AFIRE: fight for the Earth begins✓

11.2 ZE

The story so far:

---- Aija is a Volunteer at the Pristine School at Innermost. She works along with Zuri and Ze, who are her friends. Aija witnesses a strange event one night – light emanating from Rez's body. The kidnapper is after her soul, next, but he leaves her alive and goes away. Another man finds her, he wants to take her somewhere else - Aija though wary of him agrees. Aija learns of the existence of the aliens – the Ytai. Also, about the R'ies and H'eon, Harvesting and Àvo from Etrie. Etrie tells her that the man, who Harvested Rez (Thieron), will now go after her. He tells her that the spy/kidnapper's name is Luka. Etrie asks her to work along with him.

---- Aija is invited by Etrie for a Harvest Stopping Mission. Aija tells Zuri about Quinn – she's to meet him as an order from the Leadership. Kuna, who works for Etrie, picks Aija up for the mission. Etrie partners Aija with Kuna for the night. Aija agrees to work along with Etrie on Harvest Stopping Missions.

---- Ze catches Aija returning early in the morning with two unknown men. He worries if she is doing something wrong by dating one of the men she is with.

---- Ze decides to talk to the girls about it.

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****11.2 - Ze****

Ze had no classes to take care of that day. 

He knew Zuri and Aija's timetable enough to know that Zuri had free time sometime in the afternoon, but Aija was busy the whole day. He opted to speak with Zuri about it first, thinking that Aija might be embarrassed to hear about it from him.

Aija and Zuri arrived at school five minutes after Ze. Zuri wished him a good morning, and Aija just smiled as she sat at her table. She took out her DigiBook and yawned. Of course, she was tired. She had probably been out the whole night. She had come back around five-thirty in the morning, so she wouldn't have had much time to sleep.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Yes. Why?" Aija didn't tense or startle. She was calm.

"You look tired. Didn't you sleep well?"

"I did. Just lesser than usual." Aija smiled. She didn't doubt him at all. She really believed that no one saw her.

"I asked her the same thing," Zuri told Ze. "Doesn't she look worn out?"

Ze nodded. Aija's eyes were puffy – like she had cried.

"I'm fine." Aija insisted.

The morning bell rang, and Aija quickly left the Teachers' room. Zuri looked at Ze, and he knew that she wasn't convinced with what Aija was claiming either.

Zuri left too, leaving Ze with Mrs. Pbalan, who taught the children math.

The one thing Ze hated the most was math. He wasn't good at it, and it made him nervous. And, for no fault of hers, Mrs. Pbalan made him anxious – just because she taught math.

Ze went to the workroom and sat for a while in front of the smart screen wasting time. He checked his mail – there was s notice regarding the Teacher Training Applications being available the next week. He sighed. What subject would he specialize in? Definitely not math.

He took a stroll around the school. He saw Zuri taking care of the class seven students; Aija was with the elementary kids playing a game. She had her hair tied up and was looking happy as she played with the kids. Ze wondered what subject she would choose. That is if she even decided to become a teacher. She was from one of the affluent families of Innermost. They had different areas of education they often went into - teaching wasn't one of them. It was a strange fact that she was even volunteering as a teacher.