His joints made a cracking sound after he stretched his whole body. A cracking sound echoed in his ears. It might be a bit painful to hear, but trust me, it'll make him feel better.
The break bell rang. Almost all the students headed to the cafeteria or met up with their friends in the next class. He decided to stay quiet in class, after a friend he was close to invited him to the canteen.
Now, he sat alone in class. He wasn't in the back corner or the front. He wasn't the dumbest or laziest student, but he wasn't the smartest model either. He was just an average student. He didn't excel academically, let alone in sports. But at least he never had the worst reputation. He had nothing to be proud of. By the way, he sat in the middle of the classroom.
Sighing and resting his chin on his hand, he looked to his left. Toward the window overlooking the view outside. He could see the blue sky there, though it was slightly obscured by the curtains swaying in the breeze. The beautiful, clear blue sky outside was so... so breathtaking. But being in class now felt like a different world from that view. It was such a stark contrast. It even occurred to him to wonder if he could go somewhere that would give him a thrilling adventure.
Enough with the thoughts that will only be fantasies, It was now time to start class. Of course, the bell had already rung.
Exactly seven hours after the first period class, all classes had finished.
"Lyne!" A friend who had also invited him to the canteen earlier, now approached him.
He turned as soon as his name was called. His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes met the person who had called him. He asked with only his eyes.
"The others and I are going to the mall to play at the game center there after school. Wanna join?"
He was silent. Thinking about the answer. Should he come along?
"So? Join or not?"
"Ah, maybe not right now. I have some things I want to do after this. But thanks for the offer."
His friend smiled. A hint of disappointment was visible on his face. He gave a small nod, "Okay. That's fine. Just relax. But if you change your mind, just call me, okay?"
He nodded, "Okay, Victor."
His friend, Victor, smiled, patted his shoulder, and left. Back to his chair.
It was a real shame. If only the novels he had bought weren't stacked neatly in his room, he would probably have joined in, even though sometimes... it just didn't feel right to play with anyone other than Victor. It's not that he doesn't like others. It's just that... with others, he can't be himself. He... always has to be someone else, pretend to smile when he doesn't want to, Pretending to be interested in something they show him even though he's indifferent or even dislikes it, and much more. He does all of this to be accepted. To be with them. Maybe also... to avoid being abandoned.
But... these past few months, he'd been thinking. Well, he shouldn't have to pretend to be accepted, right? If they could just accept him—for who he was. He had shown his true self once. And... all he got was disappointment. Victor? Of course, Victor seemed to accept it. But it seemed like he didn't really know anything about it.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like a loser.
So, he decided to go home as soon as possible. Of course after school is over.
###
After coming home from school until now, Hillyne has read nearly half of the book, which has over 400 pages. This is quite an accomplishment since he began reading two years ago. Thanks to his improved reading ability, he can read several books in a single day. However, he still has many books he hasn't read because... sometimes he doesn't have time to read. He... has to study hard to get good grades in school.
Well, even though he always studies, his grades are almost never good, they're only average.
He sighed. He looked towards his bedroom door. It happened to be the moment the door opened, and his older sister entered the room.
"Hello, ma lil' brother~ what are you doing? Didn't you hear me calling you earlier? It's already dinner time. Come out."
"Okay. I'll be right there."
His older sister made a strange expression. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, then returned to normal. Strange.
"Well, all right. Everyone is waiting." Tyra glared at him and then raised two fingers. She pointed them at herself, then pointed them at him. Over and over again.
"Yes, Sis. I'll be at the dining table in a minute."
Tyra smiled, then shrugged his shoulders, "Okay." Then she left his room and closed the door.
It seemed he needed to get to the dining table soon. After tidying up the book he was reading, of course. After finishing tidying up his books —which took less than a minute— he left his room and walked straight to the dining room. The dining room was already filled with his family members. It was quiet. Silent. He walked to an empty chair and sat down. As soon as he sat down, a middle-aged man glanced at him briefly and then motioned for everyone to eat the dinner set on the table.
He felt the pressure in this room. To bury the food on the table right now, it feels like... he will soon choke when he wants to swallow his food. That's roughly the pressure in this room. Even so, he couldn't just sit there without trying to devour the food on the table. Reluctantly, he put a spoonful of rice with side dishes into his mouth. There's no doubt that every dish served at the dining table is always delicious. Absolutely delicious. Well, the only thing that's not so good is the atmosphere. Sometimes it's tense, like right now. And... things like this usually happen for one reason. His test scores.
Despite the pressure, Hillyne's stomach and taste buds were apparently tempted by the food. The more spoonfuls he ate, the more he wanted to eat everything on his plate. Come to think of it, the change his father had shown was quite drastic when it came to 'grades'. Was it...? No, no. It couldn't be DID. Yes, it couldn't be.
