Twenty-nine

The entire morning, I sat in front of my two phones and dead laptop. Only my favourite phone was on. The one Eun Tak used to call.

The others with everything Guardian oriented were off and their batteries in front of them.

Its been two nights and three days since I promised myself a week of nothing but schoolwork and just focusing on me. Five more days seemed like a long time to go. Besides i felt like a full battery i needed to discharge or i would explode. But if i end my holiday right now, i wont be able to take another in a long time. Something the last saint always told me. Have a break someday.

But he was gone, I was here. I needed answers. My dreams were getting worrying me more than before, and i was having momentary lapses in time. I'd sit, look at something and before i knew it a minute has gone by.

When i was attentive, I'd fell like I'm stuck in time, everything moving fast, but me, moving as slow as slow can be. Like someone put the whole world on fast forward for a sec. Then, it would slow to a natural speed. Sometimes, I'd have it almost like a deja vu. It would rewind and I'll hang there, sometimes immune and others not immune but feeling it all.

Okay, maybe i should just tell what happened yesterday.

I couldn't sleep that morning as i thought of the Artemis bow. For the past five thousand years and it was left were Artemis gave everything up and decided to die after it killed Orion. But we didnt know where, only two people knew where it was. The midnight hounds.

I got up amd went for my usual run as i thought of the dream. Clearly that trident looked a lot like the world killer. But I don't remember seeing the world killer in real life. Was it in the hundred years I lost and forgot while training with the saint?

Or was it... I stopped running and looked back. I'm already at the gate? How did i run two kilometers in... i looked at my watch. I must really be upset minded. I forgot about the morning run rule, no sprinting.

Guess i over did it.

I jogged back to my room, momentarily stopped by the outside gym. It was a bit dark but, the eastern horizon was promising sunbreak in a couple of hours.

I went to the monkey bars and took two easy pull ups. The third one I took, it started. As i rose, everything around me moved faster than the intro theme of my love from the stars. I hung for a second as the sun scotched my neck and wondered what the fuck was going on. Did i time skip? Or did i unknowingly put the world on fast forward?

People were already up, and walking about. The sun was high up i would swear it was either ten already or i was unknowingly in an Argathian sauna. Everybody knows those lizards love heat.

A couple of blinks later, i went back down with my arms hurting as if i had taken hundred push up already. I slid slowly down hoping i didn't fastforward time again even wondered if it really was possible for me to do it here. But I've used my powers under a shield before.

But as i went down, everything that went forward fast came back in reverse even the sun went back behind the eastern horizon. The pain i felt in my joints vanished and i sat there for a moment wondering what the fuck was going on. I took out my phone and looked at it, it was back to 4 a.m. in the morning.

I looked at the date and it was okay. It was the day I knew. But electronic devices could lie if you knew a button to press.

I closed my eyes and focused on the background noise and focused on Tiyane's room. Though my head almost split open thanks to the spell, i saw her lying in her bed. She looked peaceful and... i ought to be ashamed of myself.

I stopped peeking at her like a pervert and focused on what was around me. For a second, my optic nerves felt on fire and all I could see was bright light in the early morning hours long before daybreak.

The ground trembled and I felt certain Gaia was growing pissed at me. But she can go fuck herself. I avoided the bare earth and plants, knowing if she wanted she would drag me into her clutches and tell me what to do.

I took a shower and put fresher clothes on and sat on my bed wondering what the time stunt that was and contemplating what to do with the spell. My phone vibrated and the music i was listening to stopped.

My phone screen was black, and as i looked at it, a single line read on the screen;

"Vk: Why are you messing with time?"

"It wasn't me," i spoke into the headset microphone and closed mg eyes.

"Vk: then who? You the only one i know capable of messing with time."

"I can list at least three people who can do that feom the top of my head including you."

"Vk: then aren't you inquiring who is responsible?"

"I'm on vacation right now. Ibut i would expect the report on who it is, what was done and why. Even from you PK."

"PK: would you have asked if Vk didnt ask?"

"Vk: why are you making it seem like i am responsible?"

