(Prominis 20, 56 / 6:00AM)
(Gwen on Megaphone) GOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOORRRRNIIIINNNNGGGG LAAAAAGEEEEFOOOORRRR!!!!!
Same as yesterday, Gwen yelled into the megaphone yet again, her cheeks and face still recovering from Luna’s rage the day before. Despite this, Gwen continued to do her duty as a wake-up caller.
Meanwhile, Luke barely woke up, his sweet dream was cut short because of Gwen’s antics. Even though he was barely awake, he exhaled slowly and screamed internally.
(Luke’s thoughts) I was having a good dream!
Getting ready fast, Luke changed into his bck shirt and pants, the dark fabric keeping him cozy and nice.
Upon exiting his room, all his friends and other candidates also left their room. But the same routine that happened yesterday was happening again because they were missing one person…
(Gwen) Luna is still asleep huh? Well, guess I have no other—
David and Jenny held Gwen back, their hands holding Gwen back from even setting one foot in Luna’s room. David gripped her arm tightly while Jenny’s arms barely contained Gwen’s enthusiasm.
(David) Don’t go in.
(Jenny) Please don’t Gwen! You’re still recovering!
Gwen had a strip across her nose, followed by her right cheekbone having a white bandage. Her right eye was heavily bruised, yet she moved it just the same as the left. Despite the two adults that are older than her, she still tried to break free.
(Gwen) But it’s my duty!
(David) To wake them up, not give them purple nurples…
(Gwen) Then who should wake her up?
Gwen, Jenny, and the rest of the candidates all looked over at David, their eyes gleaming with hope that he would be the one to wake up a sleeping beast. David, knowing that it was his job to handle Luna, started walking over to her room, his face calm and rexed as he was used to this.
But the door to Luna’s room was open…
(David’s thoughts) What?
Checking inside, David saw that Luke was in her room. Sneakily watching Luke’s every step as he watched through the hallway, he started to sweat a bit, his hands quivering as Luke was in the raptor’s den.
(David’s thoughts) Get out of there kid!
Luke tip-toed with ease, and sure enough, he reached the side where Luna was sleeping. Upon seeing her face, he recalled the scene in which he was in the hospital room.
(David in Luke’s thoughts) Luna isn’t that bad of a person. Once you get to know her, you can understand where she’s coming from.
(Luke’s thoughts) Here goes nothing…
Moving his hand, he gently tugged Luna’s shoulder, trying to get her to wake up. His face was red and warm, with eyes rexed and content, yet scared that if Luna wasn’t in a good mood, it would send him to the infirmary yet again.
(Luke’s thoughts) I just hope she’s in a good mood—
Luna then opened her eyes to see Luke tugging at her, and sure enough…
(Luna) Get out!
Silenced anger filled every part of her face; her lips, eyes, cheeks, and nose were all equally sharing the rage. She got out of her bed and got Luke by the end of his colr, his body shaking as he dangled from the ground.
As her way of making a point, Luke’s face was facing the direction of the door. She had her left hand on Luke’s nape, and her right hand on Luke’s pants, positioning herself to get a clear shot.
(Luke) Wait! Wait! Wait—
In no time, Luna then used all her strength to throw Luke into the hallway, his entire body being flung to where his friends were.
(Luke) Ow…
Despite checking over his body to not see any injuries or bruises, his chin did hurt since it was the first to nd on the ground, as well as the prank Sean did st night.
Luke didn’t check to see Luna’s room, but he heard the door behind sm shut.
Without getting up, he remained motionless on the ground, letting everyone watch his embarrassing dispy with Luna yet again. Not only that, but Luke’s fists were clenched, but in no time, he burdened it down in his heart…
(Gwen) Ok … looks like we’ll be having breakfast now. Try to catch up with everyone!
(David) I’ll wait for her.
Before he continued walking, he stopped by Luke who remained constrained to the floor. As his eyes gnced at Luke, he silently gave him a nod of approval, until he got to her door.
As all the candidates continued walking, following Gwen’s orders, four of his friends decided to get up quickly, their eyes filled with sentiment and compassion.
(Fred) I don’t know how you do it …
(Gary) If you want Luke, I could buy you a drink.
