As it was expected to be, Nate had to focus on his in-class studies for Miss Jessica's work, but had to conserve some energy for the intense workload for Mr. Mouch, which still took a toll on his mind.
Nate let out a sigh as he thought about going through half the classes on his schedule.
Geez, going through the rest of the day is going to be a slog. At least lunch time is going to be a much-deserved break for me.
He marched on the right side of the hallway, his body almost touching the lockers. There were a ton of people, with the middle of the hall being the most condensed. Aware of his ragged appearance, Nate tried to stay hidden from those too curious as he made his way to the bathroom. With so many people walking by, it was practically like trying to maneuver a car though busy traffic,
By the time he could see the minuscule part of the boy's bathroom sign, he let out a breath in relief. Still conscious about the dirty conditions of his clothing, he quickly squeezed through the cracks of the still-open door left by Tyraun, a person in one of his classes.
Nate went up to the mirror. Desperate for the feeling of the water's flow and cooling properties, he turned the valve and splashed some water in his face. The water tickled every part of his face, with the droplets descending from his chin and dripping into his chest.
Ahh, much better. I didn't even get to shower at all since I left home so early, while it was still dark. Better wipe off the dirt while I have the chance.
By waving his hand in front of the sensor of the motion-detection paper towel dispenser, it came out as a single sheet as Nate instantly plucked it from the machine's grasp. He brushed the towel on his clothes and then his bare skin, with muddied dirt splotches appearing on the dirty paper towels.
His eyes fell upon his own individual body as he threw away the last of the used paper towels. A clean appearance of himself was all it reflected, contrasting the dirtiness of the bathroom. Nate made sure that it was himself, since the Green Crystal, or Theomin, was what it was actually called, didn't make him look more erratic or strange, since it was already strange enough with the sword he got.
Nate made a conscious thought of what happened in Vivid Forest, before having to move on from it. The sword would have to remain unused for the time being, he firmly insisted to his own well-being that he wouldn't try to use it for non-emergency situations. But the image of the green crystals, it was like it was in the back of his mind, a creature that refused to move out where it had previously invaded, despite the efforts of clearing it out.
With nothing else to do, besides looking at the recently torn-off bathroom stall door lying on the floor in disbelief, he exited the boy's bathroom.
Nate took a stroll down the indoor hallways. It was pretty cool from the ventilation blasting the cold into the halls, much more enjoyable to stay in than the bathroom, trying to make the students feel comfortable as the season of summer approached its end.
The students and staff were going in either direction to their current classes.
The one location, however, is somewhere common but unique to be in:
The central patio, the arches there were beige in color, and offered a special perspective if one were to walk slowly in the middle of it. Even if almost the rest of the school seemed ordinary, that one place was something unordinary. In fact, Cloey told Quad Four that it was her favorite spot in the whole school when she needed to have a break for her brain after a moderate period of studying, probably making her brain fried with so much information.
And the fountain. Although there were a few cracks and the grayish tint faded away, it gave off a special appearance, like the mark of waves from the splashing water.
And the best part was that there were seats on each of the four sides of the square fountain. Basically, it was a popular spot to hang out, it was almost always full of people, and there was also a time when the event planning committee even had a dedicated photo booth just for the background of the fountain for the whole city to picture.
However, the fountain itself was empty, and bits of trash ended up inside summer brown sludge, so that would mean not a lot of people would hang out here. Plus, it was also early in the school year, not a lot of interest in hanging out here, just the occasional stress and panic of students managing their classes, and the teachers worried about any troublemakers' planning.
Nate stood still across the fountain, giving himself time to think about nothing, a wish he could do so endlessly without stopping. The more he focused on the sky with a blank look on his face, the more of his view narrowed to the point that only a light blue dot was all he could retain.
Here it is... Just me in my mind, being in the background in all of this. Waiting for the others to come, like almost every day.
The people walked by from the left and right like faded memories. One minute they entered his view, and the next thing they're gone.
Nate watched each individual, darting his own two eyeballs, and connected the people to each other with an imaginary thread as a means of focus. It was something mundane, yet it kept him from being impatient with the time.
He thought about something. With Sam regarding his missing homework, it was always something of an outburst with him whenever he experienced something similar to this. That said, maybe it was Nate being exhausted from having to scale over the towering school walls; he felt more energetic than usual at Sam's emotional peaks.
