Intramural.
A whole week that constantly proves I have neither the athletic talent nor skill to gain some applause and a few medals. For years, loitering around while said event was occurring has always been the tradition. I have never spent a single second in my life doing otherwise.
Feeling the tremendous warmth of the sun on my skin while wandering from place to place like a vagabond, one would question if I even was a student of the academy. Had I not been wearing the designated uniform, there would be nothing to refute their belief.
Despite all that, I find sports a fascinating thing. It may just be a massive consumer of energy from an outsider's perspective. But to the people within the court, to the players, to the coaches, to the trainers, and to those who use every last oxygen in their lungs to vouch for those they adore, you could perhaps compare it to the blood flowing in their veins.
Others would likely be astonished at my being fancying activities that I do not specifically partake in. It is true that reading and writing are my souls, and outside that is an entirely different world that I usually actively disregard. Still, that does not mean that I could never be mesmerized by the things I don't engage in. Sports was one of those things, particularly soccer.
"Goal! Cassandra crushes it again! And now, the White Jaguars are leading with three points!"
Watching from the sidelines comes across as creepy from multiple contexts, especially if this involves darkness masking your face. Depending on the circumstances, this stunt could even be interpreted as an assassination attempt underway.
"Oh, what's this? Lucy broke through the two defenders in one swift motion!"
As much as I'd like to say that nothing could be further from the truth, there are no credentials to prove my innocence. Furthermore, going out in the open would only expose me to the very entities I grew to dislike.
"At long last, the Yellow Tigers have finally broken past the White Jaguars' defense! Lucy is right in front of the goal already!"
Humans.
"Will they be able to reclaim a point and turn things around? Or will Rea, the goalkeeper, be able to stop this attack?"
Therefore, it's perfectly fine for things to stay the way they are.
"WaaAaaH! It's too bad! Rea was able to perfectly stop the ball!"
The first day of this sports event went the way it had been for the past few years. Both silent and loud. It was as if my world was entirely different from theirs. The location did not diverge, yet it felt like they were so far away. It's crazy to think that as life goes on for people, their social life also progresses. They meet new people, acquire friends, and eventually find partners. When things get rough, the bond between them would either be strengthened or severed.
Then there's me. The one who's always been in the same place. Like a circle, I go around and around, reaching the same destination over and over again. Contrary to others, the people in my life just come and go. Never to return.
No one has stayed by my side.
Not even the ones who brought me into this world.
And each time I arrive at the corresponding place again, it feels like a piece of me vanishes into thin air, with each fragment bidding farewell. For the last time.
I wonder if I'll live the rest of my life like this.
Would this madness cease?
Or would it extend throughout my lifetime?
"Ah! It's you!"
Would you look at that, it's Sir Lucas and his minions.
Time to run.
"You some fortune-teller or something?!"
This remark halted me in my scheme of escaping. Out of pure instinct, my gaze tilted towards their way. An expression riddled with both confusion and frustration met their eyes. What may have been a split second in the real world seemed like years to me as I constantly pondered what was the right move.
"Huh?"
Even as that phrase slithered past my two rows of teeth, the state of being unable to realize what should be done at the moment still did not leave me. I was still dazed. Before I knew it, the volume of my heartbeat increased so much. As if it was intended for me to never hear another sound again after.
My mind was as hollow as it could get. Grasping my thoughts became impossible. It was as if you were reaching for the abyss for something you could never acquire. In your pursuit of doing so, the cold slowly penetrated your body — despite a giant ball of fire towering tall above us.
"Dude, you scared her."
"Sorry, that was rude of me. I was just so surprised to see you in a place like this."
Temporarily, anxiety ceased in its raid in my mind. But it still lingered within the shadows.
"Do you remember the Math assignment you were staring intensely at like, four days ago?" Lucas asked, a glint of curiosity present in his eyes.
"Man, I knew I was bad at that subject. Still... still..." He looked the other way with a flustered expression, clenching his fist near his face. It appears that he was desperately trying to vent out his inscrutable dissatisfaction. Seems like he couldn't accept the results he was provided with. In fact, he couldn't even fathom why.
Took him a while to calm down as his friends gently patted him on the back. When he finally did, Lucas took a deep breath.
"So, why the insanely accurate guess?"
"By your answers, it was obvious that you didn't take Basic Algebra seriously when you had the chance."
"What does that have to do with anything?" The nerve of this fool.
"If you don't know the foundations going forward, you shouldn't really expect good results, you know."
"And you were able to determine that from just one look?"
"One look is more than enough."
No reply came from him after that and he muttered an 'I see' under his breath. The few moments that passed were spent in silence, awkwardness growing between us. There was nothing more to discuss. He knew that more than me considering his extroverted nature. In the first place, the subject in question was trivial. It could even be deemed as small talk.