(Diego) Lucky…
(Stan) Here, let me help you—
But there was another candidate that was with them, a girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Even Stan was shocked since she managed to slip past them with ease, which caused the four boys to look away nervously.
As Luke was still on the ground, he noticed that her hands were quivering, wanting to move forward but fighting to remain in pce, almost as if …
(Luke) Uhm … d-do you need s-something?
As Hope watched him silently, she instantly reached out to him, pulling him up from the ground. As Luke got to his feet, he saw that her eyes remained focused on his eyes, which caused him to look away blushingly.
(Hope’s thoughts) He shouldn’t be dealing with this … Luna shouldn’t be doing this.
Remembering the scene with Sean, she looked at his chin which was still recovering from the punch.
(Hope’s thoughts) I don’t want him to get into more pain, yet I don’t like fighting…
(Hope) Let’s go.
(Luke) O-ok…
As Luke followed Hope to the breakfast area, hoping that Hope wasn’t another Luna, the four boys eyed the teenage boy and girl walking to the breakfast area.
(Fred’s thoughts) My best friend…
(Gary’s thoughts) I take it all back… he’s not getting a drink out of me!
(Diego’s thoughts) It should have been me!
(Stan’s thoughts) How does the pushover have a love interest in a day?
______________________________________________________________________________
(Prominis 20, 56 / 12:02PM)
(Luke’s thoughts) Finally, we get to have lunch…
Once making it back from their grueling training, Luke was exhausted from the intensity that David, Jenny, and Jerry put them through. His arms felt like noodles, barely enough strength to grab a feather. His legs cramped along the way to the lunch area, each step screaming at him to sit down and rest.
Getting his food, he found two wooden tables that were on the opposite end of the lunch area; a pce where all his friends would hang out. Setting down his tray, he waited for the others to come by, since he was the first one in the line.
(Luke’s thoughts) Why is everyone else so picky with food?
Luke’s stomach then growled from hunger, and in response, Luke started to devour everything the mashed potatoes and miso soup on his pte, not caring if he was beled as messy, ever since the hellish walk.
(Luke’s thoughts) People should value the food they have…
As Luke was halfway into his lunch, two boys sat opposite of him. Luke, despite not caring that he was messy, resorted to a more cssier way of eating, eating up his own words at the drop of a hat.
(Luke’s thoughts) Why are Cameron and Ryan sitting here?
Cameron was a year younger than Luke and Ryan was a year older. Cameron was a horse-human that had more human characteristics than horse ones. He had brown eyes and dark brown hair, his hair long and straight. He had a big nose, as well as huge ears that looked longer than some elves. He was taller than his age, and he was skinny and lean for an 11-year-old boy.
Ryan on the other hand was a bunny human, and he had more bunny characteristics than human ones. Ryan had small, bck eyes, as well as medium bck hair. His nose was short, his ears the same length as Cameron, and looked to be short and chubby for his age group.
(Ryan) I saw your fight with Luna yesterday, I was generally surprised that you’re still alive.
(Cameron) The way you pulled out that perfume was a cool py! I should have a perfume bottle with me!
(Luke) It’s nothing really … well … I was just trying to survive I guess …
(Ryan) Hmm … you’re really smart, you know that right?
(Luke) I’m not that smart compared to others…
(Fred) I guess we’re expanding our friend group huh…
Fred, Diego, Gary, and Stan sat at the table next to Luke, Cameron, and Ryan. As the boy group started to expand, Fred noticed a girl looking in their direction, and a mischievous smile formed on his face.
(Fred) I think Hope’s looking at you.
(Luke) W-Where?
Luke looked around, sweat starting to form as he tried to find her. Sure enough, she sees her on the opposite side of the room, with her eating with two other girls.
(Luke’s thoughts) She’s over there huh? Looks like she’s eating with Loraine and Gemma … I know Gemma is in our age group but why is an eight-year-old signing up for the Dark Angels…
As Luke focused his attention away to the girl's table, he then saw another table that had three teenage boys in it.