But hey, it was what the school does to people. A lot of exhausting workloads were placed upon the students. Expectations and burdens multiply if one is not careful with their planning. It was effective against most, but a small minority of students remained positive with their outlook despite what it seemed.
"Oh, there you are! We haven't even seen you in homeroom at all!"
A loud, shrill voice of familiarity caught Nate's attention. The cheery accent that stuck with it can only be one thing to Nate, and that was the appearance of Cloey Taffel. Her whole personality can really stick to people, so contagious like a persistent cold. Even though it was so effective for everyone around, it still gave them a sense of camaraderie and calmness in all types of situations. Nate bet that she managed to forget the whole thing with the Faden back at the Volanten River.
"Ah, Cloey, I didn't see you behind me," Nate stated. "My fault, entirely..."
Cloey blinked; she looked unsure of what he said a moment ago. "Didn't see me? Of course not, I was behind you while you were looking away. Unless you have eyes on the back of your head, I don't think you would've seen me, right?"
"It's not that, I meant that I should have greeted you or something. Man, am I getting sluggish or what? Maybe I didn't eat at all today."
Upon hearing this, Cloey's head perked up, as though something sinister she had heard reached her.
"Ah, that's right," she exclaimed with a finger pointing up in the air. "Good thing I saved this strawberry pudding cup in my bag in case I forgot to bring food like last time. Go on, have it, you probably are starving to death right now!"
Nate pushed away the snack cup, causing Cloey's eyes to fill with regret and sadness. "I appreciate your concern, but... I'm just gonna wait until lunch period; I'll pay it with my own money, not that I don't mind at all."
"Aww, are you sure? You can wait that long, just for some greasy vegetables to be in your stomach? Are you reeaaaally sure?"
Cloey's hands trembled with anxiety over his decision.
"It's fine, really," Nate reassured. "Let's wait for the others to arrive. Hope they get here before the bells ring."
It was like it was scripted, because Sam Davis arrived to greet the two of them. He seemed much more relaxed, closer to his usual everyday demeanor.
"Hey guys, glad to find you here in this beautiful spot."
"Uh-huh! It really makes you feel so relaxed. It's probably one of my favorite places in the whole, entire school," Cloey gleefully said.
"Hey, Sam," Nate greeted. "You feeling lucky that you have another chance at turning in an actual completed homework page?"
Cloey gasped with a look of concern not unlike when Nate refused her offer of a free snack. "I've heard about it from the other people in my class. Sam, somehow, almost everyone knows about your crying mess."
"Definitely not one of my best moments. It was so embarrassing to be like that in front of the whole class."
From the corner of his eye, Nate's eyes were led to individuals approaching from behind Sam. The final members of Quad Four had just arrived. Manson and Sheila arrived at last.
Manson stretched his fingers; a noticeable pop escaped from his knuckles. "We're the last to arrive this time? Maybe the lateness from Nate rubbed off on me?"
"Hi, Cloey, Sam, and Nate... I had to get something from my locker. It took some time to organize some stuff," Sheila said.
With all five of them here. Nate can conclude that they would probably casually chat about everyday things, especially about what happened today. All of them would form a circle facing towards each other.
"... so I had asked this person next to me, called Katie, what's wrong. She said that it was fine, but there was still something bothering her. What if it's something serious, like some creep stalking her?"
"It's probably something minor, Cloey. If she didn't want to talk about it, then don't try to push it. It'll probably be okay," Manson said.
Although still unsure, Cloey slumped her shoulders in shame.
As he listened to the words of his friends, he remembered their forgotten memories about how they were able to move on without a care in the world. It was so unsettling, but deep down, there was some excitement that he felt when rushing against the danger. The very idea of Theomin and Faden appearing in this quaint city.
Cloey must have seen the worried look drawn on his face, because she lightly tapped on Nate's shoulder, his face alerted by the sudden feeling. "Nate, you look distracted. You feeling alright? Not enough sleep from last night?"
He reassured her. "I'm totally fine, just thinking about things recently..."
"Oh! That's right!" Manson exclaimed. "Speaking of recent events, looks like almost everyone in town is talking about that old guy, Pallnem, who suddenly disappeared overnight."