"Why are you and your minions here anyway?" I asked.
"They're not my underlings! They're my friends!" He interjected, followed by the angry mob noises at the back.
"He's right! He's right!" Ah, one of the minions has spoken.
So did the other by his side. "That's not very nice, you know!"
"Well, it doesn't help that you're all wearing matching yellow shirts, blue pants, and goggles, except for this blonde here in all black," I noted with a bored expression. If they had changed their approach even a little, perhaps I could have thought so differently.
But Lucas looked at me for a while like he knew I meant differently. Guess he's a real one.
He breathed shortly, "It's Lucas! At least learn your employers' son's name."
"Learning the name of a stranger is not part of my job."
This is draining my social energy.
"Anyway, my cousin asked me a favor, so here I am. Seeing you're a student of this academy, it all makes sense now."
Alright, that's it. I need to recharge.
"Cool. I'll head out now." And like the ninja I am, I sprinted away without even hearing their response. Not that I care either way.
Once distance had been placed between us, my composure returned. No longer could I hear the loud beating in my heart. It fully subsided and returned to the way it had previously been. The day went by in a flash. That conversation ended up absorbing most of my social energy.
Maybe I should buy a doughnut to congratulate myself for being able to hold out long enough. Yeah, let's do that. Taking a detour at this point wouldn't be that bad since the chocolate ones are practically seducing me to put them in my mouth. Seriously, most foods can flirt better than humans. They should start learning from the true professionals.
Buying one feasted upon a huge portion of my allowance for today, so I made sure to cherish every single bite. That means eating slowly. In the process of doing exactly that, my gaze fell upon a similar figure. When our eyes met, it was as clear as day that we both instantly recognized each other.
This guy again?!
Lucas laughed. "Small world, isn't it?"
"I wouldn't call a planet with a 12,742 km diameter small."
He didn't say anything back. He just smiled.
The next thing I knew, we were shooting zombies at an amusement arcade. Noise continuously came in all directions. Each person within the vicinity was attempting to win the prizes that were laid out to be free — in reality, it's a hidden scam of the entertainment industry to trick people into spending more money.
Nothing is free in the world.
If it is, you are the product.
The only reason I came here was because he told me he would pay. Surely enough, he lived up to his promise.
Deep in the game, our scores were tied. To no one's surprise, the inviter himself was incredible in this game. It's a possibility that he's been doing this for years now. Perchance, he brought me here to show off.
"Why here?" I inquired while shooting a zombie in the head.
A pool of blood drowned the man as he lay lifeless on the ground. His mouth was agape, saliva was dripping from within. By his side was a young girl clenching a pistol. She struggled to catch her breath as smoke leaked out of the weapon. Plastered on her face was an expression that no painter could ever hope to paint.
"Why here? Well..."
The look of despair and anguish mixed into one canvas.
He continued. "You kind of have an annoying aura."
"Cheshire, are you sure this is right? Is this really fine?"
"What do you mean by that? We have to do this! What other choice do we have?!"
"Still!"
In this type of scenario, the audience would expect me to return his sentiment. To hate his guts as well.
Regrettably, I did not.
He was nothing more than another stranger in my life. Therefore, my feelings cannot be swayed by the mere likes of him.
"So you're hoping a defeat would at least smoothen things out?" I ask in hopes of confirming my theory.
"If you want to starve, you can go ahead and starve yourself!" And then she left. Forever.
"Exactly," he affirmed. Right after, the screen showed the outcome with me in the lead by a few points. "But it looks like it backfired on me."
"That's a first. No one's been able to win against me before."
Even though he just suffered defeat, a smile was still evident on his face. It wasn't wiped away as it should be. Strange, what exactly was he smiling for? While the one who lost was able to grin, the one who came out victorious could not. How ironic.
"Lucas," I called out while locking gazes with him, "have you ever held a real gun before?"
"No, why?"
Blue eyes. What a cliche character.
Staring at the supposed toy replicating a weapon of destruction sitting in my palm, I uttered, "Then that's what probably set us apart."
Leaving him with that kind of cliffhanger was unnecessarily cruel. As an avid reader, that was something that I was fully aware of. Yet, that did not prevent me from doing along with swiftly running away and then hiding in a corner to get him off my tail. Upon securing that my presence was not physically hidden, I took a peek and noticed that he had tried pursuit.
But it also did not take him long to come to the conclusion that he had lost me. As soon as he did, he also realized that he had forgotten to ask my name.
Q: This was, more or less, the debut of Lucas. What do you think of him?
Author's Notes commented inline here ➵