(Luke’s thoughts) There’s Jack, Miles, and … Sean …
Luke clicked his tongue as he recalled his st encounter with Sean. Despite forgiving Gary for his incident, and maybe Luna to a certain extent, for some reason…
As time ticks, Luke’s posture becomes rigid.
As Luke continues to stare at Sean with frustration, Diego notices that one person was missing from the tables.
(Diego) Man, I think out of all the candidates, Luna is the most antisocial out of us huh…
(Stan) The woman is crazy. Bitch almost killed Luke because he defended himself!
(Fred) Quiet, or else she might hear you…
(Stan) I’m just saying, she isn’t normal. Hell, I would say she is a psycho…
(Luke) Maybe … she just can’t express herself unlike the others. If she was from Ticia, then who knows what she might have seen.
As Luke looked down towards his hands, his palms became cmmy as he gnced at the already eaten food on his pte. Looking around with sweat droplets forming, he felt like somebody was watching him in the shadows.
(Gary) There are a lot of weird candidates huh.
(Diego) Yeah, I think there was that Sean dude who pulled a jack-in-the-box prank on Luke. He had to go to the infirmary again because of it.
(Stan) What?
(Diego) Oh … I forgot to tell you, but Luke had a bad encounter with Sean—
Stan immediately got up and went towards Luke, who was eating quietly with Cam and Ryan.
(Stan) Is this true Luke?
Luke gave a nod of nervousness, which caused Stan to look over to where Sean was sitting, his eyes twitching underneath his freckles.
(Stan) That pointy-eared bastard…
(Gary) Uh, Stan, you're an elf too…
(Stan) He makes us look bad!
Stan then began walking towards Sean’s direction, his eyes hellbent on focusing on one person.
(Luke) Wait, Stan, let me handle it.
(Stan) This is disgusting… how can he and even that crazy psycho be called elite soldiers if they treat you like shit?
Luke stood up too, followed by Fred and Diego trying to hold Stan back. Despite the difference in strength, Stan didn’t want to push them out of the way, rather he looked at Luke, confusion in his eyes as Luke had both hands on Stan’s chest.
(Stan) Why? Why do you let people treat you like this? It’s not ok. You should value yourself more…
Luke’s heartstrings were strung but they weren’t enough to cause him to tear. He still had a hold on Stan, trying to push him back to his seat so that Stan wouldn’t do anything rash. Luke pushed more and more, wanting Stan to just sit …
(Stan) Your mother died for you, right? She wouldn’t want the person she sacrificed to be someone’s toy!
Water formed in his eyes, but he forced them down.
(Luke) Please … just please …
Luke then looked up towards Stan.
(Luke) Just please sit down …
Stan, looking down at Luke, submitted to Luke’s decision. Carefully and slowly, Stan sat back down, not looking at anyone.
(Stan’s thoughts) You can’t do this on your own…
As the boys returned to eating, Stan’s escation made it so that the whole group ate their food quietly, not enjoying the awkward silence that followed.
(Ryan’s thoughts) My food got cold…
But in the shadows near the trash bins, there was a certain someone wearing a gray hoodie who saw the escation with open eyes.
She ate the rest of her food in peace, her mood retively more positive than average.
As she finished the rest quickly, she remained in the shadows, thinking about what to do next…
______________________________________________________________________________
(Prominis 20, 56 / 6:01PM)
(Jerry) Css Dismissed!
As Jerry finished his discussion about the basic level of education that kids should be learning, Jerry packed up his things so that he could go out to eat.
Jerry was an elf with average height, with short spiky dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had a more tan complexion as well as having big pointed ears, followed by a small button nose. He was retively normal in weight, as well as having little facial hair on his chin. Wearing a brown jacket, bck pants, and brown boots, Jerry also had an eyepatch upon his left eye.
(Jerry’s thoughts) I hope Jenny will go out with me this time. She’s always around David…
With 14 candidates seeing their teacher leave before them, half of them left to go to their rooms, their stamina burnt up after a whole day of learning, fighting, and education.
(Luke’s thoughts) They left me behind … I was just packing my backpack…
As Luke was about to leave the css, trying to catch up with his friend group, he noticed that Luna, the girl who almost killed him the day before, was coldly staring at Luke. He felt her eyes peer right into his soul, her gring filled with ice and metal.