While Hillyne was busy contemplating the possibilities of what had happened to his father, his father and the others had finished eating. His father stood up, and everyone else followed, leaving the dining room alone. His father suddenly called his name. His tone was full of pressure, firmness, authority, but also intimidating.
With his name now mentioned, Hillyne stopped eating. He stood up and responded to his father's call.
"Yes, Dad?"
His father stared at him, like he was a thorn in the side of the road. Annoying.
"After you finish eating, go to my office. I want to talk to you."
""Okay, Dad. I'll be right there after I finish my meal."
His father snorted and left. Hillyne could only sigh. This kind of thing had happened every year since he was in second grade in the middle of school. So, a long time ago when Hillyne was in elementary school, his grades on every test were always within the school's average. They never went down. They never went up either. Then, when he was in his first year of middle school, he still got average grades. In short, he was very different from his two older siblings who always got top grades. They never went down even once. Then, when he was in his second year of middle school, it was the first time he got the lowest grades. A very low grade compared to the grades he had always gotten before. From there, his father started scolding his every time the school exam results came out. Just hearing the word 'grades', when he was near his father, his father's aura would change. The atmosphere... or rather, the surrounding aura would become tense. As it just happened.
"Okay, now i should go there." Hillyne has finished his food. So he tidied up his plate of food and then immediately went to his father's office.
As soon as he entered his father's office, Hillyne was immediately given a look that seemed just like wanting to kill him by his father. That's normal. But, it seems like this time is the worst. Hillyne saw some white paper in his father's hand. Apparently, he managed to find the exam paper that Hillyne had hidden. Of all things, today Hillyne had to prepare for the worst. Hillyne walked over to his father.
"I'm here, Dad. What do you want to talk about?" Hillyne's current position resembled that of a soldier being interrogated by a furious combat commander. He was ready but tense.
Hillyne's father threw what was in his hand at Hillyne.
"Why did your test scores drop? How are you different from your older siblings? Your mother and I were never this stupid when we were in school. Are you not even my son, huh?! Is your mother cheating?!"
Hillyne let out a ragged breath, his voice barely audible. He was furious at his father's outrageous remarks, but his exterior remained calm, "This is all my fault. Mom didn't cheat. We did a DNA test last year. As embarrassing as it is, I am your biological child. That's undeniable, Dad."
"You-!"
Hillyne's father's face turned bright red. He looked furious at Hillyne, but he remained silent for a moment, breathing heavily from his anger.
"..."
"Get out now! Don't show your face again if you can't get a better grade than this!"
"Okay, Dad. But I want to tell you one thing. My grades that have dropped are the average grades of the kids in the class. Besides me, everyone's grades have also dropped." Say Hillyne to his father who didn't even pay attention to him and instead looked away. Hillyne smiled a little. This is... a bit sad.
"Then, I'll take my leave."
Hillyne bowed slightly to pay his respects to his father then he left and returned to his room.
###
Two days. Hillyne locked himself in his room for two days. Following his father's orders not to show his face, Hillyne chose to remain in his room, only coming out when he needed food and drink. He doesn't worry about bathing and other things because there is a bathroom in his room. Of course, there are also books, wifi, cell phones, chargers, and so on, which actually make him feel at home in the room.
There was a knock on the door, followed by his mother's voice calling his name. "Hillyne."
Hillyne stood up and walked to his bedroom door. He opened it and saw his mother carrying a tray of food. His mother smiled when she saw him. She stepped out of the room a little. Maybe just a few inches, not even a foot out of the room.
"Yes, mom?"
HIllyne's mom smilling. She showed Hillyne the tray she was carrying.
"Mom brought your favorite food for lunch today."
"Mom ... you don't need to do it"
Hillyne's mother's smile faded and then the mother kicked Hillyne's shin gently.
"Argh" Hillyne groaned in pain from her mother's light kick.
"What just you said made me sad, you know? huh!" Hillyne's mother snorted then looked away to the right.
"I don't mean ... Thats not what i mean, mom. "
"So?"
"I'm sorry, Mom. I'll eat all of this. Thanks, Mom."
Hillyne take the tray his mom brought, Then Hillyne's mother smiling brightly.
"You should just accept this. Well, since I've given you what I wanted, I'll be leaving. But make sure you eat it."
"Sure, Mom. Thank you."
"Anytime, dear."