"Pallnem? That poor homeless man?" Cloey asked.
"Yes, that's right. Some guys found that his whole tent with his things inside vanished like he wasn't even there to begin with."
Oh, that's right... he was there last night with me. I didn't even notice he was gone when I zipped by through the commercial district. Did he really dip just like that?
That was the last time he saw Pallnem alive and well, back in Vivid Forest with probably one of the few remaining Theomin left in the city. Although his actions of pushing Nate away and abandoning him to fend for himself against the terrifying ground Faden, he couldn't help but feel a sense of worry for the poor guy.
Sam's expression did not contain sympathy, but held traces of deep suspicion. "I always felt that he was a bit too crazy. Almost dangerous levels of crazy..."
"S-Sam...!" Cloey said in a shocked tone.
"I'm just saying that it was a bit worrying for him to disappear like that, that's all."
"Regardless..." Manson began, "...I think we should not put any more thought into Pallnem, and focus on our grades for the classes."
Cloey looked dejected with a shade of paleness spreading from her face after Manson mentioned school grades.
"I don't even want to look at my grade for Mr. Mouch. Does it have to be so difficult every day? At least one day of easy stuff."
"You'll persist through eventually. I can tell you are a hardworking person," Nate said to her.
"Thanks..."
In the middle of their casual chatters, they began to hear stomping, not angry stomping per se, but one that exhibits playfulness and unseriousness. Chuckles were let out to accompany them.
Three boys accidentally stopped in front of Quad Four. They were people from some of their classes: Jed Sampson, Tyraun Duve, and Marlo Chen.
Those three were always together, with a tendency to argue amongst themselves.
Tyraun was the first one to speak to them. "What's up, Nate. Saw you going to the bathroom. For the dirt on the clothes, right?"
"Er..."
"Hey, it's no big deal. Perfectly understandable."
Marlo went up to Sam. "Is little Sam here all done with his sobbing? Does he need a cookie?"
"Come on, man, don't remind me of that back in Miss Jessica's class..." Sam pleaded.
The final member of their group, Jed Sampson, a short kid with frilly hair, looked as though he had some big thing to say.
"Hey y'all! Don't mind us walking here, but we're on our way to Honoway Mall. There is just too much stress in my systems, and I need to find a way to let loose."
"A little too loose if you ask me..." Nate heard Manson mutter under his breath.
Jed continued. "So if you don't mind, we're going to our classes so we won't be late... like Nate over here."
Are people still really talking about me? It can't be that serious, can it? I was just late; some people were late too.
The three best friends to each other left the patio area without saying another word, leaving Quad Four by themselves once again.
Cloey softly giggled and raised her arms high, immediately grabbing the attention of the group.
"Hey, guys, I've got an idea all of you will totally like..."
"Let me guess: You want to go to Honoway Mall, just like Jed said a few moments ago?" Manson answered her.
"Oh, I was about to say it in a grand voice instead..."
"Cheer up, I think it's a good idea to have some fun after school. It'll feel absolutely awesome to get some lunch, like the snacks from Shopmart," Sam stated.
Ah, the large building called Honoway Mall. The multistory building with dozens of restaurants and stores, with people all over the city flocking there just to get inside and enjoy themselves to the fullest.
Maybe it's a good idea too? It is getting a little hot and stressful for something like today at school. A relaxing day by hanging out at the mall seems like a good idea.
Even Sheila nodded in approval over the decision to go there.
Manson sighed at seeing the collective agreements from his friends.
"I guess... we're really going after school... to the loud and overcrowded Honoway Mall."
"Then it's settled, Cloey affirmed to Quad Four. "After school is over, we'll march our butts towards there, and have some fun!"
"Yeah!" Sam hollered with his fist towards the ceiling.
After a brief casual chat and the confirmation that all of them will go to the mall, the bell rang over their heads. The dangling echoed throughout the inside and outside. Some people started to hurry up and went inside the classrooms.
Manson looked at his wristwatch. "Better get going..."
"See ya, guys!" Cloey said as she waved goodbye.
"Don't be late!" Sam shouted.
Without a word, Sheila left on her own, gracefully speedwalking away through the hallways.
And with that, Nate continued with his school life.