(Luke’s thoughts) What does she want?
Luke’s body started to shiver, mostly from nervousness and fear of what she had in mind for him.
Throughout the past two days, Luke barely did anything, other than defend himself from her, so why?
(Luke’s thoughts) Does she hate me that much…
As Luke tried to ignore Luna’s gres, he soon noticed another girl staring at him. Upon seeing the girl, he started blushing, his body filled with butterflies and timidness, a far cry from a certain girl.
Luke remained silent, as he tried to walk normally and smoothly out of css, but just as Luke was about to leave the room, he felt his shoulder being tugged. Looking around, he saw that Hope was staring at him, her cheeks a little red, and csping her hands together.
(Luke) Uhm … d-do you wanna go somewhere?
As his whole body felt heavy, he asked a simple yet hard question to let out, making him look like he was out of breath. Hope started to see that he was blushing hard under his cheeks, which made her cheeks red even more.
(Hope) Y-Yes … I would love to—
Luna then stood up instantly, her cold gres were repced with immense rage. As Luke went pale as she saw her, her eyes were that of a killer, causing him to stutter from fear. Hope noticed the fear that Luke was in and looked behind her, to see…
Luna was walking towards them…
Hope cowardly ran away, her face turning into a deadly pale as she saw the burning fmes of Luna’s wrath. Now alone, Luke had no other option but to deal with the psycho.
(Luke’s thoughts) What do I do!? What should I do!? What do I do!? I don’t want to get beat up! I don’t want to get beat up! I don’t want to get beat up!
Luke then started to walk backwards, as Luna kept walking towards him. Each step he took was calcuted yet nerve-wracking for if he tripped once, well…
Then the pn would be ruined…
Once Luke was near the door, he turned the handle of the gss door and opened it wide to get himself out.
(Luke’s thoughts) My room! I want to go home…
As he ran through the hallways, he sprinted with full force to his dorm, wanting to get away from it all. Luna, Sean, his strength, they were all tormenting him mentally and physically. The more he ran, the more he longed for his room, before everything, before he broke his dad’s promise about leaving that cold penthouse.
He heard footsteps chasing him, he knew what those steps were but didn’t dare to look back. Continuing with his run, he started to grab a hold of his head, wanting everything to stop.
(Luna) Get back here!
(Luke’s thoughts) Why did I bother being here…
Finding the door to his room, he then opened it and closed it shut, not wanting anyone to enter.
Finding a chair, he put it amongst the doorknob, so that not even his friends had a shot of entering.
The way he was dispyed in the past two days, he was ridiculed, embarrassed, almost killed.
(Luke’s thoughts) I want to go home…
He then curled himself up like a ball, the same position as he was in when leaving the city in a boat.
(Luke’s thoughts) I want to go home…
The sounds of a door being pounded on can be heard…
Still curdled up, he put both hands amongst his ears, not wanting to hear those vicious knocks that creak the door.
(Luke’s thoughts) Leave me alone…
(Luna) I know you’re in there!
(Luke’s thoughts) I don’t want to hate you … I don’t…
Mixed with emotion, all his body ever wanted was peace. He continued to sit on the floor, trying to dig deeper into another world, far from the reality he was facing.
(Luna) Don’t make me burst down this fucking door!
The more Luna pounded and kicked, the more Luke swam deeper into the other world. A world where he had his room, a world where Fred, Stan, Diego, and maybe Gary were his only friends. A world where—
His mother was still alive…
(Luke’s thoughts) I … I … maybe don’t want to die …
The sounds of the pounding and kicking stopped, and from there, deafening silence.
______________________________________________________________________________
(Prominis 20, 56 / 6:08PM)
(Luna’s thoughts) Fucking coward…
Noticing that the door was dented and damaged, Luna lowered her fists and took a couple of steps back. Still having veins popping out of her forehead, she still wanted to see Luke.
(Luna’s thoughts) Why did he have to shut himself in!?
As Luna continued to wait for Luke, she saw from her peripheral vision Sean, who was about to get something from his room. About to open the door, he was soon stopped by Luna, whose anger was still dwelling inside of her.