"PK: you always get us in trouble Vk, it's only natural that I assume you got us in trouble. Anyway, JS have you heard, a Judge was recorded seen in a live YouTube video taking a whale hunter out?"

"Its why i am on vacation."

"Vk: I doubt you gon' last a week"

"PK: I doubt he'll make it to four, the Saints are their work. But this one is more active than the others."

"Vk: Wanna bet?"

"If you wanna bet I'll give you something to bet on, something you are not gonna like." I threatened and the screen remained black for a minute. Guess they are betting anyway.

"Vk, I need a favour, i need a Lumerian beastiary or info on anything the Lumerians called the nameless of the nameless. It'll be great if you could get me one of their memory chips." I asked.

"Pk: told you."

"Vk: guess i owe you PK, JS, you know that lumerian files are expensive right? Three of your special wishes i heard you give to your creditors."

"I'll give you two, three if you can tell me anything you know about the Artemis bow origins. Or the world destroyer."

"Vk: okay. Deal."

"Deal."

"Pk: can we both have a drink over the weekend, i feel stuffed."

"Okay."

"Vk: text the details. I make sure i make it this time."

"Like you can."

"Vk: look who's talking."

"Sorry." I apologized as everyone logged off. Guess the tremor was felt by me alone and none of the others were close. I secretly felt glad that all that they reported was the judge appearing though it was something I already knew. But i couldn't relax a bit. LK wasn't in the conversation. That meant Shay was still giving him a head ache. I hoped he was treating her right.

Shay is...

I remembered Tiyane. She said lets hang out today. I opened my eyes and they burned like crazy. I closed them shut for a moment. I couldnt hang oit with her with bad eyes.

I switched the lights off and opened them. In the darkness of the room my eyes didn't hurt a lot.

Excited i jumped up.

I went to class earlier than I usually did thanks to my excitment or was it uneasiness. Worse was the fact that today I didn't have any lesson with her. I couldn't see her at breakfast though today I dressed up a bit for her.

Okay, maybe a bit wasn't really it. A lot.

I've put aside all my baggy clothes and wore my pale skinny jean with my white long sleeved shirt that i didn't bother to tuck in to go with my blue sneakers. But i rolled it up to my elbows. My hair was a bit messy but after a quick trip to the barber shop, I had a clean haircut and the little hair i was growing in my face i trimmed it. So i looked neat.

I've felt proud as I stared at the mirror in the room. The appearance I've been trying to hide with baggy and loose clothes, I cast out of the window for the day.

My slender-ish masculine physique I've always found bothersome as it brought me a lot of attention from the ladies even in junior and senior secondary schools, i took it for a day and it felt like I chose the wrong day to do it.

As i walked into the cafeteria, when she wasn't there, I've felt uneasy. I rolled the cap i donned for the attention into my eyes.

"Going on a date?" My friend the chef had asked and I shook my head. "Guess she must have given you her number."

"She didn't. Haven't asked for it yet." I told him and she chuckled.

"Still don't know her name?"

"I know it. Just not in a hurry." I admitted though it felt like a lie. He waved his spatula up and down and i looked at myself.

"Nope not in a hurry." I grimaced as i said so. I felt off. Maybe the sneakers were a bit of an overkill but i had five shoes here. These were my second best shoes and the only shoes i can wear. The Eminem Carhartts i couldn't walk with them, besides they were made for show, not wearing.

Besides, it was air max 93.

I walked out of the cafeteria not feeling like eating at all. I fed the entire breakfast to the cats and went to class.

At lunch I didn't find her and i didn't have the guts to go to her room, though my heart wanted to so bad. I walked to my last class, but i felt worse. My heart was in total chaos and I'd hear my name beinf called behind me. Or hers.

But when i did turn, I couldn't see her. Or her friends, beside what would her friends be doing wearing overalls going to class when Tlotlo did forensic science?

I headed into the faculty of engineering and walked to the computer lab, still feeling like she was around.

Just as i was about to entire the computer lab, i heard scarface's voice say "stop you crazy wench!" In a hushed tone. I stopped and looked back.

