It had been 10 minutes since the start of the school's break time, and Chase had spent half of his break in the infirmary getting patched up and being subjected to a lecture. And now, he was going to spend the remainder of his break in the principal's office.
"Just great," he muttered under his breath.
Ms Marina did not want to waste anymore time as she had a class to teach after the break. She quickly led Chase into another building and up some stairs before they found themselves in front of a long corridor. Unlike all the other corridors at school, this corridor contained only three doors. Two doors faced each other on either side, and a larger door was positioned between them, a few metres from the staircase. It was the first door you saw when you reached the top.
Along the walls were several group portraits. Photographs covered the wall: unfamiliar faces alongside ones he recognised. Some were worn and faded, older than the others, quietly revealing they belonged to another time.
Chase and Ms Marina walked past the two other doors before stopping in front of the biggest one. Above the door was written:
PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE
Ms Marina knocked on the door and, without waiting for an answer, she opened it and gestured for Chase to enter alongside her.
The room itself was spacious. At the back stood a desk positioned in the centre, set before three large shelves lined with neatly arranged books. A PC rested on the desk, while pens and pencils were carefully sorted inside a pen holder. Two luxurious chairs faced the desk, placed for visitors opposite the person seated behind it. On the far left of the room sat a black four-seater sofa, with a standing lamp beside it, currently unlit.
"Hello there, Ms Marina." A calm voice greeted from behind the desk, "What can I help you with?" Ms Marina motioned towards the boy and sighed.
"Chase, what have you done now?" She asked, trying to hide her emotions.
"Nothing, Ms Pierce." He replied, feeling a bit bothered by her question.
***
Maria Pierce had long black hair with loose waves, icy dark eyes and a frightening aura. She wore a one-piece blue suit and had her favourite sunglasses resting against her shirt, hooked neatly in place. Around her neck hung a pendant, a small sapphire stone set in dark metal. She had managed to build the school and become its headmaster at the age of 25, and she was quite fond of her job.
During her youth, she had vanquished foes of all kinds. Throughout the years, she gradually became untouchable. She was Earth's protector and was feared and revered throughout the galaxy. There was even a statue of her in the city hall. She was also Chase's aunt. Maria was the lastborn of a family of 7, and she was 8 years younger than Chase's mom, who was the oldest of the family.
***
"Chase, take a seat," Maria instructed as she gestured to one of the luxury chairs facing her desk. "What happened this time?" Maria asked Ms Marina as Chase took a seat.
"He's gotten himself injured again." She sadly said as she glanced at Chase. Just then, the bell rang announcing the end of break, Ms Marina excused herself and left the room, leaving Chase alone with his aunt.
"Let me see the injury," Maria said as she got up from her desk and walked towards Chase. He felt a bit embarrassed lifting his shirt for the second time today, but he had to do it if he wanted to leave her office as quickly as possible.
"It is already covered in bandages, so I do not think you will be able to see anything." He voiced as he slowly lifted his shirt. Maria examined his bandages, getting a clear picture of the injury. She sighed and walked back towards her desk, prompting Chase to pull his shirt back down.
"Are you sure you don't want me to do anything about this?" She asked as she sat down.
Chase shook his head, "No, I do not want you to get involved. I will handle this myself."
Maria sat down and chuckled, "No, you won't".
"It does not matter," Chase sighed as he stood up and headed for the door. "I hope you remember the promise you made me, not to intervene."
Maria looked uncertain and fell silent for a couple of seconds before finally speaking. "Yeah, but I don't like seeing my nephew with new injuries every week."
"You promised, so do not intervene, Aunt Maria!" He warned. He opened the door and stepped out of her office back into the corridor, closing the door behind him. Maria sighed and looked out of her side window, wondering when all this was going to stop and when he was finally going to ask for help.
Chase walked along the corridor and headed towards the stairs. The time was 11:25 am, which meant that he was five minutes late for class. He was confident that his aunt was going to send a message to his teacher explaining why he was late.
As much as he wanted to tell his aunt what was happening, he knew he couldn't. If he did, the situation would escalate, so he had to keep it to himself.
As he exited the building, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
"Well, well, well..." Someone beamed, "If it isn't my good friend Chase Tennyson, what are you doing here?"