(Sean) uh … hey beautiful?
(Luna) Is it true that you pulled the jack-in-the-box trick on Luke?
(Sean) Yeah! It was funny, wasn’t it?
Confirming to Luna that he was the one who pulled the jerkish prank on Luke, Luna’s anger quickly rose, walking towards the tall teen.
Despite being 5’6”, Sean was 5’8”, so for Sean, Luna wasn’t that tall.
But she was also—
(Luna) … You know what would be even more funnier?
(Sean) What? You going out with me—
Luna then nded a major blow to Sean’s face, causing him to fall cartoonishly. His nose unched a river of blood, combined with his right cheekbone turning purple from the horrible bruise.
Now unconscious, Sean had a simir setup to Gwen, but it was nowhere near as bad as hers…
(Luna) Never in a million years…
Walking towards her room, she opened the door and closed it hard. Alone in her room, she put her back on the wall, the room dark and humid as she looked up at the ceiling.
______________________________________________________________________________
(Prominis 20, 56 / 9:35PM)
(Fred) How long is he still in there?
(Gary) So he’s going to become a shut-in because of a mean girl…
(Diego) I mean, she's crazy man…
(Stan) … that damn bitch…
As Luke’s friends were outside his door, they weren’t happy that Luke decided to hole himself up, away from everyone. Shaking the door handle to his room, Fred tried to speak to Luke, his voice full of concern.
(Fred) Come on Luke, this isn’t you
(Gary) The dude survived 20 days in the wilderness with barely enough food and water, but some psycho girl was enough to break him…
(Stan) Luke, I know you’ve been through a lot, but we could help you, you know. You don’t have to do this alone…
Alone?
(Diego) Hey, is Miles walking towards us?
As Diego noticed Miles, he noticed that Mile’s face was more chiseled, as if he was holding in anger or frustration. As Miles got closer to the group, he noticed Stan was in front of Luke’s door, trying to get Luke to come out. But Miles's aura was different, his sturdy and well-built body more hell-bent on trying to locate—
(Miles) Are you Stan!?
(Stan) Yeah, why?
(Miles) Did you punch Sean?
(Sean) … what?
Miles, his face keeping the anger from exploding, interrogated Stan, trying to get a solid and heavy evidence answer.
(Miles) Did you punch Sean?!
(Stan) N-no I didn’t!
(Miles) Why does he have a broken nose?!
(Stan) Look at my hand! Tell me if it looked like I punched someone!
Stan showed his right hand to Miles, his knuckles and hands not showing any red marks or blisters of any sort.
(Miles) During lunch, I overheard you being angry at Sean for what he did to Luke.
Miles' voice faded to a lower tone, his face looking slightly downwards.
(Miles) What he did to Luke was horrible, and I told him to never do it again. I don’t know if he listened to that advice, but …
Miles then returned to his angry tone, looking at eye level with Stan.
(Miles) A broken nose is not meant to be paid by a bitten tongue!
Grabbing Stan’s t-shirt, Miles' body was ready to go full action, his hands shaking with frustration and anger that was coming out slowly from him.
But Stan had allies, because Fred, Gary, and Diego were ready to back Stan up, showcasing their fists that were shaking with fear yet resolve.
(Diego) Get your hands off of Stan.
(Gary) I may be fat, but I could punch!
As Miles noticed the three boys, readying their stances, he looked at them neutrally, hoping that they didn’t go through with their backup.
But there was one boy that made Miles nervous…
(Fred) Back the fuck off…
As Fred looked at Miles with controlble rage, Miles wanted to make sure neither boy would get hurt.
(Miles) You guys have nothing to do with this, I’m only here for Stan, not you three.
Showcasing that he doesn’t want to fight three kids four to six years younger than him, he remained his sights on Stan, trying to wait for Stan’s action. Sure enough, Stan gripped Miles’s hands, trying to pry them off of his colr.
(Stan) Take the shot!
Just as conflict was about to reach its peak, a girl came out of her room. Appearing to be not in a good mood, she had gray lines underneath her eyes, as she gnced at the commotion unfolding.
(Luna) What the hell are you guys doing?!