"What?" Her voice said, "i wanna greet him."

"You are not. Now shut up!" I took my cap off and scratched my head. I definitely heard her voice but i couldnt see her. All i saw in the direction of the voice was a group of seven people three wearing coveralls the other just plain clothes. But of those wearing coveralls, there was a girl who had the same ass as Tiyane but she was wearing a tight dress that hugged her figure and exposed it way more than necessary but looked sexy.

She had high heels on but looked uncomfortable in them. The dress she wore didn't have shoulder straps and exposed her clevage and lifted her breasts up. And it was sleeveless. So much skin was exposed. Even almost half of her thighs.

Though I liked a bit of it, maybe it was the fact that she left little to be imagined, she wasnt Tiyane. That made me a little confused. Was my recognition problem getting worse because of the pain i was feeling in my eyes now? Because of just ignoring the spell in the morning , now I'm imagining her?

I knew it wasnt her. But my heart told me she was. But Tiyane didnt like exposing a lot of her skin. She when she wore shorts, they were always within knee level. Comfirmed by her pajamas and lack of short pants as observed yesterday.

I squinted my eyes and looked again but i couldnt see anyone wearing like her or her friends. The closest to jer friends was a tomboy looking girl I could easily mistake for the soft Tlotlo and the scary looking pantsula girl with a frown wearing a bucket hat and bent to the side. She looked at me and i easily looked away.

I walked into the laboratory feeling like maybe I didn't inderstand the mate business. Or was i just imagining Tiyane wearing like that because i saw her sexually? But I've rarely saw anyone sexually. Yeah, Kiara once had me aroused for a second but that's it. Ive never been aroused after that. Even now I'm not... maybe I'm just imagining it.

I walked out of class and regretted not having her number. I kept wishing she'd appear out of some corner but she didn't.

I've garnered a lot of attention in class for both my shoes and most girls i recognised from first year asked me why I've been wearing baggy clothes instead of these.

The others had even commented that i bought new clothes but, i didnt. But the whole two hours i didn't want comments that i looked nice from them. I wanted them from her. But she wasn't around.

I wore my headphones and started playing my RnB kpop ost playlist. As i played the music, Justin Bieber ft Jaden Smith's thinking about you, i realized that i understood every word in the lyric and my heart couldn't calm down as every note resonated with me.

But, Jaden's first verse hit me different. I wasn't being a real man showing her that i love her. Or that i actually am thinking about her. Or maybe it was the lies i bent to fit my truths of me being human and my hiding of the other real truths.

I started playing a racing game, Asphalt 8 and walked to the dorms just to forget about my lying to her. But would a spy or mercenary tell... forget about it. I reminded myself as the game started.

"Boo!" Tiyane shouted from behind me as i walked out of the parking lot in front of the faculty of engineering block and j jumped.

Seeing me jump, she started laughing and i took my earphones off.

"God, you scared me."

She tried to hide her smile by pouting. But she couldn't. I relaxed and a thought crossed my mind. I missed her.

"You don't look scared." She said before hilariously immitating me. "You look like this." She made a hideous face by pullying her face together into a pack of wrinkles with her eyes crosseyed.

I laughed at it but her eyes carried some sadness in them.

"You look hideous." I commented. Hideously cute. "And I don't look like that."

"You do!"

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't, even if i made that face i wouldn't look as hideous and cute..." mg heart stopped a beat. Shit. I didn't just say that did I? Well might as well roll. "... ad you. Besides my cheeks aren't..."

I stopped. Get a hold of yourself James. This is bad.

"You really think I'm cute?" She asked with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, but not in a...."

You really think I'm cute? She asked with a crooked smile while a step behind me? Did she stop.

"Without being cheesy yeah. I do." I turned to her.

"You are not so bad yourself, especially toda... you really think I'm cute?" She asked with a crooked smile while a step behind. I stopped and looked around.

"Yeah, i do think you're cute."

"You are not so bad yourself toda... you really think I'm cute?" She asked with a crooked while back to where she was a while ago.

Looped. She was caught in a time loop.