SPRITES: Legacy of the Black Phoenix

Chapter 9 : A Sense of Corruption

Felix, fully recovered from Vidaj's attack early jumped up. "That's why he has me."

"You're the reason I gave Ian a warning and not you. I only have one set of eyes, and they're going to be glued on you the whole time!"

Felix's sputtered in defeat.

Mrs. Carter guided the students off the bus to the benches in front of the botanical gardens. "Looks like we got here a little early, so we'll rest here until the tour guide arrives."

The majority of the class took a seat and waited patiently. Vidaj sat at a table by himself disinterested in any of the colorful surroundings. Reaching for his phone he played a dark assassin game on his phone. Dashing through his enemies with a dark dagger he enjoyed playing a character that had powers similar to his own. A pair of roses fell from above interrupting his battle with the dreaded demon.

Hovering just above Vidaj was Lana on an elevated ledge. Thankful for the checkpoint in his game he flipped his phone off and inspected the roses. Peering up at Lana he fluttered his eyes. "Flowers? I think you have it backwards. Boys are supposed to give girls flowers."

Lana flipped down from the ledge and tagged him. "Whoa. I didn't know the boy of shadows had a romantic side. All this time I thought you were way too cool for that kind of stuff."

Vidaj spotted a rosebush a few feet behind her. Reaching over Lana, he plucked one of the flowers and handed it to her. "Let me show you how romantic I can be."

Lana threw her hands up and scowled. "Ew, you know how much I hate flowers!"

"Oh, really? Then how come you go crazy every time I spot a dandelion?"

"What! No... that's... uh... that's different!" she stammered. She then blurted angrily, "Dandelions don't count! Besides, what's not to like about dandelions? They're fluffy, and when you blow on them, they look so nice when they float in the wind."

Vidaj finished picking off the thorns on the rose. He reached toward Lana and placed the flower over her left ear. "There. You actually look like a normal girl now."

Lana turned slightly red. She took out her phone to see the rose protruding from her head. After that, she turned even redder and shook anxiously. "Wha—what do you mean... a normal girl? I'm totally a normal girl! Aren't I?"

Jane, who'd been standing by Vidaj's side on her phone waved a finger. "No way! You're definitely more like one of the dudes. Sometimes I think you're even more of a dude than the actual dudes."

A jingling sensation erupted from behind Vidaj. Out of the bushes erupted someone with a bright yellow flowered faced boy appeared. "Fear my flower power!" The kid then threw a bunch of flowers toward a group of girls. A torrent of giggles ensued.

Mrs. Carter stepped forward. "Felix, quit messing around! You're making a mockery of our school!"

Felix ran to the other side of the bench. "Who is this Felix you speak of? I'm the flower bandit, the people's champion!"

Jane turned toward Lana. "And there's a prime example of someone you're more of a dude than."

Janice, jumped up from a nearby bench. "I don't know about that, but I think Felix is pretty funny."

"See? I've got at least one fan," Felix said proudly.

Jane held her head down trying to hide her smile as best she could. Realizing that Vidaj was noticing she reached toward Lana's head. "Come here. It's a little bit off." Lifting Lana's hair back she adjusted the rose slightly. "There you go. Much better."