Walking towards the commotion, she gred at both Stan and Miles, her eyes and stare making both Stan and Miles stop in their tracks.
As Luna came forward, Stan noticed that Luna’s fist was red, marked with a hint of dry blood that could’ve led to—
(Stan) Wait, I think Luna is the one who punched Sean, take a look at her fist!
Surprisingly, Luna showed the fist that she used to punch Sean, her knuckles showing the dried-up blood, followed by the structure of her hard and pointy knuckles.
(Miles) So you were the one that punched Sean…
(Luna) Yeah and what of it?
Fbbergasted, Miles didn’t expect Luna to say this nonchantly. Letting go of Stan, he moved his way towards Luna, not faltering at all.
(Miles) … Why did you punch him?
(Luna) Because he pissed me off.
Maintaining eye contact, she gave her answer to Miles, not caring about what Miles may say.
(Miles) You're a bitch you know that?
(Luna) … I’m not a bitch.
Ignoring Miles, Luna made her way to the door where Luke was shut in. With Fred, Gary, and Diego scared that Luna may pull something, the three made themselves seen as weak and pathetic, hoping that Luna may show any mercy in case of a scenario. Meanwhile, Stan and Miles made a stance in case that Luna decided to throw a secret punch—
(Luna) I just have anger issues…
In one kick, Luna kicked down the door to Luke’s room, forcing her way inside. Upon seeing the dark room, she noticed that Luke was hiding under the bnkets of his bed, trying to ignore everything that’s been going on.
Stan was ready to go full swing, ready to throw a punch straight at Luna’s face, but—
Miles grabbed Stan’s arm, holding him back from his action.
(Miles) Wait … I think I see her intentions …
(Stan) Damn it, let go of my arm!
(Miles) Trust me on this…
(Stan) Trust you?
(Miles) Yeah, call it a gamble of hidden love…
With the five boys on standby near Luke’s door, Luna walked over to the side of the bed where Luke was hiding in. Hovering over him, she put both hands on her hips, her voice commanding and dominant.
(Luna) Get out from under there.
Luke didn’t budge, not wanting to enter the real world. This room was his sanctuary, his way of life, a life that he wanted to throw away but he crawled himself back into it yet again…
(Luna) Are you going to sulk and cry? Is that what you’re going to do here for the next four years?
(Luke’s thoughts) Leave me alone…
(Luna) I thought you would’ve had a better will, but I was mistaken. Guess I should’ve known … you're just a pipsqueak…
(Luke’s thoughts) Please…
(Luna) You’re a pushover, a toy, someone who can be taken advantage of.
(Luke’s thoughts) No more … please leave …
(Luna) How would your mom think of this?
Luke immediately stuck his head out of the bnket and gred towards Luna.
(Luna) I guess the word mommy got you out, let me guess, your mom died during the attack huh?
(Luke) Where are you going with this…
(Luna) Finally, you can speak. Do you think you’re the only one having issues?
Luke’s face contorted with brittle rage, his eyes viciously looking at Luna as his hands wanted to slowly grab onto something.
(Luke) What about you?! I bet your parents spoiled you so much you think you can get away with anything! You think the whole world revolves around you just because you went through the same issues as all of us! You’re full of … full of … crap!
(Luna) …
Luna remained silent, her demeanor changed from teasing to neutrality as Luke turned the tides to her. Upon seeing that Luna didn’t want to answer, Luke sighed, and his eyes remained focused on Luna as she kept to herself.
(Luke) Exactly … you’re just a psycho … I was wrong about you … David was wrong about you…
Getting up from his bed, he ignored Luna’s reluctant body and was about to exit out of the room, his face tattered with frustration. Before long, Luna stopped him with just a simple sentence, her eyes looking downward while looking away.
(Luna) My father was killed right in front of me.
Stopping, he turned towards where Luna was sitting on Luke’s bed, his face focusing on hers as she looked down at the bed.
(Luna) And all four of my younger brothers were already sughtered when I got there…
Slowly walking towards Luna, Luke kept his ears open as Luna opened herself to him. With each footstep that Luke drew, the more gentle his demeanor was.
(Luna) I could still see those faces, that figure that destroyed whatever was left of my neighborhood … killed and butchered my brothers … my dad … those scum … those bastards …
Luna’s fists started to shake uncontrolbly, her rage slowly building as Luke was now next to Luna. Her body was uncontrolble, as she tried to remember that impure face.
(Luna) … those … those … those—
As Luna was about to explode, Luke put his hand on top of Luna’s. His face and hand showed concern, wanting to cure the pain, his voice frail and compassionate.
(Luke) … You should’ve told me …
(Luna’s thoughts) huh?
Sure enough, Luna was caught off guard by this and her face turned red from blushing, a 180 from her anger.
(Luna) Don’t hold my hand, you idiot!
(Luke) Wait I wasn't trying to—
As Luna kept her hand close to her body now, she put on an angry front towards Luke.
(Luna) Dumbass…
Getting herself up, she started walking outwards to the hallway, looking downward with a mean gre. Stopping midway, she looked towards Luke who shyly avoided eye contact with her.
(Luna’s thoughts) Should I say I’m sorry? I’m not that evil … ah to hell with it.
Looking downward onto her hands, she put them inside of her hoodie. As she got to the hallway, she saw 12 candidates in the hallway.
(Luna’s thoughts) God damn it… maybe I should’ve just stayed a bit more with Luke.
Putting up a hard front, she gred coldly amongst them, trying to get them to leave her alone, but there was a certain candidate who wasn’t iced in total fear. Rather than submitting to fear, she looked … jealous …
(Luna’s thoughts) Why is the dumb blonde girl looking at me? Don’t tell me …
As Luna got closer to Hope, her height overshadowed her, trying to set her in line as the rest, but Hope didn’t falter.
(Luna’s thoughts) Is she mad about what I did to Luke? I never did get to apologize to Luke directly, just maybe …
She looked up, and quietly said …
(Hope) whore…
(Luna) YOU’RE DEAD!!
As everyone held back Luna, a major commotion happened right outside Luke’s door.
Meanwhile, Luke, still in the room, stood up from his bed, his eyes slowly sparkling.
(Luke’s thoughts) Why did I shut myself in my room … isn’t that what I fought against in the first pce…
In the abyss of the room, he calmly walked towards the window that caught a glimpse of the city of Lagefor.
The skyline wasn’t anywhere as tall as Cstine’s, with most of the building being 20 to 30 stories high. Despite this, the skyline was bustled with lights, showcasing the economically hard-hit city of Lagefor.
Putting a hand to the cold window, the more he looked at the city that had many more issues than what meets the eye, the more he saw his reflection shown in the window.
(Luke’s thoughts) I won’t let this city be the same as Cstine…
Turning his head, he saw the tense yet joyful scene of the candidates trying to break off a fight that was ensuing, their yells causing the adults to come in curiously.
(Luke’s thoughts) I won’t let my friends die on me…
Walking out of the dark room, he entered into the hallway, the bright lights showcasing his resolve and tenacity, as he looked at them with regretful eyes. Everyone in front of them turned their attention to him, waiting for any response as their bodies remained still.
(Luke) Sorry if I was being recluse …
Nervously saying this, all candidates and even adults looked at Luke with neutral faces, some of them looking at him with worry, some neutral, and some (or one) gring at him.
(Luke) How about we have another party … if it’s up to you guys? We all have some tension between us, so how about we unwind with at least food and drinks …
Timidly rubbing the back of his head, he awaited any answer that may come out of the 13 other people.
(Stan) Another party? Sure, my heart feels heavy from all that drama…
(Miles) Yeah, I could use a soda or two.
(Jack) I could stay up for a bit longer.
(Sean) … fine … but only for the girls and drinks … n-not for you…
The rest of the candidates agreed. Surprisingly, Luna also voiced her opinion, her voice slightly warmer than her cold demeanor.
(Luna) As long as there's donuts…
Hope didn’t say anything, or rather she came up to Luke and took his hand, which caused Luke’s cheeks to redden..
Sean looked away blushingly, his face signaling defeat upon the girl that he tried hitting on a day ago.
(Luna) Stop holding hands!
Perfectly, the rest of the candidates went downstairs, putting aside their issues and worries for the next day and after…