Hillyne smiled and nodded. His mother quickly left. After his mother left, he grimaced and went back to his room. He quickly ate the food on the tray his mother had brought him. Hillyne quickly finished his meal and then placed the tray and dirty plates in the kitchen, which happened to be near his room. Exiting the room, there was a hallway that could fit five people in a row. After the hallway, there was the kitchen, and if you turned right, outside was the storage room.
In fact, the room he was currently occupying was an unused one. He usually used it when his father didn't want to see him for a while. His real room was upstairs, next to his two older siblings. Well, right next to each other. And across from his room was his parents' room. Yes, it was close. That's why he chose to isolate himself in an unused room downstairs. Never mind. He'll go back to his room now.
As usual, Hillyne will return to reading the book he has. Immersed in the reading. Feeling as if he were truly in the story he was reading, even though he was only a reader who wasn't involved in the narrative. Yet, thats enough. As long as it can make him escape from reality ... its worth it.
Suddenly, Hillyne covered his face with a book. He remembered his encounter with the fallen angel, commonly known as Lucifer. Ah, almost being Lucifer, but no. She's still an angel. Broken angel. . Her name was... Xeanee. Hillyne could still remember clearly. Even though it was just a dream... it was too real to be a dream. He even still clearly remembers how Xeanee held his hand. It feels warm. Full of love. Not love that shows love in romance, but love that shows affection for others and is full of concern. Well, that dream... happened a year ago. The dream that happened one year ago ... He should just forget it, right?
"Ha ..."
Hillyne sighed, closed his book, and placed it on the table. He grabbed his phone and headset and headed out. Hillyne decided, he was going to go out. Out of the house, to get some fresh air.
It took about 30 minutes to get to the city park. Hillyne looked at the tree planted there. It looked nice and quite large. Most importantly, it could shade him from the sun if he sit under it. He then stepped to the tree that looked big and sat under it. It's quite warm because it's still midday. But it's quite cool, being under the trees and having a refreshing breeze. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Although the atmosphere had changed, it still felt uncomfortable when the problem he was facing was still unsolved, or even difficult to solve. His family issues... he was pretty used to them. Actually... both his older siblings and his parents were fine. But when his father started talking about 'grades,' everything seemed to change.
Besides that? Hillyne's family is quite nice and... very caring towards each other. Hillyne's family is indeed warm. It's just that maybe he doesn't realize it yet. Nope. he realize it ... But ... Yeah....
His reverie about his family problems was interrupted when someone just walked in front of him. Passed him. She was... a friend, a very valuable one to Hillyne. However, things weren't going well for them right now. Hillyne and his friend were fighting over something. Something so trivial, yet somehow, it caused a major argument between Hillyne and his friend. With such a fight, and with his studies about to get even busier as he was in his final year and final semester, he decided to do nothing for his friendship. Hillyne would consider this matter quite trivial. So, perhaps he wouldn't talk to his friend. He promised he wouldn't do that. Talk to his friend. After all, he would soon face final exams and graduate. After graduation, who would guarantee that he would continue to keep in touch with his high school friend? Nothing. There's no one would guarantee.
Still, even though Hillyne made such a decision, it still affected him. The issue was quite frustrating. Moreover, Hillyne has feelings for his friend.
Hillyne hide his face with both his hands. That was so embarrassing.
Come to think of it, his friend passed him and sat on a park bench not far from him. He lowered his hands from his face and looked at his friend. Then a smile appeared on his face. When he looking at his friend.
"Beautiful."
##
A creature with wings and a halo floating above its head was in a cave. Its hands and feet were chained. Its eyes were covered with something that looked like energy or magic. Even though the creature's movements and even its senses were restricted, it didn't appear agitated or angry. Instead, its expression seemed more like... an absence of expression. Flat and blank. A demon approached her. Then he stroked her short hair and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
"Marlin?" The creature called the demon by name. With a little hesitation.
"Right, my dear Xeanee." The devil replied to the creature.
Xeanee squeak. Disgusted by the call given by Marlin. Even so, she felt a little happy that the demon had come to her and kept her company. As usual. Ever since she went to that forbidden place and was punished in this cave.
Marlin the demon snorted when he heard Xeanee squeal. He then sat cross-legged and crossed his arms, "You're so mean. Why do you always have that disgusted expression on your face? When I even call you by your pet name! I know your eyes are closed, but that still doesn't hide your facial expression!" Marlin was still sitting. He had uncrossed his arms and legs. Then, still sitting, he stepped back a little away from Xeanee and kicked his legs in front of him as he protested, "Huh! I even accompanied you when you were punished in this cave alone. Aren't I good? Please praise me!"
See? Hearing Marlin grumble and complain made Xeanee's head spin. She regretted being happy about Marlin's arrival. She would never forget how Marlin always bothered her when she was grateful for his presence. Whether it was his grumbling, his drama, or just... it was too much. Ah, even Xeanee had just remembered something. One of the reasons she was being punished now, was because of Marlin. It was Marlin who told her about that forbidden place called 'dreams'. If only Marlin hadn't brought it up, she wouldn't have ended up like this.
"You're really evil! Even though I told you about that place, you're the one who set foot there. Hiks ... hiks, Xeanee, you're actually this kind of person."
Another drama who was present by Marlin. Such a drama king.
"Why did you called me evil? You are the devil." Xeanee ignored everything Marlin said except the one that said she was evil or cruel.
Yes, angels are never cruel to anyone except those undergoing punishment. Furthermore, angels always pray for and love others. Yes, even though they have no power, angels always want the best for good people. Therefore, angels pray for those people. Unlike the devil, it's quite common to hear that the devil always tempts and whispers convincingly to do something bad. To be honest, Xeanee as an angel was also one of the victims. Xeanee's faith is strong, but when she thinks about something that tempts her... she loses control. Therefore, Xeanee is now being punished for her mistakes or 'sins'.
"You are always the same."
"Of course , i am."
Marlin exhaled sharply, then fell silent. He had no energy left to whine to Xeanee, who had consistently ignored him, even though he knew what was in Xeanee's heart. It was sneaky, but it was pretty good because Marlin was able to find out what he wanted to know. Well, although Xeanee cursed him more than she praised him in her heart.
"Okay, let's get straight to the point. I want to tell you about that boy."
"Hm. Thanks. So please, tell me now."
"He lived his life as usual. Well, maybe he suffered a little."
It looked complicated. Xeanee's facial expression was complicated. Marlin didn't know what it meant either. Well, but why would he know? It didn't really matter.
"Marlin? Why are you so quiet?"
"Nope. Thank you for worrying about me. Awww you're so sweet my dear Xeanee." Marlin quickly returned to his normal side.
"Ugh. You are really something. Can you just tell me about him?"
"How impatient you are, but fine I will continue to tell you about him."
Next, Marlin told Xeanee everything he knew. About how the boy had spent the past week and well, everything. Telling Xeanee about the boy had become his habit once a week. Because it took him a week to gather this information. Yeah, not really. He could do it every day, actually. But he didn't like talking about other people for a whole week or so, until Xeanee's sentence was over.
"Satisfied? Oh, by the way, you're quite lucky to have received punishment, because it means God still loves you."
Why? Why did he said something like that? Didn't he want to mislead me? But-
"Well, I'm just telling you things like this. You know what? I'm older than you and have a lot of knowledge about some things that exist around the world." Marlin turned his face away. He grimaced. It shouldn't be like this. It would be better if he were far from God or even exiled.
"You're quiet again. What's wrong with you?"
Xeanee's question made Marlin smile and look back at the angel.
"My sweet Xeanee, did I make you worry? Ah, I'm sorry. I won't do it again, I promise!"
Xeanee clenched her jaw and gritted her teeth. If only she weren't tied up...! She would definitely be hitting and kicking Marlin right now. That demon was so annoying!!!
Don't be angry... don't be angry... don't be angry...
To calm her anger, Xeanee took a slow breath. She held it for a moment, then let it out just as slowly. Activating a small amount of her abilities to avoid being distracted by Marlin, Xeanee activated her hyperfocus and doctrine abilities on herself. This made her forget her anger and made her patient and calm. A few minutes later, it was over. His anger was gone.
"Shut. Your. Mouth. Mar. Lin." Xeanee smiled after saying that.
"Oh ... Okay ..."
Now silence enveloped them.
One...
Two...
Three...
Several minutes had passed. Then finally Xeanee opened her mouth again to talk about the boy she met that time.
"Hillyne ... About the boy, Is there any way I can meet him, Marlin?"
Good. Hearing Xeanee's question, Marlin changed his position from sitting to standing. He leaned closer to Xeanee and whispered in the angel's ear, "Yes." Then Merlin blew into Xeanee's ear and moved away a little.
Xeanee reflexively tilted her head. Marlin's breath in her ear tickled her. But she quickly shrugged it off and asked.
"What is that?"
Then Marlin tell her about the way to meet that boy or Hillyne. After explaining the procedure, Marlin grinned. Luckily, Xeanee was blindfolded as part of her punishment. Otherwise, Xeanee would have seen Marlin's expression, and the angel would have become suspicious. Well, Xeanee was too stupid to believe him and also too disobedient for an angel. Of course, she knew the reason.
After hearing Marlin's explanation, Xeanee paused to think. Should she... do what Marlin said?
"Okay, I'll do it."