Lunch time has come, and I'm more than happy to take a break from solving complex mathematical equations. That short quiz Mrs. Gordon really took me by surprise, and I mean literally. So when the bell rang, I hastily got out of my seat and sped away. We didn't have the chance to know the answer, or how many scores we got, but at that point I really didn't care. I know I did good, but come on, it's mathematics - it's the subject where almost everyone makes a mistake.
"Mind if I join you?" Dylan asks me as he takes a seat beside me. On his tray, there are burger, fries, and a Velda chocolate lowfat milk drink. Dylan is indeed a fit guy, but I'm not sure how he maintains his current physique when he's eating a lot of unhealthy foods. He doesn't seem the type to always hit the gym.
Meanwhile, in my case, while I know I'm fit, I don't have to be cautious about what I eat because really, even if you make me eat a bunch of burgers and fries, and lots of cries, I wouldn't get any fat. Some would say this is a curse, and some would say this a blessing, but I consider my metabolism works fast.
I nod. "You already took a seat right before you even asked me."
"Shut up," he chuckles as he takes a small bite of his burger. "So how's your day going?" - I make a face - "that bad, huh? Well, I can't blame you. I've been wanting to leave school right before I entered the premises, but meh, my mother would kill me if I did that or if she ever knew I cut classes."
"Mothers are really scary, huh."
"Yep, pretty much everyone is scared of their mothers."
"So you cut classes," I repeat what he said and he narrows his eyes at me. I throw my hands up in surrender, suppressing a laugh. "I'm not going to blackmail you, Dylan. I tried to cut class once, but never again. My mom found out but never grounded me, but she was really angry."
"She must have been pretty pissed for you to stop cutting classes,"
"She was," I let out a chuckle at the memory.
I was actually a first-year high school, or in foreign's term, I was at my high school freshman year when I tried to cut class. I was one of the boys who were always hanging out at the back of the classroom. You know the boys at the back - if they're there, it's either they're making trouble or they could talk with their friends about ladies. So yeah, I was part of that group. So the boys were talking about cutting class as they wanted to try new computer shop that had recently opened, so I was invited. Being at my naive stage, of course I agreed, so I joined with them.
The school actually had a gate at the back that had no guards. The gate was permanently closed and it remained always unguarded. So we took the chance to climb out, and then we were outside, freedom at our hands.
That day was actually fun. We played Counter Strike, and Defense of the Ancient. All the budget I had for that day was spent, all of it. But since I was with my friends, I really didn't care. I usually save money, but that day was an exception. We just kept playing, extending hours and hours until we felt like we needed to go. But when I came home, my mom was already waiting for me.
Okay, so I didn't realize that even though I was studying at a private school, there was not going to be any consequences. But when I got home, I found out that the teachers I skipped classes on called my mom and told me if I really was absent. My mom literally looked at me from head to toe, checking out to see if I really was wearing my school uniform. Then all hell broke loose. She asked where I had been, why I cut classes, who were the people I was with, and why I decided to do that. Then she threw the "money card" on me where she told me it was hard to earn money these days, and that I wasn't taking seriously where her money had gone to just for me to have a better future and damn, I was really guilty at that time. So that day, it was my first and last of cutting classes. Never again.
"So about Saturday..." Dylan begins but I beat him to it.
"My mom has already agreed, and she wants your number." I tell him, grinning from ear to ear. He laughs in amusement, shakes his head, pulls his phone out of his pocket, then gives it to me unlocked. I save my number, then I give it back. "So expect her to call you once I gave your number to him. She'd literally bug us out throughout the whole trip, and I hope you don't mind."
"I really don't." He smiles. "My mom would probably do the same. Sometimes, when I'm travelling, my cell's always out of reach and she's pissed with that. So now that I have a companion, she'd bug you, too."
"That's fine by me," I laugh. Mothers are really crazy when it comes to protecting their babies, or children.
The whole cafeteria stops chattering. I suddenly get confused when I see Dylan's jaw clenching, his expression tight. I look beside me and see my step-brother standing beside me, tray in both hands. Isaiah takes a seat beside me, ignoring Dylan's deathly glare. Isaiah pretends Dylan doesn't exist by saying hi to me, and munching on his burger. Seriously, these fit guys have it good. I probably look awkward right now, but I really have no idea on what to do.
Both guys, who are sworn enemies, are sitting on each of my side. The atmosphere suddenly becomes suffocating for me yet I continue to eat. Dylan is still tensed and he probably wants to punch the living day out Isaiah, but Isaiah on the other hand remains oblivious.
"Why are you sitting here?" Dylan finally asks him through gritted teeth. "Don't you have friends to sit with?" He nods his head to his group.
I take a quick look and see Isaiah's group, the basketball team, staring at us with a raised brow. He probably went here directly instead of going there to his friends. I look down as I'm not used to the attention I'm receiving.
"Why aren't you sitting with your friends?" Isaiah counters with a raised brow.
I stare at Dylan, waiting for his answer. "He is my friend, and my other friends understand that I don't have to share seats with them everyday. From the looks of it, it seems you didn't even bother to say hi to your friends. So why don't you go there and stay there, yeah?"
"Can you both shut up?" I grumble, losing appetite all of a sudden.
"Look, Isaiah. Just go somewhere else but here." Dylan grits out.
"How about you go away and leave us alone?"
Not wanting to be part of this, I stand up and walk away, bringin away my food tray with me. Seriously if they're going to be just like kids in front of me, then I sure as hell won't be responsible adult to stop them. Why can't they just get along for a day without trying to kill each other? That'd be real nice. But as soon as I think of it, I know that thought is never going to happen. It's ludicrous.
I turn my back and see the two following me, but they aren't talking to each other. But they keep sending deathly glares. I sigh, shaking my head. These two, I think, are never going to leave me anytime soon. Still ignoring them both, I move forward.
Along the way, one brown-haired guy asks me if I'm going to throw my food away, to which I guiltily nod. Food is still clean and I haven't eaten much, so I ask if he likes to have it I nod and give my food to him, then I make my way towards my next class.
As soon as the class is over, to which I almost died from boredness, I hastily put my things in my bag and get out of the classroom. Dylan pops out on my side.
"Where you going?" he asks me as he zips his bag and slings it over his shoulder.
"I'm going home,"
"Do you want to hangout? We could go play on my PS4," he tells me, grinning.
"What are we playing?"
"Tekken. I could teach you how."
Tekken. I grew up playing that game. When I was a kid, I used to go to the arcade shops to play Tekken or Street Fighter with my friends The famous arcade shop was just a few streets away from my house, and in that shop is where I met my best friend. Mom always gave me money so I could play after school, or if my assignments were done. I met a lot of friends ever since I started playing those arcade games, but the one who really stuck is Max.
Max and I really liked playing those arcade games, especially Tekken. When we played, we were always playing versus mode. Nonetheless, I kept beating him and I liked to rub it on his face. It was fun seeing him frustrated, and now, I'd do anything just to see it again.
"Did someone say Tekken?" a guy asks out of nowhere, along with Isaiah.
"Yeah, yeah, Kyle." Dylan says exasperatedly. "Wanna join? Leave him, though."
"Um," Kyle says as he looks at Isaiah. "I'd like him to go with us, please."
Dylan rolls his eyes but nods nonetheless. He motions for us to follow him. Dylan points his car on the far right corner parking slot of the school, mounting that I can get it in there. His car is actually an old version of Toyota Vios, but it looks cool and shiny. I still can't get over the fact that they're now allowed to drive when they reach age 16.
When I get in the car, Dylan turns on the radio and Shawn Mendez's voice fills the car, blaring through the speakers. Though I'm not familiar with the song, I know the tune since Max listens to the same thing. I never really like it, but I don't hate it, so I never bother to search.
A few minutes later, we arrive at Dylan's house. It's a two-storey house with a small garden in front, full of blooming flowers - ranging from yellow to red and blue. It also has small vines growing on the white fence they have setup. It's quite nice to look at. Moments later, another car that I recognize arrives. Isaiah and Kyle climb out of the car.
"C'mon in," Dylan announces.
I follow him, ignoring the two people bickering behind me. To be honest, I'm surprised Dylan let Isaiah come, considering they both hate each other. I send my mom a quick text, telling him that I'll go play with Dylan along with Isaiah and his friend, and I receive a reply from her telling me to take care of myself.
When we get inside the room, the smell of bacon wafts through the room and my stomach immediately grumbles. Dylan places his bag on the couch and I take the time to inspect his house. His house is not that big, but it's tidy and nice. There's just this home-y feeling here. Their TV is turned on, but the volume is too low to even hear it, but the show is about cooking. The floor is carpeted, and it's cute because it has a face of a tiger sewn on it. Not a real tiger though, because that would be really terrifying.
There are two couches facing the TV. Beside the couches, there are tables and picture frames are lined up on it. The living room is not that big, but it's not that small either. Just the right size for a small family. On the carpet, there's a bunch of legos scattered around, and I think that's deadly. If you step on it, you'll curse the manufacturer.
Dylan calls us out and motions to follow him through his bedroom. When we get inside, a small puppy immediately greets us. A small husky puppy jumps on Dylan's arms and licks his face. Dylan laughs and plays with his puppy before motioning us to enter.
"This is Coco. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Coco wags his tail playfully, jumping with his small legs and I smile at the sight. "Now let's see." Dylan grabs one of the PS4's controllers and turns the consoles on. He then inserts the Tekken CD into it, and a few moments later, the game is on.
Dylan explains to me the basic attacks, not aware that I know how to play this game very well. But I let him speak. He seems excited to teach me stuff. I suppress a laugh. I keep nodding my head at him, aware that everything he's telling me is not new to me.
"Okay, first, Kyle and I are going to play. You watch?" I nod my head again.
Kyle takes the other controller while Isaiah sits on the ground, his eyes on the screen. His eyes flicker to me and I give him a thumbs up. He smiles at me and returns a thumbs up. Kyle picks Lars while Dylan picks Devil Jin. As soon as the word "fight", they both start punching buttons on their controllers. Isaiah and I are just watching, too engrossed at what's happening on their fight.
Kyle manages to get a couple of juggle sets towards Dylan, but Dylan is good at blocking his attacks. In the end, Dylan wins. Kyle sighs.
"Okay, so I'm going to easy on you. Remember what I told you. Different character, different combo sets. Is that clear?" I nod my head again. Isaiah watches me.
Dylan picks Devil Jin again. For a few moments, I consider picking Lucky Chloe because she has great moves, and she's good at trolling. But of course, knowing how Dylan plays - and he plays really well, I decide to choose my main character. The one that I've been choosing since Tekken 5. Lili.
"Seriously, you're picking Lili? She's definitely not good to pick against Devil Jin." Kyle comments as he frowns on my character. "She's never been a high-tier character."
"Yeah, but whatever he likes to pick, so be Lili then." Dylan agrees.
Once the fight has started, Dylan chooses to not move and I keep pressing 1+2, but Dylan keeps blocking my attacks. When I've made an impression that I'm new to this game, that's where I press DF4 and make a juggle set. Dylan, Kyle, and Isaiah seem so shocked to see me doing a complete basic juggle of Lili.
"You're a Tekken player!" Dylan announces and decides to attack me back.
Lili is actually good at sidestepping, so that's what I mostly do. While she's never been high-tier character, I've always loved how she has a lot of launcher attacks that I can use to make a complete set of juggles. Plus, Lili is one of the few characters who I use for trolling. When I fight, I always use low attacks so the tendency for them to duck and block is expected. So when I have my chance, I'm doing the cartwheel launcher attack.
"I hate her cartwheel!"
"Everybody does," I chuckle when I manage to land a new juggle set then the K.O. appears. "I'm actually a Lili main, Though she's never been a high-tier character, except for the time she was new, amongst all the characters, she's the one who has the best sidesteps where she can do an immediate launcher attack. And yeah, everyone who I fought with using Lili has told me their hatred for Lili's cartwheel and I received their complaints about Lili getting a lot of cheese attacks."
"I can't believe you have been defeated by Lili," Kyle says as he looks between me and Dylan, who is pouting like a kid because he just got defeated. "Lili. Fucking Lili De Rochefort."
"It doesn't matter who the player is, or how buffed or nerfed the character is, it's how the player plays the character." Isaiah puts in his two scents. "Regardless of the ability of the character, if the player really knows how to play the said character, then chances are high of winning. Judging from what I've seen, it looks like Chad has been playing ever since."
"Grew up playing Tekken," I tell them. "I apologize, Dylan. I really wanted to laugh when you were telling me about the basic combos."
Dylan makes a face but breaks into a grin. He locks my head around his forearms while roughly brushing his knuckles against my scalp. I groan, trying to get him off of me. Kyle laughs while Isaiah coughs.
Seeing these 3 people in the same room, despite their differences, is actually fun to see. Though Dylan and Isaiah hate each other, they agree on something without putting much fight or attitude. They don't have to be buddy-buddy with each other; they just have to respect each other and their beliefs. They just have to move on about the girlfriend issue, and I think they'd be great friends.
"Want to have another battle rounds?" Dylan asks.
"Hey, it's my turn. You lost. To Lili." Isaiah says and rolls his eyes.
"Fine,"
"Just because Lili is a girl, doesn't mean I won't go too hard." He claims, grinning.
"Well, whoever your character is, prepare to get his face stomped on." I tell, laughing.