan grinned. "What do you say? Since we sit next to each other, we can work out a plan together."

Azel remained silent, looking down on Evan.

"C'mon, reply man. This silence is killing me!" Evan laughed.

There was a loud crash that shocked Evan, almost making him fall down the stairs. The door that opened to the roof had come off its hinges, Azel having kicked it. He glared at Evan, his sharp eyes piercing through him.

Azel walked past him, back down to where the class was.

"H-He can u-uproot a tree and th-throw it..." Evan muttered, looking at the broken door.

His legs were trembling slightly, making him hold onto the railings to remain standing. Evan could feel his heart racing, his palms sweating. Azel could do something like that effortlessly, so what would happen if he was to fight Evan?

"P-Per-Pe-Per..." He stuttered, shaking. "Perfect!"

Evan started a strange dry laugh that wrecked his body in pain. He had never seen someone like Azel, the way he communicated, the way he acted. He wanted to find out what pushed his buttons, what he would do in desperate situations. Evan wanted to try it out immediately, he wanted to see Azel get mad, wanted to see him at full power.

The was the kind of man Evan Aquarius was.

He needed to plan, but his plan needed just a bit of time.

12:16pm, Azel had reached class.

Pandora was there too, seated down. Her composure seemed different, she fidgeted, was nervous and her eyes constantly had a look of fear. When she saw Azel walk in, she looked away. Luckily, he was already used to that kind of treatment and did not really mind it.

12:30pm, classes started again.

Evan was nowhere to be seen, Pandora was fidgeting more than previously, her eyes darting across the class, checking if anyone was looking at her. No one was, even Azel was just looking in front. She breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to listen in class.

Azel stared blankly at the blackboard, thinking about what to have for dinner.

3:10pm, the class was released from their final lesson.

He got up first, leaving the classroom to go to one of the small stores in school. The school gave them all a fixed allowance each year to use anywhere, however, if you ran out, that was it for the rest of the month. Azel used the money to buy ingredients to cook instead of going to the cafeteria, too many people, too crowded, too noisy.

He entered the store and started looking around at the products. He picked up a chicken, some vegetables and a few herbs.

He paid and left swiftly back to his dorm.

On his way, he saw the familiar face of Pandora scrambling around, a piece of paper in her hands. He walked up to her and tapped her shoulder, causing her to jump back slightly. She looked up at him, all 31 centimetres of height difference coming into play.

"U-Um... Do you k-know where females' dorm F-9 r-room 20 is?" She asked nervously.

It was her first day of school, so he understood why she would be nervous. He helped turn her piece of paper around before pointing at a sign that led to the female's dorms. Pandora thanked him, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

"T-Thank you!" She said, half shouting.

She walked off in the direction of the dorms before Azel made his way towards his own.

The next day.

7:40am, Azel went to class.

He had woken up too early to make his lunchbox, so he decided to just go to class with nothing better to do. Just outside the class, he saw some of his classmates pinching their noses along the hallway, talking amongst each other. Confused, he got closer until the smell hit him.

A hot, putrid smell entered his nostrils, almost making him gag. He opened the door, wanting to find out what was the source of the smell.

At the back of the classroom, another table was placed right behind Evan's, and it was filled with black trash bags filled with god-knows-what. A new table, it was obviously for Pandora Gappy, and the scenario seemed awfully familiar to him, like someone had told him about it...

Azel grabbed the bags, opened the windows and threw them out, crossing the courtyard below and into the giant trash bin there. The smell slowly left the classroom as more students walked into class, each of them making a comment on the smell at some point.

When Pandora entered, Azel had already switched her table with Evan's. Evan himself entered not too long later, a slight expression of surprise crossing his face. He pointed at Pandora, asking, "Wasn't there supposed to be tras-"

That confirmed it.

Azel walked to the front of the class, the room silent, everyone looking at him in suspense. Evan himself was frozen in place, the atmosphere deadly silent, almost mysterious. The moment Azel got in front of Evan, Evan was sent flying out the door, crashing into the wall opposite their class. The wall was half glass, the other half a normal wall. The glass shattered, raining Evan in the remains. Evan passed out, his legs spread while laid in a sitting position, his arms limp on the ground. On the ground was a small pool of blood and teeth, Evan's jaw was bent at an odd angle as he hung his head.

"What's going on?" Some of his classmates whispered.

Azel went back to his seat, glaring at those that looked at him, making them look away. To his side, Pandora was there, crouching beneath his desk. She popped her head up, a sheepish grin on her face as she rested her chin on his desktop. She seemed different again, for some reason, she had a childish gleam in her eye.

8:00am, there was a call from outside the class.

Pandora stiffened for a moment before standing up. She bowed slightly before returning to her own seat, her neutral look on her face once again. Azel found it weird, a girl that changes.

"Whoever did this, come out now!" Mr Andrews yelled from outside the class.

Azel got up, standing his full height and went out, facing Mr Andrews. The teacher was fuming, his face slightly red. He saw Azel and pointed at him, "Of course it's you! All of you 'gangsters' and beating people up! Do you have anything to say about it?"

Azel simply looked at his teacher with no change in expression. He did not feel the least bit remorseful, nor did he feel like he did something wrong. He hated the concept of 'good' and 'bad', and he disliked the way people stared at him as if he was sinning, for he did what he wanted.

Veins popped up on Mr Andrews' forehead, the blood rushing to his head. He shouted, "For beating up a classmate, you are to be suspended from classes for a month! Is that understood?"

Azel turned around, back into the class.

"Where do you think y-" Mr Andrews started.

Azel scooped up his bag and slung it over his shoulders before leaving through the front door. Mr Andrews tried to stop him, but Azel simply walked straight ahead, bumping his teacher aside. Azel knew that if he stayed, the teacher would start trying to dig out information.

He disliked talking, disliked socializing or communicating in general.

He simply went back to his dorm, collapsing on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He could not go to classes for a month, so he had to keep himself occupied with something else. He sighed and pulled out a book to read, not as if any friends would visit him.