May 5, 2023, 6:00 PM
Lot 16 Rosewood Avenue
Havendale, Kingston 19, St. Andrew Parish, Jamaica, W.I.
Morning – Daniel's Bedroom
Daniel slowly awoke to the sound of his mother calling from a distance. He rubbed his eyes, still groggy from sleep, and groaned as her voice reached him.
"Daniel, it's time for school," she called, her tone carrying a sense of urgency.
Daniel sighed, rolling over in bed. Five more minutes, Mom, he thought to himself, unwilling to leave the warmth of his bed.
"Daniel, you're going to be late if you don't get up now!"
His mother insisted, her voice growing firmer.
Still half-asleep, Daniel stretched and let out a long, exhausted yawn.
"I'm too tired for this..."
Kitchen – Daniel's House
His mother, with a bright smile on her face, handed him his school bag as he made his way downstairs.
"Have a nice day at school, my little snuggle bug."
She said affectionately.
Daniel, feeling slightly embarrassed, took the bag and shot her a side glance. "Mom, I'm sixteen. Can we stop with the baby names?"
She chuckled, completely unfazed.
"Nope! You'll always be my snuggle bug."
Before Daniel could react, she reached out and pinched his cheek playfully.
"Moooom!"
He groaned, swatting her hand away as his face burned with embarrassment.
"I'm sixteen! You can't keep doing that!"
She just laughed.
"Oh, but I can. It's a mother's right."
Daniel let out an exaggerated sigh, grabbing his bag.
"Alright, before you embarrass me any further, I really have to go."
"Take care, sweetie!"
She called as he rushed out the door.
Outside Greenwood Academy's Front Entrance
Approaching the entrance of Greenwood Academy, Daniel spotted his friend Wane, who was standing impatiently by the gate, looking frustrated.
"Yo, Daniel! Where have you been?"
Wane called, his voice full of exasperation.
"I've been waiting for you in FallenBlade for over an hour. I had to solo Zegred."
Daniel stopped in his tracks, a bit surprised.
"Oh, sorry, I had a huge study session…. Wait, you soloed Zegred?"
Wane shook his head, still looking disheartened.
"Yeah! It took me nine hours, and I nearly lost my sanity doing it, too."
Daniel couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Jeez. Did you at least get his drop?"
Wane's face darkened as he sighed.
"No. I never want to touch that game ever again..."
He muttered, his expression drained and defeated.
"It was that bad, huh?" Daniel said, rubbing the back of his head.
Classroom
The classroom was quiet except for the faint scratching of chalk on the board as the teacher wrote something. Her back was turned as she spoke about the history of the war.
"The global populationcollapsed from 3 billion to 1.5 billion by 1962 due to Nyxborn invasions...." the teacher said, unaware of the disruption that was about to occur.
Wane was fidgeting with his phone, his eyes scanning the screen until something caught his attention. His face suddenly lit up with excitement.
Wane couldn't contain his excitement.
"Yoooooooooo!"
The entire class jumped in surprise, and the teacher whipped around in disbelief.
"What?.. Wane! Why are you shouting?" the teacher turned around and looked at Wane with a puzzled expression.
"Sorry, miss. Sorry, my bad." Wane opologies sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
Daniel raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Not depressed anymore?"
Wane grinned, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
"Dude, the Archangels are hosting a tournament in Jamaica next week!"
Daniel blinked in surprise.
"Really?"
Wane leaned forward, practically glowing with excitement.
"Yeah! We have to compete in this—it's my dream to become an Archangel."
"Yeah, we should. But I don't know if my mom would agree; she wants me to be a lawyer like her. She's not big on fighting or violence—it took my dad forever just to convince her to let him teach me karate."
Wane nodded in understanding, his expression turning a bit more thoughtful.
"Yeah, mine are similar in that sense. My Dad wants me to be a doctor and join the family business. But that day when I met your dad and he told us about his time in the military... man, he was so cool, I want to be just like him. This tournament is my one-way ticket to achieving that."
The RIIIIIIING! of the bell reverberated through the classroom, cutting through the chatter. Daniel pushed his chair back, slinging his bag over one shoulder as his gaze shifted to Wane.
"Guess we've got some convincing to do,"
Daniel said, a subtle smile tugging at his lips.
"Well, we could just secretly apply,"
Wane said, joking, a spark of excitement lighting up his eyes.
"Hey,"
One student said to another, who was zipping up his backpack.
"Did you hear? The Nyxborn are starting to pop up again."
The other kid paused mid-motion.
"Umm, maybe."
"Yeah… some low-ranking ones were spotted out in the countryside. But the army took care of them fast. "
"Dam, that's crazy." The